Geothermal Energy Act
Latest action. Measure indefinitely postponed in Senate, H.R. 14920 passed in lieu.
(LATEST SUMMARY) Geothermal Energy Act - =Title I: Loan Guarantee Program= - Authorizes the guarantee of loans by financial institutions for commercial development of geothermal resources. Limits such loan guarantees to 75 percent of the project costs. Requires repayment of such loans in 30 years, and limits such loans for any project to $25,000,000. Authorizes the payment of the interest on such loans by the Secretary of Interior if the borrower is unable to pay the interest and such payment is in the public interest. Establishes the Geothermal Resources Development Fund in the Treasury to carry out the loan guarantee and interest payment provisions of this title. Authorizes the appropriation of not in excess of $50,000,000 annually to carry out the loan guarantee provisions of this title. =Title II: Coordination of Federal Activities in Geothermal Energy Exploration, Research, and Development= - Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Interior to coordinate the development and implementation of a national inventory of geothermal resources in the United States. Authorizes and directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to transmit to the Secretary of Interior a proposal for the employment of space technologies and the services and facilities of NASA for inventorying geothermal resources. Authorizes and directs the Atomic Energy Commission to: (1) conduct, encourage, and promote scientific research to develop effective, economical, and environmentally acceptable processes and equipment for the purpose of utilizing all forms of geothermal resources for the production of useful energy forms; (2) conduct engineering and technical work including the design, construction, and testing of pilot plants to develop and improve geothermal energy processes and plant design concepts to the point of demonstration on a commercial scale; (3) study methods for the recovery and marketing of byproducts resulting from the production of energy from geothermal resources; and (4) undertake engineering and economic studies to determine the potential for energy from geothermal resources to contribute to energy requirements on national and regional levels. Authorizes the Commission to investigate, negotiate, and enter into cooperative agreements with non-Federal utilities, industries, and governmental entities for the construction, operation, and maintenance of demonstration developments for the production of electric or heat energy, water supplies, or minerals from geothermal resources. Authorizes the Commission to investigate potential agreements for the cooperative development of major facilities to demonstrate the production of energy from geothermal resources. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior, the AEC, and NASA to carry out the purposes of this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Indefinitely postponed in Senate" stage on July 11, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Measure indefinitely postponed in Senate, H.R. 14920 passed in lieu.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on July 11, 1974: Measure indefinitely postponed in Senate, H.R. 14920 passed in lieu.
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 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps 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?
ALAN BIBLE (D-NV) introduced it on September 21, 1973, and 18 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 8 Democrats, 10 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 September 21, 1973, 19347 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19054 days ago, on July 11, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 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
- SenateMeasure indefinitely postponed in Senate, H.R. 14920 passed in lieu.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action