II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2369 

To establish the American Innovation Bank, to improve science and technology job training, to authorize grants for curriculum development, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2012 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself and Mr. BROWN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish the American Innovation Bank, to improve 

science and technology job training, to authorize grants 

for curriculum development, 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 ‘‘America Innovates Act 

5 of 2012’’. 


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1 TITLE I—AMERICAN 

2 INNOVATION BANK 

3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AMERICAN INNOVATION 

4 BANK. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 Executive Branch of the Government an independent 

7 agency to be known as the American Innovation Bank (re8 ferred to in this title as the ‘‘Bank’’). 

9 (b) BOARD AND DIRECTOR.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall consist of an 

11 American Innovation Board (referred to in this title 

12 as the ‘‘Board’’) and a Director of the American In13 novation Bank (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Di14 rector’’). 

15 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Director and mem16 bers of the Board shall be appointed by the Presi17 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen18 ate. 

19 (3) DUTIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board 

20 shall— 

21 (A) advise the Director on new and emerg22 ing areas of research and industry that would 

23 benefit from investment from the Bank; and 

24 (B) critically evaluate the success of the 

25 Bank’s investments in helping to commercialize 


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1 scientific discoveries and create new companies 

2 and jobs. 

3 SEC. 102. FUNCTIONS OF THE BANK. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bank is authorized and di5 rected to promote the commercialization of science and en6 gineering discoveries. 

7 (b) PROVISION OF GRANTS, LOANS, AND OTHER AS8 SISTANCE.—The Bank shall provide grants, loans, and 

9 other assistance to eligible entities and individuals to en10 able the entities and individuals to perform the necessary 

11 research and development to make research discoveries at12 tractive for private investment that will lead to the devel13 opment of new companies, products, and jobs. 

14 SEC. 103. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board, in consultation with 

16 the Director, shall submit an annual report to Congress 

17 on or before the 15th day of April of each year summa18 rizing the activities of the Bank and making such rec19 ommendations as the Board, in consultation with the Di20 rector, determines appropriate. 

21 (b) SPECIFIC METRICS.—Each annual report sub22 mitted under subsection (a) shall include specific metrics 

23 that quantify the success of the Bank’s investments, in24 cluding information about— 


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1 (1) patents for discoveries and products sup2 ported by the Bank; 

3 (2) products commercialized with the help of 

4 Bank investments; 

5 (3) new companies started because of Bank in6 vestments; and 

7 (4) jobs that have resulted because of Bank in8 vestments. 

9 SEC. 104. GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU10 CATION AND RESEARCH INSTITUTES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bank, acting through the Di12 rector, shall award grants to eligible entities to carry out 

13 activities described in this section. 

14 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this title, the term ‘‘eli15 gible entity’’ means— 

16 (1) an institution of higher education (as de17 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); or 

19 (2) a nonprofit research institution that focuses 

20 on science research. 

21 (c) ADVISORY PANEL.—Before awarding grants 

22 under this section, the Director shall convene an advisory 

23 panel of experts on technology transfer, including business 

24 leaders and scientific researchers, who shall make rec25 ommendations to the Director about those eligible entities, 


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1 that apply for funding under this section, most likely to 

2 be able to use grant funds awarded under this title to fos3 ter the development of new companies, products, and jobs. 

4 (d) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—The Director shall 

5 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 

6 to enable the eligible entities to develop new companies, 

7 products, or jobs and technologies in a specific research 

8 area, including the following: 

9 (1) Life sciences and medicine. 

10 (2) Computer sciences, communications, and 

11 technology. 

12 (3) Physical sciences and engineering. 

13 (4) Other research areas determined important 

14 for economic development by the Director. 

15 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec16 tion, the Director shall give priority to entities that— 

17 (1) receive a significant amount of Federal 

18 funding to conduct science research from the Na19 tional Science Foundation, the Department of En20 ergy, the National Institutes of Health, or other 

21 agencies that the Director determines appropriate; 

22 (2) do not have a significant proof of concept 

23 fund already established at the entity; 

24 (3) have established relationships with business 

25 and industry that are likely to be able to use and 


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1 commercialize science and engineering discoveries 

2 and may be in close proximity to such industry and 

3 businesses; 

4 (4) demonstrate an institutional environment 

5 that is supportive of business development, includ6 ing— 

7 (A) an institutional strategic plan for busi8 ness development; and 

9 (B) a plan to leverage Federal investments 

10 with State, local, private, or other investments; 

11 and 

12 (5) demonstrate the appropriate administrative 

13 capacity to encourage the disclosure, patenting, and 

14 development of new companies, products, or jobs. 

15 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re17 ceives a grant under this section may use the grant 

18 funds for the following: 

19 (A) Supporting researchers that seek to 

20 develop science and engineering discoveries into 

21 new companies, products, or jobs, including ad22 ditional research or data collection with the goal 

23 of making a particular discovery attractive to 

24 investment from private entities such as cor25 porations and venture capital firms. 


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1 (B) Awarding subgrants to individual in2 vestigators to carry out the activities described 

3 in subparagraph (A). 

4 (C) Constructing facilities and creating 

5 business incubators to carry out the activities 

6 described in subparagraph (A). 

7 (D) Attracting additional private invest8 ment to grow and maintain the eligible entity’s 

9 proof of concept funding. 

10 (2) SUBGRANTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding subgrants 

12 to individual investigators as described in para13 graph (1)(B), an eligible entity shall consult 

14 with business leaders in relevant economic sec15 tors to identify technologies that are most 

16 promising and likely to attract private invest17 ment with research and development funded by 

18 the proof of concept funding. 

19 (B) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

21 shall convene an advisory committee of re22 searchers and business leaders in the ap23 propriate sector to review and recommend 

24 applications for subgrants under this sub25 section. 


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1 (ii) CONSIDERATION OF REC2 OMMENDATIONS.—An eligible entity shall 

3 take into consideration the recommenda4 tions of the advisory committee convened 

5 under clause (i) when making decisions 

6 about subgrants under this subsection. 

7 (iii) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION.—If an 

8 eligible entity’s grant making decision is 

9 different from the recommendations of the 

10 advisory committee under this subpara11 graph, the entity shall submit written jus12 tification for the decision to the Director. 

13 (3) CONSTRUCTING FACILITIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—In using funds to con15 struct facilities pursuant to paragraph (1)(C), 

16 an eligible entity shall consult with business 

17 leaders in relevant economic sectors to identify 

18 facilities that would most help the eligible entity 

19 meet the goals under paragraph (1)(A). 

20 (B) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

22 shall convene an advisory committee of re23 searchers and business leaders in the ap24 propriate sector to make recommendations 

25 about facilities construction. 


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1 (ii) CONSIDERATION OF REC2 OMMENDATIONS.—An eligible entity shall 

3 take into consideration the recommenda4 tions of the advisory committee convened 

5 under clause (i) when making decisions 

6 about facilities construction. 

7 (iii) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION.—If an 

8 eligible entity’s decision is different from 

9 the recommendations of the advisory com10 mittee under this subparagraph, the entity 

11 shall submit written justification for the 

12 decision to the Director. 

13 (g) REPORTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re15 ceives a grant under this section shall submit a re16 port to the Director each year during the grant pe17 riod and for 5 years after the grant period has 

18 ended. 

19 (2) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—The reports sub20 mitted under paragraph (1) shall— 

21 (A) detail the subgrants and facilities con22 struction decisions the entity has made since 

23 submitting its last report to the Director; 


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1 (B) update the Director on the status and 

2 results of subgrants and facilities construction 

3 made from grant funding; 

4 (C) report on the companies, products, 

5 jobs, venture capital, and other investments and 

6 funding that have resulted from funding pro7 vided by the grant awarded under this section; 

8 (D) report on the degree to which Federal 

9 investments have been leveraged, including ap10 propriate measures of returns on Federal in11 vestments; and 

12 (E) provide other information that the Di13 rector determines necessary to evaluate the effi14 cacy of the grant. 

15 SEC. 105. GRANTS TO INDIVIDUALS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bank, acting through the Di17 rector, shall award grants to individual investigators at eli18 gible entities, as defined in section 104(b), who seek to 

19 develop new science and engineering discoveries into new 

20 companies, products, or jobs. 

21 (b) APPLICATION.—Each individual who desires a 

22 grant under this section shall submit an application jointly 

23 with the technology transfer office, or other similar office, 

24 at the individual’s institution. Such application shall— 


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1 (1) demonstrate that the eligible institution will 

2 provide to the individual sufficient support in the aid 

3 of developing the specific discovery named in the ap4 plication into a new company or product, or new 

5 jobs, with the aid of the grant under this section; 

6 and 

7 (2) be submitted at such time, in such manner, 

8 and containing such additional information as the 

9 Director may require. 

10 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec11 tion, the Director shall give priority to individuals— 

12 (1) at institutions that lack a significant proof 

13 of concept fund; 

14 (2) who receive or have recently received Fed15 eral research funding; and 

16 (3) who demonstrate a capacity to commer17 cialize their research discovery. 

18 SEC. 106. LOANS TO PRIVATE COMPANIES AND INDIVID19 UALS. 

20 The Bank may make loans, at competitive interest 

21 rates, to private companies and individual investigators in 

22 order to promote the development of new science and engi23 neering discoveries into new companies, products, or jobs. 


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1 SEC. 107. AUTHORITY TO RESCIND FUNDING. 

2 (a) RESCISSION.—The Director shall rescind grants 

3 and loans awarded and loans made to individuals, eligible 

4 entities, or private companies under this title that do not 

5 use such grants or loans to make reasonable attempts to 

6 develop discoveries into new companies, products, or jobs. 

7 (b) REPAYMENT.—The Director shall require the re8 payment of grants and loans made under this section from 

9 individuals, eligible entities, and private companies that 

10 are significantly unsuccessful at creating new companies, 

11 products, or jobs. 

12 TITLE II—IMPROVING SCIENCE 

13 AND TECHNOLOGY JOB 

14 TRAINING 

15 SEC. 201. IMPROVING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JOB 

16 TRAINING. 

17 Section 510 of the National Science Foundation Au18 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1869) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY-FOCUSED IGERT PRO21 GRAM FUNDING AUTHORIZED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Na23 tional Science Foundation shall award grants, on a 

24 competitive basis, to eligible institutions to enable 

25 such institutions to support students who perform 


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1 some or all of their graduate research in an industry 

2 setting. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi4 ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu5 cation that— 

6 ‘‘(A) is receiving, as of the date of the ap7 plication submitted under paragraph (3), fund8 ing under the Integrative Graduate Education 

9 and Research Traineeship (referred to as 

10 ‘IGERT’) program; and 

11 ‘‘(B) enrolls students who are interested in 

12 performing some or all of their graduate re13 search in an industry setting. 

14 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution that 

15 desires to receive a grant under this subsection shall 

16 submit an application to the Director of the Na17 tional Science Foundation at such time, in such 

18 manner, and accompanied by such information as 

19 the Director may require. 

20 ‘‘(4) PEER REVIEW AND PRIORITY.—In award21 ing grants under this subsection, the Director of the 

22 National Science Foundation shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) consider the recommendations from a 

24 peer-review process; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) give priority to eligible institutions 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(i) have strong pre-existing relation4 ships with companies that are located near 

5 the institution and with companies whose 

6 research, development, and products are 

7 related to the type of research training 

8 that the institution’s IGERT supports; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) are likely to find career place10 ments in industry for students described in 

11 paragraph (2)(B). 

12 ‘‘(5) RENEWAL.—Grants awarded under this 

13 subsection may be renewed on a similar timeframe 

14 as other IGERT programs. 

15 ‘‘(6) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution 

16 that receives funding under this subsection shall use 

17 such funding to award grants to, and otherwise sup18 port, students who pursue graduate research in an 

19 industry setting.’’. 

20 SEC. 202. INDUSTRY-RELATED REQUIREMENTS FOR CER21 TAIN GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS. 

22 (a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—An institution of 

23 higher education that enrolls students who receive funding 

24 under a National Science Foundation graduate research 

25 fellowship, a National Institutes of Health national reVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:08 Apr 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2369.IS S2369

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1 search service award, or any Federal program that pro2 vides funding to train students at the graduate level for 

3 careers in scientific research and development in either an 

4 academic, nonprofit, or industry setting, shall provide stu5 dents who are receiving such funding with training related 

6 to— 

7 (1) intellectual property protection; 

8 (2) commercialization; and 

9 (3) the development of science discoveries. 

10 (b) TRAINING PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The train11 ing described in subsection (a) shall include the provision 

12 of information about: 

13 (1) The importance of disclosing discoveries and 

14 filing for patents. 

15 (2) Obtaining proof of concept or development 

16 funding. 

17 (3) The characteristics that make a scientific 

18 discovery attractive to private investment. 

19 (4) Resources that may assist researchers in 

20 creating a new start-up company. 

21 (c) EXCEPTION.—An institution of higher education 

22 that enrolls fewer than 6 students who receive funding 

23 under a National Science Foundation graduate research 

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1 vides funding to train students at the graduate level for 

2 careers in scientific research and development in either an 

3 academic, nonprofit, or industry setting shall be exempted 

4 from the requirements described in subsection (a). 

5 (d) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Director of the Na6 tional Science Foundation shall award grants to institu7 tions of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of 

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), 

9 that are subject to the requirements described in sub10 section (a) to enable such institutions to develop the cur11 ricula necessary to fulfill such requirements. 

12 TITLE III—GRANTS FOR 

13 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 

14 SEC. 301. GRANTS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT OF 

15 PROFESSIONAL SCIENCE MASTERS PRO16 GRAMS AT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDA17 TION. 

18 The National Science Foundation Authorization Act 

19 of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1861 note et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 528. GRANTS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT OF 

2 PROFESSIONAL SCIENCE MASTERS PRO3 GRAMS AT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDA4 TION. 

5 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Director of the 

6 National Science Foundation shall award grants to insti7 tutions of higher education to enable such institutions to 

8 develop professional science masters programs. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROFESSIONAL SCIENCE MASTERS PROGRAM.— 

10 Each professional science masters program developed with 

11 funds awarded under subsection (a) shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) be a masters degree program; 

13 ‘‘(2) prepare students for a career in business, 

14 industry, or at a nonprofit organization; 

15 ‘‘(3) provide students with research experiences, 

16 internship experiences, and the skills needed to suc17 ceed in business, industry, and nonprofit organiza18 tions; 

19 ‘‘(4) prepare students to be part of a workforce 

20 in the United States that— 

21 ‘‘(A) is well-trained in science, technology, 

22 engineering, and mathematics; and 

23 ‘‘(B) responds to the changing needs of so24 ciety and employers; 

25 ‘‘(5) prepare students in the areas of science, 

26 technology, engineering, and mathematics where 


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1 there is a high or emerging need for knowledgeable 

2 and skilled employees; 

3 ‘‘(6) involve a diverse group of faculty members 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) have appropriate research and teach6 ing expertise in the fields of science, technology, 

7 engineering, and mathematics; and 

8 ‘‘(B) includes instructors who have exper9 tise specifically relevant to preparing students 

10 for careers in business, industry, and nonprofit 

11 organizations; 

12 ‘‘(7) provide students with practical skills train13 ing that meets the needs of employers; and 

14 ‘‘(8) create partnerships between academic in15 stitutions and potential employers to determine 

16 jointly high-need areas of science, technology, engi17 neering, and mathematics, as well as the kinds of 

18 training needed for careers in such areas. 

19 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec20 tion, the Director of the National Science Foundation 

21 shall award grants through a competitive, peer-reviewed 

22 process and give priority to institutions of higher edu23 cation that demonstrate a commitment to implementing 


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1 and sustaining the teaching of the curriculum developed 

2 through the grant program.’’. 

Æ 


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