II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1777 

To support innovation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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—EDUCATION 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Increasing funding for STEM secondary schools. 

Sec. 103. Report on STEM programs at secondary schools. 

Sec. 104. Study and report on retaining STEM students. 


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Sec. 105. Expanding undergraduate research opportunities. 

Sec. 106. Technology Commercialization Awards Pilot Program. 

Sec. 107. Computer science in the Robert Noyce teacher scholarship program. 

TITLE II—MANUFACTURING AND EXPORT PROMOTIONS 

Sec. 201. Manufacturing assistance program for small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States. 

Sec. 202. Removing barriers for exporting industries in the United States. 

TITLE III—OFFSETS 

Sec. 301. Limitation on Government printing costs. 

Sec. 302. 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), 

13 including computer science. 

14 (2) Technology-based startups play a critical 

15 role in driving innovation. Increasing the flow of 

16 capital to these firms would bridge the gap that 

17 often exists between their initial startup costs and 

18 their long-term capital needs, giving the firms the 


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1 resources necessary to research, develop, and com2 mercialize new products. 

3 (3) Simplifying, expanding, and stabilizing the 

4 tax credits that businesses and institutions of higher 

5 education rely on to offset the cost of research and 

6 would promote greater clarity in the Internal Rev7 enue Code of 1986 and deliver a powerful incentive 

8 for private sector innovation. 

9 (4) Increasing the emphasis on STEM edu10 cation in high schools and institutions of higher edu11 cation would ensure that more students have the 

12 skills and training to not only compete for jobs in 

13 a 21st century economy, but also to create the start14 up companies and revolutionary technologies that 

15 will sustain American prosperity for centuries to 

16 come. 

17 (5) The United States Bureau of Labor Statis18 tics predicts that in the year 2020, of the 9,200,000 

19 ‘‘STEM’’ jobs there will be in the United States, 

20 half of them will be in computing. With more than 

21 150,000 job openings expected annually in com22 puting, it is one of the fastest growing occupations 

23 in the United States. Increasing the teaching and 

24 learning of computer science in schools would 

25 strengthen the American workforce by helping our 


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1 students gain the skills and training necessary to 

2 fulfill new computer programming jobs. 

3 (6) An effective regulatory climate should pro4 tect consumers and promote transparency without 

5 overburdening the businesses that create jobs. Fed6 eral agencies with rulemaking authority should be 

7 vigilant in assessing the impact of new regulations 

8 on innovation and job creation, particularly in an9 chor industries like manufacturing. 

10 (7) The economic impact of a new product or 

11 technology is often dependent on its commercial suc12 cess. To ensure American products can be bought 

13 and sold in markets around the world, the Govern14 ment should identify and remove over burdensome 

15 regulations that create barriers for United States ex16 porting companies. 

17 TITLE I—EDUCATION 

18 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

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

21 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

22 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means an in24 stitution of higher education, as defined in section 


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1 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

3 (3) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means the 

4 subjects of science, technology, engineering, and 

5 mathematics, including other subjects based on 

6 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, 

7 such as computer science. 

8 (4) STEM SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term 

9 ‘‘STEM secondary school’’ has the meaning given 

10 the term by the Director, in coordination with the 

11 Secretary of Education, not later than 60 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (5) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

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

15 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

17 SEC. 102. INCREASING FUNDING FOR STEM SECONDARY 

18 SCHOOLS. 

19 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to in20 crease the number of STEM secondary schools in the 

21 United States from approximately 100 to approximately 

22 200. 

23 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

25 under subsection (e), the Secretary of Education, in 


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1 coordination with the Director, shall award grants, 

2 on a competitive basis, to State educational agencies 

3 to enable the State educational agencies to carry out 

4 the purposes of this section by establishing or ex5 panding STEM secondary schools. 

6 (2) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec7 retary shall award grants under this section in a 

8 manner that ensures geographic diversity, including 

9 awarding grants to State educational agencies serv10 ing rural areas. 

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 to enable the local edu20 cational agencies to establish and maintain new STEM 

21 secondary schools, which may include repurposing an ex22 isting secondary school to become a STEM secondary 

23 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 2015 through 2024. 

4 SEC. 103. REPORT ON STEM SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

5 (a) DATABASE.—The Secretary of Education, in co6 ordination with the Director, shall develop a database to 

7 identify existing STEM secondary schools. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in 

10 coordination with the Director, shall submit a report to 

11 Congress with recommendations on how to replicate exist12 ing successful STEM secondary schools. 

13 SEC. 104. STUDY AND REPORT ON RETAINING STEM STU14 DENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall conduct a 

16 study, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to 

17 make recommendations to Congress on how to improve re18 tention rates of students in STEM programs at institu19 tions of higher education. The study should include an 

20 analysis of existing successful retention programs at insti21 tutions of higher education. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Con24 gress a report on the study conducted under subsection 

25 (a). 


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1 SEC. 105. EXPANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OP2 PORTUNITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1, 2016, the 

4 President shall ensure that not less than 15 percent of 

5 all Federal funds available for a fiscal year for under6 graduate research opportunities at 2-year and 4-year de7 gree granting institutions of higher education shall be 

8 used to fund research opportunities for postsecondary stu9 dents, with emphasis on undergraduate research opportu10 nities occurring during the first 2 academic years of post11 secondary education. 

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

13 Congress that each Federal agency should restructure the 

14 agency’s undergraduate student research opportunities for 

15 students attending 2-year or 4-year institutions of higher 

16 education, in order to provide more research opportunities 

17 for postsecondary students during the students’ first 2 

18 academic years of postsecondary education. 

19 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—Not 

20 later than December 31, 2015, the head of each Federal 

21 agency shall submit to the President— 

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

23 for undergraduate student research under the juris24 diction of the agency; and 

25 (2) recommendations regarding how the agency 

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


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1 SEC. 106. TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION AWARDS 

2 PILOT PROGRAM. 

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

4 Science Foundation (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Di5 rector’’), through the Partnerships for Innovation Pro6 gram, shall administer a Technology Commercialization 

7 Awards Pilot Program through which promising tech8 nology advances derived from National Science Founda9 tion research grants shall be eligible for follow-on fund10 ing— 

11 (1) to move the technology through prototype 

12 and demonstration phases; 

13 (2) for training for researcher participants in 

14 business plan development, technology transfer, and 

15 commercialization; and 

16 (3) for establishing start-up firms based on the 

17 technologies developed. 

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

19 (1) seek from National Science Foundation of20 fices and divisions recommendations on outstanding 

21 research funded by the National Science Foundation 

22 with clear promise that such research can be ad23 vanced close to commercialized in a 3- to 5-year pe24 riod; 

25 (2) solicit applications from National Science 

26 Foundation award grantees who believe that they 


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1 have qualifying technologies eligible for commer2 cialization; and 

3 (3) award grants to such National Science 

4 Foundation award grantees based on a merit-based, 

5 competitive selection process. 

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

7 an Advisory Committee of experts on technology and the 

8 technology commercialization process to advise the Na9 tional Science Foundation on the Technology Commer10 cialization Awards Pilot Program. 

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

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

13 (1) report to the relevant committees of Con14 gress on the Technology Commercialization Awards 

15 Pilot Program’s results; and 

16 (2) make recommendations on whether and how 

17 such a technology commercialization fund could be 

18 adopted by other Federal research and development 

19 agencies. 

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 

23 2019. 


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1 SEC. 107. COMPUTER SCIENCE IN THE ROBERT NOYCE 

2 TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

3 Section 10 of the National Science Foundation Au4 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and mathematics’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘mathematics, informatics, and computer 

8 science’’ each place the term appears; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(D)(i), by striking ‘‘or 

10 mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

11 informatics, or computer science’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘or 

14 mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

15 informatics, or computer science’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘mathe17 matics or’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

18 informatics, or computer science’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (d)(4), by striking ‘‘mathe20 matics or’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, informatics, 

21 or computer science’’; and 

22 (5) in subsection (i)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘or 

24 mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, or 

25 computer science’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or 

2 mathematics,’’ and inserting ‘‘mathematics, 

3 informatics, or computer science,’’. 

4 TITLE II—MANUFACTURING AND 

5 EXPORT PROMOTIONS 

6 SEC. 201. MANUFACTURING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR 

7 SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFACTUR8 ERS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

11 the Secretary of Commerce. 

12 (2) SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED DOMESTIC

13 MANUFACTURERS.—The term ‘‘small- and medium14 sized domestic manufacturers’’ means businesses— 

15 (A) with not more than 500 employees; 

16 and 

17 (B) with facilities located in the United 

18 States that mechanically, physically, or chemi19 cally transform materials, substances, or com20 ponents into new products, including component 

21 parts. 

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

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es24 tablish a manufacturing assistance program for small- and 

25 medium-sized domestic manufacturers for the purposes of 


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1 promoting the manufacturing of goods in the United 

2 States and enabling those manufacturers to be competitive 

3 in the global economy by— 

4 (1) identifying and reducing regulatory burdens 

5 on those manufacturers under subsection (c); and 

6 (2) providing those manufacturers with infor7 mation and other assistance under subsection (d). 

8 (c) REDUCTION OF REGULATORY BURDENS.—The 

9 Secretary shall— 

10 (1) identify any regulatory requirements appli11 cable to small- and medium-sized domestic manufac12 turers that— 

13 (A) impose an unnecessary burden on 

14 those manufacturers; and 

15 (B) may be eliminated or reduced in order 

16 to promote the manufacture of goods in the 

17 United States; 

18 (2) take appropriate action to eliminate or re19 duce the regulatory requirements identified under 

20 paragraph (1); and 

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

22 which the Secretary establishes the program re23 quired by subsection (b), submit to Congress a re24 port that makes recommendations with respect to 

25 action by Congress that may be necessary to elimiVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Nov 27, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1777.IS S1777

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1 nate or reduce the regulatory requirements identified 

2 under paragraph (1). 

3 (d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall assist small4 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers by providing 

5 the manufacturers with information with respect to— 

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

7 manufacturers can comply efficiently with regula8 tions applicable to those manufacturers; 

9 (2) recently proposed and recently prescribed 

10 regulations likely to have an effect on small- and 

11 medium-sized domestic manufacturers; and 

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

13 manufacturers can express their views and provide 

14 input with respect to any policy developments relat15 ing to the manufacture of products in the United 

16 States. 

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

18 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

19 the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership of the 

20 National Institute of Standards and Technology shall sub21 mit to Congress a report on the program established under 

22 subsection (b) that includes— 

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

24 program has been effective— 


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1 (A) in identifying and reducing regulatory 

2 burdens on small- and medium-sized domestic 

3 manufacturers under subsection (c); 

4 (B) in providing information and other as5 sistance to small- and medium-sized domestic 

6 manufacturers under subsection (d); and 

7 (C) in promoting the manufacturing of 

8 goods in the United States and enabling small9 and medium-sized domestic manufacturers to be 

10 competitive in the global economy; 

11 (2) detailed information with respect to the na12 ture, location, and duration of any jobs created as 

13 a result of the program established under subsection 

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

15 compile that information; and 

16 (3) any recommendations with respect to con17 tinuing or improving the program established under 

18 subsection (b). 

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

21 $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 

22 2019 to carry out the program established under sub23 section (b). 


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1 SEC. 202. REMOVING BARRIERS FOR EXPORTING INDUS2 TRIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

3 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Under Secretary for International 

5 Trade of the Department of Commerce shall submit to 

6 Congress a report— 

7 (1) identifying the 20 industries in the United 

8 States that export the most goods or services; 

9 (2) evaluating the competitiveness of those 20 

10 industries in global markets compared to competi11 tors manufacturing outside the United States; 

12 (3) identifying domestic regulatory and policy 

13 barriers to increasing exports by these industries; 

14 (4) identifying foreign barriers that impede the 

15 access of these industries to foreign markets; and 

16 (5) making recommendations with respect to 

17 legislative action that could by taken by Congress to 

18 reduce those barriers and improve the global com19 petitiveness of these industries in foreign markets. 

20 TITLE III—OFFSETS 

21 SEC. 301. LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT PRINTING COSTS. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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

24 Budget shall coordinate with the heads of Federal depart25 ments and independent agencies to— 


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1 (1) determine which Government publications 

2 could be available on Government websites and no 

3 longer printed and to devise a strategy to reduce 

4 overall Government printing costs over the 10-year 

5 period beginning with fiscal year 2015, except that 

6 the Director shall ensure that essential printed docu7 ments prepared for social security recipients, medi8 care beneficiaries, and other populations in areas 

9 with limited Internet access or use continue to re10 main available; 

11 (2) establish Government-wide Federal guide12 lines on employee printing; and 

13 (3) issue on the Office of Management and 

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

15 analysis on implementing a digital signature system 

16 and on establishing employee printing identification 

17 systems, such as the use of individual employee 

18 cards or codes, to monitor the amount of printing 

19 done by Federal employees, except that the Director 

20 of the Office of Management and Budget shall en21 sure that Federal employee printing costs unrelated 

22 to national defense, homeland security, border secu23 rity, national disasters, and other emergencies do 

24 not exceed $860,000,000 annually. 


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1 SEC. 302. ELIMINATING BONUSES FOR POOR PERFORM2 ANCE BY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS. 

3 (a) GUIDANCE ON LINKING OF AWARD AND INCEN4 TIVE FEES TO OUTCOMES.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, each Federal depart6 ment or agency shall issue guidance, with detailed imple7 mentation instructions (including definitions), on the ap8 propriate use of award and incentive fees in department 

9 or agency programs. 

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

11 shall— 

12 (1) ensure that all new contracts using award 

13 fees link such fees to outcomes (which shall be de14 fined in terms of program cost, schedule, and per15 formance); 

16 (2) establish standards for identifying the ap17 propriate level of officials authorized to approve the 

18 use of award and incentive fees in new contracts; 

19 (3) provide guidance on the circumstances in 

20 which contractor performance may be judged to be 

21 excellent or superior and the percentage of the avail22 able award fee which contractors should be paid for 

23 such performance; 

24 (4) establish standards for determining the per25 centage of the available award fee, if any, which con26 tractors should be paid for performance that is 


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

2 satisfactory; 

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

4 contractor performance that is judged to be below 

5 satisfactory performance or performance that does 

6 not meet the basic requirements of the contract; 

7 (6) provide specific direction on the cir8 cumstances, if any, in which it may be appropriate 

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

10 award fee period to a subsequent award fee period 

11 or periods; 

12 (7) ensure that the Department or agency— 

13 (A) collects relevant data on award and in14 centive fees paid to contractors; and 

15 (B) has mechanisms in place to evaluate 

16 such data on a regular basis; and 

17 (8) include performance measures to evaluate 

18 the effectiveness of award and incentive fees as a 

19 tool for improving contractor performance and 

20 achieving desired program outcomes. 

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

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

23 due to contractors’ inability to meet the criteria estab24 lished by this section shall be returned to the Treasury. 

Æ 


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