[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3247 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3247

 To establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the 
             Department of Energy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2009

  Mr. Baird introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Science and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the 
             Department of 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. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a social and 
behavioral sciences research program to identify and understand social 
and behavioral factors that influence energy consumption and acceptance 
and adoption rates of new energy technologies, and to promote the 
utilization of the results of social and behavioral research to improve 
the design, development, demonstration, and application of energy 
technologies.
    (b) Director.--The Secretary shall appoint or designate a Director 
of Social and Behavioral Research to carry out the program established 
under this section.
    (c) Duties of the Director.--The Director shall--
            (1) develop a research plan in accordance with section 2;
            (2) implement the research program under this section;
            (3) work with the relevant Department of Energy program 
        offices to integrate the results of social and behavioral 
        research into their work;
            (4) develop tools, practices, and information to apply and 
        integrate the results of social and behavioral research into 
        programs that--
                    (A) design, develop, and demonstrate technologies 
                that supply energy and improve energy efficiency; and
                    (B) provide information on energy consumption to 
                consumers; and
            (5) assist the Secretary in awarding research grants under 
        section 3.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH PLAN.

    (a) In General.--The Director, in consultation with the Advisory 
Committee established under section 4, shall develop a research plan 
and, not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
transmit such plan to the Congress. Prior to finalizing the research 
plan, the Director shall publish a draft of the proposed research plan 
in the Federal Register with a public comment period of not less than 
30 days.
    (b) Contents of Research Plan.--The research plan shall--
            (1) set forth priorities and a schedule for carrying out 
        the research program under section 1 and the research grant 
        program under section 3;
            (2) address social and behavioral factors that influence--
                    (A) patterns of energy consumption by individuals, 
                households, and businesses; and
                    (B) decisions to implement energy conservation 
                measures,
        including the factors that influence decisions to adopt energy 
        efficient technologies and practices;
            (3) include a description of the mechanisms the Department 
        will use to integrate the findings of social and behavioral 
        research into other relevant Department programs; and
            (4) include responses to comments received during the 
        public comment period.
    (c) Review and Revision.--The Director shall review the research 
plan every 5 years and revise the plan as appropriate.

SEC. 3. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide grants to support 
social and behavioral research consistent with the research plan 
developed under section 2.
    (b) Awards.--Grant awards under this section may be for a period up 
to 3 years. The Secretary shall award grants through a competitive, 
merit-based, peer-reviewed process.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2010 through 2015.

SEC. 4. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an Advisory 
Committee composed of experts in relevant fields--
            (1) to advise the Secretary and the Director on priority 
        areas for research;
            (2) to assist the Director in the development of the 
        research plan under section 2; and
            (3) to provide other assistance and advice as requested by 
        the Secretary or the Director.
    (b) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--Section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory 
Committee established under subsection (a) until 3 years after the date 
the Advisory Committee is established.
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