I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5639 

To update the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 6, 2016 

Mr. MOOLENAAR (for himself, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

SMITH of Texas, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. POSEY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, 

Mr. TONKO, and Mr. GRAYSON) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Standards and Technology Improvement Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

7 Section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

9 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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

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

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

4 adviser on standards policy pertaining to the 

5 Nation’s technological competitiveness and in6 novation ability and to take’’; 

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

8 standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Fed9 eral Government’’ and inserting ‘‘facilitate 

10 standards-related information sharing and co11 operation between Federal agencies’’; and 

12 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘Fed13 eral, State, and local’’ and all that follows 

14 through ‘‘private sector’’ and inserting ‘‘tech15 nical standards activities and conformity assess16 ment activities of Federal, State, and local gov17 ernments with private sector’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (c)— 

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

20 after the semicolon; 

21 (B) by redesignating paragraph (23) as 

22 paragraph (25); and 

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

24 following: 


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

2 technical conferences; 

3 ‘‘(24) perform pre-competitive measurement 

4 science and technology research in partnership with 

5 institutions of higher education and industry to pro6 mote United States industrial competitiveness; and’’. 

7 SEC. 3. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. 

8 Section 10 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘not fewer than 11 members’’; 

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

14 ‘‘at least two-thirds’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘The Committee may consult with the National 

17 Research Council in making recommendations 

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

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

20 the Program established under section 28,’’. 

21 SEC. 4. POLICE AND SECURITY AUTHORITY. 

22 Section 15 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

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

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


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘United States Code.’’ and in2 serting ‘‘United States Code; and (i) the protection 

3 of Institute buildings and other plant facilities, 

4 equipment, and property, and of employees, associ5 ates, visitors, or other persons located therein or as6 sociated therewith, notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

9 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

10 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by striking sec11 tions 18, 19, and 19A and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may support, pro14 mote, and coordinate activities and efforts to enhance pub15 lic awareness and understanding of measurement sciences, 

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

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

18 mission. 

19 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 

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

21 research fellowships and other forms of financial and 

22 logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 

23 to— 

24 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu25 cation within the United States who show 


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1 promise as present or future contributors to the 

2 mission of the Institute; and 

3 ‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 

4 and technical activities of the Institute. 

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

6 persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 

7 the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro8 posed work to the mission and programs of the In9 stitute. 

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

11 subsection, financial and logistical assistance in12 cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

13 United States Code, or any contrary provision of 

14 law, temporary housing and local transportation to 

15 and from the Institute facilities. 

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

17 Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow18 ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

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

20 In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub21 section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 

22 of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu23 dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 

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

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

4 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro5 grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 

6 Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 

7 Committee on Advanced Technology established under 

8 section 10.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN10 CIL. 

11 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 

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

13 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 

15 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com16 prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 

17 The review shall— 

18 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

19 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 

20 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

21 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

22 ability to fulfill its mission; 

23 (3) evaluate how crosscutting research and de24 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

25 executed across the laboratories; and 


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1 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in2 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

3 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti4 tute. 

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

6 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

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

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

9 COUNCIL. 

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

11 the National Research Council to perform and report on 

12 assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 

13 work conducted at Institute laboratories. 

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

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

16 be assessed at least once every 3 years. 

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

18 after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 

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

20 contract with the National Research Council to prepare 

21 a report that summarizes the findings common across the 

22 individual assessment reports. 

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

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

25 National Research Council to conduct additional assessVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5639.IH H5639

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1 ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col2 laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 

3 and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 

4 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON

5 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun6 cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 

7 Technology established under section 10 in performing the 

8 assessments under this section. 

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

10 completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 

11 the report on such assessment to the Committee on 

12 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

14 and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNER16 SHIP. 

17 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART21 NERSHIP. 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

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

24 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

25 shall provide assistance for the creation and support 


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1 of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 

2 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 

3 the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 

4 business practices (in this Act referred to as the 

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

6 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

7 Partnership’. 

8 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af9 filiated with any United States-based public or non10 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

11 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

12 under this section. 

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

14 is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 

15 technological performance in United States manufac16 turing through— 

17 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech18 nology and techniques developed at the Insti19 tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac20 turing companies throughout the United States; 

21 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

22 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

23 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

24 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech25 nology transfer activities; 


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1 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

2 technology and processes usable by United 

3 States-based small- and medium-sized compa4 nies; 

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

6 engineering, technical, and management infor7 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

8 including small- and medium-sized manufac9 turing companies; 

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

11 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed12 eral laboratories other than the Institute; 

13 ‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 

14 and area career and technical education schools 

15 of information about the job skills needed in 

16 small- and medium-sized manufacturing busi17 nesses in the regions they serve; and 

18 ‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi19 cation systems offered through industry, asso20 ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 

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

22 include— 

23 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac24 turing systems and other advanced production tech25 nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 


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1 the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans2 fer; 

3 ‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re4 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

5 of companies and enterprises, particularly small- and 

6 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

7 ‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part8 nerships between small- and medium-sized manufac9 turing companies and community colleges and area 

10 career and technical education schools to help such 

11 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

12 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

13 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

14 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

15 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 

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

17 provide financial support to any Center created 

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

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

20 annual operating and maintenance funds required to 

21 create and maintain such Center. 

22 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im23 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

24 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

25 least once every 3 years. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu3 tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 

4 government, may submit to the Secretary an 

5 application for financial support under this sec6 tion, in accordance with the procedures estab7 lished by the Secretary. 

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

9 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

10 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

11 shall provide adequate assurances that non12 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

13 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

14 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

15 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

16 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

17 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

18 activities undertaken to improve the competi19 tiveness, management, productivity, and techno20 logical performance of small- and medium-sized 

21 manufacturing companies. 

22 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI23 TIES.—In meeting the 50 percent requirement, 

24 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

25 agreements with other entities such as private 


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1 industry, institutions of higher education, and 

2 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

3 objectives and access new and existing resources 

4 that will further the impact of the Federal in5 vestment made on behalf of small- and medium6 sized manufacturing companies. 

7 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—Each applicant 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall also submit a 

9 proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as10 sociated with any invention which may result 

11 from the proposed Center’s activities. 

12 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub13 ject each such application to merit review. In mak14 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

15 and provide financial support under this section, the 

16 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par19 ticularly those portions of the application re20 garding technology transfer, training and edu21 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech22 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

23 sectors. 

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


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1 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

2 service area. 

3 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

4 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

5 sources. 

6 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re8 ceives financial assistance under this section 

9 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper10 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua13 tion panel shall be composed of private experts, 

14 none of whom shall be connected with the in15 volved Center, and Federal officials. 

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

17 shall chair the panel. 

18 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

19 Each evaluation panel shall measure the in20 volved Center’s performance against the objec21 tives specified in this section. 

22 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval23 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

24 continued funding through the sixth year. 


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

2 not provide funding unless the Center has re3 ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 

4 not received a positive evaluation by the evalua5 tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 

6 deficiencies in its performance and shall be 

7 placed on probation for 1 year, after which time 

8 the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If the 

9 Center has not addressed the deficiencies iden10 tified by the panel, or shown a significant im11 provement in its performance, the Director shall 

12 conduct a new competition to select an operator 

13 for the Center or may close the Center. 

14 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

15 After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi16 tional financial support under this section if it 

17 has received a positive evaluation through an 

18 independent review, under procedures estab19 lished by the Institute. 

20 ‘‘(H) EIGHT-YEAR REVIEW.—A Center 

21 shall undergo an independent review in the 

22 eighth year of operation. Each evaluation panel 

23 shall measure the Center’s performance against 

24 the objectives specified in this section. A Center 

25 that has not received a positive evaluation as a 


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1 result of an independent review shall be notified 

2 by the Program of the deficiencies in its per3 formance and shall be placed on probation for 

4 1 year, after which time the Program shall re5 evaluate the Center. If the Center has not ad6 dressed the deficiencies identified by the review, 

7 or shown a significant improvement in its per8 formance, the Director shall conduct a new 

9 competition to select an operator for the Center 

10 or may close the Center. 

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

12 Center award has received financial assistance 

13 for 10 consecutive years, the Director shall con14 duct a new competition to select an operator for 

15 the Center consistent with the plan required in 

16 this Act. Incumbent Center operators in good 

17 standing shall be eligible to compete for the new 

18 award. 

19 ‘‘(J) REPORTS.— 

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

21 after the date of enactment of the National 

22 Institute of Standards and Technology Im23 provement Act of 2016, the Director shall 

24 transmit to the Committee on Science, 

25 Space, and Technology of the House of 


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1 Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

3 the Senate a plan as to how the Institute 

4 will conduct reviews, assessments, and re5 application competitions under this para6 graph. 

7 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.— 

8 The Director shall contract with an inde9 pendent organization to perform an assess10 ment of the implementation of the re11 application competition process under this 

12 paragraph within 3 years after the trans13 mittal of the report under clause (i). The 

14 organization conducting the assessment 

15 under this clause may consult with the 

16 MEP Advisory Board. 

17 ‘‘(iii) COMPARISON OF CENTERS.— 

18 Not later than 2 years after the date of en19 actment of the National Institute of Stand20 ards and Technology Improvement Act of 

21 2016, the Director shall transmit to the 

22 Committee on Science, Space, and Tech23 nology of the House of Representatives 

24 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate a report 


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1 providing information on the first and sec2 ond years of operations for centers oper3 ating from new competitions or recompeti4 tion as compared to longstanding centers. 

5 The report shall provide detail on the en6 gagement in services provided by Centers 

7 and the characteristics of services pro8 vided, including volume and type of serv9 ices, so that the Committees can evaluate 

10 whether the cost-sharing ratio has an ef11 fect on the services provided at Centers. 

12 ‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap13 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

14 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

15 the promotion of technology from research by Cen16 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

17 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

18 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 

19 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CENTER CLIENT CON20 FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 

21 United States Code, shall apply to the following in22 formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 

23 confidential basis in connection with the activities of 

24 any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac25 turing Extension Partnership: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 

2 of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 

3 Extension Partnership program or of a client of 

4 a Center. 

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

6 of a Center. 

7 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi8 sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol9 icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 

10 Board represents local small- and medium-sized 

11 manufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Mem12 bers may not serve as a vendor or provide services 

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

14 Center’s oversight board simultaneously. 

15 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

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

17 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc18 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

19 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

20 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

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

22 sector, to be available to the extent provided by ap23 propriations Acts, for the purpose of strengthening 

24 United States manufacturing. 

25 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED2 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di3 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

4 from other Federal departments or agencies 

5 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed6 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

7 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI9 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri10 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

11 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula12 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

13 of this section. 

14 ‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

16 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

17 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re18 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

19 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The MEP Advisory 

21 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem22 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

23 be appointed by the Director. At least two 

24 members shall be employed by or on an advi25 sory board for the Centers, at least one member 


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1 shall represent a community college, and at 

2 least five other members shall be from United 

3 States small businesses in the manufacturing 

4 sector. No member shall be an employee of the 

5 Federal Government. 

6 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub7 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

8 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

9 years. 

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

11 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira12 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

13 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

14 of such term. 

15 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

16 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

17 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

18 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint19 ment during the 1-year period following the ex20 piration of the second such term. 

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

22 shall meet not less than two times annually and 

23 shall provide to the Director— 


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1 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

2 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

3 policies; 

4 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol5 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

6 plans and strategies; and 

7 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

8 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

9 Partnership program plans. 

10 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP11 PLICABILITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du13 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

14 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca15 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

16 Committee Act. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed18 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

19 the MEP Advisory Board. 

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

21 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

22 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 

23 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

24 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad25 dress the status of the program established pursuant 


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1 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

2 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

3 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

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

5 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es7 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten8 sion Partnership, under this section and section 26, 

9 a program of competitive awards among participants 

10 described in paragraph (2) for the purposes de11 scribed in paragraph (3). 

12 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

13 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

14 a consortium of such Centers. 

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

16 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

17 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in18 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

19 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 

20 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

21 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership pro22 gram, the MEP Advisory Board, and small- and me23 dium-sized manufacturers. One or more themes for 

24 the competition may be identified, which may vary 

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1 facturers and the success of previous competitions. 

2 Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred under 

3 the program. 

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

5 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

6 manner, at such time, and containing such informa7 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

8 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

9 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub10 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

11 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

12 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 

13 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

14 will— 

15 ‘‘(A) improve the competitiveness of indus16 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen17 ters are located; 

18 ‘‘(B) create jobs or train newly hired em19 ployees; and 

20 ‘‘(C) promote the transfer and commer21 cialization of research and technology from in22 stitutions of higher education, national labora23 tories, and nonprofit research institutes. 


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

2 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

3 to provide a matching contribution. 

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

5 making awards under this subsection, the Director, 

6 in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board and 

7 the Secretary, may take into consideration whether 

8 an application has significant potential for enhanc9 ing the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized 

10 United States manufacturers in the global market11 place. 

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

13 shall last no longer than 3 years. 

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

15 MANUFACTURERS.—The Director shall— 

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

17 manufacturers that prevent such manufacturers 

18 from effectively competing in the global market; 

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

20 the Centers to address such obstacles; and 

21 ‘‘(3) facilitate improved communication between 

22 the Centers to assist such manufacturers in imple23 menting appropriate, targeted solutions to such ob24 stacles. 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘area career and technical edu2 cation school’ has the meaning given such term in 

3 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech4 nical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 

5 U.S.C. 2302); and 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community college’ means an in7 stitution of higher education (as defined under sec8 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at which the highest degree 

10 that is predominately awarded to students is an as11 sociate’s degree.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REPORTS. 

13 Section 28 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

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

16 (2) in subsection (k)— 

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

18 after the semicolon at the end; 

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

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

21 (C) by striking paragraph (5). 

22 SEC. 10. MODIFICATIONS TO GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 

23 AGREEMENTS. 

24 Section 8(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In25 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706(a)) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘The total amount of any such grant or coopera2 tive agreement may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

3 of the program.’’. 

4 SEC. 11. INFORMATION SYSTEMS STANDARDS CONSULTA5 TION. 

6 Section 20(c)(1) of the National Institute of Stand7 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–3(c)(1)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘the National Security Agency,’’. 

9 SEC. 12. UNITED STATES-ISRAELI COOPERATION. 

10 It is the Sense of Congress that— 

11 (1) partnerships that facilitate basic scientific 

12 research between the United States and Israel ad13 vance technology development, innovation, and com14 mercialization leading to growth in various sectors, 

15 including manufacturing, and creating benefits for 

16 both nations; 

17 (2) joint research and development agreements 

18 carried out through government organizations like 

19 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

20 support these efforts; 

21 (3) partnerships between the United States and 

22 Israel that further the basic scientific enterprise 

23 should be encouraged; and 

24 (4) the National Institute of Standards and 

25 Technology should continue to facilitate scientific 


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1 collaborations between Israel and United States 

2 technical agencies working in measurement science 

3 and standardization. 

Æ 


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