A bill to require the Under Secretary of Technology of the Department of Commerce to establish an Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Institute.

Summary: Blue Collar Computing and Business Assistance Act of 2006 - Directs the Under Secretary of Technology of the Department of Commerce to award grants to establish up to five Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Centers at eligible entities (any nonprofit, consortia of nonprofits, or partnership between a for-profit and a nonprofit) throughout the United States.

Requires each Center to conduct: (1) general outreach to small businesses and manufacturers in all industry sectors within a geographic region assigned by the Under Secretary; and (2) technology transfer, development, and utilization programs related to a specific industry sector for all firms in that sector nationwide.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Blue Collar Computing and Business 
Assistance Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Computational science, the use of advanced computing 
        capabilities to understand and solve complex problems, 
        including the development of new products and processes, is now 
        critical to scientific leadership, economic competitiveness, 
        and national security.
            (2) Advances in computational science and high performance 
        computing provide a competitive advantage because they allow 
        businesses to run faster simulations of complex systems or to 
        develop more precise computer models.
            (3) The Federal Government is one of the investors in 
        research aimed at the development of new computational science 
        and high-performance computing capabilities.
            (4) As determined by the Council on Competitiveness, the 
        Nation's small businesses and manufacturers must ``Out Compute 
        to Out Compete''. However, new computational science 
        technologies are not being transferred effectively from the 
        research organizations to small businesses and manufacturers.
            (5) Small businesses and manufacturers are especially well-
        positioned to benefit from increased availability and 
        utilization of high-performance computing technologies and 
        software.
            (6) Current cost and technology barriers associated with 
        high-performance computing and software algorithms often 
        inhibit small businesses and manufacturers from successfully 
        making use of these technologies.
            (7) The establishment of an advanced multidisciplinary 
        computing software institute will help make existing high 
        performance computing resources more accessible to small 
        businesses and manufacturers. This will create new 
        opportunities for economic growth, jobs, and product 
        development.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide grants for the 
creation of an Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Institute 
that will--
            (1) develop and compile high-performance computing software 
        and algorithms suitable for applications in small business and 
        manufacturing;
            (2) effectively carry out the transfer of new computational 
        science and high-performance computing technologies to small 
        businesses and manufacturers; and
            (3) actively assist small businesses and manufacturers in 
        utilizing such technologies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advanced multidisciplinary computing software center; 
        center.--The term ``Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing 
        Software Center'' or ``Center'' is a center created by an 
        eligible entity with a grant awarded under section 4.
            (2) Advanced multidisciplinary computing software 
        institute.--The term ``Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing 
        Software Institute'' means a network of up to 5 Advanced 
        Multidisciplinary Computing Software Centers located throughout 
        the United States.
            (3) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' means any organization if such organization is 
        described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 and is exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code.
            (4) Small business or manufacturer.--The term ``small 
        business or manufacturer'' means a small business concern as 
        that term is defined by section 3(a) of the Small Business Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 632(a)), including a small manufacturing concern.
            (5) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
        the Under Secretary of Technology of the Department of 
        Commerce.

SEC. 4. GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary of Technology of the 
Department of Commerce shall award grants to establish up to 5 Advanced 
Multidisciplinary Computing Software Centers at eligible entities 
throughout the United States. Each Center shall--
            (1) conduct general outreach to small businesses and 
        manufacturers in all industry sectors within a geographic 
        region assigned by the Under Secretary; and
            (2) conduct technology transfer, development, and 
        utilization programs relating to a specific industry sector, 
        for all firms in that sector nationwide, as assigned by the 
        Under Secretary.
    (b) Eligible Entities.--For the purposes of this section, an 
eligible entity is any--
            (1) nonprofit organization;
            (2) consortia of nonprofit organizations; or
            (3) partnership between a for-profit and a nonprofit 
        organization.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) In general.--Each eligible entity that desires to 
        receive a grant under this Act shall submit an application to 
        the Under Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and 
        accompanied by such additional information as the Under 
        Secretary may reasonably require.
            (2) Publication in federal register.--The Under Secretary 
        shall publish the requirements described in paragraph (1) in 
        the Federal Register no later than 6 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.
            (3) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall include the following:
                    (A) An application that conforms to the 
                requirements set by the Under Secretary under paragraph 
                (1).
                    (B) A proposal for the allocation of the legal 
                rights associated with any invention that may result 
                from the activities of the proposed Center.
            (4) Selection criteria.--Each application submitted under 
        paragraph (1) shall be evaluated by the Under Secretary on the 
        basis of merit review. In carrying out this merit review 
        process, the Under Secretary shall consider--
                    (A) the extent to which the eligible entity--
                            (i) has a partnership with nonprofit 
                        organizations, businesses, software vendors, 
                        and academia recognized for relevant expertise 
                        in their selected industry sector;
                            (ii) makes use of State-funded academic 
                        supercomputing centers and universities or 
                        colleges with expertise in the computational 
                        needs of the industry assigned to the eligible 
                        entity under subsection (a)(1);
                            (iii) has a history of working with 
                        businesses;
                            (iv) has experience providing educational 
                        programs aimed at helping organizations adopt 
                        the use of high-performance computing and 
                        computational science;
                            (v) has partnerships with education or 
                        training organizations that can help educate 
                        future workers on the application of 
                        computational science to industry needs;
                            (vi) is accessible to businesses, academia, 
                        incubators, or other economic development 
                        organizations via high-speed networks; and
                            (vii) is capable of partnering with small 
                        businesses and manufacturers for the purpose of 
                        enhancing the ability of such entities to 
                        compete in the global marketplace;
                    (B) the ability of the eligible entity to enter 
                successfully into collaborative agreements with small 
                businesses and manufacturers in order to experiment 
                with new high performance computing and computational 
                science technologies; and
                    (C) such other factors as identified by the Under 
                Secretary.
    (d) Amount.--A grant awarded under this section shall not exceed 
$5,000,000 for any year of the grant period.
    (e) Duration.--
            (1) In general.--Except for a renewal under paragraph (2), 
        the duration of any grant awarded under subsection (a) may not 
        exceed 5 years.
            (2) Renewal.--Any grant awarded under subsection (a) may be 
        renewed at the discretion of the Under Secretary.
    (f) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
        under subsection (a) shall provide at least 50 percent of the 
        capital and annual operating and maintenance funds required to 
        create and maintain a Center.
            (2) Funding from other federal, state, or local government 
        agencies.--The funds provided by the eligible entity under 
        paragraph (1) may consist of amounts received by the eligible 
        entity from a Federal department or agency, other than the 
        Department of Commerce, or a State or local government agency.
    (g) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--The Under Secretary may 
establish a reasonable limitation on the portion of each grant awarded 
under subsection (a) that may be used for administrative expenses or 
other overhead costs.
    (h) Fees and Alternative Funding Sources Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--A Center established pursuant to this Act 
        may, according to regulations established by the Under 
        Secretary--
                    (A) collect a nominal fee from a small business or 
                manufacturer for a service provided pursuant to this 
                Act, if such fee is utilized for the budget and 
                operation of the Center; and
                    (B) accept funds from any other Federal department 
                or agency for the purpose of covering capital costs or 
                operating budget expenses.
            (2) Condition.--Any Center that is supported with funds 
        that originally came from a Federal department or agency, other 
        than the Department of Commerce, may be selected, and if 
        selected shall be operated, according to the provisions of this 
        section.

SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS.

    An eligible entity that receives a grant under section 4(a) shall 
use the funds for the benefit of businesses in the industry sector 
designated by the Under Secretary under such subsection, and the 
eligible entity shall use such funds to--
            (1) create a repository of nonclassified, nonproprietary 
        new and existing federally-funded software and algorithms;
            (2) test and validate software in the repository;
            (3) determine when and how the industry sector it serves 
        could benefit from resources in the repository;
            (4) work with software vendors to commercialize repository 
        software and algorithms from the repository;
            (5) make software available to small businesses and 
        manufacturers where it has not been commercialized by a 
        software vendor;
            (6) help software vendors, small businesses, and 
        manufacturers test or utilize the software on high-performance 
        computing systems; and
            (7) maintain a research and outreach team that will work 
        with small businesses and manufacturers to aid in the 
        identification of software or computational science techniques 
        which can be used to solve challenging problems, or meet 
        contemporary business needs of such organizations.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.

    (a) Report.--Each eligible entity who receives a grant under 
section 4(a) shall submit to the Under Secretary on an annual basis, a 
report describing the goals of the Center established by the eligible 
entity and the progress the eligible entity has achieved towards 
meeting the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Evaluation.--The Under Secretary shall establish a peer review 
committee, consisting of representatives from industry and academia, to 
review the goals and progress made by each Center during the grant 
period.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 
2011 to carry out the provisions of this Act.
    (b) Availability.--Funds provided for the establishment and 
operation of Centers under this Act shall remain available until 
expended.