IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5639 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 12, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To update the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology Act, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Institute of 

3 Standards and Technology Improvement Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

5 Section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and 

6 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

9 by striking ‘‘authorized to take’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘authorized to serve as the President’s principal 

11 adviser on standards policy pertaining to the 

12 Nation’s technological competitiveness and in13 novation ability and to take’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘compare 

15 standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Fed16 eral Government’’ and inserting ‘‘facilitate 

17 standards-related information sharing and co18 operation between Federal agencies’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘Fed20 eral, State, and local’’ and all that follows 

21 through ‘‘private sector’’ and inserting ‘‘tech22 nical standards activities and conformity assess23 ment activities of Federal, State, and local gov24 ernments with private sector’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 after the semicolon; 

3 (B) by redesignating paragraph (23) as 

4 paragraph (25); and 

5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (22) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(23) participate in and support scientific and 

8 technical conferences; 

9 ‘‘(24) perform pre-competitive measurement 

10 science and technology research in partnership with 

11 institutions of higher education and industry to pro12 mote United States industrial competitiveness; and’’. 

13 SEC. 3. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. 

14 Section 10 of the National Institute of Standards and 

15 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘not fewer than 11 members’’; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘at least 10’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘at least two-thirds’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘The Committee may consult with the National 

23 Research Council in making recommendations 

24 regarding general policy for the Institute.’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘, including 

2 the Program established under section 28,’’. 

3 SEC. 4. POLICE AND SECURITY AUTHORITY. 

4 Section 15 of the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278e) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Government; and’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘of the Government;’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘United States Code.’’ and in9 serting ‘‘United States Code; and (i) the protection 

10 of Institute buildings and other plant facilities, 

11 equipment, and property, and of employees, associ12 ates, visitors, or other persons located therein or as13 sociated therewith, notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

16 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

17 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by striking sec18 tions 18, 19, and 19A and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may support, pro21 mote, and coordinate activities and efforts to enhance pub22 lic awareness and understanding of measurement sciences, 

23 standards, and technology by the general public, industry, 

24 government, and academia in support of the Institute’s 

25 mission. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award 

3 research fellowships and other forms of financial and 

4 logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 

5 to— 

6 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu7 cation within the United States who show 

8 promise as present or future contributors to the 

9 mission of the Institute; and 

10 ‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 

11 and technical activities of the Institute. 

12 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Director shall select 

13 persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 

14 the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro15 posed work to the mission and programs of the In16 stitute. 

17 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

18 subsection, financial and logistical assistance in19 cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

20 United States Code, or any contrary provision of 

21 law, temporary housing and local transportation to 

22 and from the Institute facilities. 

23 ‘‘(c) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—The 

24 Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow25 ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 


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1 that shall include not fewer than 20 fellows per fiscal year. 

2 In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub3 section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 

4 of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu5 dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 

7 Section 23(d) of the National Institute of Standards 

8 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278i(d)) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro10 grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 

11 Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 

12 Committee on Advanced Technology established under 

13 section 10.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN15 CIL. 

16 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 

17 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

18 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand19 ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 

20 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com21 prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 

22 The review shall— 

23 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

24 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 


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1 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

2 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

3 ability to fulfill its mission; 

4 (3) evaluate how crosscutting research and de5 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

6 executed across the laboratories; and 

7 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in8 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

9 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti10 tute. 

11 (b) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—Section 24 of the 

12 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 278j) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 24. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH 

15 COUNCIL. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall contract with 

17 the National Research Council to perform and report on 

18 assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 

19 work conducted at Institute laboratories. 

20 ‘‘(b) SCHEDULE.—Two laboratories shall be assessed 

21 under subsection (a) each year, and each laboratory shall 

22 be assessed at least once every 3 years. 

23 ‘‘(c) SUMMARY REPORT.—Beginning in the year 

24 after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 

25 (a), and once every 2 years thereafter, the Institute shall 


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1 contract with the National Research Council to prepare 

2 a report that summarizes the findings common across the 

3 individual assessment reports. 

4 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—The Institute, at 

5 the discretion of the Director, also may contract with the 

6 National Research Council to conduct additional assess7 ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col8 laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 

9 and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 

10 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON

11 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun12 cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 

13 Technology established under section 10 in performing the 

14 assessments under this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

16 completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 

17 the report on such assessment to the Committee on 

18 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

20 and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

21 SEC. 8. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNER22 SHIP. 

23 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

24 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART2 NERSHIP. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

5 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

6 shall provide assistance for the creation and support 

7 of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 

8 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 

9 the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 

10 business practices (in this Act referred to as the 

11 ‘Centers’). The program under this section shall be 

12 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

13 Partnership’. 

14 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af15 filiated with any United States-based public or non16 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

17 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Centers 

20 is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 

21 technological performance in United States manufac22 turing through— 

23 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech24 nology and techniques developed at the Insti25 tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac26 turing companies throughout the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

2 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

3 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

4 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech5 nology transfer activities; 

6 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

7 technology and processes usable by United 

8 States-based small- and medium-sized compa9 nies; 

10 ‘‘(D) the active dissemination of scientific, 

11 engineering, technical, and management infor12 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

13 including small- and medium-sized manufac14 turing companies; 

15 ‘‘(E) the utilization, when appropriate, of 

16 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed17 eral laboratories other than the Institute; 

18 ‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 

19 and area career and technical education schools 

20 of information about the job skills needed in 

21 small- and medium-sized manufacturing busi22 nesses in the regions they serve; and 

23 ‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi24 cation systems offered through industry, asso25 ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Centers shall 

2 include— 

3 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac4 turing systems and other advanced production tech5 nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 

6 the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans7 fer; 

8 ‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re9 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

10 of companies and enterprises, particularly small- and 

11 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

12 ‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part13 nerships between small- and medium-sized manufac14 turing companies and community colleges and area 

15 career and technical education schools to help such 

16 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

17 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

18 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

19 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

20 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary may 

22 provide financial support to any Center created 

23 under subsection (a). The Secretary may not provide 

24 to a Center more than 50 percent of the capital and 


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1 annual operating and maintenance funds required to 

2 create and maintain such Center. 

3 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im4 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

5 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

6 least once every 3 years. 

7 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu9 tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 

10 government, may submit to the Secretary an 

11 application for financial support under this sec12 tion, in accordance with the procedures estab13 lished by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(B) COST SHARING.—In order to receive 

15 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

16 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

17 shall provide adequate assurances that non18 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

19 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

20 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

21 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

22 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

23 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

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1 logical performance of small- and medium-sized 

2 manufacturing companies. 

3 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI4 TIES.—In meeting the 50 percent requirement, 

5 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

6 agreements with other entities such as private 

7 industry, institutions of higher education, and 

8 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

9 objectives and access new and existing resources 

10 that will further the impact of the Federal in11 vestment made on behalf of small- and medium12 sized manufacturing companies. 

13 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—Each applicant 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall also submit a 

15 proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as16 sociated with any invention which may result 

17 from the proposed Center’s activities. 

18 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub19 ject each such application to merit review. In mak20 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

21 and provide financial support under this section, the 

22 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par25 ticularly those portions of the application reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jul 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5639.RFS H5639

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1 garding technology transfer, training and edu2 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech3 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

4 sectors. 

5 ‘‘(B) The quality of service to be provided. 

6 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

7 service area. 

8 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

9 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

10 sources. 

11 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re13 ceives financial assistance under this section 

14 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper15 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua18 tion panel shall be composed of private experts, 

19 none of whom shall be connected with the in20 volved Center, and Federal officials. 

21 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—An official of the Institute 

22 shall chair the panel. 

23 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

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1 volved Center’s performance against the objec2 tives specified in this section. 

3 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval4 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

5 continued funding through the sixth year. 

6 ‘‘(F) PROBATION.—The Secretary shall 

7 not provide funding unless the Center has re8 ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 

9 not received a positive evaluation by the evalua10 tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 

11 deficiencies in its performance and shall be 

12 placed on probation for 1 year, after which time 

13 the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If the 

14 Center has not addressed the deficiencies iden15 tified by the panel, or shown a significant im16 provement in its performance, the Director shall 

17 conduct a new competition to select an operator 

18 for the Center or may close the Center. 

19 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

20 After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi21 tional financial support under this section if it 

22 has received a positive evaluation through an 

23 independent review, under procedures estab24 lished by the Institute. 


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1 ‘‘(H) EIGHT-YEAR REVIEW.—A Center 

2 shall undergo an independent review in the 

3 eighth year of operation. Each evaluation panel 

4 shall measure the Center’s performance against 

5 the objectives specified in this section. A Center 

6 that has not received a positive evaluation as a 

7 result of an independent review shall be notified 

8 by the Program of the deficiencies in its per9 formance and shall be placed on probation for 

10 1 year, after which time the Program shall re11 evaluate the Center. If the Center has not ad12 dressed the deficiencies identified by the review, 

13 or shown a significant improvement in its per14 formance, the Director shall conduct a new 

15 competition to select an operator for the Center 

16 or may close the Center. 

17 ‘‘(I) RECOMPETITION.—If a recipient of a 

18 Center award has received financial assistance 

19 for 10 consecutive years, the Director shall con20 duct a new competition to select an operator for 

21 the Center consistent with the plan required in 

22 this Act. Incumbent Center operators in good 

23 standing shall be eligible to compete for the new 

24 award. 

25 ‘‘(J) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the National 

3 Institute of Standards and Technology Im4 provement Act of 2016, the Director shall 

5 transmit to the Committee on Science, 

6 Space, and Technology of the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on 

8 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

9 the Senate a plan as to how the Institute 

10 will conduct reviews, assessments, and re11 application competitions under this para12 graph. 

13 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.— 

14 The Director shall contract with an inde15 pendent organization to perform an assess16 ment of the implementation of the re17 application competition process under this 

18 paragraph within 3 years after the trans19 mittal of the report under clause (i). The 

20 organization conducting the assessment 

21 under this clause may consult with the 

22 MEP Advisory Board. 

23 ‘‘(iii) COMPARISON OF CENTERS.— 

24 Not later than 2 years after the date of en25 actment of the National Institute of StandVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jul 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5639.RFS H5639

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1 ards and Technology Improvement Act of 

2 2016, the Director shall transmit to the 

3 Committee on Science, Space, and Tech4 nology of the House of Representatives 

5 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate a report 

7 providing information on the first and sec8 ond years of operations for centers oper9 ating from new competitions or recompeti10 tion as compared to longstanding centers. 

11 The report shall provide detail on the en12 gagement in services provided by Centers 

13 and the characteristics of services pro14 vided, including volume and type of serv15 ices, so that the Committees can evaluate 

16 whether the cost-sharing ratio has an ef17 fect on the services provided at Centers. 

18 ‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap19 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

20 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

21 the promotion of technology from research by Cen22 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

23 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

24 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 


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1 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CENTER CLIENT CON2 FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, shall apply to the following in4 formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 

5 confidential basis in connection with the activities of 

6 any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac7 turing Extension Partnership: 

8 ‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 

9 of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 

10 Extension Partnership program or of a client of 

11 a Center. 

12 ‘‘(B) Trade secrets possessed by any client 

13 of a Center. 

14 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi15 sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol16 icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 

17 Board represents local small- and medium-sized 

18 manufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Mem19 bers may not serve as a vendor or provide services 

20 to the Center, nor may they serve on more than one 

21 Center’s oversight board simultaneously. 

22 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such sums 

24 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc25 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 


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1 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

2 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

3 agencies and, under section 2(c)(7), from the private 

4 sector, to be available to the extent provided by ap5 propriations Acts, for the purpose of strengthening 

6 United States manufacturing. 

7 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED9 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di10 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

11 from other Federal departments or agencies 

12 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed13 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

14 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI16 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri17 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

18 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula19 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

20 of this section. 

21 ‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

23 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

24 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re25 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The MEP Advisory 

3 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem4 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

5 be appointed by the Director. At least two 

6 members shall be employed by or on an advi7 sory board for the Centers, at least one member 

8 shall represent a community college, and at 

9 least five other members shall be from United 

10 States small businesses in the manufacturing 

11 sector. No member shall be an employee of the 

12 Federal Government. 

13 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub14 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

15 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

16 years. 

17 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

18 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira19 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

20 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

21 of such term. 

22 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

23 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

24 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

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1 ment during the 1-year period following the ex2 piration of the second such term. 

3 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The MEP Advisory Board 

4 shall meet not less than two times annually and 

5 shall provide to the Director— 

6 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

7 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

8 policies; 

9 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol10 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

11 plans and strategies; and 

12 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

13 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

14 Partnership program plans. 

15 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP16 PLICABILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du18 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

19 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca20 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

21 Committee Act. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed23 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

24 the MEP Advisory Board. 


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1 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—The MEP Advisory Board shall 

2 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

3 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 

4 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

5 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad6 dress the status of the program established pursuant 

7 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

8 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

9 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

10 under subsections (c) and (d) of section 23. 

11 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es13 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten14 sion Partnership, under this section and section 26, 

15 a program of competitive awards among participants 

16 described in paragraph (2) for the purposes de17 scribed in paragraph (3). 

18 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

19 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

20 a consortium of such Centers. 

21 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

22 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

23 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in24 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

25 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 


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1 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

2 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership pro3 gram, the MEP Advisory Board, and small- and me4 dium-sized manufacturers. One or more themes for 

5 the competition may be identified, which may vary 

6 from year to year, depending on the needs of manu7 facturers and the success of previous competitions. 

8 Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred under 

9 the program. 

10 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 

11 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

12 manner, at such time, and containing such informa13 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

14 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

15 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub16 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

17 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

18 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 

19 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

20 will— 

21 ‘‘(A) improve the competitiveness of indus22 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen23 ters are located; 

24 ‘‘(B) create jobs or train newly hired em25 ployees; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) promote the transfer and commer2 cialization of research and technology from in3 stitutions of higher education, national labora4 tories, and nonprofit research institutes. 

5 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 

6 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

7 to provide a matching contribution. 

8 ‘‘(7) GLOBAL MARKETPLACE PROJECTS.—In 

9 making awards under this subsection, the Director, 

10 in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board and 

11 the Secretary, may take into consideration whether 

12 an application has significant potential for enhanc13 ing the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized 

14 United States manufacturers in the global market15 place. 

16 ‘‘(8) DURATION.—Awards under this subsection 

17 shall last no longer than 3 years. 

18 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION OF OBSTACLES UNIQUE TO SMALL

19 MANUFACTURERS.—The Director shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) evaluate obstacles that are unique to small 

21 manufacturers that prevent such manufacturers 

22 from effectively competing in the global market; 

23 ‘‘(2) implement a comprehensive plan to train 

24 the Centers to address such obstacles; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) facilitate improved communication between 

2 the Centers to assist such manufacturers in imple3 menting appropriate, targeted solutions to such ob4 stacles. 

5 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘area career and technical edu7 cation school’ has the meaning given such term in 

8 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech9 nical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 

10 U.S.C. 2302); and 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community college’ means an in12 stitution of higher education (as defined under sec13 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at which the highest degree 

15 that is predominately awarded to students is an as16 sociate’s degree.’’. 

17 SEC. 9. ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REPORTS. 

18 Section 28 of the National Institute of Standards and 

19 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subsection (g); and 

21 (2) in subsection (k)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

23 after the semicolon at the end; 

24 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘; 

25 and’’ at the end and inserting a period; and 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (5). 

2 SEC. 10. MODIFICATIONS TO GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 

3 AGREEMENTS. 

4 Section 8(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In5 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706(a)) is amended by 

6 striking ‘‘The total amount of any such grant or coopera7 tive agreement may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

8 of the program.’’. 

9 SEC. 11. INFORMATION SYSTEMS STANDARDS CONSULTA10 TION. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Na12 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall not 

13 consult with the Department of Defense and the National 

14 Security Agency in contravention of section 20(c)(1) of the 

15 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 278g–3(c)(1)). 

17 SEC. 12. UNITED STATES-ISRAELI COOPERATION. 

18 It is the Sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) partnerships that facilitate basic scientific 

20 research between the United States and Israel ad21 vance technology development, innovation, and com22 mercialization leading to growth in various sectors, 

23 including manufacturing, and creating benefits for 

24 both nations; 


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1 (2) joint research and development agreements 

2 carried out through government organizations like 

3 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

4 support these efforts; 

5 (3) partnerships between the United States and 

6 Israel that further the basic scientific enterprise 

7 should be encouraged; and 

8 (4) the National Institute of Standards and 

9 Technology should continue to facilitate scientific 

10 collaborations between Israel and United States 

11 technical agencies working in measurement science 

12 and standardization. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 11, 2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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