I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5605 

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 

JUNE 14, 2006 

Mr. WU (for himself and Mr. HALL) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Science 

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— 

8 (1) the National Science Foundation has long 

9 been a government leader in strengthening our Na10 tion’s information infrastructure; 


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1 (2) as automation and digitization reach the 

2 healthcare industry, that industry will need to draw 

3 heavily on the expertise of researchers funded by the 

4 National Science Foundation for the collection, proc5 essing, and utilization of information; 

6 (3) the National Science Foundation’s basic re7 search, demonstrations, and curriculum development 

8 assistance are all required to help make sure the in9 dustry has the knowledge, procedures, and workforce 

10 necessary to take full advantage of advanced com11 munications and information technology; 

12 (4) the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 

13 that 136,000 Americans were employed in 2000 as 

14 information management professionals in the 

15 healthcare industry alone, with projected growth of 

16 49 percent by 2010; and 

17 (5) no systematic plan exists for designing and 

18 implementing systems and information tools and for 

19 ensuring that the healthcare workforce can make the 

20 transition to the information age. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

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

24 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 


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

2 means healthcare information. 

3 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

5 meaning give that term in section 101 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 SEC. 4. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH. 

8 (a) GRANTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta10 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies as ap11 propriate, shall award grants for basic research on 

12 innovative approaches to improve information sys13 tems. Research areas may include— 

14 (A) information studies; 

15 (B) population informatics; 

16 (C) translational informatics; and 

17 (D) data security, integrity, and confiden18 tiality. 

19 (2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

20 shall be awarded under this section on a merit-re21 viewed, competitive basis. 

22 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na24 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub25 section— 


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1 (A) $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

2 (B) $3,600,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

3 (C) $3,700,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

4 (D) $3,800,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

5 (b) INFORMATICS RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta7 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies as ap8 propriate, shall award multiyear grants, subject to 

9 the availability of appropriations, to institutions of 

10 higher education (or consortia thereof) to establish 

11 multidisciplinary Centers for Informatics Research. 

12 Institutions of higher education (or consortia there13 of) receiving such grants may partner with one or 

14 more government laboratories, for-profit institutions, 

15 or non-profit institutions. 

16 (2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

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

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

20 shall be to generate innovative approaches in infor21 mation by conducting cutting-edge, multidisciplinary 

22 research, including in the research areas described in 

23 subsection (a)(1). 

24 (4) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher 

25 education (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding 


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1 under this subsection shall submit an application to 

2 the Director at such time, in such manner, and con3 taining such information as the Director may re4 quire. The application shall include, at a minimum, 

5 a description of— 

6 (A) the research projects that will be un7 dertaken by the Center and the contributions of 

8 each of the participating entities; 

9 (B) how the Center will promote active col10 laboration among professionals from different 

11 disciplines, such as information technology spe12 cialists, health professionals, administrators, 

13 and social science researchers; and 

14 (C) how the Center will contribute to in15 creasing the number of information researchers 

16 and other professionals. 

17 (5) CRITERIA.—In evaluating the applications 

18 submitted under paragraph (4), the Director shall 

19 consider, at a minimum— 

20 (A) the ability of the applicant to generate 

21 innovative approaches to information and effec22 tively carry out the research program; 

23 (B) the experience of the applicant in con24 ducting research in the information field, and 


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1 the capacity of the applicant to foster new mul2 tidisciplinary collaborations; 

3 (C) the capacity of the applicant to attract 

4 and provide adequate support for under5 graduate and graduate students to pursue in6 formation research; and 

7 (D) the extent to which the applicant will 

8 partner with government laboratories or for9 profit or non-profit entities, and the role the 

10 government laboratories or for-profit or non11 profit entities will play in the research under12 taken by the Center. 

13 (6) ANNUAL MEETING.—The Director shall 

14 convene an annual meeting of the Centers in order 

15 to foster collaboration and communication between 

16 Center participants. 

17 (7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated for the Na19 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub20 section— 

21 (A) $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

22 (B) $4,600,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

23 (C) $4,700,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

24 (D) $4,800,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

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1 SEC. 5. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INFORMATION 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta5 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies as ap6 propriate, shall establish a program to award grants 

7 to institutions of higher education (or consortia 

8 thereof) to establish or improve undergraduate and 

9 master’s degree information programs, to increase 

10 the number of students who pursue undergraduate 

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

12 students with experience in government or industry 

13 related to their information studies, and, to the ex14 tent practicable, to do so using distance learning. 

15 (2) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants 

16 shall be awarded under this subsection on a merit17 reviewed, competitive basis. 

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

19 this subsection shall be used for activities that en20 hance the ability of an institution of higher edu21 cation (or consortium thereof) to provide high-qual22 ity information education, including certification and 

23 undergraduate and master’s degree programs, and 

24 to recruit and retain increased numbers of students 

25 to such programs. Activities may include— 


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1 (A) developing and revising curriculum to 

2 better prepare undergraduate and master’s de3 gree students for careers in the information 

4 field; 

5 (B) establishing degree and certificate pro6 grams in the information field; 

7 (C) creating opportunities in information 

8 research for undergraduate students; 

9 (D) acquiring equipment necessary for stu10 dent instruction in these programs, including 

11 the installation of testbed networks for student 

12 use; 

13 (E) providing opportunities for faculty to 

14 work with State, local, or Federal Government 

15 agencies, private industry, and other academic 

16 institutions to develop new expertise or to for17 mulate new information research directions; 

18 (F) establishing collaborations with other 

19 academic institutions or departments that seek 

20 to establish, expand, or enhance these pro21 grams; 

22 (G) establishing student internships for 

23 students in these programs at State, local, and 

24 Federal Government agencies or in private in25 dustry; 


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1 (H) establishing or enhancing bridge pro2 grams in information fields between community 

3 colleges and universities; and 

4 (I) any other activities the Director, in 

5 consultation with the heads of other Federal 

6 agencies as appropriate, determines will achieve 

7 the purposes described in paragraph (1). 

8 (4) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

9 (A) APPLICATION.—An institution of high10 er education (or a consortium thereof) seeking 

11 funding under this subsection shall submit an 

12 application to the Director at such time, in such 

13 manner, and with such contents as the Director 

14 may require. The application shall include, at a 

15 minimum— 

16 (i) a description of the applicant’s rel17 evant research and instructional capacity, 

18 and in the case of an application from a 

19 consortium of institutions of higher edu20 cation, a description of the role that each 

21 member will play in implementing the pro22 posal; 

23 (ii) a comprehensive plan by which the 

24 institution or consortium will build instruc25 tional capacity in information fields; 


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1 (iii) a description of relevant collabo2 rations with State, local, or Federal Gov3 ernment agencies or private industry that 

4 inform the instructional program; 

5 (iv) a survey of the applicant’s his6 toric student enrollment and placement 

7 data and a study of potential enrollment 

8 and placement for students enrolled in the 

9 proposed program; and 

10 (v) a plan to evaluate the success of 

11 the proposed program, including post12 graduate assessment of graduate school 

13 and job placement and retention rates as 

14 well as the relevance of the instructional 

15 program to graduate study and to the 

16 workplace. 

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

18 to the extent practicable, that grants are 

19 awarded under this subsection in a wide range 

20 of geographic areas and categories of institu21 tions of higher education. 

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

23 consultation with the heads of other Federal agen24 cies as appropriate, shall evaluate the program es25 tablished under this subsection no later than 3 years 


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1 after the establishment of the program. At a min2 imum, the Director shall evaluate the extent to 

3 which the grants have achieved their objectives of in4 creasing the quality and quantity of students pur5 suing undergraduate or master’s degrees in informa6 tion fields. The Director shall make this assessment 

7 publicly available. 

8 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na10 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub11 section— 

12 (A) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

13 (B) $9,200,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

14 (C) $9,400,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

15 (D) $9,600,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

16 (b) SCIENTIFIC AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ACT

17 OF 1992.— 

18 (1) GRANTS.—The Director shall provide 

19 grants under the Scientific and Advanced Tech20 nology Act of 1992 for the purposes of section 3(a) 

21 and (b) of that Act, except that the activities sup22 ported pursuant to this subsection shall be limited to 

23 improving education in fields related to information. 

24 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There are authorized to be appropriated to the NaVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:31 Jun 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5605.IH H5605

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1 tional Science Foundation to carry out this sub2 section— 

3 (A) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

4 (B) $7,200,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

5 (C) $7,400,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

6 (D) $7,600,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

Æ 


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