IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1806 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

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. 

Sec. 126. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. 

Sec. 127. Hispanic Opportunity Program in Education and Science. 

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 


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Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 302. Regulatory efficiency. 

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. Domestic manufacturing. 

Sec. 510. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 511. 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. 

Sec. 604. Energy Innovation Hubs. 

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. 


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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. 

Sec. 626. Nuclear energy enabling technologies program. 

Sec. 627. Technical standards collaboration. 

Sec. 628. Available facilities database. 

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. Coal 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. 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. 


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

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. 

TITLE VIII—SENSE OF CONGRESS 

Sec. 801. Sense of Congress. 

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. 


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1 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

2 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) $6,186,300,000 shall be made avail4 able to carry out research and related activities, 

5 including— 

6 (i) $823,000,000 for the Biological 

7 Science Directorate; 

8 (ii) $1,038,000,000 for the Computer 

9 and Information Science and Engineering 

10 Directorate; 

11 (iii) $1,010,000,000 for the Engineer12 ing Directorate; 

13 (iv) $1,200,000,000 for the Geo14 sciences Directorate; 

15 (v) $1,500,000,000 for the Mathe16 matical and Physical Science Directorate; 

17 (vi) $150,000,000 for the Social, Be18 havioral, and Economics Directorate, of 

19 which $50,000,000 shall be for the Na20 tional Center for Science and Engineering 

21 Statistics; 

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

23 International Science and Engineering; 

24 (viii) $425,300,000 for Integrative 

25 Activities; and 


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

2 Arctic Commission; 

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

4 for education and human resources; 

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

6 for major research equipment and facilities con7 struction; 

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

9 for agency operations and award management; 

10 (E) $4,370,000 shall be made available for 

11 the Office of the National Science Board; and 

12 (F) $15,160,000 shall be made available 

13 for the Office of Inspector General. 

14 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

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

17 fiscal year 2017. 

18 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

19 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) $6,186,300,000 shall be made avail21 able to carry out research and related activities, 

22 including— 

23 (i) $823,000,000 for the Biological 

24 Science Directorate; 


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1 (ii) $1,038,000,000 for the Computer 

2 and Information Science and Engineering 

3 Directorate; 

4 (iii) $1,010,000,000 for the Engineer5 ing Directorate; 

6 (iv) $1,200,000,000 for the Geo7 sciences Directorate; 

8 (v) $1,500,000,000 for the Mathe9 matical and Physical Science Directorate; 

10 (vi) $150,000,000 for the Social, Be11 havioral, and Economics Directorate, of 

12 which $50,000,000 shall be for the Na13 tional Center for Science and Engineering 

14 Statistics; 

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

16 International Science and Engineering; 

17 (viii) $425,300,000 for Integrative 

18 Activities; and 

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

20 Arctic Commission; 

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

22 for education and human resources; 

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

24 for major research equipment and facilities con25 struction; 


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

2 for agency operations and award management; 

3 (E) $4,370,000 shall be made available for 

4 the Office of the National Science Board; and 

5 (F) $15,160,000 shall be made available 

6 for the Office of Inspector General. 

7 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Taxpayer-supported research investments 

10 administered by the Foundation should serve the na11 tional interest. 

12 (2) The Foundation has made major contribu13 tions for more than 60 years to strengthen and sus14 tain the Nation’s academic research enterprise. 

15 (3) The economic strength and national security 

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

17 Americans, are grounded in the Nation’s scientific 

18 and technological capabilities. 

19 (4) Providing support for basic research is an 

20 investment in our Nation’s future security and eco21 nomic prosperity. 

22 (5) Congress applauds the Foundation’s rec23 ognition that wise stewardship of taxpayer dollars is 

24 necessary to maintain and ensure the public’s trust 


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1 for funding of fundamental scientific and engineer2 ing research. 

3 (6) Other nations are increasing their public in4 vestments in basic research in the physical sciences 

5 in order to boost long-term economic growth. 

6 (7) Longstanding United States leadership in 

7 supercomputing, genomics, nanoscience, photonics, 

8 quantum physics, and other key technological areas 

9 is jeopardized if United States investments in basic 

10 research in the natural sciences do not keep pace. 

11 (8) Redundant regulations and reporting re12 quirements imposed by Federal agencies on research 

13 institutions and researchers increase costs by tens of 

14 millions of dollars annually. 

15 (9) The Foundation carries out important func16 tions by supporting basic research in all science and 

17 engineering disciplines and in supporting STEM 

18 education at all levels. 

19 (10) The research and education activities of 

20 the Foundation promote the discovery, integration, 

21 dissemination, and application of new knowledge in 

22 service to society and prepare future generations of 

23 scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who will 

24 be necessary to ensure America’s leadership in the 

25 global marketplace. 


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1 (11) Many of the complex problems and chal2 lenges facing the Nation increasingly require the col3 laboration of multiple scientific disciplines. The 

4 Foundation should continue to emphasize cross-di5 rectorate research collaboration and activities to ad6 dress these issues and encourage interdisciplinary re7 search. 

8 (12) The Foundation should meet the highest 

9 standards of efficiency, transparency, and account10 ability in its stewardship of public funds. 

11 (13) The Foundation is charged with the re12 sponsibilities— 

13 (A) to develop and encourage the pursuit 

14 of a national policy for the promotion of basic 

15 research and education in the sciences; 

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

17 scientific research and to appraise the impact of 

18 research on industrial development and the gen19 eral welfare; 

20 (C) to initiate, support, and conduct sci21 entific research activities in connection with 

22 matters relating to the national defense, at the 

23 request of the Secretary of Defense; 

24 (D) to award scholarships and graduate 

25 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 policies for developing and 

11 managing 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. 

16 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

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

18 submit to Congress the results of a study and a re19 port reforming the Foundation’s policies on financial 

20 management of major multi-user research facilities, 

21 including a description of any aspects of the policies 

22 that diverge from the best practices recommended in 

23 Government Accountability Office Report GAO–09– 

24 3SP and the Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR Part 200. 

25 (3) MANAGEMENT FEES.— 


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

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

3 award made by the Foundation for the purpose 

4 of covering ordinary and necessary business ex5 penses necessary to maintain operational sta6 bility which are not otherwise allowable under 

7 Cost Principles Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR 

8 part 200, Subpart E, or any successor regula9 tion thereto. 

10 (B) LIMITATION.—The Foundation may 

11 provide management fees under an award only 

12 if the awardee has demonstrated that it has 

13 limited or no other financial resources available 

14 for covering the expenses for which the manage15 ment fees are sought. 

16 (C) FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—The 

17 Foundation shall require award applicants to 

18 provide income and financial information cov19 ering a period of no less than 3 prior years (or 

20 in the case of an entity established less than 3 

21 years prior to the entity’s application date, the 

22 period beginning on the date of establishment 

23 and ending on the application date), including 

24 cash on hand and net asset information, in sup25 port of a request for management fees. The 


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1 Foundation shall also require awardees seeking 

2 subsequent management fees to report to the 

3 Foundation, prior to the consideration of such 

4 a request, any sources of non-Federal funds re5 ceived in excess of $100,000. This reporting 

6 shall apply to the period following any initial 

7 management fee award and for the consider8 ation of any subsequent fee. 

9 (D) EXPENSE REPORTING.—The Founda10 tion shall require awardees to track and report 

11 to the Foundation annually all expenses reim12 bursed or otherwise paid for with management 

13 fee funds, in accordance with Federal account14 ing practices as established in Government Ac15 countability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or 

16 any successor report thereto. 

17 (E) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of 

18 the Foundation may audit or review any Foun19 dation award for compliance with this sub20 section. 

21 (F) PROHIBITED USES.—An awardee may 

22 not use management fees for— 

23 (i) costs allowable under Cost Prin24 ciples Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR part 


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1 200, Subpart E, or any successor regula2 tion thereto; 

3 (ii) alcoholic beverages; 

4 (iii) tickets to concerts, or sporting 

5 and other entertainment events; 

6 (iv) vacation or other travel for non7 business purposes; 

8 (v) charitable contributions; 

9 (vi) social or sporting club member10 ships; 

11 (vii) meals or social activities for non12 business purposes; 

13 (viii) luxury or personal items; 

14 (ix) lobbying, as described in the Uni15 form Guidance at 2 CFR 200.450 or FAR 

16 31.205–22; or 

17 (x) any other purpose the Foundation 

18 determines is inappropriate. 

19 (G) REVIEW.—The Foundation shall re20 view management fee usage under each Foun21 dation award on at least an annual basis for 

22 compliance with this paragraph and the Foun23 dation’s Large Facilities Manual. 

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

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


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1 submit to Congress a report describing the Founda2 tion’s policies for developing and managing major 

3 multi-user research facility construction costs, in4 cluding a description of any aspects of the policies 

5 that diverge from the best practices recommended in 

6 Government Accountability Office Report GAO–09– 

7 3SP, or any successor report thereto, and the Uni8 form Guidance in 2 CFR part 200. 

9 SEC. 109. WHISTLEBLOWER EDUCATION. 

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

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

12 (b) EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—The Foundation 

13 shall provide education and training for Foundation man14 agers and staff on the requirements of such section 4712, 

15 and provide information on the law to all grantees, con16 tractors, and employees of such grantees and contractors. 

17 SEC. 110. GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT. 

18 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that the essential elements of the NSF Research 

20 Traineeship Program, formerly the Integrative Graduate 

21 Education and Research Traineeship program, (or any 

22 successor thereto) should be maintained, including— 

23 (1) collaborative research that transcends tradi24 tional disciplinary boundaries to solve large and 


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1 complex research problems of significant scientific 

2 and societal importance; and 

3 (2) providing students the opportunity to be4 come leaders in the science and engineering of the 

5 future. 

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

7 enter into an agreement with the National Research Coun8 cil to convene a workshop or roundtable to examine models 

9 of Federal support for STEM graduate students, includ10 ing the Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship pro11 gram and comparable fellowship programs at other agen12 cies, traineeship programs, and the research assistant 

13 model. 

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

15 roundtable shall be to compare and evaluate the extent 

16 to which each of these models helps to prepare graduate 

17 students for diverse careers utilizing STEM degrees, in18 cluding at diverse types of institutions of higher education, 

19 in industry, and at government agencies and research lab20 oratories, and to make recommendations regarding— 

21 (1) how current Federal programs and models, 

22 including programs and models at the Foundation, 

23 can be improved; 


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1 (2) the appropriateness of the current distribu2 tion of funding among the different models at the 

3 Foundation and across the agencies; and 

4 (3) the appropriateness of creating a new edu5 cation and training program for graduate students 

6 distinct from programs that provide direct financial 

7 support, including the grants authorized in section 

8 527 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization 

9 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–15). 

10 (d) CRITERIA.—At a minimum, in comparing pro11 grams and models, the workshop or roundtable partici12 pants shall consider the capacity of such programs or 

13 models to provide students with knowledge and skills— 

14 (1) to become independent, creative, successful 

15 researchers; 

16 (2) to participate in large interdisciplinary re17 search projects, including in an international con18 text; 

19 (3) to adhere to the highest standards for re20 search ethics; 

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

22 most currently available evidence-based pedagogy; 

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

24 technical and nontechnical audiences; 


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1 (6) in innovation, entrepreneurship, and busi2 ness ethics; and 

3 (7) in program management. 

4 (e) GRADUATE STUDENT INPUT.—The participants 

5 in the workshop or roundtable shall include current or re6 cent STEM graduate students. 

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

8 of enactment of this Act, the National Research Council 

9 shall submit to Congress a summary report of the findings 

10 and recommendations of the workshop or roundtable con11 vened under this section. 

12 SEC. 111. PERMISSIBLE SUPPORT. 

13 A grant made by the Education and Human Re14 sources Directorate to support informal education may be 

15 used— 

16 (1) to support the participation of underrep17 resented students in nonprofit competitions, out-of18 school activities, and field experiences related to 

19 STEM subjects (such as robotics, science research, 

20 invention, mathematics, and technology competi21 tions), including— 

22 (A) the purchase of parts and supplies 

23 needed to participate in such competitions; and 

24 (B) incentives and stipends for teachers 

25 and instructional leaders who are involved in 


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1 assisting students and preparing students for 

2 such competitions, if such activities fall outside 

3 the regular duties and responsibilities of such 

4 teachers and instructional leaders; and 

5 (2) to broaden underrepresented secondary 

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

7 that require academic preparation in STEM sub8 jects. 

9 SEC. 112. EXPANDING STEM OPPORTUNITIES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within the Directorate for Edu11 cation and Human Resources (or any successor thereto), 

12 under existing programs targeting broadening participa13 tion, the Director shall provide grants on a merit-reviewed, 

14 competitive basis for research on programming that en15 gages underrepresented students in grades kindergarten 

16 through 8 in STEM. 

17 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

19 section shall be used for research to advance the en20 gagement of underrepresented students in grades 

21 kindergarten through 8 in STEM through the devel22 opment and implementation of innovative before23 school, after-school, out-of-school, or summer activi24 ties, including programs (if applicable to the target 

25 population) provided in a single-gender environment, 


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1 that are designed to encourage interest, engagement, 

2 and skills development of underrepresented students 

3 in STEM. Such research shall be conducted in learn4 ing environments that actively provide programming 

5 to underrepresented students in grades kindergarten 

6 through 8 in STEM. 

7 (2) PERMITTED ACTIVITIES.—Such activities 

8 may include— 

9 (A) the development and implementation of 

10 programming described in subsection (a) for the 

11 purpose of research; 

12 (B) the use of a variety of engagement 

13 methods, including cooperative and hands-on 

14 learning; 

15 (C) exposure of underrepresented youth to 

16 role models in the fields of STEM, including re17 searchers in the National Laboratories, and 

18 nearpeer mentors; 

19 (D) training of informal learning educators 

20 and youth-serving professionals using evidence21 based methods consistent with the target stu22 dent population being served; 

23 (E) education of students on the relevance 

24 and significance of STEM careers, provision of 

25 academic advice and assistance, and activities 


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1 designed to help students make real-world con2 nections to STEM content activities; 

3 (F) the attendance of underrepresented 

4 youth at events, competitions, and academic 

5 programs to provide content expertise and en6 courage career exposure in STEM; 

7 (G) activities designed to engage parents of 

8 underrepresented youth; 

9 (H) innovative strategies to engage under10 represented youth, such as using leadership 

11 skill outcome measures to encourage youth with 

12 the confidence to pursue STEM coursework and 

13 academic study; 

14 (I) coordination with STEM-rich environ15 ments, including other nonprofit, nongovern16 mental organizations, classroom and out-of17 classroom settings, institutions of higher edu18 cation, vocational facilities, corporations, muse19 ums, National Laboratories, or science centers; 

20 (J) the acquisition of instructional mate21 rials or technology-based tools to conduct appli22 cable grant activity; 

23 (K) efforts to effectively expand, broaden, 

24 or scale-up existing activities or programs; 


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1 (L) creating State and regional workshops 

2 to train K–12 teachers in science and tech3 nology project-based learning to provide instruc4 tion in how to initiate robotics and other STEM 

5 competition team development programs; and 

6 (M) encouraging and supporting efforts led 

7 by institutions of higher education, businesses, 

8 and local public and private educational agen9 cies to establish collaborative efforts to provide 

10 K–12 students residing in areas with unemploy11 ment rates that exceed the national average by 

12 1 percent or more. 

13 (c) APPLICATION.—An applicant seeking funding 

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

15 in such manner, and containing such information as may 

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

17 the following: 

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

19 served by the program. 

20 (2) A description of the process for recruitment 

21 and selection of students, as appropriate. 

22 (3) A description of how such research activity 

23 may inform programming that engages underrep24 resented students in grades kindergarten through 8 

25 in STEM. 


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1 (4) A description of how such research activity 

2 may inform programming that promotes student 

3 academic achievement in STEM. 

4 (5) An evaluation plan that includes, at a min5 imum, the use of outcome-oriented measures to de6 termine the impact and efficacy of activities being 

7 researched. 

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

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

10 purpose of grant activity, include or partner with a non11 profit, nongovernmental organization that has extensive 

12 experience and expertise in increasing the participation of 

13 underrepresented students in STEM. 

14 (e) ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISSEMINATION.— 

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

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

17 Director shall evaluate the grants provided under 

18 this section. In addition to evaluating the effective19 ness of the grant activities, such evaluation shall— 

20 (A) use a common set of benchmarks and 

21 assessment tools to identify best practices and 

22 materials developed or demonstrated by the re23 search; and 

24 (B) to the extent practicable, combine the 

25 research resulting from the grant activity with 


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1 the current research on serving underrep2 resented students in grades kindergarten 

3 through 8. 

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

5 180 days after the completion of the evaluation 

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

7 Congress and make widely available to the public a 

8 report that includes— 

9 (A) the results of the evaluation; and 

10 (B) any recommendations for administra11 tive and legislative action that could optimize 

12 the effectiveness of the program. 

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

14 Director shall consult, cooperate, and coordinate, to en15 hance program effectiveness and to avoid duplication, with 

16 the programs and policies of other relevant Federal agen17 cies. 

18 SEC. 113. REVIEW OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall review the edu20 cation programs of the Foundation that are in operation 

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

22 (1) whether any of such programs duplicate tar23 get groups, services provided, fields of focus, or ob24 jectives; and 


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1 (2) how those programs are being evaluated 

2 and assessed for outcome-oriented effectiveness. 

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

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

5 of the annual budget submission to Congress, the Director 

6 shall complete a report on the review carried out under 

7 this section and shall submit the report to the Committee 

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

9 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and to 

10 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor11 tation, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

12 Pensions, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

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

14 public. 

15 SEC. 114. RECOMPETITION OF AWARDS. 

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

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

18 award proposals is a hallmark of the Foundation 

19 grant and award making process; 

20 (2) the majority of Foundation-funded multi21 user research facilities have transitioned to 5-year 

22 cooperative agreements, and every 5 years the pro23 gram officer responsible for the facility makes a rec24 ommendation to the National Science Board as to 


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1 the renewal, recompetition, or termination of sup2 port for the facility; and 

3 (3) requiring the recompetition of expiring 

4 awards is based on the conviction that competition 

5 is most likely to ensure the effective stewardship of 

6 Foundation funds for supporting research and edu7 cation. 

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

9 the system for recompetition of Maintenance and Oper10 ations of facilities, equipment and instrumentation is fair, 

11 consistent, and transparent and is applied in a manner 

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

13 Director shall periodically evaluate whether the criteria of 

14 the system are being applied in a manner that is trans15 parent, reliable, and valid. 

16 SEC. 115. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING INDUSTRY 

17 INVESTMENT IN STEM EDUCATION. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) in order to bolster the STEM workforce 

20 pipeline, many industry sectors are becoming in21 volved in K–12 initiatives and supporting under22 graduate and graduate work in STEM subject areas 

23 and fields; 

24 (2) partnerships with education providers, 

25 STEM focused competitions, and other opportunities 


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1 have become important aspects of private sector ef2 forts to strengthen the STEM workforce; 

3 (3) understanding the work that private sector 

4 organizations are undertaking in STEM fields 

5 should inform the Federal Government’s role in 

6 STEM education; and 

7 (4) successful private sector STEM initiatives, 

8 as reflected by measurements of relevant outcomes, 

9 should be encouraged and supported by the Founda10 tion. 

11 SEC. 116. MISREPRESENTATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS. 

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

13 any article authored by a principal investigator receiving 

14 a research grant from the Foundation, using the results 

15 of the research conducted under the grant, that is pub16 lished in a peer-reviewed publication, otherwise made pub17 licly available, or incorporated in an application for a re18 search grant or grant extension from the Foundation may 

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

20 established in the Foundation’s Research Misconduct reg21 ulation (45 CFR 689). 

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

23 available any finding that research misconduct (as defined 

24 in 45 CFR 689) has been committed, including the name 


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1 of the principal investigator, within 30 days of the final 

2 administration action of the Foundation. 

3 SEC. 117. RESEARCH REPRODUCIBILITY AND REPLICA4 TION. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

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

8 ability of a researcher or research lab to reproduce 

9 a published method and finding; 

10 (2) there is growing concern that some pub11 lished research findings cannot be reproduced or 

12 replicated, which can negatively affect the public’s 

13 trust in science; 

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

15 reproducibility and replication; and 

16 (4) the increasing interdisciplinary nature and 

17 complexity of scientific research may be a contrib18 uting factor to issues with research reproducibility 

19 and replication. 

20 (b) REPORT.—The Director shall— 

21 (1) not later than 45 days after the date of en22 actment of this Act, enter into an agreement with 

23 the National Research Council to provide, within 18 

24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, a re25 port to assess research and data reproducibility and 


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1 replicability issues in interdisciplinary research and 

2 to make recommendations on how to improve rigor 

3 and transparency in scientific research; and 

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

5 results of the assessment under paragraph (1), sub6 mit a report to the Committee on Science, Space, 

7 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

8 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans9 portation of the Senate on the findings of the assess10 ment, together with the agreement or disagreement 

11 of the Director and Board with each of its findings 

12 and recommendations. 

13 SEC. 118. RESEARCH GRANT CONDITIONS. 

14 The Foundation shall establish procedures to ensure 

15 that— 

16 (1) a research grant awarded by the Founda17 tion to a principal investigator supports a scope of 

18 work not otherwise being directly funded by grants 

19 provided by other Federal agencies; 

20 (2) a principal investigator includes in any ap21 plication for a research grant awarded by the Foun22 dation a list of all Federal research funding received 

23 by the principal investigator, as well as any funding 

24 that is being requested as of that time; 


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1 (3) unpublished research results used to sup2 port a grant proposal made to the Foundation do 

3 not include any knowing misrepresentations of data; 

4 (4) principal investigators who receive Founda5 tion research grant funding under more than one 

6 grant at the same time have sufficient resources to 

7 conduct the proposed research under each of those 

8 grants appropriately under the terms of the grant; 

9 and 

10 (5) barriers to early career and new investigator 

11 applicants are addressed, including taking into ac12 count the broader accomplishments and potential of 

13 the individual investigator in addition to the poten14 tial impact of the project. 

15 SEC. 119. COMPUTING RESOURCES STUDY. 

16 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

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

19 use of scientific computing resources funded by the Foun20 dation at institutions of higher education. Such study shall 

21 assess— 

22 (1) efficiencies that can be achieved by using 

23 shared scientific computing resources for projects 

24 that have similar scientific computing requirements 

25 or projects where specialized software solutions could 


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1 be shared with other practitioners in the scientific 

2 community; 

3 (2) efficiencies that can be achieved by using 

4 shared hardware that can be cost effectively pro5 cured from cloud computing services; 

6 (3) efficiencies that can be achieved by using 

7 shared software from an open source repository or 

8 platform; and 

9 (4) cost savings that could be achieved by po10 tential sharing of scientific computing resources 

11 across all Foundation grants. 

12 SEC. 120. SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH PRIZES. 

13 The Director shall place a high priority on designing 

14 and administering pilot programs for scientific break15 through prizes, in conjunction with private entities, that 

16 are consistent with Office of Science and Technology Pol17 icy guidelines. Breakthrough prizes shall center around 

18 technological breakthroughs that are of strategic impor19 tance to the Nation, and have the capacity to spur new 

20 economic growth. 

21 SEC. 121. ROTATING PERSONNEL. 

22 In order to control the costs to the Foundation of 

23 individuals employed pursuant to the Intergovernmental 

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


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1 (1) the Foundation shall provide to Congress a 

2 written justification and waiver by the Deputy Di3 rector in instances in which such an individual is to 

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

5 pay for the Senior Executive Service, including, if 

6 applicable, adjustment for the certified Senior Exec7 utive Service Performance Appraisal System; 

8 (2) the Foundation shall provide to Congress a 

9 written justification and waiver by the Director in 

10 instances in which such an individual is to be paid 

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

12 Vice President of the United States; and 

13 (3) the Foundation shall provide an annual re14 port to Congress on the costs to the Foundation of 

15 employing such individuals, including— 

16 (A) the timeliness and completeness of 

17 Foundation actions in response to recommenda18 tions and findings from the Office of Inspector 

19 General related to the employment of such indi20 viduals; 

21 (B) actions taken by the Foundation to re22 duce the cost to the Foundation of the employ23 ment of such individuals at pay levels that ex24 ceed the threshold described in paragraph (1); 


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1 (C) the value to the Foundation of employ2 ing individuals pursuant to the Intergovern3 mental Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 

4 note) whose pay is set below the threshold de5 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

6 (D) the value to the Foundation of employ7 ing individuals who are not permanent employ8 ees whose pay requires a justification and waiv9 er under paragraph (1) or (2). 

10 SEC. 122. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INNOVATION 

11 CORPS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) the Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I14 Corps) was established to foster a national innova15 tion ecosystem by encouraging institutions, sci16 entists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to identify and 

17 explore the innovation and commercial potential of 

18 Foundation-funded research well beyond the labora19 tory; 

20 (2) the Foundation’s I-Corps includes invest21 ment in entrepreneurship and commercialization 

22 education, training, and mentoring, ultimately lead23 ing to the practical deployment of technologies, 

24 products, processes, and services that improve the 


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1 Nation’s competitiveness, promote economic growth, 

2 and benefit society; 

3 (3) by building networks of entrepreneurs, edu4 cators, mentors, institutions, and collaborations, and 

5 supporting specialized education and training, I6 Corps is at the leading edge of a strong, lasting 

7 foundation for an American innovation ecosystem; 

8 and 

9 (4) I-Corps should continue to promote a strong 

10 innovation system by investing in and supporting fe11 male entrepreneurs, who are historically underrep12 resented in entrepreneurial fields, through 

13 mentorship, education, and training. 

14 SEC. 123. BRAIN RESEARCH THROUGH ADVANCING INNO15 VATIVE NEUROTECHNOLOGIES INITIATIVE. 

16 The Foundation shall support research activities re17 lated to the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative 

18 Neurotechnologies Initiative. The Foundation is encour19 aged to work in conjunction with the Interagency Working 

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

21 the data infrastructure of the Foundation and other appli22 cable agencies to help neuroscientists collect, standardize, 

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

24 result from research attempting to understand how the 

25 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 SEC. 126. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM7 PETITIVE RESEARCH. 

8 The Foundation shall continue to operate a robust 

9 Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research 

10 (EPSCoR). The EPSCoR program helps ensure that aca11 demic research institutions in more than half the States 

12 develop a strong research infrastructure and participate 

13 fully in federally funded research activities. The program 

14 should be a high priority for the Foundation. 

15 SEC. 127. HISPANIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM IN EDU16 CATION AND SCIENCE. 

17 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Director of the National Science Founda19 tion shall establish the program described in section 7033 

20 of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 1862o–12) 

21 for Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in section 502 

22 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a)). 


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1 TITLE II—SCIENCE, TECH2 NOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 

3 MATHEMATICS 

4 SEC. 201. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

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

7 Science and Engineering Indicators, the science and 

8 engineering workforce has shown sustained growth 

9 for more than half a century, and workers with 

10 science and engineering degrees tend to earn more 

11 than comparable workers in other fields. 

12 (2) According to the Program for International 

13 Student Assessment 2012 results, America lags be14 hind many other nations in STEM education. Amer15 ican students rank 21st in science and 26th in 

16 mathematics. 

17 (3) Junior Achievement USA and ING found a 

18 decrease of 25 percent in the percentage of teenage 

19 students interested in STEM careers. 

20 (4) According to a 2007 report from the De21 partment of Labor, industries and firms dependent 

22 on a strong science and mathematics workforce have 

23 launched a variety of programs that target K–12 

24 students and undergraduate and graduate students 

25 in STEM fields. 


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1 (5) The Federal Government spends nearly $3 

2 billion annually on STEM education related program 

3 and activities, but encouraging STEM education ac4 tivities beyond the scope of the Federal Government, 

5 including privately sponsored competitions and pro6 grams in our schools, is crucial to the future tech7 nical and economic competitiveness of the United 

8 States. 

9 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that— 

11 (1) more effective coordination and adoption of 

12 performance measurement based on objective out13 comes for federally supported STEM programs is 

14 needed; 

15 (2) leveraging private and nonprofit invest16 ments in STEM education will be essential to 

17 strengthening the Federal STEM portfolio; 

18 (3) strengthening the Federal STEM portfolio 

19 may require program consolidations and termi20 nations, but such changes should be based on evi21 dence with stakeholder input; 

22 (4) coordinating STEM programs and activities 

23 across the Federal Government in order to limit du24 plication and engage stakeholders in STEM pro25 grams and related activities for which objective outVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 May 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.RFS H1806

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1 comes can be measured will bolster results of Fed2 eral STEM education programs, improve the return 

3 on taxpayers’ investments in STEM education pro4 grams, and in turn strengthen the United States 

5 economy; and 

6 (5) as the Committee on STEM Education im7 plements the 5-year Strategic Plan for Federal 

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

9 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

10 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621(b)(5)), STEM education 

11 stakeholders must be engaged and outcome-based 

12 evaluation metrics should be considered in the co13 ordination and consolidation efforts for the Federal 

14 STEM portfolio. 

15 SEC. 202. STEM EDUCATION ADVISORY PANEL. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

17 or designate a STEM Education Advisory Panel that in18 corporates key stakeholders from the education and indus19 try sectors. The co-chairs shall be members of the Presi20 dent’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. 

21 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Advisory Panel estab22 lished or designated by the President under subsection (a) 

23 shall consist primarily of members from academic institu24 tions, nonprofit organizations, and industry and shall in25 clude in-school, out-of-school, and informal educational 


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1 practitioners. Members of the Advisory Panel shall be 

2 qualified to provide advice and information on STEM edu3 cation research, development, training, implementation, 

4 interventions, professional development, or workforce 

5 needs or concerns. In selecting or designating an Advisory 

6 Panel, the President may also seek and give consideration 

7 to recommendations from the Congress, industry, the sci8 entific community (including the National Academy of 

9 Sciences, scientific professional societies, and academia), 

10 State and local governments, and other appropriate orga11 nizations. The Advisory Panel shall consist of 15 mem12 bers, with 3 members appointed by the Speaker of the 

13 House of Representatives and 2 members appointed by the 

14 Majority Leader of the Senate. 

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

16 President, the Committee on STEM Education, and the 

17 STEM Education Coordinating Office established under 

18 section 204 on matters relating to STEM education, and 

19 shall each year provide general guidance to every Federal 

20 agency with STEM education programs or activities, in21 cluding in the preparation of requests for appropriations 

22 for activities related to STEM education. The Advisory 

23 Panel shall also assess and develop recommendations 

24 for— 


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1 (1) progress made in implementing the STEM 

2 education Strategic Plan required under section 101 

3 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

4 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621), and any needs or opportuni5 ties to update the strategic plan; 

6 (2) the management, coordination, and imple7 mentation of STEM education programs and activi8 ties across the Federal Government; 

9 (3) the appropriateness of criteria used by Fed10 eral agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of Federal 

11 STEM education programs and activities; 

12 (4) ways to leverage private and nonprofit 

13 STEM investments and encourage public-private 

14 partnerships to strengthen STEM education and 

15 help build the STEM workforce pipeline; 

16 (5) ways to incorporate workforce needs into 

17 Federal STEM education programs, particularly for 

18 specific fields of national interest and areas experi19 encing high unemployment rates; 

20 (6) ways to better vertically and horizontally in21 tegrate Federal STEM programs and activities from 

22 pre-K through graduate study and the workforce, 

23 and from in-school to out-of-school in order to im24 prove transitions for students moving through the 

25 STEM pipeline; 


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1 (7) whether societal and workforce concerns are 

2 adequately addressed by current Federal STEM 

3 education programs and activities; 

4 (8) the extent to which Federal STEM edu5 cation programs and activities are contributing to 

6 recruitment and retention of women and underrep7 resented students in the STEM education and work8 force pipeline; and 

9 (9) ways to encourage geographic diversity in 

10 STEM education and the workforce pipeline. 

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

12 less frequently than once every 3 fiscal years, to the Presi13 dent and Congress on its assessments under subsection 

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

15 STEM education programs. The first report under this 

16 subsection shall be submitted within 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 (e) TRAVEL EXPENSES OF NON-FEDERAL MEM19 BERS.—Non-Federal members of the Advisory Panel, 

20 while attending meetings of the Advisory Panel or while 

21 otherwise serving at the request of the head of the Advi22 sory Panel away from their homes or regular places of 

23 business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

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

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1 ernment serving without pay. Nothing in this subsection 

2 shall be construed to prohibit members of the Advisory 

3 Panel who are officers or employees of the United States 

4 from being allowed travel expenses, including per diem in 

5 lieu of subsistence, in accordance with existing law. 

6 SEC. 203. COMMITTEE ON STEM EDUCATION. 

7 Section 101 of the America COMPETES Reauthor8 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621) is amended— 

9 (1) in the first subsection (b)— 

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

11 through (6) as paragraphs (5) through (8), re12 spectively; 

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

14 following new paragraphs: 

15 ‘‘(3) collaborate with the STEM Education Ad16 visory Panel established under section 202 of the 

17 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 

18 and other outside stakeholders to ensure the engage19 ment of the STEM education community; 

20 ‘‘(4) review evaluation measures used for Fed21 eral STEM education programs;’’; and 

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

23 by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by 

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


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1 (2) in the second subsection (b) and in sub2 section (c), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(5)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘subsection (b)(7)’’. 

4 SEC. 204. STEM EDUCATION COORDINATING OFFICE. 

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

6 Science Foundation shall establish within the Directorate 

7 for Education and Human Resources a STEM Education 

8 Coordinating Office, which shall have a Director and staff 

9 that shall include career employees detailed from Federal 

10 agencies that fund STEM education programs and activi11 ties. 

12 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The STEM Education Co13 ordinating Office shall— 

14 (1) provide technical and administrative support 

15 to— 

16 (A) the Committee on STEM Education, 

17 especially in its coordination of Federal STEM 

18 programs and strategic planning responsibil19 ities; 

20 (B) the Advisory Panel established under 

21 section 202; and 

22 (C) Federal agencies with STEM edu23 cation programs; 

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1 grams and activities established under section 

2 101(b)(8) of the America COMPETES Reauthoriza3 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621); and 

4 (3) provide for dissemination of information on 

5 Federal STEM education programs and activities, as 

6 appropriate, to stakeholders in academia, industry, 

7 nonprofit organizations with expertise in STEM edu8 cation, State and local educational agencies, and 

9 other STEM stakeholders. 

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

11 Coordinating Office shall transmit a report annually to 

12 Congress not later than 60 days after the submission of 

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

14 include— 

15 (1) any updates to the inventory required under 

16 subsection (b)(2); 

17 (2) a description of all consolidations and ter18 minations of Federal STEM education programs im19 plemented in the previous fiscal year, including an 

20 explanation of the reasons for consolidations and 

21 terminations; 

22 (3) recommendations for consolidations and ter23 minations of STEM education programs or activities 

24 in the upcoming fiscal year; 


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1 (4) a description of any significant new STEM 

2 Education public-private partnerships; and 

3 (5) description of the progress made in carrying 

4 out the strategic plan required under section 101 of 

5 the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

6 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621), including a description of 

7 the outcome of any program assessments completed 

8 in the previous year. 

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

10 the National Science Foundation shall encourage and 

11 monitor the efforts of the STEM Education Coordinating 

12 Office to ensure that the Coordinating Office is carrying 

13 out its responsibilities under subsection (b) appropriately. 

14 TITLE III—OFFICE OF SCIENCE 

15 AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

16 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated for the Of18 fice of Science and Technology Policy— 

19 (1) $4,550,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

20 (2) $4,550,000 for fiscal year 2017. 

21 SEC. 302. REGULATORY EFFICIENCY. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) high and increasing administrative burdens 

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1 ticularly in the higher education sector where most 

2 federally sponsored research is performed, are erod3 ing funds available to carry out basic scientific re4 search; 

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

6 in streamlining the pre-award grant application 

7 process through Grants.gov, the Federal Govern8 ment’s website portal; 

9 (3) post-award administrative costs have grown 

10 as Federal research agencies have continued to im11 pose agency-unique compliance and reporting re12 quirements on researchers and research institutions; 

13 (4) facilities and administration costs at re14 search universities can exceed 50 percent of the total 

15 value of Federal research grants, and it is estimated 

16 that nearly 30 percent of the funds invested annu17 ally in federally funded research is consumed by pa18 perwork and other administrative processes required 

19 by Federal agencies; and 

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

21 American competitiveness that administrative costs 

22 of federally funded research be streamlined so that 

23 a higher proportion of taxpayer dollars flow into di24 rect research activities. 


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

2 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a working 

3 group under the authority of the National Science and 

4 Technology Council, to include the Office of Management 

5 and Budget. The working group shall be responsible for 

6 reviewing Federal regulations affecting research and re7 search universities and making recommendations on how 

8 to— 

9 (1) harmonize, streamline, and eliminate dupli10 cative Federal regulations and reporting require11 ments; 

12 (2) minimize the regulatory burden on United 

13 States institutions of higher education performing 

14 federally funded research while maintaining account15 ability for Federal tax dollars; and 

16 (3) identify and update specific regulations to 

17 refocus on performance-based goals rather than on 

18 process while still meeting the desired outcome. 

19 (c) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In carrying out the re20 sponsibilities under subsection (b), the working group 

21 shall take into account input and recommendations from 

22 non-Federal stakeholders, including federally funded and 

23 nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 

24 education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, 

25 nonprofit research institutions, industry, including small 


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1 businesses, federally funded research and development 

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

3 efficiency, and accountability in the performance of sci4 entific research. 

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

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

7 years, the Director shall report to the Committee on 

8 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate on what steps have been 

11 taken to carry out the recommendations of the working 

12 group established under subsection (b). 

13 SEC. 303. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE 

14 AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS. 

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

16 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a body 

17 under the National Science and Technology Council with 

18 the responsibility to identify and coordinate international 

19 science and technology cooperation that can strengthen 

20 the United States science and technology enterprise, im21 prove economic and national security, and support United 

22 States foreign policy goals. 

23 (b) NSTC BODY LEADERSHIP.—The body estab24 lished under subsection (a) shall be co-chaired by senior 


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1 level officials from the Office of Science and Technology 

2 Policy and the Department of State. 

3 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The body established under 

4 subsection (a) shall— 

5 (1) plan and coordinate interagency inter6 national science and technology cooperative research 

7 and training activities and partnerships supported or 

8 managed by Federal agencies and work with other 

9 National Science and Technology Council commit10 tees to help plan and coordinate the international 

11 component of national science and technology prior12 ities; 

13 (2) establish Federal priorities and policies for 

14 aligning, as appropriate, international science and 

15 technology cooperative research and training activi16 ties and partnerships supported or managed by Fed17 eral agencies with the foreign policy goals of the 

18 United States; 

19 (3) identify opportunities for new international 

20 science and technology cooperative research and 

21 training partnerships that advance both the science 

22 and technology and the foreign policy priorities of 

23 the United States; 

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

25 and recommendations from non-Federal science and 


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1 technology stakeholders, including universities, sci2 entific and professional societies, industry, and rel3 evant organizations and institutions; and 

4 (5) identify broad issues that influence the abil5 ity of United States scientists and engineers to col6 laborate with foreign counterparts, including bar7 riers to collaboration and access to scientific infor8 mation. 

9 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the Of10 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit a re11 port, to be updated every 2 years, to the Committee on 

12 Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on 

13 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and to 

14 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

15 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

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

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

18 a description of— 

19 (1) the priorities and policies established under 

20 subsection (c)(2); 

21 (2) the ongoing and new partnerships estab22 lished since the last update to the report; 

23 (3) the means by which stakeholder input was 

24 received, as well as summary views of stakeholder 

25 input; and 


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1 (4) the issues influencing the ability of United 

2 States scientists and engineers to collaborate with 

3 foreign counterparts. 

4 (e) ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Di5 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 

6 transmit, not later than 60 days after the date of enact7 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, to the Com8 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Com9 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, 

10 and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

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

13 by Office of Science and Technology Policy staff and 

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

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

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

17 Technology Policy costs associated with the trip, and de18 tails of all international meetings, including meeting par19 ticipants and topics addressed. 

20 SEC. 304. ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH FUNDING MODELS. 

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

22 Federal science agencies, in consultation with the Director 

23 of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall con24 duct appropriate pilot programs to validate alternative re25 search funding models, including— 


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1 (1) scientific breakthrough prize programs that 

2 are of strategic importance to the Nation and have 

3 the capacity to spur new economic growth; and 

4 (2) novel mechanisms of funding including ob5 taining non-Federal funds through crowd source 

6 funding. 

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

8 may be conducted under this section through an agree9 ment, grant, or contractual relationship with a non-Fed10 eral entity regarding the design, administration, and fund11 ing of the program. 

12 (c) PRIZE COMPETITION JUDGES.— 

13 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Judges for a prize com14 petition carried out under this section shall not be 

15 required to be Federal employees. An individual who 

16 serves as a judge for a prize competition carried out 

17 under this section who is not a Federal employee 

18 shall be required to sign an agreement, developed by 

19 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with re20 spect to nondisclosure, conflict of interest, and judg21 ing code of conduct requirements. 

22 (2) DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL IN23 TERESTS.—A judge for a prize competition with a 

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

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


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1 or more, shall be required to disclose all personal fi2 nancial interests. 

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

4 days after the Office of Science and Technology Pol5 icy completes development of an agreement under 

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

7 describing the requirements of such agreement. 

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

9 agencies shall widely advertise prize competitions to be 

10 conducted under this section to ensure maximum partici11 pation. 

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

13 term ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means— 

14 (1) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin15 istration; 

16 (2) the National Science Foundation; 

17 (3) the National Institute of Standards and 

18 Technology; and 

19 (4) the National Weather Service. 

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

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

22 thereafter as part of the annual budget submission to Con23 gress, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

24 Policy shall transmit to the Congress a report on pro25 grams identified and conducted under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 305. AMENDMENTS TO PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

2 Section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno3 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘sec6 tion, a prize’’; 

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

8 and 

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

10 and inserting ‘‘prize competitions’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (f)— 

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

13 and inserting ‘‘on a publicly accessible Govern14 ment website, such as www.challenge.gov,’’; and 

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

16 and inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

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

18 inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘prize’’ be20 fore ‘‘competition’’ both places it appears; 

21 (5) in subsection (i)— 

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

23 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; 

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

25 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’ both places it ap26 pears; 


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1 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

2 paragraph (4); and 

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

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—An agency may waive the re6 quirement under paragraph (2). The annual report 

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

8 waivers granted during the preceding fiscal year, 

9 along with a detailed explanation of the reasons for 

10 granting the waivers.’’; 

11 (6) in subsection (k)— 

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

13 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; and 

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

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

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

17 enter into’’ and inserting ‘‘a grant, contract, cooper18 ative agreement, or other agreement with a private 

19 sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer the 

20 prize competition, subject to the provisions of this 

21 section.’’; 

22 (8) in subsection (m)— 

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

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Support for a prize com2 petition under this section, including financial sup3 port for the design and administration of a prize 

4 competition or funds for a cash prize purse, may 

5 consist of Federal appropriated funds and funds 

6 provided by private sector for-profit and nonprofit 

7 entities. The head of an agency may accept funds 

8 from other Federal agencies, private sector for-profit 

9 entities, and nonprofit entities, to be available to the 

10 extent provided by appropriations Acts, to support 

11 such prize competitions. The head of an agency may 

12 not give any special consideration to any private sec13 tor for-profit or nonprofit entity in return for a do14 nation.’’; 

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

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

17 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘No prize’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘No prize competition’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘the prize’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘the cash prize purse’’; 

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

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

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

25 ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘prize’’; 


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

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

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

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

5 (9) in subsection (n), by inserting ‘‘for both for6 profit and nonprofit entities,’’ after ‘‘contract vehi7 cle’’; 

8 (10) in subsection (o)(1), by striking ‘‘or pro9 viding a prize’’ and insert ‘‘a prize competition or 

10 providing a cash prize purse’’; and 

11 (11) in subsection (p)(2)— 

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

13 prizes’’ both places it occurs and inserting 

14 ‘‘cash prize purses’’; and 

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

16 subparagraph: 

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

18 topical areas and agency-specific mission needs 

19 that may be the strongest opportunities for 

20 prize competitions during the upcoming 2 fiscal 

21 years.’’. 

22 SEC. 306. UNITED STATES CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER. 

23 Title II of the National Science and Technology Pol24 icy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 6611 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘UNITED STATES CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

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

5 appoint a United States Chief Technology Officer. Not 

6 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Amer7 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, such offi8 cer shall be one of the Associate Directors of the Office 

9 of Science and Technology Policy. 

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

11 Technology Officer should include— 

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

13 the Office of Science and Technology Policy on Fed14 eral information systems, technology, data, and in15 novation policies and initiatives; 

16 ‘‘(2) promoting an improved exchange of infor17 mation among the Federal Government, the public, 

18 and Congress; 

19 ‘‘(3) promoting the use of innovative techno20 logical approaches across the Federal Government to 

21 ensure a modern information technology infrastruc22 ture; 

23 ‘‘(4) working with the Chief Technology Offi24 cers and Chief Information Officers of all Federal 

25 agencies to ensure the use of best technologies and 

26 security practices for information systems; 


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1 ‘‘(5) establishing a working group with such Of2 ficers to exchange best practices about information 

3 systems; 

4 ‘‘(6) promoting transparency and accountability 

5 across the Federal Government for all technological 

6 implementation by working with agencies to ensure 

7 that each arm of the Federal Government, including 

8 the executive branch, makes its records open and ac9 cessible; 

10 ‘‘(7) promoting security and privacy protection 

11 policies for all Federal information technology sys12 tems that are consistent with Federal law, regula13 tions, and current best practices; 

14 ‘‘(8) promoting technological interoperability of 

15 key Government functions; 

16 ‘‘(9) in consultation with the Office of Manage17 ment and Budget, providing an annual report to the 

18 President, the Director of the Office of Science and 

19 Technology Policy, and Congress on the current 

20 state of information systems of all Federal agencies, 

21 including— 

22 ‘‘(A) the status of information systems, in23 cluding potential technology and security con24 cerns about these information systems in all 

25 Federal agencies; 


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

2 third-party embedded tools that— 

3 ‘‘(i) identifies each embedded tool, 

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

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) addresses effects on cybersecu7 rity and consumer privacy, including 

8 whether each website provides prominent 

9 notice to consumers about the presence of 

10 the tool and whether the consumer may 

11 opt-out of the tool; 

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

13 various technologies; and 

14 ‘‘(D) technology recommendations and best 

15 practices; and 

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

17 President and Director of the Office of Science and 

18 Technology Policy may assign. 

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

20 Chief Technology Officer, the Director of the Office of 

21 Science and Technology Policy shall be responsible for 

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


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1 SEC. 307. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY ON TECH2 NOLOGY FOR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS 

3 ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES. 

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

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

6 of Science and Technology Policy shall enter into an ar7 rangement with the National Research Council to conduct 

8 and complete a study to identify and review technologies 

9 employed at institutions of higher education to provide no10 tifications to students, faculty, and other personnel during 

11 emergency situations in accordance with the requirements 

12 of existing law. The study shall address— 

13 (1) the timeliness of notifications during emer14 gency situations provided by various technologies; 

15 (2) the durability of such technologies in deliv16 ering such notifications to students, faculty, and 

17 other personnel; and 

18 (3) the limitations exhibited by such tech19 nologies to successfully deliver notifications not more 

20 than 30 seconds after the institution of higher edu21 cation transmits such notifications. 

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

23 the date on which the National Research Council enters 

24 into the arrangement required by subsection (a), the Di25 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 


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1 submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under 

2 such subsection. 

3 TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

4 OF STANDARDS AND TECH5 NOLOGY 

6 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

9 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

10 $938,700,000 for the National Institute of Stand11 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2016. 

12 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

13 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

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

15 and technical research and services laboratory 

16 activities; 

17 (B) $59,000,000 shall be for the construc18 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

19 (C) $135,000,000 shall be for industrial 

20 technology services activities, of which 

21 $130,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

22 Extension Partnership program under sections 

23 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Stand24 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

25 278I) and $5,000,000 shall be for the Network 


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1 for Manufacturing Innovation Program under 

2 section 34 of the National Institute of Stand3 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

4 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

6 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

7 $938,700,000 for the National Institute of Stand8 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2017. 

9 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

10 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

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

12 and technical research and services laboratory 

13 activities; 

14 (B) $59,000,000 shall be for the construc15 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

16 (C) $135,000,000 shall be for industrial 

17 technology services activities, of which 

18 $130,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

19 Extension Partnership program under sections 

20 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Stand21 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

22 278I) and $5,000,000 shall be for the Network 

23 for Manufacturing Innovation Program under 

24 section 34 of the National Institute of Stand25 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 


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1 SEC. 402. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

2 Section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

4 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

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

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

8 adviser on standards policy pertaining to the 

9 Nation’s technological competitiveness and in10 novation ability and to take’’; 

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

12 standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Fed13 eral Government’’ and inserting ‘‘facilitate 

14 standards-related information sharing and co15 operation between Federal agencies’’; and 

16 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘Fed17 eral, State, and local’’ and all that follows 

18 through ‘‘private sector’’ and inserting ‘‘tech19 nical standards activities and conformity assess20 ment activities of Federal, State, and local gov21 ernments with private sector’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

24 after the semicolon; 

25 (B) by redesignating paragraph (23) as 

26 paragraph (25); and 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (22) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(23) participate in and support scientific and 

4 technical conferences; 

5 ‘‘(24) perform pre-competitive measurement 

6 science and technology research in partnership with 

7 institutions of higher education and industry to pro8 mote United States industrial competitiveness; and’’. 

9 SEC. 403. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECH10 NOLOGY. 

11 Section 10 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘not fewer than 11 members’’; 

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

17 ‘‘at least two-thirds’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘The Committee may consult with the National 

20 Research Council in making recommendations 

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

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

23 the Program established under section 28,’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. POLICE AND SECURITY AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 15 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

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

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

6 (2) by striking ‘‘United States Code.’’ and in7 serting ‘‘United States Code; and (i) the protection 

8 of Institute buildings and other plant facilities, 

9 equipment, and property, and of employees, associ10 ates, visitors, or other persons located therein or as11 sociated therewith, notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of law.’’. 

13 SEC. 405. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

14 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by striking sec16 tions 18, 19, and 19A and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may support, pro19 mote, and coordinate activities and efforts to enhance pub20 lic awareness and understanding of measurement sciences, 

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

22 government, and academia in support of the Institute’s 

23 mission. 

24 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 

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

26 research fellowships and other forms of financial and 


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1 logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu4 cation within the United States who show 

5 promise as present or future contributors to the 

6 mission of the Institute; and 

7 ‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 

8 and technical activities of the Institute. 

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

10 persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 

11 the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro12 posed work to the mission and programs of the In13 stitute. 

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

15 subsection, financial and logistical assistance in16 cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

17 United States Code, or any contrary provision of 

18 law, temporary housing and local transportation to 

19 and from the Institute facilities. 

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

21 Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow22 ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

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

24 In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub25 section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 


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1 of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu2 dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 

3 SEC. 406. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 

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

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

6 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro7 grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 

8 Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 

9 Committee on Advanced Technology established under 

10 section 10.’’. 

11 SEC. 407. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH 

12 COUNCIL. 

13 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 

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

15 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand16 ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 

17 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com18 prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 

19 The review shall— 

20 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

21 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 

22 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

23 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

24 ability to fulfill its mission; 


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1 (3) evaluate how crosscutting research and de2 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

3 executed across the laboratories; and 

4 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in5 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

6 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti7 tute. 

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

9 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

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

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

12 COUNCIL. 

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

14 the National Research Council to perform and report on 

15 assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 

16 work conducted at Institute laboratories. 

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

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

19 be assessed at least once every 3 years. 

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

21 after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 

22 (a), and once every 2 years thereafter, the Institute shall 

23 contract with the National Research Council to prepare 

24 a report that summarizes the findings common across the 

25 individual assessment reports. 


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

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

3 National Research Council to conduct additional assess4 ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col5 laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 

6 and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 

7 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON

8 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun9 cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 

10 Technology established under section 10 in performing the 

11 assessments under this section. 

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

13 completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 

14 the report on such assessment to the Committee on 

15 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

18 SEC. 408. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART19 NERSHIP. 

20 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART24 NERSHIP. 

25 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 


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

2 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

3 shall provide assistance for the creation and support 

4 of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 

5 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 

6 the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 

7 business practices (in this Act referred to as the 

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

9 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

10 Partnership’. 

11 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af12 filiated with any United States-based public or non13 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

14 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

15 under this section. 

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

17 is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 

18 technological performance in United States manufac19 turing through— 

20 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech21 nology and techniques developed at the Insti22 tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac23 turing companies throughout the United States; 

24 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

25 industry, institutions of higher education, State 


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1 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

2 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech3 nology transfer activities; 

4 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

5 technology and processes usable by United 

6 States-based small and medium-sized compa7 nies; 

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

9 engineering, technical, and management infor10 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

11 including small and medium-sized manufac12 turing companies; 

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

14 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed15 eral laboratories other than the Institute; 

16 ‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 

17 and area career and technical education schools 

18 of information about the job skills needed in 

19 small and medium-sized manufacturing busi20 nesses in the regions they serve; and 

21 ‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi22 cation systems offered through industry, asso23 ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 

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

25 include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac2 turing systems and other advanced production tech3 nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 

4 the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans5 fer; 

6 ‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re7 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

8 of companies and enterprises, particularly small and 

9 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

10 ‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part11 nerships between small and medium-sized manufac12 turing companies and community colleges and area 

13 career and technical education schools to help such 

14 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

15 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

16 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

17 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

18 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 

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

20 provide financial support to any Center created 

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

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

23 annual operating and maintenance funds required to 

24 create and maintain such Center. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im2 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

3 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

4 least once every 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu7 tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 

8 government, may submit to the Secretary an 

9 application for financial support under this sec10 tion, in accordance with the procedures estab11 lished by the Secretary. 

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

13 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

14 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

15 shall provide adequate assurances that non16 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

17 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

18 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

19 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

20 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

21 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

22 activities undertaken to improve the competi23 tiveness, management, productivity, and techno24 logical performance of small and medium-sized 

25 manufacturing companies. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI2 TIES.—In meeting the 50 percent requirement, 

3 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

4 agreements with other entities such as private 

5 industry, institutions of higher education, and 

6 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

7 objectives and access new and existing resources 

8 that will further the impact of the Federal in9 vestment made on behalf of small and medium10 sized manufacturing companies. 

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

12 under subparagraph (A) shall also submit a 

13 proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as14 sociated with any invention which may result 

15 from the proposed Center’s activities. 

16 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub17 ject each such application to merit review. In mak18 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

19 and provide financial support under this section, the 

20 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par23 ticularly those portions of the application re24 garding technology transfer, training and edu25 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing techVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 May 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.RFS H1806

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1 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

2 sectors. 

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

4 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

5 service area. 

6 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

7 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

8 sources. 

9 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re11 ceives financial assistance under this section 

12 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper13 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

14 Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua16 tion panel shall be composed of private experts, 

17 none of whom shall be connected with the in18 volved Center, and Federal officials. 

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

20 shall chair the panel. 

21 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

22 Each evaluation panel shall measure the in23 volved Center’s performance against the objec24 tives specified in this section. 


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1 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval2 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

3 continued funding through the sixth year. 

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

5 not provide funding unless the Center has re6 ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 

7 not received a positive evaluation by the evalua8 tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 

9 deficiencies in its performance and shall be 

10 placed on probation for 1 year, after which time 

11 the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If the 

12 Center has not addressed the deficiencies iden13 tified by the panel, or shown a significant im14 provement in its performance, the Director shall 

15 conduct a new competition to select an operator 

16 for the Center or may close the Center. 

17 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

18 After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi19 tional financial support under this section if it 

20 has received a positive evaluation through an 

21 independent review, under procedures estab22 lished by the Institute. 

23 ‘‘(H) EIGHT-YEAR REVIEW.—A Center 

24 shall undergo an independent review in the 

25 eighth year of operation. Each evaluation panel 


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1 shall measure the Center’s performance against 

2 the objectives specified in this section. A Center 

3 that has not received a positive evaluation as a 

4 result of an independent review shall be notified 

5 by the Program of the deficiencies in its per6 formance and shall be placed on probation for 

7 1 year, after which time the Program shall re8 evaluate the Center. If the Center has not ad9 dressed the deficiencies identified by the review, 

10 or shown a significant improvement in its per11 formance, the Director shall conduct a new 

12 competition to select an operator for the Center 

13 or may close the Center. 

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

15 Center award has received financial assistance 

16 for 10 consecutive years, the Director shall con17 duct a new competition to select an operator for 

18 the Center consistent with the plan required in 

19 this Act. Incumbent Center operators in good 

20 standing shall be eligible to compete for the new 

21 award. 

22 ‘‘(J) REPORTS.— 

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

24 after the date of enactment of the America 

25 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, 


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1 the Director shall transmit to the Com2 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology 

3 of the House of Representatives and the 

4 Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

5 Transportation of the Senate a plan as to 

6 how the Institute will conduct reviews, as7 sessments, and reapplication competitions 

8 under this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.— 

10 The Director shall contract with an inde11 pendent organization to perform an assess12 ment of the implementation of the re13 application competition process under this 

14 paragraph within 3 years after the trans15 mittal of the report under clause (i). The 

16 organization conducting the assessment 

17 under this clause may consult with the 

18 MEP Advisory Board. 

19 ‘‘(iii) COMPARISON OF CENTERS.— 

20 Not later than 2 years after the date of en21 actment of the America COMPETES Re22 authorization Act of 2015, the Director 

23 shall transmit to the Committee on 

24 Science, Space, and Technology of the 

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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans2 portation of the Senate a report providing 

3 information on the first and second years 

4 of operations for centers operating from 

5 new competitions or recompetition as com6 pared to longstanding centers. The report 

7 shall provide detail on the engagement in 

8 services provided by Centers and the char9 acteristics of services provided, including 

10 volume and type of services, so that the 

11 Committees can evaluate whether the cost12 sharing ratio has an effect on the services 

13 provided at Centers. 

14 ‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap15 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

16 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

17 the promotion of technology from research by Cen18 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

19 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

20 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 

21 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CENTER CLIENT CON22 FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 

23 United States Code, shall apply to the following in24 formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 

25 confidential basis in connection with the activities of 


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1 any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac2 turing Extension Partnership: 

3 ‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 

4 of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 

5 Extension Partnership program or of a client of 

6 a Center. 

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

8 of a Center. 

9 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi10 sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol11 icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 

12 Board represents local small and medium-sized man13 ufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Members 

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

15 Center, nor may they serve on more than one Cen16 ter’s oversight board simultaneously. 

17 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

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

19 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc20 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

21 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

22 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

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

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1 propriations Acts, for the purpose of strengthening 

2 United States manufacturing. 

3 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED5 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di6 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

7 from other Federal departments or agencies 

8 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed9 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

10 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

11 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI12 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri13 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

14 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula15 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

16 of this section. 

17 ‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

19 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

20 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re21 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

22 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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

24 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem25 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 


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1 be appointed by the Director. At least two 

2 members shall be employed by or on an advi3 sory board for the Centers, at least one member 

4 shall represent a community college, and at 

5 least five other members shall be from United 

6 States small businesses in the manufacturing 

7 sector. No member shall be an employee of the 

8 Federal Government. 

9 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub10 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

11 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

12 years. 

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

14 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira15 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

16 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

17 of such term. 

18 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

19 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

20 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

21 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint22 ment during the 1-year period following the ex23 piration of the second such term. 


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

2 shall meet not less than two times annually and 

3 shall 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 

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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 Section 28 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

18 (1) by striking subsection (g); and 

19 (2) in subsection (k)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

21 after the semicolon at the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘; 

23 and’’ at the end and inserting a period; and 

24 (C) by striking paragraph (5). 


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1 SEC. 410. MODIFICATIONS TO GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 

2 AGREEMENTS. 

3 Section 8(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In4 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706(a)) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘The total amount of any such grant or coopera6 tive agreement may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

7 of the program.’’. 

8 SEC. 411. INFORMATION SYSTEMS STANDARDS CONSULTA9 TION. 

10 Section 20(c)(1) of the National Institute of Stand11 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–3(c)(1)) is 

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

13 SEC. 412. UNITED STATES-ISRAELI COOPERATION. 

14 It is the Sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) partnerships that facilitate basic scientific 

16 research between the United States and Israel ad17 vance technology development, innovation, and com18 mercialization leading to growth in various sectors, 

19 including manufacturing, and creating benefits for 

20 both nations; 

21 (2) joint research and development agreements 

22 carried out through government organizations like 

23 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

24 support these efforts; 


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1 (3) partnerships between the United States and 

2 Israel that further the basic scientific enterprise 

3 should be encouraged; and 

4 (4) the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology should continue to facilitate scientific 

6 collaborations between Israel and United States’ 

7 technical agencies working in measurement science 

8 and standardization. 

9 TITLE V—DEPARTMENT OF 

10 ENERGY SCIENCE 

11 SEC. 501. MISSION. 

12 Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza13 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

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

16 shall be the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, 

17 and major scientific tools to transform the understanding 

18 of nature and to advance the energy, economic, and na19 tional security of the United States. In support of this 

20 mission, the Director shall carry out programs on basic 

21 energy sciences, advanced scientific computing research, 

22 high energy physics, biological and environmental re23 search, fusion energy sciences, and nuclear physics, includ24 ing as provided under subtitle A of title V of the America 


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1 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, through activi2 ties focused on— 

3 ‘‘(1) fundamental scientific discoveries through 

4 the study of matter and energy; 

5 ‘‘(2) science in the national interest, includ6 ing— 

7 ‘‘(A) advancing an agenda for American 

8 energy security through research on energy pro9 duction, storage, transmission, efficiency, and 

10 use; and 

11 ‘‘(B) advancing our understanding of the 

12 Earth’s climate through research in atmos13 pheric and environmental sciences; and 

14 ‘‘(3) National Scientific User Facilities to de15 liver the 21st century tools of science, engineering, 

16 and technology and provide the Nation’s researchers 

17 with the most advanced tools of modern science in18 cluding accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light 

19 sources and neutron sources, and facilities for study20 ing materials science. 

21 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT OF

22 ENERGY PROGRAMS.—The Under Secretary for Science 

23 and Energy shall ensure the coordination of Office of 

24 Science activities and programs with other activities of the 

25 Department.’’. 


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1 SEC. 502. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES. 

2 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro3 gram in basic energy sciences, including materials sciences 

4 and engineering, chemical sciences, physical biosciences, 

5 and geosciences, for the purpose of providing the scientific 

6 foundations for new energy technologies. 

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

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

9 to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and 

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

11 order to provide the foundations for new energy tech12 nologies and to support Department missions in energy, 

13 environment, and national security. 

14 (c) BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES USER FACILITIES.— 

15 The Director shall carry out a subprogram for the develop16 ment, construction, operation, and maintenance of na17 tional user facilities to support the program under this 

18 section. As practicable, these facilities shall serve the 

19 needs of the Department, industry, the academic commu20 nity, and other relevant entities to create and examine new 

21 materials and chemical processes for the purposes of ad22 vancing new energy technologies and improving the com23 petitiveness of the United States. These facilities shall in24 clude— 

25 (1) x-ray light sources; 

26 (2) neutron sources; 


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1 (3) nanoscale science research centers; and 

2 (4) other facilities the Director considers appro3 priate, consistent with section 209 of the Depart4 ment of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139). 

5 (d) LIGHT SOURCE LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In support of the sub7 program authorized in subsection (c), the Director 

8 shall establish an initiative to sustain and advance 

9 global leadership of light source user facilities. 

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

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

12 biennially thereafter, the Director shall prepare, in 

13 consultation with relevant stakeholders, and submit 

14 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

15 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

17 light source leadership strategy that— 

18 (A) identifies, prioritizes, and describes 

19 plans for the development, construction, and op20 eration of light sources over the next decade; 

21 (B) describes plans for optimizing manage22 ment and use of existing light source facilities; 

23 and 


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1 (C) assesses the international outlook for 

2 light source user facilities and describes plans 

3 for United States cooperation in such projects. 

4 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEE FEEDBACK AND

5 RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 45 days after 

6 submission of the strategy described in paragraph 

7 (2), the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 

8 shall provide the Director, the Committee on 

9 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

10 Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and 

11 Natural Resources of the Senate a report of the Ad12 visory Committee’s analyses, findings, and rec13 ommendations for improving the strategy, including 

14 a review of the most recent budget request for the 

15 initiative. 

16 (4) PROPOSED BUDGET.—The Director shall 

17 transmit annually to Congress a proposed budget 

18 corresponding to the activities identified in the strat19 egy. 

20 (e) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP21 MENT.—The Director shall carry out research and devel22 opment on advanced accelerator and storage ring tech23 nologies relevant to the development of Basic Energy 

24 Sciences user facilities, in consultation with the Office of 


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1 Science’s High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics pro2 grams. 

3 (f) ENERGY FRONTIER RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

5 a program to provide awards, on a competitive, 

6 merit-reviewed basis, to multi-institutional collabora7 tions or other appropriate entities to conduct funda8 mental and use-inspired energy research to accel9 erate scientific breakthroughs. 

10 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—A collaboration receiv11 ing an award under this subsection may include mul12 tiple types of institutions and private sector entities. 

13 (3) SELECTION AND DURATION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A collaboration under 

15 this subsection shall be selected for a period of 

16 5 years. An Energy Frontier Research Center 

17 already in existence and supported by the Di18 rector on the date of enactment of this Act may 

19 continue to receive support for a period of 5 

20 years beginning on the date of establishment of 

21 that center. 

22 (B) REAPPLICATION.—After the end of the 

23 period described in subparagraph (A), an 

24 awardee may reapply for selection for a second 


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1 period of 5 years on a competitive, merit-re2 viewed basis. 

3 (C) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

4 existing authorities of the Department, the Di5 rector may terminate an underperforming cen6 ter for cause during the performance period. 

7 (4) NO FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION.—No 

8 funding provided pursuant to this subsection may be 

9 used for the construction of new buildings or facili10 ties. 

11 SEC. 503. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH. 

12 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a re13 search, development, and demonstration program to ad14 vance computational and networking capabilities to ana15 lyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena rel16 evant to the development of new energy technologies and 

17 the competitiveness of the United States. 

18 (b) FACILITIES.—The Director, as part of the pro19 gram described in subsection (a), shall develop and main20 tain world-class computing and network facilities for 

21 science and deliver critical research in applied mathe22 matics, computer science, and advanced networking to 

23 support the Department’s missions. 

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

25 Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 


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

2 through (5) and inserting the following: 

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

4 the joint development of application algorithms, 

5 models, and codes with computer technology archi6 tectures and operating systems to maximize effective 

7 use of high-end computing systems. 

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

9 means the Department of Energy. 

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

11 computing system performance at or near 10 to the 

12 18th power floating point operations per second. 

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

14 term ‘high-end computing system’ means a com15 puting system with performance that substantially 

16 exceeds that of systems that are commonly available 

17 for advanced scientific and engineering applications. 

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

19 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

20 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 

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

22 ‘‘(6) LEADERSHIP SYSTEM.—The term ‘leader23 ship system’ means a high-end computing system 

24 that is among the most advanced in the world in 


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1 terms of performance in solving scientific and engi2 neering problems. 

3 ‘‘(7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na4 tional Laboratory’ means any one of the seventeen 

5 laboratories owned by the Department. 

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

7 the Secretary of Energy. 

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

9 ‘software technology’ includes optimal algorithms, 

10 programming environments, tools, languages, and 

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

12 (d) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COM13 PUTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—Sec14 tion 3 of the Department of Energy High-End Computing 

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

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro18 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated program 

19 across the Department’’; 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para21 graph (1); 

22 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

23 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) partner with universities, National Labora2 tories, and industry to ensure the broadest possible 

3 application of the technology developed in this pro4 gram to other challenges in science, engineering, 

5 medicine, and industry.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘vector’’ 

7 and all that follows through ‘‘architectures’’ and in8 serting ‘‘computer technologies that show promise of 

9 substantial reductions in power requirements and 

10 substantial gains in parallelism of multicore proc11 essors, concurrency, memory and storage, band12 width, and reliability’’; and 

13 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(d) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con17 duct a coordinated research program to develop 

18 exascale computing systems to advance the missions 

19 of the Department. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXECUTION.—The Secretary shall, 

21 through competitive merit review, establish two or 

22 more National Laboratory-industry-university part23 nerships to conduct integrated research, develop24 ment, and engineering of multiple exascale architec25 tures, and— 


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1 ‘‘(A) conduct mission-related co-design ac2 tivities in developing such exascale platforms; 

3 ‘‘(B) develop those advancements in hard4 ware and software technology required to fully 

5 realize the potential of an exascale production 

6 system in addressing Department target appli7 cations and solving scientific problems involving 

8 predictive modeling and simulation and large9 scale data analytics and management; and 

10 ‘‘(C) explore the use of exascale computing 

11 technologies to advance a broad range of 

12 science and engineering. 

13 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out this 

14 program, the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) provide, on a competitive, merit-re16 viewed basis, access for researchers in United 

17 States industry, institutions of higher edu18 cation, National Laboratories, and other Fed19 eral agencies to these exascale systems, as ap20 propriate; and 

21 ‘‘(B) conduct outreach programs to in22 crease the readiness for the use of such plat23 forms by domestic industries, including manu24 facturers. 

25 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) INTEGRATED STRATEGY AND PRO2 GRAM MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 

3 shall submit to Congress, not later than 90 

4 days after the date of enactment of the America 

5 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, a 

6 report outlining an integrated strategy and pro7 gram management plan, including target dates 

8 for prototypical and production exascale plat9 forms, interim milestones to reaching these tar10 gets, functional requirements, roles and respon11 sibilities of National Laboratories and industry, 

12 acquisition strategy, and estimated resources 

13 required, to achieve this exascale system capa14 bility. The report shall include the Secretary’s 

15 plan for Departmental organization to manage 

16 and execute the Exascale Computing Program, 

17 including definition of the roles and responsibil18 ities within the Department to ensure an inte19 grated program across the Department. The re20 port shall also include a plan for ensuring bal21 ance and prioritizing across ASCR subprograms 

22 in a flat or slow-growth budget environment. 

23 ‘‘(B) STATUS REPORTS.—At the time of 

24 the budget submission of the Department for 

25 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a 


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1 report to Congress that describes the status of 

2 milestones and costs in achieving the objectives 

3 of the exascale computing program. 

4 ‘‘(C) EXASCALE MERIT REPORT.—At least 

5 18 months prior to the initiation of construction 

6 or installation of any exascale-class computing 

7 facility, the Secretary shall transmit a plan to 

8 the Congress detailing— 

9 ‘‘(i) the proposed facility’s cost projec10 tions and capabilities to significantly accel11 erate the development of new energy tech12 nologies; 

13 ‘‘(ii) technical risks and challenges 

14 that must be overcome to achieve success15 ful completion and operation of the facility; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iii) an independent assessment of 

18 the scientific and technological advances 

19 expected from such a facility relative to 

20 those expected from a comparable invest21 ment in expanded research and applica22 tions at terascale-class and petascale-class 

23 computing facilities, including an evalua24 tion of where investments should be made 


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1 in the system software and algorithms to 

2 enable these advances.’’. 

3 SEC. 504. HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS. 

4 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a re5 search program on the fundamental constituents of matter 

6 and energy and the nature of space and time. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

8 Congress that— 

9 (1) the Director should incorporate the findings 

10 and recommendations of the Particle Physics Project 

11 Prioritization Panel’s report entitled ‘‘Building for 

12 Discovery: Strategic Plan for U.S. Particle Physics 

13 in the Global Context’’, into the Department’s plan14 ning process as part of the program described in 

15 subsection (a); 

16 (2) the Director should prioritize domestically 

17 hosted research projects that will maintain the 

18 United States position as a global leader in particle 

19 physics and attract the world’s most talented physi20 cists and foreign investment for international col21 laboration; and 

22 (3) the nations that lead in particle physics by 

23 hosting international teams dedicated to a common 

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1 spire future generations of physicists and tech2 nologists. 

3 (c) NEUTRINO RESEARCH.—As part of the program 

4 described in subsection (a), the Director shall carry out 

5 research activities on rare decay processes and the nature 

6 of the neutrino, which may include collaborations with the 

7 National Science Foundation or international collabora8 tions. 

9 (d) DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER RE10 SEARCH.—As part of the program described in subsection 

11 (a), the Director shall carry out research activities on the 

12 nature of dark energy and dark matter, which may include 

13 collaborations with the National Aeronautics and Space 

14 Administration or the National Science Foundation, or 

15 international collaborations. 

16 (e) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP17 MENT.—The Director shall carry out research and devel18 opment in advanced accelerator concepts and technologies, 

19 including laser technologies, to reduce the necessary scope 

20 and cost for the next generation of particle accelerators. 

21 The Director shall ensure access to national laboratory ac22 celerator facilities, infrastructure, and technology for 

23 users and developers of accelerators that advance applica24 tions in energy and the environment, medicine, industry, 

25 national security, and discovery science. 


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1 (f) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Direc2 tor, as practicable and in coordination with other appro3 priate Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the ac4 cess of United States researchers to the most advanced 

5 accelerator facilities and research capabilities in the world, 

6 including the Large Hadron Collider. 

7 SEC. 505. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 

8 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro9 gram of research, development, and demonstration in the 

10 areas of biological systems science and climate and envi11 ronmental science to support the energy and environ12 mental missions of the Department. 

13 (b) PRIORITY RESEARCH.—In carrying out this sec14 tion, the Director shall prioritize fundamental research on 

15 biological systems and genomics science with the greatest 

16 potential to enable scientific discovery. 

17 (c) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 12 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

19 shall submit a report to Congress identifying climate 

20 science-related initiatives under this section that overlap 

21 or duplicate initiatives of other Federal agencies and the 

22 extent of such overlap or duplication. 

23 (d) LIMITATION.—The Director shall not approve 

24 new climate science-related initiatives to be carried out 

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1 tion that such work is unique and not duplicative of work 

2 by other Federal agencies. Not later than 3 months after 

3 receiving the assessment required under subsection (c), 

4 the Director shall cease those climate science-related ini5 tiatives identified in the assessment as overlapping or du6 plicative, unless the Director justifies that such work is 

7 critical to achieving American energy security. 

8 (e) LOW DOSE RADIATION RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Depart10 ment of Energy Office of Science shall carry out a 

11 research program on low dose radiation. The pur12 pose of the program is to enhance the scientific un13 derstanding of and reduce uncertainties associated 

14 with the effects of exposure to low dose radiation in 

15 order to inform improved risk management methods. 

16 (2) STUDY.—Not later than 60 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

18 enter into an agreement with the National Acad19 emies to conduct a study assessing the current sta20 tus and development of a long-term strategy for low 

21 dose radiation research. Such study shall be com22 pleted not later than 18 months after the date of en23 actment of this Act. The study shall be conducted in 

24 coordination with Federal agencies that perform ion25 izing radiation effects research and shall leverage 


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1 the most current studies in this field. Such study 

2 shall— 

3 (A) identify current scientific challenges 

4 for understanding the long-term effects of ion5 izing radiation; 

6 (B) assess the status of current low dose 

7 radiation research in the United States and 

8 internationally; 

9 (C) formulate overall scientific goals for 

10 the future of low-dose radiation research in the 

11 United States; 

12 (D) recommend a long-term strategic and 

13 prioritized research agenda to address scientific 

14 research goals for overcoming the identified sci15 entific challenges in coordination with other re16 search efforts; 

17 (E) define the essential components of a 

18 research program that would address this re19 search agenda within the universities and the 

20 National Laboratories; and 

21 (F) assess the cost-benefit effectiveness of 

22 such a program. 

23 (3) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 90 days 

24 after the completion of the study performed under 

25 paragraph (2) the Secretary of Energy shall deliver 


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1 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

2 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

3 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

4 5-year research plan that responds to the study’s 

5 findings and recommendations and identifies and 

6 prioritizes research needs. 

7 (4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

8 ‘‘low dose radiation’’ means a radiation dose of less 

9 than 100 millisieverts. 

10 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

11 subsection shall be construed to subject any research 

12 carried out by the Director under the research pro13 gram under this subsection to any limitations de14 scribed in section 977(e) of the Energy Policy Act 

15 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16317(e)). 

16 SEC. 506. FUSION ENERGY. 

17 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a fusion 

18 energy sciences research program to expand the funda19 mental understanding of plasmas and matter at very high 

20 temperatures and densities and to build the scientific 

21 foundation necessary to enable fusion power. 

22 (b) FUSION MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP23 MENT.—As part of the activities authorized in section 978 

24 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16318)— 


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1 (1) the Director, in coordination with the As2 sistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy of the Depart3 ment, shall carry out research and development ac4 tivities to identify, characterize, and demonstrate 

5 materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, and 

6 heat fluxes expected in a fusion power system; and 

7 (2) the Secretary shall— 

8 (A) provide an assessment of the need for 

9 a facility or facilities that can examine and test 

10 potential fusion and next generation fission ma11 terials and other enabling technologies relevant 

12 to the development of fusion power; and 

13 (B) provide an assessment of whether a 

14 single new facility that substantially addresses 

15 magnetic fusion and next generation fission ma16 terials research needs is feasible, in conjunction 

17 with the expected capabilities of facilities oper18 ational as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) TOKAMAK RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program de21 scribed in subsection (a), the Director shall support 

22 research and development activities and facility oper23 ations to optimize the tokamak approach to fusion 

24 energy. 

25 (2) ITER.— 


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1 (A) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall submit to Congress a report providing an 

4 assessment of— 

5 (i) the most recent schedule for ITER 

6 that has been approved by the ITER 

7 Council; and 

8 (ii) progress of the ITER Council and 

9 the ITER Director General toward imple10 mentation of the recommendations of the 

11 Third Biennial International Organization 

12 Management Assessment Report. 

13 (B) FAIRNESS IN COMPETITION FOR SO14 LICITATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL PROJECT AC15 TIVITIES.—Section 33 of the Atomic Energy 

16 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2053) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following: ‘‘For purposes 

18 of this section, with respect to international re19 search projects, the term ‘private facilities or 

20 laboratories’ shall refer to facilities or labora21 tories located in the United States.’’. 

22 (C) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

23 of Congress that the United States should sup24 port a robust, diverse fusion program. It is fur25 ther the sense of Congress that developing the 


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1 scientific basis for fusion, providing research re2 sults key to the success of ITER, and training 

3 the next generation of fusion scientists are of 

4 critical importance to the United States and 

5 should in no way be diminished by participation 

6 of the United States in the ITER project. 

7 (d) INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH AND DE8 VELOPMENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

9 program of research and technology development in iner10 tial fusion for energy applications, including ion beam, 

11 laser, and pulsed power fusion systems. 

12 (e) ALTERNATIVE AND ENABLING CONCEPTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program de14 scribed in subsection (a), the Director shall support 

15 research and development activities and facility oper16 ations at United States universities, national labora17 tories, and private facilities for a portfolio of alter18 native and enabling fusion energy concepts that may 

19 provide solutions to significant challenges to the es20 tablishment of a commercial magnetic fusion power 

21 plant, prioritized based on the ability of the United 

22 States to play a leadership role in the international 

23 fusion research community. Fusion energy concepts 

24 and activities explored under this paragraph may in25 clude— 


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1 (A) high magnetic field approaches facili2 tated by high temperature superconductors; 

3 (B) advanced stellarator concepts; 

4 (C) non-tokamak confinement configura5 tions operating at low magnetic fields; 

6 (D) magnetized target fusion energy con7 cepts; 

8 (E) liquid metals to address issues associ9 ated with fusion plasma interactions with the 

10 inner wall of the encasing device; 

11 (F) immersion blankets for heat manage12 ment and fuel breeding; 

13 (G) advanced scientific computing activi14 ties; and 

15 (H) other promising fusion energy con16 cepts identified by the Director. 

17 (2) COORDINATION WITH ARPA–E.—The Under 

18 Secretary and the Director shall coordinate with the 

19 Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency– 

20 Energy (in this paragraph referred to as ‘‘ARPA– 

21 E’’) to— 

22 (A) assess the potential for any fusion en23 ergy project supported by ARPA–E to rep24 resent a promising approach to a commercially 

25 viable fusion power plant; 


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1 (B) determine whether the results of any 

2 fusion energy project supported by ARPA–E 

3 merit the support of follow-on research activi4 ties carried out by the Office of Science; and 

5 (C) avoid unintentional duplication of ac6 tivities. 

7 (f) GENERAL PLASMA SCIENCE AND APPLICA8 TIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide to Congress 

10 an assessment of opportunities in which the United States 

11 can provide world-leading contributions to advancing plas12 ma science and non-fusion energy applications, and iden13 tify opportunities for partnering with other Federal agen14 cies both within and outside of the Department of Energy. 

15 (g) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITIES.— 

16 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

18 transmit to Congress a report on the Department’s 

19 proposed fusion energy research and development 

20 activities over the following 10 years under at least 

21 3 realistic budget scenarios, including a scenario 

22 based on 3 percent annual growth in the non-ITER 

23 portion of the budget for fusion energy research and 

24 development activities. The report shall— 


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1 (A) identify specific areas of fusion energy 

2 research and enabling technology development 

3 in which the United States can and should es4 tablish or solidify a lead in the global fusion en5 ergy development effort; 

6 (B) identify priorities for initiation of facil7 ity construction and facility decommissioning 

8 under each of those scenarios; and 

9 (C) assess the ability of the United States 

10 fusion workforce to carry out the activities iden11 tified in subparagraphs (A) and (B), including 

12 the adequacy of college and university programs 

13 to train the leaders and workers of the next 

14 generation of fusion energy researchers. 

15 (2) PROCESS.—In order to develop the report 

16 required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall le17 verage best practices and lessons learned from the 

18 process used to develop the most recent report of the 

19 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel of the 

20 High Energy Physics Advisory Panel. No member of 

21 the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 

22 shall be excluded from participating in developing or 

23 voting on final approval of the report required under 

24 paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 507. NUCLEAR PHYSICS. 

2 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro3 gram of experimental and theoretical research, and sup4 port associated facilities, to discover, explore, and under5 stand all forms of nuclear matter. 

6 (b) ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR

7 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS.—The Director shall carry out 

8 a program for the production of isotopes, including the 

9 development of techniques to produce isotopes, that the 

10 Secretary determines are needed for research, medical, in11 dustrial, or other purposes. In making this determination, 

12 the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) ensure that, as has been the policy of the 

14 United States since the publication in 1965 of Fed15 eral Register notice 30 Fed. Reg. 3247, isotope pro16 duction activities do not compete with private indus17 try unless critical national interests necessitate the 

18 Federal Government’s involvement; 

19 (2) ensure that activities undertaken pursuant 

20 to this section, to the extent practicable, promote the 

21 growth of a robust domestic isotope production in22 dustry; and 

23 (3) consider any relevant recommendations 

24 made by Federal advisory committees, the National 

25 Academies, and interagency working groups in which 

26 the Department participates. 


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1 SEC. 508. SCIENCE LABORATORIES INFRASTRUCTURE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro4 gram to improve the safety, efficiency, and mission readi5 ness of infrastructure at Office of Science laboratories. 

6 The program shall include projects to— 

7 (1) renovate or replace space that does not 

8 meet research needs; 

9 (2) replace facilities that are no longer cost ef10 fective to renovate or operate; 

11 (3) modernize utility systems to prevent failures 

12 and ensure efficiency; 

13 (4) remove excess facilities to allow safe and ef14 ficient operations; and 

15 (5) construct modern facilities to conduct ad16 vanced research in controlled environmental condi17 tions. 

18 (b) APPROACH.—In carrying out this section, the Di19 rector shall utilize all available approaches and mecha20 nisms, including capital line items, minor construction 

21 projects, energy savings performance contracts, utility en22 ergy service contracts, alternative financing, and expense 

23 funding, as appropriate. 

24 SEC. 509. DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING. 

25 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

26 of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee 


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1 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

3 Resources of the Senate a report on the current ability 

4 of domestic manufacturers to meet the procurement re5 quirements for major ongoing projects funded by the Of6 fice of Science of the Department, including a calculation 

7 of the percentage of equipment acquired from domestic 

8 manufacturers for this purpose. 

9 SEC. 510. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.—There are authorized to be 

11 appropriated to the Secretary for the Office of Science for 

12 fiscal year 2016 $5,339,800,000, of which— 

13 (1) $1,850,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy 

14 Science; 

15 (2) $788,000,000 shall be for High Energy 

16 Physics; 

17 (3) $550,000,000 shall be for Biological and 

18 Environmental Research; 

19 (4) $624,700,000 shall be for Nuclear Physics; 

20 (5) $621,000,000 shall be for Advanced Sci21 entific Computing Research; 

22 (6) $488,000,000 shall be for Fusion Energy 

23 Sciences; 

24 (7) $113,600,000 shall be for Science Labora25 tories Infrastructure; 


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1 (8) $181,000,000 shall be for Science Program 

2 Direction; 

3 (9) $103,000,000 shall be for Safeguards and 

4 Security; and 

5 (10) $20,500,000 shall be for Workforce Devel6 opment for Teachers and Scientists. 

7 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.—There are authorized to be 

8 appropriated to the Secretary for the Office of Science for 

9 fiscal year 2017 $5,339,800,000, of which— 

10 (1) $1,850,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy 

11 Science; 

12 (2) $788,000,000 shall be for High Energy 

13 Physics; 

14 (3) $550,000,000 shall be for Biological and 

15 Environmental Research; 

16 (4) $624,700,000 shall be for Nuclear Physics; 

17 (5) $621,000,000 shall be for Advanced Sci18 entific Computing Research; 

19 (6) $488,000,000 shall be for Fusion Energy 

20 Sciences; 

21 (7) $113,600,000 shall be for Science Labora22 tories Infrastructure; 

23 (8) $181,000,000 shall be for Science Program 

24 Direction; 


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1 (9) $103,000,000 shall be for Safeguards and 

2 Security; and 

3 (10) $20,500,000 shall be for Workforce Devel4 opment for Teachers and Scientists. 

5 SEC. 511. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title— 

7 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart8 ment of Energy; 

9 (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

10 the Office of Science of the Department; and 

11 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

12 of Energy. 

13 TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF EN14 ERGY APPLIED RESEARCH 

15 AND DEVELOPMENT 

16 Subtitle A—Crosscutting Research 

17 and Development 

18 SEC. 601. CROSSCUTTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

19 (a) CROSSCUTTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOP20 MENT.—The Secretary shall, through the Under Secretary 

21 for Science and Energy, utilize the capabilities of the De22 partment to identify strategic opportunities for collabo23 rative research, development, demonstration, and commer24 cial application of innovative science and technologies 

25 for— 


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1 (1) advancing the understanding of the energy2 water-land use nexus; 

3 (2) modernizing the electric grid by improving 

4 energy transmission and distribution systems secu5 rity and resiliency; 

6 (3) utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide in elec7 tric power generation; 

8 (4) subsurface technology and engineering; 

9 (5) high performance computing; 

10 (6) cybersecurity; and 

11 (7) critical challenges identified through com12 prehensive energy studies, evaluations, and reviews. 

13 (b) CROSSCUTTING APPROACHES.—To the maximum 

14 extent practicable, the Secretary shall seek to leverage ex15 isting programs, and consolidate and coordinate activities, 

16 throughout the Department to promote collaboration and 

17 crosscutting approaches within programs. 

18 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (1) prioritize activities that promote the utiliza20 tion of all affordable domestic resources; 

21 (2) develop a rigorous and realistic planning, 

22 evaluation, and technical assessment framework for 

23 setting objective, long-term strategic goals and eval24 uating progress that ensures the integrity and indeVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 May 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.RFS H1806

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1 pendence to insulate planning from political influ2 ence and the flexibility to adapt to market dynamics; 

3 (3) ensure that activities shall be undertaken in 

4 a manner that does not duplicate other activities 

5 within the Department or other Federal Government 

6 activities; and 

7 (4) identify programs that may be more effec8 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 

9 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

10 other stakeholders. 

11 SEC. 602. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

12 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

13 Section 994 of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

14 16358) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 994. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

16 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall periodically 

18 review all of the science and technology activities of the 

19 Department in a strategic framework that takes into ac20 count the frontiers of science to which the Department 

21 can contribute, the national needs relevant to the Depart22 ment’s statutory missions, and global energy dynamics. 

23 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION ANALYSIS AND PLAN.—As part 

24 of the review under subsection (a), the Secretary shall de25 velop a plan to improve coordination and collaboration in 


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1 research, development, demonstration, and commercial ap2 plication activities across Department organizational 

3 boundaries. 

4 ‘‘(c) PLAN CONTENTS.—The plan shall describe— 

5 ‘‘(1) crosscutting scientific and technical issues 

6 and research questions that span more than one pro7 gram or major office of the Department; 

8 ‘‘(2) how the applied technology programs of 

9 the Department are coordinating their activities, and 

10 addressing those questions; 

11 ‘‘(3) ways in which the technical interchange 

12 within the Department, particularly between the Of13 fice of Science and the applied technology programs, 

14 can be enhanced, including limited ways in which the 

15 research agendas of the Office of Science and the 

16 applied programs can better interact and assist each 

17 other; 

18 ‘‘(4) a description of how the Secretary will en19 sure that the Department’s overall research agenda 

20 include, in addition to fundamental, curiosity-driven 

21 research, fundamental research related to topics of 

22 concern to the applied programs, and applications in 

23 Departmental technology programs of research re24 sults generated by fundamental, curiosity-driven re25 search; 


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1 ‘‘(5) critical assessments of any ongoing pro2 grams that have experienced sub-par performance or 

3 cost over-runs of 10 percent or more over 1 or more 

4 years; 

5 ‘‘(6) activities that may be more effectively left 

6 to the States, industry, nongovernmental organiza7 tions, institutions of higher education, or other 

8 stakeholders; and 

9 ‘‘(7) detailed proposals for innovation hubs, in10 stitutes, and research centers prior to establishment 

11 or renewal by the Department, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) certification that all hubs, institutes, 

13 and research centers will advance the mission of 

14 the Department, and prioritize research, devel15 opment, and demonstration; 

16 ‘‘(B) certification that the establishment or 

17 renewal of hubs, institutes, or research centers 

18 will not diminish funds available for basic re19 search and development within the Office of 

20 Science; and 

21 ‘‘(C) certification that all hubs, institutes, 

22 and research centers established or renewed 

23 within the Office of Science are consistent with 

24 the mission of the Office of Science as described 


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1 in section 209(c) of the Department of Energy 

2 Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139(c)). 

3 ‘‘(d) PLAN TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of the America COMPETES 

5 Reauthorization Act of 2015, and every 4 years thereafter, 

6 the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Science, 

7 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

8 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

9 the Senate the results of the review under subsection (a) 

10 and the coordination plan under subsection (b).’’. 

11 SEC. 603. STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUC12 TURE. 

13 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 993 of the Energy Pol14 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16357) is amended— 

15 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

16 follows: ‘‘STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES AND IN17 FRASTRUCTURE’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2008’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The item 

21 relating to section 993 in the table of contents of the En22 ergy Policy Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 993. Strategy for facilities and infrastructure.’’. 

23 SEC. 604. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 

2 shall carry out a program to enhance the Nation’s 

3 economic, environmental, and energy security by 

4 making awards to consortia for establishing and op5 erating Energy Innovation Hubs to conduct and 

6 support, whenever practicable at one centralized lo7 cation, multidisciplinary, collaborative research, de8 velopment, and demonstration of advanced energy 

9 technologies. 

10 (2) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

11 Secretary shall designate for each Hub a unique ad12 vanced energy technology focus. 

13 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en14 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du15 plication of, the activities of Hubs with those of 

16 other Department of Energy research entities, in17 cluding the National Laboratories, the Advanced Re18 search Projects Agency-Energy, Energy Frontier Re19 search Centers, and within industry. 

20 (b) CONSORTIA.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 

22 award under this section for the establishment and 

23 operation of a Hub, a consortium shall— 

24 (A) be composed of no fewer than two 

25 qualifying entities; and 


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1 (B) operate subject to an agreement en2 tered into by its members that documents— 

3 (i) the proposed partnership agree4 ment, including the governance and man5 agement structure of the Hub; 

6 (ii) measures to enable cost-effective 

7 implementation of the program under this 

8 section; 

9 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi10 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

11 sources; 

12 (iv) a plan for managing intellectual 

13 property rights; and 

14 (v) an accounting structure that en15 ables the Secretary to ensure that the con16 sortium has complied with the require17 ments of this section. 

18 (2) APPLICATION.—A consortium seeking to es19 tablish and operate a Hub under this section, acting 

20 through a prime applicant, shall transmit to the Sec21 retary an application at such time, in such form, 

22 and accompanied by such information as the Sec23 retary shall require, including a detailed description 

24 of the elements of the consortium agreement re25 quired under paragraph (1)(B). If the consortium 


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1 members will not be located at one centralized loca2 tion, such application shall include a communica3 tions plan that ensures close coordination and inte4 gration of the Hub’s activities. 

5 (c) SELECTION AND SCHEDULE.—The Secretary 

6 shall select consortia for awards for the establishment and 

7 operation of Hubs through competitive selection processes. 

8 In selecting consortia, the Secretary shall consider the in9 formation a consortium must disclose according to sub10 section (b), as well as any existing facilities a consortium 

11 will provide for Hub activities. Awards made to a Hub 

12 shall be for a period not to exceed 5 years, subject to the 

13 availability of appropriations, after which the award may 

14 be renewed, subject to a rigorous merit review. A Hub al15 ready in existence on the date of enactment of this Act 

16 may continue to receive support for a period of 5 years, 

17 subject to the availability of appropriations, beginning on 

18 the date of establishment of that Hub. 

19 (d) HUB OPERATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Hub shall conduct or 

21 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 

22 development, and demonstration of advanced energy 

23 technologies within the technology development focus 

24 designated under subsection (a)(2). Each Hub 

25 shall— 


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1 (A) encourage collaboration and commu2 nication among the member qualifying entities 

3 of the consortium and awardees by conducting 

4 activities whenever practicable at one central5 ized location; 

6 (B) develop and publish on the Depart7 ment of Energy’s website proposed plans and 

8 programs; 

9 (C) submit an annual report to the Sec10 retary summarizing the Hub’s activities, includ11 ing detailing organizational expenditures, and 

12 describing each project undertaken by the Hub; 

13 and 

14 (D) monitor project implementation and 

15 coordination. 

16 (2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

17 (A) PROCEDURES.—Hubs shall maintain 

18 conflict of interest procedures, consistent with 

19 those of the Department of Energy, to ensure 

20 that employees and consortia designees for Hub 

21 activities who are in decisionmaking capacities 

22 disclose all material conflicts of interest, and 

23 avoid such conflicts. 

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1 cation or revoke funds distributed to a Hub if 

2 the Secretary discovers a failure to comply with 

3 conflict of interest procedures established under 

4 subparagraph (A). 

5 (3) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—No funds provided pur7 suant to this section may be used for construc8 tion of new buildings or facilities for Hubs. 

9 Construction of new buildings or facilities shall 

10 not be considered as part of the non-Federal 

11 share of a Hub cost-sharing agreement. 

12 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP13 TION.—Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 

14 the use of funds provided pursuant to this sec15 tion, or non-Federal cost share funds, for re16 search or for the construction of a test bed or 

17 renovations to existing buildings or facilities for 

18 the purposes of research if the Secretary deter19 mines that the test bed or renovations are lim20 ited to a scope and scale necessary for the re21 search to be conducted. 

22 (e) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the existing au23 thorities of the Department, the Secretary may terminate 

24 an underperforming Hub for cause during the perform25 ance period. 


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1 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

2 (1) ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The 

3 term ‘‘advanced energy technology’’ means— 

4 (A) an innovative technology— 

5 (i) that produces energy from solar, 

6 wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, 

7 ocean, or other renewable energy resources; 

8 (ii) that produces nuclear energy; 

9 (iii) for carbon capture and sequestra10 tion; 

11 (iv) that enables advanced vehicles, 

12 vehicle components, and related tech13 nologies that result in significant energy 

14 savings; 

15 (v) that generates, transmits, distrib16 utes, utilizes, or stores energy more effi17 ciently than conventional technologies, in18 cluding through Smart Grid technologies; 

19 or 

20 (vi) that enhances the energy inde21 pendence and security of the United States 

22 by enabling improved or expanded supply 

23 and production of domestic energy re24 sources, including coal, oil, and natural 

25 gas; 


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1 (B) research, development, and demonstra2 tion activities necessary to ensure the long3 term, secure, and sustainable supply of energy 

4 critical elements; or 

5 (C) another innovative energy technology 

6 area identified by the Secretary. 

7 (2) HUB.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ means an Energy 

8 Innovation Hub established or operating in accord9 ance with this section, including any Energy Innova10 tion Hub existing as of the date of enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 (3) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali13 fying entity’’ means— 

14 (A) an institution of higher education; 

15 (B) an appropriate State or Federal entity, 

16 including the Department of Energy Federally 

17 Funded Research and Development Centers; 

18 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 

19 expertise in advanced energy technology re20 search, development, demonstration, or com21 mercial application; or 

22 (D) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

23 considers appropriate. 


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1 Subtitle B—Electricity Delivery 

2 and Energy Reliability Research 

3 and Development 

4 SEC. 611. DISTRIBUTED ENERGY AND ELECTRIC ENERGY 

5 SYSTEMS. 

6 Section 921 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

7 U.S.C. 16211) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 921. DISTRIBUTED ENERGY AND ELECTRIC ENERGY 

9 SYSTEMS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out 

11 programs of research, development, demonstration, and 

12 commercial application on distributed energy resources 

13 and systems reliability and efficiency, to improve the reli14 ability and efficiency of distributed energy resources and 

15 systems, integrating advanced energy technologies with 

16 grid connectivity, including activities described in this sub17 title. The programs shall address advanced energy tech18 nologies and systems and advanced grid security, resil19 iency, and reliability technologies. 

20 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—To the maximum extent prac21 ticable, the Secretary shall seek to— 

22 ‘‘(1) leverage existing programs; 

23 ‘‘(2) consolidate and coordinate activities 

24 throughout the Department to promote collaboration 

25 and crosscutting approaches; 


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1 ‘‘(3) ensure activities are undertaken in a man2 ner that does not duplicate other activities within 

3 the Department or other Federal Government activi4 ties; and 

5 ‘‘(4) identify programs that may be more effec6 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 

7 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

8 other stakeholders.’’. 

9 SEC. 612. ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION RE10 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

11 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 925 of the Energy Pol12 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16215) is amended— 

13 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

14 follows: ‘‘ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND DIS15 TRIBUTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 

16 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a 

19 comprehensive research, development, and demonstration 

20 program to ensure the reliability, efficiency, and environ21 mental integrity of electrical transmission and distribution 

22 systems, which shall include innovations for— 

23 ‘‘(1) advanced energy delivery technologies, en24 ergy storage technologies, materials, and systems; 


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1 ‘‘(2) advanced grid reliability and efficiency 

2 technology development; 

3 ‘‘(3) technologies contributing to significant 

4 load reductions; 

5 ‘‘(4) advanced metering, load management, and 

6 control technologies; 

7 ‘‘(5) technologies to enhance existing grid com8 ponents; 

9 ‘‘(6) the development and use of high-tempera10 ture superconductors to— 

11 ‘‘(A) enhance the reliability, operational 

12 flexibility, or power-carrying capability of elec13 tric transmission or distribution systems; or 

14 ‘‘(B) increase the efficiency of electric en15 ergy generation, transmission, distribution, or 

16 storage systems; 

17 ‘‘(7) integration of power systems, including 

18 systems to deliver high-quality electric power, elec19 tric power reliability, and combined heat and power; 

20 ‘‘(8) supply of electricity to the power grid by 

21 small scale, distributed, and residential-based power 

22 generators; 

23 ‘‘(9) the development and use of advanced grid 

24 design, operation, and planning tools; 


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1 ‘‘(10) technologies to enhance security for elec2 trical transmission and distributions systems; and 

3 ‘‘(11) any other infrastructure technologies, as 

4 appropriate.’’; and 

5 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) CONSORTIUM.—The Secretary shall con9 sider implementing the program under this section 

10 using a consortium of participants from industry, in11 stitutions of higher education, and National Labora12 tories. 

13 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—To the maximum extent 

14 practicable the Secretary shall seek to— 

15 ‘‘(A) leverage existing programs; 

16 ‘‘(B) consolidate and coordinate activities, 

17 throughout the Department to promote collabo18 ration and crosscutting approaches; 

19 ‘‘(C) ensure activities are undertaken in a 

20 manner that does not duplicate other activities 

21 within the Department or other Federal Gov22 ernment activities; and 

23 ‘‘(D) identify programs that may be more 

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1 governmental organizations, institutions of 

2 higher education, or other stakeholders.’’. 

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The item 

4 relating to section 925 in the table of contents of the En5 ergy Policy Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 925. Electric transmission and distribution research and development.’’. 

6 Subtitle C—Nuclear Energy 

7 Research and Development 

8 SEC. 621. OBJECTIVES. 

9 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 16271) is amended— 

11 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct pro14 grams of civilian nuclear energy research, development, 

15 demonstration, and commercial application, including ac16 tivities described in this subtitle. Such programs shall take 

17 into consideration the following objectives: 

18 ‘‘(1) Enhancing nuclear power’s viability as 

19 part of the United States energy portfolio. 

20 ‘‘(2) Reducing used nuclear fuel and nuclear 

21 waste products generated by civilian nuclear energy. 

22 ‘‘(3) Supporting technological advances in areas 

23 that industry by itself is not likely to undertake be24 cause of technical and financial uncertainty. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Providing the technical means to reduce 

2 the likelihood of nuclear proliferation. 

3 ‘‘(5) Maintaining a cadre of nuclear scientists 

4 and engineers. 

5 ‘‘(6) Maintaining National Laboratory and uni6 versity nuclear programs, including their infrastruc7 ture. 

8 ‘‘(7) Supporting both individual researchers and 

9 multidisciplinary teams of researchers to pioneer 

10 new approaches in nuclear energy, science, and tech11 nology. 

12 ‘‘(8) Developing, planning, constructing, acquir13 ing, and operating special equipment and facilities 

14 for the use of researchers. 

15 ‘‘(9) Supporting technology transfer and other 

16 appropriate activities to assist the nuclear energy in17 dustry, and other users of nuclear science and engi18 neering, including activities addressing reliability, 

19 availability, productivity, component aging, safety, 

20 and security of nuclear power plants. 

21 ‘‘(10) Reducing the environmental impact of 

22 nuclear energy-related activities. 

23 ‘‘(11) Researching and developing technologies 

24 and processes to meet Federal and State require25 ments and standards for nuclear power systems.’’; 


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1 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (d); and 

2 (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub3 section (b). 

4 SEC. 622. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES STUDY. 

5 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 16271) is further amended by adding at the end 

7 the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES STUDY.—In furtherance 

9 of the program objectives listed in subsection (a) of this 

10 section, the Government Accountability Office shall, within 

11 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

12 transmit to the Congress a report on the results of a study 

13 on the scientific and technical merit of major Federal and 

14 State requirements and standards, including moratoria, 

15 that delay or impede the further development and com16 mercialization of nuclear power, and how the Department 

17 can assist in overcoming such delays or impediments.’’. 

18 SEC. 623. NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT PROGRAMS. 

20 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

21 U.S.C. 16272) is amended by striking subsections (c) 

22 through (e) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) REACTOR CONCEPTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

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1 tion, and commercial application to advance nuclear 

2 power systems as well as technologies to sustain cur3 rently deployed systems. 

4 ‘‘(2) DESIGNS AND TECHNOLOGIES.—In con5 ducting the program under this subsection, the Sec6 retary shall examine advanced reactor designs and 

7 nuclear technologies, including those that— 

8 ‘‘(A) have higher efficiency, lower cost, and 

9 improved safety compared to reactors in oper10 ation as of the date of enactment of the Amer11 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015; 

12 ‘‘(B) utilize passive safety features; 

13 ‘‘(C) minimize proliferation risks; 

14 ‘‘(D) substantially reduce production of 

15 high-level waste per unit of output; 

16 ‘‘(E) increase the life and sustainability of 

17 reactor systems currently deployed; 

18 ‘‘(F) use improved instrumentation; 

19 ‘‘(G) are capable of producing large-scale 

20 quantities of hydrogen or process heat; 

21 ‘‘(H) minimize water usage or use alter22 natives to water as a cooling mechanism; or 

23 ‘‘(I) use nuclear energy as part of an inte24 grated energy system. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—In car2 rying out the program under this subsection, the 

3 Secretary shall seek opportunities to enhance the 

4 progress of the program through international co5 operation through such organizations as the Genera6 tion IV International Forum or any other inter7 national collaboration the Secretary considers appro8 priate. 

9 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—No funds authorized to be 

10 appropriated to carry out the activities described in 

11 this subsection shall be used to fund the activities 

12 authorized under sections 641 through 645.’’. 

13 SEC. 624. SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM. 

14 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

15 U.S.C. 16272) is further amended by adding at the end 

16 the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(d) SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

19 out a small modular reactor program to promote re20 search, development, demonstration, and commercial 

21 application of small modular reactors, including 

22 through cost-shared projects for commercial applica23 tion of reactor systems designs. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con25 sult with and utilize the expertise of the Secretary 


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1 of the Navy in establishing and carrying out such 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Activities may 

4 also include development of advanced computer mod5 eling and simulation tools, by Federal and non-Fed6 eral entities, which demonstrate and validate new de7 sign capabilities of innovative small modular reactor 

8 designs. 

9 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

10 subsection, the term ‘small modular reactor’ means 

11 a nuclear reactor meeting generally accepted indus12 try standards— 

13 ‘‘(A) with a rated capacity of less than 300 

14 electrical megawatts; 

15 ‘‘(B) with respect to which most parts can 

16 be factory assembled and shipped as modules to 

17 a reactor plant site for assembly; and 

18 ‘‘(C) that can be constructed and operated 

19 in combination with similar reactors at a single 

20 site.’’. 

21 SEC. 625. FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

22 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 953 of the Energy Pol23 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16273) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AD2 VANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 

4 (2) by striking subsection (a); 

5 (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

6 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 

7 (4) by inserting before subsection (d), as so re8 designated by paragraph (3) of this subsection, the 

9 following new subsections: 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

11 fuel cycle research, development, demonstration, and com12 mercial application program (referred to in this section as 

13 the ‘program’) on fuel cycle options that improve uranium 

14 resource utilization, maximize energy generation, minimize 

15 nuclear waste creation, improve safety, mitigate risk of 

16 proliferation, and improve waste management in support 

17 of a national strategy for spent nuclear fuel and the reac18 tor concepts research, development, demonstration, and 

19 commercial application program under section 952(c). 

20 ‘‘(b) FUEL CYCLE OPTIONS.—Under this section the 

21 Secretary may consider implementing the following initia22 tives: 

23 ‘‘(1) OPEN CYCLE.—Developing fuels, including 

24 the use of nonuranium materials and alternate 

25 claddings, for use in reactors that increase energy 


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1 generation, improve safety performance and mar2 gins, and minimize the amount of nuclear waste pro3 duced in an open fuel cycle. 

4 ‘‘(2) RECYCLE.—Developing advanced recycling 

5 technologies, including advanced reactor concepts to 

6 improve resource utilization, reduce proliferation 

7 risks, and minimize radiotoxicity, decay heat, and 

8 mass and volume of nuclear waste to the greatest 

9 extent possible. 

10 ‘‘(3) ADVANCED STORAGE METHODS.—Devel11 oping advanced storage technologies for both onsite 

12 and long-term storage that substantially prolong the 

13 effective life of current storage devices or that sub14 stantially improve upon existing nuclear waste stor15 age technologies and methods, including repositories. 

16 ‘‘(4) FAST TEST REACTOR.—Investigating the 

17 potential research benefits of a fast test reactor user 

18 facility to conduct experiments on fuels and mate19 rials related to fuel forms and fuel cycles that will 

20 increase fuel utilization, reduce proliferation risks, 

21 and reduce nuclear waste products. 

22 ‘‘(5) ADVANCED REACTOR INNOVATION.—De23 veloping an advanced reactor innovation testbed 

24 where national laboratories, universities, and indus25 try can address advanced reactor design challenges 


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1 to enable construction and operation of privately 

2 funded reactor prototypes to resolve technical uncer3 tainty for United States-based designs for future do4 mestic and international markets. 

5 ‘‘(6) OTHER TECHNOLOGIES.—Developing any 

6 other technology or initiative that the Secretary de7 termines is likely to advance the objectives of the 

8 program. 

9 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL ADVANCED RECYCLING AND

10 CROSSCUTTING ACTIVITIES.—In addition to and in sup11 port of the specific initiatives described in paragraphs (1) 

12 through (5) of subsection (b), the Secretary may support 

13 the following activities: 

14 ‘‘(1) Development and testing of integrated 

15 process flow sheets for advanced nuclear fuel recy16 cling processes. 

17 ‘‘(2) Research to characterize the byproducts 

18 and waste streams resulting from fuel recycling 

19 processes. 

20 ‘‘(3) Research and development on reactor con21 cepts or transmutation technologies that improve re22 source utilization or reduce the radiotoxicity of waste 

23 streams. 

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1 vanced waste forms, and quantification of prolifera2 tion risks. 

3 ‘‘(5) Identification and evaluation of test and 

4 experimental facilities necessary to successfully im5 plement the advanced fuel cycle initiative. 

6 ‘‘(6) Advancement of fuel cycle-related modeling 

7 and simulation capabilities. 

8 ‘‘(7) Research to understand the behavior of 

9 high-burnup fuels.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

11 to section 953 in the table of contents of the Energy Policy 

12 Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 953. Fuel cycle research and development.’’. 

13 SEC. 626. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES 

14 PROGRAM. 

15 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En16 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 958. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

20 program to support the integration of activities under21 taken through the reactor concepts research, development, 

22 demonstration, and commercial application program under 

23 section 952(c) and the fuel cycle research and development 

24 program under section 953, and support crosscutting nu25 clear energy concepts. Activities commenced under this 


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1 section shall be concentrated on broadly applicable re2 search and development focus areas. 

3 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities conducted under this 

4 section may include research involving— 

5 ‘‘(1) advanced reactor materials; 

6 ‘‘(2) advanced radiation mitigation methods; 

7 ‘‘(3) advanced proliferation and security risk 

8 assessment methods; 

9 ‘‘(4) advanced sensors and instrumentation; 

10 ‘‘(5) high performance computation modeling, 

11 including multiphysics, multidimensional modeling 

12 simulation for nuclear energy systems, and contin13 ued development of advanced modeling simulation 

14 capabilities through national laboratory, industry, 

15 and university partnerships for operations and safety 

16 performance improvements of light water reactors 

17 for currently deployed and near-term reactors and 

18 advanced reactors and for the development of small 

19 modular reactors; and 

20 ‘‘(6) any crosscutting technology or trans21 formative concept aimed at establishing substantial 

22 and revolutionary enhancements in the performance 

23 of future nuclear energy systems that the Secretary 

24 considers relevant and appropriate to the purpose of 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit, as part 

2 of the annual budget submission of the Department, a re3 port on the activities of the program conducted under this 

4 section, which shall include a brief evaluation of each ac5 tivity’s progress.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by 

8 adding at the end of the items for subtitle E of title IX 

9 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 958. Nuclear energy enabling technologies.’’. 

10 SEC. 627. TECHNICAL STANDARDS COLLABORATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In12 stitute of Standards and Technology shall establish a nu13 clear energy standards committee (in this section referred 

14 to as the ‘‘technical standards committee’’) to facilitate 

15 and support, consistent with the National Technology 

16 Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, the development 

17 or revision of technical standards for new and existing nu18 clear power plants and advanced nuclear technologies. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The technical standards 

21 committee shall include representatives from appro22 priate Federal agencies and the private sector, and 

23 be open to materially affected organizations involved 

24 in the development or application of nuclear energy25 related standards. 


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1 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The technical standards com2 mittee shall be co-chaired by a representative from 

3 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

4 and a representative from a private sector standards 

5 organization. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The technical standards committee 

7 shall, in cooperation with appropriate Federal agencies— 

8 (1) perform a needs assessment to identify and 

9 evaluate the technical standards that are needed to 

10 support nuclear energy, including those needed to 

11 support new and existing nuclear power plants and 

12 advanced nuclear technologies, including developing 

13 the technical basis for regulatory frameworks for ad14 vanced reactors; 

15 (2) formulate, coordinate, and recommend pri16 orities for the development of new technical stand17 ards and the revision of existing technical standards 

18 to address the needs identified under paragraph (1); 

19 (3) facilitate and support collaboration and co20 operation among standards developers to address the 

21 needs and priorities identified under paragraphs (1) 

22 and (2); 

23 (4) as appropriate, coordinate with other na24 tional, regional, or international efforts on nuclear 

25 energy-related technical standards in order to avoid 


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1 conflict and duplication and to ensure global com2 patibility; and 

3 (5) promote the establishment and maintenance 

4 of a database of nuclear energy-related technical 

5 standards. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To the 

7 extent provided for in advance by appropriations Acts, the 

8 Secretary may transfer to the Director of the National In9 stitute of Standards and Technology not to exceed 

10 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 for the Secretary of Com11 merce to carry out this section from amounts appropriated 

12 for nuclear energy research and development within the 

13 Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies account for the 

14 Department. 

15 SEC. 628. AVAILABLE FACILITIES DATABASE. 

16 The Secretary shall prepare a database of non-Fed17 eral user facilities receiving Federal funds that may be 

18 used for unclassified nuclear energy research. The Sec19 retary shall make this database accessible on the Depart20 ment’s website. 


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1 Subtitle D—Energy Efficiency and 

2 Renewable Energy Research 

3 and Development 

4 SEC. 641. ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 

5 Section 911 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 16191) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 911. ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 

8 ‘‘(a) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall conduct pro9 grams of energy efficiency research, development, dem10 onstration, and commercial application, including activi11 ties described in this subtitle. Such programs shall 

12 prioritize activities that industry by itself is not likely to 

13 undertake because of technical challenges or regulatory 

14 uncertainty, and take into consideration the following ob15 jectives: 

16 ‘‘(1) Increasing energy efficiency. 

17 ‘‘(2) Reducing the cost of energy. 

18 ‘‘(3) Reducing the environmental impact of en19 ergy-related activities. 

20 ‘‘(b) PROGRAMS.—Programs under this subtitle shall 

21 include research, development, demonstration, and com22 mercial application of— 

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1 duction technologies, technologies, modeling, and 

2 simulation for increasing vehicle connectivity and au3 tomation, and whole-vehicle design optimization; 

4 ‘‘(2) cost-effective technologies, for new con5 struction and retrofit, to improve the energy effi6 ciency and environmental performance of buildings, 

7 using a whole-buildings approach; 

8 ‘‘(3) advanced technologies to improve the en9 ergy efficiency, environmental performance, and 

10 process efficiency of energy-intensive and waste-in11 tensive industries; 

12 ‘‘(4) technologies to improve the energy effi13 ciency of appliances and mechanical systems for 

14 buildings in extreme climates, including cogenera15 tion, trigeneration, and polygeneration units; 

16 ‘‘(5) advanced battery technologies; and 

17 ‘‘(6) fuel cell and hydrogen technologies.’’. 

18 SEC. 642. NEXT GENERATION LIGHTING INITIATIVE. 

19 Section 912 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 16192) and the item relating thereto in the table 

21 of contents of that Act are repealed. 

22 SEC. 643. BUILDING STANDARDS. 

23 Section 914 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

24 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) and the item relating thereto in the table 

5 of contents of that Act are repealed. 

6 SEC. 645. NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 To the extent provided for in advance by appropria9 tions Acts, the Secretary may transfer to the National In10 stitute of Standards and Technology up to $150,000,000 

11 for the period encompassing fiscal years 2015 through 

12 2017 from amounts appropriated for advanced manufac13 turing research and development under this subtitle (and 

14 the amendments made by this subtitle) for the Secretary 

15 of Commerce to carry out the Network for Manufacturing 

16 Innovation Program authorized under section 34 of the 

17 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 278s). 

19 SEC. 646. ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 

20 CENTERS. 

21 Section 917 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

22 U.S.C. 16197) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of para25 graph (2)(B); 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para2 graph (3) and inserting a period; and 

3 (C) by striking paragraph (4); 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

6 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

7 through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re8 spectively; and 

9 (C) by striking paragraph (6); 

10 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds awarded 

13 under this section may be used for the construction of fa14 cilities or the deployment of commercially available tech15 nologies.’’; and 

16 (4) by striking subsection (i). 

17 SEC. 647. RENEWABLE ENERGY. 

18 Section 931 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

19 U.S.C. 16231) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 931. RENEWABLE ENERGY. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary shall con23 duct programs of renewable energy research, devel24 opment, demonstration, and commercial application, 

25 including activities described in this subtitle. Such 


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1 programs shall prioritize discovery research and de2 velopment and take into consideration the following 

3 objectives: 

4 ‘‘(A) Increasing the conversion efficiency of 

5 all forms of renewable energy through improved 

6 technologies. 

7 ‘‘(B) Decreasing the cost of renewable en8 ergy generation and delivery. 

9 ‘‘(C) Promoting the diversity of the energy 

10 supply. 

11 ‘‘(D) Decreasing the dependence of the 

12 United States on foreign mineral resources. 

13 ‘‘(E) Decreasing the environmental impact 

14 of renewable energy-related activities. 

15 ‘‘(F) Increasing the export of renewable 

16 generation technologies from the United States. 

17 ‘‘(2) PROGRAMS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) SOLAR ENERGY.—The Secretary shall 

19 conduct a program of research, development, 

20 demonstration, and commercial application for 

21 solar energy, including innovations in— 

22 ‘‘(i) photovoltaics; 

23 ‘‘(ii) solar heating; 

24 ‘‘(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) crosscutting 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 conversion of biomass to biofuels 

24 and bioproducts as part of integrated biorefineries 

25 based on either biochemical processes, 


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1 thermochemical processes, or hybrids of these proc2 esses; and 

3 ‘‘(3) other advanced processes that will enable 

4 the development of cost-effective bioproducts, includ5 ing biofuels. 

6 ‘‘(c) RETROFIT TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE DEVELOP7 MENT OF ETHANOL FROM CELLULOSIC MATERIALS.— 

8 The Secretary shall establish a program of research, devel9 opment, demonstration, and commercial application for 

10 technologies and processes to enable biorefineries that ex11 clusively use corn grain or corn starch as a feedstock to 

12 produce ethanol to be retrofitted to accept a range of bio13 mass, including lignocellulosic feedstocks. 

14 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.—None of the funds authorized 

15 for carrying out this section may be used to fund commer16 cial biofuels production for defense purposes. 

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, grasses, and agricul24 tural residues not specifically grown for food, includ25 ing from barley grain, grapeseed, rice bran, rice 


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1 hulls, rice straw, soybean matter, cornstover, and 

2 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) and the item relating thereto in the table 

7 of contents of that Act are repealed. 

8 SEC. 650. RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

9 Section 935 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 16235) and the item relating thereto in the table 

11 of contents of that Act are repealed. 

12 Subtitle E—Fossil Energy Research 

13 and Development 

14 SEC. 661. FOSSIL ENERGY. 

15 Section 961 of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

16 16291) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 961. FOSSIL ENERGY. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out re19 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap20 plication programs in fossil energy, including activities 

21 under this subtitle, with the goal of improving the effi22 ciency, effectiveness, and environmental performance of 

23 fossil energy production, upgrading, conversion, and con24 sumption. Such programs shall take into consideration the 

25 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) OBJECTIVES.—To the maximum extent prac15 ticable, the Secretary shall seek to— 

16 ‘‘(1) leverage existing programs; 

17 ‘‘(2) consolidate and coordinate activities 

18 throughout the Department to promote collaboration 

19 and crosscutting approaches; 

20 ‘‘(3) ensure activities are undertaken in a man21 ner that does not duplicate other activities within 

22 the Department or other Federal Government activi23 ties; and 

24 ‘‘(4) identify programs that may be more effec25 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 


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1 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

2 other stakeholders. 

3 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) USES.—None of the funds authorized for 

5 carrying out this section may be used for Fossil En6 ergy Environmental Restoration. 

7 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

8 Not less than 20 percent of the funds appropriated 

9 for carrying out section 964 of this Act for each fis10 cal year shall be dedicated to research and develop11 ment carried out at institutions of higher education. 

12 ‘‘(3) USE FOR REGULATORY ASSESSMENTS OR

13 DETERMINATIONS.—The results of any research, de14 velopment, demonstration, or commercial application 

15 projects or activities of the Department authorized 

16 under this subtitle may not be used for regulatory 

17 assessments or determinations by Federal regulatory 

18 authorities. 

19 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) CONSTRAINTS AGAINST BRINGING RE21 SOURCES TO MARKET.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of enactment of the America COMPETES 

23 Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Secretary shall 

24 transmit to Congress an assessment of the technical, 


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1 institutional, policy, and regulatory constraints to 

2 bringing new domestic fossil resources to market. 

3 ‘‘(2) TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES.—Not later 

4 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 

5 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, 

6 the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a long-term 

7 assessment of existing and projected technological 

8 capabilities for expanded production from domestic 

9 unconventional oil, gas, and methane reserves.’’. 

10 SEC. 662. COAL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRA11 TION, AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATION PRO12 GRAMS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 962 of the Energy Policy 

14 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16292) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

17 at the end; 

18 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

21 ‘‘(12) specific additional programs to address 

22 water use and reuse; 

23 ‘‘(13) the testing, including the construction of 

24 testing facilities, of high temperature materials for 


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1 use in advanced systems for combustion or use of 

2 coal; and 

3 ‘‘(14) innovations to application of existing coal 

4 conversion systems designed to increase efficiency of 

5 conversion, flexibility of operation, and other modi6 fications to address existing usage requirements.’’; 

7 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

8 as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; 

9 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(b) TRANSFORMATIONAL COAL TECHNOLOGY PRO12 GRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program es14 tablished under subsection (a), the Secretary may 

15 carry out a program designed to undertake research, 

16 development, demonstration, and commercial appli17 cation of technologies, including the accelerated de18 velopment of— 

19 ‘‘(A) chemical looping technology; 

20 ‘‘(B) supercritical carbon dioxide power 

21 generation cycles; 

22 ‘‘(C) pressurized oxycombustion, including 

23 new and retrofit technologies; and 

24 ‘‘(D) other technologies that are character25 ized by the use of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) alternative energy cycles; 

2 ‘‘(ii) thermionic devices using waste 

3 heat; 

4 ‘‘(iii) fuel cells; 

5 ‘‘(iv) replacement of chemical proc6 esses with biotechnology; 

7 ‘‘(v) nanotechnology; 

8 ‘‘(vi) new materials in applications 

9 (other than extending cycles to higher tem10 perature and pressure), such as mem11 branes or ceramics; 

12 ‘‘(vii) carbon utilization, such as in 

13 construction materials, using low quality 

14 energy to reconvert back to a fuel, or man15 ufactured food; 

16 ‘‘(viii) advanced gas separation con17 cepts; and 

18 ‘‘(ix) other technologies, including— 

19 ‘‘(I) modular, manufactured com20 ponents; and 

21 ‘‘(II) innovative production or re22 search techniques, such as using 3–D 

23 printer systems, for the production of 

24 early research and development proto25 types. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—In carrying out the pro2 gram described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

3 enter into partnerships with private entities to share 

4 the costs of carrying out the program. The Secretary 

5 may reduce the non-Federal cost share requirement 

6 if the Secretary determines that the reduction is nec7 essary and appropriate considering the technological 

8 risks involved in the project.’’; and 

9 (4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated) by 

10 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out programs 

12 authorized by this section, the Secretary shall iden13 tify cost and performance goals for coal-based tech14 nologies that would permit the continued cost-com15 petitive use of coal for the production of electricity, 

16 chemical feedstocks, transportation fuels, and other 

17 marketable products.’’. 

18 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE; AUTHORIZATION OF AP19 PROPRIATIONS.—Section 963 of the Energy Policy Act of 

20 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16293) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending paragraph (6) of subsection 

22 (c) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(6) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), the Secretary shall establish an adviVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 May 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1806.RFS H1806

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1 sory committee to undertake, not less fre2 quently than once every 3 years, a review and 

3 prepare a report on the progress being made by 

4 the Department of Energy to achieve the goals 

5 described in subsections (a) and (b) of section 

6 962 and subsection (b) of this section. 

7 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 Members of the advisory committee established 

9 under subparagraph (A) shall be appointed by 

10 the Secretary, except that three members shall 

11 be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 

12 Representatives and two members shall be ap13 pointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate. 

14 The total number of members of the advisory 

15 committee shall be 15.’’; and 

16 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(d) STUDY OF CARBON DIOXIDE PIPELINES.—Not 

19 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Amer20 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Sec21 retary shall transmit to Congress the results of a study 

22 to assess the cost and feasibility of engineering, permit23 ting, building, maintaining, regulating, and insuring a na24 tional system of carbon dioxide pipelines.’’. 


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1 SEC. 663. HIGH EFFICIENCY GAS TURBINES RESEARCH AND 

2 DEVELOPMENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the Office 

4 of Fossil Energy, shall carry out a multiyear, multiphase 

5 program of research, development, demonstration, and 

6 commercial application to innovate technologies to maxi7 mize the efficiency of gas turbines used in power genera8 tion systems. 

9 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program under this 

10 section shall— 

11 (1) support innovative engineering and detailed 

12 gas turbine design for megawatt-scale and utility13 scale electric power generation, including— 

14 (A) high temperature materials, including 

15 superalloys, coatings, and ceramics; 

16 (B) improved heat transfer capability; 

17 (C) manufacturing technology required to 

18 construct complex three-dimensional geometry 

19 parts with improved aerodynamic capability; 

20 (D) combustion technology to produce 

21 higher firing temperature while lowering nitro22 gen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions per 

23 unit of output; 

24 (E) advanced controls and systems integra25 tion; 


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1 (F) advanced high performance compressor 

2 technology; and 

3 (G) validation facilities for the testing of 

4 components and subsystems; 

5 (2) include technology demonstration through 

6 component testing, subscale testing, and full scale 

7 testing in existing fleets; 

8 (3) include field demonstrations of the devel9 oped technology elements so as to demonstrate tech10 nical and economic feasibility; and 

11 (4) assess overall combined cycle and simple 

12 cycle system performance. 

13 (c) PROGRAM GOALS.—The goals of the multiphase 

14 program established under subsection (a) shall be— 

15 (1) in phase I— 

16 (A) to develop the conceptual design of ad17 vanced high efficiency gas turbines that can 

18 achieve at least 62 percent combined cycle effi19 ciency or 47 percent simple cycle efficiency on 

20 a lower heating value basis; and 

21 (B) to develop and demonstrate the tech22 nology required for advanced high efficiency gas 

23 turbines that can achieve at least 62 percent 

24 combined cycle efficiency or 47 percent simple 


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1 cycle efficiency on a lower heating value basis; 

2 and 

3 (2) in phase II, to develop the conceptual de4 sign for advanced high efficiency gas turbines that 

5 can achieve at least 65 percent combined cycle effi6 ciency or 50 percent simple cycle efficiency on a 

7 lower heating value basis. 

8 (d) PROPOSALS.—Within 180 days after the date of 

9 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall solicit grant and 

10 contract proposals from industry, small businesses, univer11 sities, and other appropriate parties for conducting activi12 ties under this section. In selecting proposals, the Sec13 retary shall emphasize— 

14 (1) the extent to which the proposal will stimu15 late the creation or increased retention of jobs in the 

16 United States; and 

17 (2) the extent to which the proposal will pro18 mote and enhance United States technology leader19 ship. 

20 (e) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—The provision of fund21 ing under this section shall be on a competitive basis with 

22 an emphasis on technical merit. 

23 (f) COST SHARING.—Section 988 of the Energy Pol24 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352) shall apply to an award 

25 of financial assistance made under this section. 


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1 Subtitle F—Advanced Research 

2 Projects Agency–Energy 

3 SEC. 671. ARPA–E AMENDMENTS. 

4 Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 16538) is amended— 

6 (1) by amending paragraph (1) of subsection 

7 (c) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The goals of ARPA–E 

9 shall be to enhance the economic and energy security 

10 of the United States and to ensure that the United 

11 States maintains a technological lead through the 

12 development of advanced energy technologies.’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (i)(1), by inserting ‘‘ARPA–E 

14 shall not provide funding for a project unless the 

15 prospective grantee demonstrates sufficient attempts 

16 to secure private financing or indicates that the 

17 project is not independently commercially viable.’’ 

18 after ‘‘relevant research agencies.’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (l)(1), by inserting ‘‘and once 

20 every 6 years thereafter,’’ after ‘‘operation for 6 

21 years,’’; and 

22 (4) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub23 section (o) and inserting after subsection (m) the 

24 following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(n) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA2 TION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following categories of 

4 information collected by the Advanced Research 

5 Projects Agency–Energy from recipients of financial 

6 assistance awards shall be considered privileged and 

7 confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant 

8 to section 552 of title 5, United States Code: 

9 ‘‘(A) Plans for commercialization of tech10 nologies developed under the award, including 

11 business plans, technology to market plans, 

12 market studies, and cost and performance mod13 els. 

14 ‘‘(B) Investments provided to an awardee 

15 from third parties, such as venture capital, 

16 hedge fund, or private equity firms, including 

17 amounts and percentage of ownership of the 

18 awardee provided in return for such invest19 ments. 

20 ‘‘(C) Additional financial support that the 

21 awardee plans to invest or has invested into the 

22 technology developed under the award, or that 

23 the awardee is seeking from third parties. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Revenue from the licensing or sale of 

2 new products or services resulting from the re3 search conducted under the award. 

4 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 

5 subsection affects— 

6 ‘‘(A) the authority of the Secretary to use 

7 information without publicly disclosing such in8 formation; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the responsibility of the Secretary to 

10 transmit information to Congress as required 

11 by law.’’. 

12 Subtitle G—Authorization of 

13 Appropriations 

14 SEC. 681. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 (a) ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELI16 ABILITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—There are au17 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for research, 

18 development, demonstration, and commercial application 

19 for electrical delivery and energy reliability technology ac20 tivities within the Office of Electricity $113,000,000 for 

21 each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

22 (b) NUCLEAR ENERGY.— 

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

24 appropriated to the Secretary for research, develop25 ment, demonstration, and commercial application for 


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1 nuclear energy technology activities within the Office 

2 of Nuclear Energy $504,600,000 for each of fiscal 

3 years 2016 and 2017. 

4 (2) LIMITATION.—Any amounts made available 

5 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

6 under paragraph (1) shall not be derived from the 

7 Nuclear Waste Fund established under section 

8 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 

9 U.S.C. 10222(c)). 

10 (c) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE EN11 ERGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

12 Secretary for research, development, demonstration, and 

13 commercial application for energy efficiency and renewable 

14 energy technology activities within the Office of Energy 

15 Efficiency and Renewable Energy $1,193,500,000 for 

16 each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

17 (d) FOSSIL ENERGY.—There are authorized to be ap18 propriated to the Secretary for research, development, 

19 demonstration, and commercial application for fossil en20 ergy technology activities within the Office of Fossil En21 ergy $605,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

22 (e) ARPA–E.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated to the Secretary for the Advanced Research 

24 Projects Agency–Energy $140,000,000 for each of fiscal 

25 years 2016 and 2017. 


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1 Subtitle H—Definitions 

2 SEC. 691. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this title— 

4 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart5 ment of Energy; and 

6 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

7 of Energy. 

8 TITLE VII—DEPARTMENT OF EN9 ERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANS10 FER 

11 Subtitle A—In General 

12 SEC. 701. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this title: 

14 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

15 means the Department of Energy. 

16 (2) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na17 tional Laboratory’’ means a Department of Energy 

18 nonmilitary national laboratory, including— 

19 (A) Ames Laboratory; 

20 (B) Argonne National Laboratory; 

21 (C) Brookhaven National Laboratory; 

22 (D) Fermi National Accelerator Labora23 tory; 

24 (E) Idaho National Laboratory; 


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1 (F) Lawrence Berkeley National Labora2 tory; 

3 (G) National Energy Technology Labora4 tory; 

5 (H) National Renewable Energy Labora6 tory; 

7 (I) Oak Ridge National Laboratory; 

8 (J) Pacific Northwest National Labora9 tory; 

10 (K) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; 

11 (L) Savannah River National Laboratory; 

12 (M) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; 

13 (N) Thomas Jefferson National Accel14 erator Facility; and 

15 (O) any laboratory operated by the Na16 tional Nuclear Security Administration, but 

17 only with respect to the civilian energy activities 

18 thereof. 

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

20 the Secretary of Energy. 

21 SEC. 702. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

22 Nothing in this title or an amendment made by this 

23 title abrogates or otherwise affects the primary respon24 sibilities of any National Laboratory to the Department. 


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1 Subtitle B—Innovation Manage2 ment at Department of Energy 

3 SEC. 712. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TRANSITIONS AS4 SESSMENT. 

5 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

7 transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech8 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 

10 which shall include— 

11 (1) an assessment of the Department’s current 

12 ability to carry out the goals of section 1001 of the 

13 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391), in14 cluding an assessment of the role and effectiveness 

15 of the Director of the Office of Technology Transi16 tions; and 

17 (2) recommended departmental policy changes 

18 and legislative changes to section 1001 of the En19 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391) to im20 prove the Department’s ability to successfully trans21 fer new energy technologies to the private sector. 

22 SEC. 713. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary 

24 should encourage the National Laboratories and federally 

25 funded research and development centers to inform small 


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1 businesses of the opportunities and resources that exist 

2 pursuant to this title. 

3 SEC. 714. NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Na6 tional Laboratories, relevant Federal agencies, and other 

7 stakeholders, shall transmit to the Committee on Science, 

8 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

10 the Senate a report assessing the Department’s capabili11 ties to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion 

12 and non-light water reactor prototypes and related dem13 onstration facilities at Department-owned sites. For pur14 poses of this report, the Secretary shall consider the De15 partment’s capabilities to facilitate privately-funded proto16 types up to 20 megawatts thermal output. The report shall 

17 address the following: 

18 (1) The Department’s safety review and over19 sight capabilities. 

20 (2) Potential sites capable of hosting research, 

21 development, and demonstration of prototype reac22 tors and related facilities for the purpose of reducing 

23 technical risk. 


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1 (3) The Department’s and National Labora2 tories’ existing physical and technical capabilities 

3 relevant to research, development, and oversight. 

4 (4) The efficacy of the Department’s available 

5 contractual mechanisms, including cooperative re6 search and development agreements, work for others 

7 agreements, and agreements for commercializing 

8 technology. 

9 (5) Potential cost structures related to physical 

10 security, decommissioning, liability, and other long11 term project costs. 

12 (6) Other challenges or considerations identified 

13 by the Secretary, including issues related to poten14 tial cases of demonstration reactors up to 2 

15 gigawatts of thermal output. 

16 Subtitle C—Cross-Sector Partner17 ships and Grant Competitive18 ness 

19 SEC. 721. AGREEMENTS FOR COMMERCIALIZING TECH20 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

22 Agreements for Commercializing Technology pilot pro23 gram of the Department, as announced by the Secretary 

24 on December 8, 2011, in accordance with this section. 


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1 (b) TERMS.—Each agreement entered into pursuant 

2 to the pilot program referred to in subsection (a) shall 

3 provide to the contractor of the applicable National Lab4 oratory, to the maximum extent determined to be appro5 priate by the Secretary, increased authority to negotiate 

6 contract terms, such as intellectual property rights, pay7 ment structures, performance guarantees, and multiparty 

8 collaborations. 

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any director of a National 

11 Laboratory may enter into an agreement pursuant 

12 to the pilot program referred to in subsection (a). 

13 (2) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTI14 TIES.—To carry out paragraph (1) and subject to 

15 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall permit the direc16 tors of the National Laboratories to execute agree17 ments with a non-Federal entity, including a non18 Federal entity already receiving Federal funding 

19 that will be used to support activities under agree20 ments executed pursuant to paragraph (1), provided 

21 that such funding is solely used to carry out the 

22 purposes of the Federal award. 

23 (3) RESTRICTION.—The requirements of chap24 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code (commonly 

25 known as the ‘‘Bayh-Dole Act’’) shall apply if— 


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1 (A) the agreement is a funding agreement 

2 (as that term is defined in section 201 of that 

3 title); and 

4 (B) at least one of the parties to the fund5 ing agreement is eligible to receive rights under 

6 that chapter. 

7 (d) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—Each affected di8 rector of a National Laboratory shall submit to the Sec9 retary, with respect to each agreement entered into under 

10 this section— 

11 (1) a summary of information relating to the 

12 relevant project; 

13 (2) the total estimated costs of the project; 

14 (3) estimated commencement and completion 

15 dates of the project; and 

16 (4) other documentation determined to be ap17 propriate by the Secretary. 

18 (e) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require the 

19 contractor of the affected National Laboratory to certify 

20 that each activity carried out under a project for which 

21 an agreement is entered into under this section— 

22 (1) is not in direct competition with the private 

23 sector; and 

24 (2) does not present, or minimizes, any appar25 ent conflict of interest, and avoids or neutralizes any 


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1 actual conflict of interest, as a result of the agree2 ment under this section. 

3 (f) EXTENSION.—The pilot program referred to in 

4 subsection (a) shall be extended until October 31, 2017. 

5 (g) REPORTS.— 

6 (1) OVERALL ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 

7 days after the date described in subsection (f), the 

8 Secretary, in coordination with directors of the Na9 tional Laboratories, shall submit to the Committee 

10 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

11 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

12 Natural Resources of the Senate a report that— 

13 (A) assesses the overall effectiveness of the 

14 pilot program referred to in subsection (a); 

15 (B) identifies opportunities to improve the 

16 effectiveness of the pilot program; 

17 (C) assesses the potential for program ac18 tivities to interfere with the responsibilities of 

19 the National Laboratories to the Department; 

20 and 

21 (D) provides a recommendation regarding 

22 the future of the pilot program. 

23 (2) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, in coordi24 nation with directors of the National Laboratories, 

25 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 


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1 and Technology of the House of Representatives and 

2 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

3 the Senate an annual report that accounts for all 

4 incidences of, and provides a justification for, non5 Federal entities using funds derived from a Federal 

6 contract or award to carry out agreements pursuant 

7 to this section. 

8 SEC. 722. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR COMMER9 CIALIZATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 

11 the Secretary shall delegate to directors of the National 

12 Laboratories signature authority with respect to any 

13 agreement described in subsection (b) the total cost of 

14 which (including the National Laboratory contributions 

15 and project recipient cost share) is less than $1 million. 

16 (b) AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a) applies to— 

17 (1) a cooperative research and development 

18 agreement; 

19 (2) a non-Federal work-for-others agreement; 

20 and 

21 (3) any other agreement determined to be ap22 propriate by the Secretary, in collaboration with the 

23 directors of the National Laboratories. 

24 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The director of the af2 fected National Laboratory and the affected con3 tractor shall carry out an agreement under this sec4 tion in accordance with applicable policies of the De5 partment, including by ensuring that the agreement 

6 does not compromise any national security, eco7 nomic, or environmental interest of the United 

8 States. 

9 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The director of the af10 fected National Laboratory and the affected con11 tractor shall certify that each activity carried out 

12 under a project for which an agreement is entered 

13 into under this section does not present, or mini14 mizes, any apparent conflict of interest, and avoids 

15 or neutralizes any actual conflict of interest, as a re16 sult of the agreement under this section. 

17 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—On entering 

18 an agreement under this section, the director of a 

19 National Laboratory shall submit to the Secretary 

20 for monitoring and review all records of the National 

21 Laboratory relating to the agreement. 

22 (4) RATES.—The director of a National Lab23 oratory may charge higher rates for services per24 formed under a partnership agreement entered into 

25 pursuant to this section, regardless of the full cost 


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1 of recovery, if such funds are used exclusively to 

2 support further research and development activities 

3 at the respective National Laboratory. 

4 (d) EXCEPTION.—This section does not apply to any 

5 agreement with a majority foreign-owned company. 

6 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 12 of the 

7 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

8 U.S.C. 3710a) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

11 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

12 and indenting the subparagraphs appropriately; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘Each Federal agency’’ 

14 and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), each Federal agency’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

19 (1), in accordance with section 722(a) of the Amer20 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, ap21 proval by the Secretary of Energy shall not be re22 quired for any technology transfer agreement pro23 posed to be entered into by a National Laboratory 

24 of the Department of Energy, the total cost of which 

25 (including the National Laboratory contributions 


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1 and project recipient cost share) is less than $1 mil2 lion.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subsection 

4 (a)(1)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub5 section (a)(1)(A)’’. 

6 SEC. 723. INCLUSION OF EARLY-STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEM7 ONSTRATION IN AUTHORIZED TECHNOLOGY 

8 TRANSFER ACTIVITIES. 

9 Section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 16391) is amended by— 

11 (1) redesignating subsection (g) as subsection 

12 (h); and 

13 (2) inserting after subsection (f) the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) EARLY-STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRA15 TION.—The Secretary shall permit the directors of the Na16 tional Laboratories to use funds authorized to support 

17 technology transfer within the Department to carry out 

18 early-stage and pre-commercial technology demonstration 

19 activities to remove technology barriers that limit private 

20 sector interest and demonstrate potential commercial ap21 plications of any research and technologies arising from 

22 National Laboratory activities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 724. FUNDING COMPETITIVENESS FOR INSTITUTIONS 

2 OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND OTHER NON3 PROFIT INSTITUTIONS. 

4 Section 988(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

5 U.S.C. 16352(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Except as 

7 provided in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and 

9 (4)’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH12 ER EDUCATION AND OTHER NONPROFIT INSTITU13 TIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

15 not apply to a research or development activity 

16 performed by an institution of higher education 

17 or nonprofit institution (as defined in section 4 

18 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

19 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703)). 

20 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION DATE.—The exemp21 tion under subparagraph (A) shall apply during 

22 the 6-year period beginning on the date of en23 actment of this paragraph.’’. 


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1 SEC. 725. PARTICIPATION IN THE INNOVATION CORPS PRO2 GRAM. 

3 The Secretary may enter into an agreement with the 

4 Director of the National Science Foundation to enable re5 searchers funded by the Department to participate in the 

6 National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program. 

7 Subtitle D—Assessment of Impact 

8 SEC. 731. REPORT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF9 FICE. 

10 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

12 shall submit to Congress a report— 

13 (1) describing the results of the projects devel14 oped under sections 721, 722, and 723, including in15 formation regarding— 

16 (A) partnerships initiated as a result of 

17 those projects and the potential linkages pre18 sented by those partnerships with respect to na19 tional priorities and other taxpayer-funded re20 search; and 

21 (B) whether the activities carried out 

22 under those projects result in— 

23 (i) fiscal savings; 

24 (ii) expansion of National Laboratory 

25 capabilities; 


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1 (iii) increased efficiency of technology 

2 transfers; or 

3 (iv) an increase in general efficiency 

4 of the National Laboratory system; and 

5 (2) assess the scale, scope, efficacy, and impact 

6 of the Department’s efforts to promote technology 

7 transfer and private sector engagement at the Na8 tional Laboratories, and make recommendations on 

9 how the Department can improve these activities. 

10 TITLE VIII—SENSE OF 

11 CONGRESS 

12 SEC. 801. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that climate change is real. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 20, 2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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