I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6910 
To establish a monetary prize for achievements in overcoming scientific and 
technical barriers associated with the development and production of 
alternative fuel vehicles, to remove certain restrictions on the exploration, 
development, and production of mineral resources on Federal lands, and 
to use the resulting Federal revenue to fund the monetary prize and 
reduce the public debt. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 
Mr. PRICE of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science and Technology, and in addition to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a monetary prize for achievements in overcoming 
scientific and technical barriers associated with the devel-
opment and production of alternative fuel vehicles, to 
remove certain restrictions on the exploration, develop-
ment, and production of mineral resources on Federal 
lands, and to use the resulting Federal revenue to fund 
the monetary prize and reduce the public debt. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Innovation 
Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) ELIGIBLE CONTESTANT.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble contestant’’ means— 
(A) a citizen or resident alien of the 
United States; or 
(B) a private company that is incorporated 
in the United States and that maintains a pri-
mary place of business in the United States. 
(2) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 
‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 2 of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Energy. 
SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE INNOVATION PRIZE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
program to be referred to as the ‘‘Alternative Fuel Vehicle 
Innovation Prize’’ to competitively award cash prizes to 
eligible contestants in conformity with this Act to advance 
the research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
application of alterative fuel vehicles. 
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(b) ADVERTISING AND SOLICITATION OF COMPETI-
TORS.— 
(1) ADVERTISING.—The Secretary shall widely 
advertise prize competitions to encourage broad par-
ticipation in the program carried out under sub-
section (a). 
(2) ANNOUNCEMENT THROUGH FEDERAL REG-
ISTER NOTICE.—The Secretary shall announce each 
prize competition by publishing a notice in the Fed-
eral Register. This notice shall include the subject of 
the competition, the duration of the competition, the 
eligibility requirements for participation in the com-
petition, the process for participants to register for 
the competition, the amount of the prize, and the 
criteria for awarding the prize. 
(c) PRIZES; SELECTION CRITERIA.— 
(1) GRAND PRIZE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—There shall be one 
grand prize of $10,000,000,000. 
(B) PROTOTYPE REQUIREMENT.—In order 
to be eligible to receive the grand prize under 
this section, an eligible contestant must produce 
a prototype of an alternative fuel vehicle. 
(C) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 
shall develop, in consultation with the Secretary 
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of Transportation and the Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation, criteria on which to 
select the grand prize winner. Such criteria 
shall include, at a minimum, the following fac-
tors: 
(i) The extent to which the prototype 
will reduce the reliance of the United 
States on foreign sources of energy. 
(ii) The reduction in fuel costs of op-
erating the prototype compared to a simi-
lar non-alternative fuel vehicle. 
(iii) The extent to which the prototype 
meets or exceeds Federal safety standards. 
(iv) Whether the prototype has a fuel 
economy of at least 100 miles per gallon. 
(v) The extent to which the prototype 
limits hazardous emissions compared to a 
comparable non-alternative fuel vehicle. 
(vi) The possibility of wide commercial 
application, including the production of ve-
hicles that are not hindered by lack of re-
fueling infrastructure. 
(vii) The estimated cost of the proto-
type, if it were mass-produced, and wheth-
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er such cost is equivalent to the cost of a 
comparable non-alternative fuel vehicle. 
(viii) Whether the prototype could be 
mass-produced in the United States. 
(D) DEADLINE
FOR
AWARDING
GRAND 
PRIZE.—The Secretary shall set a deadline of 
not later than 5 years after the date of the en-
actment of this Act for awarding the grand 
prize. 
(2) ADDITIONAL PRIZES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
choose to award no more than 5 additional 
prizes, with such additional prizes having a 
total 
combined 
value 
of 
no 
more 
than 
$100,000,000. 
(B) SELECTION
CRITERIA.—Winners of 
additional prizes shall be selected based on their 
demonstration of— 
(i) Substantial advancements in spe-
cific areas of alternative vehicle tech-
nologies, components, or systems; or 
(ii) transformational changes in tech-
nology. 
(C) DEADLINE
FOR
AWARDING
ADDI-
TIONAL
PRIZES.—The Secretary shall set a 
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deadline of not later than 5 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act for awarding any 
additional prizes. 
(d) JUDGING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint 
5 individuals to serve as judges for the purpose of 
selecting the prize winners under this section. The 
judges shall select the grand prize winner based on 
the criteria developed under subsection (c)(1)(C) and 
shall select any additional prize winners based on 
the criteria described under subsection (c)(2)(B). 
(2) JUDGE REQUIREMENTS.—In order to be ap-
pointed as a judge, an individual may not have a fi-
nancial interest in any contestant and may not be an 
employee, officer, director, agent, or family member 
of any contestant. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after all prizes 
are awarded under this section, the Secretary shall trans-
mit a report to the Congress containing— 
(1) a list of award recipients; 
(2) a description of the technologies developed 
by the award recipients; and 
(3) a description of the actions being taken to-
ward the commercial application of the technologies 
developed by the award recipients. 
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(f) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Federal Gov-
ernment shall not, by virtue of offering or awarding a 
prize under this section, be entitled to any intellectual 
property rights derived as a consequence of, or in direct 
relation to, the participation by a participant in a competi-
tion authorized by this section. This subsection shall not 
be construed to prevent the Federal Government from ne-
gotiating a license for the use of intellectual property de-
veloped for a prize competition under this section. The 
Federal Government may seek assurances that tech-
nologies for which prizes are awarded under this section 
are offered for commercialization in the event an award 
recipient does not take, or is not expected to take within 
a reasonable time, effective steps to achieve practical ap-
plication of the technology. 
(g) WAIVER OF LIABILITY.—The Secretary may re-
quire participants to waive claims against the Federal 
Government for any injury, death, damage, or loss of 
property, revenue, or profits arising from the participants’ 
participation in a competition under this section. The Sec-
retary shall give notice of any waiver required under this 
section in the notice required by subsection (b)(2). 
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated from the Innovation 
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Trust Fund such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
the provisions of this section. 
SEC. 4. INNOVATION TRUST FUND. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known 
as the ‘‘Innovation Trust Fund’’, consisting of such 
amounts as may be appropriated or credited to the Inno-
vation Trust Fund as provided for in this section. 
(b) TRANSFERS TO THE TRUST FUND.—The Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Innovation 
Trust Fund out of the general fund of the Treasury of 
the United States amounts equivalent to the funds re-
ceived in the Treasury that the Secretary of the Treasury, 
in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, deter-
mines are attributable to the exploration for, development 
of, or production of oil, natural gas, or oil shale located 
on Federal lands, including submerged lands, in the Outer 
Continental Shelf or in the Arctic National Wildlife Ref-
uge. 
(c) INVESTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall invest such portion of the Innovation Trust 
Fund as is not in his judgment required to meet 
current withdrawals. Such investments may be made 
only in interest-bearing obligations of the United 
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States. For such purpose, such obligations may be 
acquired— 
(A) on original issue at the issue price; or 
(B) by purchase of outstanding obligations 
at the market price. 
(2) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac-
quired by the Innovation Trust Fund may be sold by 
the Secretary of the Treasury at the market price. 
(3) INTEREST
ON
CERTAIN
PROCEEDS.—The 
interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or re-
demption of, any obligations held in the Innovation 
Trust Fund shall be credited to and form a part of 
the Innovation Trust Fund. 
(d) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—Amounts 
in the Innovation Trust Fund shall be made available, as 
provided by appropriation Acts— 
(1) to carry out the Alternative Fuel Vehicle In-
novation Prize described in section 3; and 
(2) to reduce the public debt pursuant to sec-
tion 5. 
(e) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Innovation 
Trust Fund shall remain available until expended. 
SEC. 5. PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall, from time to time, transfer to the special account 
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established by section 3113(d) of title 31, United States 
Code, amounts in the Innovation Trust Fund that the Sec-
retary of the Treasury determines are not required to 
carry out the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Innovation Prize 
under section 3. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated from the Innovation 
Trust Fund such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
this section. 
SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF RESTRICTIONS ON OIL AND NAT-
URAL GAS DEVELOPMENT ON CERTAIN FED-
ERAL LANDS. 
(a) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 
(1) TERMINATION OF LAWS PROHIBITING EX-
PENDITURES
FOR
NATURAL
GAS
LEASING
AND 
PRELEASING ACTIVITIES.—All provisions of existing 
Federal law prohibiting the spending of appropriated 
funds to conduct oil or natural gas leasing and 
preleasing activities for any area of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf shall have no force or effect. 
(2) REVOCATION OF EXISTING PRESIDENTIAL 
WITHDRAWALS.—All existing withdrawals by the 
President under the authority of section 12 of the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1341) are hereby revoked and are no longer in effect 
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with respect to the leasing of areas for exploration 
for, and development and production of, oil or nat-
ural gas. 
(3) REVOCATION OF EXISTING PRESIDENTIAL 
AUTHORITY.—All authorities given to the President 
with respect to the leasing of Federal submerged 
lands of the Outer Continental Shelf, given under 
section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(a)), are hereby revoked, except 
in the interest of national security or military oper-
ations. 
(b) COASTAL PLAIN OF ALASKA.—Sections 1002(i) 
and 1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con-
servation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142(i) and 3143) are repealed. 
Æ 
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