I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3959 

To support innovation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. RYAN

of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and 

Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To support innovation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Innovate America Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—EDUCATION 


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Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Increasing funding for STEM secondary schools. 

Sec. 103. Report on STEM secondary schools. 

Sec. 104. Study and report on retaining STEM students. 

Sec. 105. Expanding undergraduate research opportunities. 

Sec. 106. Technology Commercialization Awards Pilot Program. 

Sec. 107. Computer science in the Robert Noyce teacher scholarship program. 

TITLE II—MANUFACTURING AND EXPORT PROMOTION 

Sec. 201. Manufacturing assistance program for small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States. 

Sec. 202. Removing barriers for exporting industries in the United States. 

TITLE III—OFFSETS 

Sec. 301. Limitation on Government printing costs. 

Sec. 302. Eliminating bonuses for poor performance by Government contractors. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Innovation has historically been a catalyzing 

4 force in the economy of the United States, driving 

5 the production of game-changing technologies, the 

6 creation of millions of jobs and the opening of count7 less new avenues for growth. In an increasingly com8 petitive global economy, our Nation’s continued lead9 ership and prosperity will hinge on progress in key 

10 innovative areas, most notably exporting, entrepre11 neurship, research and development, and education 

12 in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

13 (referred to in this section as ‘‘STEM’’), including 

14 computer science. 

15 (2) Technology-based startups play a critical 

16 role in driving innovation. Increasing the flow of 

17 capital to these firms would bridge the gap that 


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1 often exists between their initial startup costs and 

2 their long-term capital needs, giving the firms the 

3 resources necessary to research, develop, and com4 mercialize new products. 

5 (3) Simplifying, expanding, and stabilizing the 

6 tax credits that businesses and institutions of higher 

7 education rely on to offset the cost of research and 

8 would promote greater clarity in the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 and deliver a powerful incentive 

10 for private sector innovation. 

11 (4) Increasing the emphasis on STEM edu12 cation in high schools and institutions of higher edu13 cation would ensure that more students have the 

14 skills and training to not only compete for jobs in 

15 a 21st century economy, but also to create the start16 up companies and revolutionary technologies that 

17 will sustain American prosperity for centuries to 

18 come. 

19 (5) The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 

20 that in the year 2020, of the 9,200,000 STEM jobs 

21 there will be in the United States, half of them will 

22 be in computing. With more than 150,000 job open23 ings expected annually in computing, it is one of the 

24 fastest growing occupations in the United States. In25 creasing the teaching and learning of computer 


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1 science in schools would strengthen the workforce of 

2 the United States by helping our students gain the 

3 skills and training necessary to fulfill new computer 

4 programming jobs. 

5 (6) An effective regulatory climate should pro6 tect consumers and promote transparency without 

7 overburdening the businesses that create jobs. Fed8 eral agencies with rulemaking authority should be 

9 vigilant in assessing the impact of new regulations 

10 on innovation and job creation, particularly in an11 chor industries like manufacturing. 

12 (7) The economic impact of a new product or 

13 technology is often dependent on its commercial suc14 cess. To ensure American products can be bought 

15 and sold in markets around the world, the Federal 

16 Government should identify and remove over burden17 some regulations that create barriers for United 

18 States exporting companies. 

19 TITLE I—EDUCATION 

20 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this title: 

22 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

23 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

24 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

25 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

2 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

3 (3) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means the 

4 subjects of science, technology, engineering, and 

5 mathematics, including other subjects based on 

6 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, 

7 such as computer science. 

8 (4) STEM SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term 

9 ‘‘STEM secondary school’’ has the meaning given 

10 the term by the Secretary of Education, in coordina11 tion with the Director, not later than 60 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (5) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

14 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

15 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

17 SEC. 102. INCREASING FUNDING FOR STEM SECONDARY 

18 SCHOOLS. 

19 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to in20 crease the number of STEM secondary schools in the 

21 United States from approximately 100 to approximately 

22 200. 

23 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

25 under subsection (e), the Secretary of Education, in 


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1 coordination with the Director, shall award grants, 

2 on a competitive basis, to State educational agencies 

3 to enable the State educational agencies to carry out 

4 the purposes of this section by establishing or ex5 panding STEM secondary schools. 

6 (2) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec7 retary shall award grants under this section in a 

8 manner that ensures geographic diversity, including 

9 awarding grants to State educational agencies serv10 ing rural areas. 

11 (c) APPLICATION.—A State educational agency desir12 ing to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

13 application to the Secretary of Education at such time, 

14 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

15 Secretary may require. 

16 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A State educational agency re17 ceiving funds under this section shall use such funds to 

18 award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to local edu19 cational agencies in the State to enable the local edu20 cational agencies to establish and maintain new STEM 

21 secondary schools, which may include repurposing an ex22 isting secondary school to become a STEM secondary 

23 school. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

3 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2026. 

4 SEC. 103. REPORT ON STEM SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

5 (a) DATABASE.—The Secretary of Education, in co6 ordination with the Director, shall develop a database to 

7 identify existing STEM secondary schools. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in 

10 coordination with the Director, shall submit a report to 

11 Congress with recommendations on how to replicate exist12 ing successful STEM secondary schools. 

13 SEC. 104. STUDY AND REPORT ON RETAINING STEM STU14 DENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall conduct a 

16 study, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to 

17 make recommendations to Congress on how to improve re18 tention rates of students in STEM programs at institu19 tions of higher education. The study should include an 

20 analysis of existing successful retention programs at insti21 tutions of higher education. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Con24 gress a report on the study conducted under subsection 

25 (a). 


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1 SEC. 105. EXPANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OP2 PORTUNITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1, 2017, the 

4 President shall ensure that not less than 15 percent of 

5 all Federal funds available for a fiscal year for under6 graduate research opportunities at 2-year and 4-year de7 gree-granting institutions of higher education shall be 

8 used to fund research opportunities for postsecondary stu9 dents, with an emphasis on undergraduate research oppor10 tunities occurring during the first 2 academic years of 

11 postsecondary education. 

12 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

13 Congress that each Federal agency should restructure the 

14 agency’s undergraduate student research opportunities for 

15 students attending 2-year or 4-year degree-granting insti16 tutions of higher education, in order to provide more re17 search opportunities for postsecondary students during 

18 the students’ first 2 academic years of postsecondary edu19 cation. 

20 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—Not 

21 later than December 31, 2016, the head of each Federal 

22 agency shall submit to the President— 

23 (1) a list of all programs and funds available 

24 for undergraduate student research under the juris25 diction of the agency; and 


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1 (2) recommendations regarding how the agency 

2 can best fulfill the requirements of subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 106. TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION AWARDS 

4 PILOT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, through the Part6 nerships for Innovation Program of the National Science 

7 Foundation, shall administer a Technology Commer8 cialization Awards Pilot Program through which prom9 ising technology advances derived from National Science 

10 Foundation research grants shall be eligible for follow-on 

11 funding— 

12 (1) to move the technology through prototype 

13 and demonstration phases; 

14 (2) for training for researcher participants in 

15 business plan development, technology transfer, and 

16 commercialization; and 

17 (3) for establishing start-up firms based on the 

18 technologies developed. 

19 (b) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—The Director shall— 

20 (1) seek from National Science Foundation of21 fices and divisions recommendations on outstanding 

22 research funded by the National Science Foundation 

23 with clear promise that such research can be ad24 vanced close to commercialized in a 3- to 5-year pe25 riod; 


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1 (2) solicit applications from National Science 

2 Foundation award grantees who believe that they 

3 have qualifying technologies eligible for commer4 cialization; and 

5 (3) award grants to such National Science 

6 Foundation award grantees based on a merit-based, 

7 competitive selection process. 

8 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Director shall form 

9 an Advisory Committee of experts on technology and the 

10 technology commercialization process to advise the Na11 tional Science Foundation on the Technology Commer12 cialization Awards Pilot Program. 

13 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the first 

14 grant is awarded under this section, the Director shall— 

15 (1) report to the relevant committees of Con16 gress on the results of the Technology Commer17 cialization Awards Pilot Program; and 

18 (2) make recommendations on whether and how 

19 such a technology commercialization fund could be 

20 adopted by other Federal research and development 

21 agencies. 

22 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2017 through 

25 2021. 


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1 SEC. 107. COMPUTER SCIENCE IN THE ROBERT NOYCE 

2 TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

3 Section 10 of the National Science Foundation Au4 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and mathematics’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘mathematics, informatics, and computer 

8 science’’ each place the term appears; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(D)(i), by striking ‘‘or 

10 mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

11 informatics, or computer science’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘or 

14 mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

15 informatics, or computer science’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘mathe17 matics or’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

18 informatics, computer science, or’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (d)(4), by striking ‘‘mathe20 matics or’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, informatics, 

21 computer science, or’’; and 

22 (5) in subsection (i)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘or 

24 mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, or 

25 computer science’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or 

2 mathematics,’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

3 informatics, or computer science,’’. 

4 TITLE II—MANUFACTURING AND 

5 EXPORT PROMOTION 

6 SEC. 201. MANUFACTURING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR 

7 SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFACTUR8 ERS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Commerce. 

12 (2) SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED DOMESTIC

13 MANUFACTURERS.—The term ‘‘small- and medium14 sized domestic manufacturers’’ means businesses— 

15 (A) with not more than 500 employees; 

16 and 

17 (B) with facilities located in the United 

18 States that mechanically, physically, or chemi19 cally transform materials, substances, or com20 ponents into new goods, including component 

21 parts. 

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

24 establish a manufacturing assistance program for small25 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers for the purVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Nov 09, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3959.IH H3959

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1 poses of promoting the manufacturing of goods in the 

2 United States and enabling those manufacturers to be 

3 competitive in the global economy by— 

4 (1) identifying and reducing regulatory burdens 

5 on those manufacturers under subsection (c); and 

6 (2) providing those manufacturers with infor7 mation and other assistance under subsection (d). 

8 (c) REDUCTION OF REGULATORY BURDENS.—The 

9 Secretary shall— 

10 (1) identify any regulatory requirements appli11 cable to small- and medium-sized domestic manufac12 turers that— 

13 (A) impose an unnecessary burden on 

14 those manufacturers; and 

15 (B) may be eliminated or reduced in order 

16 to promote the manufacture of goods in the 

17 United States; 

18 (2) take appropriate action to eliminate or re19 duce the regulatory requirements identified under 

20 paragraph (1); and 

21 (3) not later than 1 year after the date on 

22 which the Secretary establishes the program re23 quired by subsection (b), submit to Congress a re24 port that makes recommendations with respect to 

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1 nate or reduce the regulatory requirements identified 

2 under paragraph (1). 

3 (d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall assist small4 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers by providing 

5 those manufacturers with information with respect to— 

6 (1) how small- and medium-sized domestic 

7 manufacturers can comply efficiently with regula8 tions applicable to those manufacturers; 

9 (2) recently proposed and recently prescribed 

10 regulations likely to have an effect on small- and 

11 medium-sized domestic manufacturers; and 

12 (3) how small- and medium-sized domestic 

13 manufacturers can express their views and provide 

14 input with respect to any policy developments relat15 ing to the manufacture of goods in the United 

16 States. 

17 (e) REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAM.—Not 

18 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act, the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership of 

20 the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

21 submit to Congress a report on the program established 

22 under subsection (b) that includes— 

23 (1) an assessment of the extent to which the 

24 program has been effective— 


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1 (A) in identifying and reducing regulatory 

2 burdens on small- and medium-sized domestic 

3 manufacturers under subsection (c); 

4 (B) in providing information and other as5 sistance to small- and medium-sized domestic 

6 manufacturers under subsection (d); and 

7 (C) in promoting the manufacturing of 

8 goods in the United States and enabling small9 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers to be 

10 competitive in the global economy; 

11 (2) detailed information with respect to the na12 ture, location, and duration of any jobs created as 

13 a result of the program established under subsection 

14 (b) and a description of the methodology used to 

15 compile that information; and 

16 (3) any recommendations with respect to con17 tinuing or improving the program established under 

18 subsection (b). 

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

21 $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2017 through 

22 2021 to carry out the program established under sub23 section (b). 


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1 SEC. 202. REMOVING BARRIERS FOR EXPORTING INDUS2 TRIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

3 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Under Secretary for International 

5 Trade of the Department of Commerce shall submit to 

6 Congress a report— 

7 (1) identifying the 20 industries in the United 

8 States that export the most goods or services; 

9 (2) evaluating the competitiveness of those in10 dustries in global markets compared to competitors 

11 manufacturing outside the United States; 

12 (3) identifying domestic regulatory and policy 

13 barriers to increasing exports by those industries; 

14 (4) identifying measures imposed by foreign 

15 governments that impede the access of those indus16 tries to foreign markets; and 

17 (5) making recommendations with respect to 

18 legislative action that could be taken by Congress to 

19 reduce barriers identified under paragraph (3) and 

20 improve the global competitiveness of those indus21 tries in foreign markets. 

22 TITLE III—OFFSETS 

23 SEC. 301. LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT PRINTING COSTS. 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 


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1 Budget shall coordinate with the heads of Federal depart2 ments and independent agencies to— 

3 (1) determine which Government publications 

4 could be available on Government websites and no 

5 longer printed and to devise a strategy to reduce 

6 overall Government printing costs over the 10-year 

7 period beginning with fiscal year 2017, except that 

8 the Director shall ensure that essential printed docu9 ments prepared for social security recipients, medi10 care beneficiaries, and other populations in areas 

11 with limited Internet access or use continue to re12 main available; 

13 (2) establish Governmentwide Federal guide14 lines on employee printing; 

15 (3) issue on the Office of Management and 

16 Budget’s public website the results of a cost-benefit 

17 analysis on implementing a digital signature system 

18 and on establishing employee printing identification 

19 systems, such as the use of individual employee 

20 cards or codes, to monitor the amount of printing 

21 done by Federal employees; and 

22 (4) ensure that Federal employee printing costs 

23 unrelated to national defense, homeland security, 

24 border security, national disasters, and other emer25 gencies do not exceed $860,000,000 annually. 


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1 SEC. 302. ELIMINATING BONUSES FOR POOR PERFORM2 ANCE BY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 

3 (a) GUIDANCE ON LINKING OF AWARD AND INCEN4 TIVE FEES TO OUTCOMES.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, each Federal depart6 ment or agency shall issue guidance, with detailed imple7 mentation instructions (including definitions), on the ap8 propriate use of award and incentive fees in department 

9 or agency programs. 

10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The guidance under subsection (a) 

11 shall— 

12 (1) ensure that all new contracts using award 

13 fees link such fees to outcomes (which shall be de14 fined in terms of program cost, schedule, and per15 formance); 

16 (2) establish standards for identifying the ap17 propriate level of officials authorized to approve the 

18 use of award and incentive fees in new contracts; 

19 (3) provide guidance on the circumstances in 

20 which contractor performance may be judged to be 

21 excellent or superior and the percentage of the avail22 able award fee which contractors should be paid for 

23 such performance; 

24 (4) establish standards for determining the per25 centage of the available award fee, if any, which con26 tractors should be paid for performance that is 


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1 judged to be acceptable, average, expected, good, or 

2 satisfactory; 

3 (5) ensure that no award fee may be paid for 

4 contractor performance that is judged to be below 

5 satisfactory performance or performance that does 

6 not meet the basic requirements of the contract; 

7 (6) provide specific direction on the cir8 cumstances, if any, in which it may be appropriate 

9 to roll over award fees that are not earned in one 

10 award fee period to a subsequent award fee period 

11 or periods; 

12 (7) ensure that the Department or agency— 

13 (A) collects relevant data on award and in14 centive fees paid to contractors; and 

15 (B) has mechanisms in place to evaluate 

16 such data on a regular basis; and 

17 (8) include performance measures to evaluate 

18 the effectiveness of award and incentive fees as a 

19 tool for improving contractor performance and 

20 achieving desired program outcomes. 

21 (c) RETURN OF UNEARNED BONUSES.—Any funds 

22 intended to be awarded as incentive fees that are not paid 

23 due to contractors’ inability to meet the criteria estab24 lished by this section shall be returned to the Treasury. 

Æ 


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