II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2134 

To strengthen existing programs to assist manufacturing innovation and education, to expand outreach programs for small and medium-sized manufacturers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2005 

Mr. SMITH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To strengthen existing programs to assist manufacturing innovation and education, to expand outreach programs 

for small and medium-sized manufacturers, 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 ‘‘Manufacturing Tech5 nology Competitiveness Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. COLLABORATIVE MANUFACTURING RESEARCH 

2 PILOT GRANTS. 

3 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

4 Act is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating the first section 32 (15 

6 U.S.C. 271 note; as redesignated by Public Law 

7 105–309) as section 34; and 

8 (2) by inserting before the section redesignated 

9 by paragraph (1) the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 33. COLLABORATIVE MANUFACTURING RESEARCH 

11 PILOT GRANTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es14 tablish a Manufacturing Research Pilot Grants pro15 gram to make awards to partnerships consisting of 

16 participants described in paragraph (2) for the pur17 poses described in paragraph (3). Awards shall be 

18 made on a peer-reviewed, competitive basis. 

19 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—The partnerships de20 scribed in this paragraph shall include at least— 

21 ‘‘(A) 1 manufacturing industry partner; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) 1 nonindustry partner. 

24 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

25 established under this section is to foster cost-shared 

26 collaborations among firms, educational institutions, 
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1 research institutions, State agencies, and nonprofit 

2 organizations to encourage the development of inno3 vative, multidisciplinary manufacturing technologies. 

4 Partnerships receiving awards under this section 

5 shall conduct applied research to develop new manu6 facturing processes, techniques, or materials that 

7 would contribute to improved performance, produc8 tivity, and the manufacturing competitiveness of the 

9 United States, and build lasting alliances among col10 laborators. 

11 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—An award made 

12 under this section shall provide for not more than one13 third of the costs of the partnership. Not more than an 

14 additional one-third of such costs may be obtained directly 

15 or indirectly from other Federal sources. 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards under 

17 this section shall be submitted in such manner, at such 

18 time, and containing such information as the Director 

19 shall require. Such applications shall describe at a min20 imum— 

21 ‘‘(1) how each partner will participate in devel22 oping and carrying out the research agenda of the 

23 partnership; 

24 ‘‘(2) the research that the grant will fund; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) how the research to be funded with the 

2 award will contribute to improved performance, pro3 ductivity, and the manufacturing competitiveness of 

4 the United States. 

5 ‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting applica6 tions for awards under this section, the Director shall con7 sider at a minimum— 

8 ‘‘(1) the degree to which projects will have a 

9 broad impact on manufacturing; 

10 ‘‘(2) the novelty and scientific and technical 

11 merit of the proposed projects; and 

12 ‘‘(3) the demonstrated capabilities of the appli13 cants to successfully carry out the proposed re14 search. 

15 ‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION.—In selecting applications under 

16 this section the Director shall ensure, to the extent prac17 ticable, a distribution of overall awards among a variety 

18 of manufacturing industry sectors and a range of firm 

19 sizes. 

20 ‘‘(f) DURATION.—In carrying out this section, the Di21 rector shall conduct a single pilot competition to solicit 

22 and make awards. Each award shall be for a 3-year pe23 riod.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. MANUFACTURING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

2 Section 18 of the National Institute of Standards and 

3 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–1) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

5 ‘‘The Director is authorized’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(b) MANUFACTURING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To promote the devel10 opment of a robust research community working at 

11 the leading edge of manufacturing sciences, the Di12 rector shall establish a program to award— 

13 ‘‘(A) postdoctoral research fellowships at 

14 the Institute for research activities related to 

15 manufacturing sciences; and 

16 ‘‘(B) senior research fellowships to estab17 lished researchers in industry or at institutions 

18 of higher education who wish to pursue studies 

19 related to the manufacturing sciences at the In20 stitute. 

21 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for an 

22 award under this subsection, an individual shall sub23 mit an application to the Director at such time, in 

24 such manner, and containing such information as 

25 the Director may require. 
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1 ‘‘(3) STIPEND LEVELS.—Under this section, the 

2 Director shall provide stipends for postdoctoral re3 search fellowships at a level consistent with the Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

5 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, and sen6 ior research fellowships at levels consistent with sup7 port for a faculty member in a sabbatical position.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION. 

9 (a) MANUFACTURING CENTER EVALUATION.—Sec10 tion 25(c)(5) of the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(c)(5)) is amended by in12 serting ‘‘A Center that has not received a positive evalua13 tion by the evaluation panel shall be notified by the panel 

14 of the deficiencies in its performance and may be placed 

15 on probation for one year, after which time the panel may 

16 reevaluate the Center. If the Center has not addressed the 

17 deficiencies identified by the panel, or shown a significant 

18 improvement in its performance, the Director may conduct 

19 a new competition to select an operator for the Center or 

20 may close the Center.’’ after ‘‘sixth year at declining lev21 els.’’. 

22 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 25(d) of the National 

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

24 278k(d)) is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to such 

2 sums as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc3 tor to operate the Centers program, the Secretary and Di4 rector also may accept funds from other Federal depart5 ments and agencies and under section 2(c)(7) from the 

6 private sector for the purpose of strengthening United 

7 States manufacturing. Such funds, if allocated to a Cen8 ter, shall not be considered in the calculation of the Fed9 eral share of capital and annual operating and mainte10 nance costs under subsection (c).’’. 

11 (c) MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER COMPETI12 TIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 25 of the National Insti13 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 sections: 

16 ‘‘(e) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es18 tablish, within the Manufacturing Extension Part19 nership program under this section and section 26 

20 of this Act, a program of competitive awards among 

21 participants described in paragraph (2) for the pur22 poses described in paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

24 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

25 a consortium of such Centers. 
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1 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

2 under this subsection is to develop projects to solve 

3 new or emerging manufacturing problems as deter4 mined by the Director, in consultation with the Di5 rector of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

6 program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

7 National Advisory Board, and small and medium8 sized manufacturers. One or more themes for the 

9 competition may be identified, which may vary from 

10 year to year, depending on the needs of manufactur11 ers and the success of previous competitions. These 

12 themes shall be related to projects associated with 

13 manufacturing extension activities, including supply 

14 chain integration and quality management, or extend 

15 beyond the traditional areas. 

16 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 

17 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

18 manner, at such time, and containing such informa19 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

20 with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Na21 tional Advisory Board. 

22 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub23 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

24 awarded. The Director shall select proposals to re25 ceive awards— 
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1 ‘‘(A) that utilize innovative or collaborative 

2 approaches to solving the problem described in 

3 the competition; 

4 ‘‘(B) that will improve the competitiveness 

5 of industries in the region in which the Center 

6 or Centers are located; and 

7 ‘‘(C) that will contribute to the long-term 

8 economic stability of that region. 

9 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 

10 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

11 to provide a matching contribution. 

12 ‘‘(f) AUDITS.—A center that receives assistance 

13 under this section shall submit annual audits to the Sec14 retary in accordance with Office of Management and 

15 Budget Circular A–133 and shall make such audits avail16 able to the public on request.’’. 

17 (d) PROGRAMMATIC AND OPERATIONAL PLAN.—Not 

18 later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

20 and Technology shall transmit to the Committee on 

21 Science of the House of Representatives and the Com22 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

23 Senate a 3-year programmatic and operational plan for 

24 the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program under 

25 sections 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Standards 
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1 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 278l). The plan 

2 shall include comments on the plan from the Manufac3 turing Extension Partnership State partners and the Man4 ufacturing Extension Partnership National Advisory 

5 Board. 

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR MANU7 FACTURING SUPPORT PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

9 PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

10 the Secretary of Commerce, or other appropriate Federal 

11 agencies, for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

12 program under sections 25 and 26 of the National Insti13 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k 

14 and 278l)— 

15 (1) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, of which 

16 not more than $1,000,000 shall be for the competi17 tive grant program under section 25(e) of such Act 

18 (15 U.S.C. 278k(e)); 

19 (2) $115,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, of which 

20 not more than $4,000,000 shall be for the competi21 tive grant program under section 25(e) of such Act 

22 (15 U.S.C. 278k(e)); and 

23 (3) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which 

24 not more than $4,100,000 shall be for the competi-
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1 tive grant program under section 25(e) of such Act 

2 (15 U.S.C. 278k(e)). 

3 (b) COLLABORATIVE MANUFACTURING RESEARCH

4 PILOT GRANTS PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 

5 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for the Col6 laborative Manufacturing Research Pilot Grants program 

7 under section 33 of the National Institute of Standards 

8 and Technology Act— 

9 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

10 (2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

11 (3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

12 (c) FELLOWSHIPS.—There are authorized to be ap13 propriated to the Secretary of Commerce for Manufac14 turing Fellowships at the National Institute of Standards 

15 and Technology under section 18(b) of the National Insti16 tute of Standards and Technology Act, as added by section 

17 3 of this Act— 

18 (1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

19 (2) $1,750,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

20 (3) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

21 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND DEVEL22 OPMENT. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

25 appropriated to the Director of the National Science 
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1 Foundation, from sums otherwise authorized to be 

2 appropriated, for the programs established under 

3 section 3 of the Scientific and Advanced-Technology 

4 Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 1862i)— 

5 (A) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 

6 $5,000,000 of which may be used to support 

7 the education and preparation of manufacturing 

8 technicians for certification; 

9 (B) $57,750,000 for fiscal year 2007, 

10 $5,000,000 of which may be used to support 

11 the education and preparation of manufacturing 

12 technicians for certification; and 

13 (C) $60,600,000 for fiscal year 2008, 

14 $5,000,000 of which may be used to support 

15 the education and preparation of manufacturing 

16 technicians for certification. 

17 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—Funds appropriated under 

18 this subsection shall be made available, to the max19 imum extent practicable, to diverse institutions, in20 cluding historically Black colleges and universities 

21 and other minority-serving institutions. 

22 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the Scientific and 

23 Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 1862i) is 

24 amended— 
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1 (1) in subsections (a)(1) and (c)(2), by insert2 ing ‘‘, including manufacturing,’’ after ‘‘advanced3 technology fields’’; and 

4 (2) by inserting ‘‘, including manufacturing’’ 

5 after ‘‘advanced-technology fields’’ each place the 

6 term appears, other than in subsections (a)(1) and 

7 (c)(2). 

8 SEC. 7. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH AND SERV9 ICES. 

10 (a) LABORATORY ACTIVITIES.—There are authorized 

11 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for the 

12 scientific and technical research and services laboratory 

13 activities of the National Institute of Standards and Tech14 nology— 

15 (1) $426,267,000 for fiscal year 2006, of 

16 which— 

17 (A) $50,833,000 shall be for Electronics 

18 and Electrical Engineering; 

19 (B) $28,023,000 shall be for Manufac20 turing Engineering; 

21 (C) $52,433,000 shall be for Chemical 

22 Science and Technology; 

23 (D) $46,706,000 shall be for Physics; 

24 (E) $33,500,000 shall be for Material 

25 Science and Engineering; 
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1 (F) $24,321,000 shall be for Building and 

2 Fire Research; 

3 (G) $68,423,000 shall be for Computer 

4 Science and Applied Mathematics; 

5 (H) $20,134,000 shall be for Technical As6 sistance; 

7 (I) $48,326,000 shall be for Research Sup8 port Activities; 

9 (J) $29,369,000 shall be for the National 

10 Institute of Standards and Technology Center 

11 for Neutron Research; and 

12 (K) $18,543,000 shall be for the National 

13 Nanomanufacturing and Nanometrology Facil14 ity; 

15 (2) $447,580,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

16 (3) $456,979,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

17 (b) MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY

18 AWARD PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated to the Secretary of Commerce for the Malcolm 

20 Baldrige National Quality Award program under section 

21 17 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

22 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711a)— 

23 (1) $5,654,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

24 (2) $5,795,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

25 (3) $5,939,000 for fiscal year 2008. 
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1 (c) CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE.—There are 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com3 merce for construction and maintenance of facilities of the 

4 National Institute of Standards and Technology— 

5 (1) $58,898,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

6 (2) $61,843,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

7 (3) $63,389,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

8 SEC. 8. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com11 merce for the Advanced Technology Program under sec12 tion 28 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech13 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n) $140,000,000 for each of 

14 the fiscal years 2006 through 2008. 

15 (b) REPORT ON ELIMINATION.—Not later than 3 

16 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary shall submit to Congress a report detailing the im18 pacts of the possible elimination of the Advanced Tech19 nology Program on the laboratory programs at the Na20 tional Institute of Standards Technology. 

21 (c) LOSS OF FUNDING.—At the time of the Presi22 dent’s budget request for fiscal year 2007, the Secretary 

23 shall submit to Congress a report on how the Department 

24 of Commerce plans to absorb the loss of Advanced Tech25 nology Program funds to the laboratory programs at the 
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1 National Institute of Standards and Technology, or other2 wise mitigate the effects of this loss on its programs and 

3 personnel. 

4 SEC. 9. STANDARDS EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—(1) As part of the 

6 Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute 

7 Program, the Director of the National Institute of Stand8 ards and Technology shall carry out a Standards Edu9 cation program to award grants to institutions of higher 

10 education to support efforts by such institutions to develop 

11 curricula on the role of standards in the fields of engineer12 ing, business, science, and economics. The curricula 

13 should address topics such as— 

14 (A) development of technical standards; 

15 (B) demonstrating conformity to standards; 

16 (C) intellectual property and antitrust issues; 

17 (D) standardization as a key element of busi18 ness strategy; 

19 (E) survey of organizations that develop stand20 ards; 

21 (F) the standards life cycle; 

22 (G) case studies in effective standardization; 

23 (H) managing standardization activities; and 

24 (I) managing organizations that develop stand25 ards. 
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1 (2) Grants shall be awarded under this section on a 

2 competitive, merit-reviewed basis and shall require cost3 sharing from non-Federal sources. 

4 (b) SELECTION PROCESS.—(1) An institution of 

5 higher education seeking funding under this section shall 

6 submit an application to the Director at such time, in such 

7 manner, and containing such information as the Director 

8 may require. The application shall include at a min9 imum— 

10 (A) a description of the content and schedule 

11 for adoption of the proposed curricula in the courses 

12 of study offered by the applicant; and 

13 (B) a description of the source and amount of 

14 cost-sharing to be provided. 

15 (2) In evaluating the applications submitted under 

16 paragraph (1) the Director shall consider, at a min17 imum— 

18 (A) the level of commitment demonstrated by 

19 the applicant in carrying out and sustaining lasting 

20 curricula changes in accordance with subsection 

21 (a)(1); and 

22 (B) the amount of cost-sharing provided. 

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com25 merce for the Teacher Science and Technology Enhance-
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1 ment Institute program of the National Institute of Stand2 ards and Technology— 

3 (1) $773,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

4 (2) $796,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

5 (3) $820,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

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