I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4948 

To provide a Federal charter to the Fab Foundation for the National Fab 

Lab Network, a national network of local digital fabrication facilities 

providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools for learning 

skills, developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing personalized products, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2018 

Mr. FOSTER (for himself and Mr. MASSIE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide a Federal charter to the Fab Foundation for 

the National Fab Lab Network, a national network of 

local digital fabrication facilities providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools for learning skills, 

developing inventions, creating businesses, and producing 

personalized products, 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 ‘‘National Fab Lab Net5 work Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Scientific discoveries and technical innova4 tions are critical to the economic and national secu5 rity of the United States. 

6 (2) Maintaining the leadership of the United 

7 States in science, technology, engineering, and math8 ematics will require a diverse population with the 

9 skills, interest, and access to tools required to ad10 vance these fields. 

11 (3) Just as earlier digital revolutions in commu12 nications and computation provided individuals with 

13 the Internet and personal computers, a digital revo14 lution in fabrication will allow anyone to make al15 most anything, anywhere. 

16 (4) These creations include communications de17 vices, solar powered housing, consumer products, 

18 and new kinds of machines and tools for advanced 

19 manufacturing. 

20 (5) The Center for Bits and Atoms of the Mas21 sachusetts Institute of Technology (CBA) has con22 tributed significantly to the advancement of these 

23 goals through its work in creating and advancing 

24 digital fabrication facilities, or ‘‘fab labs’’ in the 

25 United States and abroad. 


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1 (6) MakerSpaces, TechShops, and other cre2 ative platforms also facilitate access to digital fab3 rication capabilities. 

4 (7) The fab labs of the Center for Bits and 

5 Atoms provide a model for a new kind of national 

6 laboratory that links local facilities for advanced 

7 manufacturing, providing universal access, and em8 powering communities. 

9 (8) A coordinated national public-private part10 nership will be the most effective way to accelerate 

11 the provision of this universal infrastructure for 

12 learning skills, developing inventions, creating busi13 nesses, and producing personalized products. 

14 SEC. 3. FEDERAL CHARTER FOR NATIONAL FAB LAB NET15 WORK. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of subtitle II of title 36, 

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following new chapter: 

19 ‘‘CHAPTER 2501—NATIONAL FAB LAB 

20 NETWORK 

‘‘CHAPTER 2501—NATIONAL FAB LAB NETWORK

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘250101. Definitions. 

‘‘250102. Organization. 

‘‘250103. Purposes and goals. 

‘‘250104. Membership and organization. 

‘‘250105. Governing body. 

‘‘250106. Powers. 

‘‘250107. Restrictions. 

‘‘250108. Records and inspection. 

‘‘250109. Duty to maintain tax exempt status. 


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‘‘250110. Liability for acts of officers and agents. 

‘‘250111. Annual report. 

1 ‘‘§ 250101. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this chapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) CORPORATION.—The term ‘corporation’ 

4 means the National Fab Lab Network. 

5 ‘‘(2) FAB LAB.—The term ‘fab lab’ means a fa6 cility that is— 

7 ‘‘(A) equipped with a standard integrated 

8 suite of fabrication tools that can convert dig9 ital designs into functional physical things; 

10 ‘‘(B) equipped with scanning tools to con11 vert physical things into digital designs; and 

12 ‘‘(C) made accessible to the general public, 

13 allowing for necessary fees. 

14 ‘‘§ 250102. Organization 

15 ‘‘(a) REDESIGNATION.—The Fab Foundation shall be 

16 known as the National Fab Lab Network. 

17 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The National Fab Lab 

18 Network is a federally chartered corporation. 

19 ‘‘(c) PERPETUAL EXISTENCE.—Except as otherwise 

20 provided, the corporation shall have perpetual succession. 

21 ‘‘§ 250103. Purposes and goals 

22 ‘‘The purposes and goals of the corporation are as 

23 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To create a national network of connected 

2 local fab labs to empower individuals and commu3 nities in the United States. 

4 ‘‘(2) To foster the use of distributed digital fab5 rication tools to promote science, technology, engi6 neering and math skills, increase invention and inno7 vation, create businesses and jobs, and fulfill per8 sonal, professional, and community needs. 

9 ‘‘(3) To serve as a resource to assist stake10 holders with the effective operation of fab labs. 

11 ‘‘(4) To provide a platform for education, re12 search, and for catalyzing new methods in science, 

13 technology, engineering, and mathematics education. 

14 ‘‘(5) To create new ways of educating the work15 force that will enable workers to compete in a 21st 

16 century global marketplace. 

17 ‘‘(6) To seek to establish at least one fab lab 

18 per every 700,000 individuals in the United States 

19 in the first 10 years of its operation, corresponding 

20 to availability in all 435 Congressional districts and 

21 to provide guidelines for their sustainable operation. 

22 ‘‘§ 250104. Membership and organization 

23 ‘‘Except as provided in this chapter, eligibility for 

24 membership in the corporation and the rights and priviVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Feb 09, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948

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1 leges of members are as provided in the constitution and 

2 bylaws of the corporation. 

3 ‘‘§ 250105. Governing body 

4 ‘‘Directors, officers, and other staff of the corpora5 tion, and their powers and duties are as provided in the 

6 bylaws of the corporation. 

7 ‘‘§ 250106. Powers 

8 ‘‘The corporation may— 

9 ‘‘(1) coordinate the creation of a national net10 work of local fab labs in the United States; 

11 ‘‘(2) issue guidelines for the sustainable oper12 ation of fab labs; 

13 ‘‘(3) serve as a resource for organizations and 

14 communities seeking to create fab labs by providing 

15 information, assessing suitability, advising on the lab 

16 lifecycle, and maintaining descriptions of prospective 

17 and operating sites; 

18 ‘‘(4) accept funds from private individuals, or19 ganizations, government agencies, or other organiza20 tions; 

21 ‘‘(5) distribute funds to other nonprofit organi22 zations to establish and operate fab labs as members 

23 of the corporation; 

24 ‘‘(6) facilitate communication between other 

25 nonprofit organizations seeking to join the corporaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Feb 09, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948

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1 tion with operational entities that can source and in2 stall fab labs, provide training, assist with oper3 ations, account for spending, and assess impact; 

4 ‘‘(7) communicate the benefits available 

5 through membership in the corporation to commu6 nities and the public; 

7 ‘‘(8) facilitate and participate in synergistic 

8 programs, including workforce training, job creation, 

9 researching the broader impacts of such programs, 

10 and the production of civic infrastructure; 

11 ‘‘(9) amend a constitution and bylaws for the 

12 management of its property and the regulation of its 

13 affairs; 

14 ‘‘(10) choose directors, officers, trustees, man15 agers, employees, and agents as the activities of the 

16 corporation require; 

17 ‘‘(11) make contracts; 

18 ‘‘(12) acquire, own, lease, encumber, and trans19 fer property as necessary or convenient to carry out 

20 the purposes of the corporation; 

21 ‘‘(13) borrow money, issue instruments of in22 debtedness, and secure its obligations by granting 

23 security interests in its property; 

24 ‘‘(14) charge and collect membership dues and 

25 subscription fees; and 


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1 ‘‘(15) sue and be sued. 

2 ‘‘§ 250107. Restrictions 

3 ‘‘(a) STOCK AND DIVIDENDS.—The corporation may 

4 not issue securities of any kind or declare or pay a divi5 dend. 

6 ‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME OR ASSETS.—The in7 come or assets of the corporation may not inure to the 

8 benefit of, or be distributed to, a director, officer, or mem9 ber during the life of the charter of the corporation under 

10 this chapter. This subsection does not prevent the pay11 ment of reasonable compensation to an officer or reim12 bursement for actual necessary expenses in amounts ap13 proved by the board of directors. 

14 ‘‘(c) LOANS.—The corporation may not make a loan 

15 to a director, officer, or employee. 

16 ‘‘(d) CLAIM OF GOVERNMENTAL APPROVAL OR AU17 THORITY.—The corporation may not claim congressional 

18 approval or the authority of the United States Govern19 ment for any of its activities. 

20 ‘‘§ 250108. Records and inspection 

21 ‘‘(a) RECORDS.—The corporation shall keep— 

22 ‘‘(1) correct and complete records of account; 

23 ‘‘(2) minutes of the proceedings of its members, 

24 board of directors, and committees having any of the 

25 authority of its board of directors; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) at its principal office, a record of the 

2 names and addresses of its members entitled to vote. 

3 ‘‘(b) INSPECTIONS.—A member entitled to vote, or an 

4 agent or attorney of the member, may inspect the records 

5 of the corporation for any proper purpose, at any reason6 able time. 

7 ‘‘§ 250109. Duty to maintain tax exempt status 

8 ‘‘The corporation shall maintain its status as an or9 ganization exempt from taxation under the Internal Rev10 enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘§ 250110. Liability for acts of officers and agents 

12 ‘‘The corporation is liable for the acts of its officers 

13 and agents acting within the scope of their authority. 

14 ‘‘§ 250111. Annual report 

15 ‘‘Not less frequently than once each year, the cor16 poration shall submit to Congress, including specifically 

17 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

19 and Technology of the House of Representatives, a report 

20 on the activities of the corporation during the prior fiscal 

21 year. The report shall be submitted at the same time as 

22 the report of the audit required by section 10101 of this 

23 title. The report may not be printed as a public docu24 ment.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

2 at the beginning of subtitle II of such title is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 2401 the 

4 following new item: 

‘‘2501. National Fab Lab Network ............................................. 250101’’. 

Æ 


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