I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5356 

To authorize the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy 

Office of Science to provide grants to early career researchers to establish 

innovative research programs and integrate education and research, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2006 

Mr. MCCAUL of Texas (for himself, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. 

CALVERT, Mr. EHLERS, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, 

and Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Science 

A BILL 

To authorize the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy Office of Science to provide grants 

to early career researchers to establish innovative research programs and integrate education and research, 

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 ‘‘Early Career Research 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION EARLY CAREER 

2 AWARDS FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 

3 RESEARCHERS. 

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

5 Science Foundation shall carry out a program to award 

6 grants to scientists and engineers at the early stage of 

7 their careers at institutions of higher education and re8 search institutions to conduct research in fields relevant 

9 to the mission of the Foundation. The existing Faculty 

10 Early Career Development (CAREER) Program may be 

11 designated as the mechanism for awarding such grants. 

12 (b) SIZE AND DURATION OF AWARD.—The duration 

13 of awards under this section shall be 5 years, and the 

14 amount per year shall be at least $80,000. 

15 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Award recipients shall be individ16 uals who are employed in a tenure-track position as an 

17 assistant professor or equivalent title, or who hold an 

18 equivalent position, at— 

19 (1) an institution of higher education in the 

20 United States; or 

21 (2) an organization in the United States that is 

22 a nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organiza23 tion such as a museum, observatory, or research lab24 oratory. 

25 (d) SELECTION.—Award recipients shall be selected 

26 on a merit-reviewed and competitive basis. 


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1 (e) SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA FOR

2 AWARDS.—An applicant seeking funding under this sec3 tion shall submit a proposal to the Director at such time, 

4 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

5 Director may require. In evaluating the proposals sub6 mitted under this section, the Director shall consider, at 

7 a minimum— 

8 (1) the intellectual merit of the proposed work; 

9 (2) the innovative or transformative nature of 

10 the proposed research; 

11 (3) the extent to which the proposal integrates 

12 research and education, including undergraduate 

13 education in science and engineering disciplines; and 

14 (4) the potential of the applicant for leadership 

15 at the frontiers of knowledge. 

16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For each 

17 of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011, the Director shall 

18 allocate at least 3.5 percent of funds appropriated to the 

19 National Science Foundation for Research and Related 

20 Activities to the grants program under this section. 

21 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide to the 

23 Committee on Science of the House of Representatives 

24 and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans25 portation of the Senate a report describing the distribution 


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1 of the institutions of the awardees of the Faculty Early 

2 Career Development Program since fiscal year 2001 

3 among each of the categories of institutions of higher edu4 cation defined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Ad5 vancement of Teaching and the organizations in sub6 section (c)(2). 

7 (h) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide 

9 to the Committee on Science of the House of Representa10 tives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

11 Transportation of the Senate a report evaluating the im12 pact of the Faculty Early Career Development Program 

13 on the ability of young faculty to compete for National 

14 Science Foundation research grants. 

15 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY EARLY CAREER AWARDS 

16 FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH17 ERS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Science 

19 of the Department of Energy shall carry out a program 

20 to award grants to scientists and engineers at the early 

21 stage of their careers at institutions of higher education 

22 and research institutions to conduct research in fields rel23 evant to the mission of the Department. 


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1 (b) SIZE AND DURATION OF AWARD.—The duration 

2 of awards under this section shall be up to 5 years, and 

3 the amount per year shall be at least $80,000. 

4 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Award recipients shall be individ5 uals who are employed in a tenure-track position as an 

6 assistant professor or equivalent title, or who hold an 

7 equivalent position, at— 

8 (1) an institution of higher education in the 

9 United States; or 

10 (2) an organization in the United States that is 

11 a nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organiza12 tion such as a museum, observatory, or research lab13 oratory. 

14 (d) SELECTION.—Award recipients shall be selected 

15 on a merit-reviewed and competitive basis. 

16 (e) SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA FOR

17 AWARDS.—An applicant seeking funding under this sec18 tion shall submit a proposal to the Under Secretary at 

19 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa20 tion as the Under Secretary may require. In evaluating 

21 the proposals submitted under this section, the Under Sec22 retary shall consider, at a minimum— 

23 (1) the intellectual merit of the proposed work; 

24 (2) the innovative or transformative nature of 

25 the proposed research; 


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1 (3) the extent to which the proposal integrates 

2 research and education, including undergraduate 

3 education in science and engineering disciplines; and 

4 (4) the potential of the applicant for leadership 

5 at the frontiers of knowledge. 

6 (f) COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL LABORA7 TORIES.—In awarding grants under this section, the 

8 Under Secretary shall give priority to proposals in which 

9 the proposed work includes collaboration with the Depart10 ment of Energy National Laboratories. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En13 ergy to carry out the Under Secretary’s responsibilities 

14 under this section $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

15 2007 through 2011. 

16 (h) REPORT ON RECRUITING AND RETAINING EARLY

17 CAREER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCHERS AT

18 THE NATIONAL LABORATORIES.—Not later than 3 

19 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Energy shall provide a report to the Committee 

21 on Science of the House of Representatives and to the 

22 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen23 ate on efforts to recruit and retain young scientists and 

24 engineers at the early stages of their careers at the DeVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:27 May 14, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5356.IH H5356

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1 partment of Energy National Laboratories. The report 

2 shall include— 

3 (1) a description of Department of Energy and 

4 National Laboratory policies and procedures, includ5 ing financial incentives, awards, promotions, time set 

6 aside for independent research, access to equipment 

7 or facilities, and other forms of recognition, designed 

8 to attract and retain young scientists and engineers; 

9 (2) an evaluation of the impact of these incen10 tives on the careers of young scientists and engi11 neers at Department of Energy National Labora12 tories, and also on the quality of the research at the 

13 National Laboratories and in Department of Energy 

14 programs; 

15 (3) a description of what barriers, if any, exist 

16 to efforts to recruit and retain young scientists and 

17 engineers, including limited availability of full time 

18 equivalent positions, legal and procedural require19 ments, and pay grading systems; and 

20 (4) the amount of funding devoted to efforts to 

21 recruit and retain young researchers and the source 

22 of such funds. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT ON NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS 

2 AND TECHNOLOGY EFFORTS TO RECRUIT 

3 AND RETAIN EARLY CAREER SCIENCE AND 

4 ENGINEERING RESEARCHERS. 

5 Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 

7 Standards and Technology shall provide a report to the 

8 Committee on Science of the House of Representatives 

9 and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans10 portation of the Senate on efforts to recruit and retain 

11 young scientists and engineers at the early stages of their 

12 careers at the National Institute of Standards and Tech13 nology laboratories and joint institutes. The report shall 

14 include— 

15 (1) a description of National Institute of Stand16 ards and Technology policies and procedures, includ17 ing financial incentives, awards, promotions, time set 

18 aside for independent research, access to equipment 

19 or facilities, and other forms of recognition, designed 

20 to attract and retain young scientists and engineers; 

21 (2) an evaluation of the impact of these incen22 tives on the careers of young scientists and engi23 neers at the National Institute of Standards and 

24 Technology, and also on the quality of the research 

25 at the National Institute of Standards and TechVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:27 May 14, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5356.IH H5356

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1 nology’s laboratories and in the National Institute of 

2 Standards and Technology’s programs; 

3 (3) a description of what barriers, if any, exist 

4 to efforts to recruit and retain young scientists and 

5 engineers, including limited availability of full time 

6 equivalent positions, legal and procedural require7 ments, and pay grading systems; and 

8 (4) the amount of funding devoted to efforts to 

9 recruit and retain young researchers and the source 

10 of such funds. 

11 SEC. 5. DEFINITION. 

12 In this Act, the term ‘‘institution of higher edu13 cation’’ has the meaning given such term in section 101(a) 

14 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

Æ 


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