II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5476 

To provide for Department of Energy and National Science Foundation 

research and development coordination, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide for Department of Energy and National Science 

Foundation research and development coordination, 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 ‘‘DOE and NSF Inter5 agency Research Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND NATIONAL SCIENCE 

7 FOUNDATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

8 COORDINATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (in this 

10 section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) and the Director 


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1 of the National Science Foundation (in this section re2 ferred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall carry out cross-cutting 

3 and collaborative research and development activities fo4 cused on the joint advancement of Department of Energy 

5 and National Science Foundation mission requirements 

6 and priorities. 

7 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Di9 rector shall carry out and coordinate the activities 

10 under subsection (a) through the establishment of a 

11 memorandum of understanding, or other appropriate 

12 interagency agreement. 

13 (2) PROCESS.—A memorandum or agreement 

14 established under paragraph (1) shall require the 

15 use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process, which 

16 considers applications from Federal agencies, Na17 tional Laboratories, institutions of higher education, 

18 nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate entities. 

19 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the activities 

20 under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director 

21 may— 

22 (1) conduct collaborative research in a variety 

23 of focus areas, such as— 


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1 (A) basic plasma science and engineering, 

2 including applications in astrophysics, materials 

3 science, fusion science, and accelerator science; 

4 (B) fundamental biological and computa5 tional science and engineering, including com6 putational neuroscience and neuromorphic com7 puting, including in collaboration with the pro8 gram authorized under section 306 of the De9 partment of Energy Research and Innovation 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 18644); 

11 (C) modeling and simulation, machine 

12 learning, artificial intelligence, data assimila13 tion, large-scale data analytics, predictive anal14 ysis, and advanced computational, storage, and 

15 networking capabilities in order to optimize al16 gorithms for purposes relating to energy and 

17 climate; 

18 (D) quantum information sciences, includ19 ing quantum computing and quantum network 

20 infrastructure, including in collaboration with 

21 the programs authorized under sections 403 

22 and 404 of the National Quantum Initiative Act 

23 (15 U.S.C. 8853, 8854); 

24 (E) energy and materials science and engi25 neering, including artificial photosynthesis, 


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1 plasma, solar fuels, and fusion, including in col2 laboration with the programs authorized 

3 under— 

4 (i) sections 303 and 307 of the De5 partment of Energy Research and Innova6 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 18641, 18645); and 

7 (ii) section 973 of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16313); 

9 (F) advanced manufacturing technologies, 

10 including efficient storage systems and alter11 natives to high-temperature processing, for the 

12 purposes of optimizing energy consumption, in13 cluding in collaboration with the program au14 thorized under section 975 of the Energy Policy 

15 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16315); 

16 (G) microelectronics, including novel chip 

17 architectures, memory systems, and intercon18 nects; and 

19 (H) advanced physics, including high en20 ergy and particle physics, accelerator research 

21 and development, and high-performance com22 putational tools, including in collaboration with 

23 the programs authorized under section 303 of 

24 the Department of Energy Research and Inno25 vation Act (42 U.S.C. 18641); 


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1 (2) promote collaboration, open community2 based development, and data and information shar3 ing between Federal agencies, National Labora4 tories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit in5 stitutions, and other appropriate entities by pro6 viding necessary access and secure data and infor7 mation transfer; 

8 (3) support research infrastructure, including 

9 new facilities and equipment, as the Secretary and 

10 Director determine necessary; and 

11 (4) organize education, training, and research 

12 initiatives relating to STEM education and work13 force development, including— 

14 (A) internships, fellowships, and other re15 search or work-based learning opportunities; 

16 (B) educational programming for students 

17 at all levels, especially experiential and project18 based learning opportunities; and 

19 (C) professional development opportunities 

20 for educators and researchers. 

21 (d) AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the activities 

22 under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director 

23 may— 

24 (1) carry out reimbursable agreements between 

25 the Department of Energy, the National Science 


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1 Foundation, and other entities in order to maximize 

2 the effectiveness of research and development; and 

3 (2) collaborate with other Federal agencies, as 

4 appropriate. 

5 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Director 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

8 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com9 mittees on Energy and Natural Resources and Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report detail11 ing the following: 

12 (1) Interagency coordination between each Fed13 eral agency involved in the research and development 

14 activities carried out under this section. 

15 (2) Potential opportunities to expand the tech16 nical capabilities of the Department of Energy and 

17 the National Science Foundation. 

18 (3) Collaborative research achievements. 

19 (4) Areas of future mutually beneficial suc20 cesses. 

21 (5) Continuation of coordination activities be22 tween the Department of Energy and the National 

23 Science Foundation. 

24 (f) RESEARCH SECURITY.—The activities authorized 

25 under this section shall be applied in a manner consistent 


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1 with subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Develop2 ment, Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19231 

3 et seq.). 

Æ 


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