II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1676

To permanently authorize the National Oilheat Research Alliance. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2003

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. WARNER, Mr. BUNNING, and Mr. 

REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To permanently authorize the National Oilheat Research 

Alliance.

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 ‘‘National Oilheat Re5 search Alliance Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 (a) Congress finds that—

8 (1) in 2000, Congress enacted the National 

9 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
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•S 1676 IS 

1 6201 note), authorizing a referendum to create the 

2 National Oilheat Research Alliance; 

3 (2) before enactment of that Act, similar legis4 lation had passed the Senate by unanimous consent 

5 with 21 bipartisan Senate cosponsors and the House 

6 of Representatives with 148 bipartisan cosponsors; 

7 (3) the Alliance was approved by an industry8 wide referendum held in January 2001, with 97 per9 cent of oilheat retailers and 99 percent of oilheat 

10 wholesalers voting in favor of creation of the Alli11 ance; 

12 (4) during its nearly 3 years of existence, the 

13 Alliance has operated in 21 States and the District 

14 of Columbia, providing benefits for its members and 

15 oilheat consumers in the areas of research and devel16 opment, safety, energy efficiency, training, and edu17 cation; 

18 (5) the Alliance successfully created the Na19 tional Oilheat Research Institute, which is leading 

20 the way toward developing a low-sulfur heating oil 

21 product that will allow significant progress in reduc22 ing emissions; 

23 (6) the Institute is also at the forefront of de24 veloping new efficiency techniques for existing heat-
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•S 1676 IS 

1 ing oil units, providing substantial savings for the 

2 energy costs of consumers; 

3 (7) the Alliance is providing improved and up4 to-date training material for oilheat technicians, es5 tablishing a standardized certification program and 

6 encouraging continuing education methods that re7 sult in efficient and highly trained professionals to 

8 service their customers; 

9 (8) the Alliance has prepared material for real10 tors and prospective home buyers for houses with ex11 isting heating oil systems, explaining how to make 

12 the best use of oilheat and providing crucial safety 

13 and energy efficiency information; 

14 (9) the legislation providing for the creation of 

15 the Alliance included a sunset provision that will re16 quire the Alliance to terminate activities in February 

17 2005 unless Congress acts to extend the authoriza18 tion; and 

19 (10) the outstanding progress of the Alliance in 

20 the fields of research and development, safety and 

21 training, and education, the nearly unanimous sup22 port from industry, and the strong potential to yield 

23 future benefits for industry and consumers make the 

24 Alliance deserving of permanent authorization by 

25 Congress. 
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•S 1676 IS 

1 SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION. 

2 Section 713 of the National Oilheat Research Alli3 ance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note) is repealed.

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