Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 88 Part 2.djvu/563

 88 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 93-577-DEC. 31, 1974

1879

STATEMENT OF F I N D I N G S

SEC. 2. The Congress hereby finds that— ^ (a) The Nation is suffering from a shortage of environmentally acceptable forms of energy. (b) Compounding this energy shortage is our past and present failure to formulate a comprehensive and aggressive research and development program designed to make available to American consumers our large domestic energy reserves including fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, geothermal resources, solar energy, and other forms of energy. This failure is partially because the unconventional energy technologies have not been judged to be economically competitive with traditional energy technologies. (c) The urgency of the Nation's energy challenge will require commitments similar to those undertaken in the Manhattan and Apollo projects; it will require that the Nation undertake a research, development, and demonstration program in nonnuclear energy technologies with a total Federal investment which may reach or exceed $20,000,000,000 over the next decade. (d) In undertaking such program, full advantage must be taken of the existing technical and managerial expertise in the various energy fields within Federal agencies and particularly in the private sector. (e) The Nation's future energy needs can be met if a national commitment is made now to dedicate the necessary financial resources, to enlist our scientific and technological capabilities, and to accord the proper priority to developing new nonnuclear energy options to serve national needs, conserve vital resources, and protect the environment.

^^ use 5901.

STATEMENT O F POLICY

SEC. 3. (a) I t is the policy of the Congress to develop on an urgent basis the technological capabilities to support the broadest range of energy policy options through conservation and use of domestic resources by socially and environmentally acceptable means. (b)(1) The Congress declares the purpose of this Act to be to establish and vigorously conduct a comprehensive, national program of basic and applied research and development, including but not limited to demonstrations of practical applications, of all potentially beneficial energy sources and utilization technologies, within the Energy Research and Development Administration. (2) I n carrying out this program, the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Administrator") shall be governed by the terms of this Act and other applicable provisions of law with respect to all nonnuclear aspects of the research, development, and demonstration program; and the policies and provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), and other provisions of law shall continue to apply to the nuclear research, development, and demonstration program.

42 USC 5902.

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