Calendar No. 310

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 935

[Report No. 106–179]

A BILL

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to authorize research to promote the conversion of biomass into biobased industrial products, and for

other purposes.

OCTOBER 8, 1999

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 310

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 935

[Report No. 106–179]

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy

Act of 1977 to authorize research to promote the conversion of biomass

into biobased industrial products, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 30, 1999

Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr.

MURKOWSKI, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. KERREY,

Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. JOHNSON,

Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BURNS, and

Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

OCTOBER 8, 1999

Reported by Mr. LUGAR, with an amendment

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

A BILL

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension,

and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to authorize research

to promote the conversion of biomass into biobased industrial products, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Sustainable

3 Fuels and Chemicals Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) conversion of biomass into biobased indus7 trial products offers outstanding potential for benefit

8 to the national interest through improved strategic

9 security and balance of payments, healthier rural

10 economies, improved environmental quality, near11 zero net greenhouse gas emissions, technology ex12 port, and sustainable resource supply;

13 (2)(A) biomass is widely available at prices that

14 are competitive with low cost petroleum; and

15 (B) the key technical challenge to be overcome

16 in order for biobased industrial products to be cost

17 competitive is reducing the cost of technology for

18 converting biomass into desired biobased industrial

19 products;

20 (3) biobased fuels, such as ethanol, have the

21 clear potential to be sustainable, low cost, and high

22 performance fuels that are compatible with both cur23 rent and future transportation systems and provide

24 near zero net greenhouse gas emissions;

25 (4) biobased chemicals—
3

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1 (A) can provide functional replacements

2 for essentially all organic chemicals that are

3 currently derived from petroleum; and

4 (B) have the clear potential for environ5 mentally benign product life cycles;

6 (5) many biomass feedstocks suitable for indus7 trial processing show the clear potential for sustain8 able production, in some cases resulting in improved

9 soil fertility and carbon sequestration;

10 (6)(A) grain processing mills are biorefineries

11 that produce a diversity of useful food, chemical,

12 feed, and fuel products; and

13 (B) technologies that result in further diver14 sification of the range of value-added biobased in15 dustrial products can meet a key need for the grain

16 processing industry;

17 (7)(A) cellulosic feedstocks are attractive be18 cause of their low cost and widespread availability;

19 and

20 (B) research resulting in cost-effective tech21 nology to overcome the recalcitrance of cellulosic bio22 mass would allow biorefineries to produce fuels and

23 bulk chemicals on a very large scale, with a commen24 surately large realization of the benefit described in

25 paragraph (1);
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1 (8) research into the fundamentals to under2 stand important mechanisms of biomass conversion

3 processes can be expected to accelerate the applica4 tion and advancement of biomass processing tech5 nology by—

6 (A) increasing the confidence and speed

7 with which new technologies can be scaled up;

8 and

9 (B) giving rise to processing innovations

10 based on new knowledge;

11 (9) the utility of biotechnology allows the design

12 of feedstocks that will meet future needs more effec13 tively;

14 (10)(A) because of the relatively short-term

15 time horizon characteristic of private sector invest16 ments, and because many benefits of biomass proc17 essing are in the national interest, it is appropriate

18 for the Federal Government to provide

19 precommercial investment in fundamental and re20 search-driven innovation in the biomass processing

21 area; and

22 (B) such an investment would provide a valu23 able complement to ongoing and past governmental

24 support in the biomass processing area; and
5

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1 (11) several prominent studies, including stud2 ies by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science

3 and Technology and the National Research Council,

4 support the potential for large research-driven ad5 vances in technologies for production of biobased in6 dustrial products as well as associated benefits.

7 SEC. 3. CONVERSION OF BIOMASS INTO BIOBASED INDUS8 TRIAL PRODUCTS.

9 Title XIV of the National Agricultural Research, Ex10 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101

11 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘Subtitle N—Conversion of Bio13 mass Into Biobased Industrial

14 Products

15 ‘‘SEC. 1490. DEFINITIONS.

16 ‘‘In this subtitle:

17 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Advi18 sory Committee’ means the Sustainable Fuels and

19 Chemicals Technical Advisory Committee established

20 by section 1490C.

21 ‘‘(2) BIOBASED INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT.—The

22 term ‘biobased industrial product’ means any power,

23 fuel, feed, chemical product, or other consumer good

24 derived from biomass.
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1 ‘‘(3) BIOMASS.—The term ‘biomass’ means any

2 organic matter that is available on a renewable or

3 recurring basis, including plants, trees, grasses, agri4 cultural crops and residues, wood and wood residues,

5 municipal waste, animal waste and residues, and

6 aquatic plants.

7 ‘‘(4) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

8 Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Board established

9 by section 1490B.

10 ‘‘(5) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘Initiative’ means

11 the Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Research Ini12 tiative established under section 1490D.

13 ‘‘(6) POINT OF CONTACT.—The term ‘point of

14 contact’ means a point of contact designated under

15 section 1490A(d).

16 ‘‘SEC. 1490A. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION IN SUS17 TAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS RE18 SEARCH.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture

20 and the Secretary of Energy shall cooperate with respect

21 to, and coordinate, policies and procedures that promote

22 research and development leading to the production of

23 biobased industrial products.
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1 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the cooperation and

2 coordination shall be to promote research and development

3 related to—

4 ‘‘(1) understanding the key mechanisms under5 lying the recalcitrance of biomass for conversion into

6 biobased industrial products, including the use of ag7 ricultural crops for conversion into biobased indus8 trial products; and

9 ‘‘(2) advanced technologies that will result in

10 large-scale commercial production of low cost

11 biobased industrial products.

12 ‘‘(c) AREAS.—In carrying out this subtitle, the Sec13 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy shall

14 promote research and development to—

15 ‘‘(1) advance the availability and widespread

16 use of energy efficient, economically competitive, and

17 environmentally sound biobased industrial products

18 in a manner that is consistent with the goals of the

19 United States relating to sustainable and secure

20 supplies of food, chemicals, and fuel;

21 ‘‘(2) ensure full consideration of Federal land

22 and land management programs as potential feed23 stock resources for biobased industrial products; and
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1 ‘‘(3) assess the environmental, economic, and

2 social impact of production of biobased industrial

3 products from biomass on a large scale.

4 ‘‘(d) POINTS OF CONTACT.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To coordinate research and

6 development programs and activities relating to

7 biobased industrial products that are carried out by

8 their respective Departments—

9 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture shall

10 designate, as the point of contact for the De11 partment of Agriculture, an officer of the De12 partment of Agriculture appointed by the Presi13 dent to a position in the Department before the

14 date of the designation, by and with the advice

15 and consent of the Senate; and

16 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Energy shall des17 ignate, as the point of contact for the Depart18 ment of Energy, an officer of the Department

19 of Energy appointed by the President to a posi20 tion in the Department before the date of the

21 designation, by and with the advice and consent

22 of the Senate.

23 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The points of contact shall

24 jointly—
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1 ‘‘(A) assist in arranging interlaboratory

2 and site-specific supplemental agreements for

3 research, development, and demonstration

4 projects relating to biobased industrial prod5 ucts;

6 ‘‘(B) serve as cochairpersons of the Board;

7 ‘‘(C) administer the Initiative; and

8 ‘‘(D) respond in writing to each rec9 ommendation of the Advisory Committee made

10 under section 1490C(c)(2).

11 ‘‘SEC. 1490B. SUSTAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS BOARD.

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

13 Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Board to coordinate pro14 grams within and among departments and agencies of the

15 Federal Government for the purpose of promoting the use

16 of biobased industrial products by—

17 ‘‘(1) maximizing the benefits deriving from

18 Federal grants and assistance; and

19 ‘‘(2) bringing coherence to Federal planning.

20 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall consist of:

21 ‘‘(1) The point of contact of the Department of

22 Agriculture designated under section

23 1490A(d)(1)(A), who shall serve as cochairperson of

24 the Board.
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1 ‘‘(2) The point of contact of the Department of

2 Energy designated under section 1490A(d)(1)(B),

3 who shall serve as cochairperson of the Board.

4 ‘‘(3) A senior officer of each of the following

5 agencies who is appointed by the head of the agency

6 and who has a rank that is equivalent to the points

7 of contact:

8 ‘‘(A) The Department of the Interior.

9 ‘‘(B) The Environmental Protection Agen10 cy.

11 ‘‘(C) The National Science Foundation.

12 ‘‘(D) The Office of Science and Technology

13 Policy.

14 ‘‘(4) At the option of the Secretary of Agri15 culture and the Secretary of Energy, other members

16 appointed by the Secretaries (after consultation with

17 members described in paragraphs (1) through (3)).

18 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Board shall—

19 ‘‘(1) coordinate research, development, and

20 demonstration activities relating to biobased indus21 trial products—

22 ‘‘(A) between the Department of Agri23 culture and the Department of Energy; and

24 ‘‘(B) with other departments and agencies

25 of the Federal Government; and
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1 ‘‘(2) provide recommendations to the points of

2 contact concerning administration of this subtitle.

3 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Each agency represented on the

4 Board is encouraged to provide funds for any purpose

5 under this subtitle.

6 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least

7 quarterly to enable the Board to carry out the duties of

8 the Board under subsection (c).

9 ‘‘SEC. 1490C. SUSTAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS TECH10 NICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

12 Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Technical Advisory

13 Committee to—

14 ‘‘(1) advise the Secretary of Agriculture and the

15 Secretary of Energy concerning—

16 ‘‘(A) the technical focus and direction of

17 requests for proposals issued under the Initia18 tive; and

19 ‘‘(B) procedures for reviewing the pro20 posals;

21 ‘‘(2) facilitate consultations and partnerships

22 among Federal agencies, agricultural producers, in23 dustry, consumers, the research community, and

24 other interested groups to carry out program activi25 ties relating to the Initiative; and
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1 ‘‘(3) evaluate and perform strategic planning on

2 program activities relating to the Initiative.

3 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall consist of

4 the following members appointed by the points of contact:

5 ‘‘(1) An individual affiliated with the biobased

6 industrial products industry.

7 ‘‘(2) An individual affiliated with a college or

8 university who has expertise in biobased industrial

9 products.

10 ‘‘(3) 2 prominent engineers or scientists who

11 have expertise in biobased industrial products.

12 ‘‘(4) An individual affiliated with a commodity

13 trade association.

14 ‘‘(5) An individual affiliated with an environ15 mental or conservation organization.

16 ‘‘(6) At the option of the points of contact,

17 other members.

18 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall—

19 ‘‘(1) advise the points of contact with respect to

20 the Initiative; and

21 ‘‘(2) evaluate whether, and make recommenda22 tions in writing to the Board to ensure that—

23 ‘‘(A) funds authorized for the Initiative are

24 distributed and used in a manner that is con25 sistent with the goals of the Initiative;
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1 ‘‘(B) the points of contact are funding pro2 posals under this subtitle that are selected on

3 the basis of merit, as determined by an inde4 pendent panel of scientific and technical peers;

5 and

6 ‘‘(C) activities under this subtitle are car7 ried out in accordance with this subtitle.

8 ‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall

9 meet at least quarterly to enable the Advisory Committee

10 to carry out the duties of the Advisory Committee under

11 subsection (c).

12 ‘‘SEC. 1490D. SUSTAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS RE13 SEARCH INITIATIVE.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture

15 and the Secretary of Energy, acting through their respec16 tive points of contact and in consultation with the Board,

17 shall establish and carry out a Sustainable Fuels and

18 Chemicals Research Initiative under which competitively19 awarded grants, contracts, and financial assistance are

20 provided to, or entered into with, eligible entities to carry

21 out research on biobased industrial products.

22 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of grants, contracts,

23 and assistance under this section shall be to—

24 ‘‘(1) stimulate collaborative activities by a di25 verse range of experts in all aspects of biomass proc-
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1 essing for the purpose of conducting fundamental

2 and innovation-targeted research and technology de3 velopment;

4 ‘‘(2) enhance creative and imaginative ap5 proaches toward biomass processing that will serve

6 to develop the next generation of advanced tech7 nologies making possible low cost biobased industrial

8 products;

9 ‘‘(3) strengthen the intellectual resources of the

10 United States through the training and education of

11 future scientists, engineers, managers, and business

12 leaders in the field of biomass processing; and

13 ‘‘(4) promote integrated research partnerships

14 among colleges, universities, national laboratories,

15 Federal research agencies, and the private sector as

16 the best means of overcoming technical challenges

17 that span multiple academic disciplines and

18 leveraging scarce Federal research funds.

19 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant,

21 contract, or assistance under this section, an appli22 cant shall be—

23 ‘‘(A) a college or university;

24 ‘‘(B) a national laboratory;

25 ‘‘(C) a Federal research agency;
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1 ‘‘(D) a State research agency;

2 ‘‘(E) a private sector entity; or

3 ‘‘(F) a consortium of 2 or more entities de4 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E).

5 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—After consultation

6 with the Board, the points of contact shall—

7 ‘‘(A) publish annually a joint request for

8 proposals for grants, contracts, and assistance

9 under this section;

10 ‘‘(B) provide a preference in grants, con11 tracts, and assistance under this section to con12 sortia involving experts from multiple institu13 tions and multiple academic disciplines working

14 on cross-cutting or integrative research, devel15 opment, and demonstration challenges; and

16 ‘‘(C) require that grants, contracts, and

17 assistance under this section be awarded com18 petitively after the establishment of procedures

19 that provide for scientific peer review by an

20 independent panel of scientific and technical

21 peers.

22 ‘‘(d) USES OF GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND ASSIST23 ANCE.—A grant, contract, or assistance under this section

24 shall be used to conduct—
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1 ‘‘(1) research on process technology for over2 coming the recalcitrance of biomass, including re3 search on key mechanisms, advanced technologies,

4 and demonstration test beds for—

5 ‘‘(A) feedstock pretreatment and hydrolysis

6 of cellulose and hemicellulose, including new

7 technologies for—

8 ‘‘(i) enhanced sugar yields;

9 ‘‘(ii) lower overall chemical use;

10 ‘‘(iii) less costly materials; and

11 ‘‘(iv) cost reduction;

12 ‘‘(B) novel organism development and cel13 lulose production, including consolidated bio14 processing techniques; and

15 ‘‘(C) approaches other than enzymatic hy16 drolysis for overcoming the recalcitrance of cel17 lulosic biomass;

18 ‘‘(2) research on technologies for diversifying

19 the range of products that can be efficiently and

20 cost-competitively produced from biomass, including

21 research on—

22 ‘‘(A) metabolic engineering of biological

23 systems (including genetically modified crops)

24 to produce novel products, especially commodity

25 products, or to increase product selectivity and
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1 tolerance, with a research priority on the devel2 opment of biobased products that can compete

3 in performance and cost with fossil-based prod4 ucts;

5 ‘‘(B) catalytic processing to convert inter6 mediates of biomass processing into products of

7 interest;

8 ‘‘(C) separation technologies for cost-effec9 tive product recovery and purification;

10 ‘‘(D) approaches other than metabolic en11 gineering and catalytic conversion of intermedi12 ates of biomass processing; and

13 ‘‘(E) advanced technologies for biomass

14 gasification and related research in turbine and

15 stationary fuel cell technology for production of

16 electricity from biomass and related research in

17 advanced turbine and stationary fuel cell tech18 nology; and

19 ‘‘(3) research aimed at evaluating the sustain20 ability and economic viability of biobased industrial

21 products and their raw material input of biomass,

22 including research on—

23 ‘‘(A) the evaluation of, and strategies to

24 enhance, the sustainability of biomass-based
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1 production of fuels and commodity chemicals,

2 including research on—

3 ‘‘(i) accurate measurement and anal4 ysis of carbon sequestration and carbon cy5 cling in relation to biobased industrial

6 products and feedstocks;

7 ‘‘(ii) crops that provide a sustainable

8 resource for conversion to industrial prod9 ucts while also serving as a source for

10 other needs such as food or animal feed;

11 ‘‘(iii) development and analysis of best

12 land management practices that enhance

13 the environmental sustainability of the pro14 duction and harvesting of biomass;

15 ‘‘(iv) development of biomass cropping

16 systems that improve the conservation and

17 use of marginal land; and

18 ‘‘(v) biomass gasification and combus19 tion to produce electricity; and

20 ‘‘(B) the evaluation of, and strategies to

21 enhance, the economic viability of fuels and

22 commodity chemicals produced from biomass,

23 including research on—

24 ‘‘(i) the evaluation of the energy bal25 ances for biorefineries;
19

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1 ‘‘(ii) the cost of the required process

2 technology; and

3 ‘‘(iii) the impact of coproduction on

4 product price and large-scale economic via5 bility.

6 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other

8 amounts that are authorized to be appropriated,

9 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

10 this section $49,000,000 for each of fiscal years

11 2000 through 2005.

12 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH ON CELLULOSIC BIOMASS.—

13 For each fiscal year, of the amounts that are made

14 available under paragraph (1), not less than 30 per15 cent shall be used to conduct research described in

16 subsection (d)(1).

17 ‘‘SEC. 1490E. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND FUNDS.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent administrative

19 support and funds are not provided by other agencies

20 under subsection (b), the Secretary of Energy shall pro21 vide such administrative support and funds of the Depart22 ment of Energy to the Board and the Advisory Committee

23 as are necessary to enable the Board and the Advisory

24 Committee to carry out this subtitle.
20

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1 ‘‘(b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture and the heads of the agencies referred to in section

3 1490B(a)(3) may, and are encouraged to, provide admin4 istrative support and funds of their respective agencies to

5 the Board and the Advisory Committee.

6 ‘‘SEC. 1490F. REPORTS.

7 ‘‘For each fiscal year that funds are made available

8 to carry out this subtitle, the Secretary of Agriculture and

9 the Secretary of Energy shall jointly transmit to Congress

10 a detailed report on—

11 ‘‘(1) the status and progress of the Initiative,

12 including a certification from the Board that funds

13 authorized for the Initiative are distributed and used

14 in a manner that is consistent with the goals of the

15 Initiative; and

16 ‘‘(2) the general status of cooperation and re17 search efforts carried out by each Secretary with re18 spect to sustainable fuels, chemicals, and electricity

19 derived from biomass, including a certification from

20 the Board that the points of contact are funding

21 proposals that are selected on the basis of merit, as

22 determined by an independent panel of scientific and

23 technical peers.’’.
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Sustainable

3 Fuels and Chemicals Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) conversion of biomass into biobased indus7 trial products offers outstanding potential for benefit

8 to the national interest through improved strategic se9 curity and balance of payments, healthier rural

10 economies, improved environmental quality, near-zero

11 net greenhouse gas emissions, technology export, and

12 sustainable resource supply;

13 (2)(A) biomass is widely available at prices that

14 are competitive with low cost petroleum; and

15 (B) the key technical challenges to be overcome in

16 order for biobased industrial products to be cost com17 petitive are finding new technology and reducing the

18 cost of technology for converting biomass into desired

19 biobased industrial products;

20 (3) biobased fuels, such as ethanol, have the clear

21 potential to be sustainable, low cost, and high per22 formance fuels that are compatible with both current

23 and future transportation systems and provide near

24 zero net greenhouse gas emissions;

25 (4) biobased chemicals—
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1 (A) can provide functional replacements for

2 essentially all organic chemicals that are cur3 rently derived from petroleum; and

4 (B) have the clear potential for environ5 mentally benign product life cycles;

6 (5) biobased power can provide environmental

7 benefits, promote rural economic development, and di8 versify energy resource options;

9 (6) many biomass feedstocks suitable for indus10 trial processing show the clear potential for sustain11 able production, in some cases resulting in improved

12 soil fertility and carbon sequestration;

13 (7)(A) grain processing mills are biorefineries

14 that produce a diversity of useful food, chemical, feed,

15 and fuel products; and

16 (B) technologies that result in further diversifica17 tion of the range of value-added biobased industrial

18 products can meet a key need for the grain processing

19 industry;

20 (8)(A) cellulosic feedstocks are attractive because

21 of their low cost and widespread availability; and

22 (B) research resulting in cost-effective technology

23 to overcome the recalcitrance of cellulosic biomass

24 would allow biorefineries to produce fuels and bulk

25 chemicals on a very large scale, with a commen-
23

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1 surately large realization of the benefit described in

2 paragraph (1);

3 (9) research into the fundamentals to understand

4 important mechanisms of biomass conversion can be

5 expected to accelerate the application and advance6 ment of biomass processing technology by—

7 (A) increasing the confidence and speed

8 with which new technologies can be scaled up;

9 and

10 (B) giving rise to processing innovations

11 based on new knowledge;

12 (10) the added utility of biobased industrial

13 products developed through improvements in proc14 essing technology would encourage the design of feed15 stocks that would meet future needs more effectively;

16 (11) the creation of value-added biobased indus17 trial products would create new jobs in construction,

18 manufacturing, and distribution, as well as new high19 er-valued exports of products and technology;

20 (12)(A) because of the relatively short-term time

21 horizon characteristic of private sector investments,

22 and because many benefits of biomass processing are

23 in the national interest, it is appropriate for the Fed24 eral Government to provide precommercial investment
24

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1 in fundamental research and research-driven innova2 tion in the biomass processing area; and

3 (B) such an investment would provide a valuable

4 complement to ongoing and past governmental sup5 port in the biomass processing area; and

6 (13) several prominent studies, including studies

7 by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and

8 Technology and the National Research Council—

9 (A) support the potential for large research10 driven advances in technologies for production of

11 biobased industrial products as well as associ12 ated benefits; and

13 (B) document the need for a focused, inte14 grated, and innovation-driven research effort to

15 provide the appropriate progress in a timely

16 manner.

17 SEC. 3. CONVERSION OF BIOMASS INTO BIOBASED INDUS18 TRIAL PRODUCTS.

19 The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and

20 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) is

21 amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘Subtitle N—Conversion of Biomass

23 Into Biobased Industrial Products

24 ‘‘SEC. 1490. DEFINITIONS.

25 ‘‘In this subtitle:
25

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1 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Advi2 sory Committee’ means the Sustainable Fuels and

3 Chemicals Technical Advisory Committee established

4 by section 1490C.

5 ‘‘(2) BIOBASED INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT.—The

6 term ‘biobased industrial product’ means any power,

7 fuel, feed, chemical product, or other consumer good

8 derived from biomass.

9 ‘‘(3) BIOMASS.—The term ‘biomass’ means any

10 organic matter that is available on a renewable or re11 curring basis (excluding old growth timber), includ12 ing dedicated energy crops and trees, wood and wood

13 residues, plants (including aquatic plants), grasses,

14 agricultural crops, residues, fibers, and animal wastes

15 and other waste materials.

16 ‘‘(4) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the Sus17 tainable Fuels and Chemicals Board established by

18 section 1490B.

19 ‘‘(5) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘Initiative’ means

20 the Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals Research Initia21 tive established under section 1490D.

22 ‘‘(6) POINT OF CONTACT.—The term ‘point of

23 contact’ means a point of contact designated under

24 section 1490A(d).
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1 ‘‘(7) PROCESSING.—The term ‘processing’ means

2 the derivation of biobased industrial products from

3 biomass, including—

4 ‘‘(A) feedstock production;

5 ‘‘(B) harvest and handling;

6 ‘‘(C) pretreatment or thermochemical proc7 essing;

8 ‘‘(D) fermentation;

9 ‘‘(E) catalytic processing;

10 ‘‘(F) product recovery; and

11 ‘‘(G) coproduct production.

12 ‘‘SEC. 1490A. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION IN SUS13 TAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS RE14 SEARCH.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture and

16 the Secretary of Energy shall cooperate with respect to, and

17 coordinate, policies and procedures that promote research

18 and development leading to the production of biobased in19 dustrial products.

20 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the cooperation and

21 coordination shall be to—

22 ‘‘(1) understand the key mechanisms underlying

23 the recalcitrance of biomass for conversion into

24 biobased industrial products;
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1 ‘‘(2) develop new and cost-effective technologies

2 that would result in large-scale commercial produc3 tion of low cost and sustainable biobased industrial

4 products;

5 ‘‘(3) ensure that biobased industrial products are

6 developed in a manner that enhances their economic,

7 energy security, and environmental benefits; and

8 ‘‘(4) promote the development and use of agricul9 tural and energy crops for conversion into biobased

10 industrial products.

11 ‘‘(c) AREAS.—In carrying out this subtitle, the Sec12 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy, in con13 sultation with heads of appropriate departments and agen14 cies, shall promote research and development to—

15 ‘‘(1) advance the availability and widespread use

16 of energy efficient, economically competitive, and en17 vironmentally sound biobased industrial products in

18 a manner that is consistent with the goals of the

19 United States relating to sustainable and secure sup20 plies of food, chemicals, and fuel;

21 ‘‘(2) ensure full consideration of Federal land

22 and land management programs as potential feed23 stock resources for biobased industrial products; and
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1 ‘‘(3) assess the environmental, economic, and so2 cial impact of production of biobased industrial prod3 ucts from biomass on a large scale.

4 ‘‘(d) POINTS OF CONTACT.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To coordinate research and

6 development programs and activities relating to

7 biobased industrial products that are carried out by

8 their respective Departments—

9 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture shall des10 ignate, as the point of contact for the Depart11 ment of Agriculture, an officer of the Department

12 of Agriculture appointed by the President to a

13 position in the Department before the date of the

14 designation, by and with the advice and consent

15 of the Senate; and

16 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Energy shall des17 ignate, as the point of contact for the Depart18 ment of Energy, an officer of the Department of

19 Energy appointed by the President to a position

20 in the Department before the date of the designa21 tion, by and with the advice and consent of the

22 Senate.

23 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The points of contact shall

24 jointly—
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1 ‘‘(A) assist in arranging interlaboratory

2 and site-specific supplemental agreements for re3 search, development, and demonstration projects

4 relating to biobased industrial products;

5 ‘‘(B) serve as cochairpersons of the Board;

6 ‘‘(C) administer the Initiative; and

7 ‘‘(D) respond in writing to each rec8 ommendation of the Advisory Committee made

9 under section 1490C(c)(2).

10 ‘‘SEC. 1490B. SUSTAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS BOARD.

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Sus12 tainable Fuels and Chemicals Board to coordinate pro13 grams within and among departments and agencies of the

14 Federal Government for the purpose of promoting the use

15 of biobased industrial products by—

16 ‘‘(1) maximizing the benefits deriving from Fed17 eral grants and assistance; and

18 ‘‘(2) bringing coherence to Federal strategic

19 planning.

20 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall consist of:

21 ‘‘(1) The point of contact of the Department of

22 Agriculture designated under section 1490A(d)(1)(A),

23 who shall serve as cochairperson of the Board.
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1 ‘‘(2) The point of contact of the Department of

2 Energy designated under section 1490A(d)(1)(B), who

3 shall serve as cochairperson of the Board.

4 ‘‘(3) A senior officer of each of the following

5 agencies who is appointed by the head of the agency

6 and who has a rank that is equivalent to the points

7 of contact:

8 ‘‘(A) The Department of the Interior.

9 ‘‘(B) The Environmental Protection Agency.

10 ‘‘(C) The National Science Foundation.

11 ‘‘(D) The Office of Science and Technology

12 Policy.

13 ‘‘(4) At the option of the Secretary of Agriculture

14 and the Secretary of Energy, other members ap15 pointed by the Secretaries (after consultation with

16 members described in paragraphs (1) through (3)).

17 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Board shall—

18 ‘‘(1) coordinate research, development, and dem19 onstration activities relating to biobased industrial

20 products—

21 ‘‘(A) between the Department of Agriculture

22 and the Department of Energy; and

23 ‘‘(B) with other departments and agencies

24 of the Federal Government; and
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1 ‘‘(2) provide recommendations to the points of

2 contact concerning administration of this subtitle.

3 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Each agency represented on the

4 Board is encouraged to provide funds for any purpose

5 under this subtitle.

6 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least quar7 terly to enable the Board to carry out the duties of the

8 Board under subsection (c).

9 ‘‘SEC. 1490C. SUSTAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS TECH10 NICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Sus12 tainable Fuels and Chemicals Technical Advisory Com13 mittee to—

14 ‘‘(1) advise the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec15 retary of Energy, and the points of contact

16 concerning—

17 ‘‘(A) the technical focus and direction of re18 quests for proposals issued under the Initiative;

19 and

20 ‘‘(B) procedures for reviewing and evalu21 ating the proposals;

22 ‘‘(2) facilitate consultations and partnerships

23 among Federal and State agencies, agricultural pro24 ducers, industry, consumers, the research community,
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1 and other interested groups to carry out program ac2 tivities relating to the Initiative; and

3 ‘‘(3) evaluate and perform strategic planning on

4 program activities relating to the Initiative.

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall consist of

6 the following members appointed by the points of contact:

7 ‘‘(1) An individual affiliated with the biobased

8 industrial products industry.

9 ‘‘(2) An individual affiliated with a college or

10 university who has expertise in biobased industrial

11 products.

12 ‘‘(3) 2 prominent engineers or scientists from

13 government or academia who have expertise in

14 biobased industrial products.

15 ‘‘(4) An individual affiliated with a commodity

16 trade association.

17 ‘‘(5) An individual affiliated with an environ18 mental or conservation organization.

19 ‘‘(6) An individual associated with State govern20 ment who has expertise in biobased industrial prod21 ucts.

22 ‘‘(7) At the option of the points of contact, other

23 members.

24 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) advise the points of contact with respect to

2 the Initiative; and

3 ‘‘(2) evaluate whether, and make recommenda4 tions in writing to the Board to ensure that—

5 ‘‘(A) funds authorized for the Initiative are

6 distributed and used in a manner that is con7 sistent with the goals of the Initiative;

8 ‘‘(B) the points of contact are funding pro9 posals under this subtitle that are selected on the

10 basis of merit, as determined by an independent

11 panel of scientific and technical peers; and

12 ‘‘(C) activities under this subtitle are car13 ried out in accordance with this subtitle.

14 ‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall meet

15 at least quarterly to enable the Advisory Committee to carry

16 out the duties of the Advisory Committee under subsection

17 (c).

18 ‘‘SEC. 1490D. SUSTAINABLE FUELS AND CHEMICALS RE19 SEARCH INITIATIVE.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture and

21 the Secretary of Energy, acting through their respective

22 points of contact and in consultation with the Board, shall

23 establish and carry out a Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals

24 Research Initiative under which competitively-awarded

25 grants, contracts, and financial assistance are provided to,
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1 or entered into with, eligible entities to carry out research

2 on biobased industrial products.

3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of grants, contracts,

4 and assistance under this section shall be to—

5 ‘‘(1) stimulate collaborative activities by a di6 verse range of experts in all aspects of biomass proc7 essing for the purpose of conducting fundamental and

8 innovation-targeted research and technology develop9 ment;

10 ‘‘(2) enhance creative and imaginative ap11 proaches toward biomass processing that will serve to

12 develop the next generation of advanced technologies

13 making possible low cost and sustainable biobased in14 dustrial products;

15 ‘‘(3) strengthen the intellectual resources of the

16 United States through the training and education of

17 future scientists, engineers, managers, and business

18 leaders in the field of biomass processing; and

19 ‘‘(4) promote integrated research partnerships

20 among colleges, universities, national laboratories,

21 Federal and State research agencies, and the private

22 sector as the best means of overcoming technical chal23 lenges that span multiple research and engineering

24 disciplines and of gaining better leverage from limited

25 Federal research funds.
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1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant,

3 contract, or assistance under this section, an appli4 cant shall be—

5 ‘‘(A) a college or university;

6 ‘‘(B) a national laboratory;

7 ‘‘(C) a Federal research agency;

8 ‘‘(D) a State research agency;

9 ‘‘(E) a private sector entity;

10 ‘‘(F) a nonprofit organization; or

11 ‘‘(G) a consortium of 2 or more entities de12 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E).

13 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—After consultation with

14 the Board, the points of contact, on behalf of the

15 Board, shall—

16 ‘‘(A) publish annually 1 or more joint re17 quests for proposals for grants, contracts, and as18 sistance under this section;

19 ‘‘(B) establish a priority in grants, con20 tracts, and assistance under this section for re21 search that—

22 ‘‘(i) demonstrates potential for signifi23 cant advances in biomass processing;

24 ‘‘(ii) demonstrates potential to substan25 tially impact scale-sensitive national objec-
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1 tives such as sustainable resource supply,

2 reduced greenhouse gas emissions, healthier

3 rural economies, and improved strategic se4 curity and trade balances; and

5 ‘‘(iii) would improve knowledge of im6 portant biomass processing systems that

7 demonstrate potential for commercial appli8 cations;

9 ‘‘(C) require that grants, contracts, and as10 sistance under this section be awarded competi11 tively, on the basis of merit, after the establish12 ment of procedures that provide for scientific

13 peer review by an independent panel of scientific

14 and technical peers; and

15 ‘‘(D) give preference to applications that—

16 ‘‘(i) involve a consortia of experts from

17 multiple institutions; and

18 ‘‘(ii) encourage the integration of dis19 ciplines and application of the best tech20 nical resources.

21 ‘‘(d) USES OF GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND ASSIST22 ANCE.—A grant, contract, or assistance under this section

23 shall be used to conduct—

24 ‘‘(1) research on process technology for over25 coming the recalcitrance of biomass, including re-
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1 search on key mechanisms, advanced technologies, and

2 demonstration test beds for—

3 ‘‘(A) feedstock pretreatment and hydrolysis

4 of cellulose and hemicellulose, including new

5 technologies for—

6 ‘‘(i) enhanced sugar yields;

7 ‘‘(ii) lower overall chemical use;

8 ‘‘(iii) less costly materials; and

9 ‘‘(iv) cost reduction;

10 ‘‘(B) development of novel organisms and

11 other approaches to substantially lower the cost

12 of cellulase enzymes and enzymatic hydrolysis,

13 including dedicated cellulase production and

14 consolidated bioprocessing strategies; and

15 ‘‘(C) approaches other than enzymatic hy16 drolysis for overcoming the recalcitrance of cel17 lulosic biomass;

18 ‘‘(2) research on technologies for diversifying the

19 range of products that can be efficiently and cost-com20 petitively produced from biomass, including research

21 on—

22 ‘‘(A) metabolic engineering of biological sys23 tems (including the safe use of genetically modi24 fied crops) to produce novel products, especially

25 commodity products, or to increase product selec-
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1 tivity and tolerance, with a research priority on

2 the development of biobased products that can

3 compete in performance and cost with fossil4 based products;

5 ‘‘(B) catalytic processing to convert inter6 mediates of biomass processing into products of

7 interest;

8 ‘‘(C) separation technologies for cost-effec9 tive product recovery and purification;

10 ‘‘(D) approaches other than metabolic engi11 neering and catalytic conversion of intermediates

12 of biomass processing;

13 ‘‘(E) advanced biomass gasification tech14 nologies, including coproduction of power and

15 heat as an integrated component of biomass

16 processing, with the possibility of generating ex17 cess electricity for sale; and

18 ‘‘(F) related research in advanced turbine

19 and stationary fuel cell technology for production

20 of electricity from biomass; and

21 ‘‘(3) research aimed at ensuring the environ22 mental performance and economic viability of

23 biobased industrial products and their raw material

24 input of biomass when considered as an integrated

25 system, including research on—
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1 ‘‘(A) the analysis of, and strategies to en2 hance, the environmental performance and sus3 tainability of biobased industrial products, in4 cluding research on—

5 ‘‘(i) accurate measurement and anal6 ysis of greenhouse gas emissions, carbon se7 questration, and carbon cycling in relation

8 to the life cycle of biobased industrial prod9 ucts and feedstocks with respect to other al10 ternatives;

11 ‘‘(ii) evaluation of current and future

12 biomass resource availability;

13 ‘‘(iii) development and analysis of

14 land management practices and alternative

15 biomass cropping systems that ensure the

16 environmental performance and sustain17 ability of biomass production and har18 vesting;

19 ‘‘(iv) land, air, water, and biodiversity

20 impacts of large-scale biomass production,

21 processing, and use of biobased industrial

22 products relative to other alternatives; and

23 ‘‘(v) biomass gasification and combus24 tion to produce electricity;
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1 ‘‘(B) the analysis of, and strategies to en2 hance, the economic viability of biobased indus3 trial products, including research on—

4 ‘‘(i) the cost of the required process

5 technology;

6 ‘‘(ii) the impact of coproducts, includ7 ing power and heat generation, on biobased

8 industrial product price and large-scale eco9 nomic viability; and

10 ‘‘(iii) interactions between an emergent

11 biomass refining industry and the petro12 chemical refining infrastructure; and

13 ‘‘(C) the field and laboratory research re14 lated to feedstock production with the inter15 related goals of enhancing the sustainability, in16 creasing productivity, and decreasing the cost of

17 biomass processing, including research on—

18 ‘‘(i) altering biomass to make biomass

19 easier and less expensive to process;

20 ‘‘(ii) existing and new agricultural

21 and energy crops that provide a sustainable

22 resource for conversion to biobased indus23 trial products while simultaneously serving

24 as a source for coproducts such as food, ani25 mal feed, and fiber;
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1 ‘‘(iii) improved technologies for har2 vest, collection, transport, storage, and han3 dling of crop and residue feedstocks; and

4 ‘‘(iv) development of economically via5 ble cropping systems that improve the con6 servation and restoration of marginal land.

7 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi8 tion to any other amounts that are authorized to be appro9 priated, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry

10 out this section $49,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

11 through 2005.

12 ‘‘SEC. 1490E. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND FUNDS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent administrative sup14 port and funds are not provided by other agencies under

15 subsection (b), the Secretary of Energy shall provide such

16 administrative support and funds of the Department of En17 ergy to the Board and the Advisory Committee as are nec18 essary to enable the Board and the Advisory Committee to

19 carry out this subtitle.

20 ‘‘(b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The Secretary of Agriculture

21 and the heads of the agencies referred to, or appointed

22 under, paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 1490B(a) may,

23 and are encouraged to, provide administrative support and

24 funds of their respective agencies to the Board and the Advi25 sory Committee.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1490F. REPORTS.

2 ‘‘For each fiscal year that funds are made available

3 to carry out this subtitle, the Secretary of Agriculture and

4 the Secretary of Energy shall jointly transmit to Congress

5 a detailed report on—

6 ‘‘(1) the status and progress of the Initiative, in7 cluding a certification from the Board that funds au8 thorized for the Initiative are distributed and used in

9 a manner that is consistent with the goals of the Ini10 tiative; and

11 ‘‘(2) the general status of cooperation and re12 search efforts carried out by each Secretary with re13 spect to sustainable fuels, chemicals, and electricity

14 derived from biomass, including a certification from

15 the Board that the points of contact are funding pro16 posals that are selected on the basis of merit, as deter17 mined by an independent panel of scientific and tech18 nical peers.

19 ‘‘SEC. 1490G. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

20 ETHANOL RESEARCH PILOT PLANT.

21 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to construct

22 a Department of Agriculture corn-based ethanol research

23 pilot plant a total of $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

24 subsequent fiscal years.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. USE OF CONSERVATION RESERVE LAND FOR RE2 COVERY OF BIOMASS USED IN ENERGY PRO3 DUCTION.

4 Section 1232(a)(7) of the Food Security Act of 1985

5 (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)(7)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘except that the Secretary may

7 permit harvesting’’ and inserting ‘‘except that the

8 Secretary—

9 ‘‘(A) may permit—

10 ‘‘(i) harvesting’’;

11 (2) by striking ‘‘emergency, and the Secretary

12 may permit limited’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency; and

13 ‘‘(ii) limited’’;

14 (3) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

15 end; and

16 (4) by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(B) shall approve not more than 18

18 projects under which crops on land subject to the

19 contract may be harvested for recovery of bio20 mass used in energy production if—

21 ‘‘(i) no acreage subject to the contract

22 is harvested more than once every other

23 year;

24 ‘‘(ii) not more than 25 percent of the

25 total acreage enrolled in the program under

26 this subchapter in any crop reporting dis-
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1 trict (as designated by the Secretary), is

2 harvested in any 1 year;

3 ‘‘(iii) no portion of the crop is used for

4 any commercial purpose other than energy

5 production from biomass;

6 ‘‘(iv) no wetland, or acreage of any

7 type enrolled in a partial field conservation

8 practice (including riparian forest buffers,

9 filter strips, and buffer strips), is harvested;

10 ‘‘(v) the owner or operator agrees to a

11 payment reduction under this section in an

12 amount determined by the Secretary;

13 ‘‘(vi) the owner or operator agrees to

14 commission and submit to the Secretary a

15 study and report, to be conducted and writ16 ten by a third party approved by the Sec17 retary, on the impact of the biomass pro18 duction and harvesting on wildlife; and

19 ‘‘(vii) the owner or operator agrees to

20 such other terms and conditions as the Sec21 retary, in consultation with the State tech22 nical committee for the State and appro23 priate conservation and wildlife advocates,

24 may establish to ensure that the production

25 and harvesting of biomass crops minimize
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1 disturbance of wildlife habitat and are oth2 erwise consistent with the purposes of the

3 program established under this subchapter,

4 with any biomass harvesting project per5 mitted to harvest at least 50,000 acres per

6 year.’’.