TMS Public and Governmental Affairs Resource Center

FROM THE FEDERATION OF MATERIALS SOCIETIES: The House Science and Technology Committee, in a rare split roughly along party lines, sent to the full House a bill to establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). Modeled after the highly regarded Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPA-E would be charged to foster research in fossil energy, carbon sequestration, nuclear energy, renewable energy, energy distribution, and energy efficiency. During mark-up of the legislation, committee Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN) said that the new agency is needed within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to “get around the bureaucracy” that is wary of high-risk R&D. Ranking minority member Ralph Hall (R-TX) argued that ARPA-E would be “way, way too expensive” and would divert money from the DOE Office of Science. Gordon noted that ARPA-E is a “high priority” for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and that the Senate has included it in a broader innovation package set for conference with the House this summer.

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