National Center for Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1993

Summary: National Center for Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1993 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Energy for the underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada Test Site. 
Establishes within the Department of Energy a National Test and Demonstration Center for Excellence at the Nevada Test Site, Nevada, to implement testing and demonstration activities related to:  (1) alternative and renewable energy sources; (2) demilitarization and disarmament; (3) nuclear stockpile stewardship; (4) non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; and (5) environmental technologies.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Center for Excellence in 
Research and Development Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The end of the Cold War has resulted in a cessation of 
        underground nuclear testing at the Department of Energy 
        facility known as the Nevada Test Site, Nevada.
            (2) Because the world political situation is ever-changing 
        and dangerous, it is imperative that the United States remain 
        strong militarily and continue to be a nuclear superpower.
            (3) It is imperative that the Nevada Test Site be 
        maintained in a full state of readiness to ensure the 
        capability of the nuclear arsenal of the United States.
            (4) The Nevada Test Site is in a beneficial location for 
        activities suitable for research and development of emerging 
        technologies that will be important to the United States in the 
        21st century.
            (5) Technology development carried out at the Nevada Test 
        Site should include private-sector industries as well as 
        military projects.
            (6) The Nevada Test Site can support the stewardship of the 
        Nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, the non-proliferation of 
        nuclear weapons, and the technological competitiveness of the 
        United States by providing the environment for nuclear and non-
        nuclear test and demonstration experiments and projects for 
        government, industry, and academia.
            (7) The Nevada Test Site can provide the infrastructure to 
        support industrial and civilian tests of environmentally 
        demanding projects and programs.
            (8) The Nevada Test Site can support the testing and 
        demonstration of environmental clean-up technologies by 
        government and industry and can support the testing of 
        alternative and renewable energy sources for environmentally 
        clean and economically competitive replacements for traditional 
        fossil energy sources and uses in many parts of Nevada and in 
        the United States as a whole.
            (9) The Nevada Test Site can provide support for 
        disarmament activities such as the demonstration of rocket 
        motor destruction technology and conventional munitions 
        destruction technology.
            (10) The Nevada Test Site can support non-proliferation 
        experiments in disablement, nuclear forensics, sensors, and 
        verification and monitoring.
            (11) The Nevada Test Site can support treaty-compliant 
        experiments for stockpile stewardship purposes.
            (12) The size and remoteness of the Nevada Test Site make 
        the Nevada Test Site well-suited for a multitude of activities 
        associated with the restructuring of the United States 
        military.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    It is the purpose of this Act--
            (1) to ensure full operational readiness of the underground 
        nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada 
        Test Site;
            (2) to ensure an appropriate level of funds for such 
        readiness to be maintained;
            (3) to create a National Test and Demonstration Center of 
        Excellence at the Nevada Test Site for the promotion of 
        disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and renewable energy 
        sources, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor 
        development, and environmentally sensitive technologies; and
            (4) to ensure the availability of the Nevada Test Site, 
        within appropriate restrictions, for use by private-sector 
        industries seeking to make use of the inherent qualities that 
        make the Nevada Test Site the greatest outdoor laboratory in 
        the world.

SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF READINESS CAPABILITY OF NEVADA TEST SITE.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--The amount referred to in paragraph (2) is 
        hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy 
        for fiscal year 1995 to maintain the operational readiness of 
        the underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure 
        of the Nevada Test Site.
            (2) Authorized amount.--The amount referred to in paragraph 
        (1) is the amount appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for 
        fiscal year 1992 to maintain the operational readiness the 
        underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of 
        the Nevada Test Site, adjusted for inflation using the Consumer 
        Price Index.
    (b) Staffing Levels.--During fiscal year 1995, the Secretary of 
Energy shall, to the maximum extent practicable, maintain a staffing 
level at the Nevada Test Site that is equal to the staffing level at 
the Nevada Test Site during fiscal year 1992.
    (c) Environmental and Infrastructure Assessment Activities.--The 
Secretary of Energy, through the Nevada Test Site Operations Office, 
shall carry out any environmental and infrastructure activities 
necessary to accommodate new projects and initiatives at the Nevada 
Test Site.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL TEST AND DEMONSTRATION CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established within the 
Department of Energy a National Test and Demonstration Center of 
Excellence (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Center''), to be 
located at the Nevada Test Site, Nevada.
    (b) Purpose.--It shall be the purpose of the Center to promote 
disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and renewable energy 
sources, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor development, 
and environmentally sensitive technologies.
    (c) Activities Related to Alternative and Renewable Energy 
Sources.--The Center shall carry out the following testing and 
demonstration activities that are related to alternative and renewable 
energy sources:
            (1) The characterization of solar and geothermal resources 
        at the Nevada Test Site.
            (2) The development of alternative and renewable energy 
        sources, including, as a goal of the Center, the development 
        and completion of two 100-megawatt solar power plants by the 
        year 2000.
            (3) The conduct of a National Alternative-Fueled Vehicles 
        Program, the objective of which shall be to demonstrate the 
        regional use of natural gas, electricity, and hydrogen as 
        vehicle fuels.
    (d) Activities Related to Disarmament and Demilitarization.--The 
Center shall carry out testing and demonstration activities that are 
related to changes occurring in United States military as a result of 
the end of the Cold War, including testing and demonstration activities 
with respect to--
            (1) the demilitarization of large rocket motor and 
        conventional ordnance; and
            (2) disarmament and demilitarization, generally.
    (e) Activities Related to Nuclear Stockpile Stewardship.--The 
Center shall carry out testing and demonstration activities related to 
the stewardship of the nuclear stockpile of the United States. Such 
activities shall include--
            (1) the conduct of treaty-compliant experiments;
            (2) the provision of support to the Department of Energy 
        nuclear weapons complex; and
            (3) the conduct of programs for the Department of Energy 
        and the Department of Defense to develop simulator technologies 
        for nuclear weapons design and effects, including advanced 
        hydrodynamic simulators, inertial confinement fusion test 
        facilities, and nuclear weapons effects simulators (such as the 
        Decade and Jupiter simulators).
    (f) Activities Related to Non-proliferation.--The Center shall 
carry out experiments related to the non-proliferation of nuclear 
weapons, including experiments with respect to disablement, nuclear 
forensics, sensors, and verification and monitoring.
    (g) Activities Related to Environmental Technologies.--The Center 
shall carry out testing and demonstration activities related to the 
development of environmental technologies, including--
            (1) the demonstration of technologies concerning the 
        remediation of toxic and hazardous chemicals; and
            (2) the conduct of training activities pertaining to 
        emergency response to radioactive, hazardous, and toxic 
        accidents and emergencies.
    (h) Other Activities.--The Center may carry out the testing and 
demonstration of any other technology which is appropriate for testing 
and demonstration at the Nevada Test Site.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Except as provided in section 4, there is hereby authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 1995 such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.