DOE and NASA Coordination Act

Summary#

This bill lets the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) work together on research and development. It authorizes joint projects, competitive awards, and interagency agreements. The agencies must coordinate through memoranda of understanding or other agreements. The bill lists many example focus areas, such as nuclear propulsion and power systems, modeling and machine learning, quantum information, radiation health effects, space-to-Earth solar energy transmission, Arctic science, wildfire resilience, space weather, satellite data infrastructure, and STEM workforce programs in underserved or remote regions. It also allows reimbursable and nonreimbursable agreements between DOE and NASA and collaboration with other federal agencies.

The bill amends title 51 to allow funds from other federal departments or agencies that are for scientific or engineering research or education to be transferred to NASA for space-related research and education, with approval by the head of the sending agency. It requires NASA to include information about such transfers in its budget justification materials within 2 years and to submit a report about the value and challenges of that transfer authority within 3 years. The bill requires a report, within 2 years of enactment, on joint activities, technical capability gains, achievements, and future opportunities. It also requires that competitive awards follow merit-review processes and applicable agency rules, and that activities comply with federal research security rules.

What it means for you#

• DOE and NASA can fund joint research projects and give competitive awards to federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, nonprofits, and other eligible groups.
• National Laboratories and universities may gain more access to joint work and DOE infrastructure for space-related science.
• The bill could support training and STEM programs in underserved or remote areas, including the Arctic.
• NASA may receive transferred research or education funds from other agencies for space-related activities, subject to approval by those agencies.
• Agencies must follow merit review and research security rules when making awards.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The bill is written to encourage stronger technical collaboration between DOE and NASA. It aims to expand technical capabilities, share data and infrastructure, support areas such as Arctic science, wildfire resilience, space weather, quantum information, and propulsion, and grow the STEM workforce in high-need regions. It also provides a way for other agencies to transfer research and education funds to NASA for space-related work, and it requires reporting to Congress on coordination and transfers.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.