Calendar No. 215

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1046

[Report No. 105–110]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1998

and for other purposes.and 1999 for the National Science Foundation,

OCTOBER 15, 1997

Reported without amendment
II

Calendar No. 215

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1046

[Report No. 105–110]

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1998 and 1999 for the National

Science Foundation, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 22, 1997

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. FRIST, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

OCTOBER 15, 1997

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 9, 1997, by

Mr. JEFFORDS, without amendment

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1998 and 1999

for the National Science Foundation, 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 Science

5 Foundation Authorization Act of 1997’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

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

4 the Director of the National Science Foundation es5 tablished under section 2 of the National Science

6 Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861).

7 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’

8 means the National Science Foundation established

9 under section 2 of the National Science Foundation

10 Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861).

11 (3) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na12 tional Science Board established under section 2 of

13 the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42

14 U.S.C. 1861).

15 (4) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United

16 States’’ means the several States, the District of Co17 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Vir18 gin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Common19 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any

20 other territory or possession of the United States.

21 TITLE I—NATIONAL SCIENCE

22 FOUNDATION AUTHORIZATION

23 SEC. 101. FINDINGS; CORE STRATEGIES.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The United States depends upon its sci2 entific and technological capabilities to preserve the

3 military and economic security of the United States.

4 (2) America’s leadership in the global market5 place is dependent upon a strong commitment to

6 education, basic research, and development.

7 (3) A nation that is not technologically literate

8 cannot compete in the emerging global economy.

9 (4) A coordinated commitment to mathematics

10 and science instruction at all levels of education is

11 a necessary component of successful efforts to

12 produce technologically literate citizens.

13 (5) Professional development is a necessary

14 component of efforts to produce system wide im15 provements in mathematics, engineering, and science

16 education in secondary, elementary, and postsecond17 ary settings.

18 (6)(A) The mission of the National Science

19 Foundation is to provide Federal support for basic

20 scientific and engineering research, and to be a pri21 mary contributor to mathematics, science, and engi22 neering education at academic institutions in the

23 United States.
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1 (B) In accordance with such mission, the long2 term goals of the National Science Foundation in3 clude providing leadership to—

4 (i) enable the United States to maintain a

5 position of world leadership in all aspects of

6 science, mathematics, engineering, and tech7 nology;

8 (ii) promote the discovery, integration, dis9 semination, and application of new knowledge

10 in service to society; and

11 (iii) achieve excellence in United States

12 science, mathematics, engineering, and tech13 nology education at all levels.

14 (b) CORE STRATEGIES.—In carrying out activities

15 designed to achieve the goals described in subsection (a),

16 the Foundation shall use the following core strategies:

17 (1) Develop intellectual capital, both people and

18 ideas, with particular emphasis on groups and re19 gions that traditionally have not participated fully in

20 science, mathematics, and engineering.

21 (2) Strengthen the scientific infrastructure by

22 investing in facilities planning and modernization,

23 instrument acquisition, instrument design and devel24 opment, and shared-use research platforms.
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1 (3) Integrate research and education through

2 activities that emphasize and strengthen the natural

3 connections between learning and inquiry.

4 (4) Promote partnerships with industry, ele5 mentary and secondary schools, community colleges,

6 colleges and universities, other agencies, State and

7 local governments, and other institutions involved in

8 science, mathematics, and engineering to enhance

9 the delivery of math and science education and im10 prove the technological literacy of the citizens of the

11 United States.

12 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) FISCAL YEAR 1998.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

15 appropriated to the Foundation $3,505,630,000 for

16 fiscal year 1998.

17 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount

18 authorized under paragraph (1)—

19 (A) $2,563,330,000 shall be made avail20 able to carry out Research and Related Activi21 ties, of which—

22 (i) $330,820,000 shall be made avail23 able for Biological Sciences;
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1 (ii) $289,170,000 shall be made avail2 able for Computer and Information Science

3 and Engineering;

4 (iii) $360,470,000 shall be made

5 available for Engineering;

6 (iv) $452,610,000 shall be made avail7 able for Geosciences;

8 (v) $715,710,000 shall be made avail9 able for Mathematical and Physical

10 Sciences;

11 (vi) $129,660,000 shall be made avail12 able for Social, Behavioral, and Economic

13 Sciences;

14 (vii) $165,930,000 shall be made

15 available for United States Polar Research

16 Programs;

17 (viii) $62,600,000 shall be made avail18 able for United States Antarctic Logistical

19 Support Activities;

20 (ix) $2,730,000 shall be made avail21 able for the Critical Technologies Institute;

22 and

23 (x) $20,000,000 shall be made avail24 able for the Next Generation Internet pro25 gram;
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1 (B) $645,500,000 shall be made available

2 to carry out Education and Human Resources

3 Activities;

4 (C) $155,000,000 shall be made available

5 for Major Research Equipment;

6 (D) $136,950,000 shall be made available

7 for Salaries and Expenses; and

8 (E) $4,850,000 shall be made available for

9 the Office of Inspector General.

10 (b) FISCAL YEAR 1999.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

12 appropriated to the Foundation $3,636,245,000 for

13 fiscal year 1999.

14 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount

15 authorized under paragraph (1)—

16 (A) $2,720,000,000 shall be made avail17 able to carry out Research and Related Activi18 ties, including $25,000,000 for the Next Gen19 eration Internet program;

20 (B) $684,245,000 shall be made available

21 to carry out Education and Human Resources

22 Activities;

23 (C) $90,000,000 shall be made available

24 for Major Research Equipment;
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1 (D) $137,000,000 shall be made available

2 for Salaries and Expenses; and

3 (E) $5,000,000 shall be made available for

4 the Office of Inspector General.

5 SEC. 103. PROPORTIONAL REDUCTION OF RESEARCH AND

6 RELATED ACTIVITIES AMOUNTS.

7 If the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection

8 (a)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(A) of section 102 is less than the

9 amount authorized under that subsection, the amount

10 available for each of the activities described in clauses (i)

11 through (x) of subsection (a)(2)(A) of section 102 shall

12 be reduced by the same proportion.

13 SEC. 104. CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION EX14 PENSES.

15 From appropriations made under authorizations pro16 vided in this Act, not more than $10,000 may be used

17 in each fiscal year for official consultation, representation,

18 or other extraordinary expenses. The Director shall have

19 the discretion to determine the expenses (as described in

20 this section) for which the funds described in this section

21 shall be used. Such a determination by the Director shall

22 be final and binding on the accounting officers of the Fed23 eral Government.
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1 TITLE II—GENERAL PROVISIONS

2 SEC. 201. NATIONAL RESEARCH FACILITIES.

3 (a) FACILITIES PLAN.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1,

5 of each year, the Director shall, as part of the an6 nual budget request, prepare and submit to Con7 gress a plan for the proposed construction of, and

8 repair and upgrades to, national research facilities.

9 (2) CONTENTS OF THE PLAN.—The plan shall

10 include—

11 (A) estimates of the costs for the construc12 tion, repairs, and upgrades described in para13 graph (1);

14 (B) estimates of the costs for the operation

15 and maintenance of existing and proposed new

16 facilities; and

17 (C) in the case of proposed new construc18 tion and for major upgrades to existing facili19 ties, funding profiles, by fiscal year, and mile20 stones for major phases of the construction.

21 (3) SPECIAL RULE.—The plan shall include cost

22 estimates in the categories of construction, repair,

23 and upgrades—

24 (A) for the year in which the plan is sub25 mitted to Congress; and
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1 (B) for not fewer than the succeeding 4

2 years.

3 (b) STATUS OF FACILITIES UNDER CONSTRUC4 TION.—The plan required under subsection (a) shall in5 clude a status report for each uncompleted construction

6 project. The status report shall include data on cumulative

7 construction costs by project compared with estimated

8 costs, and shall compare the current and original sched9 ules for achievement of milestones for the major phases

10 of the construction.

11 (c) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATION OF UNAUTHORIZED

12 APPROPRIATIONS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—No funds appropriated for

14 any major research equipment project that involves

15 construction of new national research facilities or

16 construction necessary for upgrading the capabilities

17 of existing national research facilities shall be obli18 gated—

19 (A) unless the funds are specifically au20 thorized for such purpose by this Act or any

21 other Act which is not an appropriations Act; or

22 (B) unless the total estimated cost to the

23 Foundation of the construction project is less

24 than $50,000,000.
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1 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall not

2 apply to construction projects approved by the

3 Board prior to June 30, 1997.

4 SEC. 202. ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS.

5 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACT OF 1950

6 AMENDMENTS.—The National Science Foundation Act of

7 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) is amended—

8 (1) in section 4(g) (42 U.S.C. 1863(g))—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘the appropriate rate pro10 vided for individuals in grade GS–18 of the

11 General Schedule under section 5332’’ and in12 serting ‘‘the maximum rate payable under sec13 tion 5376’’; and

14 (B) by redesignating the second subsection

15 (k) as subsection (l);

16 (2) in section 5(e) (42 U.S.C. 1864(e)) by

17 striking paragraph (2), and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(2) Any delegation of authority or imposition of con19 ditions under paragraph (1) shall be promptly published

20 in the Federal Register and reported to the Committee

21 on Labor and Human Resources, and the Committee on

22 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, of the Senate

23 and the Committee on Science of the House of Represent24 atives.’’;

25 (3) in section 14(c) (42 U.S.C. 1873(c))—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘shall receive’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘shall be entitled to receive’’;

3 (B) by striking ‘‘the rate specified for the

4 daily rate for GS–18 of the General Schedule

5 under section 5332’’ and inserting ‘‘the maxi6 mum rate payable under section 5376’’; and

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

8 ‘‘For the purposes of determining the payment

9 of compensation under this subsection, the time

10 spent in travel by any member of the Board or

11 any member of a special commission shall be

12 deemed as time engaged in the business of the

13 Foundation. Members of the Board and mem14 bers of special commissions may waive com15 pensation and reimbursement for traveling ex16 penses.’’; and

17 (4) in section 15(a) (42 U.S.C. 1874(a)), by

18 striking ‘‘Atomic Energy Commission’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘Secretary of Energy’’.

20 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZA21 TION ACT, 1976 AMENDMENTS.—Section 6(a) of the Na22 tional Science Foundation Authorization Act, 1976 (42

23 U.S.C. 1881a(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘social,’’ the

24 first place it appears.
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1 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZA2 TION ACT OF 1988 AMENDMENTS.—Section 117(a) of the

3 National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988

4 (42 U.S.C. 1881b(a)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking paragraph (1)(B)(v) and insert6 ing the following:

7 ‘‘(v) from schools established outside the several

8 States and the District of Columbia by any agency

9 of the Federal Government for dependents of the

10 employees of such agency.’’; and

11 (2) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking ‘‘Science

12 and Engineering Education’’ and inserting ‘‘Edu13 cation and Human Resources’’.

14 (d) SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EQUAL OPPORTUNI15 TIES ACT AMENDMENTS.—The Science and Engineering

16 Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885 et seq.) is

17 amended—

18 (1) in section 34 (42 U.S.C. 1885b)—

19 (A) by striking the section heading and in20 serting the following:

21 ‘‘PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING OF

22 MINORITIES AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES’’;

23 and

24 (B) by striking subsection (b) and insert25 ing the following:
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1 ‘‘(b) The Foundation is authorized to undertake or

2 support programs and activities to encourage the partici3 pation of persons with disabilities in the science and engi4 neering professions.’’; and

5 (2) in section 36 (42 U.S.C. 1885c)—

6 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘minori7 ties,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘in sci8 entific’’ and inserting ‘‘minorities, and persons

9 with disabilities in scientific’’;

10 (B) in subsection (b)—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘with the concurrence

12 of the National Science Board’’; and

13 (ii) by striking the second sentence

14 and inserting the following: ‘‘In addition,

15 the Chairman of the National Science

16 Board may designate a member of the

17 Board as a member of the Committee.’’;

18 (C) by striking subsections (c) and (d);

19 (D) by inserting after subsection (b) the

20 following:

21 ‘‘(c) The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing

22 and evaluating all Foundation matters relating to opportu23 nities for the participation in, and the advancement of,

24 women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in edu-
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1 cation, training, and science and engineering research pro2 grams.’’;

3 (E) by redesignating subsections (e) and

4 (f) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

5 (F) in subsection (d), as so redesignated

6 by subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘additional’’.

7 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The second sub8 section (g) of section 3 of the National Science Foundation

9 Act of 1950 is repealed.

10 SEC. 203. INDIRECT COSTS.

11 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.—Matching funds required

12 pursuant to section 204(a)(2)(C) of the Academic Re13 search Facilities Modernization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C.

14 1862c(a)(2)(C)) shall not be considered facilities costs for

15 purposes of determining indirect cost rates under Office

16 of Management and Budget Circular A–21.

17 (b) REPORT.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of

19 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with

20 other Federal agencies the Director deems appro21 priate, shall prepare a report—

22 (A) analyzing the Federal indirect cost re23 imbursement rates (as the term is defined in

24 Office of Management and Budget Circular A–

25 21) paid to universities in comparison with
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1 Federal indirect cost reimbursement rates paid

2 to other entities, such as industry, government

3 laboratories, research hospitals, and non-profit

4 institutions;

5 (B)(i) analyzing the distribution of the

6 Federal indirect cost reimbursement rates by

7 category (such as administration, facilities, util8 ities, and libraries), and by the type of entity;

9 and

10 (ii) determining what factors, including the

11 type of research, influence the distribution;

12 (C) analyzing the impact, if any, that

13 changes in Office of Management and Budget

14 Circular A–21 have had on—

15 (i) the Federal indirect cost reim16 bursement rates, the rate of change of the

17 Federal indirect cost reimbursement rates,

18 the distribution by category of the Federal

19 indirect cost reimbursement rates, and the

20 distribution by type of entity of the Fed21 eral indirect cost reimbursement rates; and

22 (ii) the Federal indirect cost reim23 bursement (as calculated in accordance

24 with Office of Management and Budget

25 Circular A–21), the rate of change of the
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1 Federal indirect cost reimbursement, the

2 distribution by category of the Federal in3 direct cost reimbursement, and the dis4 tribution by type of entity of the Federal

5 indirect cost reimbursement;

6 (D) analyzing the impact, if any, of Fed7 eral and State law on the Federal indirect cost

8 reimbursement rates;

9 (E)(i) analyzing options to reduce or con10 trol the rate of growth of the Federal indirect

11 cost reimbursement rates, including options

12 such as benchmarking of facilities and equip13 ment cost, elimination of cost studies, man14 dated percentage reductions in the Federal indi15 rect cost reimbursement; and

16 (ii) assessing the benefits and burdens of

17 the options to the Federal Government, re18 search institutions, and researchers; and

19 (F) analyzing options for creating a

20 database—

21 (i) for tracking the Federal indirect

22 cost reimbursement rates and the Federal

23 indirect cost reimbursement; and

24 (ii) for analyzing the impact that

25 changes in policies with respect to Federal
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1 indirect cost reimbursement will have on

2 the Federal Government, researchers, and

3 research institutions.

4 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The report pre5 pared under paragraph (1) shall be submitted to

6 Congress not later than 1 year after the date of en7 actment of this Act.

8 SEC. 204. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

9 Persons temporarily employed by or at the Founda10 tion shall be subject to the same financial disclosure re11 quirements and related sanctions under the Ethics in Gov12 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) as are permanent

13 employees of the Foundation in equivalent positions.

14 SEC. 205. PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds authorized by

16 this Act shall be made available for any activity whose pur17 pose is to influence legislation pending before Congress.

18 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be

19 construed as preventing officers or employees of the Fed20 eral Government or of departments or agencies of the Fed21 eral Government from communicating—

22 (1) to Members of Congress on the request of

23 any Member; or

24 (2) to Congress, through the appropriate proce25 dures, requests for legislation or appropriations
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1 which the officers or employees deem necessary for

2 the efficient conduct of the business of the Federal

3 Government.

4 SEC. 206. NOTICE.

5 (a) NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.—If any funds au6 thorized by this Act are subject to a reprogramming action

7 that requires notice to be provided to the Committee on

8 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the

9 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, notice of such

10 action shall concurrently be provided to the Committee on

11 Science of the House of Representatives and the Commit12 tee on Labor and Human Resources, and the Committee

13 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, of the Senate.

14 (b) NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION.—The Director

15 shall provide notice to the Committee on Science, and the

16 Committee on Appropriations, of the House of Represent17 atives, and the Committee on Labor and Human Re18 sources, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans19 portation, and the Committee on Appropriations, of the

20 Senate, not later than 15 days before any major reorga21 nization of any program, project, or activity of the Foun22 dation.
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1 SEC. 207. ENHANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

2 PROGRAMS.

3 The Director shall, to the greatest extent practicable

4 and consistent with governmentwide procedures or pro5 grams, donate surplus computers and other research

6 equipment to elementary and secondary education schools

7 to enhance the science and mathematics programs of such

8 schools. The Director shall report annually to the appro9 priate committees of Congress on the donations made by

10 the Director pursuant to this section.