I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1733

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 6, 1999

Mr. MEEHAN (for himself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MCGOVERN,

Mr. OLVER, and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

2 It is the purpose of this Act to encourage individuals

3 of exceptional achievement and promise, especially mem4 bers of traditionally underrepresented groups, to pursue

5 careers in fields that confront the global energy and envi6 ronmental challenges of the 21st century.

7 SEC. 3. DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AUTHORIZED.

8 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of En9 ergy is authorized to award doctoral fellowships, to be

10 known as Paul E. Tsongas Doctoral Fellowships, in ac11 cordance with the provisions of this Act for study and re12 search in fields of science or engineering that relate to

13 energy or the environment such as physics, mathematics,

14 chemistry, biology, computer science, materials science,

15 environmental science, behavioral science, and social

16 sciences at institutions proposed by applicants for such fel17 lowships.

18 (b) PERIOD OF AWARD.—A fellowship under this sec19 tion shall be awarded for a period of three succeeding aca20 demic years, beginning with the commencement of a pro21 gram of doctoral study.

22 (c) FELLOWSHIP PORTABILITY.—Each Fellow shall

23 be entitled to use the fellowship in a graduate program

24 at any accredited institution of higher education in which

25 the recipient may decide to enroll.
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1 (d) NUMBER OF FELLOWSHIPS.—As many fellow2 ships as may be fully funded according to this Act shall

3 be awarded each year.

4 (e) DESIGNATION OF FELLOWS.—Each individual

5 awarded a fellowship under this Act shall be known as

6 a ‘‘Paul E. Tsongas Fellow’’ (hereinafter in this Act re7 ferred to as a ‘‘Fellow’’).

8 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION OF FELLOWS.

9 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Only United States citizens are el10 igible to receive awards under this Act.

11 (b) FELLOWSHIP BOARD.—

12 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary, in con13 sultation with the Director of the National Science

14 Foundation, shall appoint a Paul E. Tsongas Fel15 lowship Board (hereinafter in this part referred to

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

17 the academic science and engineering communities

18 who are especially qualified to serve on the Board.

19 The Secretary shall assure that individuals ap20 pointed to the Board are broadly knowledgeable

21 about and have experience in graduate education in

22 relevant fields.

23 (2) DUTIES.—The Board shall—
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1 (A) establish general policies for the pro2 gram established by this part and oversee its

3 operation;

4 (B) establish general criteria for awarding

5 fellowships;

6 (C) award fellowships; and

7 (D) prepare and submit to the Congress at

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

9 any modifications in the program that the

10 Board determines are appropriate.

11 (3) TERM.—The term of office of each member

12 of the Board shall be 3 years, except that any mem13 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the re14 mainder of the term for which the predecessor of the

15 member was appointed. No member may serve for a

16 period in excess of 6 years.

17 (4) INITIAL MEETING; VACANCY.—The Sec18 retary shall call the first meeting of the Board, at

19 which the first order of business shall be the election

20 of a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson, who shall

21 serve until 1 year after the date of their appoint22 ment. Thereafter each officer shall be elected for a

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

24 office, the Board shall elect an individual from
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1 among the members of the Board to fill such va2 cancy.

3 (5) QUORUM; ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—(A) A

4 majority of the members of the Board shall con5 stitute a quorum.

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

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

8 out its responsibilities.

9 (6) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board,

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

11 entitled to receive compensation at rates fixed by the

12 Secretary, but not exceeding the rate of basic pay

13 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule, in14 cluding traveltime, and while so serving away from

15 their homes or regular places of business, they may

16 be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu

17 of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title

18 5, United States Code, for persons in Government

19 service employed intermittently.

20 (c) UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.—In designing se21 lection criteria and awarding fellowships, the Board

22 shall—

23 (1) consider the need to prepare a larger num24 ber of women and individuals from minority groups,

25 especially from among such groups that have been
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1 traditionally underrepresented in the professional

2 and academic fields referred to in section 2, but

3 nothing contained in this or any other provision of

4 this Act shall be interpreted to require the Secretary

5 to grant any preference or disparate treatment to

6 the members of any underrepresented group; and

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

8 by women and minority groups to careers heretofore

9 lacking adequate representation of women and mi10 nority groups.

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

12 AWARDS.

13 (a) AMOUNT OF AWARD.—

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

15 each individual awarded a fellowship under this Act

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

17 $18,000 during the first, second, and third years of

18 study, respectively.

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

20 appropriate institution an amount adequate to cover

21 the tuition, fees, and health insurance of each indi22 vidual awarded a fellowship under this Act.

23 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAVEL ALLOW24 ANCE.—The Secretary shall pay to each host institu-
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1 tion an annual $5,000 allowance for the purpose of

2 covering—

3 (A) administrative expenses;

4 (B) travel expenses associated with Fellow

5 participation in academic seminars or con6 ferences approved by the host institution; and

7 (C) round-trip travel expenses associated

8 with Fellow participation in the internship re9 quired by section 6 of this Act.

10 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT.

11 Each Fellow shall participate in a 3-month internship

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

13 laboratory, equivalent industrial laboratory, or any other

14 institution or agency approved by the host institution.

15 SEC. 7. FELLOWSHIP CONDITIONS.

16 (a) ACADEMIC PROGRESS REQUIRED.—No student

17 shall receive support pursuant to an award under this

18 Act—

19 (1) except during periods in which such student

20 is maintaining satisfactory progress in, and devoting

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

22 in which such fellowship was awarded, or

23 (2) if the student is engaging in gainful employ24 ment other than part-time employment involved in

25 teaching, research, or similar activities determined
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1 by the institution to be in support of the student’s

2 progress toward a degree.

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

4 authorized to require reports containing such information

5 in such form and filed at such times as the Secretary de6 termines necessary from any person awarded a fellowship

7 under the provisions of this Act. The reports shall be ac8 companied by a certificate from an appropriate official at

9 the institution of higher education, or other research cen10 ter, stating that such individual is fulfilling the require11 ments of this section.

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

13 fellowship under this Act found by the Secretary to have

14 failed in or abandoned the course of study for which as15 sistance was provided under this Act may be required, at

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

17 of such fellowship assistance received, plus interest and,

18 where applicable, reasonable collection fees, on a schedule

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

20 by regulations issued pursuant to this Act.

21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated for this Act

23 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may

24 be necessary for the succeeding fiscal years.
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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.

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