BES News & Resources

Congressional Foundations of the BES Program

Congress established the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program through the following authorization legislations:

Atomic Energy Act of 1946	Public Law 79-585 (1.7MB)	August 1, 1946	42 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Atomic Energy Act of 1954	Public Law 83-703 (866KB)	August 30, 1954	42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974	Public Law 93-438 (866KB)	October 11, 1974	42 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.
DOE Organization Act of 1977	Public Law 95-91	August 4, 1977	42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.
Energy Policy Act of 1992	Public Law 102-486	October 24, 1992	42 U.S.C. 134 et seq.
Energy Policy Act of 2005	Public Law 109-58	August 8, 2005	HR 6 (1.3MB)  |  HRpt 109-190 (1.6MB)

These laws created and promulgated the BES program, and annual appropriation laws provide funding and guidance for the program's activities. In the Congressional budget process, the BES program is governed by the four Congressional Committees shown in the table below. Each Committee contains a subcommittee that specifically considers the BES portion of the President's Budget Request. To hunt for additional legislative information on the internet, visit the Library of Congress' Thomas server.

Congressional Committees with responsibilities that include BES
Type of Committee	House of Representatives	The Senate
Appropriations	Committee on Appropriations	Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee	Energy and Water Development	Energy and Water Development
Authorization	Committee on Science and Technology	Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Subcommittee	Energy and Environment	Energy