42 U.S.C. § 18631 — Crosscutting research and development

(a) In general — The Secretary must use the Department's capabilities to find strategic opportunities for collaborative research, development, demonstration, and real-world use of innovative science and technology. (b) Existing programs; coordination of activities — As much as possible, the Secretary must try to: (1) make use of the Department's existing programs; and (2) bring together and coordinate activities across the Department, to encourage collaboration and approaches that cross program lines. (c) Additional actions — The Secretary must: (1) prioritize activities that use affordable resources available within the United States; (2) build a planning, evaluation, and technical-assessment framework for setting clear long-term strategic goals and tracking progress — a framework that (A) keeps its integrity and independence, and (B) stays flexible enough to adapt to changing markets; (3) make sure activities are not duplicated elsewhere in the Department or in the rest of the federal government; and (4) identify programs that might be handled more effectively by states, industry, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, or other outside stakeholders.