[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3177 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3177

 To promote the development of practical fusion energy, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2009

 Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California (for herself, Mr. Inglis, Ms. Baldwin, 
   Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. 
  Foster, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Holt, Mr. Honda, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Daniel E. 
  Lungren of California, Mr. McNerney, and Mr. Olver) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and 
                               Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To promote the development of practical fusion energy, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fusion Engineering Science and 
Fusion Energy Planning Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Ample, affordable, and reliable energy supplies are 
        essential to a healthy and growing economy.
            (2) Energy production and use have been major contributors 
        to environmental degradation, including global warming.
            (3) Practical fusion energy remains one of the very few 
        true alternatives to fossil fuels that might provide a 
        substantial percentage of United States and world energy 
        requirements while at the same time having a minimal impact on 
        the environment.
            (4) The United States and six other international partners 
        that together represent over half of the Earth's population are 
        making a major commitment to fusion energy research through 
        their joint participation in the ITER project and other fusion 
        research activities.
            (5) Although the ITER project is an essential step on the 
        path to practical fusion energy, it will not address key 
        questions of fusion engineering science required to design and 
        build a successful magnetic fusion energy demonstration 
        facility.
            (6) In addition, although the National Ignition Facility 
        will demonstrate ignition, and other inertial confinement 
        fusion facilities in the United States and elsewhere are 
        demonstrating fundamental scientific principles underlying 
        inertial fusion energy, experiments at those facilities have 
        not addressed key questions of fusion engineering science 
        required to design and build successful inertial fusion energy 
        demonstration facilities.
            (7) Numerous assessments of fusion energy science research 
        needs, including a recent assessment by the Fusion Energy 
        Sciences Advisory Committee, have emphasized that substantial 
        progress in fusion engineering science is essential to 
        advancing the understanding of plasma behaviors and for the 
        ultimate attainment of practical fusion energy.
            (8) Research in fusion engineering science brings with it 
        understanding useful to many other areas of basic science, 
        engineering, and technology.
            (9) Progress in both physics and fusion engineering science 
        are essential for the realization of practical fusion energy.
            (10) The United States' fusion engineering science 
        capabilities have fallen well behind those of certain other 
        nations.
            (11) An up-to-date plan integrating physics and fusion 
        engineering science research and development is necessary to 
        achieve practical fusion energy and to maintain United States 
        competitiveness in fusion energy development.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    For the purposes of this Act, the term ``fusion engineering 
science'' means areas of materials science and enabling technology that 
focus on--
            (1) creating, confining, and controlling fusion energy 
        plasmas; and
            (2) understanding, controlling, enabling, and exploiting 
        the nuclear and physical phenomena associated with the 
        interaction of the fusion plasma and its own reaction products 
        with the surrounding material and with the physical and energy 
        production systems of a fusion energy device.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM.

    Consistent with strengthening fusion engineering science research 
activities, including the United States commitment to ITER pursuant to 
the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Secretary of Energy shall enhance 
the United States capability in fusion engineering science in order to 
ensure full United States benefit from the ITER project and to ensure 
that the United States is a leader in fusion engineering science and in 
the next steps toward development of a fusion energy facility.

SEC. 5. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

    Within one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Energy, in response to recent study and planning 
activities undertaken by the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 
and the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, shall develop and provide to 
Congress a comprehensive plan identifying the full range of research 
and development, including in fusion engineering science, and the 
facilities needed to achieve practical fusion energy.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    For the purpose of carrying out section 4 of this Act, there are 
authorized to be appropriated the following sums:
            (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.
            (2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
            (3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.
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