S.Amdt. 1707

1. Adds SEC. 2214. UNIVERSITY RENEWABLE TRANSPORTATION FUELS PROGRAM on page 559, between lines 10 and 11

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: SEC. 2214. UNIVERSITY RENEWABLE TRANSPORTATION FUELS PROGRAM.

   Inserted: (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 55 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "Sec. 5507. University renewable transportation fuels program

   Inserted: "(a) Definitions.--In this section:

   Inserted: "(1) Center.--The term 'center' means a regional university center of excellence established under this section.

   Inserted: "(2) Land-grant colleges and universities.--The term 'land-grant colleges and universities' has the meaning given the term in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103).

   Inserted: "(3) Secretary.--The term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Transportation.

   Inserted: "(b) Program.--

   Inserted: "(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall make competitively awarded grants under this section to nonprofit institutions of higher education to establish a consortium of land-grant colleges and universities to conduct a national program of research on biobased transportation fuels through 5 regional university centers of excellence.

   Inserted: "(2) Role of centers.--The role of the centers shall be--

   Inserted: "(A) to assist in meeting the needs of the United States for secure transportation fuels that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable;

   Inserted: "(B) to conduct research to support the movement and use of biobased transportation fuels, including research on--

   Show 55 more inserted paragraphsShow less

   Inserted: "(i) biobased-transportation fuel feedstocks;

   Inserted: "(ii) feedstock preparation and transportation technologies;

   Inserted: "(iii) conversion and distribution technologies; and

   Inserted: "(iv) transportation infrastructure;

   Inserted: "(C) to enhance national energy and transportation security through the development, distribution, and implementation of biobased energy technologies;

   Inserted: "(D) to promote diversification in and the environmental sustainability of biomass feedstock production in the United States through biobased transportation fuels and product technologies;

   Inserted: "(E) to promote economic diversification in rural areas of the United States through biobased transportation fuels and product technologies; and

   Inserted: "(F) to enhance the efficiency of biobased transportation research and development programs through improved coordination and collaboration between the Department of Transportation, other appropriate Federal agencies, and land-grant colleges and universities.

   Inserted: "(3) Duties of centers.--A center established for a region described in subsection (c)(2)(B) shall--

   Inserted: "(A) provide research leadership and support collaboration among the land-grant universities and colleges within the region;

   Inserted: "(B) manage a peer-reviewed competitive grant program in the region that engages the land-grant colleges and universities in the region to address national priorities in the context of the biogeographic and environmental conditions, and transportation infrastructure, in the region; and

   Inserted: "(C) operate the program of research on biobased transportation fuels established under this section in the region.

   Inserted: "(c) Grants From Secretary to Nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education.--

   Inserted: "(1) Applications.--To receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit institution of higher education shall submit to the Secretary an application that is in such form and contains such information as the Secretary may require.

   Inserted: "(2) General selection criteria.--

   Inserted: "(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Secretary shall award grants under this section in nonexclusive candidate topic areas established by the Secretary that address the research priorities described in section 503 of title 23.

   Inserted: "(B) Regions.--The Secretary shall establish a national consortium of 5 regional university centers of excellence, with a center established within, and collaborating with land-grant colleges and universities in, each of the following regions:

   Inserted: "(i) North-central center of excellence.--A north-central research center for the region composed of the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

   Inserted: "(ii) Northeastern center of excellence.--A northeastern research center for the region composed of the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.

   Inserted: "(iii) South-central center of excellence.--A south-central research center for the region composed of the States of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

   Inserted: "(iv) Southeastern center of excellence.--A southeastern research center for the region composed of the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.

   Inserted: "(v) Western center of excellence.--

   Inserted: "(I) In general.--A western research center for the region composed of the States of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and the States and insular areas covered by the subcenter described in subclause (II).

   Inserted: "(II) Western insular pacific subcenter.--Within the western research center established under subclause (I), a western insular Pacific research subcenter for the region of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

   Inserted: "(C) Criteria.--The Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration and the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, shall select each recipient of a grant under subsection (b) and this subsection through a competitive process based on the assessment of the Secretary of--

   Inserted: "(i)(I) the demonstrated leadership within the field of biobased transportation fuel research;

   Inserted: "(II) demonstrated experience in the conduct and management of research on biobased transportation fuel feedstocks; and

   Inserted: "(III) demonstrated experience in working with multiple Federal agencies;

   Inserted: "(ii) demonstrated experience in awarding and managing not less than $7,000,000 over a period of at least 5 years in competitive grant expenditures provided to land-grant colleges and universities, and institutions partnering with land-grant colleges and universities to conduct research and education programs in the area of biobased transportation fuels and biobased products that have the potential to reduce the cost of production of biobased fuel production through high-value coproducts;

   Inserted: "(iii) a demonstrated history of working with other land-grant colleges and universities within the applicable region in the conduct and implementation of field work on biobased transportation fuel feedstocks;

   Inserted: "(iv) a demonstrated history of collaborative efforts to collect and use natural resource and feedstock data for incorporation into geographic information systems and decisionmaking models;

   Inserted: "(v) a history of and working access to biobased feedstock production research stations in each State of the applicable region;

   Inserted: "(vi) the demonstrated ability of the recipient to disseminate results and promote the implementation of transportation research and education programs through national or regional education and outreach programs; and

   Inserted: "(vii) the demonstrated commitment of the recipient to the use of peer review principles and other research best practices in the selection, management, and dissemination of research projects.

   Inserted: "(3) Selection.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the MAP 21, the Secretary, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, shall--

   Inserted: "(A) select nonprofit institutions of higher education to receive grants under subsection (b) and this section; and

   Inserted: "(B) make grant amounts available to the selected recipients.

   Inserted: "(d) Use of Grants by University Centers of Excellence and Subcenter.--

   Inserted: "(1) In general.--A university center of excellence or subcenter established for a region under subsection (c) shall use 75 percent of the funds made to provide competitive grants to entities that are--

   Inserted: "(A) eligible to receive grants under subsection (b)(7) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(7)); and

   Inserted: "(B) located in the region.

   Inserted: "(2) Activities.--Grants made under this subsection shall be used by the grant recipient to conduct, in a manner consistent with the purposes of this section, multiinstitutional and multistate research, extension, and education programs on technology development implementation.

   Inserted: "(3) Administration.--

   Inserted: "(A) Peer and merit review.--In making grants under this subsection, a research center or subcenter shall--

   Inserted: "(i) seek and accept proposals for grants;

   Inserted: "(ii) determine the relevance and merit of proposals through a system of scientific peer review; and

   Inserted: "(iii) award grants on the basis of merit, quality, and relevance to advancing the purposes of this section.

   Inserted: "(B) Term.--A grant awarded by a research center or subcenter shall have a term that does not exceed 5 years.

   Inserted: "(C) Matching funds required.--As a condition of receiving a grant under this subsection, the research center or subcenter shall require that not less than 20 percent of the cost of an activity described in paragraph (2) be matched with funds (including in-kind contributions) from a non-Federal source.

   Inserted: "(4) Research, extension and educational activities.--A university center of excellence or subcenter shall use the remainder of the grant funds, after application of paragraph (1), to conduct a regional research, extension, and educational program in a manner consistent with the purposes of this section.

   Inserted: "(5) Planning coordination.--Grant funds made available under this subsection may be used to carry out planning coordination under this subsection.

   Inserted: "(6) Maximum grant.--The amount of a grant made to a recipient for a fiscal year under this subsection shall not exceed $6,000,000.

   Inserted: "(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this section $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013.".

   Inserted: (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for subchapter I of chapter 55 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "Sec. 5507. University renewable transportation fuels program.".

   Original wording

   On page 559, between lines 10 and 11, insert the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed