DOE and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act

The bill would authorize the Secretary of Energy and the NASA Administrator to carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities that advance both agencies' missions. Coordination would be formalized through memoranda of understanding or other interagency agreements. Covered research areas include nuclear propulsion systems, modeling and machine learning, high-energy physics and cosmology (such as dark matter and dark energy), earth and environmental sciences, quantum information sciences, radiation health effects, and ground- and space-based solar energy transmission. The agencies could also make competitive, merit-reviewed awards to federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, nonprofits, and other eligible entities.

The bill would not itself appropriate any funds — it authorizes activities and agreements but leaves actual spending to the appropriations process. Within two years of enactment, DOE and NASA would be required to submit a joint report to relevant congressional committees describing their coordination activities, technical achievements, and areas of future collaboration including potential clean energy applications.

The Department of Energy, its National Laboratories, and NASA would be the primary actors directed by the bill. Researchers and institutions eligible for competitive awards — including universities, nonprofit research organizations, and other federal agencies — would also be affected. Scientists working in physics, astrophysics, quantum computing, earth sciences, and advanced propulsion could benefit from new collaborative funding opportunities.

Without statutory grounding, interagency coordination between DOE and NASA can be fragile and inconsistent across administrations. Formalizing the partnership would give both agencies clearer authority to share expensive research infrastructure, pool data, and fund joint projects — potentially accelerating work in areas like nuclear space propulsion and quantum networking where neither agency alone has full capability.

DOE and NASA would formalize their partnership through memoranda of understanding or other interagency agreements. Competitive awards under the program must follow merit-review processes and comply with all applicable laws and agency policies. The agencies may also execute reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements with each other and collaborate with other federal agencies. All activities must be conducted consistent with the research security provisions of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act. A joint report to three congressional committees is due within two years of enactment.