105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1325

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce for fiscal years

1998, 1999, and 2000, 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 ‘‘Technology Adminis5 tration Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998, 1999,

6 and 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this title:

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

4 the Director of the National Institute of Standards

5 and Technology.

6 (2) MAJOR REORGANIZATION.—With respect to

7 the National Institute of Standards and Technology,

8 the term ‘‘major reorganization’’ means any reorga9 nization of the Institute that involves the reassign10 ment of more than 25 percent of the employees of

11 the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

13 the Secretary of Commerce.

14 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR SCI15 ENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH AND

16 SERVICES.

17 (a) LABORATORY ACTIVITIES.—There are authorized

18 to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce for

19 use by the Secretary of Commerce for the Scientific and

20 Technical Research and Services laboratory activities of

21 the National Institute of Standards and Technology—

22 (1) $271,900,000 for fiscal year 1998;

23 (2) $287,658,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

24 (3) $296,287,000 for fiscal year 2000.

25 (b) CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

2 appropriated to the Department of Commerce for

3 use by the Secretary of Commerce for construction

4 and maintenance of facilities of the National Insti5 tute of Standards and Technology—

6 (A) $95,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

7 (B) $67,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

8 (C) $56,700,000 for fiscal year 2000.

9 (2) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds author10 ized by paragraph (1)(B) for construction of facili11 ties may be obligated unless the Secretary of Com12 merce has certified to the Committee on Commerce,

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the

14 Committee on Science of the House of Representa15 tives that the obligation of funds is consistent with

16 a plan for meeting the needs of the facilities of the

17 National Institute of Standards and Technology that

18 the Secretary has transmitted to those committees.

19 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE OF20 FICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR TECH21 NOLOGY.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De23 partment of Commerce for use by the Secretary of Com24 merce for the activities of the Under Secretary for Tech25 nology, the Office of Technology Policy, and the Office of
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1 Air and Space Commercialization (as established under

2 section 415 of this title)—

3 (1) $8,500,000 for fiscal year 1998;

4 (2) $10,807,400 for fiscal year 1999; and

5 (3) $11,132,000 for fiscal year 2000.

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR INDUS7 TRIAL TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De9 partment of Commerce for use by the Secretary of Com10 merce for the industrial technology services activities of

11 the National Institute of Standards and Technology—

12 (1) $306,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, of

13 which—

14 (A) $192,500,000 shall be for the Ad15 vanced Technology Program under section 28

16 of the National Institute of Standards and

17 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n); and

18 (B) $113,500,000 shall be for the manu19 facturing extension partnerships program under

20 sections 25 and 26 of the National Institute of

21 Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k

22 and 278l);

23 (2) $318,371,000 for fiscal year 1999, of

24 which—
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1 (A) $204,000,000 shall be for the Ad2 vanced Technology Program under section 28

3 of the National Institute of Standards and

4 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n); and

5 (B) $114,371,000 shall be for the manu6 facturing extension partnerships program under

7 sections 25 and 26 of the National Institute of

8 Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k

9 and 278l); and

10 (3) $324,491,000 for fiscal year 2000, of

11 which—

12 (A) $210,120,000 shall be for the Ad13 vanced Technology Program under section 28

14 of the National Institute of Standards and

15 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n); and

16 (B) $114,371,000 shall be for the manu17 facturing extension partnerships program under

18 sections 25 and 26 of the National Institute of

19 Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k

20 and 278l).

21 SEC. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH22 NOLOGY ACT AMENDMENTS.

23 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 28 of the National Insti24 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n)

25 is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (d)—

2 (A) in paragraph (1)—

3 (i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’;

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and be of a nature

5 and scope that would not be pursued in a

6 timely manner without Federal assistance’’

7 after ‘‘technical merit’’; and

8 (iii) by adding at the end the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘(B) Each applicant for a contract or

11 award under the Program shall certify that the

12 applicant has made an effort to secure private

13 market funding for the research project in14 volved. That certification shall include a written

15 narrative description of the efforts made by the

16 applicant to secure that funding.’’; and

17 (B) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(12) A large business may participate in a re19 search project that is the subject of a contract or

20 award under paragraph (3) only as a member of a

21 joint venture that includes 1 or more small busi22 nesses as members.’’;

23 (2) in subsection (j)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para25 graph (1);
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1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

2 paragraph (5); and

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘large business’ means a business

6 that—

7 ‘‘(A) is not a small business; and

8 ‘‘(B) has gross annual revenues in an

9 amount greater than $2,500,000,000;

10 ‘‘(3) the term ‘medium business’ means a busi11 ness that—

12 ‘‘(A) is not a small business; and

13 ‘‘(B) has gross annual revenues in an

14 amount less than or equal to $2,500,000,000;

15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘small business’ means a small

16 business concern, as described in section 3(a)(1) of

17 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(1)); and’’;

18 (3) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub19 section (m); and

20 (4) by inserting after subsection (i) the follow21 ing:

22 ‘‘(j) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1)(B) and sub23 section (d)(3), the Director may grant an extension be24 yond the applicable deadline specified in subsection

25 (b)(1)(B) or (d)(3) for a joint venture or single applicant
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1 recipient of assistance to expend Federal funds to com2 plete the project assisted with that assistance, if that ex3 tension—

4 ‘‘(1) is granted with no additional cost to the

5 Federal Government; and

6 ‘‘(2) is in the interest of the Federal Govern7 ment.

8 ‘‘(k)(1) The Secretary, acting through the Director,

9 may vest title to tangible personal property in any recipi10 ent of financial assistance under this section if—

11 ‘‘(A) the property is purchased with funds pro12 vided under this section; and

13 ‘‘(B) the Secretary, acting through the Direc14 tor, determines that the vesting of such property

15 furthers the objectives of the Institute.

16 ‘‘(2) Vesting under this subsection shall—

17 ‘‘(A) be subject to such limitations as are pre18 scribed by the Secretary, acting through the Direc19 tor; and

20 ‘‘(B) be made without further obligation to the

21 United States Government.

22 In carrying out this section, the Secretary, acting through

23 the Director, shall ensure that the requirements of Cir24 cular No. A–110 issued by the Office of Management and
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1 Budget are met with respect to the valuation of cost-share

2 items used by participants in the Program.

3 ‘‘(l) AWARDS BASED ON COMPETITION.—All

4 amounts appropriated for grants under subsection (b) for

5 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the

6 Technology Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal

7 Years 1998, 1999, and 2000 shall be used for grants

8 awarded on the basis of general open competition.’’.

9 (b) ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 28(d)(11)(A) of the

11 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act

12 (15 U.S.C. 278n(d)(11)(A)) is amended by striking

13 the period at the end of the first sentence and in14 serting the following: ‘‘or any other university or

15 nonprofit awardee or subawardee (as those terms

16 are defined by the Secretary) receiving financial as17 sistance under this section, as agreed by the parties,

18 notwithstanding the requirements of chapter 18 of

19 title 35, United States Code.’’.

20 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by

21 this subsection shall apply only with respect to as22 sistance for which solicitations for proposals are

23 made after the date of enactment of this title.
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1 SEC. 7. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP PRO2 GRAM CENTER EXTENSION.

3 Section 25(c)(5) of the National Institute of Stand4 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(c)(5)) is

5 amended by striking ‘‘, which are designed’’ and all that

6 follows through ‘‘operation of a Center.’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘. After the sixth year, a Center may receive additional

8 financial support under this section if that Center has re9 ceived a positive evaluation through a review, under proce10 dures and criteria established by the Institute. The review

11 referred to in the preceding sentence shall be required not

12 later than 2 years after the sixth year, and not less fre13 quently than every 2 years thereafter. The funding re14 ceived by a Center for a fiscal year under this section after

15 the sixth year of operation shall be for capital and annual

16 operating expenses and maintenance costs. The proportion

17 of funding that the Center receives from the Government

18 after the sixth year of operation from funds made available

19 to carry out this section for the costs referred to in the

20 preceding sentence shall not exceed one-third of the total

21 costs of operation of a center under the program.’’.

22 SEC. 8. MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD.

23 Section 17(c)(1) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology

24 Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711a(c)(1)) is amend25 ed by adding at the end the following:

26 ‘‘(D) Health care providers.
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1 ‘‘(E) Education providers.

2 ‘‘(F) Environmental technology provid3 ers.’’.

4 SEC. 9. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

6 (b), none of the funds authorized by this title, or any other

7 Act enacted before the date of enactment of this Act, may

8 be used for the programs and activities for the Internet

9 project known as the ‘‘Next Generation Internet’’.

10 (b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a),

11 funds described in that subsection may be used for the

12 continuation of programs and activities related to Next

13 Generation Internet that were funded and carried out dur14 ing fiscal year 1997.

15 SEC. 10. NOTICE.

16 (a) NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.—If any funds ap17 propriated pursuant to the amendments made by this Act

18 are subject to a reprogramming action that requires notice

19 to be provided to the Committees on Appropriations of the

20 Senate and the House of Representatives, notice of that

21 action shall concurrently be provided to the Committee on

22 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and

23 the Committee on Science of the House of Representa24 tives.
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1 (b) NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION.—Not later than

2 15 days before any major reorganization of any program,

3 project, or activity of the National Institute of Standards

4 and Technology, the Director shall provide notice to the

5 Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

6 and Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on

7 Science and Appropriations of the House of Representa8 tives.

9 SEC. 11. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM.

10 With the year 2000 rapidly approaching, it is the

11 sense of Congress that the Director should—

12 (1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit

13 date-related problems in the computer systems of

14 the National Institute of Standards and Technology

15 to ensure that those systems continue to operate ef16 fectively in the year 2000 and in subsequent years;

17 (2) as soon as practicable after the date of en18 actment of this title, assess the extent of the risk to

19 the operations of the National Institute of Standards

20 and Technology posed by the problems referred to in

21 paragraph (1), and plan and budget for achieving

22 compliance for all of the mission-critical systems of

23 the system by the year 2000; and
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1 (3) develop contingency plans for those systems

2 that the National Institute of Standards and Tech3 nology is unable to correct by the year 2000.

4 SEC. 12. ENHANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

5 PROGRAMS.

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

7 (1) EDUCATIONALLY USEFUL FEDERAL EQUIP8 MENT.—The term ‘‘educationally useful Federal

9 equipment’’ means computers and related peripheral

10 tools and research equipment that is appropriate for

11 use in schools.

12 (2) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means a pub13 lic or private educational institution that serves any

14 of the grades of kindergarten through grade 12.

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress

17 that the Director should, to the greatest extent prac18 ticable and in a manner consistent with applicable

19 Federal law (including Executive Order No. 12999),

20 donate educationally useful Federal equipment to

21 schools in order to enhance the science and mathe22 matics programs of those schools.

23 (2) REPORTS—

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

25 after the date of enactment of this title, and an-
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1 nually thereafter, the Director shall prepare

2 and submit to the President a report. The

3 President shall submit the report to Congress

4 at the same time as the President submits a

5 budget request to Congress under section

6 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

7 (B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report

8 prepared by the Director under this paragraph

9 shall describe any donations of educationally

10 useful Federal equipment to schools made dur11 ing the period covered by the report.

12 SEC. 13. TEACHER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ENHANCE13 MENT INSTITUTE PROGRAM.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Stand15 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is

16 amended by inserting after section 19 the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 19A. (a) The Director shall establish within the In18 stitute a teacher science and technology enhancement pro19 gram.

20 ‘‘(b) The purpose of the program under this section

21 shall be to provide for professional development of mathe22 matics and science teachers of elementary, middle, and

23 secondary schools (as those terms are defined by the Di24 rector), including providing for the improvement of those

25 teachers with respect to the teaching of science—
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1 ‘‘(1) teaching strategies;

2 ‘‘(2) self-confidence; and

3 ‘‘(3) the understanding of science and the im4 pacts of science on commerce.

5 ‘‘(c) In carrying out the program under this section,

6 the Director shall focus on the areas of—

7 ‘‘(1) scientific measurements;

8 ‘‘(2) tests and standards development;

9 ‘‘(3) industrial competitiveness and quality;

10 ‘‘(4) manufacturing;

11 ‘‘(5) technology transfer; and

12 ‘‘(6) any other area of expertise of the Institute

13 that the Director determines to be appropriate.

14 ‘‘(d) The Director shall develop and issue procedures

15 and selection criteria for participants in the program.

16 Each such participant shall be a teacher described in sub17 section (b).

18 ‘‘(e) The Director shall issue awards under the pro19 gram to participants. In issuing the awards, the Director

20 shall ensure that the maximum number of participants

21 practicable participate in the program. In order to ensure

22 a maximum level of participation of participants, the pro23 gram under this section shall be conducted on an annual

24 basis during the summer months, during the period of
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1 time when a majority of elementary, middle, and second2 ary schools have not commenced a school year.

3 ‘‘(f) The program shall provide for teachers participa4 tion in activities at the Institute laboratory facilities of the

5 Institute.’’.

6 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The following

7 amounts of the funds made available by appropriations

8 pursuant to section 3(a) shall be used to carry out the

9 teacher science and technology enhancement program

10 under section 19A of the National Institute of Standards

11 and Technology, as added by subsection (a) of this section:

12 (1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1998.

13 (2) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1999.

14 SEC. 14. JOINT STUDY BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF

15 SCIENCE AND THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF

16 ENGINEERING.

17 (a) CONTRACT.—Not later than 90 days after the

18 date of enactment of this title, the Secretary of Commerce

19 shall enter into a contract with the National Academy of

20 Science and the National Academy of Engineering to pro21 vide for a joint study to be conducted by those academies

22 under this section.

23 (b) STUDY PANEL.—In carrying out the study under

24 this section, the appropriate officials of the National Acad25 emy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering
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1 shall establish a study panel. The members appointed to

2 the study panel shall include—

3 (1) industry and labor leaders;

4 (2) entrepreneurs;

5 (3) individuals who—

6 (A) have previously served as government

7 officials; and

8 (B) have recognized expertise and experi9 ence with respect to civilian research and tech10 nology; and

11 (4) individuals with recognized expertise and

12 experience with respect to science and technology,

13 including individuals who have had experience work14 ing with or for a Federal laboratory.

15 (c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study conducted

16 under this section shall—

17 (1) provide for a thorough review of the effec18 tiveness of the Advanced Technology Program (re19 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’) under

20 section 28 of the National Institute of Standards

21 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n);

22 (2) carry out a root cause analysis to deter23 mine—
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1 (A) which aspects of the Program have

2 been effective in stimulating the development of

3 technology; and

4 (B) strategies used to conduct the Pro5 gram that have failed; and

6 (3) examine alternative approaches to accom7 plish the purposes of the Program.

8 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the Sec9 retary of Commerce enters into contracts under subsection

10 (a) for the conduct of the joint study under this section,

11 the study panel established under subsection (b) shall pre12 pare, and submit to the Secretary of Commerce, for trans13 mittal to the President and Congress, a study that in14 cludes the findings of the panel with respect to the results

15 of the study.

16 SEC. 15. OFFICE OF AIR AND SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

18 the Department of Commerce an Office of Air and Space

19 Commercialization (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Of20 fice’’).

21 (b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by a Di22 rector, who shall be a senior executive and shall be com23 pensated at a level in the Senior Executive Service under

24 section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, as determined

25 by the Secretary of Commerce.
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1 (c) FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE; DUTIES OF THE DI2 RECTOR.—The Office shall be the principal unit for the

3 coordination of space-related issues, programs, and initia4 tives within the Department of Commerce. The primary

5 responsibilities of the Director, in carrying out the func6 tions of the Office, shall include—

7 (1) promoting commercial provider investment

8 in space activities by collecting, analyzing, and dis9 seminating information on space markets, and con10 ducting workshops and seminars to increase aware11 ness of commercial space opportunities;

12 (2) assisting United States commercial provid13 ers in the efforts of those providers to conduct busi14 ness with the United States Government;

15 (3) acting as an industry advocate within the

16 executive branch of the Federal Government to en17 sure that the Federal Government meets the space18 related requirements of the Federal Government, to

19 the fullest extent feasible, with respect to commer20 cially available space goods and services;

21 (4) ensuring that the United States Govern22 ment does not compete with United States commer23 cial providers in the provision of space hardware and

24 services otherwise available from United States com25 mercial providers;
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1 (5) promoting the export of space-related goods

2 and services;

3 (6) representing the Department of Commerce

4 in the development of United States policies and in

5 negotiations with foreign countries to ensure free

6 and fair trade internationally in the area of space

7 commerce; and

8 (7) seeking the removal of legal, policy, and in9 stitutional impediments to space commerce.

10 SEC. 16. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM11 PETITIVE TECHNOLOGY.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Stevenson Wydler

13 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3704) is

14 amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(f) EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM16 PETITIVE TECHNOLOGY.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

18 through the Under Secretary, shall establish a pro19 gram to be known as the Experimental Program to

20 Stimulate Competitive Technology (referred to in

21 this subsection as the ‘program’). The purpose of

22 the program shall be to strengthen the technological

23 competitiveness of those States that have historically

24 received less Federal research and development
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1 funds than those received by a majority of the

2 States.

3 ‘‘(2) ARRANGEMENTS.—In carrying out the

4 program, the Secretary, acting through the Under

5 Secretary, shall—

6 ‘‘(A) enter into such arrangements as may

7 be necessary to provide for the coordination of

8 the program through the State committees es9 tablished under the Experimental Program to

10 Stimulate Competitive Research of the National

11 Science Foundation; and

12 ‘‘(B) cooperate with—

13 ‘‘(i) any State science and technology

14 council established under the program

15 under subparagraph (A); and

16 ‘‘(ii) representatives of small business

17 firms and other appropriate technology18 based businesses.

19 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—In carrying out the program,

20 the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary,

21 may make grants or enter into cooperative agree22 ments to provide, for—

23 ‘‘(A) technology research and development;

24 ‘‘(B) technology transfer from university

25 research;
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1 ‘‘(C) technology deployment and diffusion;

2 and

3 ‘‘(D) the strengthening of technological ca4 pabilities through consortia comprised of—

5 ‘‘(i) technology-based small business

6 firms;

7 ‘‘(ii) industries and emerging compa8 nies;

9 ‘‘(iii) universities; and

10 ‘‘(iv) State and local development

11 agencies and entities.

12 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR MAKING AWARDS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In making grant

14 awards under this subsection, the Secretary,

15 acting through the Under Secretary, shall en16 sure that the awards are awarded on a competi17 tive basis that includes a review of the merits

18 of the activities that are the subject of the

19 award.

20 ‘‘(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The

21 non-Federal share of the activities (other than

22 planning activities) carried out under a grant

23 under this subsection shall be not less than 25

24 percent of the cost of those activities.
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1 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR STATES.—With respect to

2 States that participate in the program, the Sec3 retary, acting through the Under Secretary, shall es4 tablish criteria for achievement by each State that

5 participates in the program. Upon the achievement

6 of all such criteria, a State shall cease to be eligible

7 to participate in the program.

8 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION.—To the extent prac9 ticable, in carrying out this section, the Secretary,

10 acting through the Under Secretary, shall coordinate

11 the program with other programs of the Department

12 of Commence.

13 ‘‘(7) REPORT.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90

15 days after the date of enactment of the Tech16 nology Administration Authorization Act for

17 Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999, the Under Sec18 retary shall prepare and submit a report that

19 meets the requirements of this paragraph to the

20 Secretary. Upon receipt of the report, the Sec21 retary shall transmit a copy of the report to the

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans23 portation of the Senate and the Committee on

24 Science of the House of Representatives.
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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORT.—The

2 report prepared under this paragraph shall con3 tain with respect to the program—

4 ‘‘(i) a description of the structure and

5 procedures of the program;

6 ‘‘(ii) a management plan for the pro7 gram;

8 ‘‘(iii) a description of the merit-based

9 review process to be used in the program;

10 ‘‘(iv) milestones for the evaluation of

11 activities to be assisted under the program

12 in each of fiscal years 1998 and 1999;

13 ‘‘(v) an assessment of the eligibility of

14 each State that participates in the Experi15 mental Program to Stimulate Competitive

16 Research of the National Science Founda17 tion to participate in the program under

18 this subsection; and

19 ‘‘(vi) the evaluation criteria with re20 spect to which the overall management and

21 effectiveness of the program will be evalu22 ated pursuant to paragraph (8).

23 ‘‘(8) EVALUATION.—Not earlier than the date

24 that is 4 years after the date on which the program

25 is established, the Secretary, acting through the
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1 Under Secretary, shall carry out an evaluation of the

2 program. In carrying out the evaluation the Sec3 retary, acting through the Under Secretary, shall

4 apply the criteria described in paragraph

5 (7)(B)(vi).’’.

6 (b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available by

7 appropriations pursuant to section 4—

8 (1) for fiscal year 1998, $1,650,000 shall be

9 used to carry out the Experimental Program to

10 Stimulate Competitive Technology established under

11 section 5(f) of the Stevenson Wydler Technology In12 novation Act of 1980, as added by subsection (a) of

13 this section; and

14 (2) for fiscal year 1999, $3,000,000 shall be

15 used to carry out the program referred to in para16 graph (1).

17 SEC. 17. FASTENER QUALITY ACT STANDARDS.

18 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 15 of the Fastener Qual19 ity Act (15 U.S.C. 5414) is amended—

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) TRANSITIONAL RULE.—’’

21 before ‘‘The requirements of this Act’’; and

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section:

24 ‘‘(b) AIRCRAFT EXEMPTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this

2 Act shall not apply to fasteners specifically manufac3 tured or altered for use on an aircraft if the quality

4 and suitability of those fasteners for that use has

5 been approved by the Federal Aviation Administra6 tion, except as provided in paragraph (2).

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

8 apply to fasteners represented by the fastener manu9 facturer as having been manufactured in conform10 ance with standards or specifications established by

11 a consensus standards organization or a Federal

12 agency other than the Federal Aviation Administra13 tion.’’.

14 (b) DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULA15 TIONS.—The regulations issued under the Fastener Qual16 ity Act by the National Institute of Standards and Tech17 nology on April 14, 1998, and any other regulations issued

18 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology

19 pursuant to the Fastener Quality Act, shall not take effect

20 until after the later of June 1, 1999, or the expiration

21 of 120 days after the Secretary of Commerce transmits

22 to the Committee on Science and the Committee on Com23 merce of the House of Representatives, and to the Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

25 Senate, a report on—
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1 (1) changes in fastener manufacturing proc2 esses that have occurred since the enactment of the

3 Fastener Quality Act;

4 (2) a comparison of the Fastener Quality Act to

5 other regulatory programs that regulate the various

6 categories of fasteners, and an analysis of any dupli7 cation that exists among programs; and

8 (3) any changes in that Act that may be war9 ranted because of the changes reported under para10 graphs (1) and (2).

11 The report required by this section shall be transmitted

12 to the Committee on Science and the Committee on Com13 merce of the House of Representatives, and to the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

15 Senate, by February 1, 1999.

16 SEC. 18. INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC RESEARCH CENTER.

17 There are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000

18 for each of fiscal years 1999 and 2000 for the Federal

19 share of the administrative costs of the International Arc20 tic Research Center.

Passed the Senate July 31, 1998.

Attest:

Secretary.
105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1325

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the Technology Adpurposes. fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000, and for other ministration of the Department of Commerce for