H. R. 6—338
‘‘(A) have extensive background in scientific or engineering 
fields; and 
‘‘(B) are well qualified to manage the civilian research 
and development programs of the Department. 
‘‘(4) The Under Secretary for Science shall— 
‘‘(A) serve as the Science and Technology Advisor to the 
Secretary; 
‘‘(B) monitor the research and development programs of 
the Department in order to advise the Secretary with respect 
to any undesirable duplication or gaps in the programs; 
‘‘(C) advise the Secretary with respect to the well-being 
and management of the multipurpose laboratories under the 
jurisdiction of the Department; 
‘‘(D) advise the Secretary with respect to education and 
training activities required for effective short- and long-term 
basic and applied research activities of the Department; 
‘‘(E) advise the Secretary with respect to grants and other 
forms of financial assistance required for effective short- and 
long-term basic and applied research activities of the Depart-
ment; 
‘‘(F) advise the Secretary with respect to long-term plan-
ning, coordination, and development of a strategic framework 
for Department research and development activities; and 
‘‘(G) carry out such additional duties assigned to the Under 
Secretary by the Secretary relating to basic and applied 
research, including supervision or support of research activities 
carried out by any of the Assistant Secretaries designated by 
section 203 of this Act, as the Secretary considers advan-
tageous.’’. 
(b) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSITION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 203(a) of the Department of 
Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7133(a)) is amended in 
the first sentence by striking ‘‘six Assistant Secretaries’’ and 
inserting ‘‘7 Assistant Secretaries’’. 
(2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY LEVEL.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the leadership for departmental missions in nuclear 
energy should be at the Assistant Secretary level. 
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 202 of the Department of Energy Organization 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7132) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(d)(1) There shall be in the Department an Under Secretary, 
who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, and who shall perform such functions 
and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe, consistent with this 
section. 
‘‘(2) The Under Secretary shall be compensated at the rate 
provided for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 
of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(e)(1) There shall be in the Department a General Counsel, 
who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, and who shall perform such functions 
and duties as the Secretary shall prescribe. 
‘‘(2) The General Counsel shall be compensated at the rate 
provided for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 
of title 5, United States Code.’’.
H. R. 6—339
(2) Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘Under Secretaries of Energy (2)’’ and inserting 
‘‘Under Secretaries of Energy (3)’’. 
(3) Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘Assistant Secretaries of Energy (6)’’ and inserting 
‘‘Assistant Secretaries of Energy (7)’’. 
(4) Section 209(b) of the Department of Energy Organiza-
tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139(b)) is amended by striking paragraph 
(6) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(6) to carry out such additional duties assigned to the 
Office by the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 1007. OTHER TRANSACTIONS AUTHORITY. 
Section 646 of the Department of Energy Organization Act 
(42 U.S.C. 7256) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g)(1) In addition to authority granted to the Secretary under 
any other provision of law, the Secretary may exercise the same 
authority to enter into transactions (other than contracts, coopera-
tive agreements, and grants), subject to the same terms and condi-
tions as the Secretary of Defense under section 2371 of title 10, 
United States Code (other than subsections (b) and (f) of that 
section). 
‘‘(2) In applying section 2371 of title 10, United States Code, 
to the Secretary under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘basic’ shall be replaced by the term ‘research’; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘applied’ shall be replaced by the term 
‘development’; and 
‘‘(C) the terms ‘advanced research projects’ and ‘advanced 
research’ shall be replaced by the term ‘demonstration projects’. 
‘‘(3) The authority of the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall 
not be subject to— 
‘‘(A) section 9 of the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research 
and Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5908); or 
‘‘(B) section 152 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2182). 
‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall use such competitive, merit-based 
selection procedures in entering into transactions under paragraph 
(1), as the Secretary determines in writing to be practicable. 
‘‘(B) A transaction under paragraph (1) shall relate to a 
research, development, or demonstration project only if the Sec-
retary determines in writing that the use of a standard contract, 
grant, or cooperative agreement for the project is not feasible or 
appropriate. 
‘‘(5) The Secretary may protect from disclosure, for up to 5 
years after the date on which the information is developed, any 
information developed pursuant to a transaction under paragraph 
(1) that would be protected from disclosure under section 552(b)(4) 
of title 5, United States Code, if obtained from a person other 
than a Federal agency. 
‘‘(6)(A) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this subsection, the Secretary shall issue guidelines for trans-
actions under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) The guidelines shall be published in the Federal Register 
for public comment in accordance with rulemaking procedures of 
the Department.