Washington (Platts)--1Aug2007

The US House and the Senate could vote this week on a bill that would
establish a new agency at the US Department of Energy to conduct long-term,
high-risk research on energy technologies. Negotiators from the two chambers
agreed unanimously late Monday on a final version of the so-called America
Competes Act, which includes language creating an Advanced Research Projects
Agency at DOE.

     The bill also would double authorized funding for the National Science
Foundation in seven years and put DOE science programs in line for a similar
increase. The House has scheduled a vote on the measure for Thursday, while
the Senate may take it up before it adjourns Friday for its month-long August
recess.

     "This is one of the biggest accomplishments Congress has undertaken this
year," Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman,
one of the sponsors of the Senate version of the legislation, said in a
statement. "America Competes will help our country stay competitive for
decades to come by investing heavily in education and in scientific R&D."

     "This is the type of legislation that doesn't necessarily get much
attention but could have a big impact on our future" said Senator Pete
Domenici, the ranking Republican on the energy committee and another sponsor
of the legislation.  

     ARPA-E, based on the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency, would be aimed at breaking technological barriers through
collaborative reserch and development that private industry or DOE would not
likely undertake alone, the House Science and Technology Committee said in a
statement. "ARPA-E is structured to respond very quickly to energy research
challenges, as well as terminate or restructure programs just as quickly," the
panel said.

     The legislation establishes a fund for ARPA-E that is separate from DOE
appropriations. "With this separate fund, ARPA-E will be independent of the
DOE bureaucracy, and likewise should not operate at the expense of other
programs at DOE, particularly the Office of Science," the House committee
said. 

     The House-Senate compromise would authorize $300 million for ARPA-E in
fiscal 2008, and "such sums as are necessary" for the following two years.

     The measure makes the appointment of an ARPA-E director subject to Senate
confirmation.

		--Bill Loveless, bill_loveless@platts.com