II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 871 

To strengthen American economic resiliency and equitably expand economic 

opportunity by launching a national competition, promoting State and 

local strategic planning, encouraging innovation by the public and private 

sectors, and by substantially investing Federal resources in research 

and development. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To strengthen American economic resiliency and equitably 

expand economic opportunity by launching a national 

competition, promoting State and local strategic planning, encouraging innovation by the public and private 

sectors, and by substantially investing Federal resources 

in research and development. 

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 ‘‘Innovation Centers Ac5 celeration Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

4 means the Innovation Center Selection Committee 

5 established under section 3. 

6 (2) ELIGIBLE AREA.—The term ‘‘eligible area’’ 

7 means a metropolitan statistical area that— 

8 (A) has a population of not less than 

9 500,000; and 

10 (B) is not designated as an established 

11 tech hub. 

12 (3) ESTABLISHED TECH HUB.—The term ‘‘es13 tablished tech hub’’ means the 9 metropolitan statis14 tical areas in the United States with the largest 

15 total number of innovation sector jobs in 2019. 

16 (4) HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

17 term ‘‘Hispanic-serving institution’’ has the meaning 

18 given the term in section 502 of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a). 

20 (5) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI21 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

22 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

23 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 


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1 (6) INNOVATION CENTER.—The term ‘‘innova2 tion center’’ means an eligible area designated by 

3 the Committee under section 3(e). 

4 (7) INNOVATION SECTOR JOB.—The term ‘‘in5 novation sector job’’ means a job in the following re6 search and development sectors, as categorized 

7 under the North American Industry Classification 

8 System: 

9 (A) Basic chemical manufacturing (3251). 

10 (B) Pesticide, fertilizer, and other agricul11 tural chemical manufacturing (3253). 

12 (C) Pharmaceutical and medicine manufac13 turing (3254). 

14 (D) Computer and peripheral equipment 

15 manufacturing (3341). 

16 (E) Communications equipment manufac17 turing (3342). 

18 (F) Semiconductor and other electronic 

19 components manufacturing (3344). 

20 (G) Navigational, measuring, 

21 electromedical, and control instruments manu22 facturing (3345). 

23 (H) Aerospace product and parts manufac24 turing (3364). 

25 (I) Software publishers (5112). 


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1 (J) Satellite telecommunications (5174). 

2 (K) Data processing, hosting, and related 

3 services (5182). 

4 (L) Other information services (5191). 

5 (M) Scientific research and development 

6 services (5417). 

7 (8) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 

8 technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

9 SEC. 3. INNOVATION CENTER SELECTION COMMITTEE. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Inno11 vation Center Selection Committee, which shall— 

12 (1) establish the global competitive edge of the 

13 United States in the 21st century across a range of 

14 innovation sectors critical to national and economic 

15 security; 

16 (2) enable 9 metropolitan statistical areas in 

17 the United States to become innovation centers for 

18 global innovation leadership and models for inclusive 

19 growth, equal opportunity, and rising living stand20 ards for disadvantaged populations; 

21 (3) inspire, within metropolitan statistical areas 

22 in the United States across the country, new and 

23 constructive collaboration among local, State, and 

24 Federal Government entities, academia, and private 


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1 industry by issuing a call for innovation center pro2 posals with clear, ambitious objectives; 

3 (4) carry out a transparent, competitive, fair, 

4 and rigorous process for selecting innovation centers; 

5 (5) ensure the transparent, efficient and effec6 tive use of taxpayer funds; and 

7 (6) empirically evaluate the effectiveness of in8 novation centers through release of publicly available 

9 reports and data. 

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 (1) COMPOSITION.— 

12 (A) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Committee 

13 shall be composed of the following voting mem14 bers: 

15 (i) The Secretary of Commerce, who 

16 shall serve as chairperson of the Com17 mittee. 

18 (ii) The Administrator of the Small 

19 Business Administration. 

20 (iii) The Deputy Secretary for Hous21 ing and Urban Development. 

22 (iv) The Director of the Community 

23 Development Financial Institution Fund. 

24 (v) The Director of the National 

25 Science Foundation. 


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1 (vi) The Director of the National In2 stitute of Standards and Technology. 

3 (vii) The Director of the National 

4 Economic Council. 

5 (viii) The Assistant Secretary of Com6 merce for Economic Development. 

7 (ix) The Assistant Secretary for Em8 ployment and Training. 

9 (x) The Director of the Office of 

10 Science and Technology Policy. 

11 (xi) The Under Secretary of Defense 

12 for Research and Engineering. 

13 (xii) The Under Secretary for Science 

14 of the Department of Energy. 

15 (xiii) The Director of the National In16 stitutes of Health. 

17 (xiv) The Under Secretary for Science 

18 and Technology of the Department of 

19 Homeland Security. 

20 (xv) The Administrator of the Na21 tional Aeronautics and Space Administra22 tion. 

23 (2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

25 have 8 nonvoting members, of which, from 


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1 among leaders of labor organizations or re2 search institutions, or leaders from private in3 dustry or professional societies— 

4 (i) two shall be appointed by the ma5 jority leader of the Senate; 

6 (ii) two shall be appointed by the mi7 nority leader of the Senate; 

8 (iii) two shall be appointed by the 

9 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

10 and 

11 (iv) two shall be appointed by the mi12 nority leader of the House of Representa13 tives. 

14 (B) TERM.—The nonvoting members ap15 pointed under subparagraph (A)— 

16 (i) shall serve for a term of 5 years; 

17 and 

18 (ii) may be reappointed to subsequent 

19 terms. 

20 (C) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the non21 voting membership of the Committee shall be 

22 filled in the same manner as the original ap23 pointment, but the individual appointed to fill 

24 the vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired 


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1 portion of the term for which the individual’s 

2 predecessor was appointed. 

3 (D) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—The 

4 nonvoting members of the Committee shall be 

5 appointed under this paragraph not later than 

6 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (3) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

8 after the date on which all members of the Com9 mittee are appointed, the Committee shall hold its 

10 first meeting. 

11 (c) COMPENSATION.—A nonvoting member of the 

12 Committee appointed under subsection (b)(2) shall be al13 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub14 sistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 

15 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

16 Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 

17 business in the performance of services for the Committee. 

18 (d) STAFF.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee may appoint 

20 a staff director and other personnel as necessary to 

21 carry out the duties of the Committee. 

22 (2) MEMBER AGENCIES.—The Department of 

23 Commerce, the Department of Labor, the Depart24 ment of the Treasury, the Department of Housing 

25 and Urban Development, the Department of DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 fense, the Department of Energy, the Department of 

2 Health and Human Services, the Small Business 

3 Administration, and the Department of Transpor4 tation shall provide necessary staffing support to the 

5 Committee, as determined by the Committee. 

6 (e) SELECTION OF INNOVATION CENTERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall select 

8 9 eligible areas to serve as innovation centers and 

9 receive the Federal innovation supports described in 

10 section 4. 

11 (2) APPLICATION.— 

12 (A) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—Not later 

13 than 3 months after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act, the Committee shall issue a request 

15 for applications from eligible entities. 

16 (B) SUBMISSION.—Each eligible area de17 siring to be selected as an innovation center 

18 shall submit to the Committee an application 

19 through a proposal committee created by the el20 igible area, which shall include representation 

21 from each State located in the eligible area and 

22 each municipal government representing not 

23 less than 200,000 individuals located in the eli24 gible area. 


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1 (3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting innova2 tion centers under this section, the Committee shall 

3 evaluate each applicant based on— 

4 (A) the performance of the applicant in— 

5 (i) STEM spending per capita; 

6 (ii) the number of patents per 

7 100,000 residents; 

8 (iii) the share of the population with 

9 a Bachelor of Arts degree or a higher de10 gree; and 

11 (iv) the number of STEM university 

12 degrees per capita; 

13 (B) a plan to use data-driven strategies to 

14 promote innovation-based, advanced sector 

15 takeoff, focused on local interplay of university, 

16 Federal research institution, and industry core 

17 competencies; 

18 (C) a plan to increase innovation readi19 ness, including expanding research and tech20 nology development facilities and developing the 

21 local STEM workforce, including through part22 nerships with entities with demonstrated suc23 cess of administering apprenticeship and other 

24 workforce development models; 


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1 (D) a plan to build or improve areas that 

2 attract and support workers and firms; 

3 (E) a plan to foster racial equity and inclu4 sive growth, including by leveraging minority 

5 serving institutions, preventing gentrification, 

6 combatting segregation, promoting the inclusion 

7 of underrepresented residents, and ensuring af8 fordable housing options; 

9 (F) a plan to invest the financial resources 

10 of the applicant; 

11 (G) a plan to partner with local workforce 

12 development boards to scale up training to meet 

13 new workforce demands; 

14 (H) a plan to incorporate and bring 

15 growth and opportunity to a broad geographic 

16 area beyond the limits of the metropolitan sta17 tistical area, including rural areas, through im18 proved transportation, high speed internet ac19 cess, other investments, and partnerships; and 

20 (I) the relative potential for the selection 

21 of the innovation center to reverse a decline, or 

22 accelerate growth, in innovation sector jobs. 

23 (4) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In selecting in24 novation centers under this section, the Committee 


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1 shall ensure a broad geographic representation of 

2 the United States. 

3 (5) SITE VISITS.—The Committee may conduct 

4 site visits to eligible areas that are finalists for selec5 tion as an innovation center. 

6 (6) TIMELINE FOR SELECTION.—The Com7 mittee shall, by secret ballot, vote to select the 9 in8 novation centers not later than 12 months after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (7) EVALUATION AND RENEWAL.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

13 Committee shall establish evaluation and re14 newal criteria to measure— 

15 (i) the progress of an innovation cen16 ter toward becoming a center for tech17 nology innovation; 

18 (ii) the effectiveness of an innovation 

19 center in translating innovation sector 

20 growth into broadly shared economic op21 portunity within the innovation center; and 

22 (iii) the ethical and efficient use of 

23 Federal funds. 

24 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Beginning in 

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1 ment of this Act, and not less frequently than 

2 once every 3 years thereafter, the Committee 

3 shall submit to Congress and each agency rep4 resented on the Committee, and make publicly 

5 available, a report on the progress of each inno6 vation center in meeting the objectives de7 scribed in paragraph (3). 

8 (C) EVALUATION.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—During the third 

10 year in which an innovation center is in ex11 istence, the Committee shall conduct an 

12 evaluation based on established bench13 marks for achieving the objectives de14 scribed in paragraph (3) to determine 

15 whether the designation as an innovation 

16 center shall be renewed for 3 additional 

17 years. 

18 (ii) FAILURE TO MEET BENCH19 MARKS.—An innovation center that fails to 

20 meet a majority of the benchmarks estab21 lished under clause (i) shall not be renewed 

22 as an innovation center. 

23 (D) RENEWAL LIMIT.—An innovation cen24 ter shall be designated as such for a period of 

25 3 years, and the Committee may renew the desVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 ignation for not more than 2 additional 3-year 

2 terms. 

3 (f) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date on which all innovation centers have exhausted their 

5 designations and renewals as an innovation center, the 

6 Committee shall submit to Congress and each agency rep7 resented on the Committee, and make publicly available, 

8 a final cumulative report on the efficacy of the program. 

9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the Committee for travel 

11 and administrative expenses related to carrying out the 

12 duties of the Committee— 

13 (1) $5,000,000 for each of the first 2 fiscal 

14 years beginning after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act; and 

16 (2) $1,000,000 for each of the 8 fiscal years 

17 following the 2 fiscal years described in paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 SEC. 4. FEDERAL INNOVATION SUPPORTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—An innovation center shall be eli21 gible for the Federal innovation supports described in this 

22 section. 

23 (b) DIRECT FEDERAL INVESTMENT.— 

24 (1) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RE25 SEARCH FUNDING.— 


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1 (A) FUNDING GOAL.—The Director of the 

2 National Science Foundation shall pursue a 

3 goal of awarding through a rigorous selection 

4 process, for each innovation center that gets its 

5 designation renewed continually for 3 terms, a 

6 total of $1,250,000,000 in grant funds to enti7 ties located in that innovation center by the end 

8 of the 9th year of the designation of that inno9 vation center, by proportionally increasing the 

10 total amount of the grants awarded over the 9- 

11 year period. 

12 (B) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition 

13 to awarding grants in pursuit of the goal de14 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Director shall 

15 award grants— 

16 (i) with a focus on universities or 

17 other research institutions that commit to 

18 expanding research and workforce capabili19 ties aligned with industries and tech20 nologies and with a preference for univer21 sities or institutions that are— 

22 (I) concentrated in an innovation 

23 center; or 

24 (II) key to national challenges; or 


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1 (ii) that include industry-university 

2 research partnership programs. 

3 (C) TRACKING.—In each year, the Direc4 tor of the National Science Foundation shall 

5 track the aggregate amount of grants awarded 

6 by the Director to entities in that year, 

7 disaggregated by innovation center. 

8 (D) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL AP9 PROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be ap10 propriated to carry out this paragraph, in addi11 tion to amounts that would otherwise be appro12 priated in a year for the National Science 

13 Foundation, amounts as follows: 

14 (i) For fiscal year 2021, $0. 

15 (ii) For fiscal year 2022, 

16 $1,110,000,000. 

17 (iii) For fiscal year 2023, 

18 $2,220,000,000. 

19 (iv) For fiscal year 2024, 

20 $3,330,000,000. 

21 (v) For fiscal year 2025, 

22 $4,440,000,000. 

23 (vi) For fiscal year 2026, 

24 $5,550,000,000. 


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1 (vii) For fiscal year 2027, 

2 $6,660,000,000. 

3 (viii) For fiscal year 2028, 

4 $7,770,000,000. 

5 (ix) For fiscal year 2029, 

6 $8,880,000,000. 

7 (x) For fiscal year 2030, 

8 $9,990,000,000. 

9 (2) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRAD10 UATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS AND UNDER11 GRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAMS.— 

12 (A) EXPANSION.—The Director of the Na13 tional Science Foundation shall expand grad14 uate research fellowships and programs focused 

15 on undergraduate research opportunities, in16 cluding— 

17 (i) research experiences for under18 graduates; 

19 (ii) advanced technological education 

20 programs; 

21 (iii) historically Black colleges and 

22 universities undergraduate programs; and 

23 (iv) Hispanic-serving institutions. 

24 (B) ALLOCATION.—The amounts expended 

25 by the Director to carry out subparagraph (A), 


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1 35 percent of such amounts shall be expended 

2 for the expansion of graduate research fellow3 ships and undergraduate research opportunities 

4 in innovation centers. 

5 (C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated to carry out this paragraph amounts as 

8 follows: 

9 (i) In fiscal year 2022, $57,000,000. 

10 (ii) In fiscal year 2023, $114,000,000. 

11 (iii) In fiscal year 2024, 

12 $171,000,000. 

13 (iv) In fiscal year 2025, 

14 $228,000,000. 

15 (v) In fiscal year 2026, $285,000,000. 

16 (vi) In fiscal year 2027, 

17 $342,000,000. 

18 (vii) In fiscal year 2028, 

19 $399,000,000. 

20 (viii) In fiscal year 2029, 

21 $456,000,000. 

22 (ix) In fiscal year 2030, 

23 $513,000,000. 

24 (3) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INDUS25 TRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTERS


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1 PROGRAM.—The Director of the National Science 

2 Foundation shall consider the location of a univer3 sity within an innovation center to be a strength for 

4 purposes of selection criteria under the Industry5 University Cooperative Research Centers program. 

6 (4) SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RE7 SEARCH.—Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act 

8 (15 U.S.C. 638(j)) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO INNOVA11 TION CENTERS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

13 term ‘innovation center’ has the meaning given 

14 the term in section 2 of the Innovation Centers 

15 Acceleration Act. 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 6 

17 months after the date of enactment of the Inno18 vation Centers Acceleration Act, the Adminis19 trator shall modify the policy directives issued 

20 pursuant to this subsection— 

21 ‘‘(i) to provide that, during the 10- 

22 year period beginning on the date of enact23 ment of the Innovation Centers Accelera24 tion Act, the location of a small business 

25 concern within an innovation center shall 


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1 be considered a strength under the selec2 tion criteria for Phase I and Phase II pro3 posals under the SBIR program of a Fed4 eral agency; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to require the Administrator to 

6 track and publish on an annual basis the 

7 total value of SBIR awards made to small 

8 business concerns located in innovation 

9 centers.’’. 

10 (5) MANUFACTURING USA PROGRAM.— 

11 (A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

12 (i) MANUFACTURING USA PROGRAM.— 

13 The term ‘‘Manufacturing USA Program’’ 

14 means the program established under sec15 tion 34(b) of the National Institute of 

16 Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 

17 278s(b)). 

18 (ii) MANUFACTURING USA INSTI19 TUTE.—The term ‘‘Manufacturing USA 

20 institute’’ means an institute described in 

21 section 34(d) of the National Institute of 

22 Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 

23 278s(d)). 

24 (B) EXPANSION.—Under section 34(e) of 

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1 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s(e)), the Secretary 

2 shall award financial assistance to assist in the 

3 establishment and support of— 

4 (i) 9 new Manufacturing USA insti5 tutes; or 

6 (ii) a combination of satellites to ex7 isting Manufacturing USA institutes or 

8 new Manufacturing USA institutes. 

9 (C) SELECTION.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Manufacturing 

11 USA institutes and satellites shall be iden12 tified and funded under subparagraph (B) 

13 from among proposals submitted to the 

14 Secretary for purposes of this paragraph. 

15 (ii) PROPOSAL ELEMENTS.—Any pro16 posal submitted to the Secretary in accord17 ance with clause (i) shall include— 

18 (I) a plan for the institute or sat19 ellite concerned to support or other20 wise align with existing Manufac21 turing USA institutes, including 

22 through— 

23 (aa) membership in, or part24 nership or formal affiliation with, 


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1 an existing Manufacturing USA 

2 institute; or 

3 (bb) a plan to reach a seg4 ment, population, or geographic 

5 area not already covered by or 

6 engaged with existing Manufac7 turing USA institutes; and 

8 (II) a plan for cost-sharing for 

9 the activities of the institute or sat10 ellite concerned, including the sources 

11 of funds and amounts to be contrib12 uted. 

13 (iii) SELECTION OF SATELLITES.— 

14 Any selection of a satellite to an existing 

15 Manufacturing USA institute under this 

16 subparagraph shall be made by the Sec17 retary in consultation with exiting Manu18 facturing USA institutes. 

19 (iv) PRIORITY RELATING TO INNOVA20 TION CENTERS.—In identifying and fund21 ing a new Manufacturing USA institute or 

22 a combination of satellites to existing or 

23 new Manufacturing USA institutes under 

24 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall give 

25 priority to proposals for identification and 


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1 funding of Manufacturing USA institutes 

2 in an innovation center, in whole or in sub3 stantial part. 

4 (v) PREVENTION OF OVERLAP AND

5 REDUNDANCY.—In identifying and funding 

6 Manufacturing USA institutes or satellites 

7 to Manufacturing USA institutes under 

8 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall, to 

9 the extent practicable, avoid overlap or re10 dundancy in mission, technology focus, or 

11 funding with existing Manufacturing USA 

12 institutes. 

13 (D) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL ASSIST14 ANCE.— 

15 (i) NEW MANUFACTURING USA INSTI16 TUTES.—For each Manufacturing USA in17 stitute identified and funded under sub18 paragraph (B), the Secretary may expend 

19 up to $70,000,000 during the period of fis20 cal years 2021 through 2032. 

21 (ii) MANUFACTURING USA INSTITUTE

22 SATELLITES.—For each Manufacturing 

23 USA institute satellite or expansion sup24 ported under subparagraph (B), the Sec25 retary may expend up to $25,000,000 durVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 ing the period of fiscal years 2021 through 

2 2032. 

3 (E) ALLOCATION.—Not less than 33 per4 cent of the financial assistance provided under 

5 subparagraph (B) shall be for identifying and 

6 funding Manufacturing USA institutes in inno7 vation centers. 

8 (6) MANUFACTURING UNIVERSITIES.—The Sec9 retary of Commerce and the Secretary of Defense 

10 shall consider the location of a university within an 

11 innovation center to be a strength for purposes of 

12 selection criteria under the Manufacturing Univer13 sities Program. 

14 (7) MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGEN15 CY.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The National Director 

17 of the Minority Business Development Agency 

18 may, acting through the Inner City Innovation 

19 Hub program, award not more than 2 grants to 

20 eligible entities located within each innovation 

21 center. 

22 (B) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant award23 ed under subparagraph (A) may not exceed 

24 $1,500,000. 


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1 (C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated to the National Director of the Minority 

4 Business Development Agency $27,000,000 for 

5 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2030. 

6 (8) ADDITIONAL REGIONAL INNOVATIONS

7 STRATEGIES GRANTS.— 

8 (A) DEFINITION OF INNOVATION CEN9 TER.—Section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech10 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

11 3703) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(12) ‘Innovation center’ has the meaning given 

14 the term in section 2 of the Innovation Centers Ac15 celeration Act.’’. 

16 (B) GRANTS.—Section 27 of the Steven17 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

18 (15 U.S.C. 3722) is amended— 

19 (i) in subsection (c)— 

20 (I) in paragraph (1), by striking 

21 ‘‘As part of the program’’ and insert22 ing the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the pro24 gram’’; and 


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1 (II) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(B) INNOVATION CENTER GRANTS.—As a 

4 part of the program established pursuant to 

5 subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary of Com6 merce for Economic Development may award 

7 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible recipi8 ents described in subsection (a)(1)(D) located 

9 within innovation centers.’’; and 

10 (ii) in subsection (h)— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘From amounts 

12 appropriated’’ and inserting the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro15 priated’’; and 

16 (II) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(2) INNOVATION CENTER GRANTS.—There are 

19 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 

20 award grants under subsection (c)(1)(B) $5,000,000 

21 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2030.’’. 

22 (9) WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES IN

23 CONSULTATION WITH INNOVATION CENTERS.— 

24 (A) YOUTH WORKFORCE ACTIVITIES.—Sec25 tion 129 of the Workforce Innovation and OpVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3164) is amended by 

2 adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(d) YOUTH WORKFORCE ACTIVITIES IN CONSULTA4 TION WITH INNOVATION CENTERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made 

7 available under section 136(d), the Secretary 

8 shall provide a grant to each local area that— 

9 ‘‘(i) is within the area covered by an 

10 innovation center selected under subsection 

11 (e) of section 3 of the Innovation Centers 

12 Acceleration Act; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the Innovation Center Selection 

14 Committee established under that section 3 

15 certifies is working in partnership with 

16 that innovation center. 

17 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of the grant 

18 for a fiscal year shall be equal to the allocation 

19 that the local area receives under section 128(b) 

20 for that fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may 

22 not reduce the amount that any local area re23 ceives through an allocation under section 

24 128(b) because local areas described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 paragraph (A) receive grants under this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The local area shall use 

4 the grant funds in accordance with subsection (c), 

5 after consultation with the innovation center.’’. 

6 (B) ADULT AND DISLOCATED WORKER EM7 PLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 

8 134 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor9 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(e) ADULT AND DISLOCATED WORKER EMPLOY12 MENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES IN CONSULTATION

13 WITH INNOVATION CENTERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made 

16 available under section 136(d), the Secretary 

17 shall provide a grant to each local area that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is within the area covered by an 

19 innovation center selected under subsection 

20 (e) of section 3 of the Innovation Centers 

21 Acceleration Act; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Innovation Center Selection 

23 Committee established under that section 3 

24 certifies is working in partnership with 

25 that innovation center. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of the grant 

2 for a fiscal year shall be equal to the sum of the 

3 allocations that the local area receives under 

4 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 133(b) for 

5 that fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may 

7 not reduce the amount that any local area re8 ceives through an allocation under paragraph 

9 (1) or (2) of section 133(b)(3) because local 

10 areas described in subparagraph (A) receive 

11 grants under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The local area shall use 

13 the grant funds in accordance with subsections (b), 

14 (c), and (d), after consultation with the innovation 

15 center.’’. 

16 (C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA17 TIONS.—Section 136 of the Workforce Innova18 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3181) is 

19 amended— 

20 (i) in subsections (a), (b), and (c), by 

21 inserting before the first comma the fol22 lowing: ‘‘(except for activities funded from 

23 amounts appropriated under subsection 

24 (d))’’; and 


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1 (ii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(d) WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES IN CON4 SULTATION WITH INNOVATION CENTERS.—There are au5 thorized to be appropriated to carry out sections 129(d) 

6 and 134(e) such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal 

7 year that an innovation center designation is in effect.’’. 

8 (10) ADDITIONAL STEM APPRENTICESHIP

9 GRANTS.—Section 28 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech10 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3723) is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(e) INNOVATION CENTER GRANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In 

14 this subsection, the term ‘eligible entity’ means an 

15 eligible recipient that is— 

16 ‘‘(A) described in subsection (b)(4); and 

17 ‘‘(B) located within an innovation center. 

18 ‘‘(2) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant 

19 Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development 

20 shall provide to not less than 1 eligible entity located 

21 in each innovation center a grant to develop infra22 structure to expand STEM apprenticeship programs. 

23 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT; RENEWAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 

2 under paragraph (2) shall be not more than 

3 $5,000,000 for each year over a 3-year period. 

4 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may pro5 vide an eligible entity that receives a grant 

6 under paragraph (2) not more than 2 additional 

7 grants under that paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(4) PREFERENCE.—The Assistant Secretary 

9 of Commerce for Economic Development shall give 

10 preference for a grant under this subsection to an el11 igible entity with demonstrated success of admin12 istering apprenticeship and other workforce develop13 ment models and that demonstrates a commitment 

14 to serving individuals— 

15 ‘‘(A) from underrepresented populations; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(B) who face barriers to employment, in18 cluding— 

19 ‘‘(i) long-term unemployment; 

20 ‘‘(ii) past incarceration; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) veteran or disability status. 

22 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2030.’’. 


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1 (11) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RE2 SEARCH FUNDING.— 

3 (A) FUNDING GOAL.—The Director of the 

4 National Institutes of Health shall pursue a 

5 goal of awarding through a rigorous selection 

6 process and subject to peer review, for each in7 novation center that gets its designation re8 newed continually for 3 terms, a total of 

9 $1,250,000,000 in meritorious research awards 

10 in priority areas of biomedical science to enti11 ties located in that innovation center by the end 

12 of the 9th year of the designation of that inno13 vation center, by proportionally increasing the 

14 total amount of the grants, contracts, or other 

15 transactions awarded in each innovation center 

16 each year over the 9-year period. 

17 (B) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition 

18 to awarding grants, contracts, or other trans19 actions in pursuit of the goal described in sub20 paragraph (A), the Director of the National In21 stitutes of Health shall award grants— 

22 (i) with a focus on universities or 

23 other research institutions that commit to 

24 expanding research capabilities aligned 

25 with industries and technologies and with a 


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1 preference for universities or institutions 

2 that are— 

3 (I) concentrated in an innovation 

4 center; or 

5 (II) key to national challenges; or 

6 (ii) that include industry-university 

7 research partnership programs. 

8 (C) TRACKING.—In each year, the Direc9 tor of the National Institutes of Health shall 

10 track the aggregate amount of grants, con11 tracts, or other transactions awarded by the Di12 rector to entities in that year, disaggregated by 

13 innovation center. 

14 (D) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL AP15 PROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be ap16 propriated to carry out this paragraph, in addi17 tion to amounts that would otherwise be appro18 priated in a year for the National Institutes of 

19 Health, amounts as follows: 

20 (i) For fiscal year 2021, $0. 

21 (ii) For fiscal year 2022, 

22 $140,000,000. 

23 (iii) For fiscal year 2023, 

24 $280,000,000. 


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1 (iv) For fiscal year 2024, 

2 $420,000,000. 

3 (v) For fiscal year 2025, 

4 $560,000,000. 

5 (vi) For fiscal year 2026, 

6 $700,000,000. 

7 (vii) For fiscal year 2027, 

8 $840,000,000. 

9 (viii) For fiscal year 2028, 

10 $980,000,000. 

11 (ix) For fiscal year 2029, 

12 $1,120,000,000. 

13 (x) For fiscal year 2030, 

14 $1,260,000,000. 

15 (c) TAX INCENTIVES.— 

16 (1) NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT ALLOCA17 TIONS.—Subsection (f) of section 45D of the Inter18 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL ALLOCATION FOR INNOVATION

21 CENTERS.—In the case of any calendar year begin22 ning after 2021— 

23 ‘‘(A) the limitation under paragraph (1) 

24 (including in calendar years for which the limi25 tation under paragraph (1) is zero) shall be inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 creased by $50,000,000 for each metropolitan 

2 statistical area which is designated as an inno3 vation center under section 3(e) of the Innova4 tion Centers Acceleration Act for such calendar 

5 year, and 

6 ‘‘(B) the additional limitation under sub7 paragraph (A) shall be divided equally among 

8 such innovation centers and allocated (as pro9 vided in paragraph (2)) among qualified com10 munity development entities in such innovation 

11 centers.’’. 

12 (2) RESEARCH CREDIT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 41 of such 

14 Code is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO INNOVATION

17 CENTERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of— 

19 ‘‘(A) any qualified research expenses paid 

20 or incurred for qualified services or qualified re21 search, 

22 ‘‘(B) any basic research payments for basic 

23 research, and 

24 ‘‘(C) amounts paid or incurred by the tax25 payer in carrying on any trade or business of 


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1 the taxpayer (including as contributions) to an 

2 energy research consortium for energy research, 

3 during the taxable year at a location in a metropoli4 tan statistical area which is an innovation center for 

5 such taxable year, this section shall be applied as 

6 provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). 

7 ‘‘(2) CREDIT RATE.—Subsection (a) shall be 

8 applied by substituting ‘30 percent’ for ‘20 percent’ 

9 each place it appears. 

10 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE SIMPLIFIED CREDIT.—Sub11 section (c)(4) shall be applied— 

12 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘21 percent’ for ‘14 

13 percent’ in subparagraph (A), and 

14 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘9 percent’ for ‘6 per15 cent’ in subparagraph (B)(ii). 

16 ‘‘(4) CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED SMALL BUSI17 NESSES.—In the case of a trade or business located 

18 primarily within a metropolitan statistical area 

19 which is an innovation center for the taxable year, 

20 subsection (h) shall be applied— 

21 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘$15,000,000’ for 

22 ‘$5,000,000’ in paragraph (3)(A)(i)(I), 

23 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘8-taxable-year’ for 

24 ‘5-taxable-year’ in paragraph (3)(A)(i)(II), and 


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1 ‘‘(C) by substituting ‘$500,000’ for 

2 ‘$250,000’ both places it appears in paragraphs 

3 (4)(B)(i) and (5)(B)(ii). 

4 ‘‘(5) INNOVATION CENTER.—For purposes of 

5 this subsection, for any taxable year, the term ‘inno6 vation center’ means a metropolitan statistical area 

7 with a designation as an innovation center under 

8 section 3(e) of the Innovation Centers Acceleration 

9 Act in effect for calendar years beginning in such 

10 year. 

11 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION.—This subsection shall not 

12 apply to expenses paid or incurred after December 

13 31, 2030.’’. 

14 (B) TRAINING INCLUDED AS RESEARCH

15 EXPENSES.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of 

17 section 41(b) of such Code is amended— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

19 of subparagraph (A); 

20 (II) by striking the period at the 

21 end of subparagraph (B) and insert22 ing ‘‘, and’’; and 

23 (III) by adding at the end the 

24 following new subparagraph: 

25 ‘‘(C) employee training expenses.’’. 


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1 (ii) EMPLOYEE TRAINING EX2 PENSES.—Subsection (b) of section 41 of 

3 such Code is amended— 

4 (I) by redesignating paragraph 

5 (4) as paragraph (5); and 

6 (II) by inserting after paragraph 

7 (3) the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYEE TRAINING EXPENSES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employee 

10 training expenses’ means any wages paid or in11 curred to an employee in connection with train12 ing for the employee to perform qualified serv13 ices described in clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph 

14 (2)(B). Such term does not include wages paid 

15 or incurred in connection with general employer 

16 training which does not specifically pertain to 

17 such qualified services. 

18 ‘‘(B) WAGES, ETC.—For purposes of this 

19 paragraph— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘wages’ 

21 shall not include any amount taken into 

22 account under paragraph (2)(A)(i). 

23 ‘‘(ii) RULES.—The rules of paragraph 

24 (2)(D) shall apply. 


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1 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The term ‘employee 

2 training expenses’ does not include any wages 

3 paid or incurred after December 31, 2030.’’. 

4 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

5 made by this paragraph shall apply to taxable 

6 years beginning after December 31, 2021. 

7 (d) REGULATORY MODERNIZATION.— 

8 (1) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the term 

9 ‘‘startup’’ means a small business concern (as de10 fined in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 632(a))) that— 

12 (A) has been in existence for less than 3 

13 years; and 

14 (B) has annual average gross receipts of 

15 less than $3,000,000. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of law, in the case of a startup that 

18 is operating within an innovation center, any re19 quirement related to a Federal grant that prohibits 

20 the use of university laboratory or other research as21 sets purchased or supposed by the grant from being 

22 used for commercial purposes for an initial time pe23 riod shall be waived. 

24 (e) BUSINESS ACCESS TO CAPITAL.— 

25 (1) INNOVATION CENTER DEBENTURES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the 

2 Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

3 U.S.C. 683) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(l) INNOVATION CENTER DEBENTURES.—In addi6 tion to any other authority under this Act, on and after 

7 the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the 

8 date of enactment of this subsection, a small business in9 vestment company may issue innovation center deben10 tures.’’. 

11 (B) DEFINITIONS.—Section 103 of the 

12 Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

13 U.S.C. 662) is amended— 

14 (i) in paragraph (19), by striking 

15 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (ii) in paragraph (20), by striking the 

17 period at the end and inserting a semi18 colon; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(21) the term ‘innovation center debenture’ 

22 means a deferred interest debenture that— 

23 ‘‘(A) is issued at a discount; 

24 ‘‘(B) has a 5-year maturity or a 10-year 

25 maturity; 


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1 ‘‘(C) requires no interest payment or an2 nual charge for the first 5 years; 

3 ‘‘(D) is restricted to companies located 

4 within an innovation center, as defined in sec5 tion 2 of the Innovation Centers Acceleration 

6 Act; and 

7 ‘‘(E) is issued at no cost (as defined in 

8 section 502 of the Credit Reform Act of 1990 

9 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) with respect to purchasing 

10 and guaranteeing the debenture; and 

11 ‘‘(22) the term ‘innovation center startup’ 

12 means any company that— 

13 ‘‘(A) is primarily located within an innova14 tion center (as defined in section 2 of the Inno15 vation Centers Acceleration Act); 

16 ‘‘(B) is innovation- or technology-oriented; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) has been in existence for less than 5 

19 years.’’. 

20 (C) EXEMPTION FROM CAPITAL REQUIRE21 MENTS.—Section 301(c) of the Small Business 

22 Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681(c)) is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(5) EXCEPTION FOR APPLICATIONS LOCATED

25 IN INNOVATION CENTERS.—An applicant that is loVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Apr 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S871.IS S871

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1 cated in an innovation center (as defined in section 

2 2 of the Innovation Centers Acceleration Act) and 

3 that does not satisfy the requirements of section 

4 302(a) shall be limited to 1 tier of leverage available 

5 under section 302(b) until the applicant meets the 

6 requirements of section 302(a).’’. 

7 (2) 7(a) LOAN FINANCING FOR INNOVATION

8 CENTER STARTUPS.— 

9 (A) LOAN GUARANTEE PERCENTAGE.— 

10 Section 7(a)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 636(a)(2)) is amended— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 

13 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘and (F)’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘(F), and (G)’’; and 

15 (ii) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(G) PARTICIPATION FOR INNOVATION

18 CENTER STARTUPS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara20 graph, the term ‘innovation center startup’ 

21 means any small business concern that— 

22 ‘‘(I) is primarily located within 

23 an innovation center (as defined in 

24 section 2 of the Innovation Centers 

25 Acceleration Act); 


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1 ‘‘(II) is innovation- or tech2 nology-oriented; and 

3 ‘‘(III) has been in existence for 

4 less than 5 years. 

5 ‘‘(ii) PARTICIPATION.—In an agree6 ment to participate in a loan on a deferred 

7 basis under this subsection for an innova8 tion center startup, the participation by 

9 the Administration shall be 90 percent.’’. 

10 (B) GUARANTEE FEE REDUCTION.—Sec11 tion 7(a)(18) of the Small Business Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 636(a)(18)) is amended— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

14 ‘‘With respect’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

15 provided in subparagraph (C), with re16 spect’’; and 

17 (ii) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(C) INNOVATION CENTER STARTUPS.— 

20 With respect to a loan guaranteed under this 

21 subsection for a small business concern de22 scribed in paragraph (2)(G)(i)— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Administration may not col24 lect a guarantee fee under this paragraph 

25 for a loan of not more than $350,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for a loan of more than 

2 $350,000, the Administration shall collect 

3 a guarantee fee under this paragraph equal 

4 to 50 percent of the guarantee fee that the 

5 Administration would otherwise collect for 

6 the loan.’’. 

7 (3) CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LOANS

8 FOR INNOVATION CENTER STARTUPS.— 

9 (A) MAXIMUM LOAN AMOUNT.—Section 

10 502(2)(A) of the Small Business Investment 

11 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 696(2)(A)) is amend12 ed— 

13 (i) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (ii) in clause (v), by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (iii) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(vi) $10,000,000 for each project of 

20 an innovation center startup.’’. 

21 (B) CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.—Sec22 tion 502(3)(C) of the Small Business Invest23 ment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 696(3)(C)) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (i) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (ii) by redesignating clause (iv) as 

4 clause (v); and 

5 (iii) by inserting after clause (iii) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(iv) for an innovation startup— 

8 ‘‘(I) at least 5 percent of the 

9 total cost of the project financed, if 

10 the innovation startup has been in op11 eration for a period of 2 years or less; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) at least 5 percent of the 

14 total cost of the project financed if the 

15 project involves the construction of a 

16 limited or single purpose building or 

17 structure.’’. 

18 (4) SBA RESOURCES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Small Business 

20 Administration shall provide innovation center 

21 startups (as defined in section 7(a)(2)(G) of the 

22 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(2)(G))) 

23 access to financing resources of the Administra24 tion and assist those startups in navigating the 

25 application process. 


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1 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

3 to the Small Business Administration 

4 $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2021 and every fiscal 

5 year thereafter to carry out subparagraph (A). 

6 (f) NEIGHBORHOOD, PROPERTY, AND INFRASTRUC7 TURE MODERNIZATION.— 

8 (1) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT

9 FUNDING.— 

10 (A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

11 (i) the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a 

12 unit of general local government or Indian 

13 tribe that receives assistance under title I 

14 of the Housing and Community Develop15 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et 

16 seq.); 

17 (ii) the terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and 

18 ‘‘unit of general local government’’ have 

19 the meanings given those terms in section 

20 102 of the Housing and Community Devel21 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302); 

22 (iii) the term ‘‘qualified affordable 

23 housing’’ means a housing development 

24 that consists of 5 or more dwelling units of 


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1 which 20 percent or more are made avail2 able— 

3 (I) for rental only by a low-in4 come family (as defined in section 

5 3(b) of the United States Housing Act 

6 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))); 

7 (II) at a monthly rent amount 

8 that does not exceed 30 percent of the 

9 monthly adjusted income (as defined 

10 in such section 3(b)) of the tenant 

11 low-income family; and 

12 (III) maintains affordability for 

13 residents who are low-income families 

14 for a period of not less than 30 years; 

15 and 

16 (iv) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

17 Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop18 ment. 

19 (B) FUNDING.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 provide a grant to each eligible entity 

22 that— 

23 (I) is within the area covered by 

24 an innovation center; and 


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1 (II) the Committee certifies is 

2 working in partnership with that inno3 vation center. 

4 (ii) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 

5 provided to an eligible entity under clause 

6 (i) for a fiscal year shall be equal to the 

7 allocation that the eligible entity receives 

8 under title I of the Housing and Commu9 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

10 5301 et seq.) for that fiscal year. 

11 (iii) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary 

12 may not reduce the amount that any eligi13 ble entity receives under title I of the 

14 Housing and Community Development Act 

15 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) because 

16 eligible entities receive grants under this 

17 subparagraph. 

18 (C) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity 

19 shall use grant funds provided under subpara20 graph (B) for the development and preservation 

21 of qualified affordable housing, including the 

22 construction of such housing, within the area 

23 covered by an innovation center, in accordance 

24 with title I of the Housing and Community De25 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) 


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1 and after consultation with the innovation cen2 ter. 

3 (D) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA4 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry 

6 out this paragraph for each fiscal year in which 

7 an innovation center designation is in effect. 

8 (2) INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING.— 

9 (A) BUILD GRANTS.— 

10 (i) DEFINITION OF BUILD PRO11 GRAM.—In this subparagraph, the term 

12 ‘‘BUILD program’’ means the program for 

13 national infrastructure investments (com14 monly known as the ‘‘Better Utilizing In15 vestments to Leverage Development 

16 (BUILD) discretionary grant program’’) of 

17 the Department of Transportation. 

18 (ii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA19 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro20 priated to the Secretary of Transportation 

21 $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

22 through 2032 to carry out projects under 

23 the BUILD program in innovation centers. 

24 (iii) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

25 Amounts authorized to be appropriated 


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1 under clause (ii) shall supplement and not 

2 supplant any other amounts authorized to 

3 be appropriated for the BUILD program. 

4 (B) INFRA GRANTS.— 

5 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro7 priated to the Secretary of Transportation 

8 $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

9 through 2032 to carry out projects under 

10 the nationally significant freight and high11 way projects program under section 117 of 

12 title 23, United States Code, in innovation 

13 centers. 

14 (ii) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

15 Amounts authorized to be appropriated 

16 under clause (i) shall supplement and not 

17 supplant any other amounts authorized to 

18 be appropriated for the nationally signifi19 cant freight and highway projects program 

20 under section 117 of title 23, United 

21 States Code. 

22 (C) TIFIA PROGRAM.— 

23 (i) LINES OF CREDIT.—Section 

24 604(b)(2) of title 23, United States Code, 

25 is amended— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (B), the total’’; and 

5 (II) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(B) PROJECTS IN INNOVATION CEN8 TERS.—In the case of a project in an innova9 tion center (as defined in section 2 of the Inno10 vation Centers Acceleration Act), the total 

11 amount of a line of credit under this section 

12 shall not exceed 49 percent of the reasonably 

13 anticipated eligible project costs.’’. 

14 (ii) FEE WAIVER.—Section 605 of 

15 title 23, United States Code, is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) PROJECTS IN INNOVATION CENTERS.—Notwith18 standing any other provision of this chapter, in the case 

19 of a project in an innovation center (as defined in section 

20 2 of the Innovation Centers Acceleration Act), the Sec21 retary shall not require the payment of any fees under 

22 section 603(b)(7), section 604(b)(9), or subsection (b).’’. 

Æ 


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