I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3247 

To establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the 

Department of Energy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2009 

Mr. BAIRD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the Department of Energy, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES RE4 SEARCH PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a so6 cial and behavioral sciences research program to identify 

7 and understand social and behavioral factors that influ8 ence energy consumption and acceptance and adoption 

9 rates of new energy technologies, and to promote the utili10 zation of the results of social and behavioral research to 

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1 improve the design, development, demonstration, and ap2 plication of energy technologies. 

3 (b) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint or des4 ignate a Director of Social and Behavioral Research to 

5 carry out the program established under this section. 

6 (c) DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR.—The Director 

7 shall— 

8 (1) develop a research plan in accordance with 

9 section 2; 

10 (2) implement the research program under this 

11 section; 

12 (3) work with the relevant Department of En13 ergy program offices to integrate the results of social 

14 and behavioral research into their work; 

15 (4) develop tools, practices, and information to 

16 apply and integrate the results of social and behav17 ioral research into programs that— 

18 (A) design, develop, and demonstrate tech19 nologies that supply energy and improve energy 

20 efficiency; and 

21 (B) provide information on energy con22 sumption to consumers; and 

23 (5) assist the Secretary in awarding research 

24 grants under section 3. 

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1 SEC. 2. RESEARCH PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consultation with 

3 the Advisory Committee established under section 4, shall 

4 develop a research plan and, not later than 9 months after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, transmit such plan to 

6 the Congress. Prior to finalizing the research plan, the Di7 rector shall publish a draft of the proposed research plan 

8 in the Federal Register with a public comment period of 

9 not less than 30 days. 

10 (b) CONTENTS OF RESEARCH PLAN.—The research 

11 plan shall— 

12 (1) set forth priorities and a schedule for car13 rying out the research program under section 1 and 

14 the research grant program under section 3; 

15 (2) address social and behavioral factors that 

16 influence— 

17 (A) patterns of energy consumption by in18 dividuals, households, and businesses; and 

19 (B) decisions to implement energy con20 servation measures, 

21 including the factors that influence decisions to 

22 adopt energy efficient technologies and practices; 

23 (3) include a description of the mechanisms the 

24 Department will use to integrate the findings of so25 cial and behavioral research into other relevant De26 partment programs; and 

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1 (4) include responses to comments received dur2 ing the public comment period. 

3 (c) REVIEW AND REVISION.—The Director shall re4 view the research plan every 5 years and revise the plan 

5 as appropriate. 

6 SEC. 3. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

8 grants to support social and behavioral research consistent 

9 with the research plan developed under section 2. 

10 (b) AWARDS.—Grant awards under this section may 

11 be for a period up to 3 years. The Secretary shall award 

12 grants through a competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed 

13 process. 

14 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

16 out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 

17 through 2015. 

18 SEC. 4. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH ADVISORY 

19 COMMITTEE. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

21 an Advisory Committee composed of experts in relevant 

22 fields— 

23 (1) to advise the Secretary and the Director on 

24 priority areas for research; 

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1 (2) to assist the Director in the development of 

2 the research plan under section 2; and 

3 (3) to provide other assistance and advice as re4 quested by the Secretary or the Director. 

5 (b) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Section 

6 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

7 App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee estab8 lished under subsection (a) until 3 years after the date 

9 the Advisory Committee is established. 

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