[House Report 118-209]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                          { Report 
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   }                                          { 118-209

======================================================================
 
                  DOE AND NSF INTERAGENCY RESEARCH ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 21, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Lucas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2980]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 2980) to provide for Department of 
Energy and National Science Foundation research and development 
coordination, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     3
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     3
Legislative History..............................................     4
Section-by-Section...............................................     4
Related Committee Hearings.......................................     4
Committee Consideration..........................................     5
Roll Call Votes..................................................     5
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     7
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     7
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     7
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     7
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     7
Unfunded Mandate Statement.......................................     7
Earmark Identification...........................................     7
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     7
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     8
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     8

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``DOE and NSF Interagency Research 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH 
                    AND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATION.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy (in this section referred to 
as the ``Secretary'') and the Director of the National Science 
Foundation (in this section referred to as the ``Director'') shall 
carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development 
activities focused on the joint advancement of Department of Energy and 
National Science Foundation mission requirements and priorities.
  (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary and the Director 
shall coordinate the activities under subsection (a) through the 
establishment of a memorandum of understanding, or other appropriate 
interagency agreement. Such memorandum or agreement, as the case may 
be, shall require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process, 
which considers applications from Federal agencies, National 
Laboratories, institutions of higher education, non-profit 
institutions, and other appropriate entities.
  (c) Coordination.--In carrying out the activities under subsection 
(a), the Secretary and the Director may--
          (1) conduct collaborative research in a variety of focus 
        areas, such as--
                  (A) basic plasma science and engineering, including 
                applications in astrophysics, materials science, fusion 
                science, and accelerator science;
                  (B) fundamental biological and computational science 
                and engineering, including computational neuroscience 
                and neuromorphic computing, including in collaboration 
                with the program authorized under section 306 of the 
                Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (42 
                U.S.C. 18644);
                  (C) modeling and simulation, machine learning, 
                artificial intelligence, data assimilation, large-scale 
                data analytics, predictive analysis, and advanced 
                computational, storage, and networking capabilities in 
                order to optimize algorithms for purposes related to 
                energy and climate;
                  (D) quantum information sciences, including quantum 
                computing and quantum network infrastructure, including 
                in collaboration with the programs authorized under 
                sections 403 and 404 of the National Quantum Initiative 
                Act (15 U.S.C. 8853 and 8854);
                  (E) energy and materials science and engineering, 
                including artificial photosynthesis, plasma, solar 
                fuels, and fusion, including in collaboration with the 
                programs authorized under sections 303 and 307 of the 
                Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (42 
                U.S.C. 18641 and 18645), and section 973 of the Energy 
                Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16313);
                  (F) advanced manufacturing technologies, including 
                efficient storage systems and alternatives to high-
                temperature processing, for the purposes of optimizing 
                energy consumption, including in collaboration with the 
                program authorized under section 975 of the Department 
                of Energy Research and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 
                16315);
                  (G) microelectronics, including novel chip 
                architectures, memory systems, and interconnects; and
                  (H) advanced physics, including high energy and 
                particle physics, accelerator research and development, 
                and high performance computational tools, including in 
                collaboration with the programs authorized under 
                section 303 of the Department of Energy Research and 
                Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 18641);
          (2) promote collaboration, open community-based development, 
        and data and information sharing between Federal agencies, 
        National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, 
        nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate entities by 
        providing the necessary access and secure data and information 
        transfer capabilities;
          (3) support research infrastructure, including new facilities 
        and equipment, as the Secretary and Director determine 
        necessary; and
          (4) organize education, training, and research initiatives 
        relating to STEM education and workforce development, 
        including--
                  (A) internships, fellowships, and other research or 
                work-based learning opportunities;
                  (B) educational programming for students at all 
                levels, especially experiential and project-based 
                learning opportunities; and
                  (C) professional development opportunities for 
                educators and researchers.
  (d) Agreements.--In carrying out the activities under subsection (a), 
the Secretary and the Director are authorized to--
          (1) carry out reimbursable agreements between the Department 
        of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and other entities 
        in order to maximize the effectiveness of research and 
        development; and
          (2) collaborate with other Federal agencies, as appropriate.
  (e) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the enactment 
of this section, the Secretary and the Director shall submit to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
report detailing the following:
          (1) Interagency coordination between each Federal agency 
        involved in the research and development activities carried out 
        under this section.
          (2) Potential opportunities to expand the technical 
        capabilities of the Department of Energy and the National 
        Science Foundation.
          (3) Collaborative research achievements.
          (4) Areas of future mutually beneficial successes.
          (5) Continuation of coordination activities between the 
        Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
  (f) Research Security.--The activities authorized under this section 
shall be applied in a manner consistent with subtitle D of title VI of 
the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (enacted 
as division B of the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167; 42 U.S.C. 
19231 et seq.)).

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of this bill is to authorize the longstanding 
research partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy 
(DOE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). H.R. 2980 
directs DOE and NSF to carry out cross-cutting and 
collaborative research and development activities focused on 
the joint advancement of DOE and NSF mission requirements and 
priorities, through a memorandum of understanding or other 
appropriate interagency agreement. It also directs the 
Secretary and Director to submit a report to Congress on these 
activities.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The DOE's Office of Science is the nation's largest federal 
sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences, addressing 
mission-critical challenges through innovative science 
discovery and advanced technology development. The Office 
operates ten of DOE's world-leading national laboratories, 
manages 29 national scientific user facilities, and supports 
25,000 researchers from industry, universities, national 
laboratories, and other federal agencies.
    NSF makes up approximately 25% of all federally supported 
academic basic research in all fields of science and 
engineering, except the medical sciences. NSF supports 
scientists, engineers, and educators through over 11,000 awards 
to approximately 2,000 universities and colleges. Similarly, 
NSF funds facilities construction and equipment acquisition 
such as telescopes, through cooperative agreements with various 
agencies, individual organizations, and consortia.
    Both agencies share a common goal to advance U.S. 
leadership science and technology research and development. The 
DOE and NSF have established joint coordination activities, 
programs, and collaborations to maximize impacts by leveraging 
each other's investments in research. Working together on 
future challenges, these agencies can improve the fields of 
advanced physics, fusion science, biological and computational 
science and engineering, artificial intelligence, quantum 
information sciences, advanced manufacturing technologies, 
microelectronics, among many others.
    As international competition grows and new opportunities 
for government-wide coordination and collaboration emerge, 
there is a need to strengthen these types of interagency 
research partnerships and preserve them for the next 
generation. This legislation would codify the essential 
research partnership between DOE and NSF, allowing both 
agencies to extend their collaboration within a well-vetted 
framework of scientific and engineering fields, education and 
workforce development, and infrastructure maintenance.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On April 27, 2023, Rep. Haley Stevens and Rep. James Baird 
introduced H.R. 2980, the DOE and NSF Interagency Research Act. 
Additional cosponsors include Mr. Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
    On June 15, 2023, the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology met to consider H.R. 2980. Chairman Lucas moved that 
Committee favorably report the bill, H.R. 2980, as amended, to 
the House of Representatives, with the recommendation that the 
bill be approved. The motion was agreed to by a vote of 29-0.

                           SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1. Short title

    The short title of this legislation is ``DOE and NSF 
Interagency Research Act''.

Section 2. Department of Energy and National Science Foundation 
        Research and Development Coordination

    This section directs the Secretary of Energy and the 
Director of the National Science Foundation to carry out cross-
cutting and collaborative research and development activities 
focused on the joint advancement DOE and USDA mission 
requirements and priorities, through a memorandum of 
understanding or the appropriate interagency agreement. Directs 
the Secretary and Director to, in carrying out these 
activities, conduct collaborative research over a range of 
focus areas; provide access and secure data and information 
transfer capabilities to promote collaboration, open community-
based development and data and information sharing between 
Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher 
education, nonprofit institutions, and other entities; support 
research infrastructure; and organize education, training and 
research initiatives relating to STEM education and workforce 
development. Requires the Secretary and Director to submit to 
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate, a report detailing coordination 
activities carried out under this section, collaborative 
research achievements, and potential opportunities to expand 
technical capabilities, among other areas. Requires that the 
activities authorized under this section be applied in a manner 
consistent with the research security provisions under subtitle 
D of title VI of the Research and Development, Competition, and 
Innovation Act (enacted as division B of the CHIPS Act of 2022 
(Public Law 117-167; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.)).

                       RELATED COMMITTEE HEARINGS

    On March 8, 2023, Chairman Frank Lucas presiding, the House 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing 
titled, ``Innovation through Collaboration: The Department of 
Energy's Role in the U.S. Research Ecosystem'' to examine the 
role of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the federal 
research enterprise by exploring interagency research 
partnerships between DOE and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), among 
others.
    Witnesses:
           Dr. Harriet Kung, Deputy Director for 
        Science Programs in the Office of Science, the U.S. 
        Department of Energy
           Mr. James L. Reuter, Associate Administrator 
        for the Space Technology Mission Directorate, the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Administration
           Dr. Michael C. Morgan, Assistant Secretary 
        of Commerce for Environmental Observation and 
        Prediction, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration
           Dr. Sean L. Jones, Assistant Director for 
        the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 
        the National Science Foundation

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    On June 15, 2023, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 2980, as amended, by 
a recorded vote of 29 yeas to 0 nays, a quorum being present.
    Two amendments to H.R. 2980 were proposed by Rep. Bowman 
(D-NY). The first sought to include hardware and networking in 
research on optimizing algorithms; the second added language 
which is intended to further education, training, research, and 
professional development opportunities. Both amendments were 
agreed to via voice vote.

                            ROLL CALL VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and 
amendments thereto. The following reflects the record votes 
taken during the Committee consideration:


              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that H.R. 2980 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1).

          STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
                            OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of rule X, the Committee's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of 
this report.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause (3)(c)(4) of rule XIII, the goal of H.R. 
2980 is to authorize the longstanding research partnership 
between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National 
Science Foundation (NSF). H.R. 2980 directs DOE and NSF to 
carry out crosscutting and collaborative research and 
development activities focused on the joint advancement of DOE 
and NSF mission requirements and priorities, through a 
memorandum of understanding or other appropriate interagency 
agreement.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that no provision of H.R. 2980 establishes or 
reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be 
duplicative of another Federal program, including any program 
that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 
21 of Public Law 111-139 or identified in the most recent 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

                     FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act.

                       UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                         EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

    Pursuant to clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the 
Committee finds that H.R. 2980 does not include any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee 
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

              NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY,
                          AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that H.R. 2980 would result in no new or increased budget 
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or 
revenues.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XII and section 402 of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for H.R. 2980 from the 
Director of the Congressional budget Office:




    H.R. 2980 would require the Department of Energy (DOE) and 
the National Science Foundation (NSF) to collaborate on 
research and development activities that focus on a variety of 
topics, including plasma science, advanced physics, quantum 
information sciences, and advanced manufacturing. In addition, 
the bill would require DOE and the NSF to promote data sharing, 
support research infrastructure, and organize initiatives for 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and 
training. Within two years of enactment, the bill would require 
the agencies to report to the Congress on those efforts.
    In January 2023, DOE and the NSF entered into a memorandum 
of understanding to collaborate on most of the research and 
development topics covered under the bill. Based on that 
memorandum and information from DOE and the NSF, CBO expects 
that the bill's requirements are largely being met under 
current law. As a result, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 
2980 would have an insignificant cost, mostly for the report. 
Any spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Willow Latham-
Proenca. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                                  [all]