Union Calendar No. 197

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2196

[Report No. 104–390]

A BILL

To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innoment agreements, and for other purposes. made under cooperative research and develop- vation Act of 1980 with respect to inventions

DECEMBER 7, 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. 197

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2196

[Report No. 104–390]

To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 with

respect to inventions made under cooperative research and development

agreements, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 4, 1995

Mrs. MORELLA (for herself, Mr. WALKER, Mr. BROWN of California, and Mr.

TANNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science

DECEMBER 7, 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 August 4, 1995]

A BILL

To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act

of 1980 with respect to inventions made under cooperative research and development agreements, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Technology

3 Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds the following:

6 (1) Bringing technology and industrial innova7 tion to the marketplace is central to the economic, en8 vironmental, and social well-being of the people of the

9 United States.

10 (2) The Federal Government can help United

11 States business to speed the development of new prod12 ucts and processes by entering into cooperative re13 search and development agreements which make

14 available the assistance of Federal laboratories to the

15 private sector, but the commercialization of tech16 nology and industrial innovation in the United

17 States depends upon actions by business.

18 (3) The commercialization of technology and in19 dustrial innovation in the United States will be en20 hanced if companies, in return for reasonable com21 pensation to the Federal Government, can more easily

22 obtain exclusive licenses to inventions which develop

23 as a result of cooperative research with scientists em24 ployed by Federal laboratories.
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1 SEC. 3. USE OF FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY.

2 Subparagraph (B) of section 11(e)(7) of the Stevenson3 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.

4 3710(e)(7)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(B) A transfer shall be made by any Federal agency

6 under subparagraph (A), for any fiscal year, only if the

7 amount so transferred by that agency (as determined under

8 such subparagraph) would exceed $10,000.’’.

9 SEC. 4. TITLE TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ARISING FROM

10 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP11 MENT AGREEMENTS.

12 Subsection (b) of section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler

13 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(b))

14 is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(b) ENUMERATED AUTHORITY.—(1) Under an agree16 ment entered into pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the labora17 tory may grant, or agree to grant in advance, to a collabo18 rating party patent licenses or assignments, or options

19 thereto, in any invention made in whole or in part by a

20 laboratory employee under the agreement, for reasonable

21 compensation when appropriate. The laboratory shall en22 sure, through such agreement, that the collaborating party

23 has the option to choose an exclusive license for a field of

24 use for any such invention under the agreement or, if there

25 is more than one collaborating party, that the collaborating

26 parties are offered the option to hold licensing rights that
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1 collectively encompass the rights that would be held under

2 such an exclusive license by one party. In consideration for

3 the Government’s contribution under the agreement, grants

4 under this paragraph shall be subject to the following ex5 plicit conditions:

6 ‘‘(A) A nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable,

7 paid-up license from the collaborating party to the

8 laboratory to practice the invention or have the in9 vention practiced throughout the world by or on be10 half of the Government. In the exercise of such license,

11 the Government shall not publicly disclose trade se12 crets or commercial or financial information that is

13 privileged or confidential within the meaning of sec14 tion 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, or which

15 would be considered as such if it had been obtained

16 from a non-Federal party.

17 ‘‘(B) If a laboratory assigns title or grants an

18 exclusive license to such an invention, the Government

19 shall retain the right—

20 ‘‘(i) to require the collaborating party to

21 grant to a responsible applicant a nonexclusive,

22 partially exclusive, or exclusive license to use the

23 invention in the applicant’s licensed field of use,

24 on terms that are reasonable under the cir25 cumstances; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) if the collaborating party fails to grant

2 such a license, to grant the license itself.

3 ‘‘(C) The Government may exercise its right re4 tained under subparagraphs (B) (ii) and (iii) only if

5 the Government finds that—

6 ‘‘(i) the action is necessary to meet health

7 or safety needs that are not reasonably satisfied

8 by the collaborating party;

9 ‘‘(ii) the action is necessary to meet require10 ments for public use specified by Federal regula11 tions, and such requirements are not reasonably

12 satisfied by the collaborating party; or

13 ‘‘(iii) the collaborating party has failed to

14 comply with an agreement containing provisions

15 described in subsection (c)(4)(B).

16 ‘‘(2) Under agreements entered into pursuant to sub17 section (a)(1), the laboratory shall ensure that a collaborat18 ing party may retain title to any invention made solely

19 by its employee in exchange for normally granting the Gov20 ernment a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid21 up license to practice the invention or have the invention

22 practiced throughout the world by or on behalf of the Gov23 ernment for research or other Government purposes.

24 ‘‘(3) Under an agreement entered into pursuant to sub25 section (a)(1), a laboratory may—
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1 ‘‘(A) accept, retain, and use funds, personnel,

2 services, and property from a collaborating party and

3 provide personnel, services, and property to a collabo4 rating party;

5 ‘‘(B) use funds received from a collaborating

6 party in accordance with subparagraph (A) to hire

7 personnel to carry out the agreement who will not be

8 subject to full-time-equivalent restrictions of the agen9 cy;

10 ‘‘(C) to the extent consistent with any applicable

11 agency requirements or standards of conduct, permit

12 an employee or former employee of the laboratory to

13 participate in an effort to commercialize an invention

14 made by the employee or former employee while in the

15 employment or service of the Government; and

16 ‘‘(D) waive, subject to reservation by the Govern17 ment of a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up license to

18 practice the invention or have the invention practiced

19 throughout the world by or on behalf of the Govern20 ment, in advance, in whole or in part, any right of

21 ownership which the Federal Government may have

22 to any subject invention made under the agreement by

23 a collaborating party or employee of a collaborating

24 party.
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1 ‘‘(4) A collaborating party in an exclusive license in

2 any invention made under an agreement entered into pur3 suant to subsection (a)(1) shall have the right of enforce4 ment under chapter 29 of title 35, United States Code.

5 ‘‘(5) A Government-owned, contractor-operated labora6 tory that enters into a cooperative research and develop7 ment agreement pursuant to subsection (a)(1) may use or

8 obligate royalties or other income accruing to the laboratory

9 under such agreement with respect to any invention only—

10 ‘‘(A) for payments to inventors;

11 ‘‘(B) for purposes described in clauses (i), (ii),

12 (iii), and (iv) of section 14(a)(1)(B); and

13 ‘‘(C) for scientific research and development con14 sistent with the research and development missions

15 and objectives of the laboratory.’’.

16 SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME FROM INTELLECTUAL

17 PROPERTY RECEIVED BY FEDERAL LABORA18 TORIES.

19 Section 14 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno20 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710c) is amended—

21 (1) by amending subsection (a)(1) to read as fol22 lows:

23 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (4),

24 any royalties or other payments received by a Federal agen25 cy from the licensing and assignment of inventions under
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1 agreements entered into by Federal laboratories under sec2 tion 12, and from the licensing of inventions of Federal lab3 oratories under section 207 of title 35, United States Code,

4 or under any other provision of law, shall be retained by

5 the laboratory which produced the invention and shall be

6 disposed of as follows:

7 ‘‘(A)(i) The head of the agency or laboratory, or

8 such individual’s designee, shall pay each year the

9 first $2,000, and thereafter at least 15 percent, of the

10 royalties or other payments to the inventor or

11 coinventors.

12 ‘‘(ii) An agency or laboratory may provide ap13 propriate incentives, from royalties, or other pay14 ments, to laboratory employees who are not an inven15 tor of such inventions but who substantially increased

16 the technical value of such inventions.

17 ‘‘(iii) The agency or laboratory shall retain the

18 royalties and other payments received from an inven19 tion until the agency or laboratory makes payments

20 to employees of a laboratory under clause (i) or (ii).

21 ‘‘(B) The balance of the royalties or other pay22 ments shall be transferred by the agency to its labora23 tories, with the majority share of the royalties or

24 other payments from any invention going to the lab25 oratory where the invention occurred. The royalties or
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1 other payments so transferred to any laboratory may

2 be used or obligated by that laboratory during the fis3 cal year in which they are received or during the suc4 ceeding fiscal year—

5 ‘‘(i) to reward scientific, engineering, and

6 technical employees of the laboratory, including

7 developers of sensitive or classified technology, re8 gardless of whether the technology has commer9 cial applications;

10 ‘‘(ii) to further scientific exchange among

11 the laboratories of the agency;

12 ‘‘(iii) for education and training of employ13 ees consistent with the research and development

14 missions and objectives of the agency or labora15 tory, and for other activities that increase the

16 potential for transfer of the technology of the lab17 oratories of the agency;

18 ‘‘(iv) for payment of expenses incidental to

19 the administration and licensing of intellectual

20 property by the agency or laboratory with re21 spect to inventions made at that laboratory, in22 cluding the fees or other costs for the services of

23 other agencies, persons, or organizations for in24 tellectual property management and licensing

25 services; or
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1 ‘‘(v) for scientific research and development

2 consistent with the research and development

3 missions and objectives of the laboratory.

4 ‘‘(C) All royalties or other payments retained by

5 the agency or laboratory after payments have been

6 made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) that is

7 unobligated and unexpended at the end of the second

8 fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year in which the

9 royalties and other payments were received shall be

10 paid into the Treasury.’’;

11 (2) in subsection (a)(2)—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘or other payments’’ after

13 ‘‘royalties’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘for the purposes described

15 in clauses (i) through (iv) of paragraph (1)(B)

16 during that fiscal year or the succeeding fiscal

17 year’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘under para18 graph (1)(B)’’;

19 (3) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’

20 both places it appears and inserting ‘‘$150,000’’;

21 (4) in subsection (a)(4)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘income’’ each place it ap23 pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘payments’’;
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘the payment of royalties to

2 inventors’’ in the first sentence thereof and in3 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘payments to inventors’’;

4 (C) by striking ‘‘clause (i) of paragraph

5 (1)(B)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘clause (iv)

6 of paragraph (1)(B)’’;

7 (D) by striking ‘‘payment of the royalties,’’

8 in the second sentence thereof and inserting in

9 lieu thereof ‘‘offsetting the payments to inven10 tors,’’; and

11 (E) by striking ‘‘clauses (i) through (iv)

12 of’’; and

13 (5) by amending paragraph (1) of subsection (b)

14 to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(1) by a contractor, grantee, or participant, or

16 an employee of a contractor, grantee, or participant,

17 in an agreement or other arrangement with the agen18 cy, or’’.

19 SEC. 6. EMPLOYEE ACTIVITIES.

20 Section 15(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In21 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710d(a)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘the right of ownership to an in23 vention under this Act’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

24 ‘‘ownership of or the right of ownership to an inven25 tion made by a Federal employee’’; and
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘obtain or’’ after ‘‘the Govern2 ment, to’’.

3 SEC. 7. AMENDMENT TO BAYH–DOLE ACT.

4 Section 210(e) of title 35, United States Code, is

5 amended by striking ‘‘, as amended by the Federal Tech6 nology Transfer Act of 1986,’’.

7 SEC. 8. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH8 NOLOGY ACT AMENDMENTS.

9 The National Institute of Standards and Technology

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

11 (1) in section 10(a)—

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

13 thereof ‘‘15’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘five’’ and inserting in lieu

15 thereof ‘‘10’’;

16 (2) in section 15—

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

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

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

20 transportation services for employees of the Insti21 tute between the facilities of the Institute and

22 nearby public transportation, notwithstanding

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

24 after ‘‘interests of the Government’’; and
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1 (3) in section 19, by striking ‘‘nor more than

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

3 60’’.

4 SEC. 9. RESEARCH EQUIPMENT.

5 Section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In6 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(i)) is amended—

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘loan, lease,’’ after ‘‘department,

8 may’’; and

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘Actions taken under this sub10 section shall not be subject to Federal requirements on

11 the disposal of property.’’ after ‘‘education and re12 search activities.’’.

13 SEC. 10. PERSONNEL.

14 The personnel management demonstration project es15 tablished under section 10 of the National Bureau of Stand16 ards Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 (15 U.S.C. 275

17 note) is extended indefinitely.

18 SEC. 11. FASTENER QUALITY ACT AMENDMENTS.

19 (a) SECTION 2 AMENDMENTS.—Section 2 of the Fas20 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401) is amended—

21 (1) by striking subsection (a)(4), and redesignat22 ing paragraphs (5) through (9) as paragraphs (4)

23 through (8), respectively;
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1 (2) in subsection (a)(7), as so redesignated by

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

3 number’’; and

4 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘used in criti5 cal applications’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘in

6 commerce’’.

7 (b) SECTION 3 AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Fas8 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5402) is amended—

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

10 minimum tensile strength of 150,000 pounds per

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

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

13 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘consensus’’

14 after ‘‘or any other’’;

15 (3) in paragraph (5)—

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

17 specification,’’ in subparagraph (B);

18 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara19 graph (C);

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

21 (D) by inserting ‘‘or produced in accord22 ance with ASTM F 432’’ after ‘‘307 Grade A’’;

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

24 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘government agency’’;
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1 (5) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘Standard’’

2 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Standards’’;

3 (6) by striking paragraph (11) and redesignat4 ing paragraphs (12) through (15) as paragraphs (11)

5 through (14), respectively;

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

7 paragraph (6) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘, a gov8 ernment agency’’ and all that follows through ‘‘mark9 ings of any fastener’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or

10 a government agency’’; and

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

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

13 purpose of achieving a uniform hardness’’ after

14 ‘‘quenching and tempering’’.

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

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

17 (d) SECTION 5 AMENDMENTS.—Section 5 of the Fas18 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5404) is amended—

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

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

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

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

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

24 7(c)(1)’’;
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1 (3) in subsection (c)(3) by striking ‘‘, such as the

2 chemical, dimensional, physical, mechanical, and any

3 other’’;

4 (4) in subsection (c)(4) by inserting ‘‘except as

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

6 and

7 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section:

9 ‘‘(d) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE FOR CHEMICAL

10 CHARACTERISTICS.—Notwithstanding the requirements of

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

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

13 the chemical characteristics of a lot conform to the stand14 ards and specifications to which the manufacturer rep15 resents such lot has been manufactured if the following re16 quirements are met:

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

18 which such lot was fabricated has been inspected and

19 tested with respect to its chemical characteristics by

20 a laboratory accredited in accordance with the proce21 dures and conditions specified by the Secretary under

22 section 6.

23 ‘‘(2) Such laboratory has provided to the manu24 facturer, either directly or through the metal manu25 facturer, a written inspection and testing report,
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1 which shall be in a form prescribed by the Secretary

2 by regulation, listing the chemical characteristics of

3 such coil or heat number.

4 ‘‘(3) The report described in paragraph (2) indi5 cates that the chemical characteristics of such coil or

6 heat number conform to those required by the stand7 ards and specifications to which the manufacturer

8 represents such lot has been manufactured.

9 ‘‘(4) The manufacturer demonstrates that such

10 lot has been fabricated from the coil or heat number

11 of metal to which the report described in paragraphs

12 (2) and (3) relates.

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

14 the Secretary shall provide for an alternative to the state15 ment required by subsection (c)(4), insofar as such state16 ment pertains to chemical characteristics, for cases in which

17 a manufacturer elects to use the procedure permitted by this

18 subsection.’’.

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

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

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

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

23 (f) SECTION 7 AMENDMENTS.—Section 7 of the Fas24 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5406) is amended—
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1 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol2 lows:

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

4 be unlawful for a manufacturer to sell any shipment of fas5 teners covered by this Act which are manufactured in the

6 United States unless the fasteners—

7 ‘‘(1) have been manufactured according to the re8 quirements of the applicable standards and specifica9 tions and have been inspected and tested by a labora10 tory accredited in accordance with the procedures and

11 conditions specified by the Secretary under section 6;

12 and

13 ‘‘(2) an original laboratory testing report de14 scribed in section 5(c) and a manufacturer’s certifi15 cate of conformance are on file with the manufac16 turer, or under such custody as may be prescribed by

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

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

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

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

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

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

23 inserting in lieu thereof the following:

24 ‘‘(e) COMMINGLING.—It shall be unlawful for any

25 manufacturer, importer, or private label distributor to com-
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1 mingle like fasteners from different lots in the same con2 tainer, except that such manufacturer, importer, or private

3 label distributor may commingle like fasteners of the same

4 type, grade, and dimension from not more than two tested

5 and certified lots in the same container during repackaging

6 and plating operations. Any container which contains fas7 teners from two lots shall be conspicuously marked with the

8 lot identification numbers of both lots.

9 ‘‘(f) SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER.—If a person who pur10 chases fasteners for any purpose so requests either prior to

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

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

13 which such fasteners were taken.’’.

14 (g) SECTION 9 AMENDMENT.—Section 9 of the Fas15 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5408) is amended by adding

16 at the end the following new subsection:

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

18 officers or employees of the Department of Commerce to con19 duct investigations pursuant to this Act. In conducting such

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

21 necessary or appropriate to the enforcement of this Act, ex22 ercise such authorities as are conferred upon them by other

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

24 approved by the Attorney General.’’.
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1 (h) SECTION 10 AMENDMENTS.—Section 10 of the Fas2 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5409) is amended—

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

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

5 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘any subse6 quent’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the subsequent’’.

7 (i) SECTION 13 AMENDMENT.—Section 13 of the Fas8 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5412) is amended by striking

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

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

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

12 SEC. 12. STANDARDS CONFORMITY.

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

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

15 272(b)) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, including

17 comparing standards’’ and all that follows through

18 ‘‘Federal Government’’;

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

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

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow22 ing new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(3) to compare standards used in scientific in24 vestigations, engineering, manufacturing, commerce,

25 industry, and educational institutions with the stand-
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1 ards adopted or recognized by the Federal Govern2 ment and to coordinate the use by Federal agencies

3 of private sector standards, emphasizing where pos4 sible the use of standards developed by private, con5 sensus organizations;’’.

6 (b) CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES.—Section

7 2(b) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 272(b)) is amended—

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

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

11 section;

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (12), as so redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of

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

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new para16 graph:

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

18 private sector standards conformity assessment activi19 ties, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary dupli20 cation and complexity in the development and pro21 mulgation of conformity assessment requirements and

22 measures.’’.

23 (c) TRANSMITTAL OF PLAN TO CONGRESS.—The Na24 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall, by Jan-
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1 uary 1, 1996, transmit to the Congress a plan for imple2 menting the amendments made by this section.

3 (d) UTILIZATION OF CONSENSUS STANDARDS BY FED4 ERAL AGENCIES; REPORTS.—(1) To the extent practicable,

5 all Federal agencies and departments shall use, for procure6 ment and regulatory applications, standards that are devel7 oped or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies.

8 (2) Federal agencies and departments shall consult

9 with voluntary, private sector, consensus standards bodies,

10 and shall participate with such bodies in the development

11 of standards, as appropriate in carrying out paragraph (1).

12 (3) If a Federal agency or department elects to use,

13 for procurement or regulatory applications, standards that

14 are not developed or adopted by voluntary consensus stand15 ards bodies, the head of such agency or department shall

16 transmit to the Office of Management and Budget an expla17 nation of the reasons for adopting such standards. The Of18 fice of Management and Budget shall annually transmit to

19 the Congress all explanations received by it under this sub20 section.

21 SEC. 13. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

22 It is the sense of the Congress that the Malcolm

23 Baldrige National Quality Award program offers substan24 tial benefits to United States industry, and that all funds
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1 appropriated for such program should be spent in support

2 of the goals of the program.

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