[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5198-S5199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN:
  S. 873. A bill to authorize funding for catalysis science and 
engineering research and development at the Department of Energy for 
fiscal years 2004 through 2009; and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill 
entitled the Department of Energy Catalysis Research and Development 
Act.
  Catalysis is at the heart of fuels production in the petroleum and 
chemical industries. Catalytic converters help reduce emissions of 
cars. Catalysis can help reduce carbon dioxide from industrial plants, 
which can contribute to global warming. The science of catalysis can 
help our pharmaceutical industry by one day mimicking nature's enzymes 
which are nature's catalysts. The industries I just mentioned 
contribute $500 billion to our gross national product; they all rely on 
catalysis to produce new compounds as efficiently as possible.
  The catalysis science program is one of the hidden gems at the 
Department of Energy's Office of Science. The Department supports over 
60 percent of the catalysis research in the Federal Government. I feel 
it is important that our energy bill highlights its basic research, and 
recommends a steady increase in funding levels for it.
  The bill seeks to help the Department meet what it called the ''grand 
challenge'' in catalytic chemistry. The ``grand challenge'' which this 
bill seeks to address is first, the ability to design, at the atom 
level, catalytic structures to control ``catalytic activity'', or the 
rate at which a chemical reaction proceeds. The second part of this 
``grand challenge'' is to control the ``selectivity'' of a catalytic 
reaction, or the ability of a catalytic compound to precisely seek out 
other chemicals through which to start a reaction. To achieve this 
`'grand challenge'', this bill directs the Department to design new 
catalytic compounds using the latest advancements in scientific 
computing. Today's computers are rapidly approaching a point where we 
can model a chemical reaction by simulating its atom level 
constituents. This bill directs the Department to utilize its state-of-
the-art diagnostic equipment at its national laboratories and 
universities to analyze catalytic reactions in real time, and at the 
atomic level. These diagnostics will be used to validate computational 
models being developed in the advanced scientific computing program. 
This bill directs the Department to use the emerging field of 
nanoscience to tailor new catalytic compounds atom by atom, so as to 
accelerate reactions to produce clean fuels at rates that far exceed 
what we know today. In that regard, I expect the Department to utilize 
its nanoscience facilities to help design these new compounds. If we 
are successful in meeting this grand challenge, we will bring fuels to 
market quicker to meet increasing energy demands, while using less 
overall energy to produce them.
  Finally, the bill directs the Secretary fund these efforts in 
multidisciplinary teams including computer scientists, chemists, 
biochemists, materials scientists and physicists. It requires the 
Department to transfer its catalysis research to industry so that they 
can bring to market the full fruits of our Government's advanced energy 
research in the shortest time possible.
  We are currently debating an energy bill in the Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee. We plan to shortly mark up the research and 
development section, and, I think it is vitally important that this 
section address the topic of catalysis to produce future fuels for our 
Nation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 873

       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 ``Department of Energy 
     Catalysis Research and Development Act''.

[[Page S5199]]

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds that catalysis science is critical to 
     the production of fuels for energy generation, the reduction 
     of toxic waste streams, and the development of compounds to 
     reduce global warming.

     SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy, through the 
     Director of the Office of Science of the Department of 
     Energy, shall establish a program of research and development 
     in catalysis science consistent with the Secretary's 
     statutory authorities related to research and development.
       (b) Scope of the Program.--The program shall include 
     efforts to--
       (1) enable catalyst design using--
       (i) combined experimental and mechanistic methodologies, 
     and
       (ii) computational modeling of catalytic reactions at the 
     molecular level;
       (2) develop techniques for--
       (i) high throughout synthesis of catalysts and novel assays 
     for rapid throughout catalyst testing of small quantities of 
     catalysts on diverse processes,
       (ii) reducing the analytical cycle time by parallel 
     operation and automation,
       (iii) characterizing catalysts at the 0.1 to 2 nanometer 
     scale, and
       (iv) characterizing catalysts in-situ under actual 
     operating conditions at high temperature and pressure,
       (3) synthesize catalysts with specific site architecture,
       (4) conduct research in the use of precious metals for 
     catalysis (excluding platinum, palladium, and rhodium),
       (5) translate molecular (picoscale) and nanoscale 
     fundamentals to the design of catalytic compounds.
       (c) Duties of the Director of the Office of Science.--In 
     carrying out the program under this Act, the Director of the 
     Office of Science shall--
       (1) support both individual investigators and 
     multidisciplinary teams of investigators that include teams 
     drawing upon the expertise of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and 
     biocatalytic investigators to pioneer new approaches in 
     catalytic design;
       (2) develop, plan, construct, acquire, share, or operate 
     special equipment or facilities for the use of investigators 
     conducting research and development in catalysis science in 
     collaboration with national user facilities such as 
     nanoscience and engineering centers;
       (3) support technology transfer activities to benefit 
     industry and other users of catalysis science and 
     engineering; and
       (4) coordinate research and development activities with 
     industry and other federal agencies.
       (d) Merit Review Required.-- All grants, contracts, 
     cooperative agreements, or other financial assistance awards 
     under this Act shall be made only after independent merit 
     review.
       (e) Triennal Assessment.--The National Academy of Sciences 
     shall review the catalysis program every three years to 
     report on gains made in the fundamental science of catalysis 
     and its progress made towards developing new fuels for energy 
     production, material fabrication processes and methods to 
     reduce global warming.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       The following sums are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Secretary of Energy, to remain available until expended, for 
     the purposes of carrying out this Act:
       (1) $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
       (2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
       (3) $36,500,000 for fiscal year 2006.
       (4) $38,200,000 for fiscal year 2007.
       (5) $40,100,000 for fiscal year 2008.
       (6) $42,100,000 for fiscal year 2009.
                                 ______