II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1322

To establish doctoral fellowships designed to increase the pool of scientists

and engineers trained specifically to address the global energy and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 28, 1997

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and

Human Resources

A BILL

To establish doctoral fellowships designed to increase the

pool of scientists and engineers trained specifically to

address the global energy and environmental challenges

of the 21st century.

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 ‘‘Paul E. Tsongas Fel5 lowship Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

7 It is the purpose of this Act to encourage individuals

8 of exceptional achievement and promise, especially mem-
2

•S 1322 IS

1 bers of traditionally underrepresented groups, to pursue

2 careers in fields that confront the global energy and envi3 ronmental challenges of the 21st century.

4 SEC. 3. DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AUTHORIZED.

5 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of En6 ergy is authorized to award doctoral fellowships, to be

7 known as Paul E. Tsongas Doctoral Fellowships, in ac8 cordance with the provisions of this Act for study and re9 search in fields of science or engineering that relate to

10 energy or the environment such as physics, mathematics,

11 chemistry, biology, computer science, materials science,

12 environmental science, behavioral science, and social

13 sciences at institutions proposed by applicants for such fel14 lowships.

15 (b) PERIOD OF AWARD.—A fellowship under this sec16 tion shall be awarded for a period of three succeeding aca17 demic years, beginning with the commencement of a pro18 gram of doctoral study.

19 (c) FELLOWSHIP PORTABILITY.—Each Fellow shall

20 be entitled to use the fellowship in a graduate program

21 at any accredited institution of higher education in which

22 the recipient may decide to enroll.

23 (d) NUMBER OF FELLOWSHIPS.—As many fellow24 ships as may be fully funded according to this Act shall

25 be awarded each year.
3

•S 1322 IS

1 (e) DESIGNATION OF FELLOWS.—Each individual

2 awarded a fellowship under this Act shall be known as

3 a ‘‘Paul E. Tsongas Fellow’’ (hereinafter in this Act re4 ferred to as a ‘‘Fellow’’).

5 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION OF FELLOWS.

6 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Only United States citizens are

7 eligible to receive awards under this Act.

8 (b) FELLOWSHIP BOARD.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Director of the National Science

11 Foundation, shall appoint a Paul E. Tsongas Fel12 lowship Board (hereinafter in this part referred to

13 as the ‘‘Board’’) consisting of 5 representatives of

14 the academic science and engineering communities

15 who are especially qualified to serve on the Board.

16 The Secretary shall assure that individuals ap17 pointed to the Board are broadly knowledgeable

18 about and have experience in graduate education in

19 relevant fields.

20 (2) DUTIES.—The Board shall—

21 (A) establish general policies for the pro22 gram established by this part and oversee its

23 operation;

24 (B) establish general criteria for awarding

25 fellowships;
4

•S 1322 IS

1 (C) award fellowships; and

2 (D) prepare and submit to the Congress at

3 least once in every 3-year period a report on

4 any modifications in the program that the

5 Board determines are appropriate.

6 (4) TERM.—The term of office of each member

7 of the Board shall be 3 years, except that any mem8 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the re9 mainder of the term for which the predecessor of the

10 member was appointed. No member may serve for a

11 period in excess of 6 years.

12 (5) INITIAL MEETING; VACANCY.—The Sec13 retary shall call the first meeting of the Board, at

14 which the first order of business shall be the election

15 of a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson, who shall

16 serve until 1 year after the date of their appoint17 ment. Thereafter each officer shall be elected for a

18 term of 2 years. In case a vacancy occurs in either

19 office, the Board shall elect an individual from

20 among the members of the Board to fill such va21 cancy.

22 (6) QUORUM; ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—(A) A

23 majority of the members of the Board shall con24 stitute a quorum.
5

•S 1322 IS

1 (B) The Board shall meet at least once a year

2 or more frequently, as may be necessary, to carry

3 out its responsibilities.

4 (7) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board,

5 while serving on the business of the Board, shall be

6 entitled to receive compensation at rates fixed by the

7 Secretary, but not exceeding the rate of basic pay

8 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule, in9 cluding traveltime, and while so serving away from

10 their homes or regular places of business, they may

11 be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu

12 of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title

13 5, United States Code, for persons in Government

14 service employed intermittently.

15 (c) UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.—In designing se16 lection criteria and awarding fellowships, the Board

17 shall—

18 (1) consider the need to prepare a larger num19 ber of women and individuals from minority groups,

20 especially from among such groups that have been

21 traditionally underrepresented in the professional

22 and academic fields referred to in section 2, but

23 nothing contained in this or any other provision of

24 this Act shall be interpreted to require the Secretary
6

•S 1322 IS

1 to grant any preference or disparate treatment to

2 the members of any underrepresented group; and

3 (2) take into account the need to expand access

4 by women and minority groups to careers heretofore

5 lacking adequate representation of women and mi6 nority groups.

7 SEC. 5. PAYMENTS, STIPENDS, TUITION, AND EDUCATION

8 AWARDS.

9 (a) AMOUNT OF AWARD.—

10 (1) STIPENDS.—The Secretary shall pay to

11 each individual awarded a fellowship under this Act

12 a stipend in the amount of $15,000, $16,500, and

13 $18,000 during the first, second, and third years of

14 study, respectively.

15 (2) TUITION.—The Secretary shall pay to the

16 appropriate institution an amount adequate to cover

17 the tuition, fees, and health insurance of each indi18 vidual awarded a fellowship under this Act.

19 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAVEL ALLOW20 ANCE.—The Secretary shall pay to each host institu21 tion an annual $5,000 allowance for the purpose of

22 covering—

23 (A) administrative expenses;
7

•S 1322 IS

1 (B) travel expenses associated with Fellow

2 participation in academic seminars or con3 ferences approved by the host institution; and

4 (C) round-trip travel expenses associated

5 with Fellow participation in the internship re6 quired by section 6 of this Act.

7 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT.

8 Each Fellow shall participate in a 3-month internship

9 related to the dissertation topic of the Fellow at a national

10 laboratory or equivalent industrial laboratory as approved

11 by the host institution.

12 SEC. 7. FELLOWSHIP CONDITIONS.

13 (a) ACADEMIC PROGRESS REQUIRED.—No student

14 shall receive support pursuant to an award under this

15 Act—

16 (1) except during periods in which such student

17 is maintaining satisfactory progress in, and devoting

18 essentially full time to, study or research in the field

19 in which such fellowship was awarded, or

20 (2) if the student is engaging in gainful employ21 ment other than part-time employment involved in

22 teaching, research, or similar activities determined

23 by the institution to be in support of the student’s

24 progress toward a degree.
8

•S 1322 IS

1 (b) REPORTS FROM RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary is

2 authorized to require reports containing such information

3 in such form and filed at such times as the Secretary de4 termines necessary from any person awarded a fellowship

5 under the provisions of this Act. The reports shall be ac6 companied by a certificate from an appropriate official at

7 the institution of higher education, or other research cen8 ter, stating that such individual is fulfilling the require9 ments of this section.

10 (c) FAILURE TO EARN DEGREE.—A recipient of a

11 fellowship under this Act found by the Secretary to have

12 failed in or abandoned the course of study for which as13 sistance was provided under this Act may be required, at

14 the discretion of the Secretary, to repay a pro rata amount

15 of such fellowship assistance received, plus interest and,

16 where applicable, reasonable collection fees, on a schedule

17 and at a rate of interest to be prescribed by the Secretary

18 by regulations issued pursuant to this Act.

19 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There are authorized to be appropriated for this Act

21 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and such sums as may

22 be necessary for the succeeding fiscal years.
9

•S 1322 IS

1 SEC. 9. APPLICATION OF GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PROVI2 SIONS ACT.

3 Section 421 of the General Educational Provisions

4 Act, pertaining to the availability of funds, shall apply to

5 this Act.

6 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act—

8 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

9 of Energy.

10 (2) The term ‘‘host institution’’ means an insti11 tution where a Paul E. Tsongas Fellow is enrolled

12 for the purpose of pursuing doctoral studies for

13 which support is provided under this Act.

Æ