I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3038 

To establish an interagency working group to coordinate activities and develop 

policy guidance to protect federally funded research and development 

from foreign interference, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 30, 2019 

Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. 

STEFANIK, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency working group to coordinate 

activities and develop policy guidance to protect federally 

funded research and development from foreign interference, 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 ‘‘Securing American 

5 Science and Technology Act of 2019’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 3038 IH

1 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

3 Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), acting through 

4 the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), in 

5 consultation with the National Security Advisor, shall es6 tablish an interagency working group to coordinate activi7 ties to protect federally funded research and development 

8 from foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft, or espionage 

9 and to develop common definitions and best practices for 

10 Federal science agencies and grantees, while accounting 

11 for the importance of the open exchange of ideas and 

12 international talent required for scientific progress and 

13 American leadership in science and technology. 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The working group shall in16 clude a representative of each— 

17 (A) the National Science Foundation; 

18 (B) the Department of Energy; 

19 (C) the National Aeronautics and Space 

20 Administration; 

21 (D) the National Institute of Standards 

22 and Technology; 

23 (E) the Department of Commerce; 

24 (F) the National Institutes of Health; 

25 (G) the Department of Defense; 

26 (H) the Department of Agriculture; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 3038 IH

1 (I) the Department of Education; 

2 (J) the Department of State; 

3 (K) the Department of the Treasury; 

4 (L) the Department of Justice; 

5 (M) the Department of Homeland Secu6 rity; 

7 (N) the Central Intelligence Agency; 

8 (O) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

9 (P) the Office of the Director of National 

10 Intelligence; 

11 (Q) the Office of Management and Budget; 

12 (R) the National Economic Council; and 

13 (S) such other Federal department or 

14 agency as the President considers appropriate. 

15 (2) CHAIR.—The working group shall be 

16 chaired by the Director of the Office of Science and 

17 Technology Policy (or the Director’s designee). 

18 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WORKING GROUP.— 

19 The working group established under subsection (a) 

20 shall— 

21 (1) identify and track known and potential 

22 cyber, physical, and human intelligence threats and 

23 vulnerabilities within the United States scientific 

24 and technological enterprise; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 3038 IH

1 (2) coordinate efforts among agencies to share 

2 important information, including specific examples 

3 of foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft, or espio4 nage directed at federally funded research and devel5 opment or the integrity of the United States sci6 entific enterprise; 

7 (3) identify and assess existing mechanisms for 

8 control of federally funded research and develop9 ment; 

10 (4) develop an inventory of— 

11 (A) terms and definitions used across Fed12 eral science agencies to delineate areas that 

13 may require additional control; and 

14 (B) policies and procedures at Federal 

15 science agencies regarding control of federally 

16 funded research; and 

17 (5) develop and periodically update unclassified 

18 policy guidance to assist Federal science agencies 

19 and grantees in defending against threats to feder20 ally funded research and development and the integ21 rity of the United States scientific enterprise that— 

22 (A) includes— 

23 (i) descriptions of known and poten24 tial threats to federally funded research 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 3038 IH

1 and development and the integrity of the 

2 United States scientific enterprise; 

3 (ii) common definitions and termi4 nology for classification of research and 

5 technologies that are controlled; 

6 (iii) identified areas of research or 

7 technology that might require additional 

8 controls; 

9 (iv) recommendations for how control 

10 mechanisms can be utilized to protect fed11 erally funded research and development 

12 from foreign interference, cyberattacks, 

13 theft or espionage, including any rec14 ommendations for updates to existing con15 trol mechanisms; 

16 (v) recommendations for best prac17 tices for Federal science agencies and 

18 grantees to defend against such threats; 

19 (vi) assessments of potential con20 sequences that any proposed practices 

21 would have on international collaboration 

22 and United States leadership in science 

23 and technology; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 3038 IH

1 (vii) a classified addendum as nec2 essary to further inform Federal science 

3 agency decisionmaking; and 

4 (B) accounts for the range of needs across 

5 different sectors of the United States science 

6 and technology enterprise. 

7 (d) COORDINATION WITH NATIONAL ACADEMIES

8 ROUNDTABLE.—The Director of the Office of Science and 

9 Technology Policy shall coordinate with the Academies to 

10 ensure that at least one member of the interagency work11 ing group is also a member of the roundtable under sec12 tion 3. 

13 (e) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 6 months 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

15 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall provide 

16 a report to the relevant Committees that includes the in17 ventory required under subsection (c)(4), and an update 

18 on progress toward developing the policy guidance re19 quired under subsection (c)(5), as well as any additional 

20 activities undertaken by the working group in that time. 

21 (f) BIENNIAL REPORTING.—Two years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, and at least every 2 years there23 after, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

24 Policy shall provide a summary report to the relevant 

25 Committees on the activities of the working group and the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 3038 IH

1 most current version of the policy guidance required under 

2 subsection (c)(5). 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMIES SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, 

4 AND SECURITY ROUNDTABLE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Science Founda6 tion, the Department of Energy, and the Department of 

7 Defense, and any other agencies as determined by the Di8 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall 

9 enter into a joint agreement with the Academies to create 

10 a new ‘‘National Science, Technology, and Security 

11 Roundtable’’ (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 

12 ‘‘roundtable’’). 

13 (b) PARTICIPANTS.—The roundtable shall include 

14 senior representatives and practitioners from Federal 

15 science, intelligence, and national security agencies, law 

16 enforcement, as well as key stakeholders in the United 

17 States scientific enterprise including institutions of higher 

18 education, Federal research laboratories, industry, and 

19 non-profit research organizations. 

20 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the roundtable is to 

21 facilitate among participants— 

22 (1) exploration of critical issues related to pro23 tecting United States national and economic security 

24 while ensuring the open exchange of ideas and interVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3038.IH H3038

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 3038 IH

1 national talent required for scientific progress and 

2 American leadership in science and technology; 

3 (2) identification and consideration of security 

4 threats and risks involving federally funded research 

5 and development, including foreign interference, 

6 cyberattacks, theft, or espionage; 

7 (3) identification of effective approaches for 

8 communicating the threats and risks identified in 

9 paragraph (2) to the academic and scientific commu10 nity, including through the sharing of unclassified 

11 data and relevant case studies; 

12 (4) sharing of best practices for addressing and 

13 mitigating the threats and risks identified in para14 graph (2); and 

15 (5) examination of potential near- and long16 term responses by the government and the academic 

17 and scientific community to mitigate and address 

18 the risks associated with foreign threats. 

19 (d) REPORT AND BRIEFING.—The joint agreement 

20 under subsection (a) shall specify that— 

21 (1) the roundtable shall periodically organize 

22 workshops and issue publicly available reports on the 

23 topics described in subparagraph (c) and the activi24 ties of the roundtable; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 3038 IH

1 (2) not later than March 1, 2020, the Acad2 emies shall provide a briefing to relevant Committees 

3 on the progress and activities of the roundtable. 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 from fiscal year 2020 to 2024— 

7 (1) the Director of the National Science Foun8 dation, $2,000,000; 

9 (2) the Secretary of Energy, $1,500,000; and 

10 (3) the Secretary of Defense, $1,500,000. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Academies’’ 

14 means the National Academies of Science, Engineer15 ing and Medicine. 

16 (2) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

17 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

18 with at least $100,000,000 in basic and applied re19 search obligations in fiscal year 2018. 

20 (3) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means an 

21 entity that is— 

22 (A) a recipient of a Federal grant; and 

23 (B) an institution of higher education or a 

24 non-profit organization. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 3038 IH

1 (4) RELEVANT COMMITTEES.—The term ‘‘rel2 evant Committees’’ means— 

3 (A) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

4 Technology of the House of Representatives; 

5 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate; 

7 (C) the Committee on Armed Services of 

8 the House of Representatives; and 

9 (D) the Committee on Armed Services of 

10 the Senate. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS