article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``National Center for Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1994''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (1) Due to the end of the Cold War, the United States has not recently conducted underground nuclear testing at the Department of Energy facility known as the Nevada Test Site, Nevada, and the United States does not plan to conduct such testing in the foreseeable future. (2) Because the world political situation is ever-changing and dangerous, it is imperative that the United States remain strong militarily and continue to be a nuclear superpower. (3) It is imperative that the Nevada Test Site be maintained in a full state of readiness to ensure the capability of the nuclear arsenal of the United States. (4) The Nevada Test Site is in a beneficial location for activities suitable for research and development of emerging technologies that will be important to the United States in the 21st century. (5) Technology development carried out at the Nevada Test Site should include both private-sector and military projects. (6) The Nevada Test Site can support the stewardship of the Nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, and the technological competitiveness of the United States by providing the environment for nuclear and non- nuclear test and demonstration experiments and projects for government, industry, and academia. (7) The Nevada Test Site can provide the infrastructure to support industrial and civilian tests of environmentally demanding projects and programs. (8) The Nevada Test Site can support the testing and demonstration of environmental clean-up technologies by government and industry. (9) The Nevada Test Site can support the testing of alternative and renewable energy sources for environmentally clean and economically competitive replacements for traditional fossil energy sources and uses in many parts of Nevada and in the United States as a whole. (10) The Nevada Test Site can provide support for disarmament activities such as the demonstration of rocket motor destruction technology and conventional munitions destruction technology. (11) The Nevada Test Site can support non-proliferation experiments in disablement, nuclear forensics, sensors, and verification and monitoring. (12) The Nevada Test Site can support treaty-compliant experiments for stockpile stewardship purposes. (13) The size and remoteness of the Nevada Test Site make the Nevada Test Site well-suited for a multitude of activities associated with the restructuring of the United States military. SEC. 3. PURPOSES. It is the purpose of this Act-- (1) to ensure full operational readiness of the underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada Test Site; (2) to ensure an appropriate level of funds for such readiness to be maintained; (3) to create a National Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site for the promotion of disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and renewable energy sources, the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor development, and environmentally sensitive technologies; and (4) to ensure the availability of the Nevada Test Site, within appropriate restrictions, for use by private-sector industries seeking to make use of the inherent qualities that make the Nevada Test Site the greatest outdoor laboratory in the world. SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF READINESS CAPABILITY OF NEVADA TEST SITE. (a) Authorization of Appropriations.-- (1) In general.--The amount referred to in paragraph (2) is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 1995 and each fiscal year thereafter to maintain the operational readiness of the underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada Test Site. (2) Authorized amount.--The amount referred to in paragraph (1) is not less than the amount appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 1992 to maintain the operational readiness of the underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada Test Site. (b) Staffing Levels.--During fiscal year 1995 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall maintain a staffing level at the Nevada Test Site that the Secretary considers sufficient to carry out activities under this Act in addition to any other activities conducted by the Department of Energy at the Nevada Test Site. (c) Infrastructure Assessments and Activities.--The Secretary of Energy, through the Nevada Test Site Operations Office, shall carry out any infrastructure assessments and activities necessary to accommodate new projects and initiatives at the Nevada Test Site. SEC. 5. NATIONAL TEST AND DEMONSTRATION CENTER OF EXCELLENCE. (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established within the Department of Energy a National Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Center''), to be located at the Nevada Test Site, Nevada. (b) Purpose.--It shall be the purpose of the Center to promote disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and renewable energy sources, the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor development, and environmentally sensitive technologies. (c) Activities Related to Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources.--The Center shall carry out the following testing and demonstration activities that are related to alternative and renewable energy sources: (1) The characterization of solar and geothermal resources at the Nevada Test Site. (2) The development of alternative and renewable energy sources, including, as a goal of the Center, the development and completion of two 100-megawatt solar power plants by the year 2000. (3) The conduct of a National Alternative-Fueled Vehicles Program, the objective of which shall be to demonstrate the regional use of natural gas, electricity, and hydrogen as vehicle fuels. (d) Activities Related to Disarmament and Demilitarization.--The Center shall carry out testing and demonstration activities that are related to changes occurring in United States military as a result of the end of the Cold War, including activities-- (1) that involve the demilitarization of large rocket motor and conventional ordnance; (2) that assist in disarmament and demilitarization, generally; and (3) that test and demonstrate the nonmilitary application of technologies and resources the military application of which has decreased or otherwise changed due to disarmament and demilitarization. (e) Activities Related to Nuclear Stockpile Stewardship.--The Center shall carry out testing and demonstration activities related to the stewardship of the nuclear stockpile of the United States. Such activities shall include-- (1) the conduct of experiments that assist in monitoring compliance with international agreements on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons; (2) the provision of support to the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex; (3) the conduct of programs for the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to develop simulator technologies for nuclear weapons design and effects, including advanced hydrodynamic simulators, inertial confinement fusion test facilities, and nuclear weapons effects simulators (such as the Decade and Jupiter simulators); and (4) the conduct of the stockpile stewardship program established pursuant to section 3138 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (107 Stat. 1946; Public Law 103-160). (f) Activities Related to Nonproliferation.--The Center shall carry out experiments related to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, including experiments with respect to disablement, nuclear forensics, sensors, and verification and monitoring. (g) Activities Related to Environmental Technologies.--The Center shall carry out testing and demonstration activities related to the development of environmental technologies, including-- (1) the demonstration of technologies concerning the remediation of toxic and hazardous chemicals; and (2) the conduct of training activities pertaining to emergency response to hazardous and toxic accidents and emergencies. (h) Other Activities.--The Center may carry out the testing and demonstration of any other technology which, in the determination of the Secretary of Energy, is appropriate for testing and demonstration at the Nevada Test Site. SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. Except as provided in section 4, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year 1995 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
summary: National Center for Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1994 - Authorizes appropriations to maintain the readiness capability of the underground Nevada Test Site. Establishes within the Department of Energy a National Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence to be located at such Site. Directs the Center to carry out activities related to: (1) alternative and renewable energy sources; (2) nuclear stockpile stewardship; (3) disarmament and demilitarization; (4) nonproliferation; and (5) environmental technologies. Authorizes appropriations.