DOE and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act
IntroducedFebruary 14, 2025
Passed House1 year ago
Intro
House
Senate
Pres
Sitting in the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
Most bills stop at this point and never get a vote.
Science, Technology, CommunicationsCongressional oversightComputers and information technologyAdvanced technology and technological innovationsBiological and life sciencesDepartment of EnergyEarth sciencesIntergovernmental relationsNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationResearch and development
Why This Matters
This bill lets the Department of Energy and NASA coordinate research and development and make competitive awards for joint projects.
Who this affects
Department of Energy · NASA · National Laboratories · universities
What changes is this bill making?
1Authorizes the DOE (Department of Energy) Secretary and the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Administrator to carry out collaborative R&D and issue competitive awards.
2Requires coordination through memoranda of understanding or other interagency agreements.
3Identifies research focus areas including advanced propulsion systems, modeling and simulation, high energy physics, earth and environmental sciences, quantum information, radiation health effects, and space-based solar energy transmission.
4Directs development of methods to handle large voluntary space and aeronautical data sets on high-performance computing systems.
5Promotes secure data sharing among DOE, NASA, National Laboratories, and other entities.
6Allows reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements between DOE and NASA and collaboration with other federal agencies.
7Mandates a merit-review process for awards open to federal agencies, National Laboratories, universities, non-profit institutions, and other entities.
8Requires a report within two years on coordination activities, achievements, future collaboration areas, and plans for continuation.
Read the detailed summary
DOE and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act This bill provides statutory authority for a research and development partnership between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Specifically, the bill authorizes DOE and NASA to enter into a memorandum of understanding to support cross-cutting and collaborative research and development that furthers the missions of both agencies.
Through the partnership, DOE and NASA may conduct research in a variety of focus areas (e. g., dark matter), develop ways to support large voluntary data sets on space and aeronautical information, promote multi-agency data sharing, and support NASA's access to DOE research infrastructure. DOE and NASA must jointly report on their collaboration.
