II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 239 

To support innovation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2011 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To support innovation, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Innovate America Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Simplification of tax credit for contributions to universities for research and development purposes. 

Sec. 102. Credit for charitable contributions of equipment to secondary schools 

and technical and community colleges. 


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TITLE II—LENDING TO SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED HIGH 

GROWTH TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES 

Sec. 201. Innovative Technology Development Loan Guarantee Program. 

TITLE III—EDUCATION 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Increasing funding for STEM secondary schools. 

Sec. 303. Grants to institutions of higher education for retaining STEM students. 

Sec. 304. Expanding undergraduate research opportunities. 

Sec. 305. Internet website promoting commercialization of technology ideas invented by federally funded researchers. 

Sec. 306. Technology Commercialization Awards Pilot Program. 

TITLE IV—MANUFACTURING AND EXPORT PROMOTIONS 

Sec. 401. Manufacturing assistance program for small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States. 

Sec. 402. Removing barriers for exporting industries in the United States. 

Sec. 403. Improving access to international markets. 

TITLE V—OFFSETS 

Sec. 501. Limitation on Government printing costs. 

Sec. 502. Eliminating bonuses for poor performance by Government contractors. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Innovation has historically been a catalyzing 

4 force in the American economy, driving the produc5 tion of game-changing technologies, the creation of 

6 millions of jobs and the opening of countless new 

7 avenues for growth. In an increasingly competitive 

8 global economy, our Nation’s continued leadership 

9 and prosperity will hinge on progress in key innova10 tive areas, most notably exporting, entrepreneurship, 

11 research and development, and education in science, 

12 technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); 


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1 (2) Start-up companies create the lion’s share 

2 of new technologies. Increasing the flow of capital to 

3 these firms would bridge the gap that often exists 

4 between their initial startup costs and their long5 term capital needs, giving the firms the resources 

6 necessary to research, develop and commercialize 

7 new products. 

8 (3) Simplifying, expanding and stabilizing the 

9 tax credits that businesses and institutions of higher 

10 education rely on to offset the cost of research and 

11 would promote greater clarity in the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986 and deliver a powerful incentive 

13 for private sector innovation. 

14 (4) Increasing the emphasis on STEM edu15 cation in high schools and institutions of higher edu16 cation would ensure that more students have the 

17 skills and training to not only compete for jobs in 

18 a 21st century economy, but also to create the start19 up companies and revolutionary technologies that 

20 will sustain American prosperity for centuries to 

21 come. 

22 (5) An effective regulatory climate should pro23 tect consumers and promote transparency without 

24 overburdening the businesses that create jobs. Fed25 eral agencies with rulemaking authority should be 


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1 vigilant in assessing the impact of new regulations 

2 on innovation and job creation, particularly in an3 chor industries like manufacturing. 

4 (6) The economic impact of a new product or 

5 technology is often dependent on its commercial suc6 cess. To ensure American products can be bought 

7 and sold in markets around the world, the govern8 ment should identify and remove over burdensome 

9 regulations that create barriers for United States ex10 porting companies. 

11 (7) Comprehensive and fair trade agreements 

12 are vital to the United States’ ability to export. The 

13 Federal Government should ardently work towards 

14 ratifying trade agreements with foreign countries 

15 that benefit the citizens and industries of the United 

16 States. 

17 TITLE I—RESEARCH AND 

18 DEVELOPMENT 

19 SEC. 101. SIMPLIFICATION OF TAX CREDIT FOR CONTRIBU20 TIONS TO UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH AND 

21 DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

23 41(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining 

24 basic research) is amended by striking ‘‘not having a spe25 cific commercial objective’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 102. CREDIT FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF 

5 EQUIPMENT TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND 

6 TECHNICAL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 45S. CREDIT FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF 

12 EQUIPMENT TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND 

13 TECHNICAL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

15 charitable equipment contribution credit determined under 

16 this section for any taxable year is an amount equal to 

17 30 percent of the fair market value (determined at the 

18 time of the contribution) of any qualified equipment which 

19 is contributed by the taxpayer to a secondary school, tech20 nical college, or community college. 

21 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED EQUIPMENT.—For purposes of this 

22 section, the term ‘qualified equipment’ means any tangible 

23 personal property described in paragraph (1) of section 

24 1221(a), but only if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the property is purchased, constructed, or 

2 assembled by the taxpayer, 

3 ‘‘(2) the property is equipment or apparatus 

4 substantially all of the use of which by the donee is 

5 for research or experimentation, research training, 

6 or education in science or technology, 

7 ‘‘(3) the property is suitable for use in the 

8 donee’s research or experimentation or educational 

9 programs, 

10 ‘‘(4) the property is not transferred by the 

11 donee in exchange for money, other property, or 

12 services, and 

13 ‘‘(5) the taxpayer receives from the donee a 

14 written statement representing that its use and dis15 position of the property will be in accordance with 

16 the provisions of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 

17 ‘‘(c) GAIN NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The 

18 amount of any contribution of qualified equipment other19 wise taken into account under subsection (a) shall be re20 duced, but not below zero, by the sum of— 

‘‘(1) 1 21 ⁄2 of the amount of any gain which would 

22 not have been long-term capital gain (determined 

23 without regard to section 1221(b)(3)) if the property 

24 contributed had been sold by the taxpayer at its fair 


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1 market value (determined at the time of such con2 tribution), and 

3 ‘‘(2) the amount, if any, by which the amount 

4 of such contribution (determined by taking into ac5 count paragraph (1) but without regard to this para6 graph) exceeds twice the taxpayer’s basis in the 

7 qualified equipment. 

8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec10 ondary school’ has the meaning given such term by 

11 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu12 cation Act of 1965. 

13 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL COLLEGE.—The term ‘tech14 nical college’ means a postsecondary vocational insti15 tution (as defined in section 102(c) of the Higher 

16 Education Act of 1965). 

17 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com18 munity college’ means a junior or community college 

19 (as defined in section 312 of the Higher Education 

20 Act of 1965). 

21 ‘‘(e) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 

22 shall be allowed under section 170 for any contribution 

23 for which a credit is allowed under this section.’’. 


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1 (b) CREDIT TREATED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI2 NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph 

5 (35), 

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(37) the charitable equipment contribution 

11 credit determined under section 45S(a).’’. 

12 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

13 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add15 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45S. Credit for charitable contributions of equipment to secondary 

schools and technical and community colleges.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to contributions made after De18 cember 31, 2010. 


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1 TITLE II—LENDING TO SMALL2 AND MEDIUM-SIZED HIGH 

3 GROWTH TECHNOLOGY COM4 PANIES 

5 SEC. 201. INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LOAN 

6 GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) CLEAN TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘clean 

9 technology’’ means— 

10 (A) technology that improves energy effi11 ciency, including— 

12 (i) technologies to reduce energy con13 sumption; 

14 (ii) energy-efficient building tech15 nologies and applications; and 

16 (iii) efficient electricity transmission, 

17 distribution, and electrical grid-based stor18 age; 

19 (B) technology relating to energy storage; 

20 (C) fuel cells and batteries; and 

21 (D) component technologies for electric ve22 hicles. 

23 (2) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘‘renew24 able energy’’ means energy generated from any of 

25 the following: 


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1 (A) Solar, wind, geothermal, or ocean 

2 based sources. 

3 (B) Biomass, biofuels, or feedstock. 

4 (C) Landfill gas. 

5 (D) Municipal solid waste. 

6 (E) Incremental hydropower. 

7 (F) Hydropower that has been certified by 

8 the Low Impact Hydropower Institute 

9 (3) SMALL- OR MEDIUM-SIZE HIGH GROWTH

10 TECHNOLOGY COMPANY.—The term ‘‘small- or me11 dium-sized high growth technology company’’ means 

12 a small business concern that primarily engages in 

13 commerce in 1 or more of the following industries: 

14 (A) Life sciences. 

15 (B) Medical devices. 

16 (C) Computer hardware. 

17 (D) Computer software. 

18 (E) Clean technology. 

19 (F) Renewable energy generation and man20 ufacturing. 

21 (G) Such other industries as the Secretary 

22 considers appropriate. 

23 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

24 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com25 merce. 


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1 (5) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 

2 ‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given 

3 that term under section 3(a) of the Small Business 

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)). 

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF INNOVATIVE PRODUCT

6 LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es8 tablish a loan guarantee program to help small- and 

9 medium-sized high growth technology companies who 

10 the Secretary determines— 

11 (A) are operating in a phase of the busi12 ness life cycle in which technological, market, or 

13 regulatory uncertainty constrains the amount of 

14 capital available from lenders and equity inves15 tors to such companies during such phase; and 

16 (B) are unable to progress to the next 

17 phase of the business life cycle because of such 

18 constraints on the availability of capital. 

19 (2) DESIGNATION.—The loan guarantee pro20 gram established under paragraph (1) shall be 

21 known as the ‘‘Innovative Technology Development 

22 Loan Guarantee Program’’. 

23 (c) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, under 

25 the program established pursuant to subsection 


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1 (b)(1), guarantee the full or partial repayment of a 

2 loan that meets the requirements of this section. 

3 (2) GUARANTEE PERCENTAGE.—For a loan 

4 guaranteed under the program established pursuant 

5 to subsection (b)(1), the Secretary may guarantee 

6 such percentage of such loan as the Secretary con7 siders appropriate, except that such percentage shall 

8 be not less than 50 percent and not more than 90 

9 percent. 

10 (d) LOAN REQUIREMENTS.—A loan referred to in 

11 subsection (c) meets the requirements of this section if 

12 each of the following requirements is met: 

13 (1) PURPOSE.—The loan is for— 

14 (A) fixed assets relating to reequipping, ex15 panding, or establishing a facility the Secretary 

16 considers necessary for the loan recipient to 

17 enter the next phase of the business life cycle; 

18 or 

19 (B) providing the loan recipient with work20 ing capital the Secretary considers necessary 

21 for the loan recipient to enter the next phase of 

22 the business life cycle. 

23 (2) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate for the 

24 loan does not exceed such maximum rate as the Sec25 retary considers appropriate. 


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1 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The loan has 

2 such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers 

3 commercially reasonable and consistent with pre4 vailing market standards. 

5 (4) PRE-QUALIFIED LENDERS.—The loan is of6 fered by a lender who has been pre-qualified under 

7 subsection (e). 

8 (e) PRE-QUALIFICATION OF LENDERS.—The Sec9 retary shall pre-qualify lenders who— 

10 (1) are nongovernmental entities who specialize 

11 in providing financing to high growth technology 

12 companies; and 

13 (2) the Secretary determines will expedite the 

14 loan process and are competent to carry out credit 

15 underwriting, loan origination, loan documentation, 

16 loan administration, and loan servicing under the 

17 program established pursuant to subsection (b)(1). 

18 (f) SYNDICATION.—A lender offering a loan that is 

19 guaranteed under the program established pursuant to 

20 subsection (b)(1) shall agree not to syndicate or assign 

21 the loan unless— 

22 (1) the loan is syndicated or assigned to a third 

23 party financial institution that the Secretary con24 siders qualified; 


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1 (2) the lender retains a pre-specified portion of 

2 the unguaranteed credit risk; and 

3 (3) the lender continues to perform as the serv4 icing and administrative agent for the loan. 

5 (g) DEFAULT.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

6 of law, in the case of a default on a loan guaranteed under 

7 this section, the lender shall have the right of first refusal 

8 to serve as workout and collection agent for purposes of 

9 such default and under such terms as the Secretary con10 siders appropriate. 

11 (h) FEES.—The Secretary may establish such fees as 

12 the Secretary considers necessary to cover the costs of ad13 ministering the program established under subsection 

14 (b)(1). 

15 (i) INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

16 FUND.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

18 Treasury of the United States a revolving fund 

19 known as the ‘‘Innovative Technology Development 

20 Fund’’ (in this subsection referred to as the 

21 ‘‘Fund’’). 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—There shall be deposited in 

23 the fund the following, which shall constitute the as24 sets of the Fund: 


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1 (A) Amounts paid into the Fund under 

2 any provision of law or regulation established 

3 by the Secretary imposing fees under subsection 

4 (h). 

5 (B) All other amounts received by the Sec6 retary incident to operations relating to the 

7 loan guarantee program established under sub8 section (b)(1). 

9 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—The Fund shall be avail10 able to the Secretary, without fiscal year limitation, 

11 to carry out the provisions of this section. 

12 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

14 out this section $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

15 TITLE III—EDUCATION 

16 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this title: 

18 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

19 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

20 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means an in22 stitution of higher education, as defined in section 

23 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 


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1 (3) SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND

2 MATHEMATICS SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term 

3 ‘‘science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

4 secondary school’’ means a secondary school— 

5 (A) with a strategic focus on the subjects 

6 of science, technology, engineering, and mathe7 matics; 

8 (B) that limits curriculum requirements; 

9 and 

10 (C) allows students greater selective choice 

11 within the science, technology, engineering, and 

12 mathematics subject areas while providing the 

13 resources to ensure adequate student choice and 

14 curricular rigor. 

15 (4) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

16 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

17 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

19 SEC. 302. INCREASING FUNDING FOR STEM SECONDARY 

20 SCHOOLS. 

21 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to in22 crease the number of science, technology, engineering, and 

23 mathematics secondary schools in the United States from 

24 100 to 200. 

25 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

2 under subsection (f), the Secretary of Education 

3 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to State 

4 educational agencies to enable the State educational 

5 agencies to carry out the purposes of this section by 

6 establishing or expanding science, technology, engi7 neering, and mathematics secondary schools. 

8 (2) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec9 retary shall award grants under this section in a 

10 manner that ensure geographic diversity. 

11 (c) APPLICATION.—A State educational agency desir12 ing to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

13 application to the Secretary of Education at such time, 

14 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

15 Secretary may require. 

16 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A State educational agency re17 ceiving funds under this section shall use such funds to 

18 award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to local edu19 cational agencies in the State in order to enable the local 

20 educational agencies to establish and maintain new 

21 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics sec22 ondary schools, which may include repurposing an existing 

23 secondary school to become a science, technology, engi24 neering, or mathematics school. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

3 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2021. 

4 SEC. 303. GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU5 CATION FOR RETAINING STEM STUDENTS. 

6 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro7 vide positive incentives for institutions of higher education 

8 to implement programs that help retain students in 

9 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pro10 grams at the institution of higher education. 

11 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Director shall es12 tablish a program of providing awards, from funds avail13 able through the STEM Awards Trust Fund described in 

14 subsection (c), to 4-year degree-granting institutions of 

15 higher education. In order to receive an award under this 

16 subsection, a 4-year degree-granting institution of higher 

17 education shall have— 

18 (1) dramatically increased the percentage and 

19 number of students who enter an institution intend20 ing to major in science, technology, engineering, or 

21 mathematics and who do graduate from such institu22 tion with a degree in such a subject; and 

23 (2) demonstrably sustained such increase for 

24 more than 5 years. 

25 (c) STEM AWARDS TRUST FUND.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

2 the Treasury of the United States a trust fund, to 

3 be known as the STEM Awards Trust Fund (re4 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Trust Fund’’), con5 sisting of such amounts as are transferred to the 

6 Trust Fund under paragraph (2) of this section and 

7 any interest earned on investment of amounts in the 

8 Trust Fund under paragraph (3)(B). 

9 (2) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS.— 

10 (A) GIFTS.—The Director may accept, use, 

11 and dispose of gifts, not including gifts of serv12 ices, for the purposes of carrying out this sec13 tion. 

14 (B) TRANSFER OF GIFTS INTO TRUST

15 FUND.—The Director shall, for each fiscal year, 

16 transfer any amounts provided to the Director 

17 under subparagraph (A) into the Trust Fund. 

18 (C) TRANSFER OF APPROPRIATED

19 FUNDS.—Any amounts appropriated to carry 

20 out this section shall be without fiscal year limi21 tation, and the Director shall transfer such 

22 amounts into the Trust Fund. Such amounts 

23 shall be kept in a separate account or otherwise 

24 separated from any amounts transferred into 

25 the Trust Fund under subparagraph (B). 


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1 (3) INVESTMENT OF TRUST FUND.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of 

3 the Secretary of the Treasury to invest such 

4 portion of the Trust Fund as is not, in the Sec5 retary’s judgment, required to meet current 

6 withdrawals. Such investments may be made 

7 only in interest-bearing obligations of the 

8 United States or in obligations guaranteed as to 

9 both principal and interest by the United 

10 States. For such purpose, such obligations may 

11 be acquired— 

12 (i) on original issue at the issue price, 

13 or 

14 (ii) by purchase of outstanding obliga15 tions at the market price. 

16 The purposes for which obligations of the 

17 United States may be issued under chapter 31 

18 of title 31, of the United States Code, are here19 by extended to authorize the issuance at par of 

20 special obligations exclusively to the Trust 

21 Fund. Such special obligations shall bear inter22 est at a rate equal to the average rate of inter23 est, computed as to the end of the calendar 

24 month next preceding the date of such issue, 

25 borne by all marketable interest-bearing obligaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:45 Feb 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S239.IS S239

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1 tions of the United States then forming a part 

2 of the Public Debt; except that where such av3 erage rate is not a multiple of one-eighth of 1 

4 percent, the rate of interest of such special obli5 gations shall be the multiple of one-eighth of 1 

6 percent next lower than such average rate. Such 

7 special obligations shall be issued only if the 

8 Secretary of the Treasury determines that the 

9 purchase of other interest-bearing obligations of 

10 the United States, or of obligations guaranteed 

11 as to both principal and interest by the United 

12 States on original issue or at the market price, 

13 is not in the public interest. 

14 (B) SALE OF OBLIGATION.—Any obligation 

15 acquired by the Trust Fund (except special obli16 gations issued exclusively to the Trust Fund) 

17 may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury 

18 at the market price, and such special obliga19 tions may be redeemed at par plus accrued in20 terest. 

21 (C) CREDITS TO TRUST FUND.—The inter22 est on, and the proceeds from the sale or re23 demption of, any obligations held in the Trust 

24 Fund shall be credited to and form a part of 

25 the Trust Fund. 


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1 (4) OBLIGATIONS FROM TRUST FUND.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (B), the Director is hereafter authorized 

4 to obligate such sums as are available in the 

5 Trust Fund (including any amounts not obli6 gated in previous fiscal years) for— 

7 (i) providing awards under subsection 

8 (b); and 

9 (ii) properly allocable administrative 

10 costs of the Federal Government for the 

11 activities specified above. 

12 (B) FEDERAL MATCH.—In making any 

13 award under this section, the Director shall, to 

14 the extent feasible, use equal amounts of funds 

15 in the Trust Fund that were given by private 

16 entities under paragraph (2)(A) and funds in 

17 the Trust Fund that were appropriated in ac18 cordance with paragraph (2)(C). 

19 (5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—It shall be the 

20 duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to hold the 

21 Trust Fund, and (after consultation with the Direc22 tor) to report to the Congress each year on the fi23 nancial condition and the results of the operations of 

24 the Trust Fund during the preceding fiscal year and 

25 on its expected condition and operations during the 


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1 next fiscal year. Such report shall be printed as both 

2 a House and Senate document of the session of the 

3 Congress to which the report is made. 

4 (d) EVALUATION.—Not later than 4 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall conduct 

6 an evaluation regarding the effectiveness of the program 

7 under this section. 

8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $66,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 

11 2016. 

12 (f) SUNSET PROVISION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this sec14 tion shall cease to have effect on the date that is 5 

15 years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless 

16 the Director— 

17 (A) determines, based on the evaluation 

18 described in subsection (d), that the program 

19 has proven to be effective in accomplishing the 

20 purposes of this section; and 

21 (B) submits, in writing, the Director’s de22 cision to the appropriate committees of Con23 gress. 

24 (2) DISSOLUTION OF TRUST FUND.—Notwith25 standing subsection (c)(2)(C), upon a termination of 


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1 this section under paragraph (1), all amounts in the 

2 Trust Fund shall be deposited in the Treasury of the 

3 United States as miscellaneous receipts. 

4 SEC. 304. EXPANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OP5 PORTUNITIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1, 2013, the 

7 President shall ensure that not less than 10 percent of 

8 all Federal funds available for a fiscal year for under9 graduate student research opportunities at 4-year degree10 granting institutions of higher education shall be used to 

11 fund research opportunities for postsecondary students 

12 during the students’ first academic year of postsecondary 

13 education or the summer following such first year. 

14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

15 Congress that each Federal agency should restructure the 

16 agency’s undergraduate student research opportunities for 

17 students attending 4-year institutions of higher education, 

18 in order to provide more research opportunities for post19 secondary students during the students’ first academic 

20 year of postsecondary education or the summer following 

21 such first year. 

22 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—Not 

23 later than December 31, 2012, the head of each Federal 

24 agency shall submit to the President— 


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1 (1) a list of all programs and funds available 

2 for undergraduate student research under the juris3 diction of the agency; and 

4 (2) recommendations regarding how the agency 

5 can best fulfill the requirements of subsection (a). 

6 SEC. 305. INTERNET WEBSITE PROMOTING COMMER7 CIALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY IDEAS IN8 VENTED BY FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH9 ERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com12 merce shall, acting through the Director of the National 

13 Institute for Standards and Technology, establish and 

14 maintain an Internet website that connects federally fund15 ed researchers who have ideas for technologies that they 

16 believe could be commercialized with persons who express 

17 interest in working with federally funded researchers on 

18 the commercialization of their technologies. 

19 (b) PARTICIPATION OPTIONAL.—Participation of a 

20 federally funded researcher in the Internet website re21 quired by subsection (a) shall be optional. 

22 (c) REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

24 the establishment of the Internet website required by 


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1 subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Con2 gress a report on such Internet website. 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para4 graph (1) shall include the following: 

5 (A) The status of the Internet website re6 quired by subsection (a). 

7 (B) An assessment of such Internet 

8 website. 

9 (C) Such recommendations as the Sec10 retary may have for improvements to the Inter11 net website and any additional funding or legis12 lative action as the Secretary considers nec13 essary to implement such improvements. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com16 merce to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of the 

17 fiscal years 2011 through 2015. Amounts appropriated 

18 under this subsection shall remain available until ex19 pended. 

20 SEC. 306. TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION AWARDS 

21 PILOT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

23 Science Foundation (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Di24 rector’’), through the Partnerships for Innovation Pro25 gram, shall administer a Technology Commercialization 


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1 Awards Pilot Program through which promising tech2 nology advances derived from National Science Founda3 tion research grants shall be eligible for follow-on funding 

4 to move the technology through prototype and demonstra5 tion phases, with training available for researcher partici6 pants in business plan development, technology transfer 

7 and commercialization, and in processes for establishing 

8 start-up firms based on the technologies developed. 

9 (b) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—The Director shall— 

10 (1) seek from National Science Foundation of11 fices and divisions recommendations on outstanding 

12 research funded by the National Science Foundation 

13 with clear promise that such research can be ad14 vanced close to commercialized in a 3- to 5-year pe15 riod; 

16 (2) solicit applications from National Science 

17 Foundation award grantees who believe that they 

18 have qualifying technologies eligible for commer19 cialization; and 

20 (3) award grants to such National Science 

21 Foundation award grantees based on a merit-based, 

22 competitive selection process. 

23 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Director shall form 

24 an Advisory Committee of experts on technology and the 

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1 tional Science Foundation on the Technology Commer2 cialization Awards Pilot Program. 

3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the first 

4 grant is awarded under this section, the Director shall— 

5 (1) report to the relevant committees of Con6 gress on the Technology Commercialization Awards 

7 Pilot Program’s results; and 

8 (2) make recommendations on whether and how 

9 such a technology commercialization fund could be 

10 adopted by other Federal research and development 

11 agencies. 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 

15 2015. 

16 TITLE IV—MANUFACTURING 

17 AND EXPORT PROMOTIONS 

18 SEC. 401. MANUFACTURING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR 

19 SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFACTUR20 ERS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Commerce. 


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1 (2) SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED DOMESTIC

2 MANUFACTURERS.—The term ‘‘small- and medium3 sized domestic manufacturers’’ means businesses— 

4 (A) with not more than 500 employees; 

5 and 

6 (B) with facilities located in the United 

7 States that mechanically, physically, or chemi8 cally transform materials, substances, or com9 ponents into new products, including component 

10 parts. 

11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

13 establish a manufacturing assistance program for small14 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers for the pur15 poses of promoting the manufacturing of goods in the 

16 United States and enabling those manufacturers to be 

17 competitive in the global economy by— 

18 (1) identifying and reducing regulatory burdens 

19 on those manufacturers under subsection (c); and 

20 (2) providing those manufacturers with infor21 mation and other assistance under subsection (d). 

22 (c) REDUCTION OF REGULATORY BURDENS.—The 

23 Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) identify any regulatory requirements appli2 cable to small- and medium-sized domestic manufac3 turers that— 

4 (A) impose an unnecessary burden on 

5 those manufacturers; and 

6 (B) may be eliminated or reduced in order 

7 to promote the manufacture of goods in the 

8 United States; 

9 (2) take appropriate action to eliminate or re10 duce the regulatory requirements identified under 

11 paragraph (1); and 

12 (3) not later than 1 year after the date on 

13 which the Secretary establishes the program re14 quired by subsection (b), submit to Congress a re15 port that makes recommendations with respect to 

16 action by Congress that may be necessary to elimi17 nate or reduce the regulatory requirements identified 

18 under paragraph (1). 

19 (d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall assist small20 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers by providing 

21 the manufacturers with information with respect to— 

22 (1) how small- and medium-sized domestic 

23 manufacturers can comply efficiently with regula24 tions applicable to those manufacturers; 


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1 (2) recently proposed and recently prescribed 

2 regulations likely to have an effect on small- and 

3 medium-sized domestic manufacturers; and 

4 (3) how small- and medium-sized domestic 

5 manufacturers can express their views and provide 

6 input with respect to any policy developments relat7 ing to the manufacture of products in the United 

8 States. 

9 (e) REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAM.—Not 

10 later than January 1, 2015, the Secretary shall submit 

11 to Congress a report on the program established under 

12 subsection (b) that includes— 

13 (1) an assessment of the extent to which the 

14 program has been effective— 

15 (A) in identifying and reducing regulatory 

16 burdens on small- and medium-sized domestic 

17 manufacturers under subsection (c); 

18 (B) in providing information and other as19 sistance to small- and medium-sized domestic 

20 manufacturers under subsection (d); and 

21 (C) in promoting the manufacturing of 

22 goods in the United States and enabling small23 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers to be 

24 competitive in the global economy; 


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1 (2) detailed information with respect to the na2 ture, location, and duration of any jobs created as 

3 a result of the program established under subsection 

4 (b) and a description of the methodology used to 

5 compile that information; and 

6 (3) any recommendations with respect to con7 tinuing or improving the program established under 

8 subsection (b). 

9 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

11 $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 

12 2015 to carry out the program established under sub13 section (b). 

14 SEC. 402. REMOVING BARRIERS FOR EXPORTING INDUS15 TRIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, the Under Secretary for International 

18 Trade of the Department of Commerce shall submit to 

19 Congress a report— 

20 (1) identifying the 20 industries in the United 

21 States that export the most goods or services; 

22 (2) identifying regulatory and policy barriers to 

23 exportation for those industries; and 


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1 (3) making recommendations with respect to 

2 legislative action that could by taken by Congress to 

3 reduce those barriers. 

4 SEC. 403. IMPROVING ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL MAR5 KETS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

7 United States Trade Representative $2,000,000 for each 

8 of the fiscal years 2011 through 2013 to initiate any pro9 ceeding to resolve a dispute relating to barriers to market 

10 access with a country— 

11 (1) that is a WTO member (as that term is de12 fined in section 2(10) of the Uruguay Round Agree13 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(10))); or 

14 (2) with which the United States has a trade 

15 agreement in effect. 

16 TITLE V—OFFSETS 

17 SEC. 501. LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT PRINTING COSTS. 

18 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 

20 Budget shall coordinate with the heads of Federal depart21 ments and independent agencies to— 

22 (1) determine which Government publications 

23 could be available on Government websites and no 

24 longer printed and to devise a strategy to reduce 

25 overall Government printing costs over the 10-year 


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1 period beginning with fiscal year 2011, except that 

2 the Director shall ensure that essential printed docu3 ments prepared for social security recipients, medi4 care beneficiaries, and other populations in areas 

5 with limited Internet access or use continue to re6 main available; 

7 (2) establish government-wide Federal guide8 lines on employee printing; and 

9 (3) issue on the Office of Management and 

10 Budget’s public website the results of a cost-benefit 

11 analysis on implementing a digital signature system 

12 and on establishing employee printing identification 

13 systems, such as the use of individual employee 

14 cards or codes, to monitor the amount of printing 

15 done by Federal employees; except that the Director 

16 of the Office of Management and Budget shall en17 sure that Federal employee printing costs unrelated 

18 to national defense, homeland security, border secu19 rity, national disasters, and other emergencies do 

20 not exceed $860,000,000 annually. 

21 SEC. 502. ELIMINATING BONUSES FOR POOR PERFORM22 ANCE BY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 

23 (a) GUIDANCE ON LINKING OF AWARD AND INCEN24 TIVE FEES TO OUTCOMES.—Not later than 180 days after 

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1 ment or agency shall issue guidance, with detailed imple2 mentation instructions (including definitions), on the ap3 propriate use of award and incentive fees in department 

4 or agency programs. 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The guidance under subsection (a) 

6 shall— 

7 (1) ensure that all new contracts using award 

8 fees link such fees to outcomes (which shall be de9 fined in terms of program cost, schedule, and per10 formance); 

11 (2) establish standards for identifying the ap12 propriate level of officials authorized to approve the 

13 use of award and incentive fees in new contracts; 

14 (3) provide guidance on the circumstances in 

15 which contractor performance may be judged to be 

16 excellent or superior and the percentage of the avail17 able award fee which contractors should be paid for 

18 such performance; 

19 (4) establish standards for determining the per20 centage of the available award fee, if any, which con21 tractors should be paid for performance that is 

22 judged to be acceptable, average, expected, good, or 

23 satisfactory; 

24 (5) ensure that no award fee may be paid for 

25 contractor performance that is judged to be below 


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1 satisfactory performance or performance that does 

2 not meet the basic requirements of the contract; 

3 (6) provide specific direction on the cir4 cumstances, if any, in which it may be appropriate 

5 to roll over award fees that are not earned in one 

6 award fee period to a subsequent award fee period 

7 or periods; 

8 (7) ensure that the Department or agency— 

9 (A) collects relevant data on award and in10 centive fees paid to contractors; and 

11 (B) has mechanisms in place to evaluate 

12 such data on a regular basis; and 

13 (8) include performance measures to evaluate 

14 the effectiveness of award and incentive fees as a 

15 tool for improving contractor performance and 

16 achieving desired program outcomes. 

17 (c) RETURN OF UNEARNED BONUSES.—Any funds 

18 intended to be awarded as incentive fees that are not paid 

19 due to contractors’ inability to meet the criteria estab20 lished by this section shall be returned to the Treasury. 

Æ 


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