I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2730 

To establish a grant program to fund eligible joint ventures between United 

States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish the 

International Energy Advisory Board, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. SHADEGG (for himself, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. RENZI, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. 

CANNON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. GORDON, Mr. 

KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. 

MALONEY, Mr. WAXMAN, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to fund eligible joint ventures 

between United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish the International Energy Advisory Board, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Israel 

5 Energy Cooperation Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) it is in the highest national security inter4 ests of the United States to ensure secure access to 

5 reliable energy sources; 

6 (2) the United States relies heavily on the for7 eign supply of crude oil to meet the energy needs of 

8 the United States, currently importing 58 percent of 

9 the total oil requirements of the United States, of 

10 which 45 percent comes from member states of the 

11 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 

12 (OPEC); 

13 (3) revenues from the sale of oil by some of 

14 these countries directly or indirectly provide funding 

15 for terrorism and propaganda hostile to the values 

16 of the United States and the West; 

17 (4) in the past, these countries have manipu18 lated the dependence of the United States on the oil 

19 supplies of these countries to exert undue influence 

20 on United States policy, as during the embargo of 

21 OPEC during 1973 on the sale of oil to the United 

22 States, which became a major factor in the ensuing 

23 recession; 

24 (5) research by the Energy Information Admin25 istration of the Department of Energy has shown 

26 that the dependence of the United States on foreign 
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1 oil will increase by 33 percent over the next 20 

2 years; 

3 (6) a rise in the price of imported oil sufficient 

4 to increase gasoline prices by 10 cents per gallon at 

5 the pump would result in an additional outflow of 

6 $18,000,000,000 from the United States to oil-ex7 porting nations; 

8 (7) for economic and national security reasons, 

9 the United States should reduce, as soon as prac10 ticable, the dependence of the United States on na11 tions that do not share the interests and values of 

12 the United States; 

13 (8) the State of Israel has been a steadfast ally 

14 and a close friend of the United States since the cre15 ation of Israel in 1948; 

16 (9) like the United States, Israel is a democracy 

17 that holds civil rights and liberties in the highest re18 gard and is a proponent of the democratic values of 

19 peace, freedom, and justice; 

20 (10) cooperation between the United States and 

21 Israel on such projects as the development of the 

22 Arrow Missile has resulted in mutual benefits to 

23 United States and Israeli security; 

24 (11) the special relationship between Israel and 

25 the United States has been and continues to be 
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1 manifested in a variety of jointly-funded cooperative 

2 programs in the field of scientific research and de3 velopment, such as— 

4 (A) the United States-Israel Binational 

5 Science Foundation (BSF); 

6 (B) the United States-Israel Binational 

7 Agricultural Research and Development Fund 

8 (BARD); and 

9 (C) the United States-Israel Binational In10 dustrial Research and Development (BIRD) 

11 Foundation; 

12 (12) these programs, supported by the match13 ing contributions from the Government of Israel and 

14 the Government of the United States and directed 

15 by key scientists and academics from both countries, 

16 have made possible many scientific breakthroughs in 

17 the fields of life sciences, medicine, bioengineering, 

18 agriculture, biotechnology, communications, and oth19 ers; 

20 (13) on February 1, 1996, United States Sec21 retary of Energy Hazel R. O’Leary and Israeli Min22 ister of Energy and Infrastructure Gonen Segev 

23 signed the Agreement Between the Department of 

24 Energy of the United States of America and the 

25 Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of Israel Con-
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1 cerning Energy Cooperation, to establish a frame2 work for collaboration between the United States 

3 and Israel in energy research and development ac4 tivities; 

5 (14) Israeli scientists and researchers have long 

6 been at the forefront of research and development in 

7 the field of alternative renewable energy sources; 

8 (15) many of the top corporations of the world 

9 have recognized the technological and scientific ex10 pertise of Israel by locating important research and 

11 development facilities in Israel; 

12 (16) among the technological breakthroughs 

13 made by Israeli scientists and researchers in the 

14 field of alternative, renewable energy sources are— 

15 (A) the development of a cathode that uses 

16 hexavalent iron salts that accept 3 electrons per 

17 ion and enable rechargeable batteries to provide 

18 3 times as much electricity as existing recharge19 able batteries; 

20 (B) the development of a technique that 

21 vastly increases the efficiency of using solar en22 ergy to generate hydrogen for use in energy 

23 cells; and 

24 (C) the development of a novel membrane 

25 used in new and powerful direct-oxidant fuel 
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1 cells that is capable of competing favorably with 

2 hydrogen fuel cells and traditional internal com3 bustion engines; and 

4 (17) cooperation between the United States and 

5 Israel in the field of research and development of al6 ternative renewable energy sources would be in the 

7 interests of both countries, and both countries stand 

8 to gain much from such cooperation. 

9 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta11 tion with the BIRD or BSF, shall establish a grant pro12 gram to award grants to eligible entities. 

13 (b) APPLICATION.— 

14 (1) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—To receive 

15 a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall 

16 submit an application to the Secretary, in consulta17 tion with the BIRD or BSF, containing such infor18 mation and assurances as the Secretary may require. 

19 (2) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The 

20 Secretary, in consultation with the Directors of the 

21 BIRD and BSF, may review any application sub22 mitted by any eligible entity and select any eligible 

23 entity meeting criteria established by the Secretary, 

24 in consultation with the Advisory Board, for a grant 

25 under this section. 
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1 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of each grant 

2 awarded for a fiscal year under this section shall be deter3 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the BIRD 

4 or BSF. 

5 (d) RECOUPMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary shall establish procedures and criteria for 

9 recoupment in connection with any eligible project 

10 carried out by an eligible entity that receives a grant 

11 under this section, which has led to the development 

12 of a product or process which is marketed or used. 

13 (2) AMOUNT REQUIRED.— 

14 (A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

15 (B), such recoupment shall be required as a 

16 condition for award and be proportional to the 

17 Federal share of the costs of such project, and 

18 shall be derived from the proceeds of royalties 

19 or licensing fees received in connection with 

20 such product or process. 

21 (B) In the case where a product or process 

22 is used by the recipient of a grant under this 

23 section for the production and sale of its own 

24 products or processes, the recoupment shall 
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1 consist of a payment equivalent to the payment 

2 which would be made under subparagraph (A). 

3 (3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may at any time 

4 waive or defer all or some of the recoupment re5 quirements of this subsection as necessary, depend6 ing on— 

7 (A) the commercial competitiveness of the 

8 entity or entities developing or using the prod9 uct or process; 

10 (B) the profitability of the project; and 

11 (C) the commercial viability of the product 

12 or process utilized. 

13 (e) PRIVATE FUNDS.—The Secretary may accept 

14 contributions of funds from private sources to carry out 

15 this Act. 

16 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 

17 a grant under this section, each recipient shall submit a 

18 report to the Secretary— 

19 (1) documenting how the recipient used the 

20 grant funds; and 

21 (2) evaluating the level of success of each 

22 project funded by the grant. 
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1 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY ADVISORY BOARD. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Department of Energy an International Energy Advisory 

4 Board. 

5 (b) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall advise the 

6 Secretary on—

7 (1) criteria for the recipients of grants awarded 

8 under the grant program established under section 

9 4(a); 

10 (2) the total amount of grant money to be 

11 awarded to all grantees selected by the Secretary, in 

12 consultation with the BIRD; and 

13 (3) the total amount of grant money to be 

14 awarded to all grantees selected by the Secretary, in 

15 consultation with the BSF, for each fiscal year. 

16 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

17 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Board shall 

18 be composed of—

19 (A) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 

20 of Commerce; 

21 (B) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 

22 of Energy; and 

23 (C) 2 members who shall be Israeli citi24 zens, appointed by the Secretary of Energy 

25 after consultation with appropriate officials in 

26 the Israeli Government. 
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1 (2) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—The ini2 tial appointments under paragraph (1) shall be 

3 made not later than 60 days after the date of enact4 ment of this Act. 

5 (3) TERM.—Each member of the Advisory 

6 Board shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. 

7 (4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Advisory 

8 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the 

9 original appointment was made. 

10 (5) BASIC PAY.— 

11 (A) COMPENSATION.—A member of the 

12 Advisory Board shall serve without pay. 

13 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 

14 the Advisory Board shall receive travel ex15 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist16 ence, in accordance with applicable provisions of 

17 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

18 States Code. 

19 (6) QUORUM.—Three members of the Advisory 

20 Board shall constitute a quorum. 

21 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

22 Advisory Board shall be designated by the Secretary 

23 of Energy at the time of the appointment. 
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1 (8) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall 

2 meet at least once annually at the call of the Chair3 person. 

4 (d) TERMINATION.—Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Fed5 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

6 apply to the Advisory Board. 

7 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘‘Advisory 

10 Board’’ means the International Energy Advisory 

11 Board established by section 4(a). 

12 (2) BIRD.—The term ‘‘BIRD’’ means the 

13 United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research 

14 and Development Foundation. 

15 (3) BSF.—The term ‘‘BSF’’ means the United 

16 States-Israel Binational Science Foundation. 

17 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti18 ty’’ means a joint venture comprised of both Israeli 

19 and United States private business entities or a joint 

20 venture comprised of both Israeli academic persons 

21 (who reside and work in Israel) and United States 

22 academic persons, that— 

23 (A) carries out an eligible project; and 

24 (B) is selected by the Secretary, in con25 sultation with the BIRD or BSF, using the cri-
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1 teria established by the Secretary, in consulta2 tion with the Advisory Board. 

3 (5) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

4 project’’ means a project to encourage cooperation 

5 between the United States and Israel on research, 

6 development, or commercialization of alternative en7 ergy, improved energy efficiency, or renewable en8 ergy sources. 

9 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assist11 ant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and 

12 Renewable Energy. 

13 SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 

14 The grant program established under section 3 and 

15 the Advisory Board shall terminate upon the expiration 

16 of the 7-year period which begins on the date of the enact17 ment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this Act $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 

21 2012. 

22 SEC. 8. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

23 The Constitutional authority on which this Act rests 

24 is the power of Congress to make all laws which shall be 
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1 necessary and proper as enumerated in Article I, Section 

2 8 of the United States Constitution. 

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