116th Congress
Fossil Energy Research and Development Act of 2019
Purpose
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct Federal research in fossil energy and to promote the development and demonstration of environmentally responsible coal and natural gas technologies, and for other purposes.
Summary of Selected Provisions
- Updates policies governing the Department of Energy’s fossil energy R&D programs
- Directs DOE’s carbon capture technology program to fund R&D and large-scale demonstration projects for coal and natural gas plants and support at least three “Carbon Capture Test Centers”
- Directs DOE to carry out a carbon utilization RD&D program and commission a National Academies study on the barriers and opportunities to commercializing uses of carbon dioxide
- Directs DOE to program dedicated to exploring technologies for removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. Among other activities, the program would award prizes for technology development and support at least one test center for direct air capture technologies
- Directs DOE to develop and assess methods to recover rare earth elements and other strategic minerals from coal and coal byproduct streams
- Requires DOE to conduct RD&D programs for waste gas utilization and methane leak detection and mitigation
- Grants the National Energy Technology Laboratory a special hiring authority for technical personnel and enables the lab to spend 2 to 4% of its budget on discretionary R&D projects
- Recommends the budget for DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy increase to $1 billion by fiscal year 2024 and sets target funding levels for various activities supported by the office
Primary Sponsors
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REPRESENTATIVE D-TX
Co-sponsors by Party
R
3
D
6
I
0
Actions
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07/24/2019Advanced by House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
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07/02/2019Introduced in House