II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1971 

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 and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

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. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

4 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

5 Policy. 

6 (2) ENERGY-WATER NEXUS.—The term ‘‘en7 ergy-water nexus’’ means the link between— 

8 (A) energy efficiency and the quantity of 

9 water needed to produce fuels and energy; and 

10 (B) the quantity of energy needed to trans11 port, reclaim, and treat water. 

12 (3) NSTC.—The term ‘‘NSTC’’ means the Na13 tional Science and Technology Council. 

14 (4) COMMITTEE OR SUBCOMMITTEE.—The term 

15 ‘‘Committee or Subcommittee’’ means the Com16 mittee on Energy-Water Nexus for Sustainability or 

17 the Subcommittee on Energy-Water Nexus for Sus18 tainability, whichever is established by section 3(a). 

19 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION COMMITTEE. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish 

21 either a committee or a subcommittee under the NSTC, 

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

23 Nexus for Sustainability or the Subcommittee on Energy24 Water Nexus for Sustainability, to carry out the duties 

25 described in subsection (c). 

26 (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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

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

3 the Committee or Subcommittee. 

4 (2) MEMBERSHIP; STAFFING.—Membership and 

5 staffing shall be determined by the NSTC. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee or Subcommittee 

7 shall— 

8 (1) serve as a forum for developing common 

9 Federal goals and plans on energy-water nexus 

10 issues; 

11 (2) promote coordination of the activities of all 

12 Federal departments and agencies on energy-water 

13 nexus issues, including the activities of— 

14 (A) the Department of Energy; 

15 (B) the Department of the Interior; 

16 (C) the Corps of Engineers; 

17 (D) the Department of Agriculture; 

18 (E) the Department of Defense; 

19 (F) the Department of State; 

20 (G) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

21 (H) the Council on Environmental Quality; 

22 (I) the National Institute of Standards and 

23 Technology; 

24 (J) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

25 Administration; 


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1 (K) the National Science Foundation; 

2 (L) the Office of Management and Budget; 

3 (M) the Office of Science and Technology 

4 Policy; and 

5 (N) such other Federal departments and 

6 agencies as the Director or the Committee or 

7 Subcommittee consider appropriate; and 

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

9 data collection, categorization, and dissemination of 

10 data from and to other Federal departments and 

11 agencies; and 

12 (B) engage in information exchange between 

13 Federal departments and agencies— 

14 (i) to identify and document Federal and 

15 non-Federal programs and funding opportuni16 ties that support basic and applied research, de17 velopment, and demonstration proposals to ad18 vance the state of energy-water nexus related 

19 science and technologies; 

20 (ii) if practicable, to leverage existing pro21 grams by encouraging joint solicitations, block 

22 grants, and matching programs with non-Fed23 eral entities; and 


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1 (iii) to identify opportunities for public-pri2 vate partnerships, innovative financing mecha3 nisms, and grant challenges. 

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

5 year period beginning on the date on which the Committee 

6 or Subcommittee is established, the Director— 

7 (1) shall review the activities of the Committee 

8 or Subcommittee and determine the relevance and 

9 effectiveness of the Committee or Subcommittee; and 

10 (2) based on the determination made under 

11 paragraph (1), may terminate the Committee or 

12 Subcommittee. 

13 SEC. 4. CROSSCUT BUDGET. 

14 Not later than 30 days after the President submits 

15 the budget of the United States Government under section 

16 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Director of the 

17 Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the 

18 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen19 ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 

20 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep21 resentatives a report that contains— 

22 (1) an interagency budget crosscut report 

23 that— 

24 (A) displays the budget proposed, including 

25 any interagency or intraagency transfer, for 


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1 each of the Federal agencies that carry out en2 ergy-water nexus projects for the upcoming fis3 cal year, separately showing funding requested 

4 under both preexisting authorities and under 

5 the new authorities granted by this Act; and 

6 (B) identifies all expenditures since 2011 

7 by the Federal and State governments on en8 ergy-water nexus projects; 

9 (2) a detailed accounting of all funds received 

10 and obligated by all Federal agencies and State 

11 agencies responsible for implementing energy-water 

12 nexus projects during the previous fiscal year; 

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

14 nexus projects (including a description of the 

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

16 carried out in the upcoming fiscal year with the Fed17 eral portion of funds for energy-water nexus pro18 grams; and 

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

20 to be undertaken in the upcoming fiscal year with 

21 the Federal portion of funds for those projects. 

Æ 


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