12 2 STA T . 1 3 1 9PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 23 4—M A Y 22 , 200 8‘ ‘ (B)asenior o f fi c er of eac h of t he D e p art m ent of the I nterior , the E n v ironmenta lP rotection Ag enc y , the N ational S cience F o u n d ation, and the O ffice of Science and T echnology Policy, each of w hom shall have a ran k that is e q uivalent to the rank of the points of contact
and ‘‘( C ) at the option of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy, other mem b ers appointed by the Secretaries (after consultation with the Board) . ‘‘( 3 )D UTIES . — The Board shall— ‘‘(A) coordinate research and development activities relating to biofuels and biobased products— ‘‘(i) between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy; and ‘‘(ii) with other departments and agencies of the Federal G overnment; ‘‘(B) provide recommendations to the points of contact concerning administration of this title; ‘‘(C) ensure that— ‘‘(i) solicitations are open and competitive with awards made annually; and ‘‘(ii) ob j ectives and evaluation criteria of the solici - tations are clearly stated and minimally prescriptive, with no areas of special interest; and ‘‘(D) ensure that the panel of scientific and technical peers assembled under subsection (e) to review proposals is composed predominantly of independent e x perts selected from outside the Departments of Agriculture and Energy. ‘‘( 4 )FU ND IN G .—Each agency represented on the Board is encouraged to provide funds for any purpose under this section. ‘‘( 5 ) M EETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least quarterly. ‘‘(d) BI OMA SS R ESEA RCH AND DE V E L O P MENT TECHNICAL ADVISOR Y COMMITTEE.— ‘‘( 1 ) ESTA B LISHMENT.—There is established the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee to carry out the duties described in paragraph (3). ‘‘( 2 ) MEMBERSHIP.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee shall con- sist of— ‘‘(i) an individual affiliated with the biofuels industry; ‘‘(ii) an individual affiliated with the biobased industrial and commercial products industry; ‘‘(iii) an individual affiliated with an institution of higher education who has expertise in biofuels and biobased products; ‘‘(iv) 2 prominent engineers or scientists from government or academia who have expertise in biofuels and biobased products; ‘‘(v) an individual affiliated with a commodity trade association; ‘‘(vi) 2 individuals affiliated with environmental or conservation organi z ations; ‘‘(vii) an individual associated with State govern- ment who has expertise in biofuels and biobased prod- ucts;
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