I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1838 

To authorize funding for 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 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. 

WAXMAN, Mr. RENZI, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PALLONE, 

Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of 

Florida, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CHANDLER, 

Mr. COHEN, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DENT, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. 

FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 

HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. KIRK, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. LANGEVIN, 

Mr. LINDER, Mr. MARSHALL, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New 

York, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. NADLER, Mr. PENCE, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 

Ms. WATSON, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. WYNN, and Mr. LANTOS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To authorize funding for eligible joint ventures between 

United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish the International Energy Advisory 

Board, and for other purposes. 


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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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) it is in the highest national security inter9 ests of the United States to ensure secure access to 

10 reliable energy sources; 

11 (2) the United States relies heavily on the for12 eign supply of crude oil to meet the energy needs of 

13 the United States, currently importing 58 percent of 

14 the total oil requirements of the United States, of 

15 which 45 percent comes from member states of the 

16 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 

17 (OPEC); 

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

19 these countries directly or indirectly provide funding 

20 for terrorism and propaganda hostile to the values 

21 of the United States and the West; 

22 (4) in the past, these countries have manipu23 lated the dependence of the United States on the oil 

24 supplies of these countries to exert undue influence 

25 on United States policy, as during the embargo of 


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

2 States, which became a major factor in the ensuing 

3 recession; 

4 (5) research by the Energy Information Admin5 istration of the Department of Energy has shown 

6 that the dependence of the United States on foreign 

7 oil will increase by 33 percent over the next 20 

8 years; 

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

10 to increase gasoline prices by 10 cents per gallon at 

11 the pump would result in an additional outflow of 

12 $18,000,000,000 from the United States to oil-ex13 porting nations; 

14 (7) for economic and national security reasons, 

15 the United States should reduce, as soon as prac16 ticable, the dependence of the United States on na17 tions that do not share the interests and values of 

18 the United States; 

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

20 and a close friend of the United States since the cre21 ation of Israel in 1948; 

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

23 that holds civil rights and liberties in the highest re24 gard and is a proponent of the democratic values of 

25 peace, freedom, and justice; 


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1 (10) cooperation between the United States and 

2 Israel on such projects as the development of the 

3 Arrow Missile has resulted in mutual benefits to 

4 United States and Israeli security; 

5 (11) the special relationship between Israel and 

6 the United States has been and continues to be 

7 manifested in a variety of jointly-funded cooperative 

8 programs in the field of scientific research and de9 velopment, such as— 

10 (A) the United States-Israel Binational 

11 Science Foundation (BSF); 

12 (B) the Israel-United States Binational 

13 Agricultural Research and Development Fund 

14 (BARD); and 

15 (C) the Israel-United States Binational In16 dustrial Research and Development (BIRD) 

17 Foundation; 

18 (12) these programs, supported by the match19 ing contributions from the Government of Israel and 

20 the Government of the United States and directed 

21 by key scientists and academics from both countries, 

22 have made possible many scientific breakthroughs in 

23 the fields of life sciences, medicine, bioengineering, 

24 agriculture, biotechnology, communications, and oth25 ers; 


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1 (13) on February 1, 1996, United States Sec2 retary of Energy Hazel R. O’Leary and Israeli Min3 ister of Energy and Infrastructure Gonen Segev 

4 signed the Agreement Between the Department of 

5 Energy of the United States of America and the 

6 Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of Israel Con7 cerning Energy Cooperation, to establish a frame8 work for collaboration between the United States 

9 and Israel in energy research and development ac10 tivities; 

11 (14) the United States and Israeli governments 

12 should promote cooperation in a broad range of 

13 projects designed to enhance supplies of nonpetro14 leum energy for both countries, and to provide for 

15 cutting edge research in each country; 

16 (15) Israeli scientists and researchers have long 

17 been at the forefront of research and development in 

18 the field of alternative renewable energy sources; 

19 (16) many of the top corporations of the world 

20 have recognized the technological and scientific ex21 pertise of Israel by locating important research and 

22 development facilities in Israel; 

23 (17) among the technological breakthroughs 

24 made by Israeli scientists and researchers in the 

25 field of alternative, renewable energy sources are— 


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1 (A) the development of a cathode that uses 

2 hexavalent iron salts that accept 3 electrons per 

3 ion and enable rechargeable batteries to provide 

4 3 times as much electricity as existing recharge5 able batteries; 

6 (B) the development of a technique that 

7 vastly increases the efficiency of using solar en8 ergy to generate hydrogen for use in energy 

9 cells; and 

10 (C) the development of a novel membrane 

11 used in new and powerful direct-oxidant fuel 

12 cells that is capable of competing favorably with 

13 hydrogen fuel cells and traditional internal com14 bustion engines; and 

15 (18) cooperation between the United States and 

16 Israel in the field of research and development of al17 ternative renewable energy sources would be in the 

18 interests of both countries, and both countries stand 

19 to gain much from such cooperation. 

20 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) AUTHORITY.—Pursuant to the responsibilities de22 scribed in section 102(10), (14), and (17) of the Depart23 ment of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7112(10), 

24 (14), and (17)) and section 103(9) of the Energy Reorga25 nization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5813(9)), the Secretary, 


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1 in consultation with the BIRD or BSF, shall award grants 

2 to eligible entities. 

3 (b) APPLICATION.— 

4 (1) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—To receive 

5 a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall 

6 submit an application to the Secretary containing 

7 such information and assurances as the Secretary, in 

8 consultation with the BIRD or BSF, may require. 

9 (2) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The 

10 Secretary, in consultation with the Directors of the 

11 BIRD and BSF, may review any application sub12 mitted by any eligible entity and select any eligible 

13 entity meeting criteria established by the Secretary, 

14 in consultation with the Advisory Board, for a grant 

15 under this section. 

16 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of each grant 

17 awarded for a fiscal year under this section shall be deter18 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the BIRD 

19 or BSF. 

20 (d) RECOUPMENT.— 

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

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall establish procedures and criteria for 

24 recoupment in connection with any eligible project 

25 carried out by an eligible entity that receives a grant 


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1 under this section, which has led to the development 

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

3 (2) AMOUNT REQUIRED.— 

4 (A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

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

6 condition for award and be proportional to the 

7 Federal share of the costs of such project, and 

8 shall be derived from the proceeds of royalties 

9 or licensing fees received in connection with 

10 such product or process. 

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

12 is used by the recipient of a grant under this 

13 section for the production and sale of its own 

14 products or processes, the recoupment shall 

15 consist of a payment equivalent to the payment 

16 which would be made under subparagraph (A). 

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

18 waive or defer all or some of the recoupment re19 quirements of this subsection as necessary, depend20 ing on— 

21 (A) the commercial competitiveness of the 

22 entity or entities developing or using the prod23 uct or process; 

24 (B) the profitability of the project; and 


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1 (C) the commercial viability of the product 

2 or process utilized. 

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

4 contributions of funds from private sources to carry out 

5 this Act. 

6 (f) OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEW7 ABLE ENERGY.—The Secretary shall carry out this sec8 tion through the existing programs at the Office of Energy 

9 Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

10 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after receiv11 ing a grant under this section, each recipient shall submit 

12 a report to the Secretary— 

13 (1) documenting how the recipient used the 

14 grant funds; and 

15 (2) evaluating the level of success of each 

16 project funded by the grant. 

17 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY ADVISORY BOARD. 

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

19 Department of Energy an International Energy Advisory 

20 Board. 

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

22 Secretary on— 

23 (1) criteria for the recipients of grants awarded 

24 under section 3(a); 


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

2 awarded to all grantees selected by the Secretary, in 

3 consultation with the BIRD; and 

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

5 awarded to all grantees selected by the Secretary, in 

6 consultation with the BSF, for each fiscal year. 

7 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Board shall 

9 be composed of— 

10 (A) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 

11 of Commerce; 

12 (B) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 

13 of Energy; and 

14 (C) 2 members who shall be Israeli citi15 zens, appointed by the Secretary of Energy 

16 after consultation with appropriate officials in 

17 the Israeli Government. 

18 (2) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—The ini19 tial appointments under paragraph (1) shall be 

20 made not later than 60 days after the date of enact21 ment of this Act. 

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

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


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

2 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the 

3 original appointment was made. 

4 (5) BASIC PAY.— 

5 (A) COMPENSATION.—A member of the 

6 Advisory Board shall serve without pay. 

7 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 

8 the Advisory Board shall receive travel ex9 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist10 ence, in accordance with applicable provisions of 

11 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

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

14 Board shall constitute a quorum. 

15 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

16 Advisory Board shall be designated by the Secretary 

17 of Energy at the time of the appointment. 

18 (8) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall 

19 meet at least once annually at the call of the Chair20 person. 

21 (d) TERMINATION.—Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Fed22 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

23 apply to the Advisory Board. 

24 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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

2 Board’’ means the International Energy Advisory 

3 Board established by section 4(a). 

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

5 Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research 

6 and Development Foundation. 

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

8 States-Israel Binational Science Foundation. 

9 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means a joint venture comprised of both Israeli 

11 and United States private business entities or a joint 

12 venture comprised of both Israeli academic persons 

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

14 academic persons, that— 

15 (A) carries out an eligible project; and 

16 (B) is selected by the Secretary, in con17 sultation with the BIRD or BSF, using the cri18 teria established by the Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the Advisory Board. 

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

21 project’’ means a project to encourage cooperation 

22 between the United States and Israel on research, 

23 development, or commercialization of alternative en24 ergy, improved energy efficiency, or renewable en25 ergy sources. 


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

2 the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assist3 ant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and 

4 Renewable Energy. 

5 SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 

6 The grant program authorized under section 3 and 

7 the Advisory Board shall terminate upon the expiration 

8 of the 7-year period which begins on the date of the enact9 ment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 The Secretary is authorized to expend not more than 

12 $20,000,000 to carry out this Act for each of fiscal years 

13 2008 through 2014 from funds previously authorized to 

14 the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

15 SEC. 8. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

16 The Constitutional authority on which this Act rests 

17 is the power of Congress to regulate commerce with for18 eign nations as enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the 

19 United States Constitution. 

Æ 


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