ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019 — House Report 116-432
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This is House Report 116-432 of the 116th Congress, 2d Session, titled ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed June 18, 2020. Ms. Johnson of Texas reports on H.R. 4091, to amend the America COMPETES Act to reauthorize the ARPA–E program, which the Committee reports favorably with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass. The report includes a cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office. The amendment text amends section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act on goals, responsibilities, reports and roadmaps, and coordination and nonduplication.
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116TH CONGRESS REPORT
" HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES !
2d Session 116–432
ARPA–E REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019
JUNE 18, 2020.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of
the Union and ordered to be printed
Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4091]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom was
referred the bill (H.R. 4091) to amend the America COMPETES
Act to reauthorize the ARPA–E program, 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
I. Amendment ................................................................................................. 2
II. Purpose of the Bill ...................................................................................... 3
III. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................ 3
IV. Committee Hearings ................................................................................... 5
V. Committee Consideration and Votes ......................................................... 6
VI. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill .................................................. 6
VII. Section-By-Section Analysis (By Title and Section) ................................. 6
VIII. Committee Views ........................................................................................ 7
IX. Cost Estimate .............................................................................................. 8
X. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ............................................. 8
XI. Compliance with Public Law 104–4 (Unfunded Mandates) .................... 9
XII. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations ........................... 9
XIII. Statement on General Performance Goals and Objectives ...................... 9
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement ................................................... 9
XV. Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................... 9
XVI. Earmark Identification ............................................................................... 10
XVII. Applicability to the Legislative Branch ..................................................... 10
XVIII. Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law ........................ 10
XIX. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, As Reported ....................... 10
XX. Proceedings of Subcommittee Markup ...................................................... 17
XXI. Proceedings of Full Committee Markup .................................................... 25
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I. AMENDMENT
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 ‘‘ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019’’.
SEC. 2. ARPA–E AMENDMENTS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 5012(b) of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C.
16538(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘development of energy technologies’’ and inserting
‘‘development of transformative science and technology solutions to address the en-
ergy and environmental missions of the Department’’.
(b) GOALS.—Section 5012(c) of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(c))
is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (1)(A) and inserting the following:
‘‘(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;
‘‘(iv) provide transformative solutions to improve the management,
clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and
‘‘(v) improve the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure
to produce, deliver, and store energy; and’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
‘‘energy technology projects’’ and inserting ‘‘advanced technology projects’’.
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 5012(e)(3)(A) of the America COMPETES Act (42
U.S.C. 16538(e)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘energy’’.
(d) REPORTS AND ROADMAPS.—Section 5012(h) of the America COMPETES Act (42
U.S.C. 16538(h)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(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 ap-
propriations committees of Congress a report that—
‘‘(A) describes projects supported by ARPA–E during the previous fiscal
year;
‘‘(B) describes projects supported by ARPA–E during the previous fiscal
year that examine topics and technologies closely related to other activities
funded by the Department, and includes an analysis of whether in sup-
porting such projects, the Director is in compliance with subsection (i)(1)(A);
and
‘‘(C) describes current, proposed, and planned projects to be carried out
pursuant to subsection (e)(3)(D).
‘‘(2) STRATEGIC VISION ROADMAP.—Not later than October 1, 2021, and every
four years thereafter, the Director shall provide to the relevant authorizing and
appropriations committees of Congress a roadmap describing the strategic vi-
sion that ARPA–E will use to guide the choices of ARPA–E for future tech-
nology investments over the following 4 fiscal years.’’.
(e) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—Section 5012(i)(1) of the America COM-
PETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(i)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Director shall en-
sure 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) ARPA–E does not provide funding for a project unless the prospec-
tive grantee demonstrates sufficient attempts to secure private financing or
indicates that the project is not independently commercially viable.’’.
(f) EVALUATION.—Section 5012(l) of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C.
16538(l)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the
ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, the Secretary is authorized to enter into
a contract with the National Academy of Sciences under which the National
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Academy shall conduct an evaluation of how well ARPA–E is achieving the
goals and mission of ARPA–E.’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)—
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3
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘shall’’ and in-
serting ‘‘may’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the recommendation of the National
Academy of Sciences’’ and inserting ‘‘a recommendation’’.
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Paragraph (2) of section 5012(o) of the
America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(o)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject to paragraph (4), there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Director for deposit in the Fund, without
fiscal year limitation—
‘‘(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.’’.
(h) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42
U.S.C. 16538) is amended—
(1) in subsection (g)(3)(A)(iii), by striking ‘‘subpart’’ each place it appears and
inserting ‘‘subparagraph’’; and
(2) in subsection (o)(4)(B), by striking ‘‘(c)(2)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)(2)(C)’’.
II. PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of
2019 is to provide the Department of Energy (DOE) with effective
guidance, capabilities, and resources to support and expand the
mission of the Advanced Research Program Agency–Energy
(ARPA–E), which is to overcome long-term and high-risk tech-
nology barriers in the development of energy and energy-relevant
technologies. H.R. 4091 is sponsored by Chairwoman Johnson and
cosponsored by Ranking Member Lucas, Energy Subcommittee
Chairwoman Fletcher, Mr. Graves, Ms. Castor, Mr. Baird, Mr.
Beyer, Mr. Mast, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Riggleman, Mr. Foster, Mr. For-
tenberry, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Katko, Ms. Watson Coleman, Mr.
Crenshaw, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Mar-
shall, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Hurd, Mr.
Cohen, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Casten, Ms.
González-Colon, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Rooney, Mr. Rouda, Mr. Waltz,
Mr. Lamb, Ms. Herrera-Beutler, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Balderson, Ms.
Luria, Mr. Woodall, Mr. Case, Mr. Fleischmann, Ms. Stevens, Ms.
Brooks, Ms. Horn, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Pappas, Ms.
Slotkin, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Crow, Mr. Allred, Ms.
Sherrill, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Luján, Mr. Huffman, Mr.
Peters, Mr. Himes, Mr. Welch, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Houlahan, Ms.
Axne, Mr. Keating, Ms. Wild, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Porter, Ms.
Spanberger, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Scott (VA), and Mr. Desaulnier.
III. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
In 2005, Congress requested a report from the National Acad-
emies to identify what federal actions could ‘‘enhance the science
and technology enterprise so that the United States can success-
fully compete, prosper, and be secure in the global community of
the 21st century’’.1 The subsequent report, Rising Above the Gath-
ering Storm, made a series of recommendations to enhance the Na-
tion’s technological competitiveness, including the creation of a new
energy agency within DOE modeled after the Defense Advanced
Research Program Agency (DARPA) within the Department of De-
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1 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2007. Rising Above the Gath-
ering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Washington,
DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/11463.
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4
fense.2 In 2007, the U.S. Congress authorized such a program, now
known as ARPA–E, as a part of the America COMPETES Act. In
accordance with its statute, ARPA–E’s objectives are:
‘‘(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 green-
house gases; and
(iii) improvement in the energy efficiency of all economic sec-
tors; and
‘‘(B) to ensure that the United States maintains a technological
lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies’’.3
While ARPA–E was authorized in 2007, it did not receive fund-
ing until the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, which included $400 million to build and support the
agency over a two-year period.4
Since 2009, 82 projects supported by ARPA–E have led to the for-
mation of new companies, 219 have partnered with non-DOE gov-
ernment agencies, and 161 have attracted over $3.2 billion in pri-
vate sector follow-on funding. ARPA–E projects have also produced
385 U.S. patents and 3,658 peer reviewed journal articles.5
Included in ARPA–E’s initial authorization was a requirement
that it receive an independent evaluation from the National Acad-
emies of Science after its first four years.6 The National Academies
of Science conducted this review beginning in 2015 and published
its results in An Assessment of ARPA–E, in 2017. In summary, the
report concluded that ARPA–E was making significant, unique con-
tributions to the U.S.’s energy research and development enter-
prise.7 This review also found that a substantial increase in fund-
ing would be necessary for ARPA–E to be able to sufficiently sup-
port the scale-up of particularly promising technologies, such as ad-
vanced technologies for energy storage and power electronics, that
were previously supported by the agency but (1) are still too risky
to be supported by the private sector alone; and (2) other DOE pro-
grams are ill-suited to steward.
Substantial growth in funding for ARPA–E is consistent with the
original recommendations of the National Academies for estab-
lishing and supporting ARPA–E in its Rising Above the Gathering
Storm report,8 as well as more recent recommendations from the
Bipartisan Policy Center’s American Energy Innovation Council
2 ‘‘ARPA–E History.’’ Department of Energy. Accessed 7 Feb 2019. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/
?q=arpa-e-site-page/arpa-e-history.
3 America COMPETES Act. Pub. L. 110–69. 121 Stat. 621. 9 Aug 2007.
4 ‘‘ARPA–E History.’’ Department of Energy. Accessed 7 Feb 2019. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/
?q=arpa-e-site-page/arpa-e-history.
5 ‘‘ARPA–E Impact.’’ Department of Energy. Accessed 14 Feb 2019. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/
?q=site-page/arpa-e-impact.
6 America COMPETES Act. Pub. L. 110–69. 121 Stat. 624. 9 Aug 2007.
7 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017. An Assessment of ARPA–
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E. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24778.
8 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2007. Rising Above the Gath-
ering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Washington,
DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/11463.
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5
(AEIC),9 the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
(ITIF),10 and the Energy Futures Initiative.11
Further, according to data provided by the agency, ARPA–E has
only been able to support 1% of the proposals submitted for its
Open Funding Opportunity Announcements, and has only been
able to support 12% of the proposals submitted for its Focused
Funding Opportunity Announcements.
Taking into account the above issues and recommendations re-
garding funding levels for ARPA–E, H.R. 4091 would authorize
substantial growth in federal support for the agency through FY
2024. It would also require the Department to prevent unnecessary
duplication between ARPA–E’s initiatives and other research
across DOE programs. And the bill codifies a rigorous approval
process that ensures that each applicant has either first sought pri-
vate investment before applying for ARPA–E grants or determined
that their proposed project is not independently commercially via-
ble.
Other provisions in this bill include explicit authorization for
ARPA–E to provide assistance in addressing DOE’s significant nu-
clear waste clean-up and management issues, consistent with the
recommendations of a National Academies report 12 released earlier
this year. And it includes authorization for ARPA–E to support
projects to improve the resilience, reliability, and security of the
U.S.’s energy infrastructure.
Authorizing language from the America COMPETES Reauthor-
ization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111–58), including expired funding author-
ization levels through 2013, provides the most recent comprehen-
sive legislative direction for ARPA–E, with an additional specific
provision protecting sensitive private business information from
disclosure provided in the Department of Energy Research and In-
novation Act (P.L. 115–246) in 2018. H.R. 4091 would build upon
this prior authorization, taking into consideration the program’s
record thus far as well as recent recommendations from inde-
pendent reviews and stakeholders.
IV. COMMITTEE HEARINGS
Pursuant to Section 103(i) of H.Res. 6, the Committee designates
the following hearings as having been used to develop or consider
the legislation:
The Subcommittee on Energy held a legislative hearing on Feb-
ruary 26, 2019 to assess the role that ARPA–E plays in accel-
erating the development of innovative energy technologies, and to
examine ways that Congress and the Administration may be able
to improve ARPA–E’s capabilities to spur transformational techno-
9 ‘‘Energy Innovation: Fueling American’s Economic Engine.’’ American Energy Innovation
Council. Published Nov 2018. http://americanenergyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/
Energy-Innovation-Fueling-Americas-Economic-Engine.pdf.
10 Hart, David. Kearney, Michael. ‘‘ARPA–E: Versatile Catalyst for U.S. Energy Innovation.’’
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Published Nov 2017. http://www2.itif.org/
2017-arpae-energy-innovation.pdf.
11 Moniz, Ernest. Yergin, Daniel. ‘‘Advancing the Landscape of Clean Energy Innovation.’’
Breakthrough Energy. Published Feburary 2019. https://energyfuturesinitiative.org/news/2019/2/
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6/clean-energy-innovation-report.
12 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. ‘‘Independent Assessment
of Science and Technology for the Department of Energy’s Defense Environmental Cleanup Pro-
gram.’’ Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25338.
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logical advances in pursuit of the agency’s energy and environ-
mental missions.
WITNESSES
Dr. Arun Majumdar, Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at
Stanford University. Dr. Majumdar was the founding Director of
ARPA–E from 2009 to 2012.
Dr. Ellen D. Williams, Distinguished University Professor in the
Department of Physics at the University of Maryland. Dr. Williams
was the Director of ARPA–E from 2014 through the end of the
Obama Administration.
Dr. John Wall, Retired Chief Technology Officer for Cummins
Inc., Member of the Committee on Evaluation for the 2017 Na-
tional Academies review of ARPA–E.
Dr. Saul Griffith, Founder and CEO of Otherlab.
Mr. Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute.
V. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTES
The Subcommittee on Energy met to consider H.R. 4091 on Sep-
tember 11, 2019.
Mr. Foster offered an amendment to establish a Chief Evaluation
Officer position at ARPA–E. The amendment was withdrawn.
Mr. Baird offered an amendment to reduce the amounts author-
ized to be appropriated to carry out the Act. The amendment was
rejected by voice vote.
H.R. 4091 was forwarded by the Subcommittee to the full Com-
mittee by voice vote.
The Full Committee met to consider H.R. 4091 on October 17,
2019.
Chairwoman Johnson offered a Manager’s amendment to ensure
that ARPA–E coordinates its activities with other programs at
DOE to avoid duplicative RD&D projects. The amendment also re-
duces the amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
Act during fiscal years 2021–2024, lowering the authorization to
$750,000,000 in 2024. The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
Mr. Foster offered an amendment to establish a Chief Evaluation
Officer position at ARPA–E. The amendment was withdrawn.
H.R. 4091 was forwarded by the full Committee to the full House
(as amended) by voice vote.
VI. SUMMARY OF MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE BILL
H.R. 4091 would authorize substantial growth in federal support
for ARPA–E through FY 2024 and includes policy direction to en-
sure coordination and nonduplication of ARPA–E programs across
the Department. It also includes explicit authorization for ARPA–
E to provide assistance in addressing DOE’s significant nuclear
waste clean-up and management issues, and it authorizes the
agency to support projects to improve the resilience, reliability, and
security of the U.S.’s energy infrastructure.
VII. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS (BY TITLE AND SECTION)
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Section 1. Short title
ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019.
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Section 2. ARPA–E amendments
Amends the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(b)) to au-
thorize ARPA–E to support projects addressing nuclear waste
clean-up and management, and to improve the resilience, reli-
ability, and security of our energy infrastructure, in addition to its
existing missions.
Adds an annual reporting requirement on ARPA–E’s scale-up,
demonstration, and coordination activities.
Requires the Director of ARPA–E to produce and provide to Con-
gress a strategic vision roadmap every four years.
Ensures that ARPA–E coordinates with other DOE programs to
avoid unintentional duplication of RD&D activities across pro-
grams.
Ensures that ARPA–E does not provide funding for a project un-
less it demonstrates sufficient attempts to secure private financing
or indicates lack of independent commercial viability.
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Na-
tional Academies to conduct an evaluation of the program no later
than three years after the date of enactment.
Authorizes annual funding increases over five years for ARPA–
E, beginning with $497 million in 2021 and rising to $750 million
in 2024, to carry out the Act.
VIII. COMMITTEE VIEWS
While H.R. 4091 authorizes ARPA–E to identify and support
high-risk, high-reward research activities that have the potential to
achieve breakthroughs in addressing DOE’s significant nuclear
waste clean-up and management issues, it is not the intent of the
Committee for these activities to be a replacement for a robust, on-
going research program stewarded by the Department’s Office of
Environmental Management to make further progress in address-
ing these issues. If the Director of ARPA–E chooses to utilize this
new authority, then the Committee expects that the Director would
initially establish one research program on this topic of approxi-
mately the average scale and duration of ARPA–E’s other targeted
research programs.
While the Committee recognizes ARPA–E’s important role in
supporting DOE research over a wide range of groundbreaking
technology areas and acknowledges the value of complementary
and coordinated research, the Committee would appreciate greater
clarity regarding the differences between ARPA–E supported
projects and those in closely related areas supported by other DOE
programs. The Committee would also like more information on the
extent or nature of any collaborative research efforts such as data
or results sharing between ARPA–E and DOE’s other applied pro-
grams. Understanding this data is critical to avoiding potential un-
intended duplication at the Department and evaluating the overall
performance of the ARPA–E portfolio.
In October 2019, the Committee submitted a request to the Gov-
ernment Accountability Office to further explore potential crossover
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between ARPA–E and other programs funded by the DOE, and pro-
vide potential recommendations to limit unnecessary or unintended
duplication of ARPA–E funded research programs.
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IX. COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the estimate
of new budget authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures
or revenues contained in the cost estimate prepared by the Director
of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
X. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. CONGRESS,
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,
Washington, DC, November 5, 2019.
Hon. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON,
Chairwoman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
DEAR MADAM CHAIRWOMAN: The Congressional Budget Office
has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4091, the ARPA–
E Reauthorization Act of 2019.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased
to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Aaron Krupkin.
Sincerely,
PHILLIP L. SWAGEL,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 4091, ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2019
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on October 17, 2019
By Fiscal Year1 Millions of Dollars 2020 2020-2024 2020-2029
Direct Spending (Outlays) 0 0 0
Revenues 0 0 0
Increase in the Deficit 0 0 0
Spending Subject to
Appropriation {Outlays) 2 690 2,510
Statutory pay-as-you-go
No Mandate Effects
procedures apply?
Increases on-budget deficits in any Contains intergovernmental mandate? No
of the four consecutive 10-year No
periods beginning in 2030? Contains private-sector mandate? No
H.R. 4091 would reauthorize activities of the Advanced Research
Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA–E), an agency tasked with re-
searching and developing transformative energy technologies,
through fiscal year 2024. The bill also would amend ARPA–E’s re-
quirements for submitting annual reports and strategic vision road-
maps to the Congress.
H.R. 4091 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 resolu-
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tions on an annualized basis, in 2020 CBO assumes that the same
amount of funds will be available under the current continuing res-
olution (Public Law 116–59). As a result, CBO estimates that H.R.
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4091 would authorize an increase in spending subject to appropria-
tion in 2020 of $62 million, the difference between the authorized
amount and the annualized amount under the continuing resolu-
tion. Based on historical spending patterns, and assuming appro-
priation of the authorized and necessary amounts, CBO estimates
that implementing H.R. 4091 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 H.R. 4091
By fiscal year, millions of dollars—
2020– 2020–
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2024 2029
Authorization a ............................................ 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
a. H.R. 4091 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 continuing resolution (Public Law 116–59), which provided
appropriations through November 21, 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).
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aaron Krupkin. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
XI. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
H.R. 4091 contains no unfunded mandates.
XII. COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are re-
flected in the body of this report.
XIII. STATEMENT ON GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
The goal of H.R. 4091 is to support and expand the mission of
the Advanced Research Program Agency–Energy (ARPA–E)—over-
coming long-term and high-risk technology barriers in the develop-
ment of energy and energy-relevant technologies.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
H.R. 4091 does not create any advisory committees.
XV. DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision of H.R.
4091 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the federal govern-
ment 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 the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
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10
XVI. EARMARK IDENTIFICATION
Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the Committee
finds that H.R. 4091 contains no earmarks, limited tax benefits, or
limited tariff benefits.
XVII. APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that H.R. 4091 does not relate to the terms
and conditions of employment or access to public services or accom-
modations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congres-
sional Accountability Act (Public Law 104–1).
XVIII. STATEMENT ON PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL
LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
XIX. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omit-
ted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics,
and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in
roman):
AMERICA COMPETES ACT
* * * * * * *
TITLE V—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
* * * * * * *
SEC. 5012. ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY–ENERGY.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) ARPA-E.—The term ‘‘ARPA-E’’ means the Advanced Re-
search Projects Agency–Energy established by subsection (b).
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
ARPA-E appointed under subsection (d).
(3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Energy Trans-
formation Acceleration Fund established under subsection
(o)(1).
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Advanced Re-
search Projects Agency–Energy within the Department to overcome
the long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the ødevelop-
ment of energy technologies¿ development of transformative science
and technology solutions to address the energy and environmental
missions of the Department.
(c) GOALS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The goals of ARPA-E shall be—
ø(A) to enhance the economic and energy security of the
United States through the development of energy tech-
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nologies that result in—
ø(i) reductions of imports of energy from foreign
sources;
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11
ø(ii) reductions of energy-related emissions, includ-
ing greenhouse gases; and
ø(iii) improvement in the energy efficiency of all eco-
nomic sectors; and¿
(A) to enhance the economic and energy security of the
United States through the development of energy tech-
nologies that—
(i) reduce imports of energy from foreign sources;
(ii) reduce energy-related emissions, including green-
house gases;
(iii) improve the energy efficiency of all economic sec-
tors;
(iv) provide transformative solutions to improve the
management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive
waste and spent nuclear fuel; and
(v) improve the resilience, reliability, and security of
infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy;
and
(B) to ensure that the United States maintains a techno-
logical lead in developing and deploying advanced energy
technologies.
(2) MEANS.—ARPA-E shall achieve the goals established
under paragraph (1) through øenergy technology projects¿ ad-
vanced technology projects by—
(A) identifying and promoting revolutionary advances in
fundamental and applied sciences;
(B) translating scientific discoveries and cutting-edge in-
ventions 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.
(d) DIRECTOR.—
(1) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be in the Department of En-
ergy a Director of ARPA-E, who shall be appointed by the
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall be an individual
who, by reason of professional background and experience, is
especially qualified to advise the Secretary on, and manage re-
search programs addressing, matters pertaining to long-term
and high-risk technological barriers to the development of en-
ergy technologies.
(3) RELATIONSHIP TO SECRETARY.—The Director shall report
to the Secretary.
(4) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.—No other programs
within the Department shall report to the Director.
(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
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higher education, companies, research foundations, trade and
industry research collaborations, or consortia of such entities,
which may include federally-funded research and development
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12
centers, to achieve the goals described in subsection (c) through
targeted acceleration of—
(A) novel early-stage øenergy¿ research with possible
technology applications;
(B) development of techniques, processes, and tech-
nologies, and related testing and evaluation;
(C) research and development of advanced manufac-
turing process and technologies for the domestic manufac-
turing of novel energy technologies; and
(D) coordination with nongovernmental entities for dem-
onstration of technologies and research applications to fa-
cilitate technology transfer;
(4) terminating programs carried out under this section that
are not achieving the goals of the programs; and
(5) pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(C)—
(A) ensuring that applications for funding disclose the
extent of current and prior efforts, including monetary in-
vestments as appropriate, in pursuit of the technology area
for which funding is being requested;
(B) adopting measures to ensure that, in making
awards, program managers adhere to the purposes of sub-
section (c)(2)(C); and
(C) providing as part of the annual report required by
subsection (h)(1) a summary of the instances of and rea-
sons for ARPA–E funding projects in technology areas al-
ready being undertaken by industry.
(f) AWARDS.—In carrying out this section, the Director may pro-
vide awards in the form of grants, contracts, cooperative agree-
ments, cash prizes, and other transactions.
(g) PERSONNEL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish and maintain
within ARPA–E a staff with sufficient qualifications and exper-
tise to enable ARPA–E to carry out the responsibilities of
ARPA–E under this section in conjunction with other oper-
ations of the Department.
(2) PROGRAM DIRECTORS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall designate employ-
ees to serve as program directors for the programs estab-
lished pursuant to the responsibilities established for
ARPA-E under subsection (e).
(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A program director of a program
shall be responsible for—
(i) establishing research and development goals for
the program, including through the convening of work-
shops and conferring with outside experts, and publi-
cizing the goals of the program to the public and pri-
vate sectors;
(ii) soliciting applications for specific areas of par-
ticular promise, especially areas that the private sec-
tor or the Federal Government are not likely to under-
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take alone;
(iii) building research collaborations for carrying out
the program;
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13
(iv) selecting on the basis of merit each of the
projects to be supported under the program after con-
sidering—
(I) the novelty and scientific and technical merit
of the proposed projects;
(II) the demonstrated capabilities of the appli-
cants to successfully carry out the proposed
project;
(III) the consideration by the applicant of future
commercial applications of the project, including
the feasibility of partnering with 1 or more com-
mercial entities; and
(IV) such other criteria as are established by the
Director;
(v) identifying innovative cost-sharing arrangements
for ARPA–E projects, including through use of the au-
thority provided under section 988(b)(3) of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(b)(3));
(vi) monitoring the progress of projects supported
under the program;
(vii) identifying mechanisms for commercial applica-
tion of successful energy technology development
projects, including through establishment of partner-
ships between awardees and commercial entities; and
(viii) recommending program restructure or termi-
nation of research partnerships or whole projects.
(C) TERM.—The term of a program manager shall be not
more than 3 years and may be renewed.
(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 serv-
ice 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 øsub-
part¿ subparagraph payments in addition to basic pay,
except that the total amount of additional payments
paid to an employee under this øsubpart¿ subpara-
graph 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 an-
nual rate of basic pay of the employee.
(III) The amount of the limitation that is appli-
cable for a calendar year under section 5307(a)(1)
of title 5, United States Code.
(B) NUMBER.—The Director shall appoint not more than
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120 personnel under this section.
(C) PRIVATE RECRUITING FIRMS.—The Secretary, or the
Director serving as an agent of the Secretary, may contract
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14
with private recruiting firms for the hiring of qualified
technical staff to carry out this section.
(D) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Director may use all au-
thorities in existence on the date of enactment of this Act
that are provided to the Secretary to hire administrative,
financial, and clerical staff as necessary to carry out this
section.
ø(h) REPORTS AND ROADMAPS.—
ø(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 Con-
gress a report describing projects supported by ARPA-E during
the previous fiscal year.
ø(2) STRATEGIC VISION ROADMAP.—Not later than October 1,
2010, and October 1, 2013, the Director shall provide to the
relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of Con-
gress 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 fiscal years.¿
(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 that—
(A) describes projects supported by ARPA–E during the
previous fiscal year;
(B) describes projects supported by ARPA–E during the
previous fiscal year that examine topics and technologies
closely related to other activities funded by the Department,
and includes an analysis of whether in supporting such
projects, the Director is in compliance with subsection
(i)(1)(A); and
(C) describes current, proposed, and planned projects to
be carried out pursuant to subsection (e)(3)(D).
(2) STRATEGIC VISION ROADMAP.—Not later than October 1,
2021, and every four 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 4 fiscal years.
(i) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—
ø(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent practicable, the
Director shall ensure that the activities of ARPA-E are coordi-
nated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and
laboratories within the Department and other relevant re-
search agencies.¿
(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Di-
rector shall ensure 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 agen-
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cies; and
(B) ARPA–E does not provide funding for a project unless
the prospective grantee demonstrates sufficient attempts to
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15
secure private financing or indicates that the project is not
independently commercially viable.
(2) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER COORDINATOR.—To the extent ap-
propriate, the Director may coordinate technology transfer ef-
forts with the Technology Transfer Coordinator appointed
under section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16391).
(j) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECHNOLOGIES.—The Director
shall seek opportunities to partner with purchasing and procure-
ment programs of Federal agencies to demonstrate energy tech-
nologies resulting from activities funded through ARPA–E.
(k) ADVICE.—
(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Director may seek advice on
any aspect of ARPA-E from—
(A) an existing Department of Energy advisory com-
mittee; and
(B) a new advisory committee organized to support the
programs of ARPA-E and to provide advice and assistance
on—
(i) specific program tasks; or
(ii) overall direction of ARPA-E.
(2) ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF ADVICE.—In carrying out this
section, the Director may seek advice and review from—
(A) the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science
and Technology; and
(B) any professional or scientific organization with ex-
pertise in specific processes or technologies under develop-
ment by ARPA-E.
(l) ARPA-E EVALUATION.—
ø(1) IN GENERAL.—After ARPA-E has been in operation for
6 years, 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.¿
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the date of en-
actment of the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, the Sec-
retary is authorized 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 øshall¿ may include—
(A) øthe 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 Depart-
ment.
(3) AVAILABILITY.—On completion of the evaluation, the eval-
uation shall be made available to Congress and the public.
(m) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—The authorities granted by this sec-
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tion are—
(1) in addition to existing authorities granted to the Sec-
retary; and
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16
(2) are not intended to supersede or modify any existing au-
thorities.
(n) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The following types of infor-
mation collected by ARPA–E from recipients of financial assistance
awards shall be considered commercial and financial information
obtained from a person and privileged or confidential and not sub-
ject to disclosure under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States
Code:
(1) Plans for commercialization of technologies developed
under the award, including business plans, technology-to-mar-
ket plans, market studies, and cost and performance models.
(2) Investments provided to an awardee from third parties
(such as venture capital firms, hedge funds, and private equity
firms), including amounts and the percentage of ownership of
the awardee provided in return for the investments.
(3) Additional financial support that the awardee—
(A) plans to or has invested into the technology devel-
oped under the award; or
(B) is seeking from third parties.
(4) Revenue from the licensing or sale of new products or
services resulting from research conducted under the award.
(o) FUNDING.—
(1) FUND.—There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Energy Trans-
formation Acceleration Fund’’, which shall be administered by
the Director for the purposes of carrying out this section.
ø(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject to para-
graphs (4) and (5), there are authorized to be appropriated to
the Director for deposit in the Fund, without fiscal year limita-
tion—
ø(A) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
ø(B) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years
2009 and 2010;
ø(C) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
ø(D) $306,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and
ø(E) $312,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.¿
(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject to para-
graph (4), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Direc-
tor for deposit in the Fund, without fiscal year limitation—
(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 Depart-
ment.
(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
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year under paragraph (2)—
(A) not more than 50 percent of the amount shall be
used to carry out subsection (e)(3)(D);
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17
(B) at least 5 percent of the amount shall be used for
technology transfer and outreach activities, consistent with
the goal described in subsection ø(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 build-
ings or facilities during the 5-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act.
* * * * * * *
XX. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE MARKUP
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MARKUPS:
H.R. 4901, ARPA-E
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019; AND
H.R. 4230, CLEAN INDUSTRIAL
TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 2019
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND
TECHNOLOGY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Serial No. CP 116–7
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
(
Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2019
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COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman
ZOE LOFGREN, California FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma,
DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois Ranking Member
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon MO BROOKS, Alabama
AMI BERA, California, BILL POSEY, Florida
Vice Chair RANDY WEBER, Texas
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania BRIAN BABIN, Texas
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas ANDY BIGGS, Arizona
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
KENDRA HORN, Oklahoma RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas
BRAD SHERMAN, California TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee PETE OLSON, Texas
JERRY MCNERNEY, California ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida
PAUL TONKO, New York JIM BAIRD, Indiana
BILL FOSTER, Illinois JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington
DON BEYER, Virginia JENNIFFER GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN, Puerto
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida Rico
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois VACANCY
KATIE HILL, California
BEN MCADAMS, Utah
JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia
----
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY
HON. CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania, Chairman
DANIEL LIPINKSI, Illinois RANDY WEBER, Texas,
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas Ranking Member
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan ANDY BIGGS, Arizona
KENDRA HORN, Oklahoma NEAL DUNN, Florida
JERRY MCNERNEY, California RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina
BILL FOSTER, Illinois MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois
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(II)
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C O N T E N T S
September 11, 2019
Page
H.R. 4091—ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019 ............................................... 00
H.R. 4230—Clean Industrial Technology Act of 2019 ........................................... 00
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(III)
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MARKUPS:
H.R. 4091, ARPA–E
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019; AND
H.R. 4230, CLEAN INDUSTRIAL
TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 2019
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY,
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m., in
room 2318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Conor Lamb
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Chairman LAMB. Good morning. The Subcommittee will come to
order. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare recess
at any time. Pursuant to Committee rule 2(e) and House rule XI,
the Chair announces that he may postpone roll call votes.
Pursuant to notice, the Subcommittee on Energy meets to con-
sider the following measures: H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2019, and H.R. 4230, the Clean Industrial Technology
Act of 2019.
I’m pleased to consider these two bipartisan bills today. I think
they are absolutely essential to our Nation’s clean energy future.
They were considered at three hearings earlier this Congress where
we brought together experts from industry, academia, and the De-
partment of Energy (DOE). We talked about ARPA–E and also
R&D (research and development) to reduce emissions from the
manufacturing sector.
I’m an original cosponsor of H.R. 4091, the bipartisan ARPA–E
Reauthorization Act, which Chairwoman Johnson took the lead on
and we introduced in July. ARPA–E (Advanced Research Projects
Agency–Energy) was first authorized by this Committee back in
2007. I think it has tremendous promise to help us solve one of our
longest-term challenges, which is the future of low-carbon energy
production in this country. Congress recognized this back then, and
we have maintained our leadership in this research overall, cre-
ating jobs benefiting the energy sector and of course the environ-
ment, but we think there’s a lot more we can do.
Groundbreaking research involves a high level of risk, some of
which the private sector is able to take, but a lot of it, it can’t bear
alone, so we have our part to play. The first appropriation for
ARPA–E was $400 million, and it was made exactly 10 years ago.
In that time, ARPA–E and the people it’s given grants to have done
incredible work, but the budget has had stagnant, if any, growth.
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(1)
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2
I don’t believe in that. I think that when the government is doing
something right and doing it well, especially in cooperation with
other segments of our society, that’s an occasion to double down,
especially on a challenge this important.
So this bill answers the call of the National Academies and the
leading energy think tanks, who have all called for significantly in-
creasing ARPA–E’s budget to allow them to do even more of the
great work they’re already doing. This will ensure that ARPA–E
actually has the impact we want it to have, not just individual ex-
cellent projects but an overall sector-wide impact that can help us
change the future of energy in this country.
Many people have recognized this, and that’s why the ARPA–E
reauthorization bill is now endorsed by those ranging from the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce to the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC), the American Gas Association, and the American Council
for Renewable Energy. You don’t always see those groups on the
same side of an individual piece of legislation, but in this case we
have all their support, and I thank them for that.
The second bill we’re looking at today is H.R. 4230, the Clean In-
dustrial Technology Act, which is introduced by my colleague Rep-
resentative Casten, and it is also a bipartisan bill. We’ve made a
lot of strides in the past couple of decades in reducing greenhouse
gas emissions from the power sector, but we still have a real uphill
climb when it comes to manufacturing in heavy industry. That’s
about 25 percent of our Nation’s emissions, yet only about 6 per-
cent of the Department of Energy’s research budget has been dedi-
cated to this. And we have no national plan devoted to solving this
problem.
So this bill will help address those issues by authorizing a cross-
agency DOE-led R&D and demonstration program to advance these
technologies from industrial sources of emissions including steel,
cement, chemical production, and industrial heat. Importantly, this
program will operate in collaboration with stakeholders from indus-
try and labor groups to make sure that people who are essentially
the boots on the ground in the sectors have a say in the investment
we’re going to make as a Nation.
DOE has succeeded with large demonstration projects before, so
after the basic science and the basic research is done actually
showing it can be done on a large commercial scale. We’ve done
that most recently and prominently with the nearly $200 million
investment in a commercial-scale, post-combustion, carbon-capture
coal-fired power plant in Thompsons, Texas, known as Petra Nova.
This bill, like the others, has support from a wide array of stake-
holders and groups, including the National Association of Manufac-
turers, the American Chemistry Council, the United Steelworkers,
the BlueGreen Alliance, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the
Clean Air Task Force, again, not players that you usually see on
the same side of the field, but in this case we have them.
So we think it’s essential to ensure that American manufacturers
can access these new technologies and the technologies that are
still to come so that they will remain competitive throughout the
21st century and the fact that they will have a competitive edge
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in the 21st century because of the demand that you’re going to
have for some of this clean energy.
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3
My Republican colleagues who have signed on to support these
important bills have recognized that innovation must play a key
role in doing our work here. And I just urge my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle again to consider supporting these bills. I look for-
ward to advancing them out of the Subcommittee today.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Lamb follows:]
I am pleased to consider two bipartisan bills today that are essential to securing
our nation’s clean energy future. These bills were considered at three hearings ear-
lier this Congress that brought together expert witnesses from industry, academia,
and the Department of Energy to discuss two important topics: the Advanced Re-
search Projects Agency–Energy, or ARPA–E, and research and development to re-
duce emissions from the manufacturing sector.
I am very proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 4091, the bipartisan ARPA–
E Reauthorization Act of 2019, which Chairwoman Johnson and I introduced in
July. First authorized by this Committee in 2007, ARPA–E was designed to address
some of the unique challenges of advancing new clean energy technologies.
In its creation of ARPA–E Congress recognized the necessity of developing trans-
formational technologies in the energy sector. By maintaining our leadership in re-
search, we’re creating jobs here in America, benefiting the energy sector and miti-
gating climate change. We’re making our power safer and more sustainable, and im-
proving our economy.
Groundbreaking research involves a high level of risk. The private sector is under-
standably unable to take on these risks alone and make all of the investments we
so badly need to transition our energy infrastructure into the twenty-first century.
ARPA–E received its first appropriation of $400 million exactly ten years ago, and
in that time has made significant strides in supporting the development of
groundbreaking energy projects. However, to this day, the budget of this trans-
formational agency has seen only marginal growth. This bill answers the call of the
National Academies and leading energy think tanks and analysts to significantly in-
crease ARPA–E’s budget to allow the agency to scale up the excellent work that it
is already doing. The authorizations in this bill will ensure that ARPA–E has the
resources it needs to make a truly transformational impact on our nation’s energy
sector.
This bill is now endorsed by those ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Gas Association, and the
American Council for Renewable Energy. It’s pretty rare to receive support from
this broad array of groups for the same piece of legislation, and I certainly appre-
ciate the range of stakeholders who have weighed in on the legislation.
The second bill we are considering today is H.R. 4230, the bipartisan Clean Indus-
trial Technology Act introduced by my colleague Rep. Casten. Over the past several
decades, we have made significant strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
the power sector. But it is critical we recognize the role that other sectors of the
economy play in contributing emissions to the atmosphere.
In particular, the manufacturing sector contributes nearly 25% of our nation’s
emissions, and yet only 6% of the Department of Energy’s research budget is dedi-
cated to developing technologies to help reduce emissions from manufacturing. Fur-
thermore, we currently have no national plan devoted to solving this problem.
H.R. 4230 will help address these important issues by authorizing a cross-agency,
DOE-led research, development, and demonstration program to advance tech-
nologies that will help reduce emissions from industrial sources of emissions includ-
ing: steel and cement production, chemical production, and industrial heat. The re-
search program will operate in collaboration with stakeholders from industry and
labor groups to ensure that those who will work most closely with these technologies
have a say in our nation’s investment in their development. The Department of En-
ergy has succeeded with large demonstration projects, like when they provided near-
ly $200M to demonstrate the addition of a commercial-scale post-combustion carbon
capture technology to a coal-fired power plant in Thompsons, Texas, commonly
known as Petra Nova.
This bill has significant support from a wide array of stakeholders, such as the
National Association of Manufacturers and the American Chemistry Council, the
Steelworkers and the Blue Green Alliance, the Union of Concerned Scientists and
the Clean Air Task Force.
Ensuring American manufacturers can access technologies to make them increas-
ingly sustainable will ensure the domestic manufacturing industry remains competi-
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tive through the 21st Century. We need to give these companies, firms, factories and
workers the assets and resources they need to compete and succeed in the inter-
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4
national market—and sustainability, I believe, is one of the key components in
doing so.
My Republican colleagues who have signed on to support these important pieces
of legislation have recognized the essential role that innovation must play in achiev-
ing this goal. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support these bills
and look forward to advancing them out of our Subcommittee today.
Chairman LAMB. And with that I now recognize the Ranking
Member Mr. Weber for his opening remarks.
Mr. WEBER. Good morning. And thank you, Chairman Lamb, for
the opportunity to speak on H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2019 and H.R. 4230, the Clean Industrial Technology
Act of 2019.
During my tenure on the Science Committee, we’ve had an in-
credible track record for passing bipartisan legislation. Just last
Congress, 32 of the 34 bills from this Committee, an outstanding
94 percent, received bipartisan support. In fact, this Energy Sub-
committee only worked in a bipartisan fashion, with all nine en-
ergy-related bills passing the House with bipartisan support from
Science Committee Members.
Now, we certainly had different opinions on a whole range of pol-
icy issues, but at the end of the day, when it came to legislating,
we focused on the areas where we indeed had common ground. Un-
fortunately, that is not the case this Congress, and today, we are
holding yet another partisan markup in my opinion.
The two bills we will consider today may be characterized as bi-
partisan because of a single cosponsor, which, by the way, is not
a Member of this Committee because once again both bills propose
reckless budget increases without including any offsets in spend-
ing, something I simply cannot and will not support.
The first, H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019,
would actually increase ARPA–E’s authorization by, listen to this,
173 percent to $1 billion with a B in Fiscal Year 2024. This funding
level is both unrealistic and unproductive. Such a high rate of in-
crease would be challenging for any program to effectively manage,
but ARPA–E is particularly unsuited for the task. And with the
small staff it has, this will be extremely difficult.
Now, I want to acknowledge that this bill does make important
policy reforms to DOE’s ARPA–E program, building off those, I
might add, in Ranking Member Lucas’ bipartisan ARPA–E legisla-
tion that passed the House last Congress. While I support these re-
forms, we don’t need to drastically increase ARPA–E’s funding to
implement them.
It is unfortunate that we are unable to meet in the middle and
reach a compromise on funding for this program. I’ll be the first to
admit I, and many of my conservative colleagues on this Com-
mittee, have been skeptical of ARPA–E, and I have voted many
times to cut spending for the program. But I believe that Ranking
Member Lucas’ most recent ARPA–E bill, which has nearly iden-
tical policy reforms paired with authorization levels that were sup-
ported by both Chairwoman Johnson last Congress and this Com-
mittee, is a responsible compromise approach. I encourage the
Chairman and the Committee to consider that legislation.
The second bill we will consider today, H.R. 4230, the Clean In-
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dustrial Technology Act of 2019, seeks to develop technologies to re-
duce emissions in industrial sectors. And while I agree that there
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5
is a need for collaboration in developing new technologies to reduce
emissions, I’m concerned that we’re rushing to move to a major au-
thorization without doing our homework.
For example, I support the establishment of the Federal Advisory
Committee in section 4 of the bill, but before we authorize a new
program, shouldn’t we first make sure this advisory committee has
developed an effective research roadmap and goals for that pro-
gram? Don’t we want the experts from industry, academia, and the
agencies to be able to weigh in before blindly committing taxpayer
dollars?
This legislation also includes language that delegates authority
for setting spending levels through the appropriators. If we don’t
know how much a program should cost, we have no business au-
thorizing that program. Why don’t we take the time to hear from
stakeholders on what is needed and let’s do our job?
We all support basic research. We all want to see the United
States remain a leader in energy technology. And we can and
should work together to send bipartisan legislation to the House
floor.
So, in closing, I want to emphasize that I support the intent be-
hind both of these bills, but unfortunately, I cannot and will not
support a bill where we haven’t done our due diligence on where
we’re making promises that we simply cannot keep. So let’s stop
wasting time. Let’s get back to work on the areas that we can all
agree and get our job done. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Weber follows:]
Good morning. Thank you, Chairman Lamb, for the opportunity to speak on H.R.
4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, and H.R. 4230, the Clean Industrial
Technology Act of 2019.
During my tenure on the Science Committee, we’ve had an incredible track record
for passing bipartisan legislation. Just last Congress, 32 of the 34 bills from this
Committee, an outstanding 94%, received bipartisan support. In fact, the Energy
Subcommittee only worked in bipartisan fashion, with all nine energy related bills
passing the House with bipartisan support from Science Committee Members.
Now, we certainly had different opinions on a whole range of policy issues. But
at the end of the day, when it came to legislating, we focused on the areas where
we had common ground. Unfortunately, that is not the case this Congress—and
today we are holding yet another partisan markup.
The two bills we will consider today may be characterized as bipartisan because
of a single cosponsor, but that support does not come from Members of this Com-
mittee. Because once again, both bills propose reckless budget increases without in-
cluding any offsets in spending—something I simply cannot support.
The first, H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, would increase
ARPA–E’s authorization by 173%, to $1 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2024.
This funding level is both unrealistic and unproductive. Such a high rate of in-
crease would be challenging for any program to effectively manage—but ARPA–E
is particularly unsuited for the task, and its small staff will make this even more
difficult.
Now I want to acknowledge that this bill does make important policy reforms to
DOE’s ARPA–E program, building off those in Ranking Member Lucas’s bipartisan
ARPA–E legislation that passed the House last Congress. While I support these re-
forms, we don’t need to drastically increase ARPA–E’s funding to implement them.
It is unfortunate that we are unable to meet in the middle and reach a com-
promise on funding for this program.
And I’ll be the first to admit—I and many of my conservative colleagues on this
Committee have been skeptical of ARPA–E, and I have voted many times to cut
spending for this program.
But I believe that Ranking Member Lucas’s most recent ARPA–E bill, which has
nearly identical policy reforms paired with authorization levels that were supported
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by Chairwoman Johnson last Congress, is a responsible compromise approach. I en-
courage the Chairman and this Committee to consider that legislation.
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6
The second bill we will consider today, H.R. 4230, the Clean Industrial Technology
Act of 2019, seeks to develop technologies to reduce emissions in industrial sectors.
While I agree there is a need for collaboration in developing new technologies to re-
duce emissions, I’m concerned that we’re rushing to move a major authorization
without doing our homework.
For example, I support the establishment of the federal advisory committee in sec-
tion four of this bill.
But before we authorize a new program, shouldn’t we first make sure this advi-
sory committee has developed an effective research roadmap and goals for that pro-
gram? Don’t we want the experts from industry, academia, and the agencies to be
able to weigh in before blindly committing taxpayer dollars?
This legislation also includes language that delegates authority for setting spend-
ing levels to the appropriators.
If we don’t know how much a program should cost, we have no business author-
izing that program. Let’s take the time to hear from stakeholders on what is needed,
and do our job.
We all support basic research. We all want to see the United States remain a
leader in energy technology. And we can and should work together to send bipar-
tisan legislation to the House floor.
In closing, I want to emphasize that I support the intent behind both of these
bills. But unfortunately, I can’t support a bill where we haven’t done our due dili-
gence, or where we are making promises we can’t keep.
Let’s stop wasting time, and get back to work on the areas where we can all
agree.
Chairman LAMB. We will now consider H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E
Reauthorization Act of 2019. The clerk will report the bill.
The CLERK. H.R. 4091, a bill.
[The bill follows:]
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7
7
AUTHIN-ll(;,'\Tl!Q~
I
U&. Q(WHNM~NT
INl'QaMATIQN
CPO
116TII CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H.R.4091
To amend the America COMPETES Act to reauthorize the ARPA-E
program, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 30, 2019
M.<i. JOHNSON of Texa.<i (for herself and Mr. LAMB) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
A BILL
To amend the America COMPETES Aet to reauthorize the
ARPA-E program 1 and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States oj'America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 This Aet may be cited as the "ARPA-E Reauthoriza-
5 tion Act of 2019 11 •
6 SEC, 2. ARPA-E AMENDMENTS,
7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.-Section 5012(b) of the Amer-
8 iea COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(b)) is amended
9 by striking "development of energy technologies" and in-
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10 serting "development of transformative science and tech-
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8
8
2
1 nology solutions to address the energy and environmental
2 missions of the Department".
3 (b) GoALs.-Section 5012(c) of the America COM-
4 PETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(c)) is amended-
5 (1) by striking paragraph (1)(A) and inserting
6 the following:
7 "(A) to enhance the economic and energy
8 security of the United States through the devel-
9 opment of energy technologies that--
10 "(i) reduce imports of energy from
11 foreign sources;
12 "(ii) reduce energy-related emissions,
13 including greenhouse gases;
14 "(iii) improve the energy efficiency of
15 all economic sectors;
16 "(iv) provide transformative solutions
17 to improve the management, clean-up, and
18 disposal of radioactive waste and spent nu-
19 clear fuel; and
20 "(v) improve the resilience, reliability,
21 and security of infrastructure to produce,
22 deliver, and store energy; and"; and
23 (2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding
24 subparagraph (A), by striking "energy technology
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9
9
3
1 projects" and inserting "advanced technology
2 projects".
3 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.-Section 5012(e)(3)(.A) of
4 the America COMPETES .Act (42 U.S.C.
5 16538(e)(3)(.A)) is amended by striking "energy".
6 (d} REPORTS AND ROADMAPS.-Section 5012(h) of
7 the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(h)) is
8 amended to read as follows:
9 "(h) REPORTS AN'D RoADMAPS.-
10 "(1) .ANNUAL REPORT.-As part of the annual
11 budget request submitted for each fiscal year, the
12 Director shall provide to the relevant authorizing
13 and appropriations committees of Congress a report
14 describing-
15 "(.A) projects supported by .ARP.A-E dur-
16 ing the previous fiscal year; and
17 "(B) current, proposed, and planned
18 projects to be carried out pursuant to sub-
19 section (e)(3)(D).
20 "(2) STRATEGIC VISION ROADMAP.-Not later
21 than October 1, 2021, and every four years there-
22 after, the Director shall provide to the relevant au-
23 thorizing and appropriations committees of Congress
24 a roadmap describing the strategic vision that
25 .ARP.A-E will use to guide the choices of .ARP.A-E
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•HR 4091 IH
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10
10
4
1 for future technology investments over the following
2 4 fiscal years.".
3 (e) EVALUATION.-Seetion 5012(1) of the America
4 COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(1)) is amended-
5 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
6 following:
7 "(l) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 3 years
8 after the date of enactment of the ARPA-E Reau-
9 thorization Act of 2019, the Secretary is authorized
10 to enter into a contract with the National Academy
11 of Sciences under which the National Academy shall
12 conduct an evaluation of how well ARPA-E is
13 achieving the goals and mission of ARPA-E."; and
14 (2) in paragraph (2)-
15 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph
16 (A), by striking "shall" and inserting "may";
17 and
18 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking "the
19 recommendation of the National Academy of
20 Sciences" and inserting "a recommendation".
21 (f) AUTHORrZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.-Para-
22 graph (2) of section 5012(0) of the America COMPETES
23 Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(0)) is amended to read as follows:
24 "(2) AtJTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.-
25 Subject to paragraph (4), there are authorized to be
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11
11
5
1 appropriated to the Director for deposit in the
2 Fund, without fiscal year limitation-
3 "(A) $428,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
4 "(B) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
5 "(C) $675,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
6 "(D) $825,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
7 and
8 "(E) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year
9 2024.".
10 (g) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.-Seetion 5012 of the
11 America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538) is amend-
12 ed-
13 (1) in subsection (g)(3)(A)(iii), by striking
14 "subpart" each place it appears and inserting "sub-
15 paragraph"; and
16 (2) in subsection (o)(4)(B), by striking
17 "(c)(2)(D)" and inserting "(e)(2)(C)".
0
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12
Chairman LAMB. Without objection, the bill is considered as read
and open to amendment at any point.
I now recognize Chairwoman Johnson to present her remarks on
the bill.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I’m pleased that we are now considering H.R. 4091, the bipartisan
ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019 led by myself and Chairman
LAMB.
Even though the agency is still relatively young, ARPA–E has al-
ready demonstrated incredible success in advancing high-risk,
high-reward energy technology solutions that neither the public
sector nor the private sector have been willing or able to support
in the past. Industry leaders like Bill Gates and Chad Holliday and
Norm Augustine have repeatedly called for significantly increasing
this agency’s budget given the unique role it is now playing in our
energy innovation pipeline.
ARPA–E’s impressive track record now includes over $2.9 billion
in private-sector follow-on funding for a group of 145 ARPA–E
projects since the agency’s founding in 2009. Equally notable, 76
projects have formed new companies, 131 projects have shown
enough promise to result in partnerships with other government
agencies, and ARPA–E projects have led to 2,489 peer-reviewed
journal articles and 346 U.S. patents.
Unfortunately, ARPA–E has only been able to support about 1
percent of the proposals submitted for its open funding opportuni-
ties, and 12 percent of the proposals submitted for its focused pro-
grams, even though the number of promising high-quality pro-
posals that the agency has received is many times higher.
That is why I am proud to sponsor H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reau-
thorization Act of 2019, which authorizes substantial growth in
support for the agency over the next 5 years. This growth is con-
sistent with the National Academies’ original recommendations for
establishing and supporting ARPA–E, as well as more recent rec-
ommendations from well-respected bipartisan and nonpartisan in-
stitutions such as the Bipartisan Policy Center’s American Energy
Innovation Council, the Energy Futures Initiative, and the Infor-
mation Technology and Innovation Foundation.
I’d also note that in its review of the program released in 2017,
the National Academies found that a significant increase in fund-
ing would be necessary for ARPA–E to be able to support the scale-
up of several particularly promising technologies that were pre-
viously supported by the agency. But many of these new ap-
proaches are still too risky to be supported by the private sector
alone, and too often other DOE programs remain ill-suited to stew-
ard them.
By authorizing these resources, this bill ensures that ARPA–E is
able to fully pursue the development and demonstration of truly
transformational clean energy technologies, just as DARPA (De-
fense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the agency on which
ARPA–E is modeled, has been able to do time and again for de-
fense applications.
This bill also authorizes ARPA–E to better address DOE’s signifi-
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cant nuclear waste clean-up and management issues, something
which the Department currently spends billions of dollars every
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13
year trying to manage with current technologies. And it allows
ARPA–E to pursue projects that improve the resilience, reliability,
and security of our energy infrastructure.
The ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019 incorporates extensive
feedback from stakeholders, including input from a hearing on
ARPA–E this Subcommittee held in February, as a matter of fact,
February 26. It also incorporates constructive language from a bill
that I cosponsored with my friend, Ranking Member Lucas, last
year.
Just to name a few of the bill’s many supporters, it is endorsed
by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Manufacturers, the Council on Competitiveness, the Bipartisan
Policy Center, the Association of American Universities, the Asso-
ciation of Public Land-Grant Universities, the Nuclear Energy In-
stitute, the American Petroleum Institute, the American Gas Asso-
ciation, the Energy Storage Association, the Carbon Utilization Re-
search Council, the American Council on Renewable Energy, the
Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Energy Sciences Coali-
tion. I’ll submit the full list of supporters for the record.
ARPA–E’s unique work is one of the best tools we have to
produce the innovation needed to maintain our international com-
petitiveness, and transition ourselves to a clean energy future. If
we are truly serious about using innovation to address the increas-
ing dangers of climate change, then we must provide ARPA–E the
resources to reach its immense potential.
Given this bill’s crucial mission, along with the deep support
from industry, academia, and scientific and environmental organi-
zations, I hope that each of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
will strongly support advancing H.R. 4091 this morning.
With that, I yield back. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Chairwoman Johnson follows:]
I am pleased that we are now considering H.R. 4091, the bipartisan ARPA–E Re-
authorization Act of 2019, led by myself and Chairman Lamb.
Even though the agency is still relatively young, ARPA–E has already dem-
onstrated incredible success in advancing high-risk, high-reward energy technology
solutions that neither the public nor the private sector had been willing or able to
support in the past. Industry leaders like Bill Gates, Chad Holliday, and Norm Au-
gustine have repeatedly called for significantly increasing this agency’s budget given
the unique role that it is now playing in our energy innovation pipeline.
ARPA–E’s impressive track record now includes over $2.9 billion in private-sector
follow-on funding for a group of 145 ARPA–E projects since the agency’s founding
in 2009. Equally notable, 76 projects have formed new companies, 131 projects have
shown enough promise to result in partnerships with other government agencies,
and ARPA–E projects have led to 2,489 peer-reviewed journal articles and 346 U.S.
patents.
Unfortunately, ARPA–E has only been able to support about 1% of the proposals
submitted for its open funding opportunities, and 12% of the proposals submitted
for its focused programs, even though the number of promising, high quality pro-
posals that the agency has received is many times higher.
That is why I am proud to sponsor H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act
of 2019, which authorizes substantial growth in support for the agency over the next
five years. This growth is consistent with the National Academies’ original rec-
ommendations for establishing and supporting ARPA–E, as well as more recent rec-
ommendations from well-respected bipartisan and nonpartisan institutions such as
the Bipartisan Policy Center’s American Energy Innovation Council, the Energy Fu-
tures Initiative, and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
I’d also note that in its review of the program released in 2017, the National
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Academies found that a significant increase in funding would be necessary for
ARPA–E to be able to support the scale-up of several particularly promising tech-
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14
nologies that were previously supported by the agency. But many of these new ap-
proaches are still too risky to be supported by the private sector alone, and too often
other DOE programs remain ill-suited to steward them.
By authorizing these resources, this bill ensures that ARPA–E is able to fully pur-
sue the development and demonstration of truly transformational clean energy tech-
nologies, just as DARPA, the agency upon which ARPA–E is modeled, has been able
to demonstrate time and again for defense applications.
This bill also authorizes ARPA–E to better address DOE’s significant nuclear
waste clean-up and management issues, for which the Department currently spends
billions of dollars every year trying to manage with current technologies. And it al-
lows ARPA–E to pursue projects that improve the resilience, reliability, and security
of our energy infrastructure.
The ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019 incorporates extensive feedback from
stakeholders, including input from a hearing on ARPA–E this Subcommittee held
on February 26th. It also incorporates constructive language from a bill that I co-
sponsored with my friend, Ranking Member Lucas, last year.
Just to name a few of the bill’s many supporters, it is endorsed by the U.S. Cham-
ber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Council on Com-
petitiveness, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Association of American Universities,
the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities, the Nuclear Energy Institute,
the American Gas Association, the Energy Storage Association, the Carbon Utiliza-
tion Research Council, the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Natural Re-
sources Defense Council, and the Energy Sciences Coalition. I’ll submit the full list
of supporters for the record.
ARPA–E’s unique work is one of the best tools we have to produce the innovation
needed to maintain our international competitiveness and transition ourselves to a
clean energy future. If we are truly serious about using innovation to address the
increasing dangers of climate change, then we must provide ARPA–E the resources
to reach its immense potential. Given this bill’s crucial mission, along with its deep
support from industrial, academic, scientific, and environmental organizations, I
hope that each of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will strongly support ad-
vancing H.R. 4091 this morning.
With that, I yield back.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Does anyone
else wish to be recognized?
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Chairman?
Chairman LAMB. So recognized.
Mr. LUCAS. Thank you, Chairman Lamb.
We all know this Committee has one of the best track records in
Congress of passing productive, bipartisan legislation, so I have to
say I’m a little surprised and disappointed that we’ve been unable
to reach a consensus on reauthorizing ARPA–E in a truly bipar-
tisan way, especially given that Republicans have proposed a bill
that not only includes similar program reforms but also authorizes
a responsible spending increase.
Now, I’m optimistic that there are many opportunities for bipar-
tisanship in the future, but as stewards of the taxpayers’ resources,
we, in Congress, must do our job to set realistic priorities and focus
our limited Federal funds where we can maximize the return on
that investment.
Unfortunately, the bills we’re considering today don’t meet that
standard. H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, in-
cludes substantial increases in funding for the program, reaching
$1 billion in funding by 2024. If enacted, this bill would authorize,
I won’t use the word shocking; I’ll just say an amazing 173 percent
increase in spending.
This legislation does include policy reforms that were first pro-
posed in my bipartisan bill last Congress like expanding ARPA–E’s
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mission to include a wider range of innovative technologies and re-
quiring the Department to provide annual reports on ARPA–E
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15
projects. I support these reforms, and I know we can achieve them
without irresponsibly raising spending.
Now, I have spent a number of years working with Chairwoman
Johnson and my friends across the aisle to support ARPA–E, and
I have worked hard in this Congress to bring my Republican col-
leagues to the table. And I am proud of how far we have all come
on this issue. I believe there is a real opportunity to find common
ground. So I’m disappointed I will acknowledge, to see my friends
in the majority on the Science Committee apparently unwilling to
have a realistic and productive conversation about ARPA–E fund-
ing in this Congress.
However, we still have an opportunity to pass a truly bipartisan
ARPA–E bill out of this Committee. My bill, H.R. 3915, the ARPA-
E Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2019, includes the key policy
reforms included in this legislation and includes a realistic funding
profile for the program, authorizing an over $130 million increase
in funding over 5 years, reaching $500 million by 2024.
And I want to remind my colleagues that we are proposing an
amount that is $100 million more than what was included in
Chairwoman Johnson’s ARPA–E authorization bill from the last
Congress. We’re making an effort to find consensus.
I can’t support the bill we’re considering today, but as someone
who is committed to reauthorizing ARPA–E, I hope that before we
consider legislation in the full Committee, we can agree on a com-
promise approach that will actually have a chance of becoming law.
With that, I would remind all my colleagues I’ve been a Member
of the legislative process long enough. I understand and respect the
fact that the majority has the right and the responsibility to gov-
ern. But the minority also has the right and the responsibility to
be heard, and today we’re using this opportunity to stress these
points that we think are critical to a successful reauthorization of
ARPA–E.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lucas follows:]
We all know this Committee has one of the best track records in Congress for
passing productive, bipartisan legislation. So I have to say, I am surprised and dis-
appointed that we have been unable to reach a consensus on reauthorizing ARPA-
E in a truly bipartisan way, especially given that Republicans have proposed a bill
that not only includes similar program reforms but also authorizes a responsible
spending increase.
Now, I am optimistic that there are many opportunities for bipartisanship in the
future. But as stewards of taxpayer resources, we in Congress must do our job to
set realistic priorities and focus our limited federal funds where we can maximize
the return on investment.
Unfortunately, the bills we will consider today don’t meet this standard.
H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, includes substantial in-
creases in funding for the program, reaching $1 billion in funding by 2024. If en-
acted, this bill would authorize a shocking 173 percent increase in spending.
This legislation does include policy reforms that were first proposed in my bipar-
tisan bill last Congress, like expanding ARPA–E’s mission to include a wider range
of innovative technologies and requiring the Department to provide annual reports
on ARPA–E projects. I support these reforms, and I know we can achieve them
without irresponsibly raising spending.
I have spent a number of years working with Chairwoman Johnson and my
friends across the aisle to support ARPA–E, and I have worked hard this Congress
to bring my Republican colleagues to the table. I am proud of how far we all have
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come on this issue, and I believe there is a real opportunity here to find common
ground.
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16
So I am disappointed to see Science Committee Democrats unwilling to have a
realistic and productive conversation on ARPA–E funding this Congress.
However, we still have an opportunity to pass a truly bipartisan ARPA–E bill out
of this Committee. My bill, H.R. 3915, the ARPA–E Reauthorization and Reform Act
of 2019, includes the same key policy reforms included in this legislation. And it in-
cludes a realistic funding profile for the program, authorizing an over $130 million
increase in funding over five years, reaching $500 million by 2024.
I want to remind my colleagues that we are proposing an amount that is over
$100 million more than was included in Chairwoman Johnson’s ARPA–E authoriza-
tion bill from last Congress. We are making an effort to find consensus.
I can’t support the bill we are considering today. But as someone who is com-
mitted to re-authorizing ARPA–E, I hope that before we consider legislation in the
full Committee, we can agree on a compromise approach that actually has a chance
of becoming law.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you to the Ranking Member.
Does anyone else wish to be heard? OK.
We will now proceed with the amendments in the order of the
roster. The first amendment on the roster is an amendment offered
by the gentleman from Illinois. He is recognized to offer an amend-
ment.
Mr. FOSTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at
the desk.
Chairman LAMB. The clerk will report the amendment.
The CLERK. Amendment No. 1, amendment to H.R. 4091 offered
by Mr. Foster.
[The amendment of Mr. Foster follows:]
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17
G:\CMTE\SC\16\ENllRGY\H4091\SC-FOSTBR_01J{ML
AMENDMENT TO H.R. 4091
OFFERED BY M_. _ _ _ __
Page 4, line 20, insert the following (and make such
conforming changes as may be ne<:essary):
1 (3) by adding at the end the following:
2 "(4) CIIIEF EVALUATION OFFICER.-
3 "(A) I:. GE:,JERAL.-The Director shall ap-
4 point within ARPA-E a Chief Evaluation Offi-
5 eer, who shall report to the Direetor and shall
6 be provided suffieieut support staff to m:1rry out
7 the duties described in subparagraph (B).
8 "(B) DuTTES.-The Chief EYaluation Offi-
9 cer appointed under subparagraph (A) shall-
10 "(i) conduct systematic and com-
11 prehensive impact assessments of ARPA-E
12 projects and programs;
13 "(ii) assist with the preparation of the
14 Reports and Roadmaps in section (h); and
15 "(iii} carry out such other activities as
16 determined by the Director.
g:IVHLC',00001 illl)00919.427.xml (74391112)
Septomber9, l!019 (8:01 p.m.>
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18
18
G:\CMTI!\SC\16\ENERGY\H4091\SC-FOSTEILOI.XML
2
"(C) LIIIIITATION.-The appointment
2 under subpard.gl'aph (A) shall be sub,jcct to sub-
3 section (g)( 3 )(A).".
~
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Soptambor II, 201" (8:01 p.m.)
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19
Chairman LAMB. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the
reading. Without objection, so ordered.
I now recognize the gentleman from Illinois for 5 minutes to ex-
plain the amendment.
Mr. FOSTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I hope I don’t use
the 5 minutes here. I’m introducing this amendment to establish
a Chief Evaluation Officer position at ARPA–E.
The National Academies recently issued an assessment of ARPA-
E in 2017, and while the report was generally positive in terms of
ARPA–E’s technological advancements and its effective program
and project management, the authors noted a few areas of atten-
tional improvement.
Now, one area that was in need of attention was ARPA–E’s eval-
uation and assessment program. These are findings 4–9 and rec-
ommendations 4–8 in their report. The Academy found that the
agency is not yet able to fully assess the full extent of its impact
and achievement on its statutory missions and goals. They also
found that ARPA–E is not doing a good job of creating awareness
of its successes in enhancing the economic and energy security of
the United States. The report recommended that, quote, ‘‘The
ARPA–E Director and Program Director should develop and imple-
ment a framework for measuring and assessing the agency’s impact
in achieving its missions and goals.’’
Now, I don’t believe that Congress should be overly prescriptive
in telling ARPA–E how to best measure and assess its impact or
better communicate its success to lawmakers and the general pub-
lic, so my amendment simply creates a position of Chief Evaluation
Officer in ARPA–E.
The Chief Evaluation Officer coordinates, promotes, sponsors,
and builds capacity within a Federal department to help that agen-
cy understand and conduct evaluations. The results of these eval-
uations can be used to improve policies and programs, as well as
communicate the success of the agency to the public. Other Federal
agencies have such a position and benefit greatly from having this
position filled.
Under my amendment, it would be left to ARPA–E and the Chief
Evaluation Officer to determine how to best measure impact and
communicate its successes. The position would also provide some
institutional memory in ARPA–E. Where the Director comes in as
a political appointee and initiates a number of—by design—fairly
short-term projects to provide the agility and flexibility that we all
hope will continue to make ARPA–E a productive research and de-
velopment enterprise.
I think it’s a tremendous idea and I was very pleased to find that
since introducing my amendment, we have learned that ARPA–E
now plans to hire an evaluation and impact assessment expert to
help them respond to the National Academies’ recommendations.
So this is a tremendous example of, I think, first off, the real value
that Congress gets from the National Academies and other sources
of technical advice, and also the way we benefit from having a col-
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laborative relationship between Congress and the agencies that it
oversees.
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20
So, Mr. Chairman, I hereby withdraw my amendment and look
forward to working with the agency to ensure that this critically
important role is effectively filled using existing authorities.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you. The next amendment on the roster
is an amendment offered by the gentleman from Indiana. He is rec-
ognized to offer an amendment.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
Chairman LAMB. The clerk will report the amendment.
The CLERK. Amendment No. 2, amendment to H.R. 4091 offered
by Mr. Baird.
[The amendment of Mr. Baird follows:]
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G:\CMT£\SC\16\ENERGY\H4091\SCRA-AMD_0I.XML
AMENDMENT TO H.R. 4091
OFFERED BY M_. - - - - -
Page 5, strike lines 3 through 9 and insert the fol-
lowing:
1 "(.A) $354,233,250 for fiscal year 2020;
2 "(B) $371,944,913 for fiscal year 2021;
3 and
4 "(C) $390,542,158 for fiscal yeal' 2022.".
~
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22
Chairman LAMB. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the
reading. Without objection, so ordered.
I recognize the gentlemen for 5 minutes to explain the amend-
ment.
Mr. BAIRD. Thank you, Chairman Lamb. My amendment to H.R.
4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019, would replace the
authorized funding levels with more reasonable numbers that have
received bipartisan support in the past.
In the 115th Congress, Chairwoman Johnson introduced H.R.
3681, an ARPA–E reauthorization bill that was cosponsored by 39
Members, including five Democratic Members currently sitting on
this Committee. My amendment simply takes the exact funding
profile proposed in the bill and adds it here. This funding level
would be a modest, reasonable increase in spending with funding,
reaching $390 million in Fiscal Year 2022.
After supporting it last year, I see no reason why Chairwoman
Johnson and my Science Committee colleagues cannot support this
funding level again. Good policy doesn’t change as the result of an
election or based on who controls the House of Representatives,
and successfully reauthorizing ARPA–E will take a collaborative bi-
partisan approach.
The funding levels I propose in this amendment are also re-
flected in Ranking Member Lucas’ bill, H.R. 3915. Mr. Lucas’ bill,
of which I am a cosponsor, proposes a manageable $130 million in-
crease to operate ARPA–E over the next 5 years. That bill proposes
an increase to $500 million by the year 2024, which I will note is
significantly higher than Chairwoman Johnson’s bill from last Con-
gress.
I believe my amendment is a good starting point and Mr. Lucas’
bill is an excellent compromise. I urge all of my colleagues to sup-
port this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you. Are there any other comments or
discussion on the amendment?
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Mr. Chairman?
Chairman LAMB. Madam Chairwoman, you are recognized.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. I move to strike the last word.
Chairman LAMB. You’re recognized.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. I am sure that my friends in the minority
think that they’ve caught me in a tough spot this time. That’s be-
cause the funding levels in this amendment simply match the fund-
ing levels included in the bipartisan ARPA–E Reauthorization Act
that I introduced in 2017.
However, a lot has happened since 2017, but one thing, at that
time, the Trump Administration was attempting to shut down
ARPA–E in defiance of the law. That bill, which had 39 cosponsors,
including 11 Republicans, served to send a strong bipartisan mes-
sage to the Administration to change course and support this agen-
cy in accordance with its statutory mission.
In 2017, ARPA–E’s appropriated funding level was also lower
than it is today, and I think we can all remember that at the time
I was serving as Ranking Member of the Committee rather than
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Chairwoman. That bill was my attempt to write a proposal that the
previous Republican-controlled Congress could pass.
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23
Now, it’s 2019, and things are little different. For one, we now
have a series of recommendations from well-respected bipartisan
and nonpartisan institutions that call for supporting ARPA–E at
the levels in this bill. ARPA–E’s funding levels have increased to
the point where the 2020 level authorized in this amendment
would make a significant cut to the agency’s budget. In fact, even
the out-year funding in this amendment would cut ARPA–E to well
below the bipartisan, House-passed appropriation level for next
year.
The climate crisis has only grown more urgent, and we have a
new congressional majority in the House that is ready and willing
to make the investments we need to address it. For all of these rea-
sons, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. I
yield back.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Any other
discussion on the amendment?
Mr. CASTEN. Move to strike the last word.
Chairman LAMB. You’re recognized.
Mr. CASTEN. So I’m a freshman. I’m pleased to serve with my
friend Mr. Baird. Neither of us were here in the last session, but
as a newly elected Member, I think any discussion of fiscal respon-
sibility with respect to the last Congress deserves one five-word re-
sponse: $1.5 trillion.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Chairman LAMB. You are recognized, sir.
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Chairman, I realize that we have a lot of new
Members in Congress and a lot of new Members on the Committee,
and Chairwoman Johnson and I are kind of the senior Members
from experience and time. So I will just offer a little thought to my
colleagues from my perspective. And I say this respectfully.
But as I mentioned earlier, it is the right and the responsibility
of the majority to govern. It’s the right and the responsibility of the
minority to be heard. What we are trying to do is simply say to our
friends you don’t control the entire congressional process. You don’t
control the Administration. We are trying to work with you to craft
a piece of legislation that gives us a chance to leave this Com-
mittee, and across the floor in a bipartisan way, so that we can
persuade that other body that might not be quite as enlightened
always, as we are to join us in this effort to get something signed
at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
If this is an aspirational bill, I respect that fully. Going from
$500 million to $1 billion is an aspirational increase in 2024. But
we, in the minority, are trying in good faith to work with you to
craft something we can get all the way through. We can’t control
our brethren at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue or the other
side of this building, but we can promise you, based on how hard
it has been to maintain ARPA–E in recent years, that if we don’t
work together, we’ll wind up doing great damage.
So with that, in the greatest of respect for my colleagues, I en-
courage my friends to vote for Dr. Baird’s amendment and to urge
us all to consider those factors today and understand the majority
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will have its way. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. But we’ll
revisit this in full Committee, and we’ll revisit this on the floor and
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24
it’ll make it more difficult ultimately. I want to accomplish some-
thing.
I understand the joys of being in the conscience of the body, as
some of my other friends on the other side have experienced, too.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I respectfully yield back.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. Any further
discussion on the amendment?
Mr. WEBER. I move to strike the last word.
Chairman LAMB. You are recognized.
Mr. WEBER. I appreciate that. What he said, the gentleman from
Oklahoma. I yield back.
Chairman LAMB. Thank you. And I would just recognize myself
for a moment to say that I very much appreciate the spirit of bipar-
tisanship that survives even in moments where we disagree. I
think that our disagreement in this particular case is really a dis-
agreement of degree rather than kind. I think most of us believe
in the ARPA–E program and think that it has been successful and
is promising, and so it’s a debate about how large of a bet that
you’re willing to place on that progress.
I think that our hope is that with the support already of four Re-
publicans, not one, every one of which we value—much like the
good Lord counts every hair on your head—we count every Repub-
lican who is willing to support our bills. We hope that on the other
side of Capitol Hill and at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue
supporters like the Chamber of Commerce and American Gas Asso-
ciation will also carry a lot of weight.
So with that, we will vote on the amendment.
All in favor, say aye.
All opposed, say no.
The noes have it. The amendment is not agreed to.
Are there any more amendments?
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Chair?
Chairman LAMB. You’re recognized. False alarm, OK.
A reporting quorum being present, I move that the Energy Sub-
committee of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee report
H.R. 4091 to the full Committee and with the recommendation that
the bill be approved.
Those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye.
Those opposed, no.
The ayes have it, and the bill is favorably reported.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.
I ask unanimous consent that staff be authorized to make any nec-
essary technical and conforming changes to the bill. Without objec-
tion, so ordered.
Members will have 2 subsequent calendar days in which to sub-
mit supplemental minority or additional views on the measure.
H.R. 4230
Chairman LAMB. We will now consider H.R. 4230, the Clean In-
dustrial Technology Act of 2019, and the clerk will please report
the bill.
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The CLERK. H.R. 4230, a bill.
[The bill follows:]
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25
XXI. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP
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MARKUPS:
H.R. 4901, ARPA-E REAUTHORIZATION
ACT OF 2019; H.R. 2051,
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2019; AND
H.R. 1709, SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY ACT
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND
TECHNOLOGY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
OCTOBER 17, 2019
Serial No. CP 116–10
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
(
Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2019
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COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman
ZOE LOFGREN, California FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma,
DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois Ranking Member
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon MO BROOKS, Alabama
AMI BERA, California, BILL POSEY, Florida
Vice Chair RANDY WEBER, Texas
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania BRIAN BABIN, Texas
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas ANDY BIGGS, Arizona
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
KENDRA HORN, Oklahoma RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas
BRAD SHERMAN, California TROY BALDERSON, Ohio
STEVE COHEN, Tennessee PETE OLSON, Texas
JERRY MCNERNEY, California ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida
PAUL TONKO, New York JIM BAIRD, Indiana
BILL FOSTER, Illinois JAMIE HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington
DON BEYER, Virginia FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois
KATIE HILL, California
BEN MCADAMS, Utah
JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia
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(II)
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C O N T E N T S
October 17, 2019
Page
H.R. 4091—ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019 ................................................ 00
H.R. 2051—Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019 ...... 00
H.R. 1709—Scientific Integrity Act ......................................................................... 00
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(III)
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MARKUPS:
H.R. 4091, ARPA–E REAUTHORIZATION
ACT OF 2019; H.R. 2051,
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2019; AND
H.R. 1709, SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY ACT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY,
Washington, D.C.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in room
2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Eddie Bernice
Johnson [Chairwoman of the Committee] presiding.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Good morning. The Committee will come
to order. And without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare
recess at any time. Pursuant to Committee rule and House rule XI,
the Chair announces that she may postpone roll call votes.
Pursuant to notice, the Committee meets to consider the fol-
lowing measures: H.R. 4091, ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019;
H.R. 2051, Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of
2019; and H.R. 1709, Scientific Integrity Act.
Good morning, and welcome to today’s markup of three bills. I’m
very pleased that we are considering the bipartisan ARPA–E Reau-
thorization Act of 2019 this morning. ARPA–E (Advanced Research
Projects Agency–Energy) stewards the development of high-risk,
high-reward energy technologies that neither the private sector nor
other DOE (Department of Energy) programs had previously been
willing to support.
After demonstrating a strong record of success over its first 10
years in operation and successfully passing numerous independent,
bipartisan, and nonpartisan assessments over the last several
years, it is clear that ARPA–E has been a successful program. This
bill will enable ARPA–E to truly fulfill its potential to help trans-
form our Nation’s energy infrastructure for a far cleaner and more
prosperous future.
The next bill we will consider is H.R. 2051, the Sustainable
Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019, which is spon-
sored by the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Lipinski. The Research
and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing in July to explore the
challenges and opportunities in sustainable chemistry. The Com-
mittee heard from an expert panel of witnesses about the need for
more research and technology development, improved chemistry
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(1)
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2
education, and enhanced Federal agency coordination to encourage
the use of sustainable chemicals and processes throughout the
chemical science and engineering enterprise. All of the witnesses
spoke in support of H.R. 2051.
This bipartisan bill is a good step to advancing the chemical in-
novations we need to reduce our reliance on substances that are
hazardous to human health and the environment. I want to thank
Mr. Lipinski for his leadership on this important issue. I’ll also
take a moment to mention that this bill has a companion in the
Senate which is sponsored by Senator Coons, and I know he is com-
mitted to moving this legislation forward. Hopefully, he can help us
to get this important legislation enacted this Congress.
Last, we will consider H.R. 1709, the Scientific Integrity Act. I
want to thank Mr. Tonko for his leadership on this legislation,
which began in 2016 when he sought to codify the scientific integ-
rity policies put in place under the Obama Administration for all
agencies that fund, conduct, and oversee scientific research. These
policies were developed in response to a 2010 memorandum from
the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which in turn was in
response to a requirement in the 2007 America COMPETES Act.
This legislation brings our 2007 effort full circle by spelling out
in law the core principles of a Federal agency’s scientific integrity
policy. There are many specific principles addressing openness,
transparency, and due process. At their essence, they are about
protecting Federal science and scientists from undue political influ-
ence and ensuring that the public can trust the science and sci-
entific process informing public policy decisions.
H.R. 1709 has 218 cosponsors and has earned the endorsements
of 60 organizations. This is important legislation, regardless of
which party is in the White House, and I urge my colleagues to
support it.
I’d like to also take a moment to observe that we will be consid-
ering extensive amendments to each of these bills, offered by all
three bill sponsors. All of these amendments were formed with
input from outside stakeholders and also extensive negotiations
with Ranking Member Lucas and his staff. I greatly appreciate his
efforts to reach bipartisan agreements, and the efforts of both of
our staffs to work together.
It sometimes seems like ‘‘compromise’’ has become a dirty word
in this town. I will be the first to acknowledge that compromise can
be less than satisfying. But I do not believe that our constituents
sent us here to posture. There are real problems that need to be
solved, and those problems won’t be addressed if Democrats and
Republicans always go their separate ways. I hope that the Science
Committee will continue to be a place where people from both sides
of the aisle can come together to pass good legislation, and I look
forward to doing that today.
[The prepared statement of Chairwoman Johnson follows:]
Good morning and welcome to today’s markup of three good bills.
I am very pleased that we are considering the bipartisan ARPA–E Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2019 this morning. ARPA–E stewards the development of high-risk, high-
reward energy technologies that neither the private sector nor other DOE programs
had previously been willing or able to support. After demonstrating a strong record
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of success over its first ten years in operation, and successfully passing numerous
independent, bipartisan, and nonpartisan assessments over the last several years,
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3
it is clear ARPA–E has been a successful program. This bill will enable ARPA–E
to truly fulfill its potential to help transform our nation’s energy infrastructure for
a far cleaner and more prosperous future.
The next bill we will consider is H.R. 2051, the Sustainable Chemistry Research
and Development Act of 2019, which is sponsored by the gentleman from Illinois,
Mr. Lipinski. The Research and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing in July
to explore the challenges and opportunities in sustainable chemistry. The Com-
mittee heard from an expert panel of witnesses about the need for more research
and technology development, improved chemistry education, and enhanced Federal
agency coordination to encourage the use of sustainable chemicals and processes
throughout the chemical science and engineering enterprise. All of the witnesses
spoke in support of H.R. 2051.
This bipartisan bill is a good step to advancing the chemical innovations we need
to reduce our reliance on substances that are hazardous to human health and the
environment. I want to thank Mr. Lipinski for his leadership on this important
issue. I’ll also take a moment to mention that this bill has a companion in the Sen-
ate which is sponsored by Senator Coons. I know he is committed to moving this
legislation forward, and hopefully he can help us to get this important legislation
enacted this Congress.
Last, we will consider H.R. 1709, the Scientific Integrity Act. I want to thank Mr.
Tonko for his leadership on this legislation, which began in 2016 when he sought
to codify the scientific integrity policies put in place under the Obama Administra-
tion for all agencies that fund, conduct, and oversee scientific research. Those poli-
cies were developed in response to a 2010 memorandum from the Office of Science
and Technology Policy, which in turn was in response to a requirement in the 2007
America COMPETES Act. This legislation brings our 2007 effort full circle by spell-
ing out in law the core principles of a Federal agency scientific integrity policy.
There are many specific principles addressing openness, transparency, and due proc-
ess. At their essence, they are about protecting federal science and scientists from
undue political influence and ensuring that the public can trust the science and sci-
entific process informing public policy decisions. H.R. 1709 has 218 cosponsors and
has earned the endorsements of 60 organizations. This is important legislation, re-
gardless of which party is in the White House, and I urge my colleagues to support
it.
I’d like to also take a moment to observe that we will be considering extensive
amendments to each of these bills, offered by all three bill sponsors. All of these
amendments were formed with input from outside stakeholders and also extensive
negotiations with Ranking Member Lucas and his staff. I greatly appreciate his ef-
forts to reach bipartisan agreements, and the efforts of both of our staffs to work
together.
It sometimes seems like ‘‘compromise’’ has become a dirty word in this town. I
will be the first to acknowledge that compromise can be less-than-satisfying. But I
do not believe that our constituents sent us here to posture.
There are real problems that need to be solved, and those problems won’t be ad-
dressed if Democrats and Republicans always go their separate ways. I hope that
the Science Committee will continue to be a place where people from both sides of
the aisle can come together to pass good legislation, and I look forward to doing that
today.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. I now recognize our Ranking Member,
Mr. Lucas, for his remarks.
Mr. LUCAS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
And today, we will consider three bills. The first is H.R. 4091,
the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019. After a lot of negotiation,
I’m pleased to say we’ve reached a bipartisan consensus on this leg-
islation, and I look forward to supporting the bill, as amended. I
want to thank the Chairwoman for being willing to come to the
table and find a more measured approach we can all agree on.
I believe the additional changes in the manager’s amendments
that we’ll consider today will further strengthen this legislation.
With this amendment, we’ll double our investment in ARPA–E’s
high-risk, high-reward research over 5 years, but we’ll also estab-
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lish important guardrails to ensure that we’re using our limited re-
search dollars wisely and efficiently.
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4
To be sure, we’re not using taxpayer dollars on initiatives that
industry can conduct, the bill requires grant applicants to dem-
onstrate they made sufficient attempts to fund projects without
Federal dollars. Importantly, this bill will address the problem of
duplication within ARPA–E. Like all Federal programs, ARPA–E
isn’t perfect, and in the past, some initiatives have appeared to du-
plicate the efforts of other DOE programs. ARPA–E is meant to
focus on cutting-edge research to enable transformative tech-
nologies. It can’t do that if its resources are being drained by dupli-
cative work conducted elsewhere in the Department. This bill will
require the Department to prevent duplication between ARPA–E’s
initiatives and other research across DOE.
I’m also pleased that Chairwoman Johnson has agreed to join me
in a GAO (Government Accountability Office) request seeking to
add transparency to the program. With this report, I hope we can
shed more light on unintended duplication and develop policies to
prevent that from occurring in the future. Taken together, these
initiatives will strengthen ARPA–E and refocus the program on its
intended mission: Serving as the bridge between basic research and
industry-led innovation.
The second bill on our agenda today is H.R. 2051, the Sustain-
able Chemistry Act of 2019. H.R. 2051 provides for Federal coordi-
nation of research and development for new innovations in chem-
istry, manufacturing, and materials. This bill continues our Com-
mittee’s bipartisan commitment to prioritizing fundamental re-
search for new technologies and the ideas that will drive the Amer-
ican economy into the future.
Chemistry is essential to our economy and plays a vital role in
helping to solve the greatest challenges facing the Nation and our
world. From farming to medicine to the applications we use, chem-
ical manufacturing touches our lives every day. There is market de-
mand for chemical products that use resources more efficiently and
are safer for both humans and the environment. Consumers want
these products to be just as effective or more effective than tradi-
tional chemical products. This bill will help support the research,
training, and standards needed to meet these demands.
It’s rare that a bill has the endorsement of both the chemical
companies and the environmental advocates. I thank the bill’s
sponsors, Representative Dan Lipinski and Representative John
Moolenaar, for their leadership on this issue and for developing a
good consensus bill. I encourage my colleagues to support it.
The final bill on our agenda today is the Scientific Integrity Act.
I will speak more about that when we consider the bill and I’ll offer
an amendment. But in the meantime, I appreciate Chairwoman
Johnson and the bill’s sponsor Mr. Tonko for working with us on
a compromise that will be able to move that bill forward with my
support.
In the meantime, I look forward to considering our bipartisan
bills on ARPA–E and sustainable chemistry. Thank you, Madam
Chair, and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lucas follows:]
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Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Today we will consider three bills.
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5
The first is H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization Act of 2019. After a lot of
negotiation, I’m pleased to say we’ve reached a bipartisan consensus on this legisla-
tion, and I look forward to supporting the bill as amended.
I want to thank the Chairwoman for being willing to come to the table and find
a more measured approach we can all agree on.
I believe the additional changes in the Manager’s Amendment that we’ll consider
today will further strengthen this legislation. With this amendment, we’ll double our
investment in ARPA–E’s high-risk, high-reward research over 5 years—but we’ll
also establish important guardrails to ensure we’re using our limited research dol-
lars wisely and efficiently.
To be sure we’re not using taxpayer dollars on initiatives that industry can con-
duct, the bill requires grant applicants to demonstrate they made sufficient at-
tempts to fund projects without federal dollars.
Importantly, this bill will address the problem of duplication within ARPA–E.
Like all federal programs, ARPA–E isn’t perfect, and in the past, some initiatives
have appeared to duplicate the efforts of other DOE programs.
ARPA–E is meant to focus on cutting-edge research to enable transformative tech-
nologies. It can’t do that if its resources are being drained by duplicative work con-
ducted elsewhere in the Department.
This bill will require the Department to prevent duplication between ARPA–E’s
initiatives and other research across DOE.
I’m also pleased that Chairwoman Johnson has agreed to join me in a GAO re-
quest seeking to add transparency to this program. With this report, I hope we can
shed some light on unintended duplication and develop policies to prevent that from
occurring in the future.
Taken together, these initiatives will strengthen ARPA–E and refocus the pro-
gram on its intended mission: serving as the bridge between basic research and in-
dustry-led innovation.
The second bill on our agenda today is H.R. 2051, the Sustainable Chemistry Act
of 2019. H.R. 2051 provides for federal coordination of research and development for
new innovations in chemistry, manufacturing and materials.
This bill continues our Committee’s bipartisan commitment to prioritizing funda-
mental research for new technologies and the ideas that will drive the American
economy into the future.
Chemistry is essential to our economy and plays a vital role in helping to solve
the biggest challenges facing the nation and our world.
From farming to medicine to the appliances we use, chemical manufacturing
touches our lives every day.
There is market demand for chemical products that use resources more efficiently
and are safer for both humans and the environment. Consumers want these prod-
ucts to be just as effective, or more effective than traditional chemical products. This
bill will help support the research, training, and standards needed to meet these
demands.
It’s rare that a bill has the endorsement of both chemical companies and environ-
mental advocates. I thank the bill’s sponsors Rep. Dan Lipinski and Rep. John
Moolenaar for their leadership on this issue, and for developing a good consensus
bill.
I encourage my colleagues to support it.
The final bill on our agenda today is the Scientific Integrity Act. I will speak more
on that when we consider the bill and I offer an amendment. But in the meantime,
I appreciate Chairwoman Johnson and the bill’s sponsor Mr. Tonko for working with
us on a compromise to be able to move that bill forward with my support.
In the meantime, I look forward to considering our bipartisan bills on ARPA–E
and sustainable chemistry. Thank you and I yield back.
H.R. 4091
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Thank you very much.
We will now consider H.R. 4091, the ARPA–E Reauthorization
Act of 2019. The clerk will report the bill.
The CLERK. H.R. 4091, a bill to amend the America COMPETES
Act to reauthorize the ARPA–E program and for other purposes.
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[The bill follows:]
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Committee Print
11tl·rncoxcm~JSS
]ST 8E&'UON
H R 409}
• •
To nmeud the Anwriea COMPETES Act to reautho,ir,e the ARP,\-E
prugram, and for other Jlll)l>OScs.
JN THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES
introduced the following bill; which w11a «•ferl'e(I to the Committee on Science,
Space, anrl Technology
A BILL
To amend the America COMPETES Act to reauthorize the
ARPA-E program, and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Renate and Hou.~e of llepresenta-
2 tit>es qf' the Un-ited States of 11 merica in 01myres.~ t1.~se111bled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 Thi:; Act mn,Y he eited as the "ARPA-I~ Reauthoriza-
5 t.ion Act of 2019".
6 SEC. 2. ARPA-E AMENDMENTS.
7 (a} ESTAin,!Sllirn:,..r.-Stwtfon 5012{b) of the Amer•
8 iea CO}lPETES Act (42 U.S.C. Hi5!18(h)) is amended
9 by striking "development of energy technologies" and in-
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2
sert.iug "development of t.rausformative scie11ce and tech-
2 nology solutions to address lhc energy 11nd environmental
3 missions of the Department".
4 (h) G<lAL8.-Section 5012(e) of the America COl-1-
5 pg'J'}~S Aet (42 l:.S.C. 16538(e)) is amendetl-
6 (1) hy striking para!):mph ( 1)(A) and insertiug
7 the following:
8 "(A) to enhance the economic and unergy
9 security of the United States through the devel-
10 opment of energy technologies that-
11 "(i) reduce imports of energy from
12 f'orcig11 SOlll'!'CS;
13 "{ii) reduce energy-related emissions,
14 including greenhouse gases;
15 "(iii) improve the energy efficiency of
16 all economic sectors;
17 "(iv) providu transformative solutions
18 to improve lhc managt,me11t, clca11-up, and
19 disposal of radionc,t.ive waste and spent nn-
20 efoar fu(ll; and
21 "(v) improve the rnsilience, reliability,
22 and security of infrastnrnture to produce,
23 dr.livr.r, and store energy; and"; and
24 (2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preee<ling
25 subparagraph (Al, by striking "energy teelmology
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projects" und inserting "advanced technology
2 pr1'jects".
3 (e) ltESPOK'HlBJl,ITIES.-Section 5012(e)(a)(A) of
4 the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C.
5 165:J8(e)(:{)(A)) is amended by strikin!!' "energy".
6 (d) REPORTS AXD Ro,\DMAPS.-Section 5012(h) of
7 the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538(h)) is
8 amenrled to read as follow!l:
9 "(h) HEPORTS AND l{OAD:l'lAPS.-
10 "(1} AN:-;TAL REPORT.-As part of the annual
1t hud!!'et request submitted for each fiscal year, the
12 Director shall provide to t,he relevant authorizing
13 and appropriations !'ommittees of Congress a report
14 deserihing-
15 ''(A) projects supported by ARPA-E dur-
16 inl! the previous fiscal year; and
17 "(B) current, proposed, and planned
18 projC!lts to he earrie<l out pursuant to sub-
19 section {e)(3)(D).
20 "{2) STlUTE(ll(' VIHI0:-1 ROADlrL\P.-Xot later
21 than Oetolxlr 1, 2021, and ever): four years t.here-
22 after, the Director shall provide to the relevant au-
23 thoriir,ing and appropriations committees of Conirress
24 a roadmap des<;rihing the strategic vision that
25 ARPA-E will use to guide the ehoiees of .ARPA-E
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4
1 for future technology investments over the following
2 4 fiseal years.".
3 (c) EVAJ,UATION.-Scction 5012(1) of the America
4 COMPI<~TES Act (42 C.S.C. 1HMl8(1)) is amcnded-
5 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
6 following:
7 "(l) I'.\' GRNERAJ..-:;-.iot later tfom 3 years
8 after the date of enactment of the ARP.A-E R<mu-
9 thodzation .A<--t of 2019, the Secr<itary is authorized
to to enter iuto a contract \\<ith tl1e National Academy
11 of Sciences under which the National .Academy shall
12 rmnctuct. an evaluation ol' how well ARPA-E is
13 aehieving the goals and mission of ARPA-E."; and
14 (2) in parugra1>h (2)-
15 (A) in t.ht• matter preceding subparairraph
16 (A), by striking ''shall" and inserting "may";
17 and
18 (R) in subparagraph (A), by striking "the
19 recommendation of the National Academy of
20 Science!!" and inserting "a reeommcndation".
21 (f) AUTIIOHIZATJOX m· A.l'l'ROl'RIATIOXS.-l'm·a-
22 graph (2) of section 5012(0) of the ,:\mtiriea CO:.\1PETES
23 Ad. (42 U.8.G. 165:38(0)) is amended to read as follows:
24 "(2) .i\tTTHORIZATION OF A.l'.l'RO.l'RIATTOXS.-
25 Subject to paragraph (4), there arc authorizcid to be
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5
appropriated tn the Di1·eetor for deposit in the
2 Fund, without fiscal year limitation-
3 "(A) $428,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
4 "(B) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
5 "(C) $675,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
6 "(D) $825,000,000 f'or fiscal year 2023;
7 and
8 "(E) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year
9 2024.".
10 (g) 'l'BCH:XIC.\I, M!ENDMBN'l'S.-Seetion 5012 of the
11 America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 165:18) is amcn<l-
12 ed-
13 (1) in subsection (g)(3)(A)(iii), by striking
14 ",mbpart" each place it a1>p!iars and inserting "sub-
15 paragraph"; and
16 (2) in subimetion (o)(4)(B), by striking
17 "(c)(2)(D)" and inserting "(c)(2)(C)".
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11
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Without objection, the bill is considered
as read and open to amendment at any point. I recognize myself
to speak on this bill.
I’m pleased that we are now considering H.R. 4091. Before going
into any further detail, I want to thank my friend Ranking Member
Lucas for working with me to come to an agreement on the bill.
After discussions between ourselves and our staff, I am proud to
say that we have achieved a genuine compromise that will allow
us to support this bill together this morning. As I noted during the
Energy Subcommittee markup of 4091 last month, ARPA–E has al-
ready demonstrated incredible success in advancing high-risk,
high-reward energy technology solutions that neither the public
sector nor the private sector have been willing or able to support
in the past.
Industry leaders like Bill Gates, Chad Holliday, and Norman Au-
gustine have repeatedly called for significantly increasing this
Agency’s budget given the unique role that it is now playing in our
energy innovation pipeline. ARPA–E’s impressive track record now
includes over $2.9 billion in private-sector follow-on funding for a
group of 145 ARPA–E projects since the Agency’s founding in 2009.
Equally notable, 76 projects have formed new companies, and
that’s one of the main goals here. We want American science in-
vestments to result in American innovation and high-tech jobs.
ARPA–E projects have also had significant impacts on science,
leading to thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles and 346 U.S.
patents.
Unfortunately, ARPA–E has only been able to support about 1
percent of the proposals submitted for its open funding opportuni-
ties and 12 percent of the proposals submitted to the FOCUS (Full-
Spectrum Optimized Conversion and Utilization of Sunlight) pro-
grams. Too many good ideas are falling by the wayside, and that
ends up shifting the enormous potential of this program—stifling
the enormous potential of the program.
H.R. 4091 addresses this problem by authorizing substantial
growth and support for the Agency over the next 5 years. The
growth is consistent with the National Academies’ original rec-
ommendations for establishing and supporting ARPA–E, as well as
more recent recommendations from well-respected bipartisan and
nonpartisan institutions such as the Bipartisan Policy Center of
America’s Energy Innovation Council, the Energy Futures Initia-
tive, and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
H.R. 4091 incorporates extensive feedback from stakeholders, in-
cluding constructive language from a bill that I cosponsored with
Ranking Member Lucas last year. The bill would incorporate addi-
tional provisions proposed by the Ranking Member upon the pas-
sage of the manager’s amendment today. I value the perspectives
that the Ranking Member and my colleagues across the aisle bring
to this Committee and will continue to consider good ideas to im-
prove our legislation wherever they come from.
This bill is now endorsed by a broad coalition of organizations,
including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association
of Manufacturers, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Association of
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American Universities, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the American
Petroleum Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council and
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12
Energy Storage Association, the Carbon Utilization Research Coun-
cil, the American Council for Renewable Energy, the Environ-
mental Defense Fund, and the Energy Sciences Coalition, just to
name a few.
ARPA–E’s unique work is one of the best tools we have to
produce the innovation needed to maintain our international com-
petitiveness and transition ourselves to a clean energy future.
Given this bill’s crucial mission, along with this deep support from
our Nation’s leading industrial, academic, scientific, and environ-
mental organizations, I am hopeful that all of my colleagues will
strongly support advancing 4091 this morning.
Does anyone else need to be recognized or desire to be recog-
nized?
The Chair recognizes Mr. Lipinski.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Thank you, Chairwoman Johnson. I just want to
very briefly say ARPA–E I think is one of the most important pro-
grams that we have making a difference with the potential to do
even greater things for our country. And when it comes to our posi-
tion on science and technology and innovation and addressing a lot
of the big problems that we face, including climate issues and other
very critical issues, I just want to say this is very important. I’m
glad we’ve been able to come to agreement on this. I yield back.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Thank you very much. Ms. Bonamici.
Ms. BONAMICI. Thank you, Chairwoman Johnson. I move to
strike the last word.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. The Chair recognizes you for 5 minutes.
Ms. BONAMICI. Thank you, Chairwoman. In addition to the
Science Committee, I serve on the Select Committee on the Climate
Crisis, and I just came from a hearing in that Committee. And, you
know, in northwest Oregon climate change is a reality. We have
acidic oceans that are threatening our shellfish industry on the Pa-
cific Coast. We have smoke from raging wildfires that’s made air
unhealthy to breathe. We have decreased snowpack that’s limiting
access to skiing and snowboarding, and that affects our outdoor
recreation industry. We have droughts and extreme weather pat-
terns that are jeopardizing the livelihoods of our farmers and our
prestigious wineries; warmer water temperatures in the Columbia
River that are endangering salmon, which are a fundamental part
of the identity and culture of the Northwest tribes; and, of course,
rising sea levels that are threatening homeowners and small busi-
nesses in our coastal communities.
If you look at the findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change in the Fourth National Climate Assessment, it’s
more than a wake-up call; it’s really an alarm. Greenhouse gas
emissions from human activities are the most substantial factor
that account for observed warming over the past 6 decades, and
carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are higher than
any time in the last 3 million years.
We know the climate crisis is a national emergency and an exis-
tential threat, and we have the imperative to act on climate and
to transition to a clean energy economy no later than midcentury.
And that transition can start by strengthening investments in re-
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search and development for clean energy, which is one of the rea-
sons why I’m so proud to cosponsor the bipartisan ARPA–E Reau-
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13
thorization Act. The bill would more than double authorization for
the Agency to $1 billion by 2024. These funds will help support the
high-risk but high-reward energy research that’s not being ad-
dressed by the private sector. At current funding levels ARPA–E
continues to identify more projects than can be funded. And it’s
worth noting that the increase in funding is consistent with the
recommendations from the National Academies in their assessment
‘‘Rising Above the Gathering Storm’’ report. By authorizing $1 bil-
lion for ARPA–E, we can show leadership and also help accelerate
the development of clean energy technologies.
And, importantly, we must complement Federal high-risk, high-
reward programs like ARPA–E with regional partnerships that can
spur the development of early stage innovations and help also
move new technologies beyond laboratory research to market de-
ployment.
I’m working on a bill to help support the creation and expansion
of regional private-public partnerships to foster an environment of
innovation and job creation at the local level and to accelerate
smart market deployment of clean energy technologies. And that is
something that, you know, since the creation of ARPA–E, we have
seen so much growth in the private sector, as well as the
groundbreaking research, so it takes vision and persistence to pur-
sue areas of research when the benefits are unknown at the outset.
The Federal Government has a role as an active participant in this
important work, and one part of that is providing robust funding
for ARPA–E.
So I thank Chairwoman Johnson for her leadership on this bipar-
tisan bill. I also thank the Ranking Member for his collaboration,
and I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Thank you very much. Any other re-
quests for time?
We will now proceed with the amendments in the order of the
roster. The Chair’s amendment, the first amendment on the roster
is an amendment offered by the Chair. The clerk will report the
amendment.
The CLERK. Amendment No. 1, amendment to Committee print
of H.R. 4091 offered by Ms. Johnson.
[The amendment of Chairwoman Johnson follows:]
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O:\CMTE\SC\l6\SCIBNCEIH4091-FC-MGRS_OJ.XML
AMENDMENT TO COMMI'ITEE PRINT OF H.R. 4091
OFFERED BY Ms_. Johnson
[PaJe and line numben refer to CP_4091 with tim~tamp of
September 12, 2019 at 4:111 a.m.]
Page 3, after line 16, insert the following (and make
such conforming changes as may be neces.<1Rry):
"(B) projects supported by ARPA-E dur-
2 ini.r the prc,·ious fiscal year that examine topics
3 and tcchnolo1,ries closely related to other activi-
4 tiei-; fumled by the Department, and includes an
5 analysis of whether in supporting such projects,
6 the Director is iu compliance with subsection
7 (i)(l)(A); and".
Page 4, after line 2, insert the following (and make
such conforming changes as may he 1u'eessary):
8 (e) COORDINATION AND Noxnm•J.JCATION.---..qi;ction
9 5012(i)(I) of the America CO:.\IPETES Allt (42 lLS.C.
10 16538(i)(l)) is arnendml to read as follows:
11 "(1) IN GRKF.RAL.-To the maximum extent
12 practicable, the Director shall ensure that-
13 "(A) the acfa-ities of ARPA-E are coordi-
14 nated with, aud do not dupli11ate the efforts of,
gWHLC\10111&\101119.217.xml (74698511)
Odoller 11, 2019 (4:04 p.m.)
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15
15
G:\CMTE\SC\16\SCIBNCE\H409l-FC-MGRS_O!.XML
2
programs and laboratories within the Depart-
2 ment and other relevant research agencies; and
3 "(B) ARPA-E does not provide funding
4 for a projeet unless the prospective grantee
5 demonstrates sufficient attempts to secure pri-
6 vate financing or iudieates that the prqjeet. is
7 not. i11depende11tly tiommereially viable.".
Page 5, strike lines 4 through 9 and insert the fol-
lowing:
8 "(Bl $497,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
9 "(C) $567,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
10 "(D) $651,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
11 and
12 "(E) $7fi0,000,000 for fistla! year 2024.".
~
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16
Chairwoman JOHNSON. I ask unanimous consent to dispense
from further reading, and without objection, so ordered. I recognize
myself for 5 minutes to briefly explain the amendment.
The manager’s amendment represents an agreement between me
and my friend Mr. Lucas to pass a major reauthorization of ARPA–
E out of this Committee with strong bipartisan support. I greatly
appreciate the hard work that he and his staff put into achieving
this compromise, and I truly hope that this bodes well for all of our
mutual efforts to advance the authorization of other important
clean energy R&D (research and development) programs going for-
ward. I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support
the amendment, and I yield back.
Is there further discussion?
Mr. LUCAS. Madam Chair?
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Mr. Lucas.
Mr. LUCAS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. When we marked
up H.R. 4091 in the Energy Subcommittee, I said that I believed
there was an opportunity to find common ground and to reauthor-
ize ARPA–E in a bipartisan way. I want to thank you, Chairwoman
Johnson, for working with me to achieve that common ground
through this manager’s amendment. We both had to make com-
promises, but I believe we achieved consensus. And I believe this
amendment is a responsible approach and will give us the best
chance to see a robust reauthorization bill signed into law.
I introduced a bill in July to reauthorize and reform ARPA–E,
and the manager’s amendment we are considering today includes
elements of that bill that were essential for reaching bipartisan
consensus. ARPA–E is meant to advance cutting-edge technologies
that are too high-risk for industry but have the potential to revolu-
tionize energy production, development, and use in America. This
is vitally important work, and ARPA–E is unique in its ability to
do this. So it’s critical that even as we grow the program’s re-
sources, we make sure that we’re going to fund work within ARPA–
E’s mission, not duplicative research, a development that can be
better funded by other DOE programs or the private industry.
This manager’s amendment goes a long way toward eliminating
the duplication between ARPA–E and other Department of Energy
research. It also creates a more rigorous approval process that en-
sures applicants have first sought private investment before apply-
ing for ARPA–E grants.
These reforms, in addition to the reforms included in the original
legislation, have given us the opportunity to pass a bipartisan bill
that benefits taxpayers while strengthening the transformational
energy research.
I want to thank the Chairwoman for working with me on this
bill, and I yield back.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Thank you very much.
Any further discussion on the amendment?
Seeing none, the vote will occur on the amendment.
All those in favor, say aye.
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Those opposed, no.
The ayes have it, and the amendment is agreed to.
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17
We now will hear the Foster amendment. The next amendment
on the roster is offered by the gentleman from Illinois. He is recog-
nized to offer the amendment.
Mr. FOSTER. Thank you. I have an amendment at the desk.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. The clerk will report the amendment.
The CLERK. Amendment No. 2, amendment to H.R. 4091 offered
by Mr. Foster.
[The amendment of Mr. Foster follows:]
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G:\CMTE\SC\16\ENERGY\H4091\SC-FOSTER_0l .XML
AMENDMENT TO H.R. 4091
OFFERED BY Mr . F_o_s_te_r_ __
Page 4, line 20, insert the foll°',ing (and make such
conforming d1an1,,'l:!s as may be necessary):
(3) hy adding at the (md the following:
2 "(4) CIIIEJ<' EVAIXA'l'JO:>; 01''l<'ICEH.-
3 "(A) l~ Gl~i\BitAL.-'l'hc Director shall ap-
4 point within ARPA-I<: a Chief Evaluation Offi-
5 cer, who shall report to the Director and shall
6 be provided sufficient support staff to earry out
7 the duties described iu subparagraph (B).
8 "(B) DU'rrns.-The Chief Ernluation Offi-
9 cer appointed under subparagraph (A) shall-
lO ''(i) conduct systematic and com-
11 prehensive impact assessments of ARPA-E
12 projeets and programs;
13 "(ii) assist with the preparation of the
14 Reports and Roadmaps in section (h); and
15 "(iii) carry out such other acthities as
16 determined by the Director·.
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2
LHIITA'l'I0:'11.-Thc appoi11tment
2 unrler l,jubparugraph (A) 11hall be su~jcct to sub-
3 section (g)(3)(A).".
lg]
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20
Chairwoman JOHNSON. I ask unanimous consent to dispense
with the reading. Without objection, so ordered.
I recognize the gentleman for 5 minutes to explain his amend-
ment.
Mr. FOSTER. Thank you, Ms. Chairwoman. I’m introducing this
amendment to establish a Chief Evaluation Officer position at
ARPA–E. In 2017 the National Academies issued a comprehensive
assessment of ARPA–E. While the report was generally positive in
terms of ARPA–E’s technological advancements and effective pro-
gram and project management, the authors noted a few areas in
need of improvement.
One area in need of attention was ARPA–E’s evaluation and as-
sessment program. The Academy found that the Agency is not yet
able to fully assess the full extent of its impact and achievement
of its statutory mission and goals. They also found that ARPA–E
is doing a poor job of creating awareness of its success in enhanc-
ing the economic and energy security of the United States. The re-
port recommended that, quote, ‘‘The ARPA–E Director and Pro-
gram Director should develop and implement a framework for
measuring and assessing the Agency’s impact in achieving its mis-
sion and goals,’’ unquote.
I do not want to be overly prescriptive in telling ARPA–E how
to better measure and assess its impact or better communicate its
success to lawmakers and the general public. My amendment sim-
ply creates a position of Chief Evaluation Officer, a position which
is successfully used in other agencies. A Chief Evaluation Officer
coordinates, promotes, sponsors, and builds capacity within a Fed-
eral department to help the Agency understand and conduct eval-
uations. The results of these evaluations can be used to improve
policies and programs, as well as to communicate the success of the
Agency to the public. It will be left up to ARPA–E and the Chief
Evaluation Officer to determine how best to measure impact and
communicate its success.
Now, since introducing my amendment, I have recently learned
that ARPA–E now plans to hire an evaluation impact assessment
expert to help them respond to the National Academies’ rec-
ommendations.
So, Ms. Chairwoman, I withdraw my amendment and look for-
ward to working with the Agency to ensure that this critically im-
portant role is filled using existing authorities. And I yield back.
Chairwoman JOHNSON. Thank you very much.
Are there any other amendments? Are there any requests for
time?
If not, a reporting quorum being present, I move that the Com-
mittee on Science, Space, and Technology report H.R. 4091, as
amended, to the House with the recommendation that the bill be
approved.
Those in favor of the motion can signify by saying aye.
Those opposed, no.
Hearing none, the motion is carried.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table,
and I ask unanimous consent that the staff be authorized to make
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any necessary technical and conforming changes to the bill. With-
out objection, so ordered.
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21
Members will have 2 subsequent calendar days in which to sub-
mit supplementary minority and additional views on this measure.
H.R. 2051
Chairwoman JOHNSON. We will now consider H.R. 2051, the Sus-
tainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019. The
clerk will report the bill.
The CLERK. H.R. 2051, a bill to provide for Federal coordination
of activities supporting sustainable chemistry and for other pur-
poses.
[The bill follows:]
Æ
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