Union Calendar No. 125

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1870

[Report No. 104–232]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the activities of the

other purposes.and Technology, for fiscal year 1996, and fortivities of the National Institute of Standardsices and Construction of Research Facilities acand for Scientific and Technical Research ServUnder Secretary of Commerce for Technology,

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. 125

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1870

[Report No. 104–232]

To authorize appropriations for the activities of the Under Secretary of

Commerce for Technology, and for Scientific and Technical Research

Services and Construction of Research Facilities activities of the National

Institute of Standards and Technology, for fiscal year 1996, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 16, 1995

Mrs. MORELLA 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 16, 1995]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the activities of the Under

Secretary of Commerce for Technology, and for Scientific

and Technical Research Services and Construction of

Research Facilities activities of the National Institute

of Standards and Technology, for fiscal year 1996, and

for other purposes.
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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 ‘‘American Technology

5 Advancement Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) UNDER SECRETARY FOR TECHNOLOGY.—There are

8 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce

9 for the activities of the Under Secretary for Technology/Of10 fice of Technology Policy $5,066,000 for fiscal year 1996.

11 (b) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH12 NOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the

13 Secretary of Commerce for the following activities of the Na14 tional Institute of Standards and Technology:

15 (1) For Scientific and Technical Research and

16 Services, $275,579,000 for fiscal year 1996, of

17 which—

18 (A) $39,628,000 shall be for Electronics and

19 Electrical Engineering;

20 (B) $19,565,000 shall be for Manufacturing

21 Engineering;

22 (C) $28,127,000 shall be for Chemical

23 Science and Technology;

24 (D) $28,082,000 shall be for Physics;
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1 (E) $54,314,000 shall be for Material

2 Science and Engineering;

3 (F) $13,517,000 shall be for Building and

4 Fire Research;

5 (G) $30,704,000 shall be for Computer Sys6 tems;

7 (H) $10,964,000 shall be for Applied Mathe8 matics and Scientific Computing;

9 (I) $19,109,000 shall be for Technical As10 sistance;

11 (J) $28,169,000 shall be for Research Sup12 port; and

13 (K) $3,400,000 shall be for the Malcolm

14 Baldrige National Quality Program under sec15 tion 17 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In16 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711a); and

17 (2) for Construction of Research Facilities,

18 $62,055,000 for fiscal year 1996.

19 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH20 NOLOGY ACT AMENDMENTS.

21 The National Institute of Standards and Technology

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended—

23 (1) in section 10(a)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘nine’’ and inserting in lieu

25 thereof ‘‘15’’; and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘five’’ and inserting in lieu

2 thereof ‘‘10’’;

3 (2) in section 15—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Pay Act of 1945; and’’ and

5 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Pay Act of 1945;’’; and

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘; and (h) the provision of

7 transportation services for employees of the Insti8 tute between the facilities of the Institute and

9 nearby public transportation, notwithstanding

10 section 1344 of title 31, United States Code’’

11 after ‘‘interests of the Government’’; and

12 (3) in section 19, by striking ‘‘nor more than

13 forty’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘nor more than

14 60’’.

15 SEC. 4. STEVENSON-WYDLER TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

16 ACT OF 1980 AMENDMENTS.

17 The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of

18 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended—

19 (1) in section 11(i) (15 U.S.C. 3710(i))—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘loan, lease,’’ after ‘‘de21 partment, may’’; and

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘Actions taken under this

23 subsection shall not be subject to Federal require24 ments on the disposal of property.’’ after ‘‘edu25 cation and research activities.’’; and
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1 (2) in section 17(c) (15 U.S.C. 3711a(c))—

2 (A) by striking paragraph (2);

3 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

4 paragraph (2); and

5 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated by

6 subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, by striking

7 ‘‘two’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘4’’.

8 SEC. 5. PERSONNEL.

9 The personnel management demonstration project es10 tablished under section 10 of the National Bureau of Stand11 ards Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 (15 U.S.C. 275

12 note) is extended indefinitely.

13 SEC. 6. FASTENER QUALITY ACT AMENDMENTS.

14 (a) SECTION 2 AMENDMENTS.—Section 2 of the Fas15 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401) is amended—

16 (1) by striking subsection (a)(4), and redesignat17 ing paragraphs (5) through (9) as paragraphs (4)

18 through (8), respectively;

19 (2) in subsection (a)(7), as so redesignated by

20 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘by lot

21 number’’; and

22 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘used in criti23 cal applications’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘in

24 commerce’’.
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1 (b) SECTION 3 AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Fas2 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5402) is amended—

3 (1) in paragraph (1)(B) by striking ‘‘having a

4 minimum tensile strength of 150,000 pounds per

5 square inch’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘having a

6 minimum Rockwell C hardness of 40 or above’’;

7 (2) in paragraph (2)—

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘International Organiza9 tion for Standardization,’’ after ‘‘Society of

10 Automotive Engineers,’’; and

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘consensus’’ after ‘‘or any

12 other’’;

13 (3) in paragraph (5)—

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘standard or

15 specification,’’ in subparagraph (B);

16 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara17 graph (C);

18 (C) by striking subparagraph (D); and

19 (D) by inserting ‘‘or produced in accord20 ance with ASTM F 432’’ after ‘‘307 Grade A’’;

21 (4) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘other person’’

22 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘government agency’’;

23 (5) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘Standard’’

24 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Standards’’;
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1 (6) by striking paragraph (11) and redesignat2 ing paragraphs (12) through (15) as paragraphs (11)

3 through (14), respectively;

4 (7) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated by

5 paragraph (6) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘, a gov6 ernment agency’’ and all that follows through ‘‘mark7 ings of any fastener’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or

8 a government agency’’; and

9 (8) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated by

10 paragraph (6) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘for the

11 purpose of achieving a uniform hardness’’ after

12 ‘‘quenching and tempering’’.

13 (c) SECTION 4 REPEAL.—Section 4 of the Fastener

14 Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5403) is repealed.

15 (d) SECTION 5 AMENDMENTS.—Section 5 of the Fas16 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5404) is amended—

17 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B) and (2)(A)(i) by

18 striking ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting in

19 lieu thereof ‘‘subsections (b), (c), and (d)’’;

20 (2) in subsection (c)(2) by striking ‘‘or, where

21 applicable’’ and all that follows through ‘‘section

22 7(c)(1)’’;

23 (3) in subsection (c)(3) by striking ‘‘, such as the

24 chemical, dimensional, physical, mechanical, and any

25 other’’;
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1 (4) in subsection (c)(4) by inserting ‘‘except as

2 provided in subsection (d),’’ before ‘‘state whether’’;

3 and

4 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub5 section:

6 ‘‘(d) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE FOR CHEMICAL

7 CHARACTERISTICS.—Notwithstanding the requirements of

8 subsections (b) and (c), a manufacturer shall be deemed to

9 have demonstrated, for purposes of subsection (a)(1), that

10 the chemical characteristics of a lot conform to the stand11 ards and specifications to which the manufacturer rep12 resents such lot has been manufactured if the following re13 quirements are met:

14 ‘‘(1) The coil or heat number of metal from

15 which such lot was fabricated has been inspected and

16 tested with respect to its chemical characteristics by

17 a laboratory accredited in accordance with the proce18 dures and conditions specified by the Secretary under

19 section 6.

20 ‘‘(2) Such laboratory has provided to the manu21 facturer, either directly or through the metal manu22 facturer, a written inspection and testing report,

23 which shall be in a form prescribed by the Secretary

24 by regulation, listing the chemical characteristics of

25 such coil or heat number.
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1 ‘‘(3) The report described in paragraph (2) indi2 cates that the chemical characteristics of such coil or

3 heat number conform to those required by the stand4 ards and specifications to which the manufacturer

5 represents such lot has been manufactured.

6 ‘‘(4) The manufacturer demonstrates that such

7 lot has been fabricated from the coil or heat number

8 of metal to which the report described in paragraphs

9 (2) and (3) relates.

10 In prescribing the form of report required by subsection (c),

11 the Secretary shall provide for an alternative to the state12 ment required by subsection (c)(4), insofar as such state13 ment pertains to chemical characteristics, for cases in which

14 a manufacturer elects to use the procedure permitted by this

15 subsection.’’.

16 (e) SECTION 6 AMENDMENT.—Section 6(a)(1) of the

17 Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5405(a)(1)) is amended

18 by striking ‘‘Within 180 days after the date of enactment

19 of this Act, the’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The’’.

20 (f) SECTION 7 AMENDMENTS.—Section 7 of the Fas21 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5406) is amended—

22 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol23 lows:

24 ‘‘(a) DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED FASTENERS.—It shall

25 be unlawful for a manufacturer to sell any shipment of fas-
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1 teners covered by this Act which are manufactured in the

2 United States unless the fasteners—

3 ‘‘(1) have been manufactured according to the re4 quirements of the applicable standards and specifica5 tions and have been inspected and tested by a labora6 tory accredited in accordance with the procedures and

7 conditions specified by the Secretary under section 6;

8 and

9 ‘‘(2) an original laboratory testing report de10 scribed in section 5(c) and a manufacturer’s certifi11 cate of conformance are on file with the manufac12 turer, or under such custody as may be prescribed by

13 the Secretary, and available for inspection.’’;

14 (2) in subsection (c)(2) by inserting ‘‘to the

15 same’’ after ‘‘in the same manner and’’;

16 (3) in subsection (d)(1) by striking ‘‘certificate’’

17 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘test report’’; and

18 (4) by striking subsections (e), (f), and (g) and

19 inserting in lieu thereof the following:

20 ‘‘(e) SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER.—If a person who pur21 chases fasteners for any purpose so requests either prior to

22 the sale or at the time of sale, the seller shall conspicuously

23 mark the container of the fasteners with the lot number from

24 which such fasteners were taken.’’.
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1 (g) SECTION 9 AMENDMENT.—Section 9 of the Fas2 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5408) is amended by adding

3 at the end the following new subsection:

4 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may designate

5 officers or employees of the Department of Commerce to con6 duct investigations pursuant to this Act. In conducting such

7 investigations, those officers or employees may, to the extent

8 necessary or appropriate to the enforcement of this Act, ex9 ercise such authorities as are conferred upon them by other

10 laws of the United States, subject to policies and procedures

11 approved by the Attorney General.’’.

12 (h) SECTION 10 AMENDMENTS.—Section 10 of the Fas13 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5409) is amended—

14 (1) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘10

15 years’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘5 years’’; and

16 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘any subse17 quent’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the subsequent’’.

18 (i) SECTION 13 AMENDMENT.—Section 13 of the Fas19 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5412) is amended by striking

20 ‘‘within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act’’.

21 (j) SECTION 14 REPEAL.—Section 14 of the Fastener

22 Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5413) is repealed.

23 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.

24 None of the funds authorized by this Act shall be avail25 able for any activity whose purpose is to influence legisla-
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1 tion pending before the Congress, provided that this shall

2 not prevent officers or employees of the United States or

3 of its departments or agencies from communicating to Mem4 bers of Congress on the request of any Member or to Con5 gress, through the proper channels, requests for legislation

6 or appropriations which they deem necessary for the effi7 cient conduct of the public business.

8 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.

9 (a) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORIZATION FOR FISCAL YEAR

10 1996.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no

11 sums are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1996

12 for the activities of the Under Secretary for Technology/Of13 fice of Technology Policy or the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology unless such sums are specifically au15 thorized to be appropriated by this Act.

16 (b) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—No sums are au17 thorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year after fiscal

18 year 1996 for the activities of the Under Secretary for Tech19 nology/Office of Technology Policy or the National Institute

20 of Standards and Technology unless such sums are specifi21 cally authorized to be appropriated by Act of Congress with

22 respect to such fiscal year.

23 SEC. 9. ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.

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

25 consideration for awards of financial assistance made by
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1 the Under Secretary for Technology/Office of Technology

2 Policy or the National Institute of Standards and Tech3 nology after fiscal year 1995 any person who received funds,

4 other than those described in subsection (b), appropriated

5 for a fiscal year after fiscal year 1995, from any Federal

6 funding source for a project that was not subjected to a com7 petitive, merit-based award process. Any exclusion from

8 consideration pursuant to this section shall be effective for

9 a period of 5 years after the person receives such Federal

10 funds.

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

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

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

14 according to a formula provided by law.

15 SEC. 10. STANDARDS CONFORMITY.

16 (a) USE OF STANDARDS.—Section 2(b) of the National

17 Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C.

18 272(b)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘, including comparing stand20 ards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Federal Govern21 ment’’;

22 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (11)

23 as paragraphs (4) through (12), respectively; and

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow25 ing new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(3) to compare standards used in scientific in2 vestigations, engineering, manufacturing, commerce,

3 industry, and educational institutions with the stand4 ards adopted or recognized by the Federal Govern5 ment and to coordinate the use by Federal agencies

6 of private sector standards, emphasizing where pos7 sible the use of standards developed by private, con8 sensus organizations;’’.

9 (b) CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES.—Section

10 2(b) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

11 Act (15 U.S.C. 272(b)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

13 (11), as so redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this

14 section;

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (12), as so redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of

17 this section, and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new para19 graph:

20 ‘‘(13) to coordinate Federal, State, local, and

21 private sector standards conformity assessment activi22 ties, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary dupli23 cation and complexity in the development and pro24 mulgation of conformity assessment requirements and

25 measures.’’.
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1 (c) TRANSMITTAL OF PLAN TO CONGRESS.—The Na2 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall, by Jan3 uary 1, 1996, transmit to the Congress a plan for imple4 menting the amendments made by this section.

5 SEC. 11. FURTHER AUTHORIZATIONS.

6 Nothing in this Act shall preclude further authoriza7 tion of appropriations for the Manufacturing Extension

8 Partnerships program under sections 25 and 26 of the Na9 tional Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15

10 U.S.C. 278k and 278l) for fiscal year 1996: Provided, That

11 authorization allocations adopted by the Conference Com12 mittee on House Concurrent Resolution 67, and approved

13 by Congress, allow for such further authorizations.

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