I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8673 

To establish in the National Institute of Standards and Technology the 

Foundation for Standards and Metrology, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2024 

Ms. STEVENS (for herself and Mr. OBERNOLTE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish in the National Institute of Standards and Technology the Foundation for Standards and Metrology, 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 ‘‘Expanding Partner5 ships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FOUNDATION FOR STANDARDS AND METROLOGY. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Director, shall establish a nonprofit corpora9 tion to be known as the ‘‘Foundation for Standards and 

10 Metrology’’. 


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1 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the Foundation shall 

2 be to— 

3 (1) support the Institute in carrying out its ac4 tivities and mission to advance measurement science, 

5 technical standards, and technology in ways that en6 hance the economic security and prosperity of the 

7 United States; and 

8 (2) advance collaboration with researchers, in9 stitutions of higher education, industry, and non10 profit and philanthropic organizations to accelerate 

11 the development of technical standards, measure12 ment science, and the commercialization of emerging 

13 technologies in the United States. 

14 (c) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out its mission under 

15 subsection (b), the Foundation may carry out the fol16 lowing: 

17 (1) Support international metrology and tech18 nical standards engagement activities. 

19 (2) Support studies, projects, and research on 

20 metrology and the development of benchmarks and 

21 technical standards infrastructure across the Insti22 tute’s mission areas. 

23 (3) Advance collaboration between the Institute 

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1 cation, federally funded research and development 

2 centers, and State, Tribal, and local governments. 

3 (4) Support the expansion and improvement of 

4 research facilities and infrastructure at the Institute 

5 to advance the development of emerging tech6 nologies. 

7 (5) Support the commercialization of federally 

8 funded research. 

9 (6) Conduct education and outreach activities. 

10 (7) Offer direct support to NIST associates, in11 cluding through the provision of fellowships, grants, 

12 stipends, travel, health insurance, professional devel13 opment training, housing, technical and administra14 tive assistance, recognition awards for outstanding 

15 performance, and occupational safety and awareness 

16 training and support, and other appropriate expendi17 tures. 

18 (8) Conduct such other activities as determined 

19 necessary by the Foundation to carry out its mis20 sion. 

21 (d) AUTHORITY OF THE FOUNDATION.—The Foun22 dation shall be the sole entity responsible for carrying out 

23 the activities described in subsection (c). 

24 (e) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—The Foundation 

25 shall convene, and may consult with, representatives from 


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1 the Institute, institutions of higher education, the private 

2 sector, non-profit organizations, and commercialization or3 ganizations to develop activities for the mission of the 

4 Foundation under subsection (b) and to advance the ac5 tivities of the Foundation under subsection (c). 

6 (f) LIMITATION.—The Foundation shall not be an 

7 agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government. 

8 (g) SUPPORT.—The Foundation may receive, admin9 ister, solicit, accept, and use funds, gifts, devises, or be10 quests, either absolutely or in trust of real or personal 

11 property or any income therefrom or other interest therein 

12 to support activities under subsection (c). 

13 (h) TAX EXEMPT STATUS.—The Board shall take all 

14 necessary and appropriate steps to ensure the Foundation 

15 is an organization described in section 501(c) of the Inter16 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

17 under section 501(a) of such Code. 

18 (i) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Foundation shall 

20 be governed by a Board of Directors. 

21 (2) COMPOSITION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be 

23 composed of the following: 

24 (i) Eleven appointed voting members 

25 described in subparagraph (B). 


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1 (ii) Ex officio nonvoting members de2 scribed in subparagraph (C). 

3 (B) APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 

4 (i) INITIAL MEMBERS.—The Sec5 retary, acting through the Director, shall— 

6 (I) seek to enter into an agree7 ment with the National Academies of 

8 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 

9 to develop a list of individuals to serve 

10 as members of the Board who are well 

11 qualified and will meet the require12 ments of clauses (ii) and (iii); and 

13 (II) appoint the initial members 

14 of the Board from such list, if appli15 cable, in consultation with the Na16 tional Academies of Sciences, Engi17 neering, and Medicine. 

18 (ii) REPRESENTATION.—The ap19 pointed members of the Board shall reflect 

20 a broad cross-section of stakeholders 

21 across diverse sectors, regions and commu22 nities, including from academia, private 

23 sector entities, technical standards bodies, 

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1 thropic community, and other nonprofit or2 ganizations. 

3 (iii) EXPERIENCE.—The Secretary, 

4 acting through the Director, shall ensure 

5 the appointed members of the Board have 

6 the experience and are qualified to provide 

7 advice and information to advance the 

8 Foundation’s mission, including in science 

9 and technology research and development, 

10 technical standards, education, technology 

11 transfer, commercialization, or other as12 pects of the Foundation’s mission. 

13 (C) NONVOTING MEMBERS.— 

14 (i) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The ex 

15 officio members of the Board shall be the 

16 following individuals or the designees of 

17 such individuals: 

18 (I) The Director. 

19 (II) The Associate Director for 

20 Laboratory Programs. 

21 (III) The Associate Director for 

22 Innovation and Industry Services. 

23 (IV) The Associate Director for 

24 Management Resources. 


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1 (ii) NO VOTING POWER.—The ex offi2 cio members described in clause (i) shall 

3 not have voting power on the Board. 

4 (3) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall des6 ignate, from among its members— 

7 (i) an individual to serve as the chair 

8 of the Board; and 

9 (ii) an individual to serve as the vice 

10 chair of the Board. 

11 (B) TERMS.—The term of service of the 

12 Chair and Vice Chair of the Board shall end on 

13 the earlier of— 

14 (i) the date that is three years after 

15 the date on which the Chair or Vice Chair 

16 of the Board, as applicable, is designated 

17 for the respective position; and 

18 (ii) the last day of the term of service 

19 of the member, as determined under para20 graph (4)(A), who is designated to be 

21 Chair or Vice Chair of the Board, as appli22 cable. 

23 (C) REPRESENTATION.—The Chair and 

24 Vice Chair of the Board— 


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1 (i) may not be representatives of the 

2 same area of subject matter expertise, or 

3 entity, as applicable; and 

4 (ii) may not be representatives of any 

5 area of subject matter expertise, or entity, 

6 as applicable, represented by the imme7 diately preceding Chair and Vice Chair of 

8 the Board. 

9 (4) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 

10 (A) TERM LIMITS.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), the term of office of each member 

12 of the Board shall be not more than five years, 

13 except that a member of the Board may con14 tinue to serve after the expiration of the term 

15 of such member until the expiration of the 180- 

16 day period beginning on the date on which the 

17 term of such member expires, if no new member 

18 is appointed to replace the departing board 

19 member. 

20 (B) INITIAL APPOINTED MEMBERS.—Of 

21 the initial members of the Board appointed 

22 under paragraph (4)(A), half of such members 

23 shall serve for four years and half of such mem24 bers shall serve for five years, as determined by 

25 the Chair of the Board. 


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1 (C) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the 

2 membership of the appointed members of the 

3 Board— 

4 (i) shall be filled in accordance with 

5 the bylaws of the Foundation by an indi6 vidual capable of representing the same 

7 area or entity, as applicable, as rep8 resented by the vacating board member 

9 under paragraph (2)(B)(ii); 

10 (ii) shall not affect the power of the 

11 remaining appointed members to carry out 

12 the duties of the Board; and 

13 (iii) shall be filled by an individual se14 lected by the Board. 

15 (5) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

16 the Board shall constitute a quorum for the pur17 poses of conducting the business of the Board. 

18 (6) DUTIES.—The Board shall carry out the 

19 following: 

20 (A) Establish bylaws for the Foundation in 

21 accordance with paragraph (7). 

22 (B) Provide overall direction for the activi23 ties of the Foundation and establish priority ac24 tivities. 


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1 (C) Coordinate with the Institute the ac2 tivities of the Foundation to ensure consistency 

3 with the programs and policies of the Institute. 

4 (D) Evaluate the performance of the Exec5 utive Director of the Foundation. 

6 (E) Actively solicit and accept funds, gifts, 

7 grants, devises, or bequests of real or personal 

8 property to the Foundation, including from pri9 vate entities. 

10 (F) Carry out any other necessary activi11 ties of the Foundation. 

12 (7) BYLAWS.—The Board shall establish bylaws 

13 for the Foundation. In establishing such bylaws, the 

14 Board shall ensure the following: 

15 (A) The bylaws of the Foundation include 

16 the following: 

17 (i) Policies for the selection of the 

18 Board members, officers, employees, 

19 agents, and contractors of the Foundation. 

20 (ii) Policies, including ethical and dis21 closure standards, for the following: 

22 (I) The acceptance, solicitation, 

23 and disposition of donations and 

24 grants to the Foundation, including 

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1 nors to designate, by stipulation or re2 striction, the use or recipient of do3 nated funds. 

4 (II) The disposition of assets of 

5 the Foundation. 

6 (iii) Policies that subject all employ7 ees, fellows, trainees, and other agents of 

8 the Foundation (including appointed voting 

9 members and ex officio members of the 

10 Board) to conflict of interest standards. 

11 (iv) The specific duties of the Execu12 tive Director of the Foundation. 

13 (B) The bylaws of the Foundation and ac14 tivities carried out under such bylaws do not— 

15 (i) reflect unfavorably upon the ability 

16 of the Foundation to carry out its respon17 sibilities or official duties in a fair and ob18 jective manner; or 

19 (ii) compromise, or appear to com20 promise, the integrity of any governmental 

21 agency or program, or any officer or em22 ployee employed by, or involved in a gov23 ernmental agency or program. 


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1 (8) RESTRICTION ON MEMBERSHIP.—No em2 ployee of the Department of Commerce may be ap3 pointed as a member of the Board of Directors. 

4 (9) COMPENSATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Board 

6 may not receive compensation for serving on 

7 the Board. 

8 (B) CERTAIN EXPENSES.—In accordance 

9 with the bylaws of the Foundation, members of 

10 the Board may be reimbursed for travel ex11 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist12 ence, and other necessary expenses incurred in 

13 carrying out the duties of the Board. 

14 (10) LIAISON REPRESENTATIVES.—The Sec15 retary, acting through the Director, shall designate 

16 representatives from across the Institute to serve as 

17 the liaisons to the Board and the Foundation. 

18 (j) ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 

21 have an Executive Director who shall be ap22 pointed by the Board, and who shall serve at 

23 the pleasure of the Board, and for whom the 

24 Board shall establish the rate of compensation. 

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1 section (i)(7), the Executive Director shall be 

2 responsible for the daily operations of the 

3 Foundation in carrying out the activities of the 

4 Foundation under subsection (c). 

5 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out 

6 the daily operations of the Foundation, the Ex7 ecutive Director of the Foundation shall carry 

8 out the following: 

9 (i) Hire, promote, compensate, and 

10 discharge officers and employees of the 

11 Foundation, and define the duties of such 

12 officers and employees. 

13 (ii) Accept and administer donations 

14 to the Foundation, and administer the as15 sets of the Foundation. 

16 (iii) Enter into such contracts and 

17 execute legal instruments as are appro18 priate in carrying out the activities of the 

19 Foundation. 

20 (iv) Perform such other functions as 

21 necessary to operate the Foundation. 

22 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL.—No member 

23 of the Board, officer or employee of the Foundation 

24 or of any program established by the Foundation, or 

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1 tion, may exercise administrative control over any 

2 Federal employee. 

3 (3) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO INSTITUTE.—The 

4 Foundation may transfer funds and property to the 

5 Institute, which the Institute may accept and use 

6 and which shall be subject to all applicable Federal 

7 limitations relating to federally funded research. 

8 (4) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than one year 

9 after the establishment of the Foundation, the 

10 Foundation shall submit to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a stra14 tegic plan that contains the following: 

15 (A) A plan for the Foundation to become 

16 financially self-sustaining in the next five years. 

17 (B) Short- and long-term objectives of the 

18 Foundation, as identified by the Board. 

19 (C) A description of the efforts the Foun20 dation will take to be transparent in the proc21 esses of the Foundation, including processes re22 lating to the following: 

23 (i) Grant awards, including selection, 

24 review, and notification. 


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1 (ii) Communication of past, current, 

2 and future research priorities. 

3 (iii) Solicitation of and response to 

4 public input on the priorities identified by 

5 the Foundation. 

6 (D) A description of the financial goals 

7 and benchmarks of the Foundation for the fol8 lowing ten years. 

9 (E) A description of the efforts undertaken 

10 by the Foundation to ensure maximum 

11 complementarity and minimum redundancy 

12 with investments made by the Institute. 

13 (5) REPORT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

15 months after the establishment of the Founda16 tion and not later than February 1 of each year 

17 thereafter, the Foundation shall publish a re18 port describing the activities of the Foundation 

19 during the immediately preceding fiscal year. 

20 Each such report shall include with respect to 

21 such fiscal year a comprehensive statement of 

22 the operations, activities, financial condition, 

23 progress, and accomplishments of the Founda24 tion. 


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1 (B) FINANCIAL CONDITION.—With respect 

2 to the financial condition of the Foundation, 

3 each report under subparagraph (A) shall in4 clude the source, and a description of, all sup5 port under subsection (g) provided to the Foun6 dation. Each such report shall identify the per7 sons or entities from which such support is re8 ceived, and include a specification of any re9 strictions on the purposes for which such sup10 port may be used. 

11 (C) PUBLICATION.—The Foundation shall 

12 make copies of each report submitted under 

13 subparagraph (A) available— 

14 (i) for public inspection, and shall 

15 upon request provide a copy of the report 

16 to any individual for a charge not to ex17 ceed the cost of providing such copy; and 

18 (ii) to the Committee on Science, 

19 Space, and Technology of the House of 

20 Representatives and the Committee on 

21 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

22 the Senate. 

23 (6) AUDITS AND DISCLOSURE.—The Founda24 tion shall— 


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1 (A) provide for annual audits of the finan2 cial condition of the Foundation, including a 

3 full list of the Foundation’s donors and any re4 strictions on the purposes for which gifts to the 

5 Foundation may be used; and 

6 (B) make such audits, and all other 

7 records, documents, and other papers of the 

8 Foundation, available to the Secretary and the 

9 Comptroller General of the United States for 

10 examination or audit. 

11 (7) EVALUATION BY COMPTROLLER GEN12 ERAL.—Not later than five years after the date on 

13 which the Foundation is established, the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States shall submit to the 

15 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

16 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

17 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen18 ate the following: 

19 (A) An evaluation of the following: 

20 (i) The extent to which the Founda21 tion is achieving the mission of the Foun22 dation. 

23 (ii) The operation of the Foundation. 

24 (B) Any recommendations on how the 

25 Foundation may be improved. 


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1 (k) INTEGRITY.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure integrity in the 

3 operations of the Foundation, the Board shall de4 velop and enforce procedures relating to standards 

5 of conduct, financial disclosure statements, conflicts 

6 of interest (including recusal and waiver rules), au7 dits, and any other matters determined appropriate 

8 by the Board. 

9 (2) FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—To 

10 mitigate conflicts of interest and risks from malign 

11 foreign influence, any individual who is an officer, 

12 employee, or member of the Board is prohibited 

13 from any participation in deliberations by the Foun14 dation of a matter that would directly or predictably 

15 affect any financial interest of any of the following: 

16 (A) Such individual. 

17 (B) A relative of such individual. 

18 (C) A business organization or other entity 

19 in which such individual has an interest, includ20 ing an organization or other entity with which 

21 such individual is negotiating employment. 

22 (l) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Board shall 

23 adopt written standards to govern the ownership and li24 censing of any intellectual property rights developed by the 


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1 Foundation or derived from the collaborative efforts of the 

2 Foundation. 

3 (m) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—The United States 

4 shall not be liable for any debts, defaults, acts, or omis5 sions of the Foundation. The full faith and credit of the 

6 United States shall not extend to any obligations of the 

7 Foundation. 

8 (n) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Secretary, acting 

9 through the Director, may provide facilities, utilities, and 

10 support services to the Foundation if it is determined by 

11 the Director to be advantageous to the research programs 

12 of the Institute. 

13 (o) NONAPPLICABILITY.—Chapter 10 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, shall not apply to the Foundation. 

15 (p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

17 $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 

18 to carry out this section. 

19 (q) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

21 Board of Directors of the Foundation, established 

22 pursuant to subsection (i). 

23 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

24 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

25 and Technology. 


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1 (3) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

2 means the Foundation for Standards and Metrology 

3 established pursuant to subsection (a). 

4 (4) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

5 the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

6 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

8 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High9 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

10 (6) NIST ASSOCIATE.—The term ‘‘NIST asso11 ciate’’ means any guest researcher, facility user, vol12 unteer, or other nonemployee of the National Insti13 tute of Standards and Technology who conducts re14 search or otherwise engages in an authorized activity 

15 with National Institute of Standards and Technology 

16 personnel or at a National Institute of Standards 

17 and Technology facility. 

18 (7) RELATIVE.—The term ‘‘relative’’ has the 

19 meaning given such term in section 13101 of title 5, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Commerce. 

23 (9) TECHNICAL STANDARD.—The term ‘‘tech24 nical standard’’ has the meaning given such term in 

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1 fer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 

2 note). 

Æ 


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