I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1806 

To provide for technological innovation through the prioritization of Federal 

investment in basic research, fundamental scientific discovery, and development to improve the competitiveness of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2015 

Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. LUCAS, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mr. WEBER

of Texas, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. KNIGHT, 

Mr. BABIN, and Mr. LOUDERMILK) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and 

in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for technological innovation through the 

prioritization of Federal investment in basic research, 

fundamental scientific discovery, and development to improve the competitiveness of the United States, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 102. Findings. 

Sec. 103. Policy objectives. 

Sec. 104. Definitions. 

Sec. 105. Accountability and transparency. 

Sec. 106. Greater accountability in Federal funding for research. 

Sec. 107. Obligation of major research equipment and facilities construction 

funds. 

Sec. 108. Management and oversight of large facilities. 

Sec. 109. Whistleblower education. 

Sec. 110. Graduate student support. 

Sec. 111. Permissible support. 

Sec. 112. Expanding STEM opportunities. 

Sec. 113. Review of education programs. 

Sec. 114. Recompetition of awards. 

Sec. 115. Sense of the Congress regarding industry investment in STEM education. 

Sec. 116. Misrepresentation of research results. 

Sec. 117. Research reproducibility and replication. 

Sec. 118. Research grant conditions. 

Sec. 119. Computing resources study. 

Sec. 120. Scientific breakthrough prizes. 

Sec. 121. Rotating personnel. 

Sec. 122. Sense of Congress regarding Innovation Corps. 

Sec. 123. Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative. 

Sec. 124. Noyce scholarship program amendments. 

Sec. 125. Informal STEM education. 

TITLE II—SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 

MATHEMATICS 

Sec. 201. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 202. STEM Education Advisory Panel. 

Sec. 203. Committee on STEM Education. 

Sec. 204. STEM Education Coordinating Office. 

TITLE III—OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 302. Regulatory efficiency. 


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Sec. 303. Coordination of international science and technology partnerships. 

Sec. 304. Alternative research funding models. 

Sec. 305. Amendments to prize competitions. 

Sec. 306. United States Chief Technology Officer. 

Sec. 307. National Research Council study on technology for emergency notifications on university campuses. 

TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND 

TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 402. Standards and conformity assessment. 

Sec. 403. Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology. 

Sec. 404. Police and security authority. 

Sec. 405. Education and outreach. 

Sec. 406. Programmatic planning report. 

Sec. 407. Assessments by the National Research Council. 

Sec. 408. Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership. 

Sec. 409. Elimination of obsolete reports. 

Sec. 410. Modifications to grants and cooperative agreements. 

Sec. 411. Information systems standards consultation. 

Sec. 412. United States-Israeli cooperation. 

TITLE V—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SCIENCE 

Sec. 501. Mission. 

Sec. 502. Basic energy sciences. 

Sec. 503. Advanced scientific computing research. 

Sec. 504. High energy physics. 

Sec. 505. Biological and environmental research. 

Sec. 506. Fusion energy. 

Sec. 507. Nuclear physics. 

Sec. 508. Science laboratories infrastructure program. 

Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 510. Definitions. 

TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY APPLIED RESEARCH AND 

DEVELOPMENT 

Subtitle A—Crosscutting Research and Development 

Sec. 601. Crosscutting research and development. 

Sec. 602. Strategic research portfolio analysis and coordination plan. 

Sec. 603. Strategy for facilities and infrastructure. 

Subtitle B—Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Research and 

Development 

Sec. 611. Distributed energy and electric energy systems. 

Sec. 612. Electric transmission and distribution research and development. 

Subtitle C—Nuclear Energy Research and Development 

Sec. 621. Objectives. 

Sec. 622. Program objectives study. 

Sec. 623. Nuclear energy research and development programs. 

Sec. 624. Small modular reactor program. 

Sec. 625. Fuel cycle research and development. 


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Sec. 626. Nuclear energy enabling technologies program. 

Sec. 627. Technical standards collaboration. 

Sec. 628. Available facilities database. 

Sec. 629. Nuclear waste disposal. 

Subtitle D—Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Research and 

Development 

Sec. 641. Energy efficiency. 

Sec. 642. Next Generation Lighting Initiative. 

Sec. 643. Building standards. 

Sec. 644. Secondary electric vehicle battery use program. 

Sec. 645. Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program. 

Sec. 646. Advanced Energy Technology Transfer Centers. 

Sec. 647. Renewable energy. 

Sec. 648. Bioenergy program. 

Sec. 649. Concentrating solar power research program. 

Sec. 650. Renewable energy in public buildings. 

Subtitle E—Fossil Energy Research and Development 

Sec. 661. Fossil energy. 

Sec. 662. Research, development, demonstration, and commercial application 

programs. 

Sec. 663. High efficiency gas turbines research and development. 

Subtitle F—Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy 

Sec. 671. ARPA–E amendments. 

Subtitle G—Authorization of Appropriations 

Sec. 681. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle H—Definitions 

Sec. 691. Definitions. 

TITLE VII—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 

Subtitle A—In General 

Sec. 701. Definitions. 

Sec. 702. Savings clause. 

Subtitle B—Innovation Management at Department of Energy 

Sec. 711. Under Secretary for Science and Energy. 

Sec. 712. Technology transfer and transitions assessment. 

Sec. 713. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 714. Nuclear energy innovation. 

Subtitle C—Cross-Sector Partnerships and Grant Competitiveness 

Sec. 721. Agreements for Commercializing Technology pilot program. 

Sec. 722. Public-private partnerships for commercialization. 

Sec. 723. Inclusion of early-stage technology demonstration in authorized technology transfer activities. 


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Sec. 724. Funding competitiveness for institutions of higher education and 

other nonprofit institutions. 

Sec. 725. Participation in the Innovation Corps program. 

Subtitle D—Assessment of Impact 

Sec. 731. Report by Government Accountability Office. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘STEM’’ means the subjects of 

4 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; 

5 (2) the term ‘‘STEM education’’ means edu6 cation in the subjects of STEM, including computer 

7 science; and 

8 (3) the term ‘‘Committee on STEM Education’’ 

9 means the Committee on Science, Technology, Engi10 neering, and Mathematics Education established 

11 under section 101 of the America COMPETES Re12 authorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621). 

13 TITLE I—NATIONAL SCIENCE 

14 FOUNDATION 

15 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

18 appropriated to the Foundation $7,597,140,000 for 

19 fiscal year 2016. 

20 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

21 authorized by paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) $6,186,300,000 shall be made avail2 able to carry out research and related activities, 

3 including— 

4 (i) $834,800,000 for the Biological 

5 Science Directorate; 

6 (ii) $1,050,000,000 for the Computer 

7 and Information Science and Engineering 

8 Directorate; 

9 (iii) $1,034,000,000 for the Engineer10 ing Directorate; 

11 (iv) $1,200,000,000 for the Geo12 sciences Directorate; 

13 (v) $1,500,000,000 for the Mathe14 matical and Physical Science Directorate; 

15 (vi) $150,000,000 for the Social, Be16 havioral, and Economics Directorate, of 

17 which $50,000,000 shall be for the Na18 tional Center for Science and Engineering 

19 Statistics; 

20 (vii) $38,520,000 for the Office of 

21 International Science and Engineering; 

22 (viii) $377,500,000 for Integrative 

23 Activities; and 

24 (ix) $1,480,000 for the United States 

25 Arctic Commission; 


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1 (B) $866,000,000 shall be made available 

2 for education and human resources; 

3 (C) $200,310,000 shall be made available 

4 for major research equipment and facilities con5 struction; 

6 (D) $325,000,000 shall be made available 

7 for agency operations and award management; 

8 (E) $3,870,000 shall be made available for 

9 the Office of the National Science Board; and 

10 (F) $15,660,000 shall be made available 

11 for the Office of Inspector General. 

12 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

14 appropriated to the Foundation $7,597,140,000 for 

15 fiscal year 2017. 

16 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

17 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) $6,186,300,000 shall be made avail19 able to carry out research and related activities, 

20 including— 

21 (i) $834,800,000 for the Biological 

22 Science Directorate; 

23 (ii) $1,050,000,000 for the Computer 

24 and Information Science and Engineering 

25 Directorate; 


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1 (iii) $1,034,000,000 for the Engineer2 ing Directorate; 

3 (iv) $1,200,000,000 for the Geo4 sciences Directorate; 

5 (v) $1,500,000,000 for the Mathe6 matical and Physical Science Directorate; 

7 (vi) $150,000,000 for the Social, Be8 havioral, and Economics Directorate, of 

9 which $50,000,000 shall be for the Na10 tional Center for Science and Engineering 

11 Statistics; 

12 (vii) $38,520,000 for the Office of 

13 International Science and Engineering; 

14 (viii) $377,500,000 for Integrative 

15 Activities; and 

16 (ix) $1,480,000 for the United States 

17 Arctic Commission; 

18 (B) $866,000,000 shall be made available 

19 for education and human resources; 

20 (C) $200,310,000 shall be made available 

21 for major research equipment and facilities con22 struction; 

23 (D) $325,000,000 shall be made available 

24 for agency operations and award management; 


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1 (E) $3,870,000 shall be made available for 

2 the Office of the National Science Board; and 

3 (F) $15,660,000 shall be made available 

4 for the Office of Inspector General. 

5 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Taxpayer-supported research investments 

8 administered by the Foundation should serve the na9 tional interest. 

10 (2) The Foundation has made major contribu11 tions for more than 60 years to strengthen and sus12 tain the Nation’s academic research enterprise. 

13 (3) The economic strength and national security 

14 of the United States, and the quality of life of all 

15 Americans, are grounded in the Nation’s scientific 

16 and technological capabilities. 

17 (4) Providing support for basic research is an 

18 investment in our Nation’s future security and eco19 nomic prosperity. 

20 (5) Congress applauds the Foundation’s rec21 ognition that wise stewardship of taxpayer dollars is 

22 necessary to maintain and ensure the public’s trust 

23 for funding of fundamental scientific and engineer24 ing research. 


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1 (6) Other nations are increasing their public in2 vestments in basic research in the physical sciences 

3 in order to boost long-term economic growth. 

4 (7) Longstanding United States leadership in 

5 supercomputing, genomics, nanoscience, photonics, 

6 quantum physics, and other key technological areas 

7 is jeopardized if United States investments in basic 

8 research in the natural sciences do not keep pace. 

9 (8) Redundant regulations and reporting re10 quirements imposed by Federal agencies on research 

11 institutions and researchers increase costs by tens of 

12 millions of dollars annually. 

13 (9) The Foundation carries out important func14 tions by supporting basic research in all science and 

15 engineering disciplines and in supporting STEM 

16 education at all levels. 

17 (10) The research and education activities of 

18 the Foundation promote the discovery, integration, 

19 dissemination, and application of new knowledge in 

20 service to society and prepare future generations of 

21 scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who will 

22 be necessary to ensure America’s leadership in the 

23 global marketplace. 

24 (11) Many of the complex problems and chal25 lenges facing the Nation increasingly require the colVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 laboration of multiple scientific disciplines. The 

2 Foundation should continue to emphasize cross-di3 rectorate research collaboration and activities to ad4 dress these issues and encourage interdisciplinary re5 search. 

6 (12) The Foundation should meet the highest 

7 standards of efficiency, transparency, and account8 ability in its stewardship of public funds. 

9 (13) The Foundation is charged with the re10 sponsibilities— 

11 (A) to develop and encourage the pursuit 

12 of a national policy for the promotion of basic 

13 research and education in the sciences; 

14 (B) to initiate, support, and conduct basic 

15 scientific research and to appraise the impact of 

16 research on industrial development and the gen17 eral welfare; 

18 (C) to initiate, support, and conduct sci19 entific research activities in connection with 

20 matters relating to the national defense, at the 

21 request of the Secretary of Defense; 

22 (D) to award scholarships and graduate 

23 fellowships in the sciences; 


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1 (E) to foster the interchange of scientific 

2 information among scientists and across sci3 entific disciplines; 

4 (F) to evaluate scientific research pro5 grams undertaken by agencies of the Federal 

6 Government, and to correlate the Foundation’s 

7 scientific research with that undertaken by indi8 viduals and by public and private research 

9 groups; 

10 (G) to communicate effectively to Amer11 ican citizens the relevance of public investments 

12 in scientific discovery and technological innova13 tion to the Nation’s security, prosperity, and 

14 welfare; and 

15 (H) to establish such special commissions 

16 as the Board considers necessary. 

17 (14) The emerging global economic, scientific, 

18 and technical environment challenges long standing 

19 assumptions about domestic and international policy, 

20 requiring the Foundation to play a more proactive 

21 role in sustaining the competitive advantage of the 

22 United States through superior research capabilities. 


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1 SEC. 103. POLICY OBJECTIVES. 

2 In allocating resources made available under this 

3 title, the Foundation shall have the following policy objec4 tives: 

5 (1) To renew and maintain the Nation’s inter6 national leadership in science and technology by— 

7 (A) increasing the national investment in 

8 basic scientific research and increasing inter9 disciplinary investment in strategic areas vital 

10 to the national interest; 

11 (B) balancing the Nation’s research port12 folio among the life sciences, mathematics, the 

13 physical sciences, computer and information 

14 science, geosciences, engineering, and social, be15 havioral, and economic sciences, all of which are 

16 important for the continued development of en17 abling technologies necessary for sustained eco18 nomic competitiveness; 

19 (C) encouraging investments in potentially 

20 transformative scientific research to benefit our 

21 Nation and its citizens; 

22 (D) expanding the pool of scientists and 

23 engineers in the United States, including among 

24 segments of the population that have been his25 torically underrepresented in STEM fields; and 


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1 (E) modernizing the Nation’s research in2 frastructure and establishing and maintaining 

3 cooperative international relationships with pre4 mier research institutions. 

5 (2) To increase overall workforce skills by— 

6 (A) improving the quality of STEM edu7 cation and tools provided both inside and out8 side of the classroom, including in kindergarten 

9 through grade 12; and 

10 (B) expanding STEM training opportuni11 ties at institutions of higher education. 

12 (3) To strengthen innovation by expanding the 

13 focus of competitiveness and innovation at the re14 gional and local level. 

15 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this title: 

17 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na18 tional Science Board. 

19 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

20 the Director of the Foundation. 

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

22 means the National Science Foundation established 

23 under section 2 of the National Science Foundation 

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


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1 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

5 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means one of 

6 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

7 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

8 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

9 Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or 

10 possession of the United States. 

11 (6) 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 SEC. 105. ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) sustained, predictable Federal funding is es20 sential to United States leadership in science and 

21 technology; 

22 (2) building understanding of and confidence in 

23 investments in basic research are essential to public 

24 support for sustained, predictable Federal funding; 

25 and 


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1 (3) the Foundation should commit itself fully to 

2 transparency and accountability and to clear, con3 sistent public communication regarding the national 

4 interest for each Foundation-awarded grant and co5 operative agreement. 

6 SEC. 106. GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY IN FEDERAL FUND7 ING FOR RESEARCH. 

8 (a) STANDARD FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.—The Foun9 dation shall award Federal funding for basic research and 

10 education in the sciences through a new research grant 

11 or cooperative agreement only if an affirmative determina12 tion is made by the Foundation under subsection (b) and 

13 written justification relating thereto is published under 

14 subsection (c). 

15 (b) DETERMINATION.—A determination referred to 

16 in subsection (a) is a justification by the responsible Foun17 dation official as to how the research grant or cooperative 

18 agreement promotes the progress of science in the United 

19 States, consistent with the Foundation mission as estab20 lished in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 

21 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.), and further— 

22 (1) is worthy of Federal funding; and 

23 (2) is in the national interest, as indicated by 

24 having the potential to achieve— 


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1 (A) increased economic competitiveness in 

2 the United States; 

3 (B) advancement of the health and welfare 

4 of the American public; 

5 (C) development of an American STEM 

6 workforce that is globally competitive; 

7 (D) increased public scientific literacy and 

8 public engagement with science and technology 

9 in the United States; 

10 (E) increased partnerships between aca11 demia and industry in the United States; 

12 (F) support for the national defense of the 

13 United States; or 

14 (G) promotion of the progress of science in 

15 the United States. 

16 (c) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION.—Public announce17 ment of each award of Federal funding described in sub18 section (a) shall include a written justification from the 

19 responsible Foundation official as to how a grant or coop20 erative agreement meets the requirements of subsection 

21 (b). 

22 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—A determination under sub23 section (b) shall be made after a research grant or cooper24 ative agreement proposal has satisfied the Foundation’s 

25 reviews for Merit and Broader Impacts. Nothing in this 


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1 section shall be construed as altering the Foundation’s in2 tellectual merit or broader impacts criteria for evaluating 

3 grant applications. 

4 SEC. 107. OBLIGATION OF MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT 

5 AND FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION FUNDS. 

6 No funds may be obligated for a fiscal year for a con7 struction project for the Foundation that has not com8 menced before the date of enactment of this Act until 30 

9 days after the report required with respect to each such 

10 fiscal year under section 14(a)(2) of the National Science 

11 Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n– 

12 4(a)(2)) is transmitted to the Congress. 

13 SEC. 108. MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FA14 CILITIES. 

15 (a) LARGE FACILITIES OFFICE.—The Director shall 

16 maintain a Large Facilities Office within the Office of the 

17 Director. The functions of the Large Facilities Office shall 

18 be to support the research directorates in the development, 

19 implementation, and assessment of major multi-user re20 search facilities, including by— 

21 (1) serving as the Foundation’s primary re22 source for all policy or process issues related to the 

23 development and implementation of major multi-user 

24 research facilities; 


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1 (2) serving as a Foundation-wide resource on 

2 project management, including providing expert as3 sistance on nonscientific and nontechnical aspects of 

4 project planning, budgeting, implementation, man5 agement, and oversight; 

6 (3) coordinating and collaborating with research 

7 directorates to share best management practices and 

8 lessons learned from prior projects; and 

9 (4) assessing projects during preconstruction 

10 and construction phases for cost and schedule risk. 

11 (b) OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FACILITIES.—The Direc12 tor shall appoint a senior agency official within the Office 

13 of the Director whose primary responsibility is oversight 

14 of major multi-user research facilities. The duties of this 

15 official shall include— 

16 (1) oversight of the development, construction, 

17 and operation of major multi-user research facilities 

18 across the Foundation; 

19 (2) in collaboration with the directors of the re20 search directorates and other senior agency officials 

21 as appropriate, ensuring that the requirements of 

22 section 14(a) of the National Science Foundation 

23 Authorization Act of 2002 are satisfied; 


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1 (3) serving as a liaison to the National Science 

2 Board for approval and oversight of major multi3 user research facilities; and 

4 (4) periodically reviewing and updating as nec5 essary Foundation policies and guidelines for the de6 velopment and construction of major multi-user re7 search facilities. 

8 (c) POLICIES FOR LARGE FACILITY COSTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ensure 

10 that the Foundation’s polices for developing and 

11 maintaining major multi-user research facility con12 struction costs are consistent with the best practices 

13 described in the March 2009 Government Account14 ability Office Report GAO–09–3SP, or any successor 

15 report thereto, and the Uniform Guidance in 2 

16 C.F.R. part 200. 

17 (2) COST PROPOSAL AUDITS.— 

18 (A) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—The Direc19 tor shall ensure that a cost proposal audit is 

20 conducted on any project with a total project 

21 cost over $50,000,000, in accordance with Gov22 ernment Auditing Standards as established in 

23 Government Accountability Office Report GAO– 

24 12–331G, or any successor report thereto. 


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1 (B) CORRECTION OF ISSUES FOUND.—The 

2 Director must certify in writing that all issues 

3 identified by the auditor, including any finding 

4 of unjustified or questionable costs items, are 

5 corrected before the Foundation may execute a 

6 construction agreement with respect to the au7 dited project. 

8 (C) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The 

9 Director shall transmit each certification made 

10 under subparagraph (B) to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

12 Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

14 Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

15 Representatives, and the Committee on Appro16 priations of the Senate. 

17 (3) INCURRED COST AUDITS.—The Director 

18 shall ensure that an incurred cost submission and 

19 audit is conducted annually on any project with a 

20 total project cost over $50,000,000, in accordance 

21 with Government Auditing Standards as established 

22 in Government Accountability Office Report GAO– 

23 12–331G, or any successor report thereto. 

24 (4) CONTINGENCIES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 

2 not make any award which provides for con3 tributions to a contingency reserve held or man4 aged by the awardee, or any similar provision 

5 made for events the occurrence of which cannot 

6 be foretold with certainty as to time or inten7 sity, or with an assurance of their happening. 

8 For budgeting purposes, the Foundation shall 

9 estimate costs associated with unforeseen events 

10 that could occur, and shall retain the funds al11 located for such purposes except as provided in 

12 this paragraph. 

13 (B) UPDATING POLICY MANUAL.—The 

14 Foundation shall update its NSF Grant Policy 

15 Manual and any other applicable guidance for 

16 contingencies on major multi-user research fa17 cilities with regard to estimating, monitoring, 

18 and accounting for contingency expenditures. 

19 (C) FOUNDATION REQUIREMENTS.—The 

20 policy updated under subparagraph (B) shall 

21 require that the Foundation— 

22 (i) may only include contingency 

23 amounts in an award made to a recipient 

24 to the extent that those amounts are for 

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1 tainty as to time, intensity, or the assur2 ance of them happening and are supported 

3 by verifiable cost data; 

4 (ii) shall retain control over funds 

5 budgeted for unforeseeable events and re6 lease those funds only when the awardee 

7 demonstrates a bona fide need for the 

8 funds supported by verifiable cost data; 

9 and 

10 (iii) shall ensure that supporting cost 

11 data described in clauses (i) and (ii) are 

12 sufficient to establish that the amounts are 

13 reasonable, allocable, and allowable. 

14 (D) AWARDEE REQUIREMENTS.—The pol15 icy updated under subparagraph (B) shall re16 quire that an awardee shall— 

17 (i) provide verifiable cost data for any 

18 amounts proposed for contingencies; 

19 (ii) support requests for the release of 

20 contingency funds with evidence of a bona 

21 fide need and verifiable cost data to estab22 lish that the amounts sought are reason23 able, allocable, and allowable; and 

24 (iii) record and report all contingency 

25 expenditures to the Foundation. 


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1 (E) CURRENT AWARDEES.—The Founda2 tion shall work with awardees for whom awards 

3 with contingency provisions have been made be4 fore the date of enactment of this Act— 

5 (i) to determine if any of their use of 

6 contingency funds represents out-of-scope 

7 changes for which Foundation’s prior writ8 ten approval was not obtained; and 

9 (ii) if out-of-scope changes are found, 

10 to identify any financial action that may be 

11 appropriate. 

12 (5) MANAGEMENT FEES.— 

13 (A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

14 term ‘‘management fee’’ means a portion of an 

15 award made by the Foundation for the purpose 

16 of covering ordinary and necessary business ex17 penses necessary to maintain operational sta18 bility which are not otherwise allowable under 

19 Cost Principles Uniform Guidance in 2 C.F.R. 

20 part 200, Subpart E, or any successor regula21 tion thereto. 

22 (B) LIMITATION.—The Foundation may 

23 provide management fees under an award only 

24 if the awardee has demonstrated that it has 

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1 ering the expenses for which the management 

2 fees are sought. 

3 (C) FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—The 

4 Foundation shall require award applicants to 

5 provide income and financial information cov6 ering a period of no less than three prior years 

7 (or in the case of an entity established less than 

8 three years prior to the entity’s application 

9 date, the period beginning on the date of estab10 lishment and ending on the application date), 

11 including cash on hand and net asset informa12 tion, in support of a request for management 

13 fees. The Foundation shall also require award14 ees to report to the Foundation, within 30 days 

15 of receipt, any sources of non-Federal funds re16 ceived in excess of $50,000 during the award 

17 period. 

18 (D) EXPENSE REPORTING.—The Founda19 tion shall require awardees to track and report 

20 to the Foundation annually all expenses reim21 bursed or otherwise paid for with management 

22 fee funds, in accordance with Federal account23 ing practices as established in Government Ac24 countability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or 

25 any successor report thereto. 


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1 (E) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of 

2 the Foundation may audit any Foundation 

3 award for compliance with this paragraph. 

4 (F) PROHIBITED USES.—An awardee may 

5 not use management fees for— 

6 (i) costs allowable under Cost Prin7 ciples Uniform Guidance in 2 C.F.R. part 

8 200, Subpart E, or any successor regula9 tion thereto; 

10 (ii) alcoholic beverages; 

11 (iii) tickets to concerts, or sporting 

12 and other entertainment events; 

13 (iv) vacation or other travel for non14 business purposes; 

15 (v) charitable contributions; 

16 (vi) social or sporting club member17 ships; 

18 (vii) meals for nonbusiness purposes; 

19 (viii) luxury or personal items; 

20 (ix) lobbying, as described in the Uni21 form Guidance at 2 C.F.R. 200.450; or 

22 (x) any other purpose the Foundation 

23 determines is inappropriate. 

24 (G) REVIEW.—The Foundation shall re25 view management fee usage under each FounVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 dation award on at least an annual basis for 

2 compliance with this paragraph and the Foun3 dation’s Large Facilities Manual. 

4 (6) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

6 submit to Congress a report describing the Founda7 tion’s policies for developing and managing major 

8 multi-user research facility construction costs, in9 cluding a description of any aspects of the policies 

10 that diverge from the best practices recommended in 

11 Government Accountability Office Report GAO–09– 

12 3SP, or any successor report thereto, and the Uni13 form Guidance in 2 C.F.R. part 200. 

14 SEC. 109. WHISTLEBLOWER EDUCATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall be subject 

16 to section 4712 of title 41, United States Code. 

17 (b) EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—The Foundation 

18 shall provide education and training for Foundation man19 agers and staff on the requirements of such section 4712, 

20 and provide information on the law to all grantees, con21 tractors, and employees of such grantees and contractors. 

22 SEC. 110. GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that the essential elements of the NSF Research 

25 Traineeship Program, formerly the Integrative Graduate 


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1 Education and Research Traineeship program, (or any 

2 successor thereto) should be maintained, including— 

3 (1) collaborative research that transcends tradi4 tional disciplinary boundaries to solve large and 

5 complex research problems of significant scientific 

6 and societal importance; and 

7 (2) providing students the opportunity to be8 come leaders in the science and engineering of the 

9 future. 

10 (b) MODELS FOR SUPPORT.—The Director shall 

11 enter into an agreement with the National Research Coun12 cil to convene a workshop or roundtable to examine models 

13 of Federal support for STEM graduate students, includ14 ing the Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship pro15 gram and comparable fellowship programs at other agen16 cies, traineeship programs, and the research assistant 

17 model. 

18 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the workshop or 

19 roundtable shall be to compare and evaluate the extent 

20 to which each of these models helps to prepare graduate 

21 students for diverse careers utilizing STEM degrees, in22 cluding at diverse types of institutions of higher education, 

23 in industry, and at government agencies and research lab24 oratories, and to make recommendations regarding— 


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1 (1) how current Federal programs and models, 

2 including programs and models at the Foundation, 

3 can be improved; 

4 (2) the appropriateness of the current distribu5 tion of funding among the different models at the 

6 Foundation and across the agencies; and 

7 (3) the appropriateness of creating a new edu8 cation and training program for graduate students 

9 distinct from programs that provide direct financial 

10 support, including the grants authorized in section 

11 527 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization 

12 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–15). 

13 (d) CRITERIA.—At a minimum, in comparing pro14 grams and models, the workshop or roundtable partici15 pants shall consider the capacity of such programs or 

16 models to provide students with knowledge and skills— 

17 (1) to become independent, creative, successful 

18 researchers; 

19 (2) to participate in large interdisciplinary re20 search projects, including in an international con21 text; 

22 (3) to adhere to the highest standards for re23 search ethics; 

24 (4) to become high-quality teachers utilizing the 

25 most currently available evidence-based pedagogy; 


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1 (5) in oral and written communication, to both 

2 technical and nontechnical audiences; 

3 (6) in innovation, entrepreneurship, and busi4 ness ethics; and 

5 (7) in program management. 

6 (e) GRADUATE STUDENT INPUT.—The participants 

7 in the workshop or roundtable shall include current or re8 cent STEM graduate students. 

9 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the National Research Council 

11 shall submit to Congress a summary report of the findings 

12 and recommendations of the workshop or roundtable con13 vened under this section. 

14 SEC. 111. PERMISSIBLE SUPPORT. 

15 A grant made by the Education and Human Re16 sources Directorate to support informal education may be 

17 used— 

18 (1) to support the participation of underrep19 resented students in nonprofit competitions, out-of20 school activities, and field experiences related to 

21 STEM subjects (such as robotics, science research, 

22 invention, mathematics, and technology competi23 tions), including— 

24 (A) the purchase of parts and supplies 

25 needed to participate in such competitions; and 


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1 (B) incentives and stipends for teachers 

2 and instructional leaders who are involved in 

3 assisting students and preparing students for 

4 such competitions, if such activities fall outside 

5 the regular duties and responsibilities of such 

6 teachers and instructional leaders; and 

7 (2) to broaden underrepresented secondary 

8 school students’ access to, and interest in, careers 

9 that require academic preparation in STEM sub10 jects. 

11 SEC. 112. EXPANDING STEM OPPORTUNITIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within the Directorate for Edu13 cation and Human Resources (or any successor thereto), 

14 under existing programs targeting broadening participa15 tion, the Director shall provide grants on a merit-reviewed, 

16 competitive basis for research on programming that en17 gages underrepresented students in grades kindergarten 

18 through 8 in STEM. 

19 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under this 

21 section shall be used for research to advance the en22 gagement of underrepresented students in grades 

23 kindergarten through 8 in STEM through the devel24 opment and implementation of innovative before25 school, after-school, out-of-school, or summer activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 ties, including programs (if applicable to the target 

2 population) provided in a single-gender environment, 

3 that are designed to encourage interest, engagement, 

4 and skills development of underrepresented students 

5 in STEM. Such research shall be conducted in learn6 ing environments that actively provide programming 

7 to underrepresented students in grades kindergarten 

8 through 8 in STEM. 

9 (2) PERMITTED ACTIVITIES.—Such activities 

10 may include— 

11 (A) the development and implementation of 

12 programming described in subsection (a) for the 

13 purpose of research; 

14 (B) the use of a variety of engagement 

15 methods, including cooperative and hands-on 

16 learning; 

17 (C) exposure of underrepresented youth to 

18 role models in the fields of STEM and nearpeer 

19 mentors; 

20 (D) training of informal learning educators 

21 and youth-serving professionals using evidence22 based methods consistent with the target stu23 dent population being served; 

24 (E) education of students on the relevance 

25 and significance of STEM careers, provision of 


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1 academic advice and assistance, and activities 

2 designed to help students make real-world con3 nections to STEM content activities; 

4 (F) the attendance of underrepresented 

5 youth at events, competitions, and academic 

6 programs to provide content expertise and en7 courage career exposure in STEM; 

8 (G) activities designed to engage parents of 

9 underrepresented youth; 

10 (H) innovative strategies to engage under11 represented youth, such as using leadership 

12 skill outcome measures to encourage youth with 

13 the confidence to pursue STEM coursework and 

14 academic study; 

15 (I) coordination with STEM-rich environ16 ments, including other nonprofit, nongovern17 mental organizations, classroom and out-of18 classroom settings, institutions of higher edu19 cation, vocational facilities, corporations, muse20 ums, or science centers; and 

21 (J) the acquisition of instructional mate22 rials or technology-based tools to conduct appli23 cable grant activity. 

24 (c) APPLICATION.—An applicant seeking funding 

25 under the section shall submit an application at such time, 


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1 in such manner, and containing such information as may 

2 be required. The application shall include, at a minimum, 

3 the following: 

4 (1) A description of the target audience to be 

5 served by the program. 

6 (2) A description of the process for recruitment 

7 and selection of students, as appropriate. 

8 (3) A description of how such research activity 

9 may inform programming that engages underrep10 resented students in grades kindergarten through 8 

11 in STEM. 

12 (4) A description of how such research activity 

13 may inform programming that promotes student 

14 academic achievement in STEM. 

15 (5) An evaluation plan that includes, at a min16 imum, the use of outcome-oriented measures to de17 termine the impact and efficacy of activities being 

18 researched. 

19 (d) AWARDS.—In awarding grants under this section, 

20 the Director shall give priority to applicants which, for the 

21 purpose of grant activity, include or partner with a non22 profit, nongovernmental organization that has extensive 

23 experience and expertise in increasing the participation of 

24 underrepresented students in STEM. 

25 (e) ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISSEMINATION.— 


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1 (1) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 5 

2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Director shall evaluate the grants provided under 

4 this section. In addition to evaluating the effective5 ness of the grant activities, such evaluation shall— 

6 (A) use a common set of benchmarks and 

7 assessment tools to identify best practices and 

8 materials developed or demonstrated by the re9 search; and 

10 (B) to the extent practicable, combine the 

11 research resulting from the grant activity with 

12 the current research on serving underrep13 resented students in grades kindergarten 

14 through 8. 

15 (2) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the completion of the evaluation 

17 under paragraph (1), the Director shall submit to 

18 Congress and make widely available to the public a 

19 report that includes— 

20 (A) the results of the evaluation; and 

21 (B) any recommendations for administra22 tive and legislative action that could optimize 

23 the effectiveness of the program. 

24 (f) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

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1 hance program effectiveness and to avoid duplication, with 

2 the programs and policies of other relevant Federal agen3 cies. 

4 SEC. 113. REVIEW OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall review the edu6 cation programs of the Foundation that are in operation 

7 as of the date of enactment of this Act to determine— 

8 (1) whether any of such programs duplicate tar9 get groups, services provided, fields of focus, or ob10 jectives; and 

11 (2) how those programs are being evaluated 

12 and assessed for outcome-oriented effectiveness. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter as part 

15 of the annual budget submission to Congress, the Director 

16 shall complete a report on the review carried out under 

17 this section and shall submit the report to the Committee 

18 on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on 

19 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and to 

20 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

22 Pensions, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

23 Senate, and shall make the report widely available to the 

24 public. 


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1 SEC. 114. RECOMPETITION OF AWARDS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the merit-reviewed competition of grant and 

4 award proposals is a hallmark of the Foundation 

5 grant and award making process; 

6 (2) the majority of Foundation-funded multi7 user research facilities have transitioned to five-year 

8 cooperative agreements, and every five years the pro9 gram officer responsible for the facility makes a rec10 ommendation to the National Science Board as to 

11 the renewal, recompetition, or termination of sup12 port for the facility; and 

13 (3) requiring the recompetition of expiring 

14 awards is based on the conviction that competition 

15 is most likely to ensure the effective stewardship of 

16 Foundation funds for supporting research and edu17 cation. 

18 (b) RECOMPETITION.—The Director shall ensure that 

19 the system for recompetition of Maintenance and Oper20 ations of facilities, equipment and instrumentation is fair, 

21 consistent, and transparent and is applied in a manner 

22 that renews grants and awards in a timely manner. The 

23 Director shall periodically evaluate whether the criteria of 

24 the system are being applied in a manner that is trans25 parent, reliable, and valid. 


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1 SEC. 115. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING INDUSTRY 

2 INVESTMENT IN STEM EDUCATION. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (1) in order to bolster the STEM workforce 

5 pipeline, many industry sectors are becoming in6 volved in K–12 initiatives and supporting under7 graduate and graduate work in STEM subject areas 

8 and fields; 

9 (2) partnerships with education providers, 

10 STEM focused competitions, and other opportunities 

11 have become important aspects of private sector ef12 forts to strengthen the STEM workforce; 

13 (3) understanding the work that private sector 

14 organizations are undertaking in STEM fields 

15 should inform the Federal Government’s role in 

16 STEM education; and 

17 (4) successful private sector STEM initiatives, 

18 as reflected by measurements of relevant outcomes, 

19 should be encouraged and supported by the Founda20 tion. 

21 SEC. 116. MISREPRESENTATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS. 

22 (a) PROHIBITION.—The findings and conclusions of 

23 any article authored by a principal investigator receiving 

24 a research grant from the Foundation, using the results 

25 of the research conducted under the grant, that is pub26 lished in a peer-reviewed publication, otherwise made pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 licly available, or incorporated in an application for a re2 search grant or grant extension from the Foundation may 

3 not contain any falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism, as 

4 established in the Foundation’s Research Misconduct reg5 ulation (45 C.F.R. 689). 

6 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Director shall make publicly 

7 available any finding that research misconduct (as defined 

8 in 45 C.F.R. 689) has been committed, including the 

9 name of the principal investigator, within 30 days of the 

10 final administration action of the Foundation. 

11 SEC. 117. RESEARCH REPRODUCIBILITY AND REPLICA12 TION. 

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that— 

15 (1) the gold standard of good science is the 

16 ability of a researcher or research lab to reproduce 

17 a published method and finding; 

18 (2) there is growing concern that a significant 

19 amount of published research findings cannot be re20 produced or replicated, which can negatively affect 

21 the public’s trust in science; 

22 (3) there are a complex set of factors affecting 

23 reproducibility and replication; and 

24 (4) the increasing interdisciplinary nature and 

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1 uting factor to issues with research reproducibility 

2 and replication. 

3 (b) REPORT.—The Director shall— 

4 (1) not later than 45 days after the date of en5 actment of this Act, enter into an agreement with 

6 the National Research Council to provide, within 18 

7 months after the date of enactment of this Act, a re8 port to assess research and data reproducibility and 

9 replicability issues in interdisciplinary research and 

10 to make recommendations on how to improve rigor 

11 and transparency in scientific research; and 

12 (2) not later than 60 days after receiving the 

13 results of the assessment under paragraph (1), sub14 mit a report to the Committee on Science, Space, 

15 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

16 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans17 portation of the Senate on the findings of the assess18 ment, together with the agreement or disagreement 

19 of the Director and Board with each of its findings 

20 and recommendations. 

21 SEC. 118. RESEARCH GRANT CONDITIONS. 

22 The Foundation shall establish procedures to ensure 

23 that— 

24 (1) a research grant awarded by the Founda25 tion to a principal investigator supports a scope of 


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1 work not otherwise being directly funded by grants 

2 provided by other Federal agencies; 

3 (2) a principal investigator includes in any ap4 plication for a research grant awarded by the Foun5 dation a list of all Federal research funding received 

6 by the principal investigator, as well as any funding 

7 that is being requested as of that time; 

8 (3) unpublished research results used to sup9 port a grant proposal made to the Foundation do 

10 not include any knowing misrepresentations of data; 

11 (4) principal investigators who receive Founda12 tion research grant funding under more than one 

13 grant at the same time have sufficient resources to 

14 conduct the proposed research under each of those 

15 grants appropriately under the terms of the grant; 

16 and 

17 (5) barriers to early career and new investigator 

18 applicants are addressed, including taking into ac19 count the broader accomplishments and potential of 

20 the individual investigator in addition to the poten21 tial impact of the project. 

22 SEC. 119. COMPUTING RESOURCES STUDY. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the 

25 Congress a report detailing the results of a study on the 


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1 use of scientific computing resources funded by the Foun2 dation at institutions of higher education. Such study shall 

3 assess— 

4 (1) efficiencies that can be achieved by using 

5 shared scientific computing resources for projects 

6 that have similar scientific computing requirements 

7 or projects where specialized software solutions could 

8 be shared with other practitioners in the scientific 

9 community; 

10 (2) efficiencies that can be achieved by using 

11 shared hardware that can be cost effectively pro12 cured from cloud computing services; 

13 (3) efficiencies that can be achieved by using 

14 shared software from an open source repository or 

15 platform; and 

16 (4) cost savings that could be achieved by po17 tential sharing of scientific computing resources 

18 across all Foundation grants. 

19 SEC. 120. SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH PRIZES. 

20 The Director shall place a high priority on designing 

21 and administering pilot programs for scientific break22 through prizes, in conjunction with private entities, that 

23 are consistent with Office of Science and Technology Pol24 icy guidelines. Breakthrough prizes shall center around 

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1 tance to the Nation, and have the capacity to spur new 

2 economic growth. 

3 SEC. 121. ROTATING PERSONNEL. 

4 In order to control the costs to the Foundation of 

5 individuals employed pursuant to the Intergovernmental 

6 Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 note)— 

7 (1) the Foundation shall provide to Congress a 

8 written justification and waiver by the Deputy Di9 rector in instances in which such an individual is to 

10 be paid at a rate that exceeds the maximum rate of 

11 pay for the Senior Executive Service, including, if 

12 applicable, adjustment for the certified Senior Exec13 utive Service Performance Appraisal System; 

14 (2) the Foundation shall provide to Congress a 

15 written justification and waiver by the Director in 

16 instances in which such an individual is to be paid 

17 at a rate that exceeds the annual salary rate of the 

18 Vice President of the United States; and 

19 (3) the Foundation shall provide an annual re20 port to Congress on the costs to the Foundation of 

21 employing such individuals, including— 

22 (A) the timeliness and completeness of 

23 Foundation actions in response to recommenda24 tions and findings from the Office of Inspector 


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1 General related to the employment of such indi2 viduals; 

3 (B) actions taken by the Foundation to re4 duce the cost to the Foundation of the employ5 ment of such individuals at pay levels that ex6 ceed the threshold described in paragraph (1); 

7 (C) the value to the Foundation of employ8 ing individuals pursuant to the Intergovern9 mental Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 

10 note) whose pay is set below the threshold de11 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

12 (D) the value to the Foundation of employ13 ing individuals who are not permanent employ14 ees whose pay requires a justification and waiv15 er under paragraph (1) or (2). 

16 SEC. 122. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INNOVATION 

17 CORPS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) the Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I20 Corps) was established to foster a national innova21 tion ecosystem by encouraging institutions, sci22 entists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to identify and 

23 explore the innovation and commercial potential of 

24 Foundation-funded research well beyond the labora25 tory; 


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1 (2) the Foundation’s I-Corps includes invest2 ment in entrepreneurship and commercialization 

3 education, training, and mentoring, ultimately lead4 ing to the practical deployment of technologies, 

5 products, processes, and services that improve the 

6 Nation’s competitiveness, promote economic growth, 

7 and benefit society; and 

8 (3) by building networks of entrepreneurs, edu9 cators, mentors, institutions, and collaborations, and 

10 supporting specialized education and training, I11 Corps is at the leading edge of a strong, lasting 

12 foundation for an American innovation ecosystem. 

13 SEC. 123. BRAIN RESEARCH THROUGH ADVANCING INNO14 VATIVE NEUROTECHNOLOGIES INITIATIVE. 

15 The Foundation shall support research activities re16 lated to the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative 

17 Neurotechnologies Initiative. The Foundation is encour18 aged to work in conjunction with the Interagency Working 

19 Group on Neuroscience (IWGN) to determine how to use 

20 the data infrastructure of the Foundation and other appli21 cable agencies to help neuroscientists collect, standardize, 

22 manage, and analyze the large amounts of data that will 

23 result from research attempting to understand how the 

24 brain functions. 


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1 SEC. 124. NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 10A of the National 

3 Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 

4 1862n–1a) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or 

6 bachelor’s’’ after ‘‘master’s’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para9 graph (2)(B); 

10 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘for teachers with 

12 master’s degrees in their field’’ after 

13 ‘‘Teaching Fellowships’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

15 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; 

16 and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(4) in the case of National Science Foundation 

20 Master Teaching Fellowships for teachers with bach21 elor’s degrees in their field and working toward a 

22 master’s degree— 

23 ‘‘(A) offering academic courses leading to 

24 a master’s degree and leadership training to 

25 prepare individuals to become master teachers 

26 in elementary and secondary schools; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) offering programs both during and 

2 after matriculation in the program for which 

3 the fellowship is received to enable fellows to 

4 become highly effective mathematics and 

5 science teachers, including mentoring, training, 

6 induction, and professional development activi7 ties, to fulfill the service requirements of this 

8 section, including the requirements of sub9 section (e), and to exchange ideas with others 

10 in their fields.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘subsection 

12 (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’; 

13 (4) by redesignating subsections (g) through (i) 

14 as subsections (h) through (j), respectively; and 

15 (5) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol16 lowing new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(g) SUPPORT FOR MASTER TEACHING FELLOWS

18 WHILE ENROLLED IN A MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM.— 

19 A National Science Foundation Master Teacher Fellow 

20 may receive a maximum of 1 year of fellowship support 

21 while enrolled in a master’s degree program as described 

22 in subsection (c)(4)(A), except that if such fellow is en23 rolled in a part-time program, such amount shall be pro24 rated according to the length of the program.’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 10(i)(5) of the National 

2 Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 

3 1862n–1(i)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘computer 

4 science,’’ after ‘‘means a science,’’. 

5 SEC. 125. INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION. 

6 (a) GRANTS.—The Director, through the Directorate 

7 for Education and Human Resources, shall continue to 

8 award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support— 

9 (1) research and development of innovative out10 of-school STEM learning and emerging STEM 

11 learning environments in order to improve STEM 

12 learning outcomes and engagement in STEM; and 

13 (2) research that advances the field of informal 

14 STEM education. 

15 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

16 under this section may encompass a single STEM dis17 cipline, multiple STEM disciplines, or integrative STEM 

18 initiatives and shall include— 

19 (1) research and development that improves our 

20 understanding of learning and engagement in infor21 mal environments, including the role of informal en22 vironments in broadening participation in STEM; 

23 and 

24 (2) design and testing of innovative STEM 

25 learning models, programs, and other resources for 


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1 informal learning environments to improve STEM 

2 learning outcomes and increase engagement for K– 

3 12 students, K–12 teachers, and the general public, 

4 including design and testing of the scalability of 

5 models, programs, and other resources. 

6 TITLE II—SCIENCE, TECH7 NOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 

8 MATHEMATICS 

9 SEC. 201. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

11 (1) According to the National Science Board’s 

12 Science and Engineering Indicators, the science and 

13 engineering workforce has shown sustained growth 

14 for more than half a century, and workers with 

15 science and engineering degrees tend to earn more 

16 than comparable workers in other fields. 

17 (2) According to the Program for International 

18 Student Assessment 2012 results, America lags be19 hind many other nations in STEM education. Amer20 ican students rank 21st in science and 26th in 

21 mathematics. 

22 (3) Junior Achievement USA and ING found a 

23 decrease of 25 percent in the percentage of teenage 

24 students interested in STEM careers. 


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1 (4) According to a 2007 report from the De2 partment of Labor, industries and firms dependent 

3 on a strong science and mathematics workforce have 

4 launched a variety of programs that target K–12 

5 students and undergraduate and graduate students 

6 in STEM fields. 

7 (5) The Federal Government spends nearly $3 

8 billion annually on STEM education related program 

9 and activities, but encouraging STEM education ac10 tivities beyond the scope of the Federal Government, 

11 including privately sponsored competitions and pro12 grams in our schools, is crucial to the future tech13 nical and economic competitiveness of the United 

14 States. 

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con16 gress that— 

17 (1) more effective coordination and adoption of 

18 performance measurement based on objective out19 comes for federally supported STEM programs is 

20 needed; 

21 (2) leveraging private and nonprofit invest22 ments in STEM education will be essential to 

23 strengthening the Federal STEM portfolio; 

24 (3) strengthening the Federal STEM portfolio 

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1 nations, but such changes should be based on evi2 dence with stakeholder input; 

3 (4) coordinating STEM programs and activities 

4 across the Federal Government in order to limit du5 plication and engage stakeholders in STEM pro6 grams and related activities for which objective out7 comes can be measured will bolster results of Fed8 eral STEM education programs, improve the return 

9 on taxpayers’ investments in STEM education pro10 grams, and in turn strengthen the United States 

11 economy; and 

12 (5) as the Committee on STEM Education im13 plements the 5-year Strategic Plan for Federal 

14 STEM education required under section 101(b)(5) 

15 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

16 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621(b)(5)), STEM education 

17 stakeholders must be engaged and outcome-based 

18 evaluation metrics should be considered in the co19 ordination and consolidation efforts for the Federal 

20 STEM portfolio. 

21 SEC. 202. STEM EDUCATION ADVISORY PANEL. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

23 or designate a STEM Education Advisory Panel that in24 corporates key stakeholders from the education and indusVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 try sectors. The co-chairs shall be members of the Presi2 dent’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. 

3 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Advisory Panel estab4 lished or designated by the President under subsection (a) 

5 shall consist primarily of members from academic institu6 tions, nonprofit organizations, and industry and shall in7 clude in-school, out-of-school, and informal educational 

8 practitioners. Members of the Advisory Panel shall be 

9 qualified to provide advice and information on STEM edu10 cation research, development, training, implementation, 

11 interventions, professional development, or workforce 

12 needs or concerns. In selecting or designating an Advisory 

13 Panel, the President may also seek and give consideration 

14 to recommendations from the Congress, industry, the sci15 entific community (including the National Academy of 

16 Sciences, scientific professional societies, and academia), 

17 State and local governments, and other appropriate orga18 nizations. 

19 (c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Panel shall advise the 

20 President, the Committee on STEM Education, and the 

21 STEM Education Coordinating Office established under 

22 section 204 on matters relating to STEM education, and 

23 shall each year provide general guidance to every Federal 

24 agency with STEM education programs or activities, in25 cluding in the preparation of requests for appropriations 


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1 for activities related to STEM education. The Advisory 

2 Panel shall also assess and develop recommendations 

3 for— 

4 (1) progress made in implementing the STEM 

5 education Strategic Plan required under section 101 

6 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

7 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621), and any needs or opportuni8 ties to update the strategic plan; 

9 (2) the management, coordination, and imple10 mentation of STEM education programs and activi11 ties across the Federal Government; 

12 (3) the appropriateness of criteria used by Fed13 eral agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of Federal 

14 STEM education programs and activities; 

15 (4) ways to leverage private and nonprofit 

16 STEM investments and encourage public-private 

17 partnerships to strengthen STEM education and 

18 help build the STEM workforce pipeline; 

19 (5) ways to incorporate workforce needs into 

20 Federal STEM education programs, particularly in 

21 areas experiencing high unemployment rates; 

22 (6) ways to better vertically and horizontally in23 tegrate Federal STEM programs and activities from 

24 pre-K through graduate study and the workforce, 

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1 prove transitions for students moving through the 

2 STEM pipeline; 

3 (7) whether societal and workforce concerns are 

4 adequately addressed by current Federal STEM 

5 education programs and activities; 

6 (8) the extent to which Federal STEM edu7 cation programs and activities are contributing to 

8 recruitment and retention of women and underrep9 resented students in the STEM education and work10 force pipeline; and 

11 (9) ways to encourage geographic diversity in 

12 STEM education and the workforce pipeline. 

13 (d) REPORTS.—The Advisory Panel shall report, not 

14 less frequently than once every 3 fiscal years, to the Presi15 dent and Congress on its assessments under subsection 

16 (c) and its recommendations for ways to improve Federal 

17 STEM education programs. The first report under this 

18 subsection shall be submitted within 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act. 

20 (e) TRAVEL EXPENSES OF NON-FEDERAL MEM21 BERS.—Non-Federal members of the Advisory Panel, 

22 while attending meetings of the Advisory Panel or while 

23 otherwise serving at the request of the head of the Advi24 sory Panel away from their homes or regular places of 

25 business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per 


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1 diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 

2 of title 5, United States Code, for individuals in the Gov3 ernment serving without pay. Nothing in this subsection 

4 shall be construed to prohibit members of the Advisory 

5 Panel who are officers or employees of the United States 

6 from being allowed travel expenses, including per diem in 

7 lieu of subsistence, in accordance with existing law. 

8 SEC. 203. COMMITTEE ON STEM EDUCATION. 

9 Section 101 of the America COMPETES Reauthor10 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621) is amended— 

11 (1) in the first subsection (b)— 

12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

13 through (6) as paragraphs (5) through (8), re14 spectively; 

15 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

16 following new paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(3) collaborate with the STEM Education Ad18 visory Panel established under section 202 of the 

19 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 

20 and other outside stakeholders to ensure the engage21 ment of the STEM education community; 

22 ‘‘(4) review evaluation measures used for Fed23 eral STEM education programs;’’; and 


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1 (C) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated 

2 by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by 

3 striking ‘‘, periodically update,’’; and 

4 (2) in the second subsection (b) and in sub5 section (c), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(5)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘subsection (b)(7)’’. 

7 SEC. 204. STEM EDUCATION COORDINATING OFFICE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National 

9 Science Foundation shall establish within the Directorate 

10 for Education and Human Resources a STEM Education 

11 Coordinating Office, which shall have a Director and staff 

12 that shall include career employees detailed from Federal 

13 agencies that fund STEM education programs and activi14 ties. 

15 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The STEM Education Co16 ordinating Office shall— 

17 (1) provide technical and administrative support 

18 to— 

19 (A) the Committee on STEM Education, 

20 especially in its coordination of Federal STEM 

21 programs and strategic planning responsibil22 ities; 

23 (B) the Advisory Panel established under 

24 section 202; and 


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1 (C) Federal agencies with STEM edu2 cation programs; 

3 (2) periodically update and maintain the inven4 tory of federally sponsored STEM education pro5 grams and activities established under section 

6 101(b)(8) of the America COMPETES Reauthoriza7 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621); and 

8 (3) provide for dissemination of information on 

9 Federal STEM education programs and activities, as 

10 appropriate, to stakeholders in academia, industry, 

11 nonprofit organizations with expertise in STEM edu12 cation, State and local educational agencies, and 

13 other STEM stakeholders. 

14 (c) REPORT.—The Director of the STEM Education 

15 Coordinating Office shall transmit a report annually to 

16 Congress not later than 60 days after the submission of 

17 the President’s budget request. The annual report shall 

18 include— 

19 (1) any updates to the inventory required under 

20 subsection (b)(2); 

21 (2) a description of all consolidations and ter22 minations of Federal STEM education programs im23 plemented in the previous fiscal year, including an 

24 explanation of the reasons for consolidations and 

25 terminations; 


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1 (3) recommendations for consolidations and ter2 minations of STEM education programs or activities 

3 in the upcoming fiscal year; 

4 (4) a description of any significant new STEM 

5 Education public-private partnerships; and 

6 (5) description of the progress made in carrying 

7 out the strategic plan required under section 101 of 

8 the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

9 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621), including a description of 

10 the outcome of any program assessments completed 

11 in the previous year. 

12 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF NSF.—The Director of 

13 the National Science Foundation shall encourage and 

14 monitor the efforts of the STEM Education Coordinating 

15 Office to ensure that the Coordinating Office is carrying 

16 out its responsibilities under subsection (b) appropriately. 

17 TITLE III—OFFICE OF SCIENCE 

18 AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

19 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated for the Of21 fice of Science and Technology Policy— 

22 (1) $4,550,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

23 (2) $4,550,000 for fiscal year 2017. 


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1 SEC. 302. REGULATORY EFFICIENCY. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that— 

4 (1) high and increasing administrative burdens 

5 and costs in Federal research administration, par6 ticularly in the higher education sector where most 

7 federally sponsored research is performed, are erod8 ing funds available to carry out basic scientific re9 search; 

10 (2) progress has been made over the last decade 

11 in streamlining the pre-award grant application 

12 process through Grants.gov, the Federal Govern13 ment’s website portal; 

14 (3) post-award administrative costs have grown 

15 as Federal research agencies have continued to im16 pose agency-unique compliance and reporting re17 quirements on researchers and research institutions; 

18 (4) facilities and administration costs at re19 search universities can exceed 50 percent of the total 

20 value of Federal research grants, and it is estimated 

21 that nearly 30 percent of the funds invested annu22 ally in federally funded research is consumed by pa23 perwork and other administrative processes required 

24 by Federal agencies; and 

25 (5) it is a matter of critical importance to 

26 American competitiveness that administrative costs 


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1 of federally funded research be streamlined so that 

2 a higher proportion of taxpayer dollars flow into di3 rect research activities. 

4 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

5 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a working 

6 group under the authority of the National Science and 

7 Technology Council, to include the Office of Management 

8 and Budget. The working group shall be responsible for 

9 reviewing Federal regulations affecting research and re10 search universities and making recommendations on how 

11 to— 

12 (1) harmonize, streamline, and eliminate dupli13 cative Federal regulations and reporting require14 ments; 

15 (2) minimize the regulatory burden on United 

16 States institutions of higher education performing 

17 federally funded research while maintaining account18 ability for Federal tax dollars; and 

19 (3) identify and update specific regulations to 

20 refocus on performance-based goals rather than on 

21 process while still meeting the desired outcome. 

22 (c) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In carrying out the re23 sponsibilities under subsection (b), the working group 

24 shall take into account input and recommendations from 

25 non-Federal stakeholders, including federally funded and 


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1 nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 

2 education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, 

3 nonprofit research institutions, industry, including small 

4 businesses, federally funded research and development 

5 centers, and others with a stake in ensuring effectiveness, 

6 efficiency, and accountability in the performance of sci7 entific research. 

8 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 

10 years, the Director shall report to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate on what steps have been 

14 taken to carry out the recommendations of the working 

15 group established under subsection (b). 

16 SEC. 303. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE 

17 AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

19 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a body 

20 under the National Science and Technology Council with 

21 the responsibility to identify and coordinate international 

22 science and technology cooperation that can strengthen 

23 the United States science and technology enterprise, im24 prove economic and national security, and support United 

25 States foreign policy goals. 


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1 (b) NSTC BODY LEADERSHIP.—The body estab2 lished under subsection (a) shall be co-chaired by senior 

3 level officials from the Office of Science and Technology 

4 Policy and the Department of State. 

5 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The body established under 

6 subsection (a) shall— 

7 (1) plan and coordinate interagency inter8 national science and technology cooperative research 

9 and training activities and partnerships supported or 

10 managed by Federal agencies and work with other 

11 National Science and Technology Council commit12 tees to help plan and coordinate the international 

13 component of national science and technology prior14 ities; 

15 (2) establish Federal priorities and policies for 

16 aligning, as appropriate, international science and 

17 technology cooperative research and training activi18 ties and partnerships supported or managed by Fed19 eral agencies with the foreign policy goals of the 

20 United States; 

21 (3) identify opportunities for new international 

22 science and technology cooperative research and 

23 training partnerships that advance both the science 

24 and technology and the foreign policy priorities of 

25 the United States; 


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1 (4) in carrying out paragraph (3), solicit input 

2 and recommendations from non-Federal science and 

3 technology stakeholders, including universities, sci4 entific and professional societies, industry, and rel5 evant organizations and institutions; and 

6 (5) identify broad issues that influence the abil7 ity of United States scientists and engineers to col8 laborate with foreign counterparts, including bar9 riers to collaboration and access to scientific infor10 mation. 

11 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the Of12 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit a re13 port, to be updated every 2 years, to the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on 

15 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and to 

16 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

17 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

18 The report shall also be made available to the public on 

19 the reporting agency’s website. The report shall contain 

20 a description of— 

21 (1) the priorities and policies established under 

22 subsection (c)(2); 

23 (2) the ongoing and new partnerships estab24 lished since the last update to the report; 


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1 (3) the means by which stakeholder input was 

2 received, as well as summary views of stakeholder 

3 input; and 

4 (4) the issues influencing the ability of United 

5 States scientists and engineers to collaborate with 

6 foreign counterparts. 

7 (e) ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Di8 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 

9 transmit, not later than 60 days after the date of enact10 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, to the Com11 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Com12 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, 

13 and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans14 portation and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

15 Senate, a report that lists and describes all foreign travel 

16 by Office of Science and Technology Policy staff and 

17 detailees. Each report shall specify the dates of each trip, 

18 the purpose of the trip, Office of Science and Technology 

19 Policy participants on the trip, total Office of Science and 

20 Technology Policy costs associated with the trip, and de21 tails of all international meetings, including meeting par22 ticipants and topics addressed. 

23 SEC. 304. ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH FUNDING MODELS. 

24 (a) PILOT PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The heads of 

25 Federal science agencies, in consultation with the Director 


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1 of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall con2 duct appropriate pilot programs to validate alternative re3 search funding models, including— 

4 (1) scientific breakthrough prize programs that 

5 are of strategic importance to the Nation and have 

6 the capacity to spur new economic growth; and 

7 (2) novel mechanisms of funding including ob8 taining non-Federal funds through crowd source 

9 funding. 

10 (b) NON-FEDERAL PARTNERS.—A pilot program 

11 may be conducted under this section through an agree12 ment, grant, or contractual relationship with a non-Fed13 eral entity regarding the design, administration, and fund14 ing of the program. 

15 (c) PRIZE COMPETITION JUDGES.— 

16 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Judges for a prize com17 petition carried out under this section shall not be 

18 required to be Federal employees. An individual who 

19 serves as a judge for a prize competition carried out 

20 under this section who is not a Federal employee 

21 shall be required to sign an agreement, developed by 

22 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with re23 spect to nondisclosure, conflict of interest, and judg24 ing code of conduct requirements. 


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1 (2) DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL IN2 TERESTS.—A judge for a prize competition with a 

3 total purse of $10,000 or more, or for an aggregate 

4 of prize competitions with a total purse of $50,000 

5 or more, shall be required to disclose all personal fi6 nancial interests. 

7 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 

8 days after the Office of Science and Technology Pol9 icy completes development of an agreement under 

10 paragraph (1), it shall transmit a report to Congress 

11 describing the requirements of such agreement. 

12 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The heads of Federal science 

13 agencies shall widely advertise prize competitions to be 

14 conducted under this section to ensure maximum partici15 pation. 

16 (e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

17 term ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means— 

18 (1) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin19 istration; 

20 (2) the National Science Foundation; 

21 (3) the National Institute of Standards and 

22 Technology; and 

23 (4) the National Weather Service. 

24 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 


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1 thereafter as part of the annual budget submission to Con2 gress, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

3 Policy shall transmit to the Congress a report on pro4 grams identified and conducted under subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 305. AMENDMENTS TO PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

6 Section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno7 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (c)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘sec10 tion, a prize’’; 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘types’’ after ‘‘following’’; 

12 and 

13 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘prizes’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘prize competitions’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (f)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘in the Federal Register’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘on a publicly accessible Govern18 ment website, such as www.challenge.gov,’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘prize’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘prize’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘prize’’ be24 fore ‘‘competition’’ both places it appears; 

25 (5) in subsection (i)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting 

2 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting 

4 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’ both places it ap5 pears; 

6 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

7 paragraph (4); and 

8 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—An agency may waive the re11 quirement under paragraph (2). The annual report 

12 under subsection (p) shall include a list of such 

13 waivers granted during the preceding fiscal year, 

14 along with a detailed explanation of the reasons for 

15 granting the waivers.’’; 

16 (6) in subsection (k)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting 

18 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘prize’’ 

20 before ‘‘competitions’’ both places it appears; 

21 (7) in subsection (l), by striking all after ‘‘may 

22 enter into’’ and inserting ‘‘a grant, contract, cooper23 ative agreement, or other agreement with a private 

24 sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer the 


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1 prize competition, subject to the provisions of this 

2 section.’’; 

3 (8) in subsection (m)— 

4 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Support for a prize com7 petition under this section, including financial sup8 port for the design and administration of a prize 

9 competition or funds for a cash prize purse, may 

10 consist of Federal appropriated funds and funds 

11 provided by private sector for-profit and nonprofit 

12 entities. The head of an agency may accept funds 

13 from other Federal agencies, private sector for-profit 

14 entities, and nonprofit entities to support such prize 

15 competitions. The head of an agency may not give 

16 any special consideration to any private sector for17 profit or nonprofit entity in return for a donation.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘prize 

19 awards’’ and inserting ‘‘cash prize purses’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘No prize’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘No prize competition’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘the prize’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘the cash prize purse’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘a 

2 prize’’ and inserting ‘‘a cash prize purse’’; 

3 (E) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by inserting 

4 ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘prize’’; 

5 (F) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘a 

6 prize’’ and inserting ‘‘a cash prize purse’’; and 

7 (G) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘cash 

8 prizes’’ and inserting ‘‘cash prize purses’’; 

9 (9) in subsection (n), by inserting ‘‘for both for10 profit and nonprofit entities,’’ after ‘‘contract vehi11 cle’’; 

12 (10) in subsection (o)(1), by striking ‘‘or pro13 viding a prize’’ and insert ‘‘a prize competition or 

14 providing a cash prize purse’’; and 

15 (11) in subsection (p)(2)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘cash 

17 prizes’’ both places it occurs and inserting 

18 ‘‘cash prize purses’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

20 subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(G) PLAN.—A description of crosscutting 

22 topical areas and agency-specific mission needs 

23 that may be the strongest opportunities for 

24 prize competitions during the upcoming 2 fiscal 

25 years.’’. 


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1 SEC. 306. UNITED STATES CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER. 

2 Title II of the National Science and Technology Pol3 icy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 

4 6611 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new section: 

6 ‘‘UNITED STATES CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

7 ‘‘SEC. 210. (a) APPOINTMENT.—The President may 

8 appoint a United States Chief Technology Officer. Not 

9 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Amer10 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, such offi11 cer shall be one of the Associate Directors of the Office 

12 of Science and Technology Policy. 

13 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The duties of the United States Chief 

14 Technology Officer should include— 

15 ‘‘(1) advising the President and the Director of 

16 the Office of Science and Technology Policy on Fed17 eral information systems, technology, data, and in18 novation policies and initiatives; 

19 ‘‘(2) promoting an improved exchange of infor20 mation among the Federal Government, the public, 

21 and Congress; 

22 ‘‘(3) promoting the use of innovative techno23 logical approaches across the Federal Government to 

24 ensure a modern information technology infrastruc25 ture; 


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1 ‘‘(4) working with the Chief Technology Offi2 cers and Chief Information Officers of all Federal 

3 agencies to ensure the use of best technologies and 

4 security practices for information systems; 

5 ‘‘(5) establishing a working group with such Of6 ficers to exchange best practices about information 

7 systems; 

8 ‘‘(6) promoting transparency and accountability 

9 across the Federal Government for all technological 

10 implementation by working with agencies to ensure 

11 that each arm of the Federal Government, including 

12 the executive branch, makes its records open and ac13 cessible; 

14 ‘‘(7) promoting security and privacy protection 

15 policies for all Federal information technology sys16 tems that are consistent with Federal law, regula17 tions, and current best practices; 

18 ‘‘(8) promoting technological interoperability of 

19 key Government functions; 

20 ‘‘(9) in consultation with the Office of Manage21 ment and Budget, providing an annual report to the 

22 President, the Director of the Office of Science and 

23 Technology Policy, and Congress on the current 

24 state of information systems of all Federal agencies, 

25 including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the status of information systems, in2 cluding potential technology and security con3 cerns about these information systems in all 

4 Federal agencies; 

5 ‘‘(B) a review of all Federal websites with 

6 third-party embedded tools that— 

7 ‘‘(i) identifies each embedded tool, 

8 who it belongs to, and the data it collects; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) addresses effects on cybersecu11 rity and consumer privacy, including 

12 whether each website provides prominent 

13 notice to consumers about the presence of 

14 the tool and whether the consumer may 

15 opt-out of the tool; 

16 ‘‘(C) the amount of money being spent on 

17 various technologies; and 

18 ‘‘(D) technology recommendations and best 

19 practices; and 

20 ‘‘(10) such other functions and activities as the 

21 President and Director of the Office of Science and 

22 Technology Policy may assign. 

23 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—In the absence of a United States 

24 Chief Technology Officer, the Director of the Office of 


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1 Science and Technology Policy shall be responsible for 

2 providing the report required under subsection (b)(9).’’. 

3 SEC. 307. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY ON TECH4 NOLOGY FOR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS 

5 ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 

8 of Science and Technology Policy shall enter into an ar9 rangement with the National Research Council to conduct 

10 and complete a study to identify and review technologies 

11 employed at institutions of higher education to provide no12 tifications to students, faculty, and other personnel during 

13 emergency situations in accordance with the requirements 

14 of existing law. The study shall address— 

15 (1) the timeliness of notifications during emer16 gency situations provided by various technologies; 

17 (2) the durability of such technologies in deliv18 ering such notifications to students, faculty, and 

19 other personnel; and 

20 (3) the limitations exhibited by such tech21 nologies to successfully deliver notifications not more 

22 than 30 seconds after the institution of higher edu23 cation transmits such notifications. 

24 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date on which the National Research Council enters 


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1 into the arrangement required by subsection (a), the Di2 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 

3 submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under 

4 such subsection. 

5 TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

6 OF STANDARDS AND TECH7 NOLOGY 

8 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

11 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

12 $933,700,000 for the National Institute of Stand13 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2016. 

14 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

15 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) $744,700,000 shall be for scientific 

17 and technical research and services laboratory 

18 activities; 

19 (B) $59,000,000 shall be for the construc20 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

21 (C) $130,000,000 shall be for industrial 

22 technology services activities, of which 

23 $125,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

24 Extension Partnership program under sections 

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1 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

2 278I) and $5,000,000 shall be for the Network 

3 for Manufacturing Innovation Program under 

4 section 34 of the National Institute of Stand5 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

6 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

8 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

9 $933,700,000 for the National Institute of Stand10 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2017. 

11 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

12 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) $744,700,000 shall be for scientific 

14 and technical research and services laboratory 

15 activities; 

16 (B) $59,000,000 shall be for the construc17 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

18 (C) $130,000,000 shall be for industrial 

19 technology services activities, of which 

20 $125,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

21 Extension Partnership program under sections 

22 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Stand23 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

24 278I) and $5,000,000 shall be for the Network 

25 for Manufacturing Innovation Program under 


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1 section 34 of the National Institute of Stand2 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

3 SEC. 402. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

4 Section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

8 by striking ‘‘authorized to take’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘authorized to serve as the President’s principal 

10 adviser on standards policy pertaining to the 

11 Nation’s technological competitiveness and in12 novation ability and to take’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘compare 

14 standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Fed15 eral Government’’ and inserting ‘‘facilitate 

16 standards-related information sharing and co17 operation between Federal agencies’’; and 

18 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘Fed19 eral, State, and local’’ and all that follows 

20 through ‘‘private sector’’ and inserting ‘‘tech21 nical standards activities and conformity assess22 ment activities of Federal, State, and local gov23 ernments with private sector’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 after the semicolon; 

3 (B) by redesignating paragraph (22) as 

4 paragraph (24); and 

5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (21) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(22) participate in and support scientific and 

8 technical conferences; 

9 ‘‘(23) perform pre-competitive measurement 

10 science and technology research in partnership with 

11 institutions of higher education and industry to pro12 mote United States industrial competitiveness; and’’. 

13 SEC. 403. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECH14 NOLOGY. 

15 Section 10 of the National Institute of Standards and 

16 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘not fewer than 11 members’’; 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘at least 10’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘at least two-thirds’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘The Committee may consult with the National 

24 Research Council in making recommendations 

25 regarding general policy for the Institute.’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘, including 

2 the Program established under section 28,’’. 

3 SEC. 404. POLICE AND SECURITY AUTHORITY. 

4 Section 15 of the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278e) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Government; and’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘of the Government;’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘United States Code.’’ and in9 serting ‘‘United States Code; and (i) the protection 

10 of Institute buildings and other plant facilities, 

11 equipment, and property, and of employees, associ12 ates, visitors, or other persons located therein or as13 sociated therewith, notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law.’’. 

15 SEC. 405. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

16 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

17 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by striking sec18 tions 18, 19, and 19A and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may support, pro21 mote, and coordinate activities and efforts to enhance pub22 lic awareness and understanding of measurement sciences, 

23 standards, and technology by the general public, industry, 

24 and academia in support of the Institute’s mission. 

25 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award 

2 research fellowships and other forms of financial and 

3 logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 

4 to— 

5 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu6 cation within the United States who show 

7 promise as present or future contributors to the 

8 mission of the Institute; and 

9 ‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 

10 and technical activities of the Institute. 

11 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Director shall select 

12 persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 

13 the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro14 posed work to the mission and programs of the In15 stitute. 

16 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

17 subsection, financial and logistical assistance in18 cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

19 United States Code, or any contrary provision of 

20 law, temporary housing and local transportation to 

21 and from the Institute facilities. 

22 ‘‘(c) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—The 

23 Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow24 ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

25 that shall include not fewer than 20 fellows per fiscal year. 


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1 In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub2 section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 

3 of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu4 dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 

5 SEC. 406. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 

6 Section 23(d) of the National Institute of Standards 

7 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278i(d)) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro9 grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 

10 Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 

11 Committee on Advanced Technology established under 

12 section 10.’’. 

13 SEC. 407. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH 

14 COUNCIL. 

15 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 

16 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

17 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand18 ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 

19 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com20 prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 

21 The review shall— 

22 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

23 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 


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1 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

2 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

3 ability to fulfill its mission; 

4 (3) evaluate how cross-cutting research and de5 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

6 executed across the laboratories; and 

7 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in8 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

9 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti10 tute. 

11 (b) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—Section 24 of the 

12 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 278j) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 24. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH 

15 COUNCIL. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall contract with 

17 the National Research Council to perform and report on 

18 assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 

19 work conducted at Institute laboratories. 

20 ‘‘(b) SCHEDULE.—Two laboratories shall be assessed 

21 under subsection (a) each year, and each laboratory shall 

22 be assessed at least once every 3 years. 

23 ‘‘(c) SUMMARY REPORT.—Beginning in the year 

24 after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 

25 (a), and once every two years thereafter, the Institute shall 


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1 contract with the National Research Council to prepare 

2 a report that summarizes the findings common across the 

3 individual assessment reports. 

4 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—The Institute, at 

5 the discretion of the Director, also may contract with the 

6 National Research Council to conduct additional assess7 ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col8 laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 

9 and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 

10 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON

11 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun12 cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 

13 Technology established under section 10 in performing the 

14 assessments under this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

16 completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 

17 the report on such assessment to the Committee on 

18 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

20 and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

21 SEC. 408. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART22 NERSHIP. 

23 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

24 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART2 NERSHIP. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

5 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

6 shall provide assistance for the creation and support 

7 of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 

8 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 

9 the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 

10 business practices (in this Act referred to as the 

11 ‘Centers’). The program under this section shall be 

12 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

13 Partnership’. 

14 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af15 filiated with any United States-based public or non16 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

17 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Centers 

20 is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 

21 technological performance in United States manufac22 turing through— 

23 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech24 nology and techniques developed at the Insti25 tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac26 turing companies throughout the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

2 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

3 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

4 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech5 nology transfer activities; 

6 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

7 technology and processes usable by United 

8 States-based small and medium-sized compa9 nies; 

10 ‘‘(D) the active dissemination of scientific, 

11 engineering, technical, and management infor12 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

13 including small and medium-sized manufac14 turing companies; 

15 ‘‘(E) the utilization, when appropriate, of 

16 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed17 eral laboratories other than the Institute; 

18 ‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 

19 and area career and technical education schools 

20 of information about the job skills needed in 

21 small and medium-sized manufacturing busi22 nesses in the regions they serve; and 

23 ‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi24 cation systems offered through industry, asso25 ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Centers shall 

2 include— 

3 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac4 turing systems and other advanced production tech5 nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 

6 the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans7 fer; 

8 ‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re9 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

10 of companies and enterprises, particularly small and 

11 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

12 ‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part13 nerships between small and medium-sized manufac14 turing companies and community colleges and area 

15 career and technical education schools to help such 

16 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

17 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

18 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

19 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

20 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary may 

22 provide financial support to any Center created 

23 under subsection (a). The Secretary may not provide 

24 to a Center more than 50 percent of the capital and 


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1 annual operating and maintenance funds required to 

2 create and maintain such Center. 

3 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im4 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

5 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

6 least once every 3 years. 

7 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu9 tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 

10 government, may submit to the Secretary an 

11 application for financial support under this sec12 tion, in accordance with the procedures estab13 lished by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(B) COST SHARING.—In order to receive 

15 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

16 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

17 shall provide adequate assurances that non18 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

19 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

20 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

21 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

22 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

23 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

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1 logical performance of small and medium-sized 

2 manufacturing companies. 

3 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI4 TIES.—In meeting the 50-percent requirement, 

5 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

6 agreements with other entities such as private 

7 industry, institutions of higher education, and 

8 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

9 objectives and access new and existing resources 

10 that will further the impact of the Federal in11 vestment made on behalf of small and medium12 sized manufacturing companies. 

13 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—Each applicant 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall also submit a 

15 proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as16 sociated with any invention which may result 

17 from the proposed Center’s activities. 

18 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub19 ject each such application to merit review. In mak20 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

21 and provide financial support under this section, the 

22 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol23 lowing: 

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1 garding technology transfer, training and edu2 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech3 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

4 sectors. 

5 ‘‘(B) The quality of service to be provided. 

6 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

7 service area. 

8 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

9 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

10 sources. 

11 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re13 ceives financial assistance under this section 

14 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper15 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua18 tion panel shall be composed of private experts, 

19 none of whom shall be connected with the in20 volved Center, and Federal officials. 

21 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—An official of the Institute 

22 shall chair the panel. 

23 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

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1 volved Center’s performance against the objec2 tives specified in this section. 

3 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval4 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

5 continued funding through the sixth year. 

6 ‘‘(F) PROBATION.—The Secretary shall 

7 not provide funding unless the Center has re8 ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 

9 not received a positive evaluation by the evalua10 tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 

11 deficiencies in its performance and shall be 

12 placed on probation for one year, after which 

13 time the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If 

14 the Center has not addressed the deficiencies 

15 identified by the panel, or shown a significant 

16 improvement in its performance, the Director 

17 shall conduct a new competition to select an op18 erator for the Center or may close the Center. 

19 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

20 After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi21 tional financial support under this section if it 

22 has received a positive evaluation through an 

23 independent review, under procedures estab24 lished by the Institute. 


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1 ‘‘(H) EIGHT-YEAR REVIEW.—A Center 

2 shall undergo an independent review in the 8th 

3 year of operation. Each evaluation panel shall 

4 measure the Center’s performance against the 

5 objectives specified in this section. A Center 

6 that has not received a positive evaluation as a 

7 result of an independent review shall be notified 

8 by the Program of the deficiencies in its per9 formance and shall be placed on probation for 

10 one year, after which time the Program shall 

11 reevaluate the Center. If the Center has not ad12 dressed the deficiencies identified by the review, 

13 or shown a significant improvement in its per14 formance, the Director shall conduct a new 

15 competition to select an operator for the Center 

16 or may close the Center. 

17 ‘‘(I) RECOMPETITION.—If a recipient of a 

18 Center award has received financial assistance 

19 for 10 consecutive years, the Director shall con20 duct a new competition to select an operator for 

21 the Center consistent with the plan required in 

22 this Act. Incumbent Center operators in good 

23 standing shall be eligible to compete for the new 

24 award. 

25 ‘‘(J) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the America 

3 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, 

4 the Director shall transmit to the Com5 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology 

6 of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

8 Transportation of the Senate a plan as to 

9 how the Institute will conduct reviews, as10 sessments, and reapplication competitions 

11 under this paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.— 

13 The Director shall contract with an inde14 pendent organization to perform an assess15 ment of the implementation of the re16 application competition process under this 

17 paragraph within 3 years after the trans18 mittal of the report under clause (i). The 

19 organization conducting the assessment 

20 under this clause may consult with the 

21 MEP Advisory Board. 

22 ‘‘(iii) COMPARISON OF CENTERS.— 

23 Not later than 2 years after the date of en24 actment of the America COMPETES Re25 authorization Act of 2015, the Director 


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1 shall transmit to the Committee on 

2 Science, Space, and Technology of the 

3 House of Representatives and the Com4 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans5 portation of the Senate a report providing 

6 information on the first and second years 

7 of operations for centers operating from 

8 new competitions or recompetition as com9 pared to longstanding centers. The report 

10 shall provide detail on the engagement in 

11 services provided by Centers and the char12 acteristics of services provided, including 

13 volume and type of services, so that the 

14 Committees can evaluate whether the cost15 sharing ratio has an effect on the services 

16 provided at Centers. 

17 ‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap18 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

19 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

20 the promotion of technology from research by Cen21 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

22 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

23 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 

24 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CENTER CLIENT CON25 FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, shall apply to the following in2 formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 

3 confidential basis in connection with the activities of 

4 any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac5 turing Extension Partnership: 

6 ‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 

7 of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 

8 Extension Partnership program or of a client of 

9 a Center. 

10 ‘‘(B) Trade secrets possessed by any client 

11 of a Center. 

12 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi13 sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol14 icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 

15 Board represents local small and medium-sized man16 ufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Members 

17 may not serve as a vendor or provide services to the 

18 Center, nor may they serve on more than one Cen19 ter’s oversight board simultaneously. 

20 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such sums 

22 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc23 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

24 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

25 accept funds from other Federal departments and 


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1 agencies and, under section 2(c)(7), from the private 

2 sector for the purpose of strengthening United 

3 States manufacturing. 

4 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED6 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di7 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

8 from other Federal departments or agencies 

9 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed10 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

11 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI13 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri14 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

15 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula16 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

17 of this section. 

18 ‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

20 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

21 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re22 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The MEP Advisory 

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1 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

2 be appointed by the Director. At least 2 mem3 bers shall be employed by or on an advisory 

4 board for the Centers, at least 1 member shall 

5 represent a community college, and at least 5 

6 other members shall be from United States 

7 small businesses in the manufacturing sector. 

8 No member shall be an employee of the Federal 

9 Government. 

10 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub11 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

12 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

15 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira16 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

17 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

18 of such term. 

19 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

20 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

21 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

22 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint23 ment during the one-year period following the 

24 expiration of the second such term. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The MEP Advisory Board 

2 shall meet not less than 2 times annually and shall 

3 provide to the Director— 

4 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

5 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

6 policies; 

7 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol8 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

9 plans and strategies; and 

10 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

11 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

12 Partnership program plans. 

13 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP14 PLICABILITY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du16 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

17 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca18 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

19 Committee Act. 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed21 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

22 the MEP Advisory Board. 

23 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—The MEP Advisory Board shall 

24 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

25 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 


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1 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

2 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad3 dress the status of the program established pursuant 

4 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

5 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

6 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

7 under subsections (c) and (d) of section 23. 

8 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es10 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten11 sion Partnership, under this section and section 26, 

12 a program of competitive awards among participants 

13 described in paragraph (2) for the purposes de14 scribed in paragraph (3). 

15 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

16 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

17 a consortium of such Centers. 

18 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

19 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

20 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in21 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

22 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 

23 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

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1 dium-sized manufacturers. One or more themes for 

2 the competition may be identified, which may vary 

3 from year to year, depending on the needs of manu4 facturers and the success of previous competitions. 

5 Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred under 

6 the program. 

7 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 

8 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

9 manner, at such time, and containing such informa10 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

11 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

12 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub13 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

14 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

15 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 

16 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

17 will— 

18 ‘‘(A) improve the competitiveness of indus19 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen20 ters are located; 

21 ‘‘(B) create jobs or train newly hired em22 ployees; and 

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1 stitutions of higher education, national labora2 tories, and nonprofit research institutes. 

3 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 

4 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

5 to provide a matching contribution. 

6 ‘‘(7) GLOBAL MARKETPLACE PROJECTS.—In 

7 making awards under this subsection, the Director, 

8 in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board and 

9 the Secretary, may take into consideration whether 

10 an application has significant potential for enhanc11 ing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized 

12 United States manufacturers in the global market13 place. 

14 ‘‘(8) DURATION.—Awards under this subsection 

15 shall last no longer than 3 years. 

16 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION OF OBSTACLES UNIQUE TO SMALL

17 MANUFACTURERS.—The Director shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) evaluate obstacles that are unique to small 

19 manufacturers that prevent such manufacturers 

20 from effectively competing in the global market; 

21 ‘‘(2) implement a comprehensive plan to train 

22 the Centers to address such obstacles; and 

23 ‘‘(3) facilitate improved communication between 

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1 menting appropriate, targeted solutions to such ob2 stacles. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘area career and technical edu5 cation school’ has the meaning given such term in 

6 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech7 nical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 

8 U.S.C. 2302); and 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community college’ means an in10 stitution of higher education (as defined under sec11 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at which the highest degree 

13 that is predominately awarded to students is an as14 sociate’s degree.’’. 

15 SEC. 409. ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REPORTS. 

16 (a) ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION STANDARDIZATION

17 AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES REPORT.—Section 3 

18 of the Enterprise Integration Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 

19 278g–5) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subsection (c); and 

21 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

22 subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

23 (b) TIP REPORTS.—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) by striking subsection (g); and 

2 (2) in subsection (k), by striking paragraph (5). 

3 SEC. 410. MODIFICATIONS TO GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 

4 AGREEMENTS. 

5 Section 8(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In6 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706(a)) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘The total amount of any such grant or coopera8 tive agreement may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

9 of the program.’’. 

10 SEC. 411. INFORMATION SYSTEMS STANDARDS CONSULTA11 TION. 

12 Section 20(c)(1) of the National Institute of Stand13 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–3(c)(1)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘the National Security Agency,’’. 

15 SEC. 412. UNITED STATES–ISRAELI COOPERATION. 

16 It is the Sense of Congress that— 

17 (1) partnerships that facilitate basic scientific 

18 research between the United States and Israel ad19 vance technology development, innovation, and com20 mercialization leading to growth in various sectors, 

21 including manufacturing, and creating benefits for 

22 both nations; 

23 (2) joint research and development agreements 

24 carried out through government organizations like 


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1 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

2 support these efforts; 

3 (3) partnerships between the United States and 

4 Israel that further the basic scientific enterprise 

5 should be encouraged; and 

6 (4) the National Institute of Standards and 

7 Technology should continue its role as facilitator of 

8 scientific collaborations between Israel and United 

9 States cities, States, businesses, academic institu10 tions, and scientific foundations. 

11 TITLE V—DEPARTMENT OF 

12 ENERGY SCIENCE 

13 SEC. 501. MISSION. 

14 Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza15 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) MISSION.—The mission of the Office of Science 

18 shall be the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, 

19 and major scientific tools to transform the understanding 

20 of nature and to advance the energy, economic, and na21 tional security of the United States. In support of this 

22 mission, the Director shall carry out programs on basic 

23 energy sciences, advanced scientific computing research, 

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1 ing as provided under subtitle A of title V of the America 

2 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, through activi3 ties focused on— 

4 ‘‘(1) fundamental scientific discoveries through 

5 the study of matter and energy; 

6 ‘‘(2) science in the national interest, includ7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(A) advancing an agenda for American 

9 energy security through research on energy pro10 duction, storage, transmission, efficiency, and 

11 use; and 

12 ‘‘(B) advancing our understanding of the 

13 Earth’s climate through research in atmos14 pheric and environmental sciences; and 

15 ‘‘(3) National Scientific User Facilities to de16 liver the 21st century tools of science, engineering, 

17 and technology and provide the Nation’s researchers 

18 with the most advanced tools of modern science in19 cluding accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light 

20 sources and neutron sources, and facilities for study21 ing materials science. 

22 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT OF

23 ENERGY PROGRAMS.—The Under Secretary for Science 

24 and Energy shall ensure the coordination of Office of 


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1 Science activities and programs with other activities of the 

2 Department.’’. 

3 SEC. 502. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES. 

4 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro5 gram in basic energy sciences, including materials sciences 

6 and engineering, chemical sciences, physical biosciences, 

7 and geosciences, for the purpose of providing the scientific 

8 foundations for new energy technologies. 

9 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the program described 

10 in subsection (a) shall be to support fundamental research 

11 to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and 

12 energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels in 

13 order to provide the foundations for new energy tech14 nologies and to support Department missions in energy, 

15 environment, and national security. 

16 (c) BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES USER FACILITIES.— 

17 The Director shall carry out a subprogram for the develop18 ment, construction, operation, and maintenance of na19 tional user facilities to support the program under this 

20 section. As practicable, these facilities shall serve the 

21 needs of the Department, industry, the academic commu22 nity, and other relevant entities to create and examine new 

23 materials and chemical processes for the purposes of ad24 vancing new energy technologies and improving the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 petitiveness of the United States. These facilities shall in2 clude— 

3 (1) x-ray light sources; 

4 (2) neutron sources; 

5 (3) nanoscale science research centers; and 

6 (4) other facilities the Director considers appro7 priate, consistent with section 209 of the Depart8 ment of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139). 

9 (d) LIGHT SOURCE LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE.— 

10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In support of the sub11 program authorized in subsection (c), the Director 

12 shall establish an initiative to sustain and advance 

13 global leadership of light source user facilities. 

14 (2) LEADERSHIP STRATEGY.—Not later than 9 

15 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

16 biennially thereafter, the Director shall prepare, in 

17 consultation with relevant stakeholders, and submit 

18 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

19 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

20 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

21 light source leadership strategy that— 

22 (A) identifies, prioritizes, and describes 

23 plans for the development, construction, and op24 eration of light sources over the next decade; 


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1 (B) describes plans for optimizing manage2 ment and use of existing light source facilities; 

3 and 

4 (C) assesses the international outlook for 

5 light source user facilities and describes plans 

6 for United States cooperation in such projects. 

7 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEE FEEDBACK AND

8 RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 45 days after 

9 submission of the strategy described in paragraph 

10 (2), the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 

11 shall provide the Director, the Committee on 

12 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

13 Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and 

14 Natural Resources of the Senate a report of the Ad15 visory Committee’s analyses, findings, and rec16 ommendations for improving the strategy, including 

17 a review of the most recent budget request for the 

18 initiative. 

19 (4) PROPOSED BUDGET.—The Director shall 

20 transmit annually to Congress a proposed budget 

21 corresponding to the activities identified in the strat22 egy. 

23 (e) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP24 MENT.—The Director shall carry out research and devel25 opment on advanced accelerator and storage ring techVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 nologies relevant to the development of Basic Energy 

2 Sciences user facilities, in consultation with the Office of 

3 Science’s High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics pro4 grams. 

5 SEC. 503. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH. 

6 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a re7 search, development, and demonstration program to ad8 vance computational and networking capabilities to ana9 lyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena rel10 evant to the development of new energy technologies and 

11 the competitiveness of the United States. 

12 (b) FACILITIES.—The Director, as part of the pro13 gram described in subsection (a), shall develop and main14 tain world-class computing and network facilities for 

15 science and deliver critical research in applied mathe16 matics, computer science, and advanced networking to 

17 support the Department’s missions. 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Department of 

19 Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 

20 (15 U.S.C. 5541) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 

21 through (5) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) CO-DESIGN.—The term ‘co-design’ means 

23 the joint development of application algorithms, 

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1 tectures and operating systems to maximize effective 

2 use of high-end computing systems. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

4 means the Department of Energy. 

5 ‘‘(3) EXASCALE.—The term ‘exascale’ means 

6 computing system performance at or near 10 to the 

7 18th power floating point operations per second. 

8 ‘‘(4) HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEM.—The 

9 term ‘high-end computing system’ means a com10 puting system with performance that substantially 

11 exceeds that of systems that are commonly available 

12 for advanced scientific and engineering applications. 

13 ‘‘(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

14 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 

16 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801). 

17 ‘‘(6) LEADERSHIP SYSTEM.—The term ‘leader18 ship system’ means a high-end computing system 

19 that is among the most advanced in the world in 

20 terms of performance in solving scientific and engi21 neering problems. 

22 ‘‘(7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na23 tional Laboratory’ means any one of the seventeen 

24 laboratories owned by the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

2 the Secretary of Energy. 

3 ‘‘(9) SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

4 ‘software technology’ includes optimal algorithms, 

5 programming environments, tools, languages, and 

6 operating systems for high-end computing systems.’’. 

7 (d) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COM8 PUTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—Sec9 tion 3 of the Department of Energy High-End Computing 

10 Revitalization Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 5542) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro13 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated program 

14 across the Department’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para16 graph (1); 

17 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

18 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) partner with universities, National Labora22 tories, and industry to ensure the broadest possible 

23 application of the technology developed in this pro24 gram to other challenges in science, engineering, 

25 medicine, and industry.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘vector’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘architectures’’ and in3 serting ‘‘computer technologies that show promise of 

4 substantial reductions in power requirements and 

5 substantial gains in parallelism of multicore proc6 essors, concurrency, memory and storage, band7 width, and reliability’’; and 

8 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(d) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con12 duct a coordinated research program to develop 

13 exascale computing systems to advance the missions 

14 of the Department. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXECUTION.—The Secretary shall, 

16 through competitive merit review, establish two or 

17 more National Laboratory-industry-university part18 nerships to conduct integrated research, develop19 ment, and engineering of multiple exascale architec20 tures, and— 

21 ‘‘(A) conduct mission-related co-design ac22 tivities in developing such exascale platforms; 

23 ‘‘(B) develop those advancements in hard24 ware and software technology required to fully 

25 realize the potential of an exascale production 


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1 system in addressing Department target appli2 cations and solving scientific problems involving 

3 predictive modeling and simulation and large4 scale data analytics and management; and 

5 ‘‘(C) explore the use of exascale computing 

6 technologies to advance a broad range of 

7 science and engineering. 

8 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out this 

9 program, the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) provide, on a competitive, merit-re11 viewed basis, access for researchers in United 

12 States industry, institutions of higher edu13 cation, National Laboratories, and other Fed14 eral agencies to these exascale systems, as ap15 propriate; and 

16 ‘‘(B) conduct outreach programs to in17 crease the readiness for the use of such plat18 forms by domestic industries, including manu19 facturers. 

20 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) INTEGRATED STRATEGY AND PRO22 GRAM MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 

23 shall submit to Congress, not later than 90 

24 days after the date of enactment of the America 

25 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, a 


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1 report outlining an integrated strategy and pro2 gram management plan, including target dates 

3 for prototypical and production exascale plat4 forms, interim milestones to reaching these tar5 gets, functional requirements, roles and respon6 sibilities of National Laboratories and industry, 

7 acquisition strategy, and estimated resources 

8 required, to achieve this exascale system capa9 bility. The report shall include the Secretary’s 

10 plan for Departmental organization to manage 

11 and execute the Exascale Computing Program, 

12 including definition of the roles and responsibil13 ities within the Department to ensure an inte14 grated program across the Department. The re15 port shall also include a plan for ensuring bal16 ance and prioritizing across ASCR subprograms 

17 in a flat or slow-growth budget environment. 

18 ‘‘(B) STATUS REPORTS.—At the time of 

19 the budget submission of the Department for 

20 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a 

21 report to Congress that describes the status of 

22 milestones and costs in achieving the objectives 

23 of the exascale computing program. 

24 ‘‘(C) EXASCALE MERIT REPORT.—At least 

25 18 months prior to the initiation of construction 


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1 or installation of any exascale-class computing 

2 facility, the Secretary shall transmit a plan to 

3 the Congress detailing— 

4 ‘‘(i) the proposed facility’s cost projec5 tions and capabilities to significantly accel6 erate the development of new energy tech7 nologies; 

8 ‘‘(ii) technical risks and challenges 

9 that must be overcome to achieve success10 ful completion and operation of the facility; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iii) an independent assessment of 

13 the scientific and technological advances 

14 expected from such a facility relative to 

15 those expected from a comparable invest16 ment in expanded research and applica17 tions at terascale-class and petascale-class 

18 computing facilities, including an evalua19 tion of where investments should be made 

20 in the system software and algorithms to 

21 enable these advances.’’. 

22 SEC. 504. HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS. 

23 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a re24 search program on the fundamental constituents of matter 

25 and energy and the nature of space and time. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

2 Congress that— 

3 (1) the Director should incorporate the findings 

4 and recommendations of the Particle Physics Project 

5 Prioritization Panel’s report entitled ‘‘Building for 

6 Discovery: Strategic Plan for U.S. Particle Physics 

7 in the Global Context’’, into the Department’s plan8 ning process as part of the program described in 

9 subsection (a); 

10 (2) the Director should prioritize domestically 

11 hosted research projects that will maintain the 

12 United States position as a global leader in particle 

13 physics and attract the world’s most talented physi14 cists and foreign investment for international col15 laboration; and 

16 (3) the nations that lead in particle physics by 

17 hosting international teams dedicated to a common 

18 scientific goal attract the world’s best talent and in19 spire future generations of physicists and tech20 nologists. 

21 (c) NEUTRINO RESEARCH.—As part of the program 

22 described in subsection (a), the Director shall carry out 

23 research activities on rare decay processes and the nature 

24 of the neutrino, which may include collaborations with the 


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1 National Science Foundation or international collabora2 tions. 

3 (d) DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER RE4 SEARCH.—As part of the program described in subsection 

5 (a), the Director shall carry out research activities on the 

6 nature of dark energy and dark matter, which may include 

7 collaborations with the National Aeronautics and Space 

8 Administration or the National Science Foundation, or 

9 international collaborations. 

10 (e) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP11 MENT.—The Director shall carry out research and devel12 opment in advanced accelerator concepts and technologies, 

13 including laser technologies, to reduce the necessary scope 

14 and cost for the next generation of particle accelerators. 

15 The Director shall ensure access to national laboratory ac16 celerator facilities, infrastructure, and technology for 

17 users and developers of accelerators that advance applica18 tions in energy and the environment, medicine, industry, 

19 national security, and discovery science. 

20 (f) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Direc21 tor, as practicable and in coordination with other appro22 priate Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the ac23 cess of United States researchers to the most advanced 

24 accelerator facilities and research capabilities in the world, 

25 including the Large Hadron Collider. 


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1 SEC. 505. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 

2 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro3 gram of research, development, and demonstration in the 

4 areas of biological systems science and climate and envi5 ronmental science to support the energy and environ6 mental missions of the Department. 

7 (b) PRIORITY RESEARCH.—In carrying out this sec8 tion, the Director shall prioritize fundamental research on 

9 biological systems and genomics science with the greatest 

10 potential to enable scientific discovery. 

11 (c) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 12 months after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

13 shall submit a report to Congress identifying climate 

14 science-related initiatives under this section that overlap 

15 or duplicate initiatives of other Federal agencies and the 

16 extent of such overlap or duplication. 

17 (d) LIMITATION.—The Director shall not approve 

18 new climate science-related initiatives to be carried out 

19 through the Office of Science without making a determina20 tion that such work is unique and not duplicative of work 

21 by other Federal agencies. Not later than 3 months after 

22 receiving the assessment required under subsection (c), 

23 the Director shall cease those climate science-related ini24 tiatives identified in the assessment as overlapping or du25 plicative, unless the Director justifies that such work is 

26 critical to achieving American energy security. 


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1 (e) LOW DOSE RADIATION RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Depart3 ment of Energy Office of Science shall carry out a 

4 research program on low dose radiation. The pur5 pose of the program is to enhance the scientific un6 derstanding of and reduce uncertainties associated 

7 with the effects of exposure to low dose radiation in 

8 order to inform improved risk management methods. 

9 (2) STUDY.—Not later than 60 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

11 enter into an agreement with the National Acad12 emies to conduct a study assessing the current sta13 tus and development of a long-term strategy for low 

14 dose radiation research. Such study shall be com15 pleted not later than 18 months after the date of en16 actment of this Act. The study shall be conducted in 

17 coordination with Federal agencies that perform ion18 izing radiation effects research and shall leverage 

19 the most current studies in this field. Such study 

20 shall— 

21 (A) identify current scientific challenges 

22 for understanding the long-term effects of ion23 izing radiation; 


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1 (B) assess the status of current low dose 

2 radiation research in the United States and 

3 internationally; 

4 (C) formulate overall scientific goals for 

5 the future of low-dose radiation research in the 

6 United States; 

7 (D) recommend a long-term strategic and 

8 prioritized research agenda to address scientific 

9 research goals for overcoming the identified sci10 entific challenges in coordination with other re11 search efforts; 

12 (E) define the essential components of a 

13 research program that would address this re14 search agenda within the universities and the 

15 National Laboratories; and 

16 (F) assess the cost-benefit effectiveness of 

17 such a program. 

18 (3) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 90 days 

19 after the completion of the study performed under 

20 paragraph (2) the Secretary of Energy shall deliver 

21 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

22 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

23 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

24 5-year research plan that responds to the study’s 


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1 findings and recommendations and identifies and 

2 prioritizes research needs. 

3 (4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

4 ‘‘low dose radiation’’ means a radiation dose of less 

5 than 100 millisieverts. 

6 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

7 subsection shall be construed to subject any research 

8 carried out by the Director under the research pro9 gram under this subsection to any limitations de10 scribed in section 977(e) of the Energy Policy Act 

11 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16317(e)). 

12 SEC. 506. FUSION ENERGY. 

13 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a fusion 

14 energy sciences research program to expand the funda15 mental understanding of plasmas and matter at very high 

16 temperatures and densities and to build the scientific 

17 foundation necessary to enable fusion power. 

18 (b) FUSION MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT.—As part of the activities authorized in section 978 

20 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16318)— 

21 (1) the Director, in coordination with the As22 sistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy of the Depart23 ment, shall carry out research and development ac24 tivities to identify, characterize, and demonstrate 


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1 materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, and 

2 heat fluxes expected in a fusion power system; and 

3 (2) the Secretary shall— 

4 (A) provide an assessment of the need for 

5 a facility or facilities that can examine and test 

6 potential fusion and next generation fission ma7 terials and other enabling technologies relevant 

8 to the development of fusion power; and 

9 (B) provide an assessment of whether a 

10 single new facility that substantially addresses 

11 magnetic fusion and next generation fission ma12 terials research needs is feasible, in conjunction 

13 with the expected capabilities of facilities oper14 ational as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 507. NUCLEAR PHYSICS. 

16 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro17 gram of experimental and theoretical research, and sup18 port associated facilities, to discover, explore, and under19 stand all forms of nuclear matter. 

20 (b) ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR

21 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS.—The Director shall carry out 

22 a program for the production of isotopes, including the 

23 development of techniques to produce isotopes, that the 

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1 dustrial, or other purposes. In making this determination, 

2 the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) ensure that, as has been the policy of the 

4 United States since the publication in 1965 of Fed5 eral Register notice 30 Fed. Reg. 3247, isotope pro6 duction activities do not compete with private indus7 try unless critical national interests necessitate the 

8 Federal Government’s involvement; 

9 (2) ensure that activities undertaken pursuant 

10 to this section, to the extent practicable, promote the 

11 growth of a robust domestic isotope production in12 dustry; and 

13 (3) consider any relevant recommendations 

14 made by Federal advisory committees, the National 

15 Academies, and interagency working groups in which 

16 the Department participates. 

17 SEC. 508. SCIENCE LABORATORIES INFRASTRUCTURE PRO18 GRAM. 

19 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro20 gram to improve the safety, efficiency, and mission readi21 ness of infrastructure at Office of Science laboratories. 

22 The program shall include projects to— 

23 (1) renovate or replace space that does not 

24 meet research needs; 


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1 (2) replace facilities that are no longer cost ef2 fective to renovate or operate; 

3 (3) modernize utility systems to prevent failures 

4 and ensure efficiency; 

5 (4) remove excess facilities to allow safe and ef6 ficient operations; and 

7 (5) construct modern facilities to conduct ad8 vanced research in controlled environmental condi9 tions. 

10 (b) APPROACH.—In carrying out this section, the Di11 rector shall utilize all available approaches and mecha12 nisms, including capital line items, minor construction 

13 projects, energy savings performance contracts, utility en14 ergy service contracts, alternative financing, and expense 

15 funding, as appropriate. 

16 SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.—There are authorized to be 

18 appropriated to the Secretary for the Office of Science for 

19 fiscal year 2016 $5,339,800,000, of which— 

20 (1) $1,850,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy 

21 Science; 

22 (2) $788,000,000 shall be for High Energy 

23 Physics; 

24 (3) $550,000,000 shall be for Biological and 

25 Environmental Research; 


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1 (4) $624,700,000 shall be for Nuclear Physics; 

2 (5) $621,000,000 shall be for Advanced Sci3 entific Computing Research; 

4 (6) $488,000,000 shall be for Fusion Energy 

5 Sciences; 

6 (7) $113,600,000 shall be for Science Labora7 tories Infrastructure; 

8 (8) $181,000,000 shall be for Science Program 

9 Direction; 

10 (9) $103,000,000 shall be for Safeguards and 

11 Security; and 

12 (10) $20,500,000 shall be for Workforce Devel13 opment for Teachers and Scientists. 

14 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.—There are authorized to be 

15 appropriated to the Secretary for the Office of Science for 

16 fiscal year 2017 $5,339,800,000, of which— 

17 (1) $1,850,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy 

18 Science; 

19 (2) $788,000,000 shall be for High Energy 

20 Physics; 

21 (3) $550,000,000 shall be for Biological and 

22 Environmental Research; 

23 (4) $624,700,000 shall be for Nuclear Physics; 

24 (5) $621,000,000 shall be for Advanced Sci25 entific Computing Research; 


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1 (6) $488,000,000 shall be for Fusion Energy 

2 Sciences; 

3 (7) $113,600,000 shall be for Science Labora4 tories Infrastructure; 

5 (8) $181,000,000 shall be for Science Program 

6 Direction; 

7 (9) $103,000,000 shall be for Safeguards and 

8 Security; and 

9 (10) $20,500,000 shall be for Workforce Devel10 opment for Teachers and Scientists. 

11 SEC. 510. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title— 

13 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart14 ment of Energy; 

15 (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

16 the Office of Science of the Department; and 

17 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

18 of Energy. 


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1 TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF EN2 ERGY APPLIED RESEARCH 

3 AND DEVELOPMENT 

4 Subtitle A—Crosscutting Research 

5 and Development 

6 SEC. 601. CROSSCUTTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) CROSSCUTTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOP8 MENT.—The Secretary shall, through the Under Secretary 

9 for Science and Energy, utilize the capabilities of the De10 partment to identify strategic opportunities for collabo11 rative research, development, demonstration, and commer12 cial application of innovative science and technologies 

13 for— 

14 (1) advancing the understanding of the energy15 water-land use nexus; 

16 (2) improving energy transmission and distribu17 tion systems security and resiliency; 

18 (3) utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide in elec19 tric power generation; 

20 (4) subsurface technology and engineering; 

21 (5) exascale computing; 

22 (6) cybersecurity; and 

23 (7) critical challenges identified through com24 prehensive energy studies, evaluations, and reviews. 


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1 (b) CROSSCUTTING APPROACHES.—To the maximum 

2 extent practicable, the Secretary shall seek to leverage ex3 isting programs, and consolidate and coordinate activities, 

4 throughout the Department to promote collaboration and 

5 crosscutting approaches within programs. 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS.—The Secretary shall— 

7 (1) prioritize activities that promote the utiliza8 tion of all affordable domestic resources; 

9 (2) develop a rigorous and realistic planning, 

10 evaluation, and technical assessment framework for 

11 setting objective, long-term strategic goals and eval12 uating progress that ensures the integrity and inde13 pendence to insulate planning from political influ14 ence and the flexibility to adapt to market dynamics; 

15 (3) ensure that activities shall be undertaken in 

16 a manner that does not duplicate other activities 

17 within the Department or other Federal Government 

18 activities; and 

19 (4) identify programs that may be more effec20 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 

21 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

22 other stakeholders. 


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1 SEC. 602. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

2 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

3 Section 994 of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

4 16358) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 994. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

6 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall periodically 

8 review all of the science and technology activities of the 

9 Department in a strategic framework that takes into ac10 count the frontiers of science to which the Department 

11 can contribute, the national needs relevant to the Depart12 ment’s statutory missions, and global energy dynamics. 

13 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION ANALYSIS AND PLAN.—As part 

14 of the review under subsection (a), the Secretary shall de15 velop a plan to improve coordination and collaboration in 

16 research, development, demonstration, and commercial ap17 plication activities across Department organizational 

18 boundaries. 

19 ‘‘(c) PLAN CONTENTS.—The plan shall describe— 

20 ‘‘(1) cross-cutting scientific and technical issues 

21 and research questions that span more than one pro22 gram or major office of the Department; 

23 ‘‘(2) how the applied technology programs of 

24 the Department are coordinating their activities, and 

25 addressing those questions; 


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1 ‘‘(3) ways in which the technical interchange 

2 within the Department, particularly between the Of3 fice of Science and the applied technology programs, 

4 can be enhanced, including ways in which the re5 search agendas of the Office of Science and the ap6 plied programs can interact and assist each other; 

7 ‘‘(4) a description of how the Secretary will en8 sure that the Department’s overall research agenda 

9 include, in addition to fundamental, curiosity-driven 

10 research, fundamental research related to topics of 

11 concern to the applied programs, and applications in 

12 Departmental technology programs of research re13 sults generated by fundamental, curiosity-driven re14 search; 

15 ‘‘(5) critical assessments of any ongoing pro16 grams that have experienced sub-par performance or 

17 cost over-runs of 10 percent or more over one or 

18 more years; and 

19 ‘‘(6) activities that may be more effectively left 

20 to the States, industry, nongovernmental organiza21 tions, institutions of higher education, or other 

22 stakeholders. 

23 ‘‘(d) PLAN TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of the America COMPETES 

25 Reauthorization Act of 2015, and every 4 years thereafter, 


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1 the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Science, 

2 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

3 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

4 the Senate the results of the review under subsection (a) 

5 and the coordination plan under subsection (b).’’. 

6 SEC. 603. STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUC7 TURE. 

8 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 993 of the Energy Pol9 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16357) is amended— 

10 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

11 follows: ‘‘STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES AND IN12 FRASTRUCTURE’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2008’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

15 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The item 

16 relating to section 993 in the table of contents of the En17 ergy Policy Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 993. Strategy for facilities and infrastructure.’’. 

18 Subtitle B—Electricity Delivery 

19 and Energy Reliability Research 

20 and Development 

21 SEC. 611. DISTRIBUTED ENERGY AND ELECTRIC ENERGY 

22 SYSTEMS. 

23 Section 921 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

24 U.S.C. 16211) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 921. DISTRIBUTED ENERGY AND ELECTRIC ENERGY 

2 SYSTEMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out 

4 programs of research, development, demonstration, and 

5 commercial application on distributed energy resources 

6 and systems reliability and efficiency, to improve the reli7 ability and efficiency of distributed energy resources and 

8 systems, integrating advanced energy technologies with 

9 grid connectivity, including activities described in this sub10 title. The programs shall address advanced energy tech11 nologies and systems and advanced grid security, resil12 iency, and reliability technologies. 

13 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—To the maximum extent prac14 ticable, the Secretary shall seek to— 

15 ‘‘(1) leverage existing programs; 

16 ‘‘(2) consolidate and coordinate activities 

17 throughout the Department to promote collaboration 

18 and crosscutting approaches; 

19 ‘‘(3) ensure activities are undertaken in a man20 ner that does not duplicate other activities within 

21 the Department or other Federal Government activi22 ties; and 

23 ‘‘(4) identify programs that may be more effec24 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 

25 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

26 other stakeholders.’’. 


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1 SEC. 612. ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION RE2 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

3 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 925 of the Energy Pol4 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16215) is amended— 

5 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

6 follows: ‘‘ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND DIS7 TRIBUTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 

8 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a 

11 comprehensive research, development, and demonstration 

12 program to ensure the reliability, efficiency, and environ13 mental integrity of electrical transmission and distribution 

14 systems, which shall include innovations for— 

15 ‘‘(1) advanced energy delivery technologies, en16 ergy storage technologies, materials, and systems; 

17 ‘‘(2) advanced grid reliability and efficiency 

18 technology development; 

19 ‘‘(3) technologies contributing to significant 

20 load reductions; 

21 ‘‘(4) advanced metering, load management, and 

22 control technologies; 

23 ‘‘(5) technologies to enhance existing grid com24 ponents; 

25 ‘‘(6) the development and use of high-tempera26 ture superconductors to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) enhance the reliability, operational 

2 flexibility, or power-carrying capability of elec3 tric transmission or distribution systems; or 

4 ‘‘(B) increase the efficiency of electric en5 ergy generation, transmission, distribution, or 

6 storage systems; 

7 ‘‘(7) integration of power systems, including 

8 systems to deliver high-quality electric power, elec9 tric power reliability, and combined heat and power; 

10 ‘‘(8) supply of electricity to the power grid by 

11 small scale, distributed, and residential-based power 

12 generators; 

13 ‘‘(9) the development and use of advanced grid 

14 design, operation, and planning tools; and 

15 ‘‘(10) any other infrastructure technologies, as 

16 appropriate.’’; and 

17 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) CONSORTIUM.—The Secretary shall con21 sider implementing the program under this section 

22 using a consortium of participants from industry, in23 stitutions of higher education, and National Labora24 tories. 


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1 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—To the maximum extent 

2 practicable the Secretary shall seek to— 

3 ‘‘(A) leverage existing programs; 

4 ‘‘(B) consolidate and coordinate activities, 

5 throughout the Department to promote collabo6 ration and crosscutting approaches; 

7 ‘‘(C) ensure activities are undertaken in a 

8 manner that does not duplicate other activities 

9 within the Department or other Federal Gov10 ernment activities; and 

11 ‘‘(D) identify programs that may be more 

12 effectively left to the States, industry, non13 governmental organizations, institutions of 

14 higher education, or other stakeholders.’’. 

15 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The item 

16 relating to section 925 in the table of contents of the En17 ergy Policy Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 925. Electric transmission and distribution research and development.’’. 

18 Subtitle C—Nuclear Energy 

19 Research and Development 

20 SEC. 621. OBJECTIVES. 

21 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

22 U.S.C. 16271) is amended— 

23 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct pro2 grams of civilian nuclear energy research, development, 

3 demonstration, and commercial application, including ac4 tivities described in this subtitle. Such programs shall take 

5 into consideration the following objectives: 

6 ‘‘(1) Enhancing nuclear power’s viability as 

7 part of the United States energy portfolio. 

8 ‘‘(2) Reducing used nuclear fuel and nuclear 

9 waste products generated by civilian nuclear energy. 

10 ‘‘(3) Supporting technological advances in areas 

11 that industry by itself is not likely to undertake be12 cause of technical and financial uncertainty. 

13 ‘‘(4) Providing the technical means to reduce 

14 the likelihood of nuclear proliferation. 

15 ‘‘(5) Maintaining a cadre of nuclear scientists 

16 and engineers. 

17 ‘‘(6) Maintaining National Laboratory and uni18 versity nuclear programs, including their infrastruc19 ture. 

20 ‘‘(7) Supporting both individual researchers and 

21 multidisciplinary teams of researchers to pioneer 

22 new approaches in nuclear energy, science, and tech23 nology. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Developing, planning, constructing, acquir2 ing, and operating special equipment and facilities 

3 for the use of researchers. 

4 ‘‘(9) Supporting technology transfer and other 

5 appropriate activities to assist the nuclear energy in6 dustry, and other users of nuclear science and engi7 neering, including activities addressing reliability, 

8 availability, productivity, component aging, safety, 

9 and security of nuclear power plants. 

10 ‘‘(10) Reducing the environmental impact of 

11 nuclear energy-related activities. 

12 ‘‘(11) Researching and developing technologies 

13 and processes to meet Federal and State require14 ments and standards for nuclear power systems.’’; 

15 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (d); and 

16 (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub17 section (b). 

18 SEC. 622. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES STUDY. 

19 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 16271) is further amended by adding at the end 

21 the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES STUDY.—In furtherance 

23 of the program objectives listed in subsection (a) of this 

24 section, the Government Accountability Office shall, within 

25 one year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 


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1 transmit to the Congress a report on the results of a study 

2 on the scientific and technical merit of major Federal and 

3 State requirements and standards, including moratoria, 

4 that delay or impede the further development and com5 mercialization of nuclear power, and how the Department 

6 can assist in overcoming such delays or impediments.’’. 

7 SEC. 623. NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP8 MENT PROGRAMS. 

9 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 16272) is amended by striking subsections (c) 

11 through (e) and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(c) REACTOR CONCEPTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

14 out a program of research, development, demonstra15 tion, and commercial application to advance nuclear 

16 power systems as well as technologies to sustain cur17 rently deployed systems. 

18 ‘‘(2) DESIGNS AND TECHNOLOGIES.—In con19 ducting the program under this subsection, the Sec20 retary shall examine advanced reactor designs and 

21 nuclear technologies, including those that— 

22 ‘‘(A) have higher efficiency, lower cost, and 

23 improved safety compared to reactors in oper24 ation as of the date of enactment of the Amer25 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015; 


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1 ‘‘(B) utilize passive safety features; 

2 ‘‘(C) minimize proliferation risks; 

3 ‘‘(D) substantially reduce production of 

4 high-level waste per unit of output; 

5 ‘‘(E) increase the life and sustainability of 

6 reactor systems currently deployed; 

7 ‘‘(F) use improved instrumentation; 

8 ‘‘(G) are capable of producing large-scale 

9 quantities of hydrogen or process heat; 

10 ‘‘(H) minimize water usage or use alter11 natives to water as a cooling mechanism; or 

12 ‘‘(I) use nuclear energy as part of an inte13 grated energy system. 

14 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—In car15 rying out the program under this subsection, the 

16 Secretary shall seek opportunities to enhance the 

17 progress of the program through international co18 operation through such organizations as the Genera19 tion IV International Forum or any other inter20 national collaboration the Secretary considers appro21 priate. 

22 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—No funds authorized to be 

23 appropriated to carry out the activities described in 

24 this subsection shall be used to fund the activities 

25 authorized under sections 641 through 645.’’. 


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1 SEC. 624. SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM. 

2 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

3 U.S.C. 16272) is further amended by adding at the end 

4 the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(d) SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

7 out a small modular reactor program to promote re8 search, development, demonstration, and commercial 

9 application of small modular reactors, including 

10 through cost-shared projects for commercial applica11 tion of reactor systems designs. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con13 sult with and utilize the expertise of the Secretary 

14 of the Navy in establishing and carrying out such 

15 program. 

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Activities may 

17 also include development of advanced computer mod18 eling and simulation tools, by Federal and non-Fed19 eral entities, which demonstrate and validate new de20 sign capabilities of innovative small modular reactor 

21 designs. 

22 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

23 subsection, the term ‘small modular reactor’ means 

24 a nuclear reactor meeting generally accepted indus25 try standards— 


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1 ‘‘(A) with a rated capacity of less than 300 

2 electrical megawatts; 

3 ‘‘(B) with respect to which most parts can 

4 be factory assembled and shipped as modules to 

5 a reactor plant site for assembly; and 

6 ‘‘(C) that can be constructed and operated 

7 in combination with similar reactors at a single 

8 site.’’. 

9 SEC. 625. FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

10 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 953 of the Energy Pol11 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16273) is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AD13 VANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 

15 (2) by striking subsection (a); 

16 (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

17 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 

18 (4) by inserting before subsection (d), as so re19 designated by paragraph (3) of this subsection, the 

20 following new subsections: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

22 fuel cycle research, development, demonstration, and com23 mercial application program (referred to in this section as 

24 the ‘program’) on fuel cycle options that improve uranium 

25 resource utilization, maximize energy generation, minimize 


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1 nuclear waste creation, improve safety, mitigate risk of 

2 proliferation, and improve waste management in support 

3 of a national strategy for spent nuclear fuel and the reac4 tor concepts research, development, demonstration, and 

5 commercial application program under section 952(c). 

6 ‘‘(b) FUEL CYCLE OPTIONS.—Under this section the 

7 Secretary may consider implementing the following initia8 tives: 

9 ‘‘(1) OPEN CYCLE.—Developing fuels, including 

10 the use of nonuranium materials and alternate 

11 claddings, for use in reactors that increase energy 

12 generation, improve safety performance and mar13 gins, and minimize the amount of nuclear waste pro14 duced in an open fuel cycle. 

15 ‘‘(2) RECYCLE.—Developing advanced recycling 

16 technologies, including advanced reactor concepts to 

17 improve resource utilization, reduce proliferation 

18 risks, and minimize radiotoxicity, decay heat, and 

19 mass and volume of nuclear waste to the greatest 

20 extent possible. 

21 ‘‘(3) ADVANCED STORAGE METHODS.—Devel22 oping advanced storage technologies for both onsite 

23 and long-term storage that substantially prolong the 

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1 stantially improve upon existing nuclear waste stor2 age technologies and methods, including repositories. 

3 ‘‘(4) FAST TEST REACTOR.—Investigating the 

4 potential research benefits of a fast test reactor user 

5 facility to conduct experiments on fuels and mate6 rials related to fuel forms and fuel cycles that will 

7 increase fuel utilization, reduce proliferation risks, 

8 and reduce nuclear waste products. 

9 ‘‘(5) OTHER TECHNOLOGIES.—Developing any 

10 other technology or initiative that the Secretary de11 termines is likely to advance the objectives of the 

12 program. 

13 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL ADVANCED RECYCLING AND

14 CROSSCUTTING ACTIVITIES.—In addition to and in sup15 port of the specific initiatives described in paragraphs (1) 

16 through (5) of subsection (b), the Secretary may support 

17 the following activities: 

18 ‘‘(1) Development and testing of integrated 

19 process flow sheets for advanced nuclear fuel recy20 cling processes. 

21 ‘‘(2) Research to characterize the byproducts 

22 and waste streams resulting from fuel recycling 

23 processes. 

24 ‘‘(3) Research and development on reactor con25 cepts or transmutation technologies that improve reVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 source utilization or reduce the radiotoxicity of waste 

2 streams. 

3 ‘‘(4) Research and development on waste treat4 ment processes and separations technologies, ad5 vanced waste forms, and quantification of prolifera6 tion risks. 

7 ‘‘(5) Identification and evaluation of test and 

8 experimental facilities necessary to successfully im9 plement the advanced fuel cycle initiative. 

10 ‘‘(6) Advancement of fuel cycle-related modeling 

11 and simulation capabilities. 

12 ‘‘(7) Research to understand the behavior of 

13 high-burnup fuels.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

15 to section 953 in the table of contents of the Energy Policy 

16 Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 953. Fuel cycle research and development.’’. 

17 SEC. 626. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En20 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 958. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

24 program to support the integration of activities under25 taken through the reactor concepts research, development, 


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1 demonstration, and commercial application program under 

2 section 952(c) and the fuel cycle research and development 

3 program under section 953, and support crosscutting nu4 clear energy concepts. Activities commenced under this 

5 section shall be concentrated on broadly applicable re6 search and development focus areas. 

7 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities conducted under this 

8 section may include research involving— 

9 ‘‘(1) advanced reactor materials; 

10 ‘‘(2) advanced radiation mitigation methods; 

11 ‘‘(3) advanced proliferation and security risk 

12 assessment methods; 

13 ‘‘(4) advanced sensors and instrumentation; 

14 ‘‘(5) high performance computation modeling, 

15 including multiphysics, multidimensional modeling 

16 simulation for nuclear energy systems, and contin17 ued development of advanced modeling simulation 

18 capabilities through national laboratory, industry, 

19 and university partnerships for operations and safety 

20 performance improvements of light water reactors 

21 for currently deployed and near-term reactors and 

22 for the development of small modular reactors; and 

23 ‘‘(6) any crosscutting technology or trans24 formative concept aimed at establishing substantial 

25 and revolutionary enhancements in the performance 


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1 of future nuclear energy systems that the Secretary 

2 considers relevant and appropriate to the purpose of 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit, as part 

5 of the annual budget submission of the Department, a re6 port on the activities of the program conducted under this 

7 section, which shall include a brief evaluation of each ac8 tivity’s progress.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con10 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by 

11 adding at the end of the items for subtitle E of title IX 

12 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 958. Nuclear energy enabling technologies.’’. 

13 SEC. 627. TECHNICAL STANDARDS COLLABORATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In15 stitute of Standards and Technology shall establish a nu16 clear energy standards committee (in this section referred 

17 to as the ‘‘technical standards committee’’) to facilitate 

18 and support, consistent with the National Technology 

19 Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, the development 

20 or revision of technical standards for new and existing nu21 clear power plants and advanced nuclear technologies. 

22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The technical standards 

24 committee shall include representatives from appro25 priate Federal agencies and the private sector, and 


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1 be open to materially affected organizations involved 

2 in the development or application of nuclear energy3 related standards. 

4 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The technical standards com5 mittee shall be co-chaired by a representative from 

6 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

7 and a representative from a private sector standards 

8 organization. 

9 (c) DUTIES.—The technical standards committee 

10 shall, in cooperation with appropriate Federal agencies— 

11 (1) perform a needs assessment to identify and 

12 evaluate the technical standards that are needed to 

13 support nuclear energy, including those needed to 

14 support new and existing nuclear power plants and 

15 advanced nuclear technologies; 

16 (2) formulate, coordinate, and recommend pri17 orities for the development of new technical stand18 ards and the revision of existing technical standards 

19 to address the needs identified under paragraph (1); 

20 (3) facilitate and support collaboration and co21 operation among standards developers to address the 

22 needs and priorities identified under paragraphs (1) 

23 and (2); 

24 (4) as appropriate, coordinate with other na25 tional, regional, or international efforts on nuclear 


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1 energy-related technical standards in order to avoid 

2 conflict and duplication and to ensure global com3 patibility; and 

4 (5) promote the establishment and maintenance 

5 of a database of nuclear energy-related technical 

6 standards. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To the 

8 extent provided for in advance by appropriations Acts, the 

9 Secretary may transfer to the Director of the National In10 stitute of Standards and Technology not to exceed 

11 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 for the Secretary of Com12 merce to carry out this section from amounts appropriated 

13 for nuclear energy research and development within the 

14 Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies account for the 

15 Department. 

16 SEC. 628. AVAILABLE FACILITIES DATABASE. 

17 The Secretary shall prepare a database of non-Fed18 eral user facilities receiving Federal funds that may be 

19 used for unclassified nuclear energy research. The Sec20 retary shall make this database accessible on the Depart21 ment’s website. 

22 SEC. 629. NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL. 

23 To the extent consistent with the requirements of 

24 current law, the Department shall be responsible for dis25 posal of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel 


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1 generated by reactors under the programs authorized in 

2 this subtitle, or the amendments made by this subtitle. 

3 Subtitle D—Energy Efficiency and 

4 Renewable Energy Research 

5 and Development 

6 SEC. 641. ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 

7 Section 911 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

8 U.S.C. 16191) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 911. ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 

10 ‘‘(a) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall conduct pro11 grams of energy efficiency research, development, dem12 onstration, and commercial application, including activi13 ties described in this subtitle. Such programs shall 

14 prioritize activities that industry by itself is not likely to 

15 undertake because of technical challenges or regulatory 

16 uncertainty, and take into consideration the following ob17 jectives: 

18 ‘‘(1) Increasing energy efficiency. 

19 ‘‘(2) Reducing the cost of energy. 

20 ‘‘(3) Reducing the environmental impact of en21 ergy-related activities. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS.—Programs under this subtitle shall 

23 include research, development, demonstration, and com24 mercial application of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) innovative, affordable technologies to im2 prove the energy efficiency and environmental per3 formance of vehicles, including weight and drag re4 duction technologies, and whole-vehicle design opti5 mization; 

6 ‘‘(2) cost-effective technologies, for new con7 struction and retrofit, to improve the energy effi8 ciency and environmental performance of buildings, 

9 using a whole-buildings approach; 

10 ‘‘(3) advanced technologies to improve the en11 ergy efficiency, environmental performance, and 

12 process efficiency of energy-intensive and waste-in13 tensive industries; and 

14 ‘‘(4) technologies to improve the energy effi15 ciency of appliances and mechanical systems for 

16 buildings in extreme climates, including cogenera17 tion, trigeneration, and polygeneration units.’’. 

18 SEC. 642. NEXT GENERATION LIGHTING INITIATIVE. 

19 Section 912 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 16192) is repealed. 

21 SEC. 643. BUILDING STANDARDS. 

22 Section 914 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

23 U.S.C. 16194) is amended by striking subsection (c). 


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1 SEC. 644. SECONDARY ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY USE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 915 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

4 U.S.C. 16195) is repealed. 

5 SEC. 645. NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 To the extent provided for in advance by appropria8 tions Acts, the Secretary may transfer to the National In9 stitute of Standards and Technology up to $150,000,000 

10 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2015 through 

11 2017 from amounts appropriated for advanced manufac12 turing research and development under this subtitle (and 

13 the amendments made by this subtitle) for the Secretary 

14 of Commerce to carry out the Network for Manufacturing 

15 Innovation Program authorized under section 34 of the 

16 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 278s). 

18 SEC. 646. ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 

19 CENTERS. 

20 Section 917 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

21 U.S.C. 16197) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of para24 graph (2)(B); 

25 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para26 graph (3) and inserting a period; and 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (4); 

2 (2) in subsection (b)— 

3 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

4 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

5 through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re6 spectively; and 

7 (C) by striking paragraph (6); 

8 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds awarded 

11 under this section may be used for the construction of fa12 cilities or the deployment of commercially available tech13 nologies.’’; and 

14 (4) by striking subsection (i). 

15 SEC. 647. RENEWABLE ENERGY. 

16 Section 931 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

17 U.S.C. 16231) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 931. RENEWABLE ENERGY. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall con21 duct programs of renewable energy research, devel22 opment, demonstration, and commercial application, 

23 including activities described in this subtitle. Such 

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1 velopment and take into consideration the following 

2 objectives: 

3 ‘‘(A) Increasing the conversion efficiency of 

4 all forms of renewable energy through improved 

5 technologies. 

6 ‘‘(B) Decreasing the cost of renewable en7 ergy generation and delivery. 

8 ‘‘(C) Promoting the diversity of the energy 

9 supply. 

10 ‘‘(D) Decreasing the dependence of the 

11 United States on foreign mineral resources. 

12 ‘‘(E) Decreasing the environmental impact 

13 of renewable energy-related activities. 

14 ‘‘(F) Increasing the export of renewable 

15 generation technologies from the United States. 

16 ‘‘(2) PROGRAMS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) SOLAR ENERGY.—The Secretary shall 

18 conduct a program of research, development, 

19 demonstration, and commercial application for 

20 solar energy, including innovations in— 

21 ‘‘(i) photovoltaics; 

22 ‘‘(ii) solar heating; 

23 ‘‘(iii) concentrating solar power; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) lighting systems that integrate 

2 sunlight and electrical lighting in com3 plement to each other; and 

4 ‘‘(v) development of technologies that 

5 can be easily integrated into new and exist6 ing buildings. 

7 ‘‘(B) WIND ENERGY.—The Secretary shall 

8 conduct a program of research, development, 

9 demonstration, and commercial application for 

10 wind energy, including innovations in— 

11 ‘‘(i) low speed wind energy; 

12 ‘‘(ii) testing and verification tech13 nologies; 

14 ‘‘(iii) distributed wind energy genera15 tion; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) transformational technologies for 

17 harnessing wind energy. 

18 ‘‘(C) GEOTHERMAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 conduct a program of research, development, 

20 demonstration, and commercial application for 

21 geothermal energy, including technologies for— 

22 ‘‘(i) improving detection of geothermal 

23 resources; 

24 ‘‘(ii) decreasing drilling costs; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) decreasing maintenance costs 

2 through improved materials; 

3 ‘‘(iv) increasing the potential for other 

4 revenue sources, such as mineral produc5 tion; and 

6 ‘‘(v) increasing the understanding of 

7 reservoir life cycle and management. 

8 ‘‘(D) HYDROPOWER.—The Secretary shall 

9 conduct a program of research, development, 

10 demonstration, and commercial application for 

11 technologies that enable the development of new 

12 and incremental hydropower capacity, including: 

13 ‘‘(i) Advanced technologies to enhance 

14 environmental performance and yield 

15 greater energy efficiencies. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Ocean energy, including wave en17 ergy. 

18 ‘‘(E) MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTS.—The 

19 Secretary shall conduct research, development, 

20 demonstration, and commercial application pro21 grams for— 

22 ‘‘(i) the combined use of renewable 

23 energy technologies with one another and 

24 with other energy technologies, including 


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1 the combined use of renewable power and 

2 fossil technologies; 

3 ‘‘(ii) renewable energy technologies for 

4 cogeneration of hydrogen and electricity; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) kinetic hydro turbines. 

7 ‘‘(b) RURAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—In car8 rying out this section, the Secretary, in consultation with 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture, shall give priority to dem10 onstrations that assist in delivering electricity to rural and 

11 remote locations including— 

12 ‘‘(1) advanced renewable power technology, in13 cluding combined use with fossil technologies; 

14 ‘‘(2) biomass; and 

15 ‘‘(3) geothermal energy systems. 

16 ‘‘(c) ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con18 duct analysis and evaluation in support of the re19 newable energy programs under this subtitle. These 

20 activities shall be used to guide budget and program 

21 decisions, and shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) economic and technical analysis of re23 newable energy potential, including resource as24 sessment; 


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1 ‘‘(B) analysis of past program perform2 ance, both in terms of technical advances and 

3 in market introduction of renewable energy; 

4 ‘‘(C) assessment of domestic and inter5 national market drivers, including the impacts 

6 of any Federal, State, or local grants, loans, 

7 loan guarantees, tax incentives, statutory or 

8 regulatory requirements, or other government 

9 initiatives; and 

10 ‘‘(D) any other analysis or evaluation that 

11 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—The Secretary may designate 

13 up to 1 percent of the funds appropriated for car14 rying out this subtitle for analysis and evaluation ac15 tivities under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(3) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—This analysis 

17 and evaluation shall be submitted to the Committee 

18 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

19 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

20 Natural Resources of the Senate at least 30 days be21 fore each annual budget request is submitted to 

22 Congress.’’. 

23 SEC. 648. BIOENERGY PROGRAM. 

24 Section 932 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

25 U.S.C. 16232) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 932. BIOENERGY PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro3 gram of research, development, demonstration, and com4 mercial application for bioenergy, including innovations 

5 in— 

6 ‘‘(1) biopower energy systems; 

7 ‘‘(2) biofuels; 

8 ‘‘(3) bioproducts; 

9 ‘‘(4) integrated biorefineries that may produce 

10 biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts; and 

11 ‘‘(5) cross-cutting research and development in 

12 feedstocks. 

13 ‘‘(b) BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS.—The goals of 

14 the biofuels and bioproducts programs shall be to develop, 

15 in partnership with industry and institutions of higher 

16 education— 

17 ‘‘(1) advanced biochemical and thermochemical 

18 conversion technologies capable of making fuels from 

19 lignocellulosic feedstocks that are price-competitive 

20 with fossil-based fuels and fully compatible with ei21 ther internal combustion engines or fuel cell-powered 

22 vehicles; 

23 ‘‘(2) advanced biotechnology processes capable 

24 of making biofuels and bioproducts with emphasis on 

25 development of biorefinery technologies using en26 zyme-based processing systems; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) other advanced processes that will enable 

2 the development of cost-effective bioproducts, includ3 ing biofuels. 

4 ‘‘(c) RETROFIT TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE DEVELOP5 MENT OF ETHANOL FROM CELLULOSIC MATERIALS.— 

6 The Secretary shall establish a program of research, devel7 opment, demonstration, and commercial application for 

8 technologies and processes to enable biorefineries that ex9 clusively use corn grain or corn starch as a feedstock to 

10 produce ethanol to be retrofitted to accept a range of bio11 mass, including lignocellulosic feedstocks. 

12 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.—None of the funds authorized 

13 for carrying out this section may be used to fund commer14 cial biofuels production for defense purposes in collabora15 tion with the Department of Defense and the Department 

16 of Agriculture. 

17 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) BIOMASS.—The term ‘biomass’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) any organic material grown for the 

20 purpose of being converted to energy; 

21 ‘‘(B) any organic byproduct of agriculture 

22 (including wastes from food production and 

23 processing) that can be converted into energy; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(C) any waste material that can be con2 verted to energy, is segregated from other waste 

3 materials, and is derived from— 

4 ‘‘(i) any of the following forest-related 

5 resources: mill residues, precommercial 

6 thinnings, slash, brush, or otherwise non7 merchantable material; 

8 ‘‘(ii) wood waste materials, including 

9 waste pallets, crates, dunnage, manufac10 turing and construction wood wastes (other 

11 than pressure-treated, chemically treated, 

12 or painted wood wastes), and landscape or 

13 right-of-way tree trimmings, but not in14 cluding municipal solid waste, gas derived 

15 from the biodegradation of municipal solid 

16 waste, or paper that is commonly recycled; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(iii) solids derived from waste water 

19 treatment processes. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK.—The 

21 term ‘lignocellulosic feedstock’ means any portion of 

22 a plant or coproduct from conversion, including 

23 crops, trees, forest residues, and agricultural resi24 dues not specifically grown for food, including from 


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1 barley grain, grapeseed, rice bran, rice hulls, rice 

2 straw, soybean matter, and sugarcane bagasse.’’. 

3 SEC. 649. CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER RESEARCH PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Section 934 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 16234) is repealed. 

7 SEC. 650. RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

8 Section 935 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

9 U.S.C. 16235) and the item relating thereto in the table 

10 of contents of that Act are repealed. 

11 Subtitle E—Fossil Energy Research 

12 and Development 

13 SEC. 661. FOSSIL ENERGY. 

14 Section 961 of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

15 16291) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 961. FOSSIL ENERGY. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out re18 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap19 plication programs in fossil energy, including activities 

20 under this subtitle, with the goal of improving the effi21 ciency, effectiveness, and environmental performance of 

22 fossil energy production, upgrading, conversion, and con23 sumption. Such programs shall take into consideration the 

24 following objectives: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Increasing the energy conversion efficiency 

2 of all forms of fossil energy through improved tech3 nologies. 

4 ‘‘(2) Decreasing the cost of all fossil energy 

5 production, generation, and delivery. 

6 ‘‘(3) Promoting diversity of energy supply. 

7 ‘‘(4) Decreasing the dependence of the United 

8 States on foreign energy supplies. 

9 ‘‘(5) Decreasing the environmental impact of 

10 energy-related activities. 

11 ‘‘(6) Increasing the export of fossil energy-re12 lated equipment, technology, and services from the 

13 United States. 

14 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) USES.—None of the funds authorized for 

16 carrying out this section may be used for Fossil En17 ergy Environmental Restoration. 

18 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

19 Not less than 20 percent of the funds appropriated 

20 for carrying out section 964 of this Act for each fis21 cal year shall be dedicated to research and develop22 ment carried out at institutions of higher education. 

23 ‘‘(3) USE FOR REGULATORY ASSESSMENTS OR

24 DETERMINATIONS.—The results of any research, de25 velopment, demonstration, or commercial application 


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1 projects or activities of the Department may not be 

2 used for regulatory assessments or determinations 

3 by Federal regulatory authorities. 

4 ‘‘(c) ASSESSMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) CONSTRAINTS AGAINST BRINGING RE6 SOURCES TO MARKET.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of the America COMPETES 

8 Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Secretary shall 

9 transmit to Congress an assessment of the technical, 

10 institutional, policy, and regulatory constraints to 

11 bringing new domestic fossil resources to market. 

12 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES.—Not later 

13 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 

14 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, 

15 the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a long-term 

16 assessment of existing and projected technological 

17 capabilities for expanded production from domestic 

18 unconventional oil, gas, and methane reserves.’’. 

19 SEC. 662. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, 

20 AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATION PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 962 of the Energy Policy 

22 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16292) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(12) specific additional programs to address 

5 water use and reuse; 

6 ‘‘(13) the testing, including the construction of 

7 testing facilities, of high temperature materials for 

8 use in advanced systems for combustion or use of 

9 coal; and 

10 ‘‘(14) innovations to application of existing coal 

11 conversion systems designed to increase efficiency of 

12 conversion, flexibility of operation, and other modi13 fications to address existing usage requirements.’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

15 as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(b) TRANSFORMATIONAL COAL TECHNOLOGY PRO19 GRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program es21 tablished under subsection (a), the Secretary may 

22 carry out a program designed to undertake research, 

23 development, demonstration, and commercial appli24 cation of technologies, including the accelerated de25 velopment of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) chemical looping technology; 

2 ‘‘(B) supercritical carbon dioxide power 

3 generation cycles; 

4 ‘‘(C) pressurized oxycombustion, including 

5 new and retrofit technologies; and 

6 ‘‘(D) other technologies that are character7 ized by the use of— 

8 ‘‘(i) alternative energy cycles; 

9 ‘‘(ii) thermionic devices using waste 

10 heat; 

11 ‘‘(iii) fuel cells; 

12 ‘‘(iv) replacement of chemical proc13 esses with biotechnology; 

14 ‘‘(v) nanotechnology; 

15 ‘‘(vi) new materials in applications 

16 (other than extending cycles to higher tem17 perature and pressure), such as mem18 branes or ceramics; 

19 ‘‘(vii) carbon utilization, such as in 

20 construction materials, using low quality 

21 energy to reconvert back to a fuel, or man22 ufactured food; 

23 ‘‘(viii) advanced gas separation con24 cepts; and 

25 ‘‘(ix) other technologies, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) modular, manufactured com2 ponents; and 

3 ‘‘(II) innovative production or re4 search techniques, such as using 3-D 

5 printer systems, for the production of 

6 early research and development proto7 types. 

8 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—In carrying out the pro9 gram described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

10 enter into partnerships with private entities to share 

11 the costs of carrying out the program. The Secretary 

12 may reduce the non-Federal cost share requirement 

13 if the Secretary determines that the reduction is nec14 essary and appropriate considering the technological 

15 risks involved in the project.’’; and 

16 (4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated) by 

17 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out programs 

19 authorized by this section, the Secretary shall iden20 tify cost and performance goals for coal-based tech21 nologies that would permit the continued cost-com22 petitive use of coal for the production of electricity, 

23 chemical feedstocks, transportation fuels, and other 

24 marketable products.’’. 


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1 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE; AUTHORIZATION OF AP2 PROPRIATIONS.—Section 963 of the Energy Policy Act of 

3 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16293) is amended— 

4 (1) by amending paragraph (6) of subsection 

5 (c) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(6) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), the Secretary shall establish an advi9 sory committee to undertake, not less fre10 quently than once every 3 years, a review and 

11 prepare a report on the progress being made by 

12 the Department of Energy to achieve the goals 

13 described in subsections (a) and (b) of section 

14 962 and subsection (b) of this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 Members of the advisory committee established 

17 under subparagraph (A) shall be appointed by 

18 the Secretary.’’; and 

19 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(d) STUDY OF CARBON DIOXIDE PIPELINES.—Not 

22 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Amer23 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Sec24 retary shall transmit to Congress the results of a study 

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1 ting, building, maintaining, regulating, and insuring a na2 tional system of carbon dioxide pipelines.’’. 

3 SEC. 663. HIGH EFFICIENCY GAS TURBINES RESEARCH AND 

4 DEVELOPMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the Office 

6 of Fossil Energy, shall carry out a multiyear, multiphase 

7 program of research, development, demonstration, and 

8 commercial application to innovate technologies to maxi9 mize the efficiency of gas turbines used in power genera10 tion systems. 

11 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program under this 

12 section shall— 

13 (1) support innovative engineering and detailed 

14 gas turbine design for megawatt-scale and utility15 scale electric power generation, including— 

16 (A) high temperature materials, including 

17 superalloys, coatings, and ceramics; 

18 (B) improved heat transfer capability; 

19 (C) manufacturing technology required to 

20 construct complex three-dimensional geometry 

21 parts with improved aerodynamic capability; 

22 (D) combustion technology to produce 

23 higher firing temperature while lowering nitro24 gen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions per 

25 unit of output; 


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1 (E) advanced controls and systems integra2 tion; 

3 (F) advanced high performance compressor 

4 technology; and 

5 (G) validation facilities for the testing of 

6 components and subsystems; 

7 (2) include technology demonstration through 

8 component testing, subscale testing, and full scale 

9 testing in existing fleets; 

10 (3) include field demonstrations of the devel11 oped technology elements so as to demonstrate tech12 nical and economic feasibility; and 

13 (4) assess overall combined cycle and simple 

14 cycle system performance. 

15 (c) PROGRAM GOALS.—The goals of the multiphase 

16 program established under subsection (a) shall be— 

17 (1) in phase I— 

18 (A) to develop the conceptual design of ad19 vanced high efficiency gas turbines that can 

20 achieve at least 62 percent combined cycle effi21 ciency or 47 percent simple cycle efficiency on 

22 a lower heating value basis; and 

23 (B) to develop and demonstrate the tech24 nology required for advanced high efficiency gas 

25 turbines that can achieve at least 62 percent 


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1 combined cycle efficiency or 47 percent simple 

2 cycle efficiency on a lower heating value basis; 

3 and 

4 (2) in phase II, to develop the conceptual de5 sign for advanced high efficiency gas turbines that 

6 can achieve at least 65 percent combined cycle effi7 ciency or 50 percent simple cycle efficiency on a 

8 lower heating value basis. 

9 (d) PROPOSALS.—Within 180 days after the date of 

10 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit grant and 

11 contract proposals from industry, small businesses, univer12 sities, and other appropriate parties for conducting activi13 ties under this section. In selecting proposals, the Sec14 retary shall emphasize— 

15 (1) the extent to which the proposal will stimu16 late the creation or increased retention of jobs in the 

17 United States; and 

18 (2) the extent to which the proposal will pro19 mote and enhance United States technology leader20 ship. 

21 (e) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—The provision of fund22 ing under this section shall be on a competitive basis with 

23 an emphasis on technical merit. 


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1 (f) COST SHARING.—Section 988 of the Energy Pol2 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352) shall apply to an award 

3 of financial assistance made under this section. 

4 Subtitle F—Advanced Research 

5 Projects Agency–Energy 

6 SEC. 671. ARPA–E AMENDMENTS. 

7 Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 16538) is amended— 

9 (1) by amending paragraph (1) of subsection 

10 (c) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The goals of ARPA–E 

12 shall be to enhance the economic and energy security 

13 of the United States and to ensure that the United 

14 States maintains a technological lead through the 

15 development of advanced energy technologies.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (i)(1), by inserting ‘‘ARPA–E 

17 shall not provide funding for a project unless the 

18 prospective grantee demonstrates sufficient attempts 

19 to secure private financing as to indicate that the 

20 project is not independently commercially viable.’’ 

21 after ‘‘relevant research agencies.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (l)(1), by inserting ‘‘and once 

23 every 6 years thereafter,’’ after ‘‘operation for 6 

24 years,’’; and 


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1 (4) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub2 section (o) and inserting after subsection (m) the 

3 following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(n) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA5 TION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following categories of 

7 information collected by the Advanced Research 

8 Projects Agency–Energy from recipients of financial 

9 assistance awards shall be considered privileged and 

10 confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant 

11 to section 552 of title 5, United States Code: 

12 ‘‘(A) Plans for commercialization of tech13 nologies developed under the award, including 

14 business plans, technology to market plans, 

15 market studies, and cost and performance mod16 els. 

17 ‘‘(B) Investments provided to an awardee 

18 from third parties, such as venture capital, 

19 hedge fund, or private equity firms, including 

20 amounts and percentage of ownership of the 

21 awardee provided in return for such invest22 ments. 

23 ‘‘(C) Additional financial support that the 

24 awardee plans to invest or has invested into the 


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1 technology developed under the award, or that 

2 the awardee is seeking from third parties. 

3 ‘‘(D) Revenue from the licensing or sale of 

4 new products or services resulting from the re5 search conducted under the award. 

6 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 

7 subsection affects— 

8 ‘‘(A) the authority of the Secretary to use 

9 information without publicly disclosing such in10 formation; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the responsibility of the Secretary to 

12 transmit information to Congress as required 

13 by law.’’. 

14 Subtitle G—Authorization of 

15 Appropriations 

16 SEC. 681. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELI18 ABILITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—There are au19 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for research, 

20 development, demonstration, and commercial application 

21 for electrical delivery and energy reliability technology ac22 tivities within the Office of Electricity $113,000,000 for 

23 each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

24 (b) NUCLEAR ENERGY.— 


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

2 appropriated to the Secretary for research, develop3 ment, demonstration, and commercial application for 

4 nuclear energy technology activities within the Office 

5 of Nuclear Energy $504,600,000 for each of fiscal 

6 years 2016 and 2017. 

7 (2) LIMITATION.—Any amounts made available 

8 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

9 under paragraph (1) shall not be derived from the 

10 Nuclear Waste Fund established under section 

11 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 

12 U.S.C. 10222(c)). 

13 (c) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE EN14 ERGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

15 Secretary for research, development, demonstration, and 

16 commercial application for energy efficiency and renewable 

17 energy technology activities within the Office of Energy 

18 Efficiency and Renewable Energy $1,198,500,000 for 

19 each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

20 (d) FOSSIL ENERGY.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to the Secretary for research, development, 

22 demonstration, and commercial application for fossil en23 ergy technology activities within the Office of Fossil En24 ergy $605,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 


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1 (e) ARPA–E.—There are authorized to be appro2 priated to the Secretary for the Advanced Research 

3 Projects Agency–Energy $140,000,000 for each of fiscal 

4 years 2016 and 2017. 

5 Subtitle H—Definitions 

6 SEC. 691. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart9 ment of Energy; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

11 of Energy. 

12 TITLE VII—DEPARTMENT OF EN13 ERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANS14 FER 

15 Subtitle A—In General 

16 SEC. 701. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this title: 

18 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

19 means the Department of Energy. 

20 (2) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na21 tional Laboratory’’ means a Department of Energy 

22 nonmilitary national laboratory, including— 

23 (A) Ames Laboratory; 

24 (B) Argonne National Laboratory; 

25 (C) Brookhaven National Laboratory; 


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1 (D) Fermi National Accelerator Labora2 tory; 

3 (E) Idaho National Laboratory; 

4 (F) Lawrence Berkeley National Labora5 tory; 

6 (G) National Energy Technology Labora7 tory; 

8 (H) National Renewable Energy Labora9 tory; 

10 (I) Oak Ridge National Laboratory; 

11 (J) Pacific Northwest National Labora12 tory; 

13 (K) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; 

14 (L) Savannah River National Laboratory; 

15 (M) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; 

16 (N) Thomas Jefferson National Accel17 erator Facility; and 

18 (O) any laboratory operated by the Na19 tional Nuclear Security Administration, but 

20 only with respect to the civilian energy activities 

21 thereof. 

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

23 the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 SEC. 702. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

2 Nothing in this title or an amendment made by this 

3 title abrogates or otherwise affects the primary respon4 sibilities of any National Laboratory to the Department. 

5 Subtitle B—Innovation Manage6 ment at Department of Energy 

7 SEC. 711. UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE AND ENERGY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(b) of the Department 

9 of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7132(b)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Under Secretary for Science’’ 

12 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Under Sec13 retary for Science and Energy’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

19 and 

20 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(H) establish appropriate linkages between of23 fices under the jurisdiction of the Under Secretary; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(I) perform such functions and duties as the 

2 Secretary shall prescribe, consistent with this sec3 tion.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) Section 3164(b)(1) of the Department of 

6 Energy Science Education Enhancement Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 7381a(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Under 

8 Secretary for Science’’ and inserting ‘‘Under Sec9 retary for Science and Energy’’. 

10 (2) Section 641(h)(2) of the United States En11 ergy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 (42 

12 U.S.C. 17231(h)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘Under 

13 Secretary for Science’’ and inserting ‘‘Under Sec14 retary for Science and Energy’’. 

15 SEC. 712. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TRANSITIONS AS16 SESSMENT. 

17 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

19 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech20 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

21 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 

22 which shall include— 

23 (1) an assessment of the Department’s current 

24 ability to carry out the goals of section 1001 of the 

25 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391), inVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00177 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 cluding an assessment of the role and effectiveness 

2 of the Director of the Office of Technology Transi3 tions; and 

4 (2) recommended departmental policy changes 

5 and legislative changes to section 1001 of the En6 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391) to im7 prove the Department’s ability to successfully trans8 fer new energy technologies to the private sector. 

9 SEC. 713. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary 

11 should encourage the National Laboratories and federally 

12 funded research and development centers to inform small 

13 businesses of the opportunities and resources that exist 

14 pursuant to this title. 

15 SEC. 714. NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION. 

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Na18 tional Laboratories, relevant Federal agencies, and other 

19 stakeholders, shall transmit to the Committee on Science, 

20 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

22 the Senate a report assessing the Department’s capabili23 ties to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion 

24 and non-light water reactor prototypes and related dem25 onstration facilities at Department-owned sites. For purVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:44 Apr 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.IH H1806

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1 poses of this report, the Secretary shall consider the De2 partment’s capabilities to facilitate privately-funded proto3 types up to 20 megawatts thermal output. The report shall 

4 address the following: 

5 (1) The Department’s safety review and over6 sight capabilities. 

7 (2) Potential sites capable of hosting research, 

8 development, and demonstration of prototype reac9 tors and related facilities for the purpose of reducing 

10 technical risk. 

11 (3) The Department’s and National Labora12 tories’ existing physical and technical capabilities 

13 relevant to research, development, and oversight. 

14 (4) The efficacy of the Department’s available 

15 contractual mechanisms, including cooperative re16 search and development agreements, work for others 

17 agreements, and agreements for commercializing 

18 technology. 

19 (5) Potential cost structures related to physical 

20 security, decommissioning, liability, and other long21 term project costs. 

22 (6) Other challenges or considerations identified 

23 by the Secretary, including issues related to poten24 tial cases of demonstration reactors up to 2 

25 gigawatts of thermal output. 


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1 Subtitle C—Cross-Sector Partner2 ships and Grant Competitive3 ness 

4 SEC. 721. AGREEMENTS FOR COMMERCIALIZING TECH5 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

7 Agreements for Commercializing Technology pilot pro8 gram of the Department, as announced by the Secretary 

9 on December 8, 2011, in accordance with this section. 

10 (b) TERMS.—Each agreement entered into pursuant 

11 to the pilot program referred to in subsection (a) shall 

12 provide to the contractor of the applicable National Lab13 oratory, to the maximum extent determined to be appro14 priate by the Secretary, increased authority to negotiate 

15 contract terms, such as intellectual property rights, pay16 ment structures, performance guarantees, and multiparty 

17 collaborations. 

18 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any director of a National 

20 Laboratory may enter into an agreement pursuant 

21 to the pilot program referred to in subsection (a). 

22 (2) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTI23 TIES.—To carry out paragraph (1) and subject to 

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1 ments with a non-Federal entity, including a non2 Federal entity already receiving Federal funding 

3 that will be used to support activities under agree4 ments executed pursuant to paragraph (1), provided 

5 that such funding is solely used to carry out the 

6 purposes of the Federal award. 

7 (3) RESTRICTION.—The requirements of chap8 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code (commonly 

9 known as the ‘‘Bayh-Dole Act’’) shall apply if— 

10 (A) the agreement is a funding agreement 

11 (as that term is defined in section 201 of that 

12 title); and 

13 (B) at least 1 of the parties to the funding 

14 agreement is eligible to receive rights under 

15 that chapter. 

16 (d) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—Each affected di17 rector of a National Laboratory shall submit to the Sec18 retary, with respect to each agreement entered into under 

19 this section— 

20 (1) a summary of information relating to the 

21 relevant project; 

22 (2) the total estimated costs of the project; 

23 (3) estimated commencement and completion 

24 dates of the project; and 


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1 (4) other documentation determined to be ap2 propriate by the Secretary. 

3 (e) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require the 

4 contractor of the affected National Laboratory to certify 

5 that each activity carried out under a project for which 

6 an agreement is entered into under this section— 

7 (1) is not in direct competition with the private 

8 sector; and 

9 (2) does not present, or minimizes, any appar10 ent conflict of interest, and avoids or neutralizes any 

11 actual conflict of interest, as a result of the agree12 ment under this section. 

13 (f) EXTENSION.—The pilot program referred to in 

14 subsection (a) shall be extended until October 31, 2017. 

15 (g) REPORTS.— 

16 (1) OVERALL ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 

17 days after the date described in subsection (f), the 

18 Secretary, in coordination with directors of the Na19 tional Laboratories, shall submit to the Committee 

20 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

21 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

22 Natural Resources of the Senate a report that— 

23 (A) assesses the overall effectiveness of the 

24 pilot program referred to in subsection (a); 


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1 (B) identifies opportunities to improve the 

2 effectiveness of the pilot program; 

3 (C) assesses the potential for program ac4 tivities to interfere with the responsibilities of 

5 the National Laboratories to the Department; 

6 and 

7 (D) provides a recommendation regarding 

8 the future of the pilot program. 

9 (2) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, in coordi10 nation with directors of the National Laboratories, 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

12 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

13 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

14 the Senate an annual report that accounts for all 

15 incidences of, and provides a justification for, non16 Federal entities using funds derived from a Federal 

17 contract or award to carry out agreements pursuant 

18 to this section. 

19 SEC. 722. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR COMMER20 CIALIZATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 

22 the Secretary shall delegate to directors of the National 

23 Laboratories signature authority with respect to any 

24 agreement described in subsection (b) the total cost of 


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1 which (including the National Laboratory contributions 

2 and project recipient cost share) is less than $1,000,000. 

3 (b) AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a) applies to— 

4 (1) a cooperative research and development 

5 agreement; 

6 (2) a non-Federal work-for-others agreement; 

7 and 

8 (3) any other agreement determined to be ap9 propriate by the Secretary, in collaboration with the 

10 directors of the National Laboratories. 

11 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 (1) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The director of the af13 fected National Laboratory and the affected con14 tractor shall carry out an agreement under this sec15 tion in accordance with applicable policies of the De16 partment, including by ensuring that the agreement 

17 does not compromise any national security, eco18 nomic, or environmental interest of the United 

19 States. 

20 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The director of the af21 fected National Laboratory and the affected con22 tractor shall certify that each activity carried out 

23 under a project for which an agreement is entered 

24 into under this section does not present, or mini25 mizes, any apparent conflict of interest, and avoids 


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1 or neutralizes any actual conflict of interest, as a re2 sult of the agreement under this section. 

3 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—On entering 

4 an agreement under this section, the director of a 

5 National Laboratory shall submit to the Secretary 

6 for monitoring and review all records of the National 

7 Laboratory relating to the agreement. 

8 (4) RATES.—The director of a National Lab9 oratory may charge higher rates for services per10 formed under a partnership agreement entered into 

11 pursuant to this section, regardless of the full cost 

12 of recovery, if such funds are used exclusively to 

13 support further research and development activities 

14 at the respective National Laboratory. 

15 (d) EXCEPTION.—This section does not apply to any 

16 agreement with a majority foreign-owned company. 

17 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 12 of the 

18 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

19 U.S.C. 3710a) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

22 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

23 and indenting the subparagraphs appropriately; 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘Each Federal agency’’ 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), each Federal agency’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

5 (1), in accordance with section 722(a) of the Amer6 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, ap7 proval by the Secretary of Energy shall not be re8 quired for any technology transfer agreement pro9 posed to be entered into by a National Laboratory 

10 of the Department of Energy, the total cost of which 

11 (including the National Laboratory contributions 

12 and project recipient cost share) is less than 

13 $1,000,000.’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subsection 

15 (a)(1)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub16 section (a)(1)(A)’’. 

17 SEC. 723. INCLUSION OF EARLY-STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEM18 ONSTRATION IN AUTHORIZED TECHNOLOGY 

19 TRANSFER ACTIVITIES. 

20 Section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

21 U.S.C. 16391) is amended by— 

22 (1) redesignating subsection (g) as subsection 

23 (h); and 

24 (2) inserting after subsection (f) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(g) EARLY-STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRA2 TION.—The Secretary shall permit the directors of the Na3 tional Laboratories to use funds authorized to support 

4 technology transfer within the Department to carry out 

5 early-stage and pre-commercial technology demonstration 

6 activities to remove technology barriers that limit private 

7 sector interest and demonstrate potential commercial ap8 plications of any research and technologies arising from 

9 National Laboratory activities.’’. 

10 SEC. 724. FUNDING COMPETITIVENESS FOR INSTITUTIONS 

11 OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND OTHER NON12 PROFIT INSTITUTIONS. 

13 Section 988(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

14 U.S.C. 16352(b)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Except as 

16 provided in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and 

18 (4)’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH21 ER EDUCATION AND OTHER NONPROFIT INSTITU22 TIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

24 not apply to a research or development activity 

25 performed by an institution of higher education 


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1 or nonprofit institution (as defined in section 4 

2 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

3 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703)). 

4 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION DATE.—The exemp5 tion under subparagraph (A) shall apply during 

6 the 6-year period beginning on the date of en7 actment of this paragraph.’’. 

8 SEC. 725. PARTICIPATION IN THE INNOVATION CORPS PRO9 GRAM. 

10 The Secretary may enter into an agreement with the 

11 Director of the National Science Foundation to enable re12 searchers funded by the Department to participate in the 

13 National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program. 

14 Subtitle D—Assessment of Impact 

15 SEC. 731. REPORT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF16 FICE. 

17 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

19 shall submit to Congress a report— 

20 (1) describing the results of the projects devel21 oped under sections 721, 722, and 723, including in22 formation regarding— 

23 (A) partnerships initiated as a result of 

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1 tional priorities and other taxpayer-funded re2 search; and 

3 (B) whether the activities carried out 

4 under those projects result in— 

5 (i) fiscal savings; 

6 (ii) expansion of National Laboratory 

7 capabilities; 

8 (iii) increased efficiency of technology 

9 transfers; or 

10 (iv) an increase in general efficiency 

11 of the National Laboratory system; and 

12 (2) assess the scale, scope, efficacy, and impact 

13 of the Department’s efforts to promote technology 

14 transfer and private sector engagement at the Na15 tional Laboratories, and make recommendations on 

16 how the Department can improve these activities. 

Æ 


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