IA

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 935

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 9, 2000

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and in addition to the Committee

on Science, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

AN ACT

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,
2

S 935 RFH

1 TITLE I—BIOMASS RESEARCH

2 AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2000

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Biomass Research and

5 Development Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) conversion of biomass into biobased indus9 trial products offers outstanding potential for benefit

10 to the national interest through improved strategic

11 security and balance of payments, healthier rural

12 economies, improved environmental quality, near13 zero net greenhouse gas emissions, technology ex14 port, and sustainable resource supply;

15 (2) the key technical challenges to be overcome

16 in order for biobased industrial products to be cost

17 competitive are finding new technology and reducing

18 the cost of technology for converting biomass into

19 desired biobased industrial 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

S 935 RFH

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) biobased power can provide environmental

7 benefits, promote rural economic development, and

8 diversify 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,

15 feed, and fuel products; and

16 (B) technologies that result in further diver17 sification of the range of value-added biobased in18 dustrial products can meet a key need for the grain

19 processing industry;

20 (8)(A) cellulosic feedstocks are attractive be21 cause of their low cost and widespread availability;

22 and

23 (B) research resulting in cost-effective tech24 nology to overcome the recalcitrance of cellulosic bio25 mass would allow biorefineries to produce fuels and
4

S 935 RFH

1 bulk chemicals on a very large scale, with a commen2 surately large realization of the benefit described in

3 paragraph (1);

4 (9) research into the fundamentals to under5 stand important mechanisms of biomass conversion

6 can be expected to accelerate the application and ad7 vancement of biomass processing technology by—

8 (A) increasing the confidence and speed

9 with which new technologies can be scaled up;

10 and

11 (B) giving rise to processing innovations

12 based on new knowledge;

13 (10) the added utility of biobased industrial

14 products developed through improvements in proc15 essing technology would encourage the design of

16 feedstocks that would meet future needs more effec17 tively;

18 (11) the creation of value-added biobased indus19 trial products would create new jobs in construction,

20 manufacturing, and distribution, as well as new

21 higher-valued exports of products and technology;

22 (12)(A) because of the relatively short-term

23 time horizon characteristic of private sector invest24 ments, and because many benefits of biomass proc25 essing are in the national interest, it is appropriate
5

S 935 RFH

1 for the Federal Government to provide

2 precommercial investment in fundamental research

3 and research-driven innovation in the biomass proc4 essing area; and

5 (B) such an investment would provide a valu6 able complement to ongoing and past governmental

7 support in the biomass processing area; and

8 (13) several prominent studies, including stud9 ies by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science

10 and Technology and the National Research

11 Council—

12 (A) support the potential for large re13 search-driven advances in technologies for pro14 duction of biobased industrial products as well

15 as associated benefits; and

16 (B) document the need for a focused, inte17 grated, and innovation-driven research effort to

18 provide the appropriate progress in a timely

19 manner.

20 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

21 In this title:

22 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi23 sory Committee’’ means the Biomass Research and

24 Development Technical Advisory Committee estab25 lished by section 106.
6

S 935 RFH

1 (2) BIOBASED INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT.—The

2 term ‘‘biobased industrial product’’ means fuels,

3 commercial chemicals, building materials, or electric

4 power or heat produced from biomass.

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

6 organic matter that is available on a renewable or

7 recurring basis, including agricultural crops and

8 trees, wood and wood wastes and residues, plants

9 (including aquatic plants), grasses, residues, fibers,

10 and animal wastes, municipal wastes and other

11 waste materials.

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

13 Biomass Research and Development Board estab14 lished by section 105.

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

16 the Biomass Research and Development Research

17 Initiative established under section 107.

18 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

19 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the

20 meaning given that term in section 1201(a) of the

21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

22 (7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘na23 tional laboratory’’ means a facility or group of facili24 ties owned, leased, or operated by a Federal agency

25 (including a contractor of the Federal agency) for
7

S 935 RFH

1 the performance of research, development, or engi2 neering.

3 (8) POINT OF CONTACT.—The term ‘‘point of

4 contact’’ means a point of contact designated under

5 section 104(d).

6 (9) PROCESSING.—The term ‘‘processing’’

7 means the derivation of biobased industrial products

8 from biomass, including—

9 (A) feedstock production;

10 (B) harvest and handling;

11 (C) pretreatment or thermochemical proc12 essing;

13 (D) fermentation;

14 (E) catalytic processing;

15 (F) product recovery; and

16 (G) coproduct production.

17 SEC. 104. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION IN BIOMASS

18 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

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

20 the Secretary of Energy shall cooperate with respect to,

21 and coordinate, policies and procedures that promote re22 search and development leading to the production of

23 biobased industrial products.

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

25 coordination shall be to—
8

S 935 RFH

1 (1) understand the key mechanisms underlying

2 the recalcitrance of biomass for conversion into

3 biobased industrial products;

4 (2) develop new and cost-effective technologies

5 that would result in large-scale commercial produc6 tion of low cost and sustainable biobased industrial

7 products;

8 (3) ensure that biobased industrial products are

9 developed in a manner that enhances their economic,

10 energy security, and environmental benefits; and

11 (4) promote the development and use of agricul12 tural and energy crops for conversion into biobased

13 industrial products.

14 (c) AREAS.—In carrying out this title, the Secretary

15 of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy, in consulta16 tion with heads of appropriate departments and agencies,

17 shall promote research and development to—

18 (1) advance the availability and widespread use

19 of energy efficient, economically competitive, and en20 vironmentally sound biobased industrial products in

21 a manner that is consistent with the goals of the

22 United States relating to sustainable and secure

23 supplies of food, chemicals, and fuel;
9

S 935 RFH

1 (2) ensure full consideration of Federal land

2 and land management programs as potential feed3 stock resources for biobased industrial products; and

4 (3) assess the environmental, economic, and so5 cial impact of production of biobased industrial

6 products from biomass on a large scale.

7 (d) POINTS OF CONTACT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—To coordinate research and

9 development programs and activities relating to

10 biobased industrial products that are carried out by

11 their respective Departments—

12 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture shall des13 ignate, as the point of contact for the Depart14 ment of Agriculture, an officer of the Depart15 ment of Agriculture appointed by the President

16 to a position in the Department before the date

17 of the designation, by and with the advice and

18 consent of the Senate; and

19 (B) the Secretary of Energy shall des20 ignate, as the point of contact for the Depart21 ment of Energy, an officer of the Department

22 of Energy appointed by the President to a posi23 tion in the Department before the date of the

24 designation, by and with the advice and consent

25 of the Senate.
10

S 935 RFH

1 (2) DUTIES.—The points of contact shall

2 jointly—

3 (A) assist in arranging interlaboratory and

4 site-specific supplemental agreements for re5 search, development, and demonstration

6 projects relating to biobased industrial prod7 ucts;

8 (B) serve as cochairpersons of the Board;

9 (C) administer the Initiative; and

10 (D) respond in writing to each rec11 ommendation of the Advisory Committee made

12 under section 106.

13 SEC. 105. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Bio15 mass Research and Development Board to coordinate pro16 grams within and among departments and agencies of the

17 Federal Government for the purpose of promoting the use

18 of biobased industrial products by—

19 (1) maximizing the benefits deriving from Fed20 eral grants and assistance; and

21 (2) bringing coherence to Federal strategic

22 planning.

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall consist of:
11

S 935 RFH

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

2 Energy designated under section 104(d)(1)(B), who

3 shall serve as cochairperson of the Board.

4 (2) The point of contact of the Department of

5 Agriculture designated under section 104(d)(1)(A),

6 who shall serve as cochairperson of the Board.

7 (3) A senior officer of each of the following

8 agencies who is appointed by the head of the agency

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

10 of contact:

11 (A) The Department of the Interior.

12 (B) The Environmental Protection Agency.

13 (C) The National Science Foundation.

14 (D) The Office of Science and Technology

15 Policy.

16 (4) At the option of the Secretary of Agri17 culture and the Secretary of Energy, other members

18 appointed by the Secretaries (after consultation with

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

20 (c) DUTIES.—The Board shall—

21 (1) coordinate research, development, and dem22 onstration activities relating to biobased industrial

23 products—

24 (A) between the Department of Agriculture

25 and the Department of Energy; and
12

S 935 RFH

1 (B) with other departments and agencies

2 of the Federal Government; and

3 (2) provide recommendations to the points of

4 contact concerning administration of this title.

5 (d) FUNDING.—Each agency represented on the

6 Board is encouraged to provide funds for any purpose

7 under this title.

8 (e) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least quar9 terly to enable the Board to carry out the duties of the

10 Board under subsection (c).

11 SEC. 106. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TECH12 NICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Bio14 mass Research and Development Technical Advisory Com15 mittee to—

16 (1) advise the Secretary of Energy, the Sec17 retary of Agriculture and the points of contact

18 concerning—

19 (A) the technical focus and direction of re20 quests for proposals issued under the Initiative;

21 and

22 (B) procedures for reviewing and evalu23 ating the proposals;

24 (2) facilitate consultations and partnerships

25 among Federal and State agencies, agricultural pro-
13

S 935 RFH

1 ducers, industry, consumers, the research commu2 nity, and other interested groups to carry out pro3 gram activities relating to the Initiative; and

4 (3) evaluate and perform strategic planning on

5 program activities relating to the Initiative.

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall consist of

7 the following members appointed by the points of contact:

8 (1) An individual affiliated with the biobased

9 industrial products industry.

10 (2) An individual affiliated with an institution

11 of higher education who has expertise in biobased in12 dustrial products.

13 (3) two prominent engineers or scientists from

14 government or academia who have expertise in

15 biobased industrial products.

16 (4) An individual affiliated with a commodity

17 trade association.

18 (5) An individual affiliated with an environ19 mental or conservation organization.

20 (6) An individual associated with State govern21 ment who has expertise in biobased industrial prod22 ucts.

23 (7) At the option of the points of contact, other

24 members.

25 (c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall—
14

S 935 RFH

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 title 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 title are carried

13 out in accordance with this title.

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

15 at least quarterly to enable the Advisory Committee to

16 carry out the duties of the Advisory Committee under sub17 section (c).

18 SEC. 107. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INITIA19 TIVE.

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 Biomass Research and Develop24 ment Initiative under which competitively-awarded grants,

25 contracts, and financial assistance are provided to, or en-
15

S 935 RFH

1 tered into with, eligible entities to carry out research on

2 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

8 and innovation-targeted research and technology de9 velopment;

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

12 to develop the next generation of advanced tech13 nologies making possible low cost and sustainable

14 biobased industrial 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

23 challenges that span multiple research and engineer24 ing disciplines and of gaining better leverage from

25 limited Federal research funds.
16

S 935 RFH

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) an institution of higher education;

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

18 assistance 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-
17

S 935 RFH

1 tives such as sustainable resource supply,

2 reduced greenhouse gas emissions,

3 healthier rural economies, and improved

4 strategic security and trade balances; and

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

7 demonstrate potential for commercial ap8 plications;

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 sci14 entific 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 may be used to conduct—

24 (1) research on process technology for over25 coming the recalcitrance of biomass, including re-
18

S 935 RFH

1 search on key mechanisms, advanced technologies,

2 and 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 cost20 competitively produced from biomass, including re21 search on—

22 (A) metabolic engineering of biological sys23 tems (including the safe use of genetically

24 modified crops) to produce novel products, espe25 cially commodity products, or to increase prod-
19

S 935 RFH

1 uct selectivity and tolerance, with a research

2 priority on the development of biobased indus3 trial products that can compete in performance

4 and cost with fossil-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 intermedi12 ates 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 produc20 tion 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—
20

S 935 RFH

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 analysis

6 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

10 alternatives;

11 (ii) evaluation of current and future

12 biomass resource availability;

13 (iii) development and analysis of land

14 management practices and alternative bio15 mass cropping systems that ensure the en16 vironmental performance and sustainability

17 of biomass production and harvesting;

18 (iv) land, air, water, and biodiversity

19 impacts of large-scale biomass production,

20 processing, and use of biobased industrial

21 products relative to other alternatives; and

22 (v) biomass gasification and combus23 tion to produce electricity;
21

S 935 RFH

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 food, animal feed, and fiber, on

8 biobased industrial product price and

9 large-scale economic 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 and

21 energy crops that provide a sustainable re22 source for conversion to biobased industrial

23 products while simultaneously serving as a

24 source for coproducts such as food, animal

25 feed, and fiber;
22

S 935 RFH

1 (iii) improved technologies for harvest,

2 collection, transport, storage, and handling

3 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 or

8 (4) Any research and development in tech9 nologies or processes determined by the Secretary of

10 Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy, acting

11 through their respective points of contact and in

12 consultation with the Board, to be consistent with

13 the purposes described in subsection (b) and prior14 ities described in subsection (c)(2)(B).

15 (e) TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION TRANSFER TO

16 AGRICULTURAL USERS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the

18 Cooperative State Research, Education, and Exten19 sion Service and the Chief of the Natural Resources

20 Conservation Service shall ensure that applicable re21 search results and technologies from the Initiative

22 are adapted, made available, and disseminated

23 through their respective services, as appropriate.

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

25 date of enactment of this title, the Administrator of
23

S 935 RFH

1 the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Ex2 tension Service and the Chief of the Natural Re3 sources Conservation Service shall report to the com4 mittees of Congress with jurisdiction over the Initia5 tive on the activities conducted by the services under

6 this subsection.

7 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi8 tion to funding provided for biomass research and develop9 ment under the general authority of the Secretary of En10 ergy to conduct research and development and demonstra11 tion programs (which may also be used to carry out this

12 title), there are also authorized to be appropriated

13 $49,000,000 to the Department of Agriculture for each

14 of the fiscal years 2000 through 2005 to carry out this

15 title.

16 SEC. 108. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND FUNDS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent administrative sup18 port and funds are not provided by other agencies under

19 subsection (b), the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary

20 of Agriculture may provide such administrative support

21 and funds of the Department of Energy and the Depart22 ment of Agriculture to the Board and the Advisory Com23 mittee as are necessary to enable the Board and the Advi24 sory Committee to carry out this title.
24

S 935 RFH

1 (b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The heads of the agencies

2 referred to, or appointed under, paragraphs (3) and (4)

3 of section 105(b) may, and are encouraged to, provide ad4 ministrative support and funds of their respective agencies

5 to the Board and the Advisory Committee.

6 SEC. 109. REPORTS.

7 For each fiscal year that funds are made available

8 to carry out this title, 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, in12 cluding 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.
25

S 935 RFH

1 SEC. 110. SUNSET.

2 This title and the authority conferred by this title

3 shall terminate on December 31, 2005.

4 TITLE II—AUTHORIZATION OF

5 APPROPRIATIONS FOR ETH6 ANOL RESEARCH PILOT

7 PLANT.

8 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to construct

10 a Department of Agriculture corn-based ethanol research

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

12 subsequent fiscal years.

Passed the Senate February 29, 2000.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.