IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3293 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To provide for greater accountability in Federal funding for 

scientific research, to promote the progress of science 

in the United States that serves that national interest. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scientific Research in 

3 the National Interest Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY IN FEDERAL FUNDING 

5 FOR RESEARCH. 

6 (a) STANDARD FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.—The Na7 tional Science Foundation shall award Federal funding for 

8 basic research and education in the sciences through a new 

9 research grant or cooperative agreement only if an affirm10 ative determination is made by the Foundation under sub11 section (b) and written justification relating thereto is 

12 published under subsection (c). 

13 (b) DETERMINATION.—A determination referred to 

14 in subsection (a) is a justification by the responsible Foun15 dation official as to how the research grant or cooperative 

16 agreement promotes the progress of science in the United 

17 States, consistent with the Foundation mission as estab18 lished in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 

19 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.), and further— 

20 (1) is worthy of Federal funding; 

21 (2) is consistent with established and widely ac22 cepted scientific methods applicable to the field of 

23 study of exploration; 

24 (3) is consistent with the definition of basic re25 search as it applies to the purpose and field of 

26 study; and 


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1 (4) is in the national interest, as indicated by 

2 having the potential to achieve— 

3 (A) increased economic competitiveness in 

4 the United States; 

5 (B) advancement of the health and welfare 

6 of the American public; 

7 (C) development of an American STEM 

8 workforce, including computer science and in9 formation technology sectors, that is globally 

10 competitive; 

11 (D) increased public scientific literacy and 

12 public engagement with science and technology 

13 in the United States; 

14 (E) increased partnerships between aca15 demia and industry in the United States; 

16 (F) support for the national defense of the 

17 United States; or 

18 (G) promotion of the progress of science 

19 for the United States. 

20 (c) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION.—Public announce21 ment of each award of Federal funding described in sub22 section (a) shall include a written justification from the 

23 responsible Foundation official as to how a grant or coop24 erative agreement meets the requirements of subsection 

25 (b). 


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1 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—A determination under sub2 section (b) shall be made after a research grant or cooper3 ative agreement proposal has satisfied the Foundation’s 

4 reviews for Merit and Broader Impacts. Nothing in this 

5 section shall be construed as altering the Foundation’s in6 tellectual merit or broader impacts criteria for evaluating 

7 grant applications. 

8 (e) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

9 construed to impact Federal funding for research grants 

10 or cooperative agreements awarded by the National 

11 Science Foundation prior to the date of enactment of this 

12 Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 10, 

2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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