I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 461 

To authorize the National Science Foundation to award grants to institutions 

of higher education to develop and offer education and training programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2009 

Mr. WU (for himself, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BILBRAY, Ms. RICHARDSON, Ms. 

SCHWARTZ, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. 

SMITH of Nebraska, and Mr. HALL of Texas) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To authorize the National Science Foundation to award 

grants to institutions of higher education to develop and 

offer education and training programs. 

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 ‘‘10,000 Trained by 

5 2010 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the National Science Foundation has long 

2 been a government leader in strengthening our Na3 tion’s information infrastructure; 

4 (2) as automation and digitization reach the 

5 healthcare industry, that industry will need to draw 

6 heavily on the expertise of researchers funded by the 

7 National Science Foundation for the collection, proc8 essing, and utilization of information; 

9 (3) the National Science Foundation’s basic re10 search, demonstrations, and curriculum development 

11 assistance are all required to help make sure the in12 dustry has the knowledge, procedures, and workforce 

13 necessary to take full advantage of advanced com14 munications and information technology; 

15 (4) the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 

16 that 136,000 Americans were employed in 2000 as 

17 information management professionals in the 

18 healthcare industry alone, with projected growth of 

19 49 percent by 2010; and 

20 (5) no systematic plan exists for designing and 

21 implementing systems and information tools and for 

22 ensuring that the healthcare workforce can make the 

23 transition to the information age. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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

2 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

3 (2) INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘information’’ 

4 means healthcare information. 

5 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

6 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

7 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High8 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

9 SEC. 4. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH. 

10 (a) GRANTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta12 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies as ap13 propriate, shall award grants for basic research on 

14 innovative approaches to improve information sys15 tems. Research areas may include— 

16 (A) information studies; 

17 (B) population informatics; 

18 (C) translational informatics; and 

19 (D) data security, integrity, and confiden20 tiality. 

21 (2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

22 shall be awarded under this section on a merit-re23 viewed, competitive basis. 

24 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There are authorized to be appropriated to the NaVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:46 Jan 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H461.IH H461

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1 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub2 section— 

3 (A) $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

4 (B) $3,600,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

5 (C) $3,700,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

6 (D) $3,800,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

7 (b) INFORMATICS RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta9 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies as ap10 propriate, shall award multiyear grants, subject to 

11 the availability of appropriations, to institutions of 

12 higher education (or consortia thereof) to establish 

13 multidisciplinary Centers for Informatics Research. 

14 Institutions of higher education (or consortia there15 of) receiving such grants may partner with one or 

16 more government laboratories, for-profit institutions, 

17 or non-profit institutions. 

18 (2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

19 shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit20 reviewed, competitive basis. 

21 (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Centers 

22 shall be to generate innovative approaches in infor23 mation by conducting cutting-edge, multidisciplinary 

24 research, including in the research areas described in 

25 subsection (a)(1). 


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1 (4) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher 

2 education (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding 

3 under this subsection shall submit an application to 

4 the Director at such time, in such manner, and con5 taining such information as the Director may re6 quire. The application shall include, at a minimum, 

7 a description of— 

8 (A) the research projects that will be un9 dertaken by the Center and the contributions of 

10 each of the participating entities; 

11 (B) how the Center will promote active col12 laboration among professionals from different 

13 disciplines, such as information technology spe14 cialists, health professionals, administrators, 

15 and social science researchers; and 

16 (C) how the Center will contribute to in17 creasing the number of information researchers 

18 and other professionals. 

19 (5) CRITERIA.—In evaluating the applications 

20 submitted under paragraph (4), the Director shall 

21 consider, at a minimum— 

22 (A) the ability of the applicant to generate 

23 innovative approaches to information and effec24 tively carry out the research program; 


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1 (B) the experience of the applicant in con2 ducting research in the information field, and 

3 the capacity of the applicant to foster new mul4 tidisciplinary collaborations; 

5 (C) the capacity of the applicant to attract 

6 and provide adequate support for under7 graduate and graduate students to pursue in8 formation research; and 

9 (D) the extent to which the applicant will 

10 partner with government laboratories or for11 profit or non-profit entities, and the role the 

12 government laboratories or for-profit or non13 profit entities will play in the research under14 taken by the Center. 

15 (6) ANNUAL MEETING.—The Director shall 

16 convene an annual meeting of the Centers in order 

17 to foster collaboration and communication between 

18 Center participants. 

19 (7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated for the Na21 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub22 section— 

23 (A) $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

24 (B) $4,600,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

25 (C) $4,700,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 


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1 (D) $4,800,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

2 SEC. 5. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INFORMATION 

3 PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta6 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies as ap7 propriate, shall establish a program to award grants 

8 to institutions of higher education (or consortia 

9 thereof) to establish or improve undergraduate and 

10 master’s degree information programs, to increase 

11 the number of students who pursue undergraduate 

12 or master’s degrees in information fields, to provide 

13 students with experience in government or industry 

14 related to their information studies, and, to the ex15 tent practicable, to do so using distance learning. 

16 (2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

17 shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit18 reviewed, competitive basis. 

19 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under 

20 this subsection shall be used for activities that en21 hance the ability of an institution of higher edu22 cation (or consortium thereof) to provide high-qual23 ity information education, including certification and 

24 undergraduate and master’s degree programs, and 


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1 to recruit and retain increased numbers of students 

2 to such programs. Activities may include— 

3 (A) developing and revising curriculum to 

4 better prepare undergraduate and master’s de5 gree students for careers in the information 

6 field; 

7 (B) establishing degree and certificate pro8 grams in the information field; 

9 (C) creating opportunities in information 

10 research for undergraduate students; 

11 (D) acquiring equipment necessary for stu12 dent instruction in these programs, including 

13 the installation of testbed networks for student 

14 use; 

15 (E) providing opportunities for faculty to 

16 work with State, local, or Federal Government 

17 agencies, private industry, and other academic 

18 institutions to develop new expertise or to for19 mulate new information research directions; 

20 (F) establishing collaborations with other 

21 academic institutions or departments that seek 

22 to establish, expand, or enhance these pro23 grams; 

24 (G) establishing student internships for 

25 students in these programs at State, local, and 


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1 Federal Government agencies or in private in2 dustry; 

3 (H) establishing or enhancing bridge pro4 grams in information fields between community 

5 colleges and universities; and 

6 (I) any other activities the Director, in 

7 consultation with the heads of other Federal 

8 agencies as appropriate, determines will achieve 

9 the purposes described in paragraph (1). 

10 (4) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

11 (A) APPLICATION.—An institution of high12 er education (or a consortium thereof) seeking 

13 funding under this subsection shall submit an 

14 application to the Director at such time, in such 

15 manner, and with such contents as the Director 

16 may require. The application shall include, at a 

17 minimum— 

18 (i) a description of the applicant’s rel19 evant research and instructional capacity, 

20 and in the case of an application from a 

21 consortium of institutions of higher edu22 cation, a description of the role that each 

23 member will play in implementing the pro24 posal; 


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1 (ii) a comprehensive plan by which the 

2 institution or consortium will build instruc3 tional capacity in information fields; 

4 (iii) a description of relevant collabo5 rations with State, local, or Federal Gov6 ernment agencies or private industry that 

7 inform the instructional program; 

8 (iv) a survey of the applicant’s his9 toric student enrollment and placement 

10 data and a study of potential enrollment 

11 and placement for students enrolled in the 

12 proposed program; and 

13 (v) a plan to evaluate the success of 

14 the proposed program, including post15 graduate assessment of graduate school 

16 and job placement and retention rates as 

17 well as the relevance of the instructional 

18 program to graduate study and to the 

19 workplace. 

20 (B) AWARDS.—The Director shall ensure, 

21 to the extent practicable, that grants are 

22 awarded under this subsection in a wide range 

23 of geographic areas and categories of institu24 tions of higher education. 


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1 (5) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Director, in 

2 consultation with the heads of other Federal agen3 cies as appropriate, shall evaluate the program es4 tablished under this subsection no later than 3 years 

5 after the establishment of the program. At a min6 imum, the Director shall evaluate the extent to 

7 which the grants have achieved their objectives of in8 creasing the quality and quantity of students pur9 suing undergraduate or master’s degrees in informa10 tion fields. The Director shall make this assessment 

11 publicly available. 

12 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na14 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub15 section— 

16 (A) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

17 (B) $9,200,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

18 (C) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

19 (D) $9,600,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

20 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ACT

21 OF 1992.— 

22 (1) GRANTS.—The Director shall provide 

23 grants under the Scientific and Advanced Tech24 nology Act of 1992 for the purposes of section 3(a) 

25 and (b) of that Act, except that the activities supVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:46 Jan 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H461.IH H461

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1 ported pursuant to this subsection shall be limited to 

2 improving education in fields related to information. 

3 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na5 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub6 section— 

7 (A) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

8 (B) $7,200,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

9 (C) $7,400,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

10 (D) $7,600,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

Æ 


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