[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2194 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2194

To promote the use of clean cookstoves and fuels to save lives, improve 
 livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating a 
   thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking 
                               solutions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 22, 2015

Ms. Collins (for herself and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote the use of clean cookstoves and fuels to save lives, improve 
 livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating a 
   thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking 
                               solutions.

    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 ``Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Support 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Nearly one-half of the world's population cooks their 
        food over open fires or inefficient, polluting, and unsafe 
        cookstoves using wood, agricultural waste, dung, coal, or other 
        solid fuels. Smoke from the use of these traditional cookstoves 
        and open fires is associated with a number of chronic and acute 
        diseases and injuries, including respiratory illnesses such as 
        pneumonia, heart disease, and cancer, with women and young 
        children affected disproportionately.
            (2) The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (referred to in 
        this paragraph as the ``Study'') doubled the mortality 
        estimates for exposure to smoke from cookstoves, referred to as 
        ``household air pollution'', from 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 deaths 
        annually, which the Study indicates is more than the deaths 
        from malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined. The Study 
        attributes 3,500,000 deaths to cookstoves smoke exposures 
        indoors and 500,000 deaths to the contribution of cookstoves to 
        outdoor air pollution. Millions more are sickened from the 
        toxic smoke and thousands suffer burns annually from open fires 
        or unsafe cookstoves and fuels. More recently, the World Health 
        Organization found that this type of household air pollution 
        claimed 4,300,000 lives in 2012. The Study ranks household air 
        pollution as the fourth worst overall health risk factor in the 
        world and as the second worst health risk factor in the world 
        for women and girls. Cookstove smoke exposures are particularly 
        prominent in developing regions of Asia and Africa.
            (3) The amount of biomass cooking fuel required each year 
        can reach up to 2 tons per family. Where demand for local 
        biomass outstrips the natural regrowth of resources, local 
        environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity often 
        result.
            (4) Tremendous amounts of time, a burden shouldered 
        disproportionately by women and children, is spent collecting 
        and managing cooking fuel resources. As nearby fuel supplies 
        dwindle, women are forced to go farther to find fuel to cook 
        their families' meals. In some areas, such as conflict zones or 
        refugee camps, women and girls risk rape and gender-based 
        violence during the up to 20 hours per week they spend away 
        from their communities gathering firewood.
            (5) Recent studies show that black carbon created from 
        traditional cookstoves significantly contributes to regional 
        air pollution and climate change. Black carbon emissions from 
        residential cookstoves in developing countries account for an 
        estimated 21 percent of the total global inventory, and 
        mitigation in this sector represents a large potential public 
        health and environmental benefit.
            (6) The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is an 
        innovative public-private partnership hosted by the United 
        Nations Foundation that was created to enable the adoption of 
        clean and efficient stoves in 100,000,000 homes by 2020. The 
        Alliance works with public, private, and non-profit partners to 
        overcome market barriers that currently impede the production, 
        deployment, and use of clean cookstoves and fuels in the 
        developing world.
            (7) The United States Government has invested more than 
        $114,000,000 to the sector, including approximately $76,000,000 
        in research, $31,000,000 in field implementation activities, 
        and $7,000,000 in financing, through the first 5 years of the 
        Alliance to help spur the adoption of clean cookstoves and 
        fuels in 100,000,000 households by 2020. For the second 5 years 
        of the Alliance, beginning with fiscal year 2016, the United 
        States Government anticipates support of up to $175,000,000 to 
        the sector as follows:
                    (A) $125,000,000 from the United States Agency for 
                International Development.
                    (B) $30,000,000 from the Department of Health and 
                Human Services through the National Institutes of 
                Health.
                    (C) $5,000,000 from the Department of Health and 
                Human Services through the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention.
                    (D) $15,000,000 from the Environmental Protection 
                Agency.
                    (E) The Overseas Private Investment Corporation has 
                renewed its commitment of up to $50,000,000 in debt 
                financing or insurance that meet their credit and 
                lending standards to support projects that provide 
                clean, consistent, and affordable access to energy and 
                energy savings through the manufacture, sale, and 
                purchase of cookstoves.
            (8) This commitment targets a wide range of work, including 
        expanded research on cookstoves performance, marketing, and 
        adoption; expanded research on the health, climate and air 
        quality benefits of clean cookstoves; and expanded field 
        efforts in Kenya, Haiti, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.
            (9) Additional Federal support may be provided to the clean 
        cooking sector, including by the Department of Energy, the 
        Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Peace 
        Corps.
            (10) The Millennium Challenge Corporation, in 2010, prior 
        to the launch of the Alliance, committed the largest stoves-
        related investment to date in Mongolia. The $45,300,000 
        commitment focused on economic growth from energy efficiency 
        and improved air quality.

SEC. 3. ADVANCEMENT OF GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR CLEAN COOKSTOVES GOAL.

    The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation, the President of the Overseas Private 
Investment Corporation, and the heads of other relevant Federal 
agencies, and in coordination with relevant international 
nongovernmental organizations and private and governmental entities, 
shall work to advance the goals and work of the Global Alliance for 
Clean Cookstoves, including through--
            (1) applied research and development to improve design, 
        lower costs, promote technology adoption, conduct health 
        research and evaluation, and develop global industry standards 
        and testing protocols for cookstoves and fuels in order to help 
        ensure minimum standards for efficiency and cleanliness are 
        met;
            (2) diplomatic engagement to encourage a commercial market 
        for clean cookstoves and fuels, reduce trade barriers, promote 
        consumer awareness, improve access to large-scale carbon 
        financing, and foster women-owned businesses along the entire 
        business value chain;
            (3) international development projects to help build 
        commercial businesses to manufacture, market, distribute, sell, 
        and service clean cookstoves and fuels;
            (4) development efforts related to refugee camps, disaster 
        relief, and long-term humanitarian and empowerment programs 
        aimed at assisting women and girls; and
            (5) financing or insurance to support projects that provide 
        access to clean, affordable energy and energy savings through 
        the manufacture, sale, and purchase of clean cookstoves and 
        fuels.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Department of State and United States Agency for International 
Development.--From funds available to the Department of State and the 
United States Agency for International Development, there are 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 
years 2016 through 2020 to work with the Global Alliance for Clean 
Cookstoves and foreign governments, including--
            (1) to engage in a wide range of diplomatic activities, 
        including with countries across the globe and with United 
        States embassies abroad, to support Alliance activities and the 
        clean cookstoves and fuels sector, and to continue the clean 
        cooking initiative under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to 
        reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants;
            (2) to advance programs that support the adoption of 
        affordable cookstoves that require less fuel to meet household 
        energy needs and release fewer pollutants, as a means to 
        improve health, reduce environmental degradation, mitigate 
        climate change, foster economic growth, and empower women; and
            (3) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (b) Department of Energy.--From funds available to the Department 
of Energy, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Energy such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 
to work with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, including--
            (1) to conduct research to spur development of low-cost, 
        low-emission, high-efficiency cookstoves through research in 
        areas such as combustion, heat transfer, and materials 
        development;
            (2) to conduct research to spur development of low-
        emission, high-efficiency biomass fuels;
            (3) to support innovative small businesses in the United 
        States that are developing advanced cookstoves and improved 
        cookstove assessment devices; and
            (4) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (c) National Institutes of Health.--From funds available to the 
National Institutes of Health, there are authorized to be appropriated 
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for the National 
Institutes of Health to work with the Global Alliance for Clean 
Cookstoves, including--
            (1) to support health research and training to improve the 
        health and lives of those at risk from household burning of 
        solid fuels, including--
                    (A) dedicated resources for research on household 
                air pollution to ensure adoption of life-saving 
                interventions and policy formulation; and
                    (B) regional network research and training hubs in 
                global environmental health and occupational health 
                with a household air pollution focus; and
            (2) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (d) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.--From funds 
available to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 
2020 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with 
the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, including--
            (1) to evaluate cookstove and fuel programs to better 
        understand their public health benefits and key determinants of 
        adoption;
            (2) to promote a better understanding of the relationship 
        between human exposures and health outcomes from the use of 
        traditional cookstoves and open fires; and
            (3) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (e) Environmental Protection Agency.--From funds available to the 
Environmental Protection Agency, there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 
for the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the Global 
Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, including--
            (1) to conduct cookstove and fuel testing and evaluation in 
        the lab and field, including evaluation of fuel efficiency and 
        air pollutant emissions that affect human health and the 
        environment, and to develop international standards regarding 
        fuel use, emissions, and safety of cookstoves and fuels;
            (2) to conduct climate, health, and air quality research, 
        including with United States institutions of higher education, 
        on the air quality and climatic benefits of interventions for 
        cookstoves and residential burning, and to continue the 
        cookstoves initiative under the Climate and Clean Air Coalition 
        to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants; and
            (3) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (f) National Science Foundation.--From funds available to the 
National Science Foundation, there are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Director of the National Science Foundation such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for the National Science 
Foundation to work with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, 
including--
            (1) to support research related to the climate, air 
        quality, and health benefits of the adoption of clean 
        cookstoves and fuels; and
            (2) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (g) Department of Agriculture.--From funds available to the 
Department of Agriculture, there are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary of Agriculture such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 
years 2016 through 2020 for the Department of Agriculture to work with 
the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, including--
            (1) to provide technical expertise on policy questions 
        facing the cookstoves sector and to help align the Alliance 
        with ongoing international efforts that promote the sustainable 
        production and use of clean burning biomass cooking fuels, to 
        optimize natural resource conservation and agricultural 
        productivity; and
            (2) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (h) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.--From funds 
available to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(referred to in this subsection as ``NOAA''), there are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Administrator of NOAA such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for NOAA to work with the 
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, including--
            (1) to partner with scientists in other countries to 
        monitor global black carbon emissions and assess climate 
        impacts and benefits of switching to clean cookstoves; and
            (2) to carry out other activities under this Act.
    (i) Peace Corps.--From funds available to the Peace Corps, there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the Peace Corps 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for 
the Peace Corps to work with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, 
including--
            (1) to train community members to select, construct, and 
        maintain clean cookstoves and fuels, provide ongoing support to 
        sustain their use, and help families, schools, and others 
        access grants to lower the cost; and
            (2) to carry out other activities under this Act.
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