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105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1046

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

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’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:

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

9 the Director of the National Science Foundation es-
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1 tablished under section 2 of the National Science

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

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

4 means the National Science Foundation established

5 under section 2 of the National Science Foundation

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

7 (3) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na8 tional Science Board established under section 2 of

9 the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42

10 U.S.C. 1861).

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

12 States’’ means the several States, the District of Co13 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Vir14 gin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Common15 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any

16 other territory or possession of the United States.

17 TITLE I—NATIONAL SCIENCE

18 FOUNDATION AUTHORIZATION

19 SEC. 101. FINDINGS; CORE STRATEGIES.

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

21 (1) The United States depends upon its sci22 entific and technological capabilities to preserve the

23 military and economic security of the United States.
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1 (2) America’s leadership in the global market2 place is dependent upon a strong commitment to

3 education, basic research, and development.

4 (3) A nation that is not technologically literate

5 cannot compete in the emerging global economy.

6 (4) A coordinated commitment to mathematics

7 and science instruction at all levels of education is

8 a necessary component of successful efforts to

9 produce technologically literate citizens.

10 (5) Professional development is a necessary

11 component of efforts to produce system wide im12 provements in mathematics, engineering, and science

13 education in secondary, elementary, and postsecond14 ary settings.

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

16 Foundation is to provide Federal support for basic

17 scientific and engineering research, and to be a pri18 mary contributor to mathematics, science, and engi19 neering education at academic institutions in the

20 United States.

21 (B) In accordance with such mission, the long22 term goals of the National Science Foundation in23 clude providing leadership to—

24 (i) enable the United States to maintain a

25 position of world leadership in all aspects of
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1 science, mathematics, engineering, and tech2 nology;

3 (ii) promote the discovery, integration, dis4 semination, and application of new knowledge

5 in service to society; and

6 (iii) achieve excellence in United States

7 science, mathematics, engineering, and tech8 nology education at all levels.

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

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

11 the Foundation shall use the following core strategies:

12 (1) Develop intellectual capital, both people and

13 ideas, with particular emphasis on groups and re14 gions that traditionally have not participated fully in

15 science, mathematics, and engineering.

16 (2) Strengthen the scientific infrastructure by

17 investing in facilities planning and modernization,

18 instrument acquisition, instrument design and devel19 opment, and shared-use research platforms.

20 (3) Integrate research and education through

21 activities that emphasize and strengthen the natural

22 connections between learning and inquiry.

23 (4) Promote partnerships with industry, ele24 mentary and secondary schools, community colleges,

25 colleges and universities, other agencies, State and
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1 local governments, and other institutions involved in

2 science, mathematics, and engineering to enhance

3 the delivery of math and science education and im4 prove the technological literacy of the citizens of the

5 United States.

6 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) FISCAL YEAR 1998.—

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

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

10 fiscal year 1998.

11 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount

12 authorized under paragraph (1)—

13 (A) $2,563,330,000 shall be made avail14 able to carry out Research and Related Activi15 ties, of which—

16 (i) $330,820,000 shall be made avail17 able for Biological Sciences;

18 (ii) $289,170,000 shall be made avail19 able for Computer and Information Science

20 and Engineering;

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

22 available for Engineering;

23 (iv) $452,610,000 shall be made avail24 able for Geosciences;
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1 (v) $715,710,000 shall be made avail2 able for Mathematical and Physical

3 Sciences;

4 (vi) $129,660,000 shall be made avail5 able for Social, Behavioral, and Economic

6 Sciences;

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

8 available for United States Polar Research

9 Programs;

10 (viii) $62,600,000 shall be made avail11 able for United States Antarctic Logistical

12 Support Activities;

13 (ix) $2,730,000 shall be made avail14 able for the Critical Technologies Institute;

15 and

16 (x) $20,000,000 shall be made avail17 able for the Next Generation Internet pro18 gram;

19 (B) $645,500,000 shall be made available

20 to carry out Education and Human Resources

21 Activities;

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

23 for Major Research Equipment;

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

25 for Salaries and Expenses; and
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1 (E) $4,850,000 shall be made available for

2 the Office of Inspector General.

3 (b) FISCAL YEAR 1999.—

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

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

6 fiscal year 1999.

7 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount

8 authorized under paragraph (1)—

9 (A) $2,720,000,000 shall be made avail10 able to carry out Research and Related Activi11 ties, including $25,000,000 for the Next Gen12 eration Internet program;

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

14 to carry out Education and Human Resources

15 Activities;

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

17 for Major Research Equipment;

18 (D) $137,000,000 shall be made available

19 for Salaries and Expenses; and

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

21 the Office of Inspector General.

22 SEC. 103. PROPORTIONAL REDUCTION OF RESEARCH AND

23 RELATED ACTIVITIES AMOUNTS.

24 If the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection

25 (a)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(A) of section 102 is less than the
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1 amount authorized under that subsection, the amount

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

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

4 be reduced by the same proportion.

5 SEC. 104. CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION EX6 PENSES.

7 From appropriations made under authorizations pro8 vided in this Act, not more than $10,000 may be used

9 in each fiscal year for official consultation, representation,

10 or other extraordinary expenses. The Director shall have

11 the discretion to determine the expenses (as described in

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

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

14 be final and binding on the accounting officers of the Fed15 eral Government.

16 TITLE II—GENERAL PROVISIONS

17 SEC. 201. NATIONAL RESEARCH FACILITIES.

18 (a) FACILITIES PLAN.—

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

20 of each year, the Director shall, as part of the an21 nual budget request, prepare and submit to Con22 gress a plan for the proposed construction of, and

23 repair and upgrades to, national research facilities.

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

25 include—
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1 (A) estimates of the costs for the construc2 tion, repairs, and upgrades described in para3 graph (1);

4 (B) estimates of the costs for the operation

5 and maintenance of existing and proposed new

6 facilities; and

7 (C) in the case of proposed new construc8 tion and for major upgrades to existing facili9 ties, funding profiles, by fiscal year, and mile10 stones for major phases of the construction.

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

12 estimates in the categories of construction, repair,

13 and upgrades—

14 (A) for the year in which the plan is sub15 mitted to Congress; and

16 (B) for not fewer than the succeeding 4

17 years.

18 (b) STATUS OF FACILITIES UNDER CONSTRUC19 TION.—The plan required under subsection (a) shall in20 clude a status report for each uncompleted construction

21 project. The status report shall include data on cumulative

22 construction costs by project compared with estimated

23 costs, and shall compare the current and original sched24 ules for achievement of milestones for the major phases

25 of the construction.
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1 (c) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATION OF UNAUTHORIZED

2 APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

4 any major research equipment project that involves

5 construction of new national research facilities or

6 construction necessary for upgrading the capabilities

7 of existing national research facilities shall be obli8 gated—

9 (A) unless the funds are specifically au10 thorized for such purpose by this Act or any

11 other Act which is not an appropriations Act; or

12 (B) unless the total estimated cost to the

13 Foundation of the construction project is less

14 than $50,000,000.

15 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall not

16 apply to construction projects approved by the

17 Board prior to June 30, 1997.

18 SEC. 202. ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS.

19 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACT OF 1950

20 AMENDMENTS.—The National Science Foundation Act of

21 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) is amended—

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

23 (A) by striking ‘‘the appropriate rate pro24 vided for individuals in grade GS–18 of the

25 General Schedule under section 5332’’ and in-
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1 serting ‘‘the maximum rate payable under sec2 tion 5376’’; and

3 (B) by redesignating the second subsection

4 (k) as subsection (l);

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

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

7 ‘‘(2) Any delegation of authority or imposition of con8 ditions under paragraph (1) shall be promptly published

9 in the Federal Register and reported to the Committee

10 on Labor and Human Resources, and the Committee on

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, of the Senate

12 and the Committee on Science of the House of Represent13 atives.’’;

14 (3) in section 14(c) (42 U.S.C. 1873(c))—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘shall receive’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘shall be entitled to receive’’;

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

18 daily rate for GS–18 of the General Schedule

19 under section 5332’’ and inserting ‘‘the maxi20 mum rate payable under section 5376’’; and

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

22 ‘‘For the purposes of determining the payment

23 of compensation under this subsection, the time

24 spent in travel by any member of the Board or

25 any member of a special commission shall be
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1 deemed as time engaged in the business of the

2 Foundation. Members of the Board and mem3 bers of special commissions may waive com4 pensation and reimbursement for traveling ex5 penses.’’; and

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

7 striking ‘‘Atomic Energy Commission’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘Secretary of Energy’’.

9 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZA10 TION ACT, 1976 AMENDMENTS.—Section 6(a) of the Na11 tional Science Foundation Authorization Act, 1976 (42

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

13 first place it appears.

14 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZA15 TION ACT OF 1988 AMENDMENTS.—Section 117(a) of the

16 National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988

17 (42 U.S.C. 1881b(a)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking paragraph (1)(B)(v) and insert19 ing the following:

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

21 States and the District of Columbia by any agency

22 of the Federal Government for dependents of the

23 employees of such agency.’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking ‘‘Science

2 and Engineering Education’’ and inserting ‘‘Edu3 cation and Human Resources’’.

4 (d) SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EQUAL OPPORTUNI5 TIES ACT AMENDMENTS.—The Science and Engineering

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

7 amended—

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

9 (A) by striking the section heading and in10 serting the following:

11 ‘‘PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING OF

12 MINORITIES AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES’’; and

13 (B) by striking subsection (b) and insert14 ing the following:

15 ‘‘(b) The Foundation is authorized to undertake or

16 support programs and activities to encourage the partici17 pation of persons with disabilities in the science and engi18 neering professions.’’; and

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

20 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘minori21 ties,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘in sci22 entific’’ and inserting ‘‘minorities, and persons

23 with disabilities in scientific’’;

24 (B) in subsection (b)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘with the concurrence

2 of the National Science Board’’; and

3 (ii) by striking the second sentence

4 and inserting the following: ‘‘In addition,

5 the Chairman of the National Science

6 Board may designate a member of the

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

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

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

10 following:

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

12 and evaluating all Foundation matters relating to opportu13 nities for the participation in, and the advancement of,

14 women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in edu15 cation, training, and science and engineering research pro16 grams.’’;

17 (E) by redesignating subsections (e) and

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

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

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

21 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The second sub22 section (g) of section 3 of the National Science Foundation

23 Act of 1950 is repealed.
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1 SEC. 203. INDIRECT COSTS.

2 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.—Matching funds required

3 pursuant to section 204(a)(2)(C) of the Academic Re4 search Facilities Modernization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C.

5 1862c(a)(2)(C)) shall not be considered facilities costs for

6 purposes of determining indirect cost rates under Office

7 of Management and Budget Circular A–21.

8 (b) REPORT.—

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

10 Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with

11 other Federal agencies the Director deems appro12 priate, shall prepare a report—

13 (A) analyzing the Federal indirect cost re14 imbursement rates (as the term is defined in

15 Office of Management and Budget Circular A–

16 21) paid to universities in comparison with

17 Federal indirect cost reimbursement rates paid

18 to other entities, such as industry, government

19 laboratories, research hospitals, and non-profit

20 institutions;

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

22 Federal indirect cost reimbursement rates by

23 category (such as administration, facilities, util24 ities, and libraries), and by the type of entity;

25 and
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1 (ii) determining what factors, including the

2 type of research, influence the distribution;

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

4 changes in Office of Management and Budget

5 Circular A–21 have had on—

6 (i) the Federal indirect cost reim7 bursement rates, the rate of change of the

8 Federal indirect cost reimbursement rates,

9 the distribution by category of the Federal

10 indirect cost reimbursement rates, and the

11 distribution by type of entity of the Fed12 eral indirect cost reimbursement rates; and

13 (ii) the Federal indirect cost reim14 bursement (as calculated in accordance

15 with Office of Management and Budget

16 Circular A–21), the rate of change of the

17 Federal indirect cost reimbursement, the

18 distribution by category of the Federal in19 direct cost reimbursement, and the dis20 tribution by type of entity of the Federal

21 indirect cost reimbursement;

22 (D) analyzing the impact, if any, of Fed23 eral and State law on the Federal indirect cost

24 reimbursement rates;
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1 (E)(i) analyzing options to reduce or con2 trol the rate of growth of the Federal indirect

3 cost reimbursement rates, including options

4 such as benchmarking of facilities and equip5 ment cost, elimination of cost studies, man6 dated percentage reductions in the Federal indi7 rect cost reimbursement; and

8 (ii) assessing the benefits and burdens of

9 the options to the Federal Government, re10 search institutions, and researchers; and

11 (F) analyzing options for creating a

12 database—

13 (i) for tracking the Federal indirect

14 cost reimbursement rates and the Federal

15 indirect cost reimbursement; and

16 (ii) for analyzing the impact that

17 changes in policies with respect to Federal

18 indirect cost reimbursement will have on

19 the Federal Government, researchers, and

20 research institutions.

21 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The report pre22 pared under paragraph (1) shall be submitted to

23 Congress not later than 1 year after the date of en24 actment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 204. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

2 Persons temporarily employed by or at the Founda3 tion shall be subject to the same financial disclosure re4 quirements and related sanctions under the Ethics in Gov5 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App) as are permanent

6 employees of the Foundation in equivalent positions.

7 SEC. 205. PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING.

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

9 this Act shall be made available for any activity whose pur10 pose is to influence legislation pending before Congress.

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

12 construed as preventing officers or employees of the Fed13 eral Government or of departments or agencies of the Fed14 eral Government from communicating—

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

16 any Member; or

17 (2) to Congress, through the appropriate proce18 dures, requests for legislation or appropriations

19 which the officers or employees deem necessary for

20 the efficient conduct of the business of the Federal

21 Government.

22 SEC. 206. NOTICE.

23 (a) NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.—If any funds au24 thorized by this Act are subject to a reprogramming action

25 that requires notice to be provided to the Committee on

26 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
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1 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, notice of such

2 action shall concurrently be provided to the Committee on

3 Science of the House of Representatives and the Commit4 tee on Labor and Human Resources, and the Committee

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

6 (b) NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION.—The Director

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

8 Committee on Appropriations, of the House of Represent9 atives, and the Committee on Labor and Human Re10 sources, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation, and the Committee on Appropriations, of the

12 Senate, not later than 15 days before any major reorga13 nization of any program, project, or activity of the Foun14 dation.

15 SEC. 207. ENHANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

16 PROGRAMS.

17 The Director shall, to the greatest extent practicable

18 and consistent with governmentwide procedures or pro19 grams, donate surplus computers and other research

20 equipment to elementary and secondary education schools

21 to enhance the science and mathematics programs of such

22 schools. The Director shall report annually to the appro23 priate committees of Congress on the donations made by

24 the Director pursuant to this section.

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