Union Calendar No. 124

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1852

[Report No. 104–231]

A BILL

Science Foundation, and for other purposes.

To authorize appropriations for the National

AUGUST 4, 1995

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 124

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1852

[Report No. 104–231]

To authorize appropriations for the National Science Foundation, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 15, 1995

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself and Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science

AUGUST 4, 1995

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 15, 1995]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the National Science

Foundation, 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 ‘‘National Science Foun5 dation Authorization Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this Act—

3 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the

4 Foundation;

5 (2) the term ‘‘Foundation’’ means the National

6 Science Foundation;

7 (3) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’

8 has the meaning given such term in section 1201(a)

9 of the Higher Education Act of 1965;

10 (4) the term ‘‘national research facility’’ means

11 a research facility funded by the Foundation which is

12 available, subject to appropriate policies allocating

13 access, for use by all scientists and engineers affiliated

14 with research institutions located in the United

15 States; and

16 (5) the term ‘‘United States’’ means the several

17 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

18 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American

19 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

20 Islands, and any other territory or possession of the

21 United States.

22 TITLE I—NATIONAL SCIENCE

23 FOUNDATION AUTHORIZATION

24 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the programs of the Foundation are impor2 tant for the Nation to strengthen basic research and

3 develop human resources in science and engineering,

4 and that those programs should be funded at an ade5 quate level;

6 (2) the primary mission of the Foundation con7 tinues to be the support of basic scientific research

8 and science education and the support of research

9 fundamental to the engineering process and engineer10 ing education; and

11 (3) the Foundation’s efforts to contribute to the

12 economic competitiveness of the United States should

13 be in accord with that primary mission.

14 (b) FISCAL YEAR 1996.—There are authorized to be

15 appropriated to the Foundation $3,126,000,000 for fiscal

16 year 1996, which shall be available for the following cat17 egories:

18 (1) Research and Related Activities,

19 $2,226,300,000, which shall be available for the fol20 lowing subcategories:

21 (A) Mathematical and Physical Sciences,

22 $632,200,000.

23 (B) Engineering, $311,600,000.

24 (C) Biological Sciences, $293,300,000.

25 (D) Geosciences, $408,800,000.
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1 (E) Computer and Information Science and

2 Engineering, $249,500,000.

3 (F) Social, Behavioral, and Economic

4 Sciences, $111,300,000.

5 (G) United States Polar Research Pro6 grams, $156,000,000.

7 (H) United States Antarctic Logistical

8 Support Activities, $62,600,000.

9 (I) Critical Technologies Institute,

10 $1,000,000.

11 (2) Education and Human Resources Activities,

12 $600,000,000.

13 (3) Major Research Equipment, $70,000,000.

14 (4) Academic Research Facilities Modernization,

15 $100,000,000.

16 (5) Salaries and Expenses, $120,000,000.

17 (6) Office of Inspector General, $4,500,000.

18 (7) Headquarters Relocation, $5,200,000.

19 (c) FISCAL YEAR 1997.—There are authorized to be

20 appropriated to the Foundation $3,171,400,000 for fiscal

21 year 1997, which shall be available for the following cat22 egories:

23 (1) Research and Related Activities,

24 $2,286,200,000.
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1 (2) Education and Human Resources Activities,

2 $600,000,000.

3 (3) Major Research Equipment, $55,000,000.

4 (4) Academic Research Facilities Modernization,

5 $100,000,000.

6 (5) Salaries and Expenses, $120,000,000.

7 (6) Office of Inspector General, $5,000,000.

8 (7) Headquarters Relocation, $5,200,000.

9 SEC. 102. PROPORTIONAL REDUCTION OF RESEARCH AND

10 RELATED ACTIVITIES AMOUNTS.

11 If the amount appropriated pursuant to section

12 101(b)(1) is less than the amount authorized under that

13 paragraph, the amount authorized for each subcategory

14 under that paragraph shall be reduced by the same propor15 tion.

16 SEC. 103. CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION EX17 PENSES.

18 From appropriations made under authorizations pro19 vided in this Act, not more than $10,000 may be used in

20 each fiscal year for official consultation, representation, or

21 other extraordinary expenses at the discretion of the Direc22 tor. The determination of the Director shall be final and

23 conclusive upon the accounting officers of the Government.
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1 SEC. 104. REPROGRAMMING.

2 (a) $500,000 OR LESS.—In any given fiscal year, the

3 Director may transfer appropriated funds among the

4 subcategories of Research and Related Activities, so long as

5 the net funds transferred to or from any subcategory do not

6 exceed $500,000.

7 (b) GREATER THAN $500,000.—In addition, the Di8 rector may propose transfers to or from any subcategory

9 exceeding $500,000. An explanation of any proposed trans10 fer under this subsection must be transmitted in writing

11 to the Committee on Science of the House of Representa12 tives, and the Committees on Labor and Human Resources

13 and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

14 The proposed transfer may be made only when 30 calendar

15 days have passed after transmission of such written expla16 nation.

17 SEC. 105. FURTHER AUTHORIZATIONS.

18 Nothing in this Act shall preclude further authoriza19 tion of appropriations for the National Science Foundation

20 for fiscal year 1996: Provided, That authorization alloca21 tions adopted by the Conference Committee on House Con22 current Resolution 67, and approved by Congress, allow for

23 such further authorizations.
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1 TITLE II—GENERAL PROVISIONS

2 SEC. 201. ANNUAL REPORT.

3 Section 3(f) of the National Science Foundation Act

4 of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1862(f)) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(f) The Foundation shall provide an annual report

6 to the President which shall be submitted by the Director

7 to the Congress at the time of the President’s annual budget

8 submission. The report shall—

9 ‘‘(1) contain a strategic plan, or an update to a

10 previous strategic plan, which—

11 ‘‘(A) defines for a three-year period the

12 overall goals for the Foundation and specific

13 goals for each major activity of the Foundation,

14 including each scientific directorate, the edu15 cation directorate, and the polar programs office;

16 and

17 ‘‘(B) describe how the identified goals relate

18 to national needs and will exploit new opportu19 nities in science and technology;

20 ‘‘(2) identify the criteria and describe the proce21 dures which the Foundation will use to assess

22 progress toward achieving the goals identified in ac23 cordance with paragraph (1);

24 ‘‘(3) review the activities of the Foundation dur25 ing the preceding year which have contributed toward
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1 achievement of goals identified in accordance with

2 paragraph (1) and summarize planned activities for

3 the coming three years in the context of the identified

4 goals, with particular emphasis on the Foundation’s

5 planned contributions to major multi-agency research

6 and education initiatives;

7 ‘‘(4) contain such recommendations as the Foun8 dation considers appropriate; and

9 ‘‘(5) include information on the acquisition and

10 disposition by the Foundation of any patents and

11 patent rights.’’.

12 SEC. 202. NATIONAL RESEARCH FACILITIES.

13 (a) FACILITIES PLAN.—The Director shall provide to

14 Congress annually, as a part of the report required under

15 section 3(f) of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950,

16 a plan for the proposed construction of, and repair and up17 grades to, national research facilities. The plan shall in18 clude estimates of the cost for such construction, repairs,

19 and upgrades, and estimates of the cost for the operation

20 and maintenance of existing and proposed new facilities.

21 For proposed new construction and for major upgrades to

22 existing facilities, the plan shall include funding profiles

23 by fiscal year and milestones for major phases of the con24 struction. The plan shall include cost estimates in the cat25 egories of construction, repair, and upgrades for the year
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1 in which the plan is submitted to Congress and for not fewer

2 than the succeeding 4 years.

3 (b) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATION OF UNAUTHORIZED

4 APPROPRIATIONS.—No funds appropriated for any project

5 which involves construction of new national research facili6 ties or construction necessary for upgrading the capabilities

7 of existing national research facilities shall be obligated un8 less the funds are specifically authorized for such purpose

9 by this Act or any other Act which is not an appropriations

10 Act, or unless the total estimated cost to the Foundation

11 of the construction project is less than $50,000,000. This

12 subsection shall not apply to construction projects approved

13 by the National Science Board prior to June 30, 1994.

14 SEC. 203. ELIGIBILITY FOR RESEARCH FACILITY AWARDS.

15 Section 203(b) of the Academic Research Facilities

16 Modernization Act of 1988 is amended by striking the final

17 sentence of paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof the

18 following: ‘‘The Director shall give priority to institutions

19 or consortia that have not received such funds in the preced20 ing 5 years, except that this sentence shall not apply to

21 previous funding received for the same multiyear project.’’.

22 SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS.

23 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACT OF 1950

24 AMENDMENTS.—The National Science Foundation Act of

25 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating the subsection (k) of section

2 4 (42 U.S.C. 1863(k)) that was added by section 108

3 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act

4 of 1988 as subsection (l);

5 (2) in section 5(e) (42 U.S.C. 1864(e)) by

6 amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(2) Any delegation of authority or imposition of con8 ditions under paragraph (1) shall be promptly published

9 in the Federal Register and reported to the Committees on

10 Labor and Human Resources and Commerce, Science, and

11 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science

12 of the House of Representatives.’’;

13 (3) by inserting ‘‘be entitled to’’ between ‘‘shall’’

14 and ‘‘receive’’, and by inserting ‘‘, including travel15 time,’’ after ‘‘Foundation’’ in section 14(c) (42 U.S.C.

16 1873(c));

17 (4) by striking section 14(j) (42 U.S.C. 1873(j));

18 and

19 (5) by striking ‘‘Atomic Energy Commission’’ in

20 section 15(a) (42 U.S.C. 1874(a)) and inserting in

21 lieu thereof ‘‘Secretary of Energy’’.

22 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZATION

23 ACT, 1976 AMENDMENTS.—Section 6(a) of the National

24 Science Foundation Authorization Act, 1976 (42 U.S.C.
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1 1881a(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘social,’’ the first place

2 it appears.

3 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZATION

4 ACT OF 1988 AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 117(a)(1)(B)(v)

5 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of

6 1988 (42 U.S.C. 1881b(1)(B)(v)) is amended to read as

7 follows:

8 ‘‘(v) from schools established outside the several

9 States and the District of Columbia by any agency of

10 the Federal Government for dependents of its employ11 ees.’’.

12 (2) Section 117(a)(3)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

13 1881b(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Science and Engi14 neering Education’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Edu15 cation and Human Resources’’.

16 (d) EDUCATION FOR ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT

17 AMENDMENTS.—Section 107 of Education for Economic

18 Security Act (20 U.S.C. 3917) is repealed.

19 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The second subsection

20 (g) of section 3 of the National Science Foundation Act of

21 1950 is repealed.

22 SEC. 205. INDIRECT COSTS.

23 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.—Matching funds required pur24 suant to section 204(a)(2)(C) of the Academic Research Fa25 cilities Modernization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C.
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1 1862c(a)(2)(C)) shall not be considered facilities costs for

2 purposes of determining indirect cost rates.

3 (b) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of Science and

4 Technology Policy, in consultation with other relevant

5 agencies, shall prepare a report analyzing what steps would

6 be needed to—

7 (1) reduce by 10 percent the proportion of Fed8 eral assistance to institutions of higher education that

9 are allocated for indirect costs; and

10 (2) reduce the variance among indirect cost rates

11 of different institutions of higher education,

12 including an evaluation of the relative benefits and burdens

13 of each option on institutions of higher education. Such re14 port shall be transmitted to the Congress no later than De15 cember 31, 1995.

16 SEC. 206. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION AND FACILITIES.

17 The Foundation shall incorporate the guidelines set

18 forth in Important Notice No. 91, dated March 11, 1983

19 (48 Fed. Reg. 15754, April 12, 1983), relating to the use

20 and operation of Foundation-supported research instru21 mentation and facilities, in its notice of Grant General

22 Conditions, and shall examine more closely the adherence

23 of grantee organizations to such guidelines.
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1 SEC. 207. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

2 Persons temporarily employed by or at the Foundation

3 shall be subject to the same financial disclosure require4 ments and related sanctions under the Ethics in Govern5 ment Act of 1978 as are permanent employees of the Foun6 dation in equivalent positions.

7 SEC. 208. EDUCATIONAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR ACTIVE

8 DUTY.

9 In order to be eligible to receive funds from the Foun10 dation after September 30, 1995, an institution of higher

11 education must provide that whenever any student of the

12 institution who is a member of the National Guard, or other

13 reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States,

14 is called or ordered to active duty, other than active duty

15 for training, the institution shall grant the member a mili16 tary leave of absence from their education. Persons on mili17 tary leave of absence from their institution shall be entitled,

18 upon release from military duty, to be restored to the edu19 cational status they had attained prior to their being or20 dered to military duty without loss of academic credits

21 earned, scholarships or grants awarded, or tuition and

22 other fees paid prior to the commencement of the military

23 duty. It shall be the duty of the institution to refund tuition

24 or fees paid or to credit the tuition and fees to the next

25 semester or term after the termination of the educational

26 military leave of absence at the option of the student.
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1 SEC. 209. PROHIBITION OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.

2 None of the funds authorized by this Act shall be avail3 able for any activity whose purpose is to influence legisla4 tion pending before the Congress, provided that this shall

5 not prevent officers or employees of the United States or

6 of its departments or agencies from communicating to Mem7 bers of Congress on the request of any Member or to Con8 gress, through the proper channels, requests for legislation

9 or appropriations which they deem necessary for the effi10 cient conduct of the public business.

11 SEC. 210. SCIENCE STUDIES INSTITUTE.

12 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 822 of the National Defense

13 Authorization Act for Fiscal 1991 (42 U.S.C. 6686) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Critical Technologies Institute’’

16 in the section heading and in subsection (a), and in17 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Science Studies Institute’’;

18 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘As determined

19 by the chairman of the committee referred to in sub20 section (c), the’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The’’;

21 (3) by striking subsection (c), and redesignating

22 subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) as subsections (c), (d),

23 (e), and (f), respectively;

24 (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated by para25 graph (3) of this subsection—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘science and’’ after ‘‘devel2 opments and trends in’’ in paragraph (1);

3 (B) by striking ‘‘with particular emphasis’’

4 in paragraph (1) and all that follows through

5 the end of such paragraph and inserting in lieu

6 thereof ‘‘and developing and maintaining rel7 evant informational and analytical tools.’’;

8 (C) by striking ‘‘to determine’’ and all that

9 follows through ‘‘technology policies’’ in para10 graph (2) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘with

11 particular attention to the scope and content of

12 the Federal science and technology research and

13 develop portfolio as it affects interagency and

14 national issues’’;

15 (D) by amending paragraph (3) to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘(3) Initiation of studies and analysis of alter18 natives available for ensuring the long-term strength

19 of the United States in the development and applica20 tion of science and technology, including appropriate

21 roles for the Federal Government, State governments,

22 private industry, and institutions of higher education

23 in the development and application of science and

24 technology.’’;
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1 (E) by inserting ‘‘science and’’ after ‘‘Exec2 utive branch on’’ in paragraph (4)(A); and

3 (F) by amending paragraph (4)(B) to read

4 as follows:

5 ‘‘(B) to the interagency committees and

6 panels of the Federal Government concerned with

7 science and technology.’’;

8 (5) in subsection (d), as so redesignated by para9 graph (3) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘subsection

10 (d)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (c)’’;

11 and

12 (6) by amending subsection (f), as so redesig13 nated by paragraph (3) of this subsection, to read as

14 follows:

15 ‘‘(f) SPONSORSHIP.—The Director of the Office of

16 Science and Technology Policy shall be the sponsor of the

17 Institute.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING USAGE.—All references in Federal

19 law or regulations to the Critical Technologies Institute

20 shall be considered to be references to the Science Studies

21 Institute.

22 SEC. 211. EDUCATIONAL IMPACT.

23 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

24 (1) Federal research funds made available to in25 stitutions of higher education often create incentives
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1 for such institutions to emphasize research over un2 dergraduate teaching and to narrow the focus of their

3 graduate programs; and

4 (2) National Science Foundation funds for Re5 search and Related Activities should be spent in the

6 manner most likely to improve the quality of under7 graduate and graduate education in institutions of

8 higher education.

9 (b) EDUCATIONAL IMPACT.—(1) The impact that a

10 grant or cooperative agreement by the National Science

11 Foundation would have on undergraduate and graduate

12 education at an institution of higher education shall be a

13 factor in any decision whether to award such grant or

14 agreement to that institution.

15 (2) Paragraph (1) shall be effective with respect to any

16 grant or cooperative agreement awarded after September

17 30, 1996.

18 (c) REPORT.—The Director shall provide a plan for

19 the implementation of subsection (b) of this section, no later

20 than December 31, 1995, to the Committee on Science of

21 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on

23 Labor and Human Resources of the Senate.
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1 SEC. 212. DIVISIONS OF THE FOUNDATION.

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 8 of the National Science

3 Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1866) is amended by

4 inserting ‘‘The Director may appoint, in consultation with

5 the Board, not more than 6 Assistant Directors to assist

6 in managing the Divisions.’’ after ‘‘time to time deter7 mine.’’.

8 (b) REPORT.—By November 15, 1995, the Director

9 shall transmit to the Congress a report on the reorganiza10 tion of the National Science Foundation required as a re11 sult of the amendment made by subsection (a).

12 SEC. 213. LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORIZATION FOR FISCAL YEAR

14 1996.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no

15 sums are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1996

16 for the activities of the National Science Foundation unless

17 such sums are specifically authorized to be appropriated by

18 this Act.

19 (b) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—No sums are au20 thorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year after fiscal

21 year 1996 for the activities of the National Science Founda22 tion unless such sums are specifically authorized to be ap23 propriated by Act of Congress with respect to such fiscal

24 year.
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1 SEC. 214. ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall exclude from

3 consideration for awards of financial assistance made by

4 the National Science Foundation after fiscal year 1995 any

5 person who received funds, other than those described in

6 subsection (b), appropriated for a fiscal year after fiscal

7 year 1995, from any Federal funding source for a project

8 that was not subjected to a competitive, merit-based award

9 process. Any exclusion from consideration pursuant to this

10 section shall be effective for a period of 5 years after the

11 person receives such Federal funds.

12 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to

13 awards to persons who are members of a class specified by

14 law for which assistance is awarded to members of the class

15 according to a formula provided by law.

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