I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2867 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for making 
prizes for advanced or transformational technologies for the production, 
consumption, and distribution of nonpetroleum-based alternative energy 
and energy efficiency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2007 
Mr. MCHENRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish a program 
for making prizes for advanced or transformational tech-
nologies for the production, consumption, and distribu-
tion of nonpetroleum-based alternative energy and energy 
efficiency. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Independence Prize 
Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
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(1) it is critical to eliminate the United States 
dependence on foreign sources of oil; 
(2) the United States imports 58 percent of the 
total oil requirements of the United States, 41 per-
cent of which comes from countries belonging to the 
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in-
cluding Iran, Venezuela, and Libya; and 
(3) American taxpayers have funded over 
$20,000,000,000 of research and development in the 
areas of energy and renewable energy programs, nu-
clear energy, and science in the last 5 fiscal years. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 
The Secretary of Energy shall establish a program 
for awarding prizes to United States entities for research, 
development, and commercialization of advanced or trans-
formational technologies for the production, consumption, 
and distribution of nonpetroleum-based alternative energy 
and energy efficiency, with the goal of eliminating the 
United States reliance on foreign sources of energy. 
SEC. 4. PRIZE COMPETITION GUIDELINES. 
The Secretary, in consultation with the advisory com-
mittee established under section 5, shall publish guidelines 
for advertising prize competitions and their results, deter-
mining the amount of each prize, selecting the winners of 
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prize competitions, and otherwise administering prize com-
petitions under this Act. 
SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 
advisory committee, consisting of experts on the subjects 
for which prizes may be awarded under this Act. The advi-
sory committee shall advise the Secretary on designing the 
program, establishing the guidelines required under sec-
tion 4, selecting the winners of prize competitions, and 
otherwise administering this Act. 
(b) LIMITATIONS.—Members of the advisory com-
mittee may not— 
(1) have personal or financial interests in, or be 
an employee, officer, director, or agent of, any entity 
that is a participant in a prize competition under 
this Act; or 
(2) have a familial or financial relationship with 
an individual who is a participant in a prize competi-
tion under this Act. 
SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. 
The Secretary shall design the program under this 
Act to prevent the unauthorized use or disclosure of a 
prize competition participant’s intellectual property, trade 
secrets, and confidential business information. 
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SEC. 7. FUNDING. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary for carrying out this Act $250,000,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 2008 through 2011. 
Æ 
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