[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3523 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3523

 To direct the Secretary of Energy to provide for the establishment of 
  accreditation standards relating to biofuel engineering, to provide 
support for undergraduate and graduate degree programs that create the 
  engineering skills necessary to support biofuel production, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2009

Mr. Teague (for himself and Mr. Bilbray) introduced the following bill; 
     which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Energy to provide for the establishment of 
  accreditation standards relating to biofuel engineering, to provide 
support for undergraduate and graduate degree programs that create the 
  engineering skills necessary to support biofuel production, 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 ``Biofuel Engineering Training Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``biofuel engineering'' means the discipline 
        concerned with utilization of harvested living plant material 
        to produce fuels; and
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy.

SEC. 3. STUDY AND DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.

    The Secretary shall make a grant to an appropriate standard-setting 
or other entity to conduct a study of, and develop appropriate 
standards for, accreditation of undergraduate and graduate biofuel 
engineering programs at institutions of higher education, and to study 
and the needs of the biofuel industry for engineering support. Such 
study shall include--
            (1) a determination of subspecialty requirements for 
        engineers who will concentrate on creating other products in 
        addition to fuel, including animal feed and other consumer 
        products;
            (2) consideration of the interaction of biological 
        feedstock with the structural material in the production and 
        distribution systems, the carbon footprint of the production 
        and distribution of biofuels, and related genetic challenges; 
        and
            (3) supplemental courses of study that could be used by 
        experienced engineers for transition into the new biofuel 
        engineering discipline.

SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR BIOFUELS RESEARCH AND TRAINING.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish, through the 
Office of Science, Centers of Excellence for Biofuels Research and 
Training at institutions of higher education or consortia of such 
institutions across the country.
    (b) Selection.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants for the 
        establishment of Centers of Excellence to eligible institutions 
        through a competitive application process.
            (2) Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish selection 
        criteria for awarding grants under paragraph (1). These 
        criteria shall require participating institutions to--
                    (A) effectively integrate biofuels research, 
                training, and instruction;
                    (B) bring together the study and practice of a 
                broad range of disciplines with relevance to biofuel 
                engineering;
                    (C) work with companies that are in the process of 
                commercializing biofuels technology; and
                    (D) work with local communities to assist with 
                economic development and job creation in the biofuels 
                sector.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary for carrying out this section $10,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

SEC. 5. BIOFUEL ENGINEERING GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Definition of Eligible Student.--In this section, the term 
``eligible student'' means a student who attends an institution of 
higher education that offers a doctoral or masters degree in the 
biofuel engineering field.
    (b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a graduate 
fellowship program for eligible students pursuing a doctoral degree in 
the biofuel engineering field.
    (c) Selection.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award fellowships to 
        eligible students under this section through a competitive 
        merit review process, involving written and oral interviews.
            (2) Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish selection 
        criteria for awarding fellowships under this section that 
        require an eligible student--
                    (A) to pursue a field of science or engineering of 
                importance to a mission area of the Department;
                    (B) to demonstrate to the Secretary--
                            (i) the capacity of the eligible student to 
                        understand technical topics relating to the 
                        fellowship that can be derived from the first 
                        principles of the technical topics;
                            (ii) imagination and creativity;
                            (iii) leadership skills in organizations or 
                        intellectual endeavors, demonstrated through 
                        awards and past experience;
                            (iv) excellent verbal and communication 
                        skills to explain, defend, and demonstrate an 
                        understanding of technical subjects relating to 
                        the fellowship; and
                            (v) an understanding of how the many 
                        disciplines relevant to biofuel engineering 
                        interact in the biofuel engineering field; and
                    (C) to be a citizen or legal permanent resident of 
                the United States.
    (d) Awards.--
            (1) Amount.--A fellowship awarded under this section 
        shall--
                    (A) provide an annual living stipend; and
                    (B) cover--
                            (i) graduate tuition at an institution of 
                        higher education described in subsection (a); 
                        and
                            (ii) incidental expenses associated with 
                        curricula and research at the institution of 
                        higher education (including books, computers, 
                        and software).
            (2) Duration.--A fellowship awarded under this section 
        shall be for up to 3 years of study within a 5-year period.
            (3) Portability.--A fellowship awarded under this section 
        shall be portable with the eligible student.
    (e) Administration.--The Secretary--
            (1) shall administer the program established under this 
        section through the Office of Science; and
            (2) may enter into a contract with a nonprofit entity to 
        administer the program, including the selection and award of 
        fellowships.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $3,500,000 for 
each fiscal year.

SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL FACILITIES.

    Agencies of the Federal Government, including national 
laboratories, shall make research facilities available to accredited 
biofuel engineering programs for faculty and students to enhance 
education and training opportunities.
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