S.Amdt. 97

SA 97. Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. Udall of Colorado,
and Ms. Landrieu) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to

[[Page S1866]]

amendment SA 26 proposed by Ms. Mikulski (for herself and Mr. Shelby)
to the bill H.R. 933, making appropriations for the Department of
Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title II of division F, add the following:
Sec. 12__. (a) Section 999A(b) of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (42 US.C. 16371(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, and for research and
development, including on technologies and processes to
improve safety and well integrity and reduce environmental
impacts'' after ``feet'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, and for research and
development, including on technologies and processes to
improve safety, improve well integrity, improve water
management, improve understanding of fluid flow and storage,
and reduce the surface footprint'' after ``technology''; and
(3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, and for research and
development, including on technology and processes for
reducing the environmental impacts and improving well
integrity'' after ``producers''.
(b) Section 999B of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16372) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``, to maximize'' and
all that follows through the period at the end and inserting
``to ensure the safe and environmentally responsible
production of natural gas and other petroleum resources of
the United States.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Study; Report.--
``(1) Study.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall enter into
an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences under
which the Academy shall conduct a study to determine--
``(A) whether the benefits provided through each award
under this subsection during calendar year 2013 have been
maximized; and
``(B) any new areas of research that, if carried out, would
meet the overall objectives of the program.
``(2) Report.--Not later than January 1, 2014, the
Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report that contains a description of the results
of the study conducted under paragraph (1).
``(3) Optional updates.--The Secretary may update the
report described in paragraph (2) for the 5-year period
beginning on the date that is described in that subparagraph
and each 5-year period thereafter.''.
(c) Section 999F of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16376) is amended by striking ``2014'' and inserting
``2017''.
(d) Section 999H(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16378(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``35'' and inserting
``31.25'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``32.5'' and inserting
``28.75''; and
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``7.5'' and inserting
``15''.
______