A bill to facilitate the development, demonstration, and implementation of technology for the use in removing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Greenhouse Gas Emission Atmospheric 
Removal Act'' or the ``GEAR Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to provide incentives to 
encourage the development and implementation of technology to 
permanently remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere on a 
significant scale.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the 
        Greenhouse Gas Emission Atmospheric Removal Commission 
        established by section 5(a).
            (2) Greenhouse gas.--The term ``greenhouse gas'' means--
                    (A) carbon dioxide;
                    (B) methane;
                    (C) nitrous oxide;
                    (D) sulfur hexafluoride;
                    (E) a hydrofluorocarbon;
                    (F) a perfluorocarbon; and
                    (G) any other gas that the Commission determines is 
                necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act.
            (3) Intellectual property.--The term ``intellectual 
        property'' means--
                    (A) an invention that is patentable under title 35, 
                United States Code; and
                    (B) any patent on an invention described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 4. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION ATMOSPHERIC REMOVAL PROGRAM.

    The Secretary, acting through the Commission, shall provide to 
public and private entities, on a competitive basis, financial awards 
for the achievement of milestones in developing and applying technology 
that could significantly slow or reverse the accumulation of greenhouse 
gases in the atmosphere by permanently capturing or sequestrating those 
gases without significant countervailing harmful effects.

SEC. 5. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION ATMOSPHERIC REMOVAL COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of 
Energy a commission to be known as the ``Greenhouse Gas Emission 
Atmospheric Removal Commission''.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 11 
        members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
        consent of the Senate, who shall provide expertise in--
                    (A) climate science;
                    (B) physics;
                    (C) chemistry;
                    (D) biology;
                    (E) engineering;
                    (F) economics;
                    (G) business management; and
                    (H) such other disciplines as the Commission 
                determines to be necessary to achieve the purposes of 
                this Act.
            (2) Term; vacancies.--
                    (A) Term.--A member of the Commission shall serve 
                for a term of 6 years.
                    (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission--
                            (i) shall not affect the powers of the 
                        Commission; and
                            (ii) shall be filled in the same manner as 
                        the original appointment was made.
            (3) Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
        on which all members of the Commission have been appointed, the 
        Commission shall hold the initial meeting of the Commission.
            (4) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
        Chairperson.
            (5) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
        shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
        hold hearings.
            (6) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Commission shall 
        select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the 
        members of the Commission.
            (7) Compensation.--A member of the Commission shall be 
        compensated at level III of the Executive Schedule.
    (c) Duties.--The Commission shall--
            (1) subject to subsection (d), develop specific 
        requirements for--
                    (A) the competition process;
                    (B) minimum performance standards;
                    (C) monitoring and verification procedures; and
                    (D) the scale of awards for each milestone 
                identified under paragraph (3);
            (2) establish minimum levels for the capture or net 
        sequestration of greenhouse gases that are required to be 
        achieved by a public or private entity to qualify for a 
        financial award described in paragraph (3);
            (3) in coordination with the Secretary, offer those 
        financial awards to public and private entities that 
        demonstrate--
                    (A) a design document for a successful technology;
                    (B) a bench scale demonstration of a technology;
                    (C) technology described in subparagraph (A) that--
                            (i) is operational at demonstration scale; 
                        and
                            (ii) achieves significant greenhouse gas 
                        reductions; and
                    (D) operation of technology on a commercially 
                viable scale that meets the minimum levels described in 
                paragraph (2); and
            (4) submit to Congress--
                    (A) an annual report that describes the progress 
                made by the Commission and recipients of financial 
                awards under this section in achieving the 
                demonstration goals established under paragraph (3); 
                and
                    (B) not later than 1 year after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, a report that describes the 
                levels of funding that are necessary to achieve the 
                purposes of this Act.
    (d) Public Participation.--In carrying out subsection (c)(1), the 
Commission shall--
            (1) provide notice of and, for a period of at least 60 
        days, an opportunity for public comment on, any draft or 
        proposed version of the requirements described in subsection 
        (c)(1); and
            (2) take into account public comments received in 
        developing the final version of those requirements.
    (e) Peer Review.--No financial award may be provided under this Act 
until such time as the proposal for which the award is sought has been 
peer reviewed in accordance with such standards for peer review as the 
Commission shall establish.

SEC. 6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONSIDERATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Title to any intellectual property arising from a 
financial award provided under this Act shall vest in 1 or more 
entities that are incorporated in the United States.
    (b) Reservation of License.--The United States--
            (1) may reserve a nonexclusive, nontransferable, 
        irrevocable, paid-up license, to have practiced for or on 
        behalf of the United States, in connection with any 
        intellectual property described in subsection (a); but
            (2) shall not, in the exercise of a license reserved under 
        paragraph (1), publicly disclose proprietary information 
        relating to the license.
    (c) Transfer of Title.--Title to any intellectual property 
described in subsection (a) shall not be transferred or passed, except 
to an entity that is incorporated in the United States, until the 
expiration of the first patent obtained in connection with the 
intellectual property.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

    The Commission and all authority of the Commission provided under 
this Act terminate on December 31, 2020.

Summary: Greenhouse Gas Emission Atmospheric Removal Act or the GEAR Act - Declares that it is the policy of the United States to provide incentives to encourage the development and implementation of technology to permanently remove greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere on a significant scale. Establishes within the Department of Energy (DOE) the Greenhouse Gas Emission Atmospheric Removal Commission. Requires the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Commission, to provide financial awards on a competitive basis to entities for the achievement of milestones in developing and applying technology that could significantly slow or reverse the accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere by permanently capturing or sequestrating those gases without significant countervailing harmful effects. Requires the Commission to: (1) develop specific requirements for the competition, performance, monitoring and verification, and the scale of awards. (2) establish minimum levels for the capture or net sequestration of GHGs required to qualify for a financial award. (3) offer awards to entities that demonstrate achievement of specified technological goals. And (4) establish standards for required peer review of proposals seeking such awards. Vests title to intellectual property arising from such awards in US entities. Bars title transfer to an entity not incorporated in the United States until the first obtained patent expires. Authorizes the United States to reserve a license to have such property practiced on its behalf.