Calendar No. 697

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2217

[Report No. 105–364]

A BILL

To provide for continuation of the Federal research

other purposes.investment in a fiscally sustainable way, and for

OCTOBER 2, 1998

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 697

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2217

[Report No. 105–364]

To provide for continuation of the Federal research investment in a fiscally

sustainable way, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 25, 1998

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. LIEBERMAN,

Mr. BURNS, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. GRAMM, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. CLELAND,

Mr. D’AMATO, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. KERRY, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr.

KERREY, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. DEWINE, Ms.

SNOWE, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. DODD, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. ASHCROFT, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr.

WARNER, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. SARBANES,

Mr. COVERDELL, and Mr. ROBB) introduced the following bill; which was

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

Technology

OCTOBER 2, 1998

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide for continuation of the Federal research investment in a fiscally sustainable way, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Research In5 vestment Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. GENERAL FINDINGS REGARDING FEDERAL INVEST7 MENT IN RESEARCH.

8 (a) VALUE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The

9 Congress makes the following findings with respect to the

10 value of research and development to the United States:

11 (1) Federal investment in research has resulted

12 in the development of technology that saved lives in

13 the United States and around the world.

14 (2) Research and development investment

15 across all Federal agencies has been effective in cre16 ating technology that has enhanced the American

17 quality of life.

18 (3) The Federal investment in research and de19 velopment conducted or underwritten by both mili20 tary and civilian agencies has produced benefits that

21 have been felt in both the private and public sector.

22 (4) Discoveries across the spectrum of scientific

23 inquiry have the potential to raise the standard of

24 living and the quality of life for all Americans.
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1 (5) Science, engineering, and technology play a

2 critical role in shaping the modern world.

3 (6) Studies show that about half of all United

4 States post-World War II economic growth is a di5 rect result of technical innovation; and science, engi6 neering, and technology contribute to the creation of

7 new goods and services, new jobs and new capital.

8 (7) Technical innovation is the principal driving

9 force behind the long-term economic growth and in10 creased standards of living of the world’s modern in11 dustrial societies. Other nations are well aware of

12 the pivotal role of science, engineering, and tech13 nology, and they are seeking to exploit it wherever

14 possible to advance their own global competitiveness.

15 (b) STATUS OF THE FEDERAL INVESTMENT.—The

16 Congress makes the following findings with respect to the

17 status of the Federal Investment in research and develop18 ment activities:

19 (1) Federal investment of approximately 13 to

20 14 percent of the Federal discretionary budget in re21 search and development over the past 11 years has

22 resulted in a doubling of the nominal amount of

23 Federal funding.

24 (2) Fiscal realities now challenge Congress to

25 steer the Federal government’s role in science, engi-
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1 neering, and technology in a manner that ensures a

2 prudent use of limited public resources. There is

3 both a long-term problem—addressing the ever-in4 creasing level of mandatory spending—and a near5 term challenge—apportioning a dwindling amount of

6 discretionary funding to an increasing range of tar7 gets in science, engineering, and technology. This

8 confluence of increased national dependency on tech9 nology, increased targets of opportunity, and de10 creased fiscal flexibility has created a problem of na11 tional urgency. Many indicators show that more

12 funding for science, engineering, and technology is

13 needed but, even with increased funding, priorities

14 must be established among different programs. The

15 United States cannot afford the luxury of fully fund16 ing all deserving programs.

17 (3) Current projections of Federal research

18 funding show a downward trend.

19 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL FINDINGS REGARDING THE LINK BE20 TWEEN THE RESEARCH PROCESS AND USE21 FUL TECHNOLOGY.

22 The Congress makes the following findings:

23 (1) FLOW OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND

24 TECHNOLOGY.—The process of science, engineering,

25 and technology involves many steps. The present
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1 Federal science, engineering, and technology struc2 ture reinforces the increasingly artificial distinctions

3 between basic and applied activities. The result too

4 often is a set of discrete programs that each support

5 a narrow phase of research or development and are

6 not coordinated with one another. The government

7 should maximize its investment by encouraging the

8 progression of science, engineering, and technology

9 from the earliest stages of research up to a pre-com10 mercialization stage, through funding agencies and

11 vehicles appropriate for each stage. This creates a

12 flow of technology, subject to merit review at each

13 stage, so that promising technology is not lost in a

14 bureaucratic maze.

15 (2) EXCELLENCE IN THE AMERICAN RESEARCH

16 INFRASTRUCTURE.—Federal investment in science,

17 engineering, and technology programs must foster a

18 close relationship between research and education.

19 Investment in research at the university level creates

20 more than simply world-class research. It creates

21 world-class researchers as well. The Federal strategy

22 must continue to reflect this commitment to a strong

23 research infrastructure. Furthermore, the United

24 States must find ways to extend the excellence of its

25 university system to primary and secondary edu-
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1 cational institutions and to better utilize the commu2 nity college system to prepare many students for vo3 cational opportunities in an increasingly technical

4 workplace.

5 (3) COMMITMENT TO A BROAD RANGE OF RE6 SEARCH INITIATIVES.—An increasingly common

7 theme in many recent technical breakthroughs has

8 been the importance of revolutionary innovations

9 that were sparked by overlapping of research dis10 ciplines. The United States must continue to encour11 age this trend by providing and encouraging oppor12 tunities for interdisciplinary projects that foster col13 laboration among fields of research.

14 (4) PARTNERSHIPS AMONG INDUSTRY, UNIVER15 SITIES, AND FEDERAL LABORATORIES.—Each of

16 these contributors to the national science and tech17 nology delivery system has special talents and abili18 ties that complement the others. In addition, each

19 has a central mission that must provide their focus

20 and each has limited resources. The nation’s invest21 ment in science, engineering, and technology can be

22 optimized by seeking opportunities for leveraging the

23 resources and talents of these three major players

24 through partnerships that do not distort the mis-
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1 sions of each partner. For that reason, Federal dol2 lars are wisely spent forming such partnerships.

3 SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF FEDERAL RESEARCH EFFORT;

4 GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

5 (a) MAINTAINING UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN

6 SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY.—It is im7 perative for the United States to nurture its superb re8 sources in science, engineering, and technology carefully

9 in order to maintain its own globally competitive position.

10 (b) GUIDING PRINCIPLES.—Federal research and de11 velopment programs should be conducted in accordance

12 with the following guiding principles:

13 (1) GOOD SCIENCE.—Federal science, engineer14 ing, and technology programs include both knowl15 edge-driven science together with its applications,

16 and mission-driven, science-based requirements. In

17 general, both types of programs must be focused,

18 peer- and merit-reviewed, and not unnecessarily du19 plicative, although the details of these attributes

20 must vary with different program objectives.

21 (2) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Congress

22 must exercise oversight to ensure that programs

23 funded with scarce Federal dollars are well man24 aged. The United States cannot tolerate waste of

25 money through inefficient management techniques,
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1 whether by government agencies, by contractors, or

2 by Congress itself. Fiscal resources would be better

3 utilized if program and project funding levels were

4 predictable across several years to enable better

5 project planning; a benefit of such predictability

6 would be that agencies and Congress can better ex7 ercise oversight responsibilities through comparisons

8 of a project’s and program’s progress against care9 fully planned milestones.

10 (3) PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS.—The United

11 States needs to make sure that government pro12 grams achieve their goals. As the Congress crafts

13 science, engineering, and technology legislation, it

14 must include a process for gauging program effec15 tiveness, selecting criteria based on sound scientific

16 judgment and avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.

17 The Congress should also avoid the trap of measur18 ing the effectiveness of a broad science, engineering,

19 and technology program by passing judgment on in20 dividual projects. Lastly, the Congress must recog21 nize that a negative result in a well-conceived and

22 executed project or program may still be critically

23 important to the funding agency.

24 (4) CRITERIA FOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING.—

25 Program selection for Federal funding should re-
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1 quire a long-term horizon, with specific relevance to

2 a Federal mission requirement, or with broad knowl3 edge-based goals. Additionally, government funding

4 should not compete with or displace the short-term,

5 market-driven, and typically more specific nature of

6 private-sector funding. Government funding should

7 be restricted to pre-competitive activities, leaving

8 competitive activities solely for the private sector. As

9 a rule, the government should not invest in commer10 cial technology that is in the product development

11 stage, very close to the broad commercial market12 place, except to meet a specific agency goal. When

13 the government provides funding for any science, en14 gineering, and technology investment program, it

15 must take reasonable steps to ensure that the poten16 tial benefits derived from the program will accrue

17 broadly.

18 SEC. 5. POLICY STATEMENT.

19 (a) POLICY.—This Act is intended—

20 (1) to encourage, as an overall goal, the dou21 bling of the annual authorized amount of Federal

22 funding for basic scientific, medical, and pre-com23 petitive engineering research over the 12-year period

24 following the date of enactment of this Act;
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1 (2) to set a minimum level of investment in

2 order to maintain the high priority that science, en3 gineering, and technology had previously been af4 forded in the Federal budget;

5 (3) to invest in the future of the United States

6 and the people of the United States by expanding

7 the research activities referred to in paragraph (1);

8 (4) to enhance the quality of life for all people

9 of the United States; and

10 (5) to guarantee the leadership of the United

11 States in science, engineering, medicine, and tech12 nology.

13 (b) AGENCIES COVERED.—The agencies intended to

14 be covered by this Act are—

15 (1) the National Institutes of Health, within the

16 Department of Health and Human Services;

17 (2) the National Science Foundation;

18 (3) the National Institute for Standards and

19 Technology, within the Department of Commerce;

20 (4) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin21 istration;

22 (5) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad23 ministration, within the Department of Commerce;

24 (6) the Centers for Disease Control, within the

25 Department of Health and Human Services;
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1 (7) the Department of Energy (to the extent

2 that it is not engaged in defense-related activities);

3 (8) the Department of Agriculture;

4 (9) the Department of Transportation;

5 (10) the Department of the Interior;

6 (11) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

7 (12) the Smithsonian Institution;

8 (13) the Department of Education; and

9 (14) the Environmental Protection Agency (to

10 the extent that it is engaged in science, engineering,

11 and technology activities for basic scientific, medical,

12 or pre-competitive engineering research).

13 (c) HISTORICAL INVESTMENT TREND.—

14 (1) Over the past 20 years, the percentage of

15 the civilian discretionary budget allocated to re16 search and development efforts has increased stead17 ily from approximately 10 percent in 1980 to ap18 proximately 14 percent for fiscal year 1998. The in19 crease in Federal investment in civilian research and

20 development from fiscal years 1988 through 1998

21 resulted in an overall doubling of funding across the

22 major federal research and development agencies.

23 (2) The investment in civilian research and de24 velopment efforts for fiscal year 1998 is 2.11876

25 percent of the overall Federal budget.
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1 (d) DAMAGE TO RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE.—A

2 continued trend of funding appropriations equal to or

3 lower than current budgetary levels will lead to permanent

4 damage to the United States research infrastructure. This

5 could threaten American dominance of high-technology in6 dustrial leadership.

7 (e) INCREASE FUNDING.—In order to maintain and

8 enhance the economic strength of the United States in the

9 world market, funding levels for fundamental, scientific,

10 and pre-competitive engineering research should be in11 creased to equal approximately 2.6 percent of the total an12 nual budget.

13 (f) FUTURE FISCAL YEAR ALLOCATIONS.—

14 (1) GOALS.—

15 (A) The long-term strategy for research

16 and development funding under this section

17 would be achieved by a steady 2.5 percent an18 nual increase above the rate of inflation

19 throughout a 12-year period.

20 (B) There is a minimum threshold below

21 which long-term harm to both the research in22 frastructure and economic strength of the

23 United States would be caused, therefore it

24 shall be the goal of the President and Congress

25 to prevent the total amount of Federally-funded
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1 research and development from falling below

2 2.1 percent of the overall Federal budget at any

3 point in the budget process.

4 (2) INFLATION ASSUMPTION.—The authoriza5 tions contained in paragraph (3) assume that the

6 rate of inflation for each year will be 3 percent.

7 (3) AUTHORIZATION.—Therea reautjorized to

8 be appropriated for civilian research and develop9 ment in the agencies listed in subsection (b)—

10 (A) $37,720,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

11 (B) $39,790,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

12 (C) $41,980,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

13 (D) $42,290,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

14 (E) $46,720,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

15 (F) $49,290,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

16 (G) $52,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

17 (H) $54,870,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;

18 (I) $57,880,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;

19 (J) $61,070,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;

20 (K) $64,420,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;

21 and

22 (L) $67,970,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.

23 (g) CONFORMANCE WITH BUDGETARY CAPS.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law, no funds may be

25 made available under this Act in a manner that does not
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1 conform with the discretionary spending caps provided in

2 the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the

3 budget or threatens the economic stability of the annual

4 budget.

5 (h) BALANCED RESEARCH PORTFOLIO.—Because of

6 the interdependent nature of the scientific and engineering

7 disciplines, the aggregate funding levels authorized by the

8 section assume that the Federal research portfolio will be

9 well-balanced among the various scientific and engineering

10 disciplines.

11 SEC. 6. PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL BUDGET REQUEST.

12 The President of the United States shall, in coordina13 tion with the President’s annual budget request, include

14 a report that parallels Congress’ commitment to support

15 Federally-funded research and development by provid16 ing—

17 (1) a detailed summary of the total level of

18 funding for research and development programs

19 throughout all civilian agencies;

20 (2) a focused strategy that reflects the funding

21 projections of this Act for each future fiscal year

22 until 2010, including specific targets for each agency

23 that funds civilian research and development; and

24 (3) an analysis which details funding levels

25 across Federal agencies by methodology of funding,
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1 including grant agreements, procurement contracts,

2 and cooperative agreements (within the meaning

3 given those terms in chapter 63 of title 31, United

4 States Code).

5 SEC. 7. COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTABILITY STUDY FOR

6 FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH

7 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the Office of Science

8 and Technology Policy, in consultation with the Director

9 of the Office of Management and Budget, shall enter into

10 agreement with the National Academy of Sciences for the

11 Academy to conduct a comprehensive study to develop

12 methods for evaluating Federally-funded research and de13 velopment programs. This study shall—

14 (1) recommend processes to determine an ac15 ceptable level of success for Federally-funded re16 search and development programs by—

17 (A) describing the research process in the

18 various scientific and engineering disciplines;

19 (B) describing in the different sciences

20 what measures and what criteria each commu21 nity uses to evaluate the success or failure of a

22 program, and on what time scales these meas23 ures are considered reliable—both for explor24 atory long-range work and for short-range

25 goals; and
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1 (C) recommending how these measures

2 may be adapted for use by the Federal govern3 ment to evaluate Federally-funded research and

4 development programs;

5 (2) assess the extent to which agencies incor6 porate independent merit-based review into the for7 mulation of the strategic plans of funding agencies

8 and if the quantity or quality of this type of input

9 is unsatisfactory;

10 (3) recommend mechanisms for identifying Fed11 erally-funded research and development programs

12 which are unsuccessful or unproductive;

13 (4) evaluate the extent to which independent,

14 merit-based evaluation of Federally-funded research

15 and development programs and projects achieves the

16 goal of eliminating unsuccessful or unproductive pro17 grams and projects; and

18 (5) investigate and report on the validity of

19 using quantitative performance goals for aspects of

20 programs which relate to administrative manage21 ment of the program and for which such goals would

22 be appropriate, including aspects related to—

23 (A) administrative burden on contractors

24 and recipients of financial assistance awards;
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1 (B) administrative burdens on external

2 participants in independent, merit-based evalua3 tions;

4 (C) cost and schedule control for construc5 tion projects funded by the program;

6 (D) the ratio of overhead costs of the pro7 gram relative to the amounts expended through

8 the program for equipment and direct funding

9 of research; and

10 (E) the timeliness of program responses to

11 requests for funding, participation, or equip12 ment use.

13 (b) ALTERNATIVE FORMS FOR PERFORMANCE

14 GOALS.—Not later than 6 months after transmitting the

15 report under subsection (a) to Congress, the Director of

16 the Office of Management and Budget, after public notice,

17 public comment, and approval by the Director of the Of18 fice of Science and Technology Policy and in consultation

19 with the National Science and Technology Council shall

20 promulgate one or more alternative forms for performance

21 goals under section 1115(b)(10)(B) of title 31, United

22 States Code, based on the recommendations of the study

23 under subsection (a) of this section. The head of each

24 agency containing a program activity that is a research

25 and development program may apply an alternative form
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1 promulgated under this section for a performance goal to

2 such a program activity without further authorization by

3 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

4 (c) STRATEGIC PLANS.—Not later than one year

5 after promulgation of the alternative performance goals in

6 subsection (b) of this section, the head of each agency car7 rying out research and development activities, upon updat8 ing or revising a strategic plan under subsection 306(b)

9 of title 5, United States Code, shall describe the current

10 and future use of methods for determining an acceptable

11 level of success as recommended by the study under sub12 section (a).

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

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

15 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology

16 Policy.

17 (2) PROGRAM ACTIVITY.— The term ‘‘program

18 activity’’ has the meaning given that term by section

19 1115(f)(6) of title 31, United States Code.

20 (3) INDEPENDENT MERIT-BASED EVALUA21 TION.—The term ‘‘independent merit-based evalua22 tion’’ means review of the scientific or technical

23 quality of research or development, conducted by ex24 perts who are chosen for their knowledge of sci-
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1 entific and technical fields relevant to the evaluation

2 and who—

3 (A) in the case of the review of a program

4 activity, do not derive long-term support from

5 the program activity; or

6 (B) in the case of the review of a project

7 proposal, are not seeking funds in competition

8 with the proposal.

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the study

11 required by subsection (a) $600,000 for the 18-month pe12 riod beginning October 1, 1998.

13 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

14 FOR FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 31, United

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

17 following:

18 ‘‘§ 1120. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT PROGRAMS

20 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF UNSUCCESSFUL PRO21 GRAMS.—Based upon program performance reports for

22 each fiscal year submitted to the President under section

23 1116, the Director of the Office of Management and

24 Budget shall identify the civilian research and develop25 ment program activities, or components thereof, which do
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1 not meet an acceptable level of success as defined in the

2 study in section 7(a). In carrying out this subsection, the

3 Director and the agency for which the programs are being

4 evaluated may disaggregate program activities to the ex5 tent necessary to increase the effectiveness of the assess6 ment. Not later than 30 days after the submission of the

7 reports under section 1116, the Director shall furnish a

8 copy of a report listing the program activities or compo9 nent identified under this subsection to the President and

10 the Congress.

11 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF UNSUCCESSFUL PROGRAM IF

12 NO IMPROVEMENT SHOWN.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), for each program activity or component

15 that is identified by the Director under subsection

16 (a) as being below the acceptable level of success for

17 2 fiscal years in a row, the head of the agency shall

18 no later than 30 days after the Director submits the

19 second report so identifying the program, submit to

20 the appropriate congressional committees of jurisdic21 tion a concise statement of the steps needed to ter22 minate the program activity or component, together

23 with the legislation needed to put the plan into ef24 fect.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—A program subject to termi2 nation under paragraph (1) shall not be terminated

3 under that paragraph if the Director of the Office

4 of Science and Technology Policy, the Director of

5 the Office of Management and Budget, and the head

6 of the department or agency responsible for the pro7 gram determine that the program should be contin8 ued. Each time after a program continued under

9 this paragraph is identified in a subsequent annual

10 report, a statement of termination shall be submit11 ted under paragraph (1), unless the Directors renew

12 their joint determination under the preceding sen13 tence.

14 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The Director shall explain the

15 rationale for not terminating any program continued

16 under paragraph (2) in a written report submitted

17 to the President and the Congress within 30 days

18 after making the determination to continue the pro19 gram.

20 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF TERMINATED PROGRAM

21 FUNDS.—A statement of termination under subsection

22 (b)(1) shall recommend a disposition for any funds appro23 priated or obligated to a program activity or component

24 terminated under subsection (b) that remain unexpended

25 and unobligated upon its termination. Nothing in this sub-
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1 section shall be construed to modify any requirement re2 garding the reprogramming or transfer of funds author3 ized or appropriated for a terminated program activity or

4 component.

5 ‘‘(d) DIRECTOR DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec6 tion, the term ‘Director’ means the Director of the Office

7 of Management and Budget.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) The chapter analysis for chapter 11 of title

10 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at

11 the end thereof the following:

‘‘1120. Accountability for research and development programs’’.

12 (2) Section 1115(f) of title 31, United States

13 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘through 1119,’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘through 1120’’.

15 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

16 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Research Invest17 ment Act’’.

18 SEC. 2. GENERAL FINDINGS REGARDING FEDERAL INVEST19 MENT IN RESEARCH.

20 (a) VALUE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The

21 Congress makes the following findings with respect to the

22 value of research and development to the United States:

23 (1) Federal investment in research has resulted

24 in the development of technology that saved lives in

25 the United States and around the world.
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1 (2) Research and development investment across

2 all Federal agencies has been effective in creating

3 technology that has enhanced the American quality of

4 life.

5 (3) The Federal investment in research and de6 velopment conducted or underwritten by both mili7 tary and civilian agencies has produced benefits that

8 have been felt in both the private and public sector.

9 (4) Discoveries across the spectrum of scientific

10 inquiry have the potential to raise the standard of

11 living and the quality of life for all Americans.

12 (5) Science, engineering, and technology play a

13 critical role in shaping the modern world.

14 (6) Studies show that about half of all United

15 States post-World War II economic growth is a direct

16 result of technical innovation; and science, engineer17 ing, and technology contribute to the creation of new

18 goods and services, new jobs and new capital.

19 (7) Technical innovation is the principal driving

20 force behind the long-term economic growth and in21 creased standards of living of the world’s modern in22 dustrial societies. Other nations are well aware of the

23 pivotal role of science, engineering, and technology,

24 and they are seeking to exploit it wherever possible to

25 advance their own global competitiveness.
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1 (8) Federal programs for investment in research,

2 which lead to technological innovation and result in

3 economic growth, should be structured to address cur4 rent funding disparities and develop enhanced capa5 bility in States and regions that currently under6 participate in the national science and technology en7 terprise.

8 (b) STATUS OF THE FEDERAL INVESTMENT.—The

9 Congress makes the following findings with respect to the

10 status of the Federal Investment in research and develop11 ment activities:

12 (1) Federal investment of approximately 13 to

13 14 percent of the Federal discretionary budget in re14 search and development over the past 11 years has re15 sulted in a doubling of the nominal amount of Fed16 eral funding.

17 (2) Fiscal realities now challenge Congress to

18 steer the Federal government’s role in science, engi19 neering, and technology in a manner that ensures a

20 prudent use of limited public resources. There is both

21 a long-term problem—addressing the ever-increasing

22 level of mandatory spending—and a near-term chal23 lenge—apportioning a dwindling amount of discre24 tionary funding to an increasing range of targets in

25 science, engineering, and technology. This confluence
25

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1 of increased national dependency on technology, in2 creased targets of opportunity, and decreased fiscal

3 flexibility has created a problem of national urgency.

4 Many indicators show that more funding for science,

5 engineering, and technology is needed but, even with

6 increased funding, priorities must be established

7 among different programs. The United States cannot

8 afford the luxury of fully funding all deserving pro9 grams.

10 (3) Current projections of Federal research fund11 ing show a downward trend.

12 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL FINDINGS REGARDING THE LINK BE13 TWEEN THE RESEARCH PROCESS AND USE14 FUL TECHNOLOGY.

15 The Congress makes the following findings:

16 (1) FLOW OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECH17 NOLOGY.—The process of science, engineering, and

18 technology involves many steps. The present Federal

19 science, engineering, and technology structure rein20 forces the increasingly artificial distinctions between

21 basic and applied activities. The result too often is a

22 set of discrete programs that each support a narrow

23 phase of research or development and are not coordi24 nated with one another. The government should maxi25 mize its investment by encouraging the progression of
26

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1 science, engineering, and technology from the earliest

2 stages of research up to a pre-commercialization

3 stage, through funding agencies and vehicles appro4 priate for each stage. This creates a flow of tech5 nology, subject to merit review at each stage, so that

6 promising technology is not lost in a bureaucratic

7 maze.

8 (2) EXCELLENCE IN THE AMERICAN RESEARCH

9 INFRASTRUCTURE.—Federal investment in science,

10 engineering, and technology programs must foster a

11 close relationship between research and education. In12 vestment in research at the university level creates

13 more than simply world-class research. It creates

14 world-class researchers as well. The Federal strategy

15 must continue to reflect this commitment to a strong

16 geographically-diverse research infrastructure. Fur17 thermore, the United States must find ways to extend

18 the excellence of its university system to primary and

19 secondary educational institutions and to better uti20 lize the community college system to prepare many

21 students for vocational opportunities in an increas22 ingly technical workplace.

23 (3) COMMITMENT TO A BROAD RANGE OF RE24 SEARCH INITIATIVES.—An increasingly common

25 theme in many recent technical breakthroughs has
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1 been the importance of revolutionary innovations that

2 were sparked by overlapping of research disciplines.

3 The United States must continue to encourage this

4 trend by providing and encouraging opportunities for

5 interdisciplinary projects that foster collaboration

6 among fields of research.

7 (4) PARTNERSHIPS AMONG INDUSTRY, UNIVER8 SITIES, AND FEDERAL LABORATORIES.—Each of these

9 contributors to the national science and technology

10 delivery system has special talents and abilities that

11 complement the others. In addition, each has a cen12 tral mission that must provide their focus and each

13 has limited resources. The nation’s investment in

14 science, engineering, and technology can be optimized

15 by seeking opportunities for leveraging the resources

16 and talents of these three major players through part17 nerships that do not distort the missions of each part18 ner. For that reason, Federal dollars are wisely spent

19 forming such partnerships.

20 SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF FEDERAL RESEARCH EFFORT;

21 GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

22 (a) MAINTAINING UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN

23 SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY.—It is impera24 tive for the United States to nurture its superb resources
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1 in science, engineering, and technology carefully in order

2 to maintain its own globally competitive position.

3 (b) GUIDING PRINCIPLES.—Federal research and de4 velopment programs should be conducted in accordance

5 with the following guiding principles:

6 (1) GOOD SCIENCE.—Federal science, engineer7 ing, and technology programs include both knowledge8 driven science together with its applications, and mis9 sion-driven, science-based requirements. In general,

10 both types of programs must be focused, peer- and

11 merit-reviewed, and not unnecessarily duplicative, al12 though the details of these attributes must vary with

13 different program objectives.

14 (2) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Congress

15 must exercise oversight to ensure that programs fund16 ed with scarce Federal dollars are well managed. The

17 United States cannot tolerate waste of money through

18 inefficient management techniques, whether by gov19 ernment agencies, by contractors, or by Congress

20 itself. Fiscal resources would be better utilized if pro21 gram and project funding levels were predictable

22 across several years to enable better project planning;

23 a benefit of such predictability would be that agencies

24 and Congress can better exercise oversight responsibil-
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1 ities through comparisons of a project’s and pro2 gram’s progress against carefully planned milestones.

3 (3) PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS.—The United

4 States needs to make sure that government programs

5 achieve their goals. As the Congress crafts science, en6 gineering, and technology legislation, it must include

7 a process for gauging program effectiveness, selecting

8 criteria based on sound scientific judgment and

9 avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy. The Congress

10 should also avoid the trap of measuring the effective11 ness of a broad science, engineering, and technology

12 program by passing judgment on individual projects.

13 Lastly, the Congress must recognize that a negative

14 result in a well-conceived and executed project or pro15 gram may still be critically important to the funding

16 agency.

17 (4) CRITERIA FOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING.—Pro18 gram selection for Federal funding should continue to

19 reflect the nation’s 2 traditional research and develop20 ment priorities: (A) basic, scientific, and technological

21 research that represents investments in the nation’s

22 long-term future scientific and technological capacity,

23 for which government has traditionally served as the

24 principle resource; and (B) mission research invest25 ments, that is, investments in research that derive
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1 from necessary public functions, such as defense,

2 health, education, environmental protection, and rais3 ing the standard of living, which may include pre4 commercial, pre-competitive engineering research and

5 technology development. Additionally, government

6 funding should not compete with or displace the

7 short-term, market-driven, and typically more specific

8 nature of private-sector funding. Government funding

9 should be restricted to pre-competitive activities, leav10 ing competitive activities solely for the private sector.

11 As a rule, the government should not invest in com12 mercial technology that is in the product development

13 stage, very close to the broad commercial marketplace,

14 except to meet a specific agency goal. When the gov15 ernment provides funding for any science, engineer16 ing, and technology investment program, it must take

17 reasonable steps to ensure that the potential benefits

18 derived from the program will accrue broadly.

19 SEC. 5. POLICY STATEMENT.

20 (a) POLICY.—This Act is intended—

21 (1) to encourage, as an overall goal, the doubling

22 of the annual authorized amount of Federal funding

23 for basic scientific, medical, and pre-competitive engi24 neering research over the 12-year period following the

25 date of enactment of this Act;
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1 (2) to invest in the future of the United States

2 and the people of the United States by expanding the

3 research activities referred to in paragraph (1);

4 (3) to enhance the quality of life for all people

5 of the United States;

6 (4) to guarantee the leadership of the United

7 States in science, engineering, medicine, and tech8 nology; and

9 (5) to ensure that the opportunity and the sup10 port for undertaking good science is widely available

11 throughout the States by supporting a geographically12 diverse research and development enterprise.

13 (b) AGENCIES COVERED.—The agencies intended to be

14 covered to the extent that they are engaged in science, engi15 neering, and technology activities for basic scientific, medi16 cal, or pre-competitive engineering research by this Act

17 are—

18 (1) the National Institutes of Health, within the

19 Department of Health and Human Services;

20 (2) the National Science Foundation;

21 (3) the National Institute for Standards and

22 Technology, within the Department of Commerce;

23 (4) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin24 istration;
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1 (5) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad2 ministration, within the Department of Commerce;

3 (6) the Centers for Disease Control, within the

4 Department of Health and Human Services;

5 (7) the Department of Energy (to the extent that

6 it is not engaged in defense-related activities);

7 (8) the Department of Agriculture;

8 (9) the Department of Transportation;

9 (10) the Department of the Interior;

10 (11) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

11 (12) the Smithsonian Institution;

12 (13) the Department of Education; and

13 (14) the Environmental Protection Agency.

14 (c) CURRENT INVESTMENT.—The investment in civil15 ian research and development efforts for fiscal year 1998

16 is 2.1 percent of the overall Federal budget.

17 (d) DAMAGE TO RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE.—A

18 continued trend of funding appropriations equal to or lower

19 than current budgetary levels will lead to permanent dam20 age to the United States research infrastructure. This could

21 threaten American dominance of high-technology industrial

22 leadership.

23 (e) INCREASE FUNDING.—In order to maintain and

24 enhance the economic strength of the United States in the

25 world market, funding levels for fundamental, scientific,
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1 and pre-competitive engineering research should be in2 creased to equal approximately 2.6 percent of the total an3 nual budget.

4 (f) FUTURE FISCAL YEAR ALLOCATIONS.—

5 (1) GOALS.—The long-term strategy for research

6 and development funding under this section would be

7 achieved by a steady 2.5 percent annual increase

8 above the rate of inflation throughout a 12-year pe9 riod.

10 (2) INFLATION ASSUMPTION.—The authorizations

11 contained in paragraph (3) assume that the rate of

12 inflation for each year will be 3 percent.

13 (3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be

14 appropriated for civilian research and development in

15 the agencies listed in subsection (b)—

16 (A) $37,720,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

17 (B) $39,790,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

18 (C) $41,980,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

19 (D) $42,290,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

20 (E) $46,720,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

21 (F) $49,290,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

22 (G) $52,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

23 (H) $54,870,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;

24 (I) $57,880,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;

25 (J) $61,070,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
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1 (K) $64,420,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;

2 and

3 (L) $67,970,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.

4 (g) CONFORMANCE WITH BUDGETARY CAPS.—Not5 withstanding any other provision of law, no funds may be

6 made available under this Act in a manner that does not

7 conform with the discretionary spending caps provided in

8 the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the

9 budget or threatens the economic stability of the annual

10 budget.

11 (h) BALANCED RESEARCH PORTFOLIO.—Because of

12 the interdependent nature of the scientific and engineering

13 disciplines, the aggregate funding levels authorized by the

14 section assume that the Federal research portfolio will be

15 well-balanced among the various scientific and engineering

16 disciplines, and geographically dispersed throughout the

17 States.

18 SEC. 6. PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL BUDGET REQUEST.

19 The President of the United States shall, in coordina20 tion with the President’s annual budget request, include a

21 report that parallels Congress’ commitment to support Fed22 erally-funded research and development by providing—

23 (1) a detailed summary of the total level of fund24 ing for research and development programs through25 out all civilian agencies;
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1 (2) a focused strategy that reflects the funding

2 projections of this Act for each future fiscal year until

3 2010, including specific targets for each agency that

4 funds civilian research and development;

5 (3) an analysis which details funding levels

6 across Federal agencies by methodology of funding,

7 including grant agreements, procurement contracts,

8 and cooperative agreements (within the meaning

9 given those terms in chapter 63 of title 31, United

10 States Code); and

11 (4) specific proposals for infrastructure develop12 ment and research and development capacity building

13 in States with less concentrated research and develop14 ment resources in order to create a nationwide re15 search and development community.

16 SEC. 7. COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTABILITY STUDY FOR

17 FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH.

18 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the Office of Science and

19 Technology Policy, in consultation with the Director of the

20 Office of Management and Budget, shall enter into agree21 ment with the National Academy of Sciences for the Acad22 emy to conduct a comprehensive study to develop methods

23 for evaluating Federally-funded research and development

24 programs. This study shall—
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1 (1) recommend processes to determine an accept2 able level of success for Federally-funded research and

3 development programs by—

4 (A) describing the research process in the

5 various scientific and engineering disciplines;

6 (B) describing in the different sciences what

7 measures and what criteria each community uses

8 to evaluate the success or failure of a program,

9 and on what time scales these measures are con10 sidered reliable—both for exploratory long-range

11 work and for short-range goals; and

12 (C) recommending how these measures may

13 be adapted for use by the Federal government to

14 evaluate Federally-funded research and develop15 ment programs;

16 (2) assess the extent to which agencies incor17 porate independent merit-based review into the for18 mulation of the strategic plans of funding agencies

19 and if the quantity or quality of this type of input

20 is unsatisfactory;

21 (3) recommend mechanisms for identifying Fed22 erally-funded research and development programs

23 which are unsuccessful or unproductive;

24 (4) evaluate the extent to which independent,

25 merit-based evaluation of Federally-funded research
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1 and development programs and projects achieves the

2 goal of eliminating unsuccessful or unproductive pro3 grams and projects; and

4 (5) investigate and report on the validity of

5 using quantitative performance goals for aspects of

6 programs which relate to administrative management

7 of the program and for which such goals would be ap8 propriate, including aspects related to—

9 (A) administrative burden on contractors

10 and recipients of financial assistance awards;

11 (B) administrative burdens on external par12 ticipants in independent, merit-based evalua13 tions;

14 (C) cost and schedule control for construc15 tion projects funded by the program;

16 (D) the ratio of overhead costs of the pro17 gram relative to the amounts expended through

18 the program for equipment and direct funding of

19 research; and

20 (E) the timeliness of program responses to

21 requests for funding, participation, or equipment

22 use.

23 (6) examine the extent to which program selec24 tion for Federal funding across all agencies exempli-
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1 fies our nation’s historical research and development

2 priorities—

3 (A) basic, scientific, and technological re4 search in the long-term future scientific and

5 technological capacity of the nation; and

6 (B) mission research derived from a high7 priority public function.

8 (b) ALTERNATIVE FORMS FOR PERFORMANCE

9 GOALS.—Not later than 6 months after transmitting the re10 port under subsection (a) to Congress, the Director of the

11 Office of Management and Budget, after public notice, pub12 lic comment, and approval by the Director of the Office of

13 Science and Technology Policy and in consultation with the

14 National Science and Technology Council shall promulgate

15 one or more alternative forms for performance goals under

16 section 1115(b)(10)(B) of title 31, United States Code, based

17 on the recommendations of the study under subsection (a)

18 of this section. The head of each agency containing a pro19 gram activity that is a research and development program

20 may apply an alternative form promulgated under this sec21 tion for a performance goal to such a program activity

22 without further authorization by the Director of the Office

23 of Management and Budget.

24 (c) STRATEGIC PLANS.—Not later than one year after

25 promulgation of the alternative performance goals in sub-
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1 section (b) of this section, the head of each agency carrying

2 out research and development activities, upon updating or

3 revising a strategic plan under subsection 306(b) of title

4 5, United States Code, shall describe the current and future

5 use of methods for determining an acceptable level of success

6 as recommended by the study under subsection (a).

7 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

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

9 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol10 icy.

11 (2) PROGRAM ACTIVITY.— The term ‘‘program

12 activity’’ has the meaning given that term by section

13 1115(f)(6) of title 31, United States Code.

14 (3) INDEPENDENT MERIT-BASED EVALUATION.—

15 The term ‘‘independent merit-based evaluation’’

16 means review of the scientific or technical quality of

17 research or development, conducted by experts who are

18 chosen for their knowledge of scientific and technical

19 fields relevant to the evaluation and who—

20 (A) in the case of the review of a program

21 activity, do not derive long-term support from

22 the program activity; or

23 (B) in the case of the review of a project

24 proposal, are not seeking funds in competition

25 with the proposal.
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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the study re3 quired by subsection (a) $600,000 for the 18-month period

4 beginning October 1, 1998.

5 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

6 FOR FEDERALLY-FUNDED RESEARCH.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 31, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

9 following:

10 ‘‘§ 1120. Accountability for research and development programs

11 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF UNSUCCESSFUL PRO12 GRAMS.—Based upon program performance reports for each

13 fiscal year submitted to the President under section 1116,

14 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall

15 identify the civilian research and development program ac16 tivities, or components thereof, which do not meet an accept17 able level of success as defined in section 1115(b)(1)(B). Not

18 later than 30 days after the submission of the reports under

19 section 1116, the Director shall furnish a copy of a report

20 listing the program activities or component identified under

21 this subsection to the President and the Congress.

22 ‘‘(b) ACCOUNTABILITY IF NO IMPROVEMENT SHOWN.—

23 For each program activity or component that is identified

24 by the Director under subsection (a) as being below the ac25 ceptable level of success for 2 fiscal years in a row, the head
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1 of the agency shall no later than 30 days after the Director

2 submits the second report so identifying the program, sub3 mit to the appropriate congressional committees of jurisdic4 tion:

5 ‘‘(1) a concise statement of the steps that will be

6 taken—

7 ‘‘(A) to bring such program into compliance

8 with performance goals; or

9 ‘‘(B) to terminate such program should

10 compliance efforts have failed; and

11 ‘‘(2) any legislative changes needed to put the

12 steps contained in such statement into effect.’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) The chapter analysis for chapter 11 of title

15 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

16 end thereof the following:

‘‘1120. Accountability for research and development programs’’.

17 (2) Section 1115(f) of title 31, United States

18 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘through 1119,’’ and in19 serting ‘‘through 1120’’.