[Senate Report 116-195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                 Calendar No. 361

116th Congress}                                          { Report
                                 SENATE
2d   Session  }                                          { 116-195

======================================================================
 
                   ARPA-E REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019

                                _______
                                

                January 7, 2020.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2714]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2714) to amend the America COMPETES Act 
to reauthorize the ARPA-E program, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                               Amendments

    The amendments are as follows:
    On page 2, between lines 18 and 19, insert the following:

    (c) Awards.--Section 5012(f) of the America COMPETES Act 
(42 U.S.C. 16538(f)) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``In carrying'' and inserting the 
        following:
          ``(1) In general.--In carrying''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
          ``(2) Consideration of prior grants.--In awarding a 
        grant under paragraph (1), the Director shall take into 
        account the success or failure of any project carried 
        out by the entity applying for the grant using any 
        prior grant funds awarded to that entity by the 
        Director.''.
    On page 2, line 19, strike ``(c)'' and insert ``(d)''.
    On page 3, line 19, strike ``(d)'' and insert ``(e)''.
    On page 4, line 14, strike ``(e)'' and insert ``(f)''.
    On page 5, line 4, strike ``(f)'' and insert ``(g)''.
    On page 5, line 18, strike ``(g)'' and insert ``(h)''.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 2714 is to amend the America COMPETES Act 
(COMPETES Act, Public Law 110-69) to reauthorize the Advanced 
Research Projects Agency--Energy (ARPA-E) program.

                          Background and Need

    ARPA-E is an agency within the Department of Energy (DOE) 
that is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects 
Agency. ARPA-E was first authorized in the America COMPETES Act 
of 2007 (Public Law 110-69), although it was not funded until 
2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
(Public Law 111-5). Significant modifications to the 
programmatic structure were also made in the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 110-358).
    ARPA-E funds high-risk, high-reward early stage research 
and development (R&D) in energy technologies. It has unique 
hiring and other transactional-related authorities to allow the 
agency to move quickly, hire skilled employees, halt funding 
for projects that are not meeting milestones, and limit long-
term staff employment.
    Over the last decade ARPA-E has provided $2 billion in R&D 
funding to over 800 projects in various energy-related fields. 
To date, those projects have attracted $2.9 billion in private-
sector follow-on investment; led to the formation of 76 spin-
off companies; and resulted in the issuance of 346 patents. In 
2017, the National Academies of Science conducted a 
comprehensive assessment of ARPA-E and found that the agency 
focused its efforts on the most transformative technology 
opportunities and avoided duplicating research being conducted 
by other DOE offices.
    While ARPA-E's $312 million funding authorization expired 
in fiscal year (FY) 2013, current funding for FY 2020 is 
estimated at $428 million. S. 2714, the ARPA-E Reauthorization 
Act, updates the appropriations authorization to reach $750 
million in FY 2024, and makes several structural amendments to 
the agency's organizing statute.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2714 was introduced on October 28, 2019, by Senators Van 
Hollen and Alexander. The Energy Subcommittee held a hearing on 
S. 2714 on November 6, 2019. Senators Gardner and Heinrich were 
later added as cosponsors.
    Representative Bernice Johnson introduced similar 
legislation, H.R. 4091, in the House of Representatives on July 
30, 2019, which was referred to the Committee on Space, 
Science, and Technology. The House Space, Science, and 
Technology Committee favorably reported H.R. 4091 on October 
17, 2019.
    In the 115th Congress, Representative Bernice Johnson 
introduced similar legislation, H.R. 3681, in the House of 
Representatives on September 6, 2017, which was referred to the 
Committee on Space, Science, and Technology.
    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in 
open business session on November 19, 2019, and ordered S. 2714 
favorably reported, as amended.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on November 19, 2019, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
2714, if amended as described herein. Senator Lee asked to be 
recorded as voting no.

                          Committee Amendments

    During its consideration of S. 2714, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to insert a new subsection (c) in section 2 of the 
bill, to require the ARPA-E Director to take into account the 
prior success or failure of ARPA-E projects carried out by an 
entity currently seeking project funding from the agency. The 
Committee also adopted conforming amendments to redesignate 
subsections (c) through (g) of the bill as subsection (d) 
through (h).

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill.

Section 2. ARPA-E amendments

    Section 2(a) amends section 5012(c) of the COMPETES Act 
relating to the goals of ARPA-E to add energy technologies that 
improve the resilience, reliability, and security of 
infrastructure to produce, deliver and store energy. It 
replaces the word ``energy'' with ``advanced'' in subsection 
(c)(2) of the COMPETES Act such that ARPA-E shall achieve its 
goals through ``advanced technology projects''' rather than 
``energy technology projects.''
    Subsection (b) strikes the word ``energy'' from section 
5012 (e)(3)(A) of the COMPETES Act.
    Subsection (c) amends section 5102(f) of the COMPETES Act 
to require the Director to take into account the prior success 
or failure of ARPA-E projects carried out by an entity 
currently seeking funding for a project.
    Subsection (d) expands ARPA-E's annual reporting 
requirement in section 5012(h) of the COMPETES Act to include 
an identification of (1) projects that examine topics and 
technologies closely relating to other activities funded by the 
Department, and (2) current, proposed, and planned projects. 
This subsection also requires an update to the strategic vision 
roadmap by October 1, 2021, and every four years thereafter.
    Subsection (e) amends section 5012(i) of the COMPETES Act 
regarding coordination and duplication. It adds a requirement 
that an award may not be provided for a project unless the 
prospective award recipient demonstrates that they have made a 
sufficient attempt to secure private financing or that the 
project is not independently commercially viable.
    Subsection (f) amends section 5012(l) of the COMPETES Act 
regarding a third party evaluation of ARPA-E to direct the 
Secretary of Energy to commission an updated evaluation three 
years after enactment.
    Subsection (g) amends section 5012(o)(2) of the COMPETES 
Act to authorize funding for ARPA-E from FY 2020 through 2024, 
rising from $428 million in FY 2020 to $750 million in FY 2024.
    Subsection (h) makes technical changes to section 5012 of 
the COMPETES Act.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:




    S. 2714 would reauthorize activities of the Advanced 
Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an agency tasked with 
researching and developing transformative energy technologies, 
through fiscal year 2024. The bill also would amend ARPA-E's 
requirements for submitting annual reports and strategic vision 
roadmaps to the Congress.
    S. 2714 would authorize appropriations totaling $2.9 
billion over the 2020-2024 period. In 2019, the Congress 
appropriated $366 million for ARPA-E. Because CBO scores 
continuing resolutions on an annualized basis, in 2020 CBO 
assumes that the same amount of funds will be available under 
the current continuing resolution (Public Law 116-69). As a 
result, CBO estimates that S. 2714 would authorize an increase 
in spending subject to appropriation in 2020 of $62 million, 
the difference between the authorized amount and the annualized 
amount under the continuing resolution. Based on historical 
spending patterns, and assuming appropriation of the authorized 
and necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2714 
would cost $690 million over the 2020-2024 period and $1.8 
billion after 2024.
    The costs of the legislation (detailed in Table 1) would 
fall within budget function 270 (energy).

                                    TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 2714
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2020   2021   2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029  2020-2024  2020-2029
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorizationa....................................     62    497    567    651    750      0      0      0      0      0     2,527      2,527
Estimated Outlays...........................................      2     21     79    197    391    536    550    463    230     41       690      2,510
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
aS. 2714 would authorize the appropriation of $428 million in 2020 for ARPA-E activities. However, CBO estimates that $366 million has been allocated on
  an annualized basis from funds made available under the current continuing resolution (Public Law 116-69), which provided appropriations through
  December 20, 2019. Thus, the estimated authorization for 2020 ($62 million) is equal to the specified amount ($428 million) minus the annualized
  amount from the continuing resolution ($366 million).

    On November 5, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 4091, the ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2019, as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology on October 17, 2019. S. 2714 is similar to H.R. 
4091, and CBO's estimates of the budgetary effects of those 
bills are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aaron Krupkin. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 2714. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 2714, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 2714, as ordered reported, does not contain any 
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, 
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate.

                        Executive Communications

    The testimony provided by the Department of Energy at the 
November 6, 2019, hearing on S. 2417 follows:

   Testimony of Assistant Secretary Daniel Simmons, Office of Energy 
       Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy


                              introduction


    Chairman Cassidy, Ranking Member Heinrich, and Members of 
the Energy Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on 
legislation pertinent to the Department of Energy now pending 
in the Senate. My name is Daniel Simmons, and I am the 
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy (EERE).
    As the Assistant Secretary, I am responsible for overseeing 
a broad portfolio of energy efficiency and renewable energy 
programs. The technologies in my portfolio advance America's 
economic growth and energy security while enhancing the 
reliability and resilience of the U.S. energy system. The 
Department of Energy supports improving the energy efficiency 
and reducing energy costs, while at the same time ensuring 
important performance standards are met or exceeded. For 
instance, we want to ensure schools and other buildings are 
sufficiently bright to ensure safety, and that water flow from 
faucets is strong enough to clean dirty hands. Today, I would 
like to share what relevant work my office has done and is 
doing in the areas that these bills address.
    I have been asked to testify on eleven (11) bills today, 
addressing a range of important energy issues. The 
Administration continues to review all of these bills. I 
appreciate the ongoing bipartisan efforts to address our 
Nation's energy challenges and I look forward to working with 
the Committee.


                                 bills


S. 2714--ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2019
    S. 2714, the ARPA E Reauthorization Act of 2019, would 
authorize a significant increase in the Department of Energy's 
Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy's funding, from $428 
million in Fiscal Year 2020 to $750 million in Fiscal Year 
2024. The bill also adds an annual reporting requirement for 
ARPA-E's scale-up and demonstration activities and would 
broaden the authorized scope of ARPA-E to support not only 
projects that improve the resilience, reliability, and security 
of America's energy infrastructure but also those that improve 
the management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and 
spent nuclear fuel.
    The Department will continue to review the legislation and 
looks forward to working with Congress as the legislative 
process moves forward.


                               conclusion


    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify before the 
Subcommittee today. The Department appreciates the ongoing 
bipartisan efforts to address our Nation's energy challenges, 
and looks forward to working with the Committee on the 
legislation on today's agenda and any future legislation. I 
would be happy to answer your questions.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the changes in existing law made 
by S. 2714, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                          AMERICA COMPETES ACT


Public Law 110-69, as Amended

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 5012. ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY--ENERGY.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    (c) Goals.--
          (1) In general.--The goals of ARPA-E shall be--
                  [(A) to enhance the economic and energy 
                security of the United States through the 
                development of energy technologies that result 
                in--
                          (i) reductions of imports of energy 
                        from foreign sources;
                          (ii) reductions of energy-related 
                        emissions, including greenhouse gases; 
                        and
                          (iii) improvement in the energy 
                        efficiency of all economic sectors; 
                        and]
                  (A) to enhance the economic and energy 
                security of the United States through the 
                development of energy technologies that--
                          (i) reduce imports of energy from 
                        foreign sources;
                          (ii) reduce energy-related emissions, 
                        including greenhouse gases;
                          (iii) improve the energy efficiency 
                        of all economic sectors; and
                          (iv) improve the resilience, 
                        reliability, and security of 
                        infrastructure to produce, deliver, and 
                        store energy; and
                  (B) to ensure that the United States 
                maintains a technological lead in developing 
                and deploying advanced energy technologies.
          (2) Means.--ARPA-E shall achieve the goals 
        established under paragraph (1) through [energy] 
        advanced technology projects by--
                  (A) identifying and promoting revolutionary 
                advances in fundamental and applied sciences;
                  (B) translating scientific discoveries and 
                cutting-edge inventions into technological 
                innovations; and
                  (C) accelerating transformational 
                technological advances in areas that industry 
                by itself is not likely to undertake because of 
                technical and financial uncertainty.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (e) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the Director 
shall include--
          (1) approving all new programs within ARPA-E;
          (2) developing funding criteria and assessing the 
        success of programs through the establishment of 
        technical milestones;
          (3) administering the Fund through awards to 
        institutions of higher education, companies, research 
        foundations, trade and industry research 
        collaborations, or consortia of such entities, which 
        may include federally-funded research and development 
        centers, to achieve the goals described in subsection 
        (c) through targeted acceleration of--
                  (A) novel early-stage [energy] research with 
                possible technology applications;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (f) Awards.--
          [In carrying] (1) In general.--In carrying out this 
        section, the Director may provide awards in the form of 
        grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, cash prizes, 
        and other transactions.
          (2) Consideration of prior grants.--In awarding a 
        grant under paragraph (1), the Director shall take into 
        account the success or failure of any project carried 
        out by the entity applying for the grant using any 
        prior grant funds awarded to that entity by the 
        Director.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (g) Personnel.--

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) Hiring and management.--
                  (A) In general.--The Director shall have the 
                authority to--
                          (i) make appointments of scientific, 
                        engineering, and professional personnel 
                        without regard to the civil service 
                        laws;
                          (ii) fix the basic pay of such 
                        personnel at a rate to be determined by 
                        the Director at rates not in excess of 
                        Level II of the Executive Schedule (EX-
                        II) without regard to the civil service 
                        laws; and
                          (iii) pay any employee appointed 
                        under this [subpart] subparagraph 
                        payments in addition to basic pay, 
                        except that the total amount of 
                        additional payments paid to an employee 
                        under this subpart for any 12-month 
                        period shall not exceed the least of 
                        the following amounts:
                                  (I) $25,000.
                                  (II) The amount equal to 25 
                                percent of the annual rate of 
                                basic pay of the employee.
                                  (III) The amount of the 
                                limitation that is applicable 
                                for a calendar year under 
                                section 5307(a)(1) of title 5, 
                                United States Code.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (h) Reports and roadmaps.--
          (1) Annual report.--As part of the annual budget 
        request submitted for each fiscal year, the Director 
        shall provide to the relevant authorizing and 
        appropriations committees of Congress a report 
        [describing projects] describing--
                  (A) projects supported by ARPA-E during the 
                previous fiscal year[.], including projects 
                that examine topics and technologies closely 
                relating to other activities funded by the 
                Department;
                  (B) an analysis of whether the Director is in 
                compliance with subsection (i)(1)(A) in 
                supporting projects that examine the topics and 
                technologies described in subparagraph (A); and
                  (C) current, proposed, and planned projects 
                to be carried out pursuant to subsection 
                (e)(3)(D).
          (2) Strategic vision roadmap.--Not later than 
        [October 1, 2010, and October 1, 2013] October 1, 2021, 
        and every 4 years thereafter, the Director shall 
        provide to the relevant authorizing and appropriations 
        committees of Congress a roadmap describing the 
        strategic vision that ARPA-E will use to guide the 
        choices of ARPA-E for future technology investments 
        over the following [3] 4 fiscal years.
    (i) Coordination and Nonduplication.--
          (1) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, 
        the Director shall ensure [that the activities] that--
                  (A) the activities of ARPA-E are coordinated 
                with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, 
                programs and laboratories within the Department 
                and other relevant research agencies[.]; and;
                  (B) an award is not provided for a project 
                unless the prospective award recipient 
                demonstrates that--
                          (i) the prospective award recipient 
                        has made a sufficient attempt to secure 
                        private financing, as determined by the 
                        Director; or
                          (ii) the project is not independently 
                        commercially viable.
          (2) Technology transfer coordinator.--To the extent 
        appropriate, the Director may coordinate technology 
        transfer efforts with the Technology Transfer 
        Coordinator appointed under section 1001 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (l) ARPA-E Evaluation.--
          (1) In general.--[After ARPA-E has been in operation 
        for 6 years] Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of the ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2019, 
        the Secretary shall offer to enter into a contract with 
        the National Academy of Sciences under which the 
        National Academy shall conduct an evaluation of how 
        well ARPA-E is achieving the goals and mission of ARPA-
        E.
          (2) Inclusions.--The evaluation [shall] may include--
                  (A) [the recommendation of the National 
                Academy of Sciences] a recommendation on 
                whether ARPA-E should be continued or 
                terminated; and
                  (B) a description of lessons learned from 
                operation of ARPA-E, and the manner in which 
                those lessons may apply to the operation of 
                other programs of the Department.
          (3) Availability.--On completion of the evaluation, 
        the evaluation shall be made available to Congress and 
        the public.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (o) Funding.--
          (1) Fund.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States a fund, to be known as the ``Energy 
        Transformation Acceleration Fund'', which shall be 
        administered by the Director for the purposes of 
        carrying out this section.
          (2) Authorization of appropriations.--Subject to 
        [paragraphs (4) and (5)] paragraph (4), there are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Director for 
        deposit in the Fund, without fiscal year limitation--
                  [(A) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
                  [(B) such sums as are necessary for each of 
                fiscal years 2009 and 2010;
                  [(C) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
                  [(D) $306,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and
                  [(E) $312,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.]
                  (A) $428,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
                  (B) $497,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
                  (C) $567,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
                  (D) $651,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
                  (E) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.
          (3) Separate budget and appropriation.--
                  (A) Budget request.--The budget request for 
                ARPA-E shall be separate from the rest of the 
                budget of the Department.
                  (B) Appropriations.--Appropriations to the 
                Fund shall be separate and distinct from the 
                rest of the budget for the Department.
          (4) Allocation.--Of the amounts appropriated for a 
        fiscal year under paragraph (2)--
                  (A) not more than 50 percent of the amount 
                shall be used to carry out subsection 
                (e)(3)(D);
                  (B) at least 5 percent of the amount shall be 
                used for technology transfer and outreach 
                activities, consistent with the goal described 
                in subsection [(c)(2)(D)] (c)(2)(C) and within 
                the responsibilities of program directors 
                described in subsection (g)(2)(B)(vii); and
                  (C) no funds may be used for construction of 
                new buildings or facilities during the 5-year 
                period beginning on the date of enactment of 
                this Act.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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