Energy Title of America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015

Energy Title of America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015

This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize through FY2020 designated energy research, development, and commercial application programs conducted through the Office of Science of the Department of Energy (DOE).

The America COMPETES Act is amended to require the Director of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to ensure that ARPA-E funding for a project is not available unless the prospective grantee demonstrates sufficient attempts to secure private financing or indicates that the project is not independently commercially viable.

Specified information collected by ARPA-E from financial assistance recipients shall be considered privileged, confidential, and exempt from certain federal information disclosure requirements.

The bill authorizes appropriations for FY2016-FY2020 for the Energy Transformation Acceleration Fund.

The bill repeals funding and authorities for the following programs:

• the Nuclear Science Talent Expansion Program For Institutions of Higher Education;
• Hydrocarbon Systems Science Competitiveness Grants For Institutions of Higher Education;
• Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes;
• National Laboratories Centers of Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics secondary school education,
• certain Summer Institutes hosted by a National Laboratory; and
• a mentoring program under the Department of Energy Science Education Enhancement Act to recruit mentors for women and underrepresented minorities interested in careers in science, engineering, and mathematics.

With respect to the University Nuclear Science and Engineering Support program, DOE shall award grants of up to five years to institutions of higher education with existing academic degree programs in nuclear sciences and related fields, including nuclear chemistry.

Funds are authorized for FY2016-FY2020 for the DOE early career awards for science, engineering, and mathematics researchers program, as well as for its distinguished scientist program.

The diversity requirement for awarding grants under the program for early career awards for science, engineering, and mathematics researchers is revised to substitute a required variety of types of National Laboratories in lieu of a variety of types of nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organizations.

The Department of Energy Science Education Enhancement Act is amended to direct the Office of Science to coordinate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education programs across all functions of DOE.

The bill amends the America COMPETES Act to: (1) change the criteria for awarding Protecting America's Competitive Edge (PACE) graduate fellowships, and (2) allow such fellowships to cover either full or partial graduate tuition.