II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 124

To invest in the future of the United States by doubling the amount

authorized for basic science and medical research.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. GRAMM (for himself, Mr. MACK, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To invest in the future of the United States by doubling

the amount authorized for basic science and medical

research.

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 Research In5 vestment Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) for fiscal year 1965, 5.7 percent of the Fed2 eral budget was expended for nondefense research

3 and development activities;

4 (2) for fiscal year 1997, the percentage of the

5 Federal budget allocated for nondefense research

6 and development activities is 1.9 percent, which is

7 67 percent less than the percentage in fiscal year

8 1965;

9 (3) for the first time in 25 years during the pe10 riod beginning with fiscal year 1992 and ending with

11 fiscal year 1995, the amount of funds expended by

12 the Federal Government on research (expressed in

13 real dollars) declined each year;

14 (4) during the period beginning with fiscal year

15 1970, and ending with fiscal year 1995, the United

16 States had not, during any fiscal year, expended an

17 amount for nondefense research and development ac18 tivities, that, expressed as a percentage of the Gross

19 Domestic Product, was greater than or equal to the

20 percentage expended by Japan or Germany for that

21 fiscal year; and

22 (5) an increased level of investment in basic

23 science and medical research by the Federal Govern24 ment is essential to maintaining the position of the
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1 United States as the technological leader of the

2 world.

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol4 lows:

5 (1) To double the annual authorized amount of

6 Federal funding for basic science and medical re7 search over the 10-year period following the date of

8 enactment of this Act, so that the amount of Fed9 eral funding for fiscal year 2007 is equal to

10 $65,000,000,000.

11 (2) To restore the high priority that science and

12 technology had previously been afforded in the Fed13 eral budget.

14 (3) To invest in the future of the United States

15 and the people of the United States by expanding

16 the research activities referred to in paragraph (1).

17 (4) To enhance the quality of life for all the

18 people of the United States.

19 (5) To guarantee the leadership of the United

20 States in science and medicine.

21 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 (a) FUNDS FOR COVERED RESEARCH AND DEVELOP23 MENT DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term

24 ‘‘funds for covered research and development’’ means—
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1 (1) any funds made available by appropriations

2 for—

3 (A) the National Science Foundation;

4 (B) the National Aeronautics and Space

5 Administration;

6 (C) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

7 Administration of the Department of Com8 merce;

9 (D) the National Institute for Standards

10 and Technology of the Department of Com11 merce; and

12 (E) the National Institutes of Health of

13 the Department of Health and Human Services;

14 (2) any funds made available by appropriations

15 for use for research and development activities (as

16 that term is used in the most recent applicable ap17 propriations Act with respect to a Federal Agency)

18 for basic science or medical research—

19 (A) by the Centers for Disease Control of

20 the Department of Health and Human Services;

21 (B) by the Department of Energy (to the

22 extent that the activities are not defense-related

23 activities);

24 (C) by the Department of Agriculture;
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1 (D) by the Department of Veterans Af2 fairs;

3 (E) by the Smithsonian Institution; and

4 (F) by the Department of Education; and

5 (3) any funds made available by appropriations

6 to the Environmental Protection Agency for science

7 and technology activities for basic science or medical

8 research.

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations

11 under paragraph (2), there are authorized to be ap12 propriated as funds for covered research and devel13 opment—

14 (A) for fiscal year 1998, $35,750,000,000,

15 of which $14,025,000,000 shall be used by the

16 National Institutes of Health of the Depart17 ment of Health and Human Services;

18 (B) for fiscal year 1999, $39,000,000,000,

19 of which $15,300,000,000 shall be used by the

20 National Institutes of Health of the Depart21 ment of Health and Human Services;

22 (C) for fiscal year 2000, $42,250,000,000,

23 of which $16,575,000,000 shall be used by the

24 National Institutes of Health of the Depart25 ment of Health and Human Services;
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1 (D) for fiscal year 2001, $45,500,000,000,

2 of which $17,850,000,000 shall be used by the

3 National Institutes of Health of the Depart4 ment of Health and Human Services;

5 (E) for fiscal year 2002, $48,750,000,000,

6 of which $19,125,000,000 shall be used by the

7 National Institutes of Health of the Depart8 ment of Health and Human Services;

9 (F) for fiscal year 2003, $52,000,000,000,

10 of which $20,400,000,000 shall be used by the

11 National Institutes of Health of the Depart12 ment of Health and Human Services;

13 (G) for fiscal year 2004, $55,250,000,000,

14 of which $21,675,000,000 shall be used by the

15 National Institutes of Health of the Depart16 ment of Health and Human Services;

17 (H) for fiscal year 2005, $58,500,000,000,

18 of which $22,950,000,000 shall be used by the

19 National Institutes of Health of the Depart20 ment of Health and Human Services;

21 (I) for fiscal year 2006, $61,750,000,000,

22 of which $24,225,000,000 shall be used by the

23 National Institutes of Health of the Depart24 ment of Health and Human Services; and
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1 (J) for fiscal year 2007, $65,000,000,000,

2 of which $25,500,000,000 shall be used by the

3 National Institutes of Health of the Depart4 ment of Health and Human Services.

5 (2) LIMITATIONS.—

6 (A) DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMA7 TION.—In using funds made available under

8 this section, the appropriate officials shall take

9 such action as may be necessary to ensure that

10 priority is given to basic scientific research that

11 has the purpose of developing scientific infor12 mation to be available to the general public.

13 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—No funds made

14 available pursuant to the authorization under

15 this subsection may be used for commercial

16 purposes, except that such funds may only be

17 used for precompetitive research and develop18 ment for technology.

19 (C) PEER REVIEW.—In allocating funds

20 made available under this section, the appro21 priate officials shall take such action as may be

22 necessary to ensure that a peer review system

23 is used.
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1 SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH DISCRETIONARY CAPS.

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds

3 may be made available under this Act in a manner that

4 does not conform with the discretionary spending caps

5 provided in the most recently adopted concurrent resolu6 tion on the budget.

Æ