Department of Energy Science for the Future Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Department of Energy Science for the Future Act
This bill supports specified research and development activities of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science.
The bill establishes various programs, including
a basic energy sciences research and development program;
a program of research and development for the application of advanced computing practices to foundational and emerging research problems in chemistry and materials science;
a web-based platform to develop and provide access to a database of computed information on known and predicted materials properties and computational tools to accelerate breakthroughs in materials discovery and design;
a biological systems science and climate and environmental science research and development program;
research and development activities in biomolecular characterization and imaging science;
earth and environmental systems science research;
a coastal zone research initiative;
an initiative focused on the development of engineered ecosystems;
a program to implement a strategy for achieving computing systems with capabilities beyond exascale computing systems;
a program of fundamental research and development of energy efficient computing and data center technologies relevant to advanced computing applications;
a Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program or QUEST program;
a collaborative research and development program of fusion energy technologies;
a research program in elementary particle physics and advanced technology research and development to improve the understanding of the fundamental properties of the universe, including constituents of matter and energy and the nature of space and time;
research activities on the nature of the primary contents of the universe, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter;
a research program to discover and understand various forms of nuclear matter;
a program across the DOE for the production of isotopes, including the development of techniques to produce isotopes, that the DOE determines are needed for research, medical, industrial, or related purposes;
a midscale instrumentation program to enable the development and acquisition of novel, state-of-the-art instruments ranging in cost from $1 million to $20 million each that would significantly accelerate scientific breakthroughs at user facilities; and
The summary continues for 6 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on June 28, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 12, 2021: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
EDDIE JOHNSON (D-TX) introduced it on May 28, 2021, and 39 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 25 Democrats, 14 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 28, 2021, 1931 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1886 days ago, on July 12, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers