II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 735 

To amend the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 to further 

support advanced technological manufacturing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2021 

Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 

1992 to further support advanced technological manufacturing, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Techno5 logical Manufacturing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HARNESSING OUR NATION’S RESEARCH POTEN7 TIAL. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National 

9 Science Foundation shall conduct multiple pilot programs 


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1 within the Foundation to expand the number of institu2 tions of higher education (including such institutions that 

3 are community colleges), and other eligible entities that 

4 the Director determines appropriate, that are able to suc5 cessfully compete for National Science Foundation grants. 

6 (b) COMPONENTS.—Each pilot program described in 

7 subsection (a) shall include at least 1 of the following ele8 ments: 

9 (1) A mentorship program. 

10 (2) Grant writing technical assistance. 

11 (3) Targeted outreach. 

12 (4) Programmatic support or solutions for insti13 tutions or entities that do not have an experienced 

14 grant management office. 

15 (5) An increase in the number of grant review16 ers from institutions of higher education that have 

17 not traditionally received funds from the National 

18 Science Foundation. 

19 (6) An increase of the term and funding, for a 

20 period of 3 years or less, as appropriate, to a prin21 cipal investigator that is a first-time grant awardee, 

22 when paired with regular mentoring on the adminis23 trative aspects of grant management. 


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1 (c) LIMITATION.—As appropriate, each pilot program 

2 described in subsection (a) shall work to reduce adminis3 trative burdens. 

4 (d) AGENCY-WIDE PROGRAMS.—Not later than 5 

5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

6 of the National Science Foundation shall— 

7 (1) review the results of the pilot programs de8 scribed in subsection (a); and 

9 (2) develop agency-wide best practices from the 

10 pilot programs for implementation across the Foun11 dation, in order to fulfill the requirement under sec12 tion 3(e) of the National Science Foundation Act of 

13 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1862(e)). 

14 (e) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In this 

15 section, the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

16 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

18 SEC. 3. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL MANUFAC19 TURING. 

20 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—Section 2 of the Sci21 entific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 

22 1862h) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘science, 

25 mathematics, and technology’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘science, technology, engineering, and mathe2 matics or STEM’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘edu4 cated and’’ before ‘‘trained’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘sci6 entific and technical education and training’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘STEM education and training’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘mathe11 matics and science’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM 

12 fields’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘mathe14 matics and science instruction’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘STEM instruction’’. 

16 (b) MODERNIZING REFERENCES TO STEM.—Section 

17 3 of the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 

18 (42 U.S.C. 1862i) is amended— 

19 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘SCI20 ENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION’’ and in21 serting ‘‘STEM EDUCATION’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘STEM EDUCATION’’; 


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1 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph 

2 (1)— 

3 (i) by inserting ‘‘and education to pre4 pare the skilled technical workforce to 

5 meet workforce demands’’ before ‘‘, and to 

6 improve’’; 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘core education 

8 courses in science and mathematics’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘core education courses in STEM 

10 fields’’; 

11 (iii) by inserting ‘‘veterans and indi12 viduals engaged in’’ before ‘‘work in the 

13 home’’; and 

14 (iv) by inserting ‘‘and on building a 

15 pathway from secondary schools, to asso16 ciate-degree-granting institutions, to ca17 reers that require technical training’’ be18 fore ‘‘, and shall be designed’’; 

19 (C) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘and study’’ after 

21 ‘‘development’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘core science and 

23 mathematics courses’’ and inserting ‘‘core 

24 STEM courses’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘science, 

2 mathematics, and advanced-technology fields’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘STEM and advanced-technology 

4 fields’’; 

5 (E) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘to 

6 support the advanced-technology industries that 

7 drive the competitiveness of the United States 

8 in the global economy’’ before the semicolon at 

9 the end; 

10 (F) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘sci11 entific and advanced-technology fields’’ and in12 serting ‘‘STEM and advanced-technology 

13 fields’’; and 

14 (G) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘ad15 vanced scientific and technical education’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘advanced STEM and advanced-tech17 nology’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

20 inserting the following: ‘‘CENTERS OF SCI21 ENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.—’’; 

22 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

23 by striking ‘‘not to exceed 10 in number’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘in advanced-technology fields’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘edu2 cation in mathematics and science’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘STEM education’’; and 

4 (D) in the flush matter following para5 graph (2), by striking ‘‘in the geographic region 

6 served by the center’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

11 (i), by striking ‘‘to encourage’’ and all 

12 that follows through ‘‘such means 

13 as—’’ and inserting ‘‘to encourage the 

14 development of career and educational 

15 pathways with multiple entry and exit 

16 points leading to credentials and de17 grees, and to assist students pursuing 

18 pathways in STEM fields to transition 

19 from associate-degree-granting col20 leges to bachelor-degree-granting in21 stitutions, through such means as—’’; 

22 (II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘to 

23 ensure’’ and inserting ‘‘to develop ar24 ticulation agreements that ensure’’; 

25 and 


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1 (III) in clause (ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘courses at the bachelor-degree-grant3 ing institution’’ and inserting ‘‘the ca4 reer and educational pathways sup5 ported by the articulation agree6 ments’’; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (I) in clause (i), by inserting 

9 ‘‘veterans and individuals engaged in’’ 

10 before ‘‘work in the home’’; 

11 (II) in clause (iii)— 

12 (aa) by striking ‘‘bachelor’s13 degree-granting institutions’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘institutions or work 

15 sites’’; and 

16 (bb) by inserting ‘‘or indus17 try internships’’ after ‘‘summer 

18 programs’’; and 

19 (III) by striking the flush text 

20 following clause (iv); and 

21 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘mathematics and 

24 science programs’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM 

25 programs’’; 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and, as appropriate, 

2 elementary schools,’’ after ‘‘with secondary 

3 schools’’; 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘mathematics and 

5 science education’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM 

6 education’’; 

7 (iv) by striking ‘‘secondary school stu8 dents’’ and inserting ‘‘students at these 

9 schools’’; 

10 (v) by striking ‘‘science and advanced11 technology fields’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM 

12 and advanced-technology fields’’; and 

13 (vi) by striking ‘‘agreements with local 

14 educational agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘ar15 ticulation agreements or dual credit 

16 courses with local secondary schools, or 

17 other means as the Director determines 

18 appropriate,’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (i) by striking subparagraph (B); 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall—’’ and all that 

22 follows through ‘‘establish a’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘shall establish a’’; 


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1 (iii) by striking ‘‘the fields of science, 

2 technology, engineering, and mathematics’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘STEM fields’’; and 

4 (iv) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘, including jobs at Federal and academic 

6 laboratories.’’; 

7 (5) in subsection (d)(2)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

9 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

11 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(F) as appropriate, applications that 

14 apply the best practices for STEM education 

15 and technical skills education through distance 

16 learning or in a simulated work environment, as 

17 determined by research described in subsection 

18 (f).’’; 

19 (6) in subsection (g), by striking the second 

20 sentence; 

21 (7) in subsection (h)(1)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2026’’; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

25 ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2026’’; and 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘up to $2,500,000’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘not less than $3,000,000’’; 

4 and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘2026’’; and 

7 (8) in subsection (j)— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert9 ing the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) the term ‘advanced-technology’ includes 

11 technological fields such as advanced manufacturing, 

12 agricultural-, biological- and chemical-technologies, 

13 energy and environmental technologies, engineering 

14 technologies, information technologies, micro and 

15 nano-technologies, cybersecurity technologies, 

16 geospatial technologies, and new, emerging tech17 nology areas;’’; 

18 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) the term ‘associate-degree-granting college’ 

21 means an institution of higher education (as defined 

22 in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that offers a 2-year associate-de24 gree program or 2-year certificate program;’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘as de2 termined under section 101 of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965’’ and inserting ‘‘as defined 

4 in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)’’; 

6 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘sepa7 rate bachelor-degree-granting institutions’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘other entities’’; 

9 (E) by striking paragraph (7); 

10 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 

11 (9) as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 

12 (G) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by 

13 subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

14 semicolon; 

15 (H) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by 

16 subparagraph (F)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, 

18 engineering, or technology’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘science, technology, engineering, or math20 ematics’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘computer science.’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘computer science and cyber23 security; and’’; and 

24 (I) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(9) the term ‘skilled technical workforce’ 

2 means workers— 

3 ‘‘(A) in occupations that use significant 

4 levels of science and engineering expertise and 

5 technical knowledge; and 

6 ‘‘(B) whose level of educational attainment 

7 is less than a bachelor degree.’’. 

Æ 


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