§ 2703. — Advanced systems program implementation by Secretary of Energy.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC2703]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 54--AUTOMOTIVE PROPULSION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Sec. 2703. Advanced systems program implementation by Secretary
of Energy
(a) Establishment and conduct of program
The Secretary of Energy shall establish, within the Department of
Energy, a program to insure the development of advanced automobile
propulsion systems within 5 years after February 25, 1978, or within the
shortest practicable time, consistent with appropriate research and
development technique. In conducting such program, the Secretary of
Energy shall--
(1) establish and conduct new projects and accelerate existing
projects which may contribute to the development of advanced
automobile propulsion systems;
(2) give priority attention to the development of advanced
propulsion systems with appropriate attention to those advanced
propulsion systems which are flexible in the type of fuel used; and
(3) insure that research and development under this chapter
supplements, but neither supplants nor duplicates, the automotive
research and development efforts of private industry.
(b) Contracts and grants with Federal agencies, laboratories, etc.
The Secretary of Energy shall, in fulfilling his responsibilities
under this chapter, make contracts and grants with any Federal agency,
laboratory, university, nonprofit organization, industrial organization,
public or private agency, institution, organization, corporation,
partnership, or individual for research and development leading to
advanced automobile propulsion systems which are likely to help meet the
Nation's long-term goals with respect to fuel economy, environmental
protection, and other objectives.
(c) Federal laboratories; priority for financial assistance; functions
In providing financial assistance under this chapter, the Secretary
of Energy shall give full consideration to the capabilities of Federal
laboratories, except that not more than 60 per centum of the funds
appropriated pursuant to the authorization under section 2710 of this
title shall be directly expended in Federal laboratories. In accordance
with section 2706 of this title, such laboratories shall be available
for testing components and subsystems which, in the Secretary of
Energy's judgment, is likely to contribute to the development of
advanced automobile propulsion systems.
(d) Evaluations, testing, information dissemination, and reporting
functions
The Secretary of Energy shall conduct evaluations, arrange for
tests, and disseminate information pursuant to section 2706 of this
title and submit reports required under section 2709 of this title.
(e) Intensification of research in basic areas by Department of Energy
The Department of Energy shall intensify research in key basic
science areas in which the lack of knowledge limits development of
advanced automobile propulsion systems.
(f) Program provisions and requirements; administrative and judicial
procedures applicable to contracts, grants, or projects;
additional information for reports and budget submissions;
nonretroactivity of provisions and requirements
(1) The Secretary of Energy shall insure that the conduct of the
program as defined in subsection (a) of this section--
(A) supplements the automotive propulsion system research and
development efforts of industry;
(B) is not formulated in a manner that will supplant private
industry research and development or displace or lessen industry's
research and development; and
(C) avoids duplication of private research and development.
(2) To that end, the Secretary of Energy shall issue administrative
regulations, within 60 days after February 25, 1978, which shall specify
procedures, standards, and criteria for the timely review for compliance
of each new contract, grant, Department of Energy project, or other
agency project funded or to be funded under the authority of this Act.
Such regulations shall require that the Secretary of Energy or his
designee shall certify that each such contract, grant, or project
satisfies the requirement of this subsection, and shall include in such
certification a discussion of the relationship of any related or
comparable industry research and development, in terms of this
subsection, to the proposed research and development under the authority
of this Act. The discussion shall also address related issues, such as
cost sharing and patent rights.
(3) Such certifications shall be available to the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The provisions
of chapter 5 of title 5 shall not apply to such certifications and no
court shall have any jurisdiction to review the preparation or adequacy
of such certifications; but section 553 of title 5 and section 5916 of
title 42 shall apply to public disclosure of such certifications.
(4) The Secretary of Energy also shall include in the report
required by section 2709(a) of this title a detailed discussion of how
each research and development contract, grant, or project funded under
the authority of this Act satisfies the requirement of this subsection.
(5) Further, the Secretary of Energy in each annual budget
submission to the Congress, or amendment thereto, for the programs
authorized by this Act shall describe how each identified research and
development effort in such submission satisfies the requirements of this
subsection.
(6) The provisions and requirements of this subsection shall not
apply with respect to any contract, grant, or project which was entered
into, made, or formally approved and initiated prior to February 25,
1978, or with respect to any renewal or extension thereof.
(Pub. L. 95-238, title III, Sec. 304, Feb. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 79; Pub.
L. 103-437, Sec. 5(b)(4), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4582.)
References in Text
This Act, referred to in subsec. (f), is Pub. L. 95-238, Feb. 25,
1978, 92 Stat. 47, known as the Department of Energy Act of 1978--
Civilian Applications. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Tables.
Amendments
1994--Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 103-437 substituted ``Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology'' for ``Committee on Science and
Technology''.
Change of Name
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of House of
Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Science of House of
Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104-14, set out as a note
preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 2705 of this title.
