I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1492 

To establish a pilot program to provide assistance for partnerships supporting 

applied sciences in renewable energy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2009 

Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program to provide assistance for 

partnerships supporting applied sciences in renewable energy. 

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

3 SECTION 1. APPLIED SCIENCES IN RENEWABLE ENERGY 

4 PILOT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy 

6 shall establish a research pilot program for award grants 

7 to partnerships to improve education and training in sup8 port of applied sciences in the field of renewable energy 

9 as part of a comprehensive program to enhance the quality 

10 of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics inVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:32 Mar 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1492.IH H1492

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1 struction at the secondary school and undergraduate lev2 els. Grants under this section may be used for— 

3 (1) professional development and training for 

4 teachers; 

5 (2) purchase, rental, or leasing of equipment, 

6 instrumentation, and other educational and training 

7 materials; 

8 (3) improvement of facilities for providing edu9 cation and training experiences in applied sciences in 

10 the field of renewable energy; 

11 (4) development of instructional programs de12 signed to integrate education and training in applied 

13 sciences in renewable energy with the practical appli14 cation of that education and training; 

15 (5) recruitment and retention of new faculty; 

16 (6) encouraging collaboration between faculty 

17 and industry partners; 

18 (7) supporting outreach efforts to recruit stu19 dents; and 

20 (8) assessment of the activities funded under 

21 this Act. 

22 (b) PARTNERSHIPS.—Grants awarded under sub23 section (a) shall be to the institution described in para24 graph (1), as part of a partnership that— 


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1 (1) includes a 2-year degree granting institution 

2 of higher education offering an associates degree in 

3 applied science in a renewable energy field; 

4 (2) includes a 4-year degree granting institution 

5 of higher education; 

6 (3) includes a business or eligible nonprofit or7 ganization and labor organization; and 

8 (4) may include a State educational agency, 

9 other public agency, National Laboratory, or com10 munity-based organization. 

11 (c) PREFERENCE.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

12 give preference to awarding grants under this section for 

13 partnerships— 

14 (1) whose proposal incorporates a technical 

15 preparation program described in section 203(c) of 

16 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 

17 Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2373(c)); or 

18 (2) who can demonstrate the likely long-term 

19 stability of the program without continued Federal 

20 funding. 

21 (d) DIVERSITY OF SUBJECT MATTER.—The Sec22 retary of Energy shall ensure that, to the extent possible, 

23 grants are provided under this Act for partnerships rep24 resenting a wide diversity of renewable energy fields. 


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1 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

2 of activities carried out using amounts from a grant under 

3 subsection (a) shall not exceed 40 percent. 

4 (f) LIMITATION.—No single grant under subsection 

5 (a) may be made in an amount greater than $1,000,000 

6 per year. 

7 (g) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Secretary of En8 ergy shall make publicly available all curricula, planning 

9 documents, and other materials related to a project sup10 ported by a grant made under this Act. 

11 (h) PROJECT REPORTS.—The Secretary of Energy 

12 shall require grant recipients under subsection (a) to sub13 mit a report to the Secretary, not later than 3 years after 

14 receiving the grant, on the results of the project supported 

15 by the grant. Each such report shall include an assessment 

16 of which elements of the project supported with the grant 

17 were successful and which were not, along with an identi18 fication and analysis of improvements that could have 

19 made the project more successful. The Secretary shall 

20 make all reports submitted under this subsection available 

21 to the public. 

22 (i) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

23 term ‘‘renewable energy’’ has the meaning given that term 

24 in section 609(a) (3) and (4) of the Public Utility Regu25 latory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a) (3) and (4)). 


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1 SEC. 2. REPORT. 

2 The Secretary of Energy shall evaluate the effective3 ness of activities carried out under this Act. A report docu4 menting the results of that evaluation shall be submitted 

5 to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 

8 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate not 

9 later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 The report shall identify best practices and materials de11 veloped and demonstrated by partnerships awarded a 

12 grant. 

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this Act— 

16 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

17 (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

18 (3) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

19 fiscal years 2012 and 2013. 

Æ 


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