II 

Calendar No. 636 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1971 

[Report No. 113–296] 

To establish an interagency coordination committee or subcommittee with 

the leadership of the Department of Energy and the Department of 

the Interior, focused on the nexus between energy and water production, 

use, and efficiency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2014 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Ms. 

LANDRIEU, Mr. SCHATZ, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 10, 2014 

Reported by Ms. LANDRIEU, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency coordination committee or subcommittee with the leadership of the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior, focused on 

the nexus between energy and water production, use, 

and efficiency, 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 ‘‘Nexus of Energy and 

5 Water for Sustainability Act of 2014’’ or the ‘‘NEWS Act 

6 of 2014’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

10 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

11 Policy. 

12 (2) ENERGY-WATER NEXUS.—The term ‘‘en13 ergy-water nexus’’ means the link between— 

14 (A) energy efficiency and the quantity of 

15 water needed to produce fuels and energy; and 

16 (B) the quantity of energy needed to trans17 port, reclaim, and treat water. 

18 (3) NSTC.—The term ‘‘NSTC’’ means the Na19 tional Science and Technology Council. 

20 (4) COMMITTEE OR SUBCOMMITTEE.—The term 

21 ‘‘Committee or Subcommittee’’ means the Com22 mittee on Energy-Water Nexus for Sustainability or 

23 the Subcommittee on Energy-Water Nexus for Sus24 tainability, whichever is established by section 3(a). 


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1 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish 

3 either a committee or a subcommittee under the NSTC, 

4 to be known as either the Committee on Energy-Water 

5 Nexus for Sustainability or the Subcommittee on Energy6 Water Nexus for Sustainability, to carry out the duties 

7 described in subsection (c). 

8 (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

9 (1) CHAIRS.—The Secretary of Energy and 

10 Secretary of the Interior shall serve as co-chairs of 

11 the Committee or Subcommittee. 

12 (2) MEMBERSHIP; STAFFING.—Membership and 

13 staffing shall be determined by the NSTC. 

14 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee or Subcommittee 

15 shall— 

16 (1) serve as a forum for developing common 

17 Federal goals and plans on energy-water nexus 

18 issues; 

19 (2) promote coordination of the activities of all 

20 Federal departments and agencies on energy-water 

21 nexus issues, including the activities of— 

22 (A) the Department of Energy; 

23 (B) the Department of the Interior; 

24 (C) the Corps of Engineers; 

25 (D) the Department of Agriculture; 

26 (E) the Department of Defense; 


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1 (F) the Department of State; 

2 (G) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

3 (H) the Council on Environmental Quality; 

4 (I) the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology; 

6 (J) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration; 

8 (K) the National Science Foundation; 

9 (L) the Office of Management and Budget; 

10 (M) the Office of Science and Technology 

11 Policy; and 

12 (N) such other Federal departments and 

13 agencies as the Director or the Committee or 

14 Subcommittee consider appropriate; and 

15 (3)(A) coordinate and develop capabilities for 

16 data collection, categorization, and dissemination of 

17 data from and to other Federal departments and 

18 agencies; and 

19 (B) engage in information exchange between 

20 Federal departments and agencies— 

21 (i) to identify and document Federal and 

22 non-Federal programs and funding opportuni23 ties that support basic and applied research, de24 velopment, and demonstration proposals to adVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Dec 11, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1971.RS S1971

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1 vance the state of energy-water nexus related 

2 science and technologies; 

3 (ii) if practicable, to leverage existing pro4 grams by encouraging joint solicitations, block 

5 grants, and matching programs with non-Fed6 eral entities; and 

7 (iii) to identify opportunities for public-pri8 vate partnerships, innovative financing mecha9 nisms, and grant challenges. 

10 (d) REVIEW; TERMINATION.—At the end of the 10- 

11 year period beginning on the date on which the Committee 

12 or Subcommittee is established, the Director— 

13 (1) shall review the activities of the Committee 

14 or Subcommittee and determine the relevance and 

15 effectiveness of the Committee or Subcommittee; and 

16 (2) based on the determination made under 

17 paragraph (1), may terminate the Committee or 

18 Subcommittee. 

19 SEC. 4. CROSSCUT BUDGET. 

20 Not later than 30 days after the President submits 

21 the budget of the United States Government under section 

22 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Director of the 

23 Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the 

24 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen25 ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 


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1 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep2 resentatives a report that contains— 

3 (1) an interagency budget crosscut report 

4 that— 

5 (A) displays the budget proposed, including 

6 any interagency or intraagency transfer, for 

7 each of the Federal agencies that carry out en8 ergy-water nexus projects for the upcoming fis9 cal year, separately showing funding requested 

10 under both preexisting authorities and under 

11 the new authorities granted by this Act; and 

12 (B) identifies all expenditures since 2011 

13 by the Federal and State governments on en14 ergy-water nexus projects; 

15 (2) a detailed accounting of all funds received 

16 and obligated by all Federal agencies and State 

17 agencies responsible for implementing energy-water 

18 nexus projects during the previous fiscal year; 

19 (3) a budget for the proposed energy-water 

20 nexus projects (including a description of the 

21 project, authorization level, and project status) to be 

22 carried out in the upcoming fiscal year with the Fed23 eral portion of funds for energy-water nexus pro24 grams; and 


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1 (4) a listing of all energy-water nexus projects 

2 to be undertaken in the upcoming fiscal year with 

3 the Federal portion of funds for those projects. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nexus of Energy and 

6 Water for Sustainability Act of 2014’’ or the ‘‘NEWS Act 

7 of 2014’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) COMMITTEE OR SUBCOMMITTEE.—The term 

11 ‘‘Committee or Subcommittee’’ means the Committee 

12 on the Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability 

13 (or the ‘‘NEWS Committee’’) or the Subcommittee on 

14 the Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability (or 

15 the ‘‘NEWS Subcommittee’’), whichever is established 

16 by section 3(a). 

17 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 

18 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol19 icy. 

20 (3) ENERGY-WATER NEXUS.—The term ‘‘energy21 water nexus’’ means the links between— 

22 (A) the water needed to produce fuels, elec23 tricity, and other forms of energy; and 

24 (B) the energy needed to transport, reclaim, 

25 and treat water and wastewater. 


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1 (4) GRAND CHALLENGES.—The term ‘‘Grand 

2 Challenges’’ means the 21st Century Grand Chal3 lenges program coordinated by the Office of Science 

4 and Technology Policy. 

5 (5) NSTC.—The term ‘‘NSTC’’ means the Na6 tional Science and Technology Council. 

7 (6) RD&D ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘RD&D ac8 tivities’’ means research, development, and dem9 onstration activities. 

10 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION COMMITTEE. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish ei12 ther a committee or a subcommittee under the NSTC, to 

13 be known as either the Committee on the Nexus of Energy 

14 and Water for Sustainability (or the ‘‘NEWS Committee’’) 

15 or the Subcommittee on the Nexus of Energy and Water 

16 for Sustainability (or the ‘‘NEWS Subcommittee’’), to carry 

17 out the duties described in subsection (c). 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 (1) CHAIRS.—The Secretary of Energy and Sec20 retary of the Interior shall serve as co-chairs of the 

21 Committee or Subcommittee. 

22 (2) MEMBERSHIP; STAFFING.—Membership and 

23 staffing shall be determined by the NSTC. 

24 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee or Subcommittee shall— 


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1 (1) serve as a forum for developing common Fed2 eral goals and plans on energy-water nexus RD&D 

3 activities; 

4 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of enact5 ment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, issue a 

6 strategic plan on energy-water nexus RD&D activi7 ties priorities and objectives; 

8 (3) promote coordination of the activities of Fed9 eral departments and agencies on energy-water nexus 

10 RD&D activities, including the activities of— 

11 (A) the Department of Energy; 

12 (B) the Department of the Interior; 

13 (C) the Corps of Engineers; 

14 (D) the Department of Agriculture; 

15 (E) the Department of Defense; 

16 (F) the Department of State; 

17 (G) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

18 (H) the Council on Environmental Quality; 

19 (I) the National Institute of Standards and 

20 Technology; 

21 (J) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

22 Administration; 

23 (K) the National Science Foundation; 

24 (L) the Office of Management and Budget; 


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1 (M) the Office of Science and Technology 

2 Policy; and 

3 (N) such other Federal departments and 

4 agencies as the Director or the Committee or 

5 Subcommittee consider appropriate; and 

6 (4)(A) coordinate and develop capabilities and 

7 methodologies for data collection, management, and 

8 dissemination of information related to energy-water 

9 nexus RD&D activities from and to other Federal de10 partments and agencies ; and 

11 (B) promote information exchange between Fed12 eral departments and agencies— 

13 (i) to identify and document Federal and 

14 non-Federal programs and funding opportunities 

15 that support basic and applied research, develop16 ment, and demonstration proposals to advance 

17 energy-water nexus related science and tech18 nologies; 

19 (ii) if practicable, to leverage existing pro20 grams by encouraging joint solicitations, block 

21 grants, and matching programs with non-Fed22 eral entities; and 

23 (iii) to identify opportunities for domestic 

24 and international public-private partnerships, 


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1 innovative financing mechanisms, information 

2 and data exchange, and Grand Challenges. 

3 (d) REVIEW; REPORT.—At the end of the 10-year pe4 riod beginning on the date on which the Committee or Sub5 committee is established, the Director— 

6 (1) shall review the activities, relevance, and ef7 fectiveness of the Committee or Subcommittee; and 

8 (2) submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat9 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committees on 

10 Science, Space, and Technology, Energy and Com11 merce, and Natural Resources of the House of Rep12 resentatives, a report describing the results of the re13 view conducted under paragraph (1) and a rec14 ommendation on whether the Committee or Sub15 committee should continue. 

16 SEC. 4. CROSSCUT BUDGET. 

17 Not later than 30 days after the President submits the 

18 budget of the United States Government under section 1105 

19 of title 31, United States Code, the Director of the Office 

20 of Management and Budget shall submit to the Committee 

21 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

22 Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, Energy and 

23 Commerce, and Natural Resources of the House of Rep24 resentatives, an interagency budget crosscut report that dis25 plays at the program-, project-, and activity-level for each 


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1 of the Federal agencies that carry out or support (including 

2 through grants, contracts, interagency and intraagency 

3 transfers, multiyear and no-year funds) basic and applied 

4 RD&D activities to advance the energy-water nexus related 

5 science and technologies— 

6 (1) the budget proposed in the budget request of 

7 the President for the upcoming fiscal year; 

8 (2) expenditures and obligations for the prior fis9 cal year; and 

10 (3) estimated expenditures and obligations for 

11 the current fiscal year. 


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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 636 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1971 

[Report No. 113–296] 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency coordination committee 

for other purposes. and water production, use, and efficiency, and Interior, focused on the nexus between energy partment of Energy and the Department of the or subcommittee with the leadership of the DeDECEMBER 10, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS