I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1898 

To provide for investment in innovation through research and development 

and STEM education, to improve the competitiveness of the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2015 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 

LIPINSKI, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, 

Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. BERA, Ms. ESTY, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. BEYER, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TAKANO, and 

Mr. FOSTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for investment in innovation through research 

and development and STEM education, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—OSTP; GOVERNMENTWIDE SCIENCE 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 101. Federal research and development funding. 

Sec. 102. National Science and Technology Council amendments. 

Sec. 103. Review of Federal regulations and reporting requirements. 

Sec. 104. Amendments to prize competitions. 

Sec. 105. Coordination of international science and technology partnerships. 

Sec. 106. Scientific and technical conferences. 

Subtitle B—Reauthorization of the National Nanotechnology Initiative 

Sec. 111. Short title. 

Sec. 112. National Nanotechnology Program amendments. 

Sec. 113. Societal dimensions of nanotechnology. 

Sec. 114. Nanotechnology education. 

Sec. 115. Technology transfer. 

Sec. 116. Signature initiatives in areas of national importance. 

Sec. 117. Nanomanufacturing research. 

Sec. 118. Definitions. 

Subtitle C—Engineering Biology 

Sec. 121. Short title. 

Sec. 122. Findings. 

Sec. 123. Definitions. 

Sec. 124. National Engineering Biology Research and Development Program. 

Sec. 125. Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 126. External review of ethical, legal, environmental, and societal issues. 

Sec. 127. Agency activities. 

TITLE II—STEM EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY 

Subtitle A—STEM Education and Workforce 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 202. Coordination of Federal STEM education. 

Sec. 203. Grand challenges in education research. 

Sec. 204. National Research Council report on STEAM education. 

Sec. 205. Engaging Federal scientists and engineers in STEM education. 

Subtitle B—Broadening Participation in STEM 

Sec. 211. Short title. 

Sec. 212. Purpose. 

Sec. 213. Federal science agency policies for caregivers. 

Sec. 214. Collection and reporting of data on Federal research grants. 

Sec. 215. Policies for review of Federal research grants. 

Sec. 216. Collection of data on demographics of faculty. 


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Sec. 217. Cultural and institutional barriers to expanding the academic and 

Federal STEM workforce. 

Sec. 218. Research and dissemination at the National Science Foundation. 

Sec. 219. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 220. National Science Foundation support for increasing diversity among 

STEM faculty at institutions of higher education. 

Sec. 221. National Science Foundation support for broadening participation in 

undergraduate STEM education. 

Sec. 222. Definitions. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 302. Findings and sense of Congress on support for all fields of science 

and engineering. 

Sec. 303. National Science Foundation merit review. 

Sec. 304. Management and oversight of large facilities. 

Sec. 305. Support for potentially transformative research. 

Sec. 306. Strengthening institutional research partnerships. 

Sec. 307. Innovation Corps. 

Sec. 308. Definitions. 

Subtitle B—STEM Education 

Sec. 321. National Science Board report on consolidation of STEM education 

activities at the Foundation. 

Sec. 322. Models for graduate student support. 

Sec. 323. Undergraduate STEM education reform. 

Sec. 324. Advanced manufacturing education. 

Sec. 325. STEM education partnerships. 

Sec. 326. Noyce scholarship program amendments. 

Sec. 327. Informal STEM education. 

Sec. 328. Research and development to support improved K–12 learning. 

TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND 

TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 403. Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership. 

Sec. 404. National Academies review. 

Sec. 405. Improving NIST collaboration with other agencies. 

Sec. 406. Miscellaneous provisions. 

TITLE V—INNOVATION 

Sec. 501. Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

Sec. 502. Federal loan guarantees for innovative technologies in manufacturing. 

Sec. 503. Innovation voucher pilot program. 

Sec. 504. Federal Acceleration of State Technology Commercialization Pilot 

Program. 

TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Subtitle A—Office of Science 


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Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Definitions. 

Sec. 603. Mission of the Office of Science. 

Sec. 604. Basic energy sciences program. 

Sec. 605. Biological and environmental research. 

Sec. 606. Advanced scientific computing research program. 

Sec. 607. Fusion energy research. 

Sec. 608. High energy physics program. 

Sec. 609. Nuclear physics program. 

Sec. 610. Science laboratories infrastructure program. 

Sec. 611. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—ARPA–E 

Sec. 621. Short title. 

Sec. 622. ARPA–E amendments. 

Subtitle C—Energy Innovation 

Sec. 641. Energy Innovation Hubs. 

Sec. 642. Participation in the Innovation Corps program. 

Sec. 643. Technology transfer. 

Sec. 644. Funding competitiveness for institutions of higher education and 

other nonprofit institutions. 

Sec. 645. Under Secretary for Science and Energy. 

Sec. 646. Special hiring authority for scientific, engineering, and project management personnel. 

1 TITLE I—OSTP; 

2 GOVERNMENTWIDE SCIENCE 

3 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

4 SEC. 101. FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUND5 ING. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The predominant driver of gross domestic 

8 product growth over the past half century has been 

9 scientific and technological advancement. 

10 (2) Investments in research and development 

11 have also delivered significant benefits for national 

12 security, health, energy security, education, and the 

13 personal well-being of all Americans. 


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1 (3) Virtually every new technological product is 

2 traceable to a research discovery, often one pursued 

3 with no application in mind. 

4 (4) Nondefense Federal research and develop5 ment accounts for only 1.7 percent of the Federal 

6 budget. Federal basic research accounts for only 1 

7 percent of the budget. 

8 (5) There is a deficit between what America is 

9 investing and what it should be investing to remain 

10 competitive, not only in research but in technology 

11 transfer, innovation, and job creation, thereby caus12 ing America’s highly successful science and tech13 nology enterprise to atrophy. 

14 (6) Many research and development initiatives, 

15 due to the long time periods required to achieve 

16 completion, have benefited from stable and predict17 able investments and from multiyear financial plan18 ning. 

19 (7) The Federal science agencies should receive 

20 sustained and steady growth in funding for research 

21 and development activities, including basic research, 

22 across a wide range of disciplines, including physical, 

23 geological, and life sciences, mathematics, engineer24 ing, and social, behavioral, and economic sciences. 


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1 SEC. 102. NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL 

2 AMENDMENTS. 

3 Section 401 of the National Science and Technology 

4 Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1977 (42 

5 U.S.C. 6651) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Federal Co7 ordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and 

8 Technology’’ and inserting ‘‘National Science and 

9 Technology Council’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and Energy 

11 Research and Development Administration’’ and in12 serting ‘‘Department of Energy, and any other agen13 cy designated by the President’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (e)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘engineering, and tech16 nology’’ and inserting ‘‘engineering, technology, 

17 innovation, and STEM education’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘engi19 neering, and technological’’ and inserting ‘‘engi20 neering, technological, innovation, and STEM 

21 education’’; 

22 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

23 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

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

25 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) address research needs identified under 

2 paragraph (2) through appropriate funding mecha3 nisms, which may include solicitations involving 2 or 

4 more agencies and public-private partnerships;’’. 

5 SEC. 103. REVIEW OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND RE6 PORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

8 Science and Technology Policy shall establish or designate 

9 a working group under the National Science and Tech10 nology Council with the responsibility of reviewing Federal 

11 regulatory and reporting requirements across Federal 

12 agencies that affect the conduct of United States research 

13 in an effort to reduce regulatory burdens and to eliminate 

14 and harmonize duplicative regulatory and reporting re15 quirements. 

16 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The working group estab17 lished or designated under subsection (a) shall— 

18 (1) periodically review all Federal regulations 

19 and reporting requirements that affect the conduct 

20 of United States research to— 

21 (A) identify ways to harmonize overlapping 

22 or duplicative research regulations and report23 ing requirements across Federal agencies; 

24 (B) evaluate such regulations and report25 ing requirements in relationship to the risks the 


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1 requirements seek to address to determine if 

2 the benefits of the requirements are commensu3 rate with the costs to the progress of science or 

4 to the taxpayer; 

5 (C) identify any regulations that are ap6 plied to scientific researchers or to research-per7 forming institutions for which exemptions could 

8 be reasonably applied or for which adjustments 

9 could be made to better fit those regulations to 

10 diverse research environments; and 

11 (D) identify any specific regulations which 

12 could be refocused on performance-based goals 

13 rather than on process while still meeting the 

14 desired outcome; 

15 (2) examine the extent to which agencies’ guid16 ance documents adhere with the most recently up17 dated version of the Office of Management and 

18 Budget’s Agency Good Guidance Practices bulletin; 

19 and 

20 (3) develop and update at least once every 3 

21 years a strategic plan for streamlining Federal regu22 lations and reporting requirements that affect the 

23 conduct of United States research that contains, at 

24 a minimum— 


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1 (A) a priority list of research-related regu2 lations, reporting requirements, and agency 

3 guidance to be harmonized, streamlined, up4 dated, or eliminated; and 

5 (B) a plan, including a timeline, for imple6 menting the regulatory and reporting reforms 

7 identified in subparagraph (A). 

8 (c) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In carrying out the re9 sponsibilities under subsection (b), including the develop10 ment of the strategic plan under subsection (b)(3), the 

11 working group established or designated under subsection 

12 (a) shall take into account input and recommendations 

13 from non-Federal stakeholders, including federally funded 

14 and nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 

15 education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, 

16 nonprofit research institutions, industry, including small 

17 businesses, federally funded research and development 

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

19 efficiency, and accountability in the performance of sci20 entific research. 

21 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OSTP.—The Director of 

22 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in collabora23 tion with the Office of Management and Budget Office 

24 of Information and Regulatory Affairs, shall encourage 

25 and monitor the efforts of the participating agencies to 


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1 ensure that the strategic plan is developed under sub2 section (b)(3) and that appropriate steps are taken by the 

3 agencies to effectively implement the recommendations, 

4 achieve the objectives, and to adhere to the timeline in 

5 the strategic plan. 

6 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

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

8 Science and Technology Policy shall transmit the priority 

9 list and strategic plan developed under subsection (b)(3) 

10 to the Congress. The Director shall further provide a re11 port annually to the Congress, to be submitted not later 

12 than 60 days after the submission of the President’s an13 nual budget request, on the progress toward implementa14 tion of the regulatory reforms outlined in the strategic 

15 plan. 

16 SEC. 104. AMENDMENTS TO PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

17 Section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno18 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘sec21 tion, a prize’’; 

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

23 and 

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

25 and inserting ‘‘prize competitions’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (f)— 

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

3 and inserting ‘‘on a publicly accessible Govern4 ment website, such as www.challenge.gov,’’; and 

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

6 and inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

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

8 inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

9 (4) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘prize’’ be10 fore ‘‘competition’’ both places it appears; 

11 (5) in subsection (i)— 

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

13 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; 

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

15 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’ both places it ap16 pears; 

17 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

18 paragraph (4); and 

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

20 following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—An agency may waive the re22 quirement under paragraph (2). The annual report 

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

24 waivers granted during the preceding fiscal year, 


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1 along with an explanation of the reasons for grant2 ing the waivers.’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (j) by amending paragraph (2) 

4 to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(2) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) LICENSES.—The Federal Government 

7 may negotiate a license for the use of intellec8 tual property developed by a participant for a 

9 prize competition. 

10 ‘‘(B) OTHER CONDITIONS.—A Federal 

11 agency or agencies in cooperation may require 

12 participants to agree in advance to a specific 

13 approach to intellectual property as a condition 

14 for eligibility to participate in a prize competi15 tion.’’; 

16 (7) in subsection (k)— 

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer the 


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1 prize competition, subject to the provisions of this 

2 section.’’; 

3 (9) in subsection (m)— 

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

5 follows: 

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

9 competition or funds for a cash prize purse, may 

10 consist of Federal appropriated funds and funds 

11 provided by private sector for-profit and nonprofit 

12 entities. The head of an agency may accept funds 

13 from other Federal agencies, private sector for-profit 

14 entities, and nonprofit entities to support such prize 

15 competitions. The head of an agency may not give 

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

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

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

20 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

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

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


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

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

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

4 ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘prize’’; 

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

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

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

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

9 (10) in subsection (n), by inserting ‘‘for both 

10 for-profit and nonprofit entities,’’ after ‘‘contract ve11 hicle’’; 

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

14 providing a cash prize purse’’; and 

15 (12) in subsection (p)— 

16 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘ANNUAL

17 REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL REPORT’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘of each year’’ and in20 serting ‘‘of each odd-numbered year’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘preceding fiscal year’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘preceding 2 fiscal years’’; 

23 and 

24 (C) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 ‘‘cash prizes’’ both places it occurs and in3 serting ‘‘cash prize purses’’; and 

4 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

5 new subparagraph: 

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

7 topical areas and agency-specific mission needs 

8 that may be the strongest opportunities for 

9 prize competitions during the upcoming 2 fiscal 

10 years.’’. 

11 SEC. 105. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE 

12 AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS. 

13 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

14 ‘‘International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 

15 2015’’. 

16 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

17 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a body 

18 under the National Science and Technology Council 

19 (NSTC) with the responsibility to identify and coordinate 

20 international science and technology cooperation that can 

21 strengthen the United States science and technology en22 terprise, improve economic and national security, and sup23 port United States foreign policy goals. 

24 (c) NSTC BODY LEADERSHIP.—The body estab25 lished under subsection (b) 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 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The body established under 

4 subsection (b) 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 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the Of10 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit a re11 port, to be updated annually, to the Committee on Science, 

12 Space, and Technology and the Committee on Foreign Af13 fairs of the House of Representatives, and to the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

15 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. The report 

16 shall also be made available to the public on the reporting 

17 agency’s website. The report shall contain a description 

18 of— 

19 (1) the priorities and policies established under 

20 subsection (d)(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 SEC. 106. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CONFERENCES. 

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

6 (1) Cooperative research and development ac7 tivities, including collaboration between domestic and 

8 international government, industry, and academic 

9 science and engineering organizations, are important 

10 to promoting innovation and knowledge creation. 

11 (2) Scientific and technical conferences and 

12 trade events support the sharing of information, 

13 processes, and data within the scientific and engi14 neering communities. 

15 (3) In hosting and attending scientific and tech16 nical conferences and trade events, Federal agen17 cies— 

18 (A) gain greater access to top researchers 

19 and to new and potentially transformative 

20 ideas; 

21 (B) keep abreast of developments relevant 

22 to their respective missions, as is relevant for 

23 future program planning; 

24 (C) help disseminate Federal research re25 sults; 


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1 (D) provide opportunities both for em2 ployee professional development and for recruit3 ing new employees; 

4 (E) participate in scientific peer review; 

5 and 

6 (F) support the reputation, visibility, and 

7 leadership both of the specific agency and of 

8 the United States. 

9 (4) For those Federal agencies that provide fi10 nancial support for external research and develop11 ment activities, participation in scientific and tech12 nical conferences can help ensure that funds are di13 rected toward the most promising ideas, thereby 

14 maximizing the Federal investment. 

15 (b) POLICY.—To the extent practicable given budget, 

16 security, and other constraints, the National Science 

17 Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and 

18 Technology, and the Department of Energy, in addition 

19 to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

20 should support Federal employee and contractor attend21 ance at scientific and technical conferences and trade 

22 events as relevant both to employee and contractor duties 

23 and to the agency’s mission. 

24 (c) OVERSIGHT.—Consistent with other relevant law, 

25 the Federal agencies, through appropriate oversight, shall 


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1 aim to minimize the costs to the Federal Government re2 lated to conference and trade event attendance, through 

3 methods such as— 

4 (1) ensuring that related fees collected by the 

5 Federal agency help offset total costs to the Federal 

6 Government; 

7 (2) developing or maintaining procedures for in8 vestigating unexpected increases in related costs; 

9 and 

10 (3) strengthening policies and training relevant 

11 to conference and trade event planning and partici12 pation. 

13 Subtitle B—Reauthorization of the 

14 National Nanotechnology Initiative 

15 SEC. 111. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘National Nano17 technology Initiative Amendments Act of 2015’’. 

18 SEC. 112. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AMEND19 MENTS. 

20 The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De21 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended— 

22 (1) in section 2— 

23 (A) in subsection (c), by amending para24 graph (4) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4) develop, and update every 3 years there2 after, a strategic plan to guide the activities de3 scribed under subsection (b) that specifies near-term 

4 and long-term objectives for the Program, the antici5 pated timeframe for achieving the near-term objec6 tives, and the metrics to be used for assessing 

7 progress toward the objectives, and that describes— 

8 ‘‘(A) how the Program will move results 

9 out of the laboratory and into applications for 

10 the benefit of society, including through co11 operation and collaborations with nanotechnol12 ogy research, development, and technology tran13 sition initiatives supported by the States; and 

14 ‘‘(B) proposed research in areas of na15 tional importance in accordance with the re16 quirements of section 116 of the National 

17 Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 

18 2015;’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (d)— 

20 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

21 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6), 

22 respectively; 

23 (ii) by inserting before paragraph (2), 

24 as redesignated by clause (i), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Program budget, for the previous fiscal 

2 year, for each agency that participates in the Pro3 gram, and for each program component area;’’; and 

4 (iii) by amending paragraph (6), as 

5 redesignated by clause (i), to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(6) an assessment of how Federal agencies are 

8 implementing the plan described in subsection (c)(7) 

9 and a description of the amount of Small Business 

10 Innovative Research and Small Business Technology 

11 Transfer Research funds supporting the plan.’’; and 

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

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS SETTING.—The agencies partici15 pating in the Program shall support the activities of com16 mittees involved in the development of standards for nano17 technology and may reimburse the travel costs of scientists 

18 and engineers who participate in activities of such commit19 tees.’’; 

20 (2) in section 3— 

21 (A) by amending subsection (b)(1) to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The operation of the Na25 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall be 


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1 supported by funds from each agency participating 

2 in the Program. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROPORTION.—The portion of such Of4 fice’s total budget provided by each agency for each 

5 fiscal year shall be in the same proportion as the 

6 agency’s share of the total budget for the Program 

7 for the previous fiscal year, as specified in the report 

8 required under section 2(d)(1). 

9 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The Director of the Na10 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office may es11 tablish a minimum contribution or other exception to 

12 the requirement in paragraph (2) for participating 

13 agencies whose share of the total budget for the Pro14 gram is below a threshold level, to be set by the Di15 rector.’’; and 

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

17 subsection: 

18 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DATABASE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Nano21 technology Coordination Office shall develop 

22 and maintain a database accessible by the pub23 lic of projects funded under at least the Envi24 ronmental, Health, and Safety program compo25 nent area, or any successor program component 


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1 area, including, to the extent practicable, a de2 scription of each project, its source of funding 

3 by agency, and its funding history. 

4 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATION.—Projects shall be 

5 grouped by major objective as defined by the re6 search plan required under section 113(b) of 

7 the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amend8 ments Act of 2015. 

9 ‘‘(2) ACCESSIBLE FACILITIES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Nano11 technology Coordination Office shall develop, 

12 maintain, and publicize information on nano13 technology facilities supported under the Pro14 gram, and may include information on nano15 technology facilities supported by the States, 

16 that are accessible for use by individuals from 

17 academic institutions and from industry. 

18 ‘‘(B) WEBSITES.—The National Nanotech19 nology Coordination Office shall maintain active 

20 web links to the websites for each of these fa21 cilities and shall work with each facility sup22 ported under the Program to ensure that each 

23 facility publishes on its respective website up24 dated information on the terms and conditions 

25 for the use of the facility, a description of the 


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1 capabilities of the instruments and equipment 

2 available for use at the facility, and a descrip3 tion of the technical support available to assist 

4 users of the facility.’’; 

5 (3) in section 4— 

6 (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end 

7 the following: ‘‘The co-chairs of the Advisory 

8 Panel shall meet the qualifications of Panel 

9 membership required in subsection (b) and may 

10 be members of the President’s Council of Advi11 sors on Science and Technology. The Advisory 

12 Panel shall include members having specific 

13 qualifications tailored to enable it to carry out 

14 the requirements of subsection (c)(6).’’; 

15 (B) in subsection (c)— 

16 (i) by striking paragraph (1); and 

17 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

18 through (7) as paragraphs (1) through (6), 

19 respectively; and 

20 (C) by amending subsection (d) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Advisory Panel shall report not 

23 less frequently than every 3 years, and, to the extent prac24 ticable, 1 year following each of the National Research 

25 Council triennial reviews required under section 5, to the 


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1 President on its assessments under subsection (c) and its 

2 recommendations for ways to improve the Program. The 

3 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

4 shall transmit a copy of each report under this subsection 

5 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor6 tation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, 

7 and Technology of the House of Representatives, and 

8 other appropriate committees of the Congress.’’; 

9 (4) by amending section 5 to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 5. TRIENNIAL EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL 

11 NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

13 Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall enter into an ar14 rangement with the National Research Council of the Na15 tional Academy of Sciences to conduct a triennial review 

16 of the Program. The Director shall ensure that the ar17 rangement with the National Research Council is con18 cluded in order to allow sufficient time for the reporting 

19 requirements of subsection (b) to be satisfied. Each tri20 ennial review shall include an evaluation of the— 

21 ‘‘(1) research priorities and technical content of 

22 the Program, including whether the balance of fund23 ing among program component areas, as designated 

24 according to section 2(c)(2), is appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(2) Program’s scientific and technological ac2 complishments and its success in transferring tech3 nology to the private sector; and 

4 ‘‘(3) adequacy of the Program’s activities ad5 dressing ethical, legal, environmental, and other ap6 propriate societal concerns, including human health 

7 concerns. 

8 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY REPORTS.—If the Director of the Na9 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office, working with 

10 the National Research Council and with input from the 

11 Advisory Panel, determines that a more narrowly focused 

12 review of the Program is in the best interests of the Pro13 gram, the Director may enter into such an arrangement 

14 with the National Research Council in lieu of a full review 

15 as required under subsection (a), but not more often than 

16 every second triennial review. 

17 ‘‘(c) EVALUATION TO BE TRANSMITTED TO CON18 GRESS.—The National Research Council shall document 

19 the results of each triennial review carried out in accord20 ance with this section in a report that includes any rec21 ommendations for changes to the Program’s objectives, 

22 technical content, or other policy or Program changes. 

23 Each report shall be submitted to the Director of the Na24 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office, who shall 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the 

2 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

3 House of Representatives.’’; and 

4 (5) in section 10— 

5 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(2) NANOTECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘nanotech8 nology’ means the science and technology that will 

9 enable one to understand, measure, model, image, 

10 manipulate, and manufacture at the nanoscale, 

11 aimed at creating materials, devices, and systems 

12 with fundamentally new properties or functions.’’; 

13 and 

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

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(7) NANOSCALE.—The term ‘nanoscale’ means 

17 one or more dimensions of between approximately 1 

18 and 100 nanometers.’’. 

19 SEC. 113. SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. 

20 (a) COORDINATOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, 

21 AND SAFETY RESEARCH.—The Director of the Office of 

22 Science and Technology Policy shall designate an associate 

23 director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

24 or other appropriate senior government official as the Co25 ordinator for Environmental, Health, and Safety ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 search. The Coordinator shall be responsible for oversight 

2 of the coordination, planning, and budget prioritization of 

3 research and other activities related to environmental, 

4 health, safety, and other appropriate societal concerns re5 lated to nanotechnology. The responsibilities of the Coor6 dinator shall include— 

7 (1) ensuring that a research plan for the envi8 ronmental, health, and safety research activities re9 quired under subsection (b) is developed, updated, 

10 and implemented and that the plan is responsive to 

11 the recommendations of the Advisory Panel estab12 lished under section 4(a) of the 21st Century Nano13 technology Research and Development Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 7503(a)); and 

15 (2) encouraging and monitoring the efforts of 

16 the agencies participating in the Program to allocate 

17 the level of resources and management attention 

18 necessary to ensure that the environmental, health, 

19 safety, and other appropriate societal concerns re20 lated to nanotechnology are addressed under the 

21 Program. 

22 (b) RESEARCH PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Coordinator for Envi24 ronmental, Health, and Safety Research shall con25 vene and chair a panel comprised of representatives 


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1 from the agencies funding research activities under 

2 the Environmental, Health, and Safety program 

3 component area of the Program, or any successor 

4 program component area, and from such other agen5 cies as the Coordinator considers necessary to de6 velop, periodically update, and coordinate the imple7 mentation of a research plan for this program com8 ponent area. Such panel may be a subgroup of the 

9 Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology 

10 Subcommittee of the National Science and Tech11 nology Council. In developing and updating the plan, 

12 the panel convened by the Coordinator shall solicit 

13 and be responsive to recommendations and advice 

14 from— 

15 (A) the Advisory Panel established under 

16 section 4(a) of the 21st Century Nanotechnol17 ogy Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 7503(a)); and 

19 (B) the agencies responsible for environ20 mental, health, and safety regulations associ21 ated with the production, use, and disposal of 

22 nanoscale materials and products. 

23 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—The plan 

24 required under paragraph (1) shall include a deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 scription of how the Program will help to ensure the 

2 development of— 

3 (A) standards related to nomenclature as4 sociated with engineered nanoscale materials; 

5 (B) engineered nanoscale standard ref6 erence materials for environmental, health, and 

7 safety testing; and 

8 (C) standards related to methods and pro9 cedures for detecting, measuring, monitoring, 

10 sampling, and testing engineered nanoscale ma11 terials for environmental, health, and safety im12 pacts. 

13 (3) COMPONENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required 

14 under paragraph (1) shall, with respect to activities 

15 described in paragraphs (1) and (2)— 

16 (A) specify near-term research objectives 

17 and long-term research objectives; 

18 (B) specify milestones associated with each 

19 near-term objective and the estimated time and 

20 resources required to reach each milestone; 

21 (C) with respect to subparagraphs (A) and 

22 (B), describe the role of each agency carrying 

23 out or sponsoring research in order to meet the 

24 objectives specified under subparagraph (A) and 


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1 to achieve the milestones specified under sub2 paragraph (B); and 

3 (D) specify the funding allocated to each 

4 major objective of the plan and the source of 

5 funding by agency for the current fiscal year. 

6 (4) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

7 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, the plan required under paragraph (1) shall be 

9 transmitted to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

11 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

12 House of Representatives. 

13 (5) UPDATING AND APPENDING TO REPORT.— 

14 The plan required under paragraph (1) shall be up15 dated at least every 3 years and may be submitted 

16 as part of the report required under section 2(c)(4) 

17 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and 

18 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)). 

19 SEC. 114. NANOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. 

20 (a) UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The 

21 Program shall support efforts to introduce nanoscale 

22 science, engineering, and technology into undergraduate 

23 science and engineering education through a variety of 

24 interdisciplinary approaches. Activities supported may in25 clude— 


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1 (1) development of courses of instruction or 

2 modules to existing courses; 

3 (2) faculty professional development; and 

4 (3) acquisition of equipment and instrumenta5 tion suitable for undergraduate education and re6 search in nanotechnology. 

7 (b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION OF EDUCATION.— 

8 The Committee established under section 2(c) of the 21st 

9 Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act 

10 (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)) shall coordinate, as appropriate, with 

11 the Committee established under section 101 of the Amer12 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

13 6621) to prioritize, plan, and assess the educational activi14 ties supported under the Program. 

15 (c) SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY

16 EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.—Activities supported under the 

17 Education and Societal Dimensions program component 

18 area, or any successor program component area, that in19 volve informal, precollege, or undergraduate nanotechnol20 ogy education shall include education regarding the envi21 ronmental, health and safety, and other societal aspects 

22 of nanotechnology. 

23 (d) REMOTE ACCESS TO NANOTECHNOLOGY FACILI24 TIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Agencies supporting nano2 technology research facilities as part of the Program 

3 shall require the entities that operate such facilities 

4 to allow access via the Internet, and support the 

5 costs associated with the provision of such access, by 

6 secondary school students and teachers, to instru7 ments and equipment within such facilities for edu8 cational purposes. The agencies may waive this re9 quirement for cases when particular facilities would 

10 be inappropriate for educational purposes or the 

11 costs for providing such access would be prohibitive. 

12 (2) PROCEDURES.—The agencies identified in 

13 paragraph (1) shall require the entities that operate 

14 such nanotechnology research facilities to establish 

15 and publish procedures, guidelines, and conditions 

16 for the submission and approval of applications for 

17 the use of the facilities for the purpose identified in 

18 paragraph (1) and shall authorize personnel who op19 erate the facilities to provide necessary technical 

20 support to students and teachers. 

21 SEC. 115. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. 

22 (a) PROTOTYPING.— 

23 (1) ACCESS TO FACILITIES.—In accordance 

24 with section 2(b)(7) of 21st Century Nanotechnology 

25 Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 


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1 7501(b)(7)), the agencies supporting nanotechnology 

2 research facilities as part of the Program shall pro3 vide access to such facilities to companies for the 

4 purpose of assisting the companies in the develop5 ment of prototypes of nanoscale products, devices, or 

6 processes (or products, devices, or processes enabled 

7 by nanotechnology) for determining proof of concept. 

8 The agencies shall publicize the availability of these 

9 facilities and encourage their use by companies as 

10 provided for in this section. The agencies may waive 

11 this requirement for academic facilities for which the 

12 costs of providing such access would be prohibitive. 

13 (2) PROCEDURES.—The agencies identified in 

14 paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) shall establish and publish procedures, 

16 guidelines, and conditions for the submission 

17 and approval of applications for use of nano18 technology facilities; 

19 (B) shall publish descriptions of the capa20 bilities of facilities available for use under this 

21 subsection, including the availability of tech22 nical support; and 

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1 sociated with use of the facilities for projects 

2 under this subsection. 

3 (3) SELECTION AND CRITERIA.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In cases when less than 

5 full cost recovery is required pursuant to para6 graph (2)(C), projects provided access to nano7 technology facilities in accordance with this sub8 section shall be selected through a competitive, 

9 merit-based process, and the criteria for the se10 lection of such projects shall include at a min11 imum the readiness of the project for tech12 nology demonstration. 

13 (B) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—The agen14 cies may give special consideration in selecting 

15 projects to applications that are relevant to im16 portant national needs or requirements. 

17 (b) COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY.—The Pro18 gram shall coordinate with industry from all industrial 

19 sectors that would benefit from applications of nanotech20 nology by— 

21 (1) enhancing communication of information re22 lated to nanotechnology innovation, including infor23 mation about research, education and training, man24 ufacturing issues, and market-driven needs; 


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1 (2) advancing and accelerating the creation of 

2 new products and manufacturing processes derived 

3 from discovery at the nanoscale by working with in4 dustry, including small- and medium-sized manufac5 turers; 

6 (3) developing innovative methods for transfer7 ring nanotechnology products and processes from 

8 Federal agencies to industry; and 

9 (4) facilitating industry-led partnerships be10 tween the Program and industry sectors, including 

11 regional partnerships. 

12 (c) COORDINATION WITH STATE, REGIONAL, AND

13 LOCAL INITIATIVES.—Section 2(b)(5) of the 21st Century 

14 Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 7501(b)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(5) ensuring United States global leadership in 

17 the development and application of nanotechnology, 

18 including through the coordination and leveraging of 

19 Federal investments with nanotechnology research, 

20 development, and technology transition initiatives 

21 supported by the States and regions across the coun22 try;’’. 


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1 SEC. 116. SIGNATURE INITIATIVES IN AREAS OF NATIONAL 

2 IMPORTANCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall include sup4 port for nanotechnology research and development activi5 ties directed toward topical and application areas that 

6 have the potential for significant contributions to national 

7 economic competitiveness and for other significant societal 

8 benefits. The activities supported shall be designed to ad9 vance the development of research discoveries by dem10 onstrating technical solutions to important national chal11 lenges. The Advisory Panel shall make recommendations 

12 to the Program for candidate research and development 

13 areas for support under this section. 

14 (b) CHARACTERISTICS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Research and development 

16 activities under this section shall— 

17 (A) include projects selected on the basis 

18 of applications for support through a competi19 tive, merit-based process; 

20 (B) involve collaborations among research21 ers in academic institutions and industry, and 

22 may involve nonprofit research institutions and 

23 Federal laboratories, as appropriate; 

24 (C) when possible, leverage Federal invest25 ments through collaboration with related State 

26 initiatives; and 


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1 (D) include a plan for fostering the trans2 fer of research discoveries and the results of 

3 technology demonstration activities to industry 

4 for commercial development. 

5 (2) JOINT SOLICITATIONS.—Projects supported 

6 under this section shall include projects for which 

7 determination of the requirements for applications, 

8 review and selection of applications for support, and 

9 subsequent funding of projects shall be carried out 

10 by a collaboration of no fewer than 2 agencies par11 ticipating in the Program. In selecting applications 

12 for support, agencies may, as appropriate, give spe13 cial consideration to projects that include cost shar14 ing from non-Federal sources. 

15 (3) INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

16 Research and development activities under this sec17 tion may be supported through interdisciplinary 

18 nanotechnology research centers, as authorized by 

19 section 2(b)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology 

20 Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 

21 7501(b)(4)), that are organized to investigate basic 

22 research questions and carry out technology dem23 onstration activities in areas such as those identified 

24 in subsection (a). 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Reports required under section 2(d) of 

2 the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Develop3 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(d)) shall include a description 

4 of research and development areas supported in accord5 ance with this section. 

6 SEC. 117. NANOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH. 

7 (a) RESEARCH AREAS.—The Program shall include 

8 research on— 

9 (1) the development of instrumentation and 

10 tools required for the rapid characterization of 

11 nanoscale materials and for monitoring of nanoscale 

12 manufacturing processes; and 

13 (2) approaches and techniques for scaling the 

14 synthesis of new nanoscale materials to achieve in15 dustrial-level production rates. 

16 (b) GREEN NANOTECHNOLOGY.—Interdisciplinary 

17 research centers supported under the Program in accord18 ance with section 2(b)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotech19 nology Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 

20 7501(b)(4)) that are focused on nanomanufacturing re21 search shall include as part of the activities of such cen22 ters— 

23 (1) research on methods and approaches to de24 velop environmentally benign nanoscale products and 

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1 sideration relevant findings and results of research 

2 supported under the Environmental, Health, and 

3 Safety program component area, or any successor 

4 program component area; 

5 (2) fostering the transfer of the results of such 

6 research to industry; and 

7 (3) providing for the education of scientists and 

8 engineers through interdisciplinary studies in the 

9 principles and techniques for the design and develop10 ment of environmentally benign nanoscale products 

11 and processes. 

12 SEC. 118. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this subtitle, terms that are defined in section 10 

14 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Devel15 opment Act (15 U.S.C. 7509) have the meaning given 

16 those terms in that section. 

17 Subtitle C—Engineering Biology 

18 SEC. 121. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Engineering Biol20 ogy Research and Development Act of 2015’’. 

21 SEC. 122. FINDINGS. 

22 The Congress makes the following findings: 

23 (1) Cellular and molecular processes may be 

24 used, mimicked, or redesigned to develop new prod25 ucts, processes, and systems that improve societal 


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1 well-being, strengthen national security, and con2 tribute to the economy. 

3 (2) Engineering biology relies on scientists and 

4 engineers with a diverse and unique set of skills 

5 combining the biological, physical, and information 

6 sciences and engineering. 

7 (3) Long-term research and development is nec8 essary to create breakthroughs in engineering biol9 ogy. Such research and development requires govern10 ment investment as the benefits are too distant or 

11 uncertain for industry to support alone. 

12 (4) The Federal Government can play an im13 portant role by facilitating the development of tools 

14 and technologies to further advance engineering biol15 ogy, including multiple user facilities that the Fed16 eral Government is uniquely able to support. 

17 (5) Since other countries are investing signifi18 cant resources in engineering biology, the United 

19 States is at risk of losing its competitive lead in this 

20 emerging area if it does not invest the necessary re21 sources and have a national strategy. 

22 (6) A National Engineering Biology Initiative 

23 can serve to establish new research directions and 

24 technology goals, improve interagency coordination 

25 and planning processes, drive technology transfer, 


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1 and help ensure optimal returns on the Federal in2 vestment. 

3 SEC. 123. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this subtitle— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘Advisory Committee’’ means the 

6 advisory committee designated under section 125; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘biomanufacturing’’ means the 

8 manufacturing of products using biological manufac9 turing technologies; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘engineering biology’’ means the 

11 science and engineering of cellular and molecular 

12 processes to advance fundamental understanding of 

13 complex natural systems and to develop new and ad14 vance existing products, processes, and systems that 

15 will contribute significantly to societal well-being, 

16 national security, and the economy; 

17 (4) the term ‘‘Interagency Committee’’ means 

18 the interagency committee designated under section 

19 124(e); and 

20 (5) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the National 

21 Engineering Biology Research and Development 

22 Program established under section 124. 


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1 SEC. 124. NATIONAL ENGINEERING BIOLOGY RESEARCH 

2 AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall implement a 

4 National Engineering Biology Research and Development 

5 Program to advance societal well-being, national security, 

6 and economic productivity and competitiveness through— 

7 (1) advancing areas of research at the intersec8 tion of the biological, physical, and information 

9 sciences and engineering; 

10 (2) supporting social science research that ad11 vances the field of engineering biology and contrib12 utes to the adoption of new products, processes, and 

13 technologies; 

14 (3) expanding the number of researchers, edu15 cators, and students with engineering biology train16 ing; 

17 (4) accelerating the translation and commer18 cialization of engineering biology research and devel19 opment by the private sector; and 

20 (5) improving the interagency planning and co21 ordination of Federal Government activities related 

22 to engineering biology. 

23 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro24 gram shall include— 

25 (1) sustained support for engineering biology 

26 research and development through— 


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1 (A) grants to individual investigators and 

2 interdisciplinary teams of investigators; 

3 (B) projects funded under joint solicita4 tions by a collaboration of no fewer than two 

5 agencies participating in the Program; and 

6 (C) interdisciplinary research centers that 

7 are organized to investigate basic research 

8 questions and carry out technology development 

9 and demonstration activities; 

10 (2) education and training of undergraduate 

11 and graduate students in research at the intersection 

12 of biological, physical, and information sciences and 

13 engineering; 

14 (3) activities to develop robust mechanisms for 

15 tracking and quantifying the outputs and economic 

16 benefits of engineering biology; and 

17 (4) activities to accelerate the translation and 

18 commercialization of new products, processes, and 

19 technologies by— 

20 (A) identifying precompetitive research op21 portunities; 

22 (B) facilitating public-private partnerships 

23 in engineering biology research and develop24 ment; 


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1 (C) connecting researchers, graduate stu2 dents, and postdoctoral fellows with entrepre3 neurship education and training opportunities; 

4 and 

5 (D) supporting proof of concept activities 

6 and the formation of startup companies includ7 ing through programs such as the Small Busi8 ness Innovation Research Program and the 

9 Small Business Technology Transfer Program. 

10 (c) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Program shall 

11 include, to the maximum extent practicable, outreach to 

12 primarily undergraduate and minority-serving institutions 

13 about Program opportunities, and shall encourage the de14 velopment of research collaborations between research-in15 tensive universities and primarily undergraduate and mi16 nority-serving institutions. 

17 (d) ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCI18 ETAL ISSUES.—Program activities shall take into account 

19 ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate soci20 etal issues, including the need for safeguards and moni21 toring systems to protect society against the unintended 

22 release of engineered materials produced, by— 

23 (1) supporting research, including in the social 

24 sciences, and other activities addressing ethical, 

25 legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal 


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1 issues related to engineering biology, including inte2 grating research on these topics with the research 

3 and development in engineering biology, and ensur4 ing that the results of such research are widely dis5 seminated, including through interdisciplinary engi6 neering biology research centers described in sub7 section (b)(1)(C); and 

8 (2) ensuring, through the agencies and depart9 ments that participate in the Program, that public 

10 input and outreach are integrated into the Program 

11 by the convening of regular and ongoing public dis12 cussions through mechanisms such as citizen panels, 

13 consensus conferences, and educational events, as 

14 appropriate. 

15 (e) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President shall 

16 designate an interagency committee on engineering biol17 ogy, which shall include representatives from the Office 

18 of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science 

19 Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Aer20 onautics and Space Administration, the National Institute 

21 of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protec22 tion Agency, and any other agency that the President con23 siders appropriate. The Director of the Office of Science 

24 and Technology Policy shall select a chairperson from 

25 among the members of the Interagency Committee. The 


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1 Interagency Committee shall oversee the planning, man2 agement, and coordination of the Program. The Inter3 agency Committee shall— 

4 (1) provide for interagency coordination of Fed5 eral engineering biology research, development, and 

6 other activities undertaken pursuant to the Pro7 gram; 

8 (2) establish and periodically update goals and 

9 priorities for the Program; 

10 (3) develop, not later than 12 months after the 

11 date of enactment of this subtitle, and update every 

12 5 years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the 

13 Program and meet the goals and priorities estab14 lished under paragraph (2) and describe— 

15 (A) the Program’s support for long-term 

16 funding for interdisciplinary engineering biology 

17 research and development; 

18 (B) the Program’s support for education 

19 and public outreach activities; 

20 (C) the Program’s support for research 

21 and other activities on ethical, legal, environ22 mental, and other appropriate societal issues re23 lated to engineering biology; and 

24 (D) how the Program will move results out 

25 of the laboratory and into application for the 


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1 benefit of society and United States competi2 tiveness; 

3 (4) propose an annually coordinated interagency 

4 budget for the Program that will ensure the mainte5 nance of a robust engineering biology research and 

6 development portfolio and ensure that the balance of 

7 funding across the Program is sufficient to meet the 

8 goals and priorities established for the Program; 

9 (5) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, 

10 such as the Small Business Innovation Research 

11 Program and the Small Business Technology Trans12 fer Program, in support of the goals described in 

13 subsection (b)(4); and 

14 (6) in carrying out its responsibilities under this 

15 section, take into consideration the recommendations 

16 of the Advisory Committee, the results of the work17 shop convened under section 126, existing reports on 

18 related topics, and the views of academic, State, in19 dustry, and other appropriate groups. 

20 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Interagency Committee 

21 shall prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the 

22 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later 


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1 than 90 days after submission of the President’s annual 

2 budget request, that includes— 

3 (1) the Program budget for the fiscal year to 

4 which such budget request applies, and for the then 

5 current fiscal year, including a breakout of spending 

6 for each agency participating in the Program, and 

7 for the development and acquisition of any research 

8 facilities and instrumentation; and 

9 (2) an assessment of how Federal agencies are 

10 implementing the plan described in subsection 

11 (e)(5), and a description of the amount and number 

12 of Small Business Innovation Research and Small 

13 Business Technology Transfer awards made in sup14 port of the Program. 

15 SEC. 125. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall designate an 

17 advisory committee on engineering biology research and 

18 development with at least 12 members, including rep19 resentatives of research and academic institutions, indus20 try, and nongovernmental entities, who are qualified to 

21 provide advice on the Program. 

22 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as23 sess— 

24 (1) progress made in implementing the Pro25 gram; 


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1 (2) the need to revise the Program; 

2 (3) the balance of activities and funding across 

3 the Program; 

4 (4) whether the Program priorities and goals 

5 developed by the Interagency Committee are helping 

6 to maintain United States leadership in engineering 

7 biology; 

8 (5) the management, coordination, implementa9 tion, and activities of the Program; and 

10 (6) whether ethical, legal, environmental, and 

11 other appropriate societal issues are adequately ad12 dressed by the Program. 

13 (c) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall report 

14 within 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 and thereafter not less frequently than once every 5 years, 

16 to the President, the Committee on Science, Space, and 

17 Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

19 Senate, on its findings of the assessment carried out under 

20 this section and its recommendations for ways to improve 

21 the Program. 

22 (d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA23 TION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Com25 mittee. 


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1 SEC. 126. EXTERNAL REVIEW OF ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVI2 RONMENTAL, AND SOCIETAL ISSUES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na5 tional Science Foundation shall enter into an agreement 

6 with the National Academies to convene a workshop to 

7 review the ethical, legal, environmental, and other appro8 priate societal issues related to engineering biology re9 search and development. The goals of the workshop shall 

10 be to— 

11 (1) assess the current research on such issues; 

12 (2) evaluate the research gaps relating to such 

13 issues; and 

14 (3) provide recommendations on how the Pro15 gram can address the research needs identified. 

16 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

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

18 the National Science Foundation shall transmit to the 

19 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a sum22 mary report containing the findings of the workshop con23 vened under this section. 

24 SEC. 127. AGENCY ACTIVITIES. 

25 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—As part of 

26 the Program, the National Science Foundation shall— 


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1 (1) support basic research at the intersection of 

2 the biological, physical, and information sciences and 

3 engineering through individual grants and through 

4 interdisciplinary research centers; 

5 (2) support research on the environmental and 

6 social effects of engineering biology; 

7 (3) provide research instrumentation support 

8 for engineering biology disciplines; and 

9 (4) award grants, on a competitive basis, to en10 able institutions to support graduate students and 

11 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi12 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

13 (b) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—As part of the 

14 Program, the Director of the National Institute of Stand15 ards and Technology shall— 

16 (1) establish a bioscience research program to 

17 advance the development of standard reference ma18 terials and measurements and to create new data 

19 tools, techniques, and processes necessary to advance 

20 engineering biology and biomanufacturing; 

21 (2) provide access to user facilities with ad22 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

23 other resources to industry, institutions of higher 

24 education, nonprofit organizations, and government 

25 agencies to perform research and testing; and 


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1 (3) provide technical expertise to inform the de2 velopment of guidelines and safeguards for new 

3 products, processes, and systems of engineering biol4 ogy. 

5 (c) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—As part of the Pro6 gram, the Secretary of Energy shall— 

7 (1) conduct and support basic research, devel8 opment, demonstration, and commercial application 

9 activities in engineering biology disciplines, including 

10 in the areas of synthetic biology, advanced biofuel 

11 development, biobased materials, and environmental 

12 remediation; and 

13 (2) provide access to user facilities with ad14 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 

15 other resources, as appropriate, to industry, institu16 tions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, 

17 and government agencies to perform research and 

18 testing. 

19 (d) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS20 TRATION.—As part of the Program, the National Aero21 nautics and Space Administration shall— 

22 (1) conduct and support basic and applied re23 search in engineering biology fields, including in the 

24 field of synthetic biology, and related to Earth and 

25 space sciences, aeronautics, space technology, and 


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1 space exploration and experimentation, consistent 

2 with the priorities established in the National Acad3 emies’ decadal surveys; and 

4 (2) award grants, on a competitive basis, that 

5 enable institutions to support graduate students and 

6 postdoctoral fellows who perform some of their engi7 neering biology research in an industry setting. 

8 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—As 

9 part of the Program, the Environmental Protection Agen10 cy shall support research on how products, processes, and 

11 systems of engineering biology will affect the environment. 

12 TITLE II—STEM EDUCATION AND 

13 DIVERSITY 

14 Subtitle A—STEM Education and 

15 Workforce 

16 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that the National Science 

18 and Technology Council’s Committee on STEM Education 

19 (CoSTEM), established under section 101 of the America 

20 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

21 6621), has taken important initial steps toward developing 

22 and implementing a strategic plan for Federal investments 

23 in STEM education, but that more work must be done 

24 to solicit and take into account views and experience from 

25 stakeholders who help implement or are the beneficiaries 


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1 of Federal STEM programs across the Nation. It is fur2 ther the sense of Congress that science mission agencies 

3 such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administra4 tion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra5 tion, and the Department of Energy are essential partners 

6 in contributing to the goals and implementation of a Fed7 eral STEM strategic plan because such agencies have 

8 unique scientific and technological facilities as well as 

9 highly trained scientists who are eager and able to con10 tribute to improved STEM learning outcomes in their own 

11 communities. 

12 SEC. 202. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL STEM EDUCATION. 

13 Section 101 of America COMPETES Reauthoriza14 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)(5)— 

16 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (D) as subparagraphs (B) through (E), 

18 respectively; and 

19 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 

20 as so redesigned by subparagraph (A) of this 

21 paragraph, the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(A) have as its primary goal to leverage 

23 the limited STEM education funding and other 

24 assets, including intellectual capital, invested by 


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1 Federal STEM agencies for maximum benefit 

2 to student learning;’’; 

3 (2) by striking the second subsection (b); 

4 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub5 section (f); 

6 (4) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol7 lowing new subsections: 

8 ‘‘(c) COORDINATOR FOR STEM EDUCATION.—The 

9 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

10 shall designate an associate director of the Office of 

11 Science and Technology Policy as the Coordinator for 

12 STEM Education. When an appropriate associate director 

13 is not available, the Director may designate another ap14 propriate senior government official as the Coordinator for 

15 STEM Education. The Coordinator shall chair the com16 mittee established under subsection (a). The Coordinator 

17 shall, with the assistance of appropriate senior officials 

18 from other Committee on STEM Education agencies, en19 sure that the requirements of this section are satisfied. 

20 ‘‘(d) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) INTERAGENCY CONSOLIDATION.—For all 

22 agency proposals to consolidate or transfer budgets 

23 or functions for STEM education programs or ac24 tivities between agencies, at the time of submission 

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1 port to Congress on activities undertaken by the Of2 fice of Science and Technology Policy or by relevant 

3 agencies to take into consideration relevant input 

4 from the STEM Education Advisory Panel estab5 lished under subsection (e) and other relevant edu6 cation stakeholders. 

7 ‘‘(2) INTRAAGENCY CONSOLIDATION.—For all 

8 agency proposals to internally consolidate or termi9 nate STEM education programs with budgets ex10 ceeding $10,000,000, at the time of submission of 

11 such proposals to Congress, the head of the relevant 

12 agency shall report to Congress on activities to so13 licit and take into consideration input on such pro14 posals from the STEM Education Advisory Panel 

15 established under subsection (e) and other relevant 

16 education stakeholders. 

17 ‘‘(e) STEM EDUCATION ADVISORY PANEL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall estab19 lish or designate a STEM Education Advisory 

20 Panel. The cochairs of the Advisory Panel shall meet 

21 the qualifications of Panel membership required in 

22 paragraph (2) and may be members of the Presi23 dent’s Council of Advisors on Science and Tech24 nology. 


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1 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Advisory Panel es2 tablished or designated by the President under this 

3 subsection shall consist of members from academic 

4 institutions, industry, informal education providers, 

5 nonprofit STEM education organizations, founda6 tions, and local and State educational agencies. 

7 Members of the Advisory Panel shall be qualified to 

8 provide advice on Federal STEM education pro9 grams, best practices in STEM education, assess10 ment of STEM education programs, STEM edu11 cation standards, industry needs for STEM grad12 uates, and public-private STEM education partner13 ships. 

14 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Advisory Panel shall advise 

15 the President and the committee established under 

16 subsection (a) on implementing the Federal STEM 

17 education strategic plan required under subsection 

18 (b)(5) and coordinating Federal STEM programs 

19 with nongovernmental STEM initiatives and State 

20 and local educational agencies. 

21 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Advisory Panel shall re22 port, not more than 1 year after enactment of the 

23 America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015, on 

24 options for evidence-based implementation of the 

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1 section (b)(5), including options for designating cer2 tain agencies as coordinating leads for different pri3 ority investment areas, timelines for implementation, 

4 and specific management, budget, policy, or other 

5 steps that agencies must take to effectively imple6 ment the strategic plan. 

7 ‘‘(5) SUNSET.—The authorization for the Advi8 sory Panel established under this subsection shall 

9 expire 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

10 America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015.’’; 

11 and 

12 (5) in subsection (f), as so redesignated by 

13 paragraph (3) of this section— 

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘progress made in imple15 menting’’ after ‘‘describing’’; 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (3); and 

17 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

18 (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively. 

19 SEC. 203. GRAND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION RESEARCH. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

21 Science Foundation and the Secretary of Education shall 

22 collaborate in— 

23 (1) identifying, prioritizing, and developing 

24 strategies to address grand challenges in research 

25 and development, including assessment, on the 


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1 teaching and learning of STEM at the pre-K–12 

2 level, in formal and informal settings, for diverse 

3 learning populations, including individuals identified 

4 in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering 

5 Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 

6 1885b); and 

7 (2) ensuring the dissemination and promoting 

8 the utilization of the results of such research and de9 velopment. 

10 (b) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In identifying the grand 

11 challenges under subsection (a), the Director and the Sec12 retary shall— 

13 (1) take into consideration critical research 

14 gaps identified in existing reports, including reports 

15 by the National Academies, on the teaching and 

16 learning of STEM at the pre-K–12 level in formal 

17 and informal settings; and 

18 (2) solicit input from a wide range of stake19 holders, including officials from State educational 

20 agencies and local educational agencies, STEM 

21 teachers, STEM education researchers, scientific 

22 and engineering societies, STEM faculty at institu23 tions of higher education, informal STEM education 

24 providers, businesses with a large STEM workforce, 

25 and other stakeholders in the teaching and learning 


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1 of STEM at the pre-K–12 level, and may enter into 

2 an arrangement with the National Research Council 

3 for these purposes. 

4 (c) TOPICS TO CONSIDER.—In identifying the grand 

5 challenges under subsection (a), the Director and the Sec6 retary shall, at a minimum, consider research and develop7 ment on— 

8 (1) scalability, sustainability, and replication of 

9 successful STEM activities, programs, and models, 

10 in formal and informal environments; 

11 (2) model systems that support improved teach12 ing and learning of STEM across entire local edu13 cational agencies and States, including rural areas, 

14 and encompassing and integrating the teaching and 

15 learning of STEM in formal and informal venues; 

16 (3) implementation of new State mathematics 

17 and science standards; 

18 (4) what makes a STEM teacher effective and 

19 STEM teacher professional development effective, 

20 including development of tools and methodologies to 

21 measure STEM teacher effectiveness; 

22 (5) cyber-enabled and other technology tools for 

23 teaching and learning, including massive open online 

24 courses; 


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1 (6) STEM teaching and learning in informal 

2 environments, including development of tools and 

3 methodologies for assessing STEM teaching and 

4 learning in informal environments; and 

5 (7) how integrating engineering with mathe6 matics and science education may— 

7 (A) improve student learning of mathe8 matics and science; 

9 (B) increase student interest and persist10 ence in STEM; or 

11 (C) improve student understanding of engi12 neering design principles and of the built world. 

13 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 12 

14 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc15 tor and the Secretary shall report to Congress with a de16 scription of— 

17 (1) the grand challenges identified pursuant to 

18 this section; 

19 (2) the role of each agency in supporting re20 search and development activities to address the 

21 grand challenges; 

22 (3) the common metrics that will be used to as23 sess progress toward meeting the grand challenges; 

24 (4) plans for periodically updating the grand 

25 challenges; 


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1 (5) how the agencies will disseminate and pro2 mote the utilization of the results of research and 

3 development activities carried out under this section 

4 to STEM education practitioners, to other Federal 

5 agencies that support STEM programs and activi6 ties, and to non-Federal funders of STEM edu7 cation; and 

8 (6) how the agencies will support implementa9 tion of best practices identified by the research and 

10 development activities. 

11 SEC. 204. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REPORT ON 

12 STEAM EDUCATION. 

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

15 (1) the Science, Technology, Engineering, and 

16 Mathematics (STEM) Talent Expansion Program 

17 set an important goal of increasing the number of 

18 students graduating with associate or baccalaureate 

19 degrees in the STEM fields, and this should con20 tinue to be a focus of that program; 

21 (2) to further the goal of the STEM Talent Ex22 pansion Program, as well as STEM education pro23 motion programs across the Federal Government, in24 novative approaches are needed to enhance STEM 

25 education in the United States; 


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1 (3) STEAM, which is the integration of arts 

2 and design, broadly defined, into Federal STEM 

3 programming, research, and innovation activities, is 

4 a method-validated approach to maintaining the 

5 competitiveness of the United States in both work6 force and innovation and to increasing and broad7 ening students’ engagement in the STEM fields; 

8 (4) STEM graduates need more than technical 

9 skills to thrive in the 21st century workforce; they 

10 also need to be creative, innovative, collaborative, 

11 and able to think critically; 

12 (5) STEAM should be recognized as providing 

13 value to STEM research and education programs 

14 across Federal agencies, without supplanting the 

15 focus on the traditional STEM disciplines; 

16 (6) Federal agencies should work cooperatively 

17 on interdisciplinary initiatives to support the inte18 gration of arts and design into STEM, and current 

19 interdisciplinary programs should be strengthened; 

20 (7) Federal agencies should allow for STEAM 

21 activities under current and future grant-making 

22 and other activities; and 

23 (8) Federal agencies should clarify that, where 

24 appropriate, data collection, surveys, and reporting 

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1 ine activities that involve cross-disciplinary learning 

2 that integrates specialized skills and expertise from 

3 both art and science. 

4 (b) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WORKSHOP.— 

5 The National Science Foundation shall enter into an ar6 rangement with the National Research Council to conduct 

7 a workshop on the integration of arts and design with 

8 STEM education. The workshop shall include a discussion 

9 of— 

10 (1) how the perspectives and experience of art11 ists and designers may contribute to the advance12 ment of science, engineering, and innovation, for ex13 ample through the development of visualization aids 

14 for large experimental and computational data sets; 

15 (2) how arts and design-based education experi16 ences might support formal and informal STEM 

17 education at the pre-K–12 level, particularly in fos18 tering creativity and risk taking, and encourage 

19 more students to pursue STEM studies, including 

20 students from groups historically underrepresented 

21 in STEM; 

22 (3) how the teaching of design principles can be 

23 better integrated into undergraduate engineering 

24 and other STEM curricula, including in the first two 

25 years of undergraduate studies, to enhance student 


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1 capacity for creativity and innovation and improve 

2 student retention, including students from groups 

3 historically underrepresented in STEM; and 

4 (4) what additional steps, if any, Federal 

5 science agencies should take to promote the inclu6 sion of arts and design principles in their respective 

7 STEM programs and activities in order to improve 

8 student STEM learning outcomes, increase the re9 cruitment and retention of students into STEM 

10 studies and careers, and increase innovation in the 

11 United States. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the National Research 

14 Council shall submit a report to Congress providing a 

15 summary description of the discussion and findings from 

16 the workshop required under subsection (b). 

17 SEC. 205. ENGAGING FEDERAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGI18 NEERS IN STEM EDUCATION. 

19 The Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

20 Policy shall develop guidance for Federal agencies to in21 crease opportunities and training, as appropriate, for Fed22 eral scientists and engineers to participate in STEM en23 gagement activities through their respective agencies and 

24 in their communities. 


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1 Subtitle B—Broadening 

2 Participation in STEM 

3 SEC. 211. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘STEM Opportuni5 ties Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 212. PURPOSE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

8 Science and Technology Policy, acting through the Fed9 eral science agencies, shall carry out programs and activi10 ties with the purpose of ensuring that Federal science 

11 agencies and institutions of higher education receiving 

12 Federal research and development funding are fully en13 gaging their entire talent pool. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subtitle are as 

15 follows: 

16 (1) To promote research on and increase under17 standing of the participation and trajectories of 

18 women and underrepresented minorities in STEM 

19 careers at institutions of higher education and Fed20 eral science agencies, including Federal laboratories. 

21 (2) To raise awareness within Federal science 

22 agencies, including Federal laboratories, and institu23 tions of higher education about cultural and institu24 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

25 promotion, and other indicators of participation and 


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1 achievement of women and underrepresented minori2 ties in academic and Government STEM research 

3 careers at all levels. 

4 (3) To identify, disseminate, and implement 

5 best practices at Federal science agencies, including 

6 Federal laboratories, and at institutions of higher 

7 education to remove or reduce cultural and institu8 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

9 and success of women and underrepresented minori10 ties in academic and Government STEM research 

11 careers. 

12 (4) To provide grants to institutions of higher 

13 education to recruit, retain, and advance STEM fac14 ulty members from underrepresented minority 

15 groups and to implement or expand reforms in un16 dergraduate STEM education in order to increase 

17 the number of students from underrepresented mi18 nority groups receiving degrees in these fields. 

19 SEC. 213. FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POLICIES FOR CARE20 GIVERS. 

21 (a) OSTP GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

23 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall provide 

24 guidance to Federal science agencies to establish policies 

25 that— 


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1 (1) apply to all— 

2 (A) intramural and extramural research 

3 awards; and 

4 (B) primary investigators who have 

5 caregiving responsibilities, including care for a 

6 newborn or newly adopted child and care for an 

7 immediate family member who is sick or dis8 abled; and 

9 (2) provide— 

10 (A) flexibility in timing for the initiation of 

11 approved research awards; 

12 (B) no-cost extensions of research awards; 

13 (C) grant supplements as appropriate to 

14 research awards for research technicians or 

15 equivalent to sustain research activities; and 

16 (D) any other appropriate accommodations 

17 at the discretion of the head of each agency. 

18 (b) UNIFORMITY OF GUIDANCE.—In providing such 

19 guidance, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech20 nology Policy shall encourage uniformity and consistency 

21 in the policies across all agencies. 

22 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 

23 the guidance provided under this section, Federal science 

24 agencies shall maintain or develop and implement policies 


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1 for caregivers and shall broadly disseminate such policies 

2 to current and potential grantees. 

3 (d) DATA ON USAGE.—Federal science agencies 

4 shall— 

5 (1) collect data on the usage of the policies 

6 under subsection (c), by gender, at both institutions 

7 of higher education and Federal laboratories; and 

8 (2) report such data on an annual basis to the 

9 Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

10 Policy in such form as required by the Director. 

11 SEC. 214. COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA ON FED12 ERAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

13 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal science agency 

15 shall collect standardized record-level annual infor16 mation on demographics, primary field, award type, 

17 budget request, funding outcome, and awarded 

18 budget for all applications for merit-reviewed re19 search and development grants to institutions of 

20 higher education and Federal laboratories supported 

21 by that agency. 

22 (2) UNIFORMITY AND STANDARDIZATION.—The 

23 Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

24 Policy shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity 


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1 and standardization of the data collection required 

2 under paragraph (1). 

3 (3) RECORD-LEVEL DATA.— 

4 (A) REQUIREMENT.—On an annual basis, 

5 beginning with the deadline under subpara6 graph (C), each Federal science agency shall 

7 submit to the Director of the National Science 

8 Foundation record-level data collected under 

9 paragraph (1) in the form required by such Di10 rector. 

11 (B) PREVIOUS DATA.—As part of the first 

12 submission under subparagraph (A), each Fed13 eral science agency, to the extent practicable, 

14 shall also submit comparable record-level data 

15 for the 5 years preceding the deadline under 

16 subparagraph (C). 

17 (C) DEADLINE.—The deadline under this 

18 paragraph is 2 years after the date of enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 (b) REPORTING OF DATA.—The Director of the Na21 tional Science Foundation shall publish statistical sum22 mary data collected under this section, disaggregated and 

23 cross-tabulated by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and years 

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1 quired by section 37 of the Science and Technology Equal 

2 Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96– 

3 516). 

4 SEC. 215. POLICIES FOR REVIEW OF FEDERAL RESEARCH 

5 GRANTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

7 Science and Technology Policy, in collaboration with the 

8 Director of the National Science Foundation, shall identify 

9 information and best practices useful for educating pro10 gram officers and members of standing peer review com11 mittees at Federal science agencies about— 

12 (1) research on implicit bias based on gender, 

13 race, or ethnicity; and 

14 (2) methods to minimize the effect of such bias 

15 in the review of extramural and intramural Federal 

16 research grants. 

17 (b) GUIDANCE TO ALL FEDERAL SCIENCE AGEN18 CIES.—The Director of the Office of Science and Tech19 nology Policy shall disseminate the information and best 

20 practices identified in subsection (a) to all Federal science 

21 agencies and provide guidance as necessary on policies to 

22 implement such practices within each agency. 

23 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 

24 the guidance provided in subsection (b), Federal science 

25 agencies shall maintain or develop and implement policies 


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1 and practices to minimize the effects of implicit bias in 

2 the review of extramural and intramural Federal research 

3 grants. 

4 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

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

6 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall report 

7 to Congress on what steps all Federal science agencies 

8 have taken to implement policies and practices to minimize 

9 the effects of bias in the review of extramural and intra10 mural Federal research grants. 

11 SEC. 216. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF 

12 FACULTY. 

13 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, and at least every 

16 5 years thereafter, the Director of the National 

17 Science Foundation shall carry out a survey to col18 lect institution-level data on the demographics of 

19 STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at dif20 ferent types of institutions of higher education. 

21 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—To the extent prac22 ticable, the Director of the National Science Foun23 dation shall consider, by gender, race, ethnicity, citi24 zenship status, age, and years since completion of 

25 doctoral degree— 


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1 (A) the number and percentage of faculty; 

2 (B) the number and percentage of faculty 

3 at each rank; 

4 (C) the number and percentage of faculty 

5 who are in nontenure-track positions, including 

6 teaching and research; 

7 (D) the number and percentage of faculty 

8 who are reviewed for promotion, including ten9 ure, and the percentage of that number who are 

10 promoted, including being awarded tenure; 

11 (E) faculty years in rank; 

12 (F) the number and percentage of faculty 

13 to leave tenure-track positions; 

14 (G) the number and percentage of faculty 

15 hired, by rank; and 

16 (H) the number and percentage of faculty 

17 in leadership positions. 

18 (b) EXISTING SURVEYS.—The Director of the Na19 tional Science Foundation— 

20 (1) may carry out the requirements under sub21 section (a) by collaborating with statistical centers 

22 at other Federal agencies to modify or expand, as 

23 necessary, existing Federal surveys of higher edu24 cation; or 


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1 (2) may award a grant or contract to an insti2 tution of higher education or other nonprofit organi3 zation to design and carry out the requirements 

4 under subsection (a). 

5 (c) REPORTING DATA.—The Director of the National 

6 Science Foundation shall publish statistical summary data 

7 collected under this section, including as part of the Na8 tional Science Foundation’s report required by section 37 

9 of the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96–516). 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

13 National Science Foundation $3,000,000 for each of fiscal 

14 years 2016 through 2018 to develop and carry out the 

15 initial survey required in subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 217. CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO EX17 PANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL 

18 STEM WORKFORCE. 

19 (a) BEST PRACTICES AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

20 EDUCATION.— 

21 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

22 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act, the Director of the National Science Founda24 tion shall develop written guidance for institutions of 

25 higher education on the best practices for— 


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1 (A) conducting periodic campus culture 

2 surveys of STEM departments, with a par3 ticular focus on identifying any cultural or in4 stitutional barriers to or successful enablers for 

5 the recruitment, retention, promotion, and 

6 other indicators of participation and achieve7 ment, of women and underrepresented minori8 ties in STEM degree programs and academic 

9 STEM careers; and 

10 (B) providing educational opportunities, in11 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

12 (c), for STEM faculty and administrators to 

13 learn about current research on implicit bias in 

14 recruitment, evaluation, and promotion of fac15 ulty in STEM and recruitment and evaluation 

16 of undergraduate and graduate students in 

17 STEM degree programs. 

18 (2) EXISTING GUIDANCE.—In developing the 

19 guidance in paragraph (1), the Director of the Na20 tional Science Foundation shall utilize guidance al21 ready developed by the National Aeronautics and 

22 Space Administration, the Department of Energy, 

23 and the Department of Education. 

24 (3) DISSEMINATION OF GUIDANCE.—The Direc25 tor of the National Science Foundation shall broadly 


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1 disseminate the guidance developed in paragraph (1) 

2 to institutions of higher education that receive Fed3 eral research funding. 

4 (4) REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL SCIENCE

5 FOUNDATION.—The Director of the National Science 

6 Foundation shall develop a policy that— 

7 (A) applies to, at a minimum, the institu8 tions classified under the Indiana University 

9 Center for Postsecondary Research Carnegie 

10 Classification on January 1, 2015, as a doc11 torate-granting university with a very high level 

12 of research activity; and 

13 (B) requires each institution identified in 

14 subparagraph (A), not later than 3 years after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, to report to 

16 the Director of the National Science Founda17 tion on activities and policies developed and im18 plemented based on the guidance provided in 

19 paragraph (1). 

20 (b) BEST PRACTICES AT FEDERAL LABORA21 TORIES.— 

22 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

23 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech25 nology Policy shall develop written guidance for FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 eral laboratories to develop and implement practices 

2 and policies to— 

3 (A) conduct periodic laboratorywide culture 

4 surveys of research personnel at all levels, with 

5 a particular focus on identifying any cultural or 

6 institutional barriers to the recruitment, reten7 tion, and success of women and underrep8 resented minorities in STEM careers at Federal 

9 laboratories; and 

10 (B) provide educational opportunities, in11 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

12 (c), for STEM research personnel to learn 

13 about current research in implicit bias in re14 cruitment, evaluation, and promotion of re15 search personnel at Federal laboratories. 

16 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent 

17 with the guidance provided in paragraph (1), Fed18 eral science agencies with Federal laboratories shall 

19 maintain or develop and implement policies for their 

20 respective Federal laboratories. 

21 (c) WORKSHOPS TO ADDRESS CULTURAL BARRIERS

22 TO EXPANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL STEM 

23 WORKFORCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

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


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1 of the National Science Foundation shall recommend 

2 a uniform policy for Federal science agencies to 

3 carry out a program of workshops that educate 

4 STEM department chairs at institutions of higher 

5 education, senior managers at Federal laboratories, 

6 and other federally funded researchers about meth7 ods that minimize the effects of implicit bias in the 

8 career advancement, including hiring, tenure, pro9 motion, and selection for any honor based in part on 

10 the recipient’s research record, of academic and Fed11 eral STEM researchers. 

12 (2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Direc13 tor of the National Science Foundation shall ensure 

14 that workshops supported under this subsection are 

15 coordinated across Federal science agencies and 

16 jointly supported as appropriate. 

17 (3) MINIMIZING COSTS.—To the extent prac18 ticable, workshops shall be held in conjunction with 

19 national or regional STEM disciplinary meetings to 

20 minimize costs associated with participant travel. 

21 (4) PRIORITY FIELDS FOR ACADEMIC PARTICI22 PANTS.—In considering the participation of STEM 

23 department chairs and other academic researchers, 

24 the Director of the National Science Foundation 

25 shall prioritize workshops for the broad fields of 


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1 STEM in which the national rate of representation 

2 of women among tenured or tenure-track faculty or 

3 non-faculty researchers at doctorate-granting institu4 tions of higher education is less than 25 percent, ac5 cording to the most recent data available from the 

6 National Center for Science and Engineering Statis7 tics. 

8 (5) ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE TO CARRY OUT

9 WORKSHOPS.—Federal science agencies may carry 

10 out the program of workshops under this subsection 

11 by making grants to eligible organizations. In addi12 tion to any other organizations made eligible by the 

13 Federal science agencies, the following organizations 

14 are eligible for grants under this subsection: 

15 (A) Nonprofit scientific and professional 

16 societies and organizations that represent one 

17 or more STEM disciplines. 

18 (B) Nonprofit organizations that have the 

19 primary mission of advancing the participation 

20 of women or underrepresented minorities in 

21 STEM. 

22 (6) CHARACTERISTICS OF WORKSHOPS.—The 

23 workshops shall have the following characteristics: 

24 (A) Invitees to workshops shall include at 

25 least— 


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1 (i) the chairs of departments in the 

2 relevant STEM discipline or disciplines 

3 from at least the top 50 institutions of 

4 higher education, as determined by the 

5 amount of Federal research and develop6 ment funds obligated to each institution of 

7 higher education in the prior year based on 

8 data available from the National Science 

9 Foundation; and 

10 (ii) in the case of Federal laboratories, 

11 individuals with personnel management re12 sponsibilities comparable to those of an in13 stitution of higher education department 

14 chair. 

15 (B) Activities at the workshops shall in16 clude research presentations and interactive dis17 cussions or other activities that increase the 

18 awareness of the existence of implicit bias in re19 cruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and 

20 other forms of formal recognition of individual 

21 achievement for faculty and other federally 

22 funded STEM researchers and shall provide 

23 strategies to overcome such bias. 

24 (C) Research presentations and other 

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1 clude a discussion of the unique challenges 

2 faced by underrepresented subgroups, including 

3 minority women, minority men, and first gen4 eration minority graduates in research. 

5 (D) Workshop programs shall include in6 formation on best practices for mentoring un7 dergraduate and graduate women and under8 represented minority students. 

9 (7) DATA ON WORKSHOPS.—Any proposal for 

10 funding by an organization seeking to carry out a 

11 workshop under this subsection shall include a de12 scription of how such organization will— 

13 (A) collect data on the rates of attendance 

14 by invitees in workshops, including information 

15 on the home institution and department of 

16 attendees, and the rank of faculty attendees; 

17 (B) conduct attitudinal surveys on work18 shop attendees before and after the workshops; 

19 and 

20 (C) collect follow-up data on any relevant 

21 institutional policy or practice changes reported 

22 by attendees not later than 1 year after attend23 ance in such a workshop. 

24 (8) REPORT TO NSF.—Organizations receiving 

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1 section shall report the data required in paragraph 

2 (7) to the Director of the National Science Founda3 tion in such form as required by such Director. 

4 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 years 

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

6 the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to 

7 Congress that includes— 

8 (1) a summary and analysis of the types and 

9 frequency of activities and policies developed and 

10 carried out under subsection (a) based on the re11 ports submitted under paragraph (4) of such sub12 section; and 

13 (2) a description and evaluation of the status 

14 and effectiveness of the program of workshops re15 quired under subsection (c), including a summary of 

16 any data reported under paragraph (8) of such sub17 section. 

18 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

20 National Science Foundation $2,000,000 for each of fiscal 

21 years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this section. 

22 SEC. 218. RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION AT THE NA23 TIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

25 Science Foundation shall award research grants and carry 


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1 out dissemination activities consistent with the purposes 

2 of this subtitle, including— 

3 (1) research grants to analyze the record-level 

4 data collected under section 214 and section 216, 

5 consistent with policies to ensure the privacy of indi6 viduals identifiable by such data; 

7 (2) research grants to study best practices for 

8 work-life accommodation; 

9 (3) research grants to study the impact of poli10 cies and practices that are implemented under this 

11 subtitle or that are otherwise consistent with the 

12 purposes of this subtitle; 

13 (4) collaboration with other Federal science 

14 agencies and professional associations to exchange 

15 best practices, harmonize work-life accommodation 

16 policies and practices, and overcome common bar17 riers to work-life accommodation; and 

18 (5) collaboration with institutions of higher 

19 education in order to clarify and catalyze the adop20 tion of a coherent and consistent set of work-life ac21 commodation policies and practices. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

24 National Science Foundation $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 

25 years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 219. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech4 nology Policy shall submit a report to Congress that in5 cludes— 

6 (1) a description and evaluation of the status 

7 and usage of caregiver policies at all Federal science 

8 agencies, including any recommendations for revis9 ing or expanding such policies; 

10 (2) a description of any significant updates to 

11 the policies for review of Federal research grants re12 quired under section 215, and any evidence of the 

13 impact of such policies on the review or awarding of 

14 Federal research grants; and 

15 (3) a description and evaluation of the status of 

16 Federal laboratory policies and practices required 

17 under section 217(b), including any recommenda18 tions for revising or expanding such policies. 

19 SEC. 220. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 

20 INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG STEM FAC21 ULTY AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU22 CATION. 

23 (a) GRANTS.—The Director of the National Science 

24 Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

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1 ment, retention, and advancement of individuals from 

2 underrepresented minority groups in academic STEM ca3 reers. 

4 (b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 

5 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi6 tive basis. 

7 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

8 under this section may include— 

9 (1) institutional assessment activities, such as 

10 data analyses and policy review, in order to identify 

11 and address specific issues in the recruitment, reten12 tion, and advancement of faculty members from 

13 underrepresented minority groups; 

14 (2) implementation of institution-wide improve15 ments in workload distribution, such that faculty 

16 members from underrepresented minority groups are 

17 not disadvantaged in the amount of time available to 

18 focus on research, publishing papers, and engaging 

19 in other activities required to achieve tenure status 

20 and run a productive research program; 

21 (3) development and implementation of training 

22 courses for administrators and search committee 

23 members to ensure that candidates from underrep24 resented minority groups are not subject to implicit 

25 biases in the search and hiring process; 


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1 (4) development and hosting of intra- or inter2 institutional workshops to propagate best practices 

3 in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty mem4 bers from underrepresented minority groups; 

5 (5) professional development opportunities for 

6 faculty members from underrepresented minority 

7 groups; 

8 (6) activities aimed at making undergraduate 

9 STEM students from underrepresented minority 

10 groups aware of opportunities for academic careers 

11 in STEM fields; 

12 (7) activities to identify and engage exceptional 

13 graduate students from underrepresented minority 

14 groups at various stages of their studies and to en15 courage them to enter academic careers; and 

16 (8) other activities consistent with subsection 

17 (a), as determined by the Director of the National 

18 Science Foundation. 

19 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

20 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

21 education (or consortia thereof) seeking funding 

22 under this section shall submit an application to the 

23 Director of the National Science Foundation at such 

24 time, in such manner, and containing such informa25 tion and assurances as such Director may require. 


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1 The application shall include, at a minimum, a de2 scription of— 

3 (A) the reform effort that is being pro4 posed for implementation by the institution of 

5 higher education; 

6 (B) any available evidence of specific dif7 ficulties in the recruitment, retention, and ad8 vancement of faculty members from underrep9 resented minority groups in STEM academic 

10 careers within the institution of higher edu11 cation submitting an application, and how the 

12 proposed reform effort would address such 

13 issues; 

14 (C) how the institution of higher education 

15 submitting an application plans to sustain the 

16 proposed reform effort beyond the duration of 

17 the grant; and 

18 (D) how the success and effectiveness of 

19 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

20 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

21 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in22 stitutional change. 

23 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

24 grant recipients under this section, the Director of 


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1 the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 

2 minimum— 

3 (A) the likelihood of success in under4 taking the proposed reform effort at the institu5 tion of higher education submitting the applica6 tion, including the extent to which the adminis7 trators of the institution are committed to mak8 ing the proposed reform effort a priority; 

9 (B) the degree to which the proposed re10 form effort will contribute to change in institu11 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

12 is placed on the recruitment, retention, and ad13 vancement of faculty members from underrep14 resented minority groups; 

15 (C) the likelihood that the institution of 

16 higher education will sustain or expand the pro17 posed reform effort beyond the period of the 

18 grant; and 

19 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as20 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

21 proposed reform effort. 

22 (3) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 

23 the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 

24 extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 


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1 section are made to a variety of types of institutions 

2 of higher education. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

5 National Science Foundation $10,000,000 for each of fis6 cal years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this section. 

7 SEC. 221. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 

8 BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN UNDER9 GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION. 

10 (a) GRANTS.—The Director of the National Science 

11 Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

12 education (or consortia thereof) to implement or expand 

13 research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM edu14 cation for the purpose of recruiting and retaining students 

15 from minority groups who are underrepresented in STEM 

16 fields, with a priority focus on natural science and engi17 neering fields. 

18 (b) MERIT REVIEW; COMPETITION.—Grants shall be 

19 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi20 tive basis. 

21 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

22 under this section may include— 

23 (1) implementation or expansion of innovative, 

24 research-based approaches to broaden participation 


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1 of underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

2 fields; 

3 (2) implementation or expansion of bridge, co4 hort, tutoring, or mentoring programs designed to 

5 enhance the recruitment and retention of students 

6 from underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

7 fields; 

8 (3) implementation or expansion of outreach 

9 programs linking institutions of higher education 

10 and K–12 school systems in order to heighten 

11 awareness among pre-college students from under12 represented minority groups of opportunities in col13 lege-level STEM fields and STEM careers; 

14 (4) implementation or expansion of faculty de15 velopment programs focused on improving retention 

16 of undergraduate STEM students from underrep17 resented minority groups; 

18 (5) implementation or expansion of mechanisms 

19 designed to recognize and reward faculty members 

20 who demonstrate a commitment to increasing the 

21 participation of students from underrepresented mi22 nority groups in STEM fields; 

23 (6) expansion of successful reforms aimed at in24 creasing the number of STEM students from under25 represented minority groups beyond a single course 


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1 or group of courses to achieve reform within an en2 tire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform 

3 efforts beyond a single academic unit to other 

4 STEM academic units within an institution of high5 er education; 

6 (7) expansion of opportunities for students from 

7 underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM 

8 research in industry, at Federal laboratories, and at 

9 international research institutions or research sites; 

10 (8) provision of stipends for students from 

11 underrepresented minority groups participating in 

12 research; 

13 (9) development of research collaborations be14 tween research-intensive universities and primarily 

15 undergraduate minority-serving institutions; 

16 (10) support for graduate students and post17 doctoral fellows from underrepresented minority 

18 groups to participate in instructional or assessment 

19 activities at primarily undergraduate institutions, in20 cluding primarily undergraduate minority-serving in21 stitutions and two-year institutions of higher edu22 cation; and 

23 (11) other activities consistent with subsection 

24 (a), as determined by the Director of the National 

25 Science Foundation. 


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1 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

2 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

3 education (or consortium thereof) seeking a grant 

4 under this section shall submit an application to the 

5 Director of the National Science Foundation at such 

6 time, in such manner, and containing such informa7 tion and assurances as such Director may require. 

8 The application shall include, at a minimum— 

9 (A) a description of the proposed reform 

10 effort; 

11 (B) a description of the research findings 

12 that will serve as the basis for the proposed re13 form effort or, in the case of applications that 

14 propose an expansion of a previously imple15 mented reform, a description of the previously 

16 implemented reform effort, including data about 

17 the recruitment, retention, and academic 

18 achievement of students from underrepresented 

19 minority groups; 

20 (C) evidence of an institutional commit21 ment to, and support for, the proposed reform 

22 effort, including a long-term commitment to im23 plement successful strategies from the current 

24 reform beyond the academic unit or units in25 cluded in the grant proposal; 


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1 (D) a description of existing or planned in2 stitutional policies and practices regarding fac3 ulty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching as4 signment that reward faculty contributions to 

5 improving the education of students from 

6 underrepresented minority groups in STEM; 

7 and 

8 (E) how the success and effectiveness of 

9 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

10 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

11 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in12 stitutional change. 

13 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

14 grant recipients under this section, the Director of 

15 the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 

16 minimum— 

17 (A) the likelihood of success of the pro18 posed reform effort at the institution submit19 ting the application, including the extent to 

20 which the faculty, staff, and administrators of 

21 the institution are committed to making the 

22 proposed institutional reform a priority of the 

23 participating academic unit or units; 

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1 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

2 is placed on faculty engagement in the retention 

3 of students from underrepresented minority 

4 groups; 

5 (C) the likelihood that the institution will 

6 sustain or expand the proposed reform effort 

7 beyond the period of the grant; and 

8 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as9 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

10 proposed reform effort. 

11 (3) PRIORITY.—For applications that include 

12 an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single 

13 academic unit, the Director of the National Science 

14 Foundation shall give priority to applications for 

15 which a senior institutional administrator, such as a 

16 dean or other administrator of equal or higher rank, 

17 serves as the principal investigator. 

18 (4) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 

19 the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 

20 extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 

21 section are made to a variety of types of institutions 

22 of higher education, including two-year and minor23 ity-serving institutions of higher education. 

24 (e) EDUCATION RESEARCH.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—All grants made under this 

2 section shall include an education research compo3 nent that will support the design and implementa4 tion of a system for data collection and evaluation 

5 of proposed reform efforts in order to build the 

6 knowledge base on promising models for increasing 

7 recruitment and retention of students from under8 represented minority groups in STEM education at 

9 the undergraduate level across a diverse set of insti10 tutions. 

11 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Director of the Na12 tional Science Foundation shall coordinate with rel13 evant Federal agencies in disseminating the results 

14 of the research under this subsection to ensure that 

15 best practices in broadening participation in STEM 

16 education at the undergraduate level are made read17 ily available to all institutions of higher education, 

18 other Federal agencies that support STEM pro19 grams, non-Federal funders of STEM education, 

20 and the general public. 

21 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

23 National Science Foundation $15,000,000 for each of fis24 cal years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 222. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) THIS SUBTITLE.—In this subtitle: 

3 (1) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed4 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

5 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno6 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

7 (2) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

9 with at least $100,000,000 in research and develop10 ment expenditures in fiscal year 2014. 

11 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

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

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

15 (4) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 

16 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

17 other academic subjects that build on these dis18 ciplines such as computer science. 

19 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZA20 TION ACT OF 2002.—Section 4 of the National Science 

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

22 note) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraph (16) as para24 graph (17); and 

25 (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the fol26 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(16) STEM.—The term ‘STEM’ means 

2 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 

3 including other academic subjects that build on 

4 these disciplines such as computer science.’’. 

5 TITLE III—NATIONAL SCIENCE 

6 FOUNDATION 

7 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

8 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

11 appropriated to the Foundation $7,723,550,000 for 

12 fiscal year 2016. 

13 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

14 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) $6,186,300,000 shall be made avail16 able for research and related activities; 

17 (B) $962,570,000 shall be made available 

18 for education and human resources; 

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

20 for major research equipment and facilities con21 struction; 

22 (D) $354,840,000 shall be made available 

23 for agency operations and award management; 

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

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1 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

2 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

3 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

4 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

5 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

6 general and Board operating expenses, rep7 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

8 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

9 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

10 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

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

12 for the Office of Inspector General. 

13 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

15 appropriated to the Foundation $8,099,010,000 for 

16 fiscal year 2017. 

17 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

18 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) $6,495,620,000 shall be made avail20 able for research and related activities; 

21 (B) $1,010,700,000 shall be made avail22 able for education and human resources; 

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

24 for major research equipment and facilities con25 struction; 


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1 (D) $372,580,000 shall be made available 

2 for agency operations and award management; 

3 (E) $4,500,000 shall be made available for 

4 the Office of the National Science Board, in5 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

6 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

7 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

8 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

9 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

10 general and Board operating expenses, rep11 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

12 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

13 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

14 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

15 (F) $15,610,000 shall be made available 

16 for the Office of Inspector General. 

17 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2018.— 

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

19 appropriated to the Foundation $8,493,560,000 for 

20 fiscal year 2018. 

21 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

22 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) $6,820,400,000 shall be made avail24 able for research and related activities; 


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1 (B) $1,061,230,000 shall be made avail2 able for education and human resources; 

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

4 for major research equipment and facilities con5 struction; 

6 (D) $391,210,000 shall be made available 

7 for agency operations and award management; 

8 (E) $4,640,000 shall be made available for 

9 the Office of the National Science Board, in10 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

11 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

12 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

13 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

14 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

15 general and Board operating expenses, rep16 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

17 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

18 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

19 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

20 (F) $16,080,000 shall be made available 

21 for the Office of Inspector General. 

22 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

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

24 appropriated to the Foundation $8,907,820,000 for 

25 fiscal year 2019. 


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1 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

2 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) $7,161,420,000 shall be made avail4 able for research and related activities; 

5 (B) $1,114,300,000 shall be made avail6 able for education and human resources; 

7 (C) $200,000,000 shall be made available 

8 for major research equipment and facilities con9 struction; 

10 (D) $410,770,000 shall be made available 

11 for agency operations and award management; 

12 (E) $4,780,000 shall be made available for 

13 the Office of the National Science Board, in14 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

15 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

16 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

17 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

18 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

19 general and Board operating expenses, rep20 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

21 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

22 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

23 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

24 (F) $16,570,000 shall be made available 

25 for the Office of Inspector General. 


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1 (e) FISCAL YEAR 2020.— 

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

3 appropriated to the Foundation $9,342,790,000 for 

4 fiscal year 2020. 

5 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

6 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) $7,519,490,000 shall be made avail8 able for research and related activities; 

9 (B) $1,170,010,000 shall be made avail10 able for education and human resources; 

11 (C) $200,000,000 shall be made available 

12 for major research equipment and facilities con13 struction; 

14 (D) $431,310,000 shall be made available 

15 for agency operations and award management; 

16 (E) $4,920,000 shall be made available for 

17 the Office of the National Science Board, in18 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

19 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

20 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

21 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

22 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

23 general and Board operating expenses, rep24 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

25 awards made by the Board, Board reports 


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1 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

2 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

3 (F) $17,060,000 shall be made available 

4 for the Office of Inspector General. 

5 SEC. 302. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUP6 PORT FOR ALL FIELDS OF SCIENCE AND EN7 GINEERING. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the Founda9 tion’s investments in social, behavioral, and economic re10 search have addressed challenges, including— 

11 (1) in medicine, matching organ donors to pa12 tients, leading to a dramatic growth in paired kidney 

13 transplants; 

14 (2) in policing, implementing predictive models 

15 that help to yield significant reductions in crime; 

16 (3) in resource allocation, developing the theo17 ries underlying the Federal Communications Com18 mission spectrum auction, which has generated over 

19 $60,000,000,000 in revenue; 

20 (4) in disaster preparation and recovery, identi21 fying barriers to effective disaster evacuation strate22 gies; 

23 (5) in national defense, assisting United States 

24 troops in cross-cultural communication and in identi25 fying threats; and 


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1 (6) in areas such as economics, education, cy2 bersecurity, transportation, and national defense, 

3 supporting informed decisionmaking in foreign and 

4 domestic policy. 

5 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that in order to achieve its mission ‘‘to promote the 

7 progress of science; to advance the national health, pros8 perity, and welfare; to secure the national defense’’ the 

9 Foundation must continue to support unfettered, competi10 tive, merit-reviewed basic research across all fields of 

11 science and engineering, including the social, behavioral, 

12 and economic sciences. 

13 SEC. 303. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION MERIT REVIEW. 

14 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that— 

16 (1) the Foundation’s Intellectual Merit and 

17 Broader Impacts criteria remain appropriate for 

18 evaluating grant proposals, as concluded by the 

19 2011 National Science Board Task Force on Merit 

20 Review; 

21 (2) evaluating proposals on the basis of the 

22 Foundation’s Intellectual Merit and Broader Im23 pacts criteria ensures that— 


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1 (A) proposals funded by the Foundation 

2 are of high quality and advance scientific 

3 knowledge; and 

4 (B) the Foundation’s overall funding port5 folio addresses societal needs through research 

6 findings or through related activities; and 

7 (3) as evidenced by the Foundation’s contribu8 tions to scientific advancement, economic develop9 ment, human health, and national security, its peer 

10 review and merit review processes have successfully 

11 identified and funded scientifically and societally rel12 evant research, remain the gold standard for the 

13 world, and must be preserved. 

14 (b) CRITERIA.—The Foundation shall maintain the 

15 Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts criteria as the 

16 basis for evaluating grant proposals in the merit review 

17 process. 

18 SEC. 304. MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FA19 CILITIES. 

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

21 maintain a Large Facilities Office within the Foundation. 

22 The functions of the Large Facilities Office shall be to 

23 support the research directorates in the development and 

24 implementation of major research facilities, including by— 


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1 (1) serving as the Foundation’s primary re2 source for all policy or process issues related to the 

3 development and implementation of major research 

4 facilities; 

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

6 project management, including providing expert as7 sistance on nonscientific and nontechnical aspects of 

8 project planning, budgeting, implementation, man9 agement, and oversight; and 

10 (3) coordinating and collaborating with research 

11 directorates to share best management practices and 

12 lessons learned from prior projects. 

13 (b) OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FACILITIES.—The Direc14 tor shall appoint a senior agency official within the Office 

15 of the Director whose primary responsibility is oversight 

16 of major research facilities. The duties of this official shall 

17 include— 

18 (1) oversight of the development, construction, 

19 and operation of major research facilities across the 

20 Foundation; 

21 (2) in collaboration with the directors of the re22 search directorates and other senior agency officials 

23 as appropriate, ensuring that the requirements of 

24 section 14(a) of the National Science Foundation 

25 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 research 

3 facilities; and 

4 (4) periodically reviewing and updating as nec5 essary Foundation policies and guidelines for the de6 velopment and construction of major research facili7 ties. 

8 (c) POLICIES FOR COSTING LARGE FACILITIES.— 

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

10 that the Foundation’s policies for developing and 

11 managing major research facility construction costs 

12 are consistent with the best practices described in 

13 the March 2009 General Accountability Office Re14 port GAO–09–3SP. 

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

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

17 submit to Congress a report describing the Founda18 tion’s policies for developing and managing major re19 search facility construction costs, including a de20 scription of any aspects of the policies that diverge 

21 from the best practices recommended in General Ac22 countability Office Report GAO–09–3SP. 


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1 SEC. 305. SUPPORT FOR POTENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE 

2 RESEARCH. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish and 

4 periodically update grant solicitation, merit review, and 

5 funding policies and mechanisms designed to identify and 

6 provide support for high-risk, high-reward basic research 

7 proposals. 

8 (b) POLICIES AND MECHANISMS.—Such policies and 

9 mechanisms may include— 

10 (1) development of solicitations specifically for 

11 high-risk, high-reward basic research; 

12 (2) establishment of review panels for the pri13 mary purpose of selecting high-risk, high-reward 

14 proposals; 

15 (3) development of guidance to standard review 

16 panels to encourage the identification and consider17 ation of high-risk, high-reward proposals; and 

18 (4) support for workshops and other con19 ferences with the primary purpose of identifying new 

20 opportunities for high-risk, high-reward basic re21 search, especially at interdisciplinary interfaces. 

22 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

23 term ‘‘high-risk, high-reward basic research’’ means re24 search driven by ideas that have the potential to radically 

25 change our understanding of an important existing sci26 entific or engineering concept, or leading to the creation 


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1 of a new paradigm or field of science or engineering, and 

2 that is characterized by its challenge to current under3 standing or its pathway to new frontiers. 

4 SEC. 306. STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH 

5 PARTNERSHIPS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—For any Foundation research 

7 grant, in an amount greater than $5,000,000, to be car8 ried out through a partnership that includes one or more 

9 minority-serving institutions or predominantly under10 graduate institutions and one or more institutions de11 scribed in subsection (b), the Director shall award funds 

12 directly, according to the budget justification described in 

13 the grant proposal, to at least two of the institutions of 

14 higher education in the partnership, including at least one 

15 minority-serving institution or one predominantly under16 graduate institution, to ensure a strong and equitable 

17 partnership. 

18 (b) INSTITUTIONS.—The institutions referred to in 

19 subsection (a) are institutions of higher education that are 

20 among the 100 institutions receiving, over the 3-year pe21 riod immediately preceding the awarding of grants, the 

22 highest amount of research funding from the Foundation. 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide a re25 port to Congress on institutional research partnerships 


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1 identified in subsection (a) funded in the 2 previous fiscal 

2 years and make any recommendations for how such part3 nerships can continue to be strengthened. 

4 SEC. 307. INNOVATION CORPS. 

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

7 (1) the National Science Foundation’s Innova8 tion Corps (I–Corps) was established to foster a na9 tional innovation ecosystem by encouraging institu10 tions, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to 

11 identify and explore the innovation and commercial 

12 potential of Foundation-funded research well beyond 

13 the laboratory; 

14 (2) the Foundation’s I–Corps includes invest15 ments in entrepreneurship and commercialization 

16 education, training, and mentoring, ultimately lead17 ing to the practical deployment of technologies, 

18 products, processes, and services that improve the 

19 Nation’s competitiveness, promote economic growth, 

20 and benefit society; and 

21 (3) by building networks of entrepreneurs, edu22 cators, mentors, institutions, and collaborations, and 

23 supporting specialized education and training, I– 

24 Corps is at the leading edge of a strong, lasting 

25 foundation for an American innovation ecosystem. 


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1 (b) PROGRAM.— 

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

3 a program to award grants for entrepreneurship and 

4 commercialization education to Foundation-funded 

5 researchers to increase the economic and social im6 pact of federally funded research. 

7 (2) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the program 

8 shall be to increase the capacity of STEM research9 ers and students to successfully engage in entrepre10 neurial activities and to help transition the results of 

11 federally funded research into the marketplace by— 

12 (A) identifying STEM research that can 

13 lead to the practical deployment of technologies, 

14 products, processes, and services that improve 

15 the Nation’s economic competitiveness; 

16 (B) bringing STEM researchers and stu17 dents together with entrepreneurs, venture cap18 italists, and other industry representatives expe19 rienced in commercialization of new tech20 nologies; 

21 (C) supporting entrepreneurship and com22 mercialization education and training for fac23 ulty, students, postdoctoral fellows, and other 

24 STEM researchers; and 


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1 (D) promoting the development of regional 

2 and national networks of entrepreneurs, venture 

3 capitalists, and other industry representatives 

4 who can serve as mentors to researchers and 

5 students at Foundation-funded institutions 

6 across the country. 

7 (3) ADDITIONAL USE OF FUNDS.—Grants 

8 awarded under this subsection may be used to help 

9 support— 

10 (A) prototype and proof-of-concept devel11 opment for the funded project; and 

12 (B) additional activities needed to build a 

13 national infrastructure for STEM entrepreneur14 ship. 

15 (4) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Director 

16 may establish agreements with other Federal agen17 cies that fund scientific research to make research18 ers funded by those agencies eligible to participate 

19 in the Foundation’s Innovation Corps program. 

20 SEC. 308. DEFINITIONS. 

21 For purposes of this title: 

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

23 the Director of the Foundation. 

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

25 means the National Science Foundation. 


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1 (3) 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 (4) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 

6 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

7 other academic subjects that build on these dis8 ciplines such as computer science. 

9 Subtitle B—STEM Education 

10 SEC. 321. NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD REPORT ON CONSOLI11 DATION OF STEM EDUCATION ACTIVITIES AT 

12 THE FOUNDATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Science Board shall 

14 review and evaluate the appropriateness of the Founda15 tion’s portfolio of STEM education programs and activi16 ties at the pre-K–12 and undergraduate levels, including 

17 informal education, taking into account the mission of the 

18 Foundation and the 2013 Federal STEM Education 5- 

19 Year Strategic Plan. 

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

21 of enactment of this Act, the National Science Board shall 

22 submit to Congress a report summarizing their findings 

23 and including— 


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1 (1) an analysis of how well the Foundation’s 

2 portfolio of STEM education programs is contrib3 uting to the mission of the Foundation; 

4 (2) an analysis of how well STEM education 

5 programs and activities are coordinated and best 

6 practices are shared across the Foundation; 

7 (3) an analysis of how well the Foundation’s 

8 portfolio of STEM education programs is aligned 

9 with and contributes to priority STEM education in10 vestment areas described in the 2013 Federal STEM 

11 Education 5-Year Strategic Plan; 

12 (4) any Board recommendations regarding in13 ternal reorganization, including consolidation, of the 

14 Foundation’s STEM education programs and activi15 ties, taking into account both the mission of the 

16 Foundation and the 2013 Federal STEM Education 

17 5-Year Strategic Plan; 

18 (5) any Board recommendations regarding the 

19 Foundation’s role in helping to implement the Fed20 eral STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan, includ21 ing opportunities for the Foundation to more effec22 tively partner and collaborate with other Federal 

23 agencies; and 

24 (6) any additional Board recommendations re25 garding specific management, policy, budget, or 


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1 other steps the Foundation should take to increase 

2 effectiveness and accountability across its portfolio 

3 of STEM education programs and activities. 

4 SEC. 322. MODELS FOR GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall enter into an 

6 agreement with the National Research Council to convene 

7 a workshop or roundtable to examine models of Federal 

8 support for STEM graduate students, including the Foun9 dation’s Graduate Research Fellowship program and com10 parable fellowship programs at other agencies, traineeship 

11 programs, and the research assistant model. 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the workshop or 

13 roundtable shall be to compare and evaluate the extent 

14 to which each of these models helps to prepare graduate 

15 students for diverse careers utilizing STEM degrees, in16 cluding at diverse types of institutions of higher education, 

17 in industry, and at government agencies and research lab18 oratories, and to make recommendations regarding— 

19 (1) how current Federal programs and models, 

20 including programs and models at the Foundation, 

21 can be improved; 

22 (2) the appropriateness of the current distribu23 tion of funding among the different models at the 

24 Foundation and across the agencies; and 


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1 (3) the appropriateness of creating a new edu2 cation and training program for graduate students 

3 distinct from programs that provide direct financial 

4 support, including the grants authorized in section 

5 527 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization 

6 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–15). 

7 (c) CRITERIA.—At a minimum, in comparing pro8 grams and models, the workshop or roundtable partici9 pants shall consider the capacity of such programs or 

10 models to provide students with knowledge and skills— 

11 (1) to become independent, creative, successful 

12 researchers; 

13 (2) to participate in large interdisciplinary re14 search projects, including in an international con15 text; 

16 (3) to adhere to the highest standards for re17 search ethics; 

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

19 most currently available evidence-based pedagogy; 

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

21 technical and nontechnical audiences; 

22 (6) in innovation, entrepreneurship, and busi23 ness ethics; and 

24 (7) in program management. 


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1 (d) GRADUATE STUDENT INPUT.—The participants 

2 in the workshop or roundtable shall include current or re3 cent STEM graduate students. 

4 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the National Research Council 

6 shall submit to Congress a summary report of the findings 

7 and recommendations of the workshop or roundtable con8 vened under this section. 

9 SEC. 323. UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION REFORM. 

10 Section 17 of the National Science Foundation Au11 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–6) is amended 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 17. UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION REFORM. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, through the Direc15 torate for Education and Human Resources, shall award 

16 grants, on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institu17 tions of higher education (or to consortia thereof) and to 

18 other eligible nonprofit organizations to reform under19 graduate STEM education for the purpose of increasing 

20 the number and quality of students studying toward and 

21 completing baccalaureate degrees in STEM and improving 

22 the STEM learning outcomes for all undergraduate stu23 dents. 

24 ‘‘(b) INTERDIRECTORATE WORKING GROUP ON UN25 DERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION.—In carrying out the 


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1 requirements of this section, the Directorate for Education 

2 and Human Resources shall collaborate and coordinate 

3 with the Research Directorates, including through the es4 tablishment of an interdirectorate working group on un5 dergraduate STEM education reform, in order to identify 

6 and implement new and expanded opportunities for col7 laboration between STEM disciplinary researchers and 

8 education researchers on the reform of undergraduate 

9 STEM education. 

10 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.—Research and development supported 

11 by grants under this section may encompass a single dis12 cipline, multiple disciplines, or interdisciplinary education 

13 at the undergraduate level, and may include— 

14 ‘‘(1) research foundational to the improvement 

15 of teaching, learning, and retention; 

16 ‘‘(2) development, implementation, and assess17 ment of innovative, research-based approaches to 

18 transforming teaching, learning, and retention; and 

19 ‘‘(3) scaling of successful efforts on learning 

20 and learning environments, broadening participation, 

21 workforce preparation, employing emerging tech22 nologies, or other reforms in STEM education, in23 cluding expansion of successful STEM reform ef24 forts beyond a single course or group of courses to 

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1 pansion of successful reform efforts beyond a single 

2 academic unit to other STEM academic units within 

3 an institution or to comparable academic units at 

4 other institutions. 

5 ‘‘(d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher 

7 education or other eligible nonprofit organization 

8 seeking a grant under this section shall submit an 

9 application to the Director at such time, in such 

10 manner, and containing such information as the Di11 rector may require. In addition to a description of 

12 the proposed research, development, or scaling ef13 fort, including a description of the research findings 

14 that will serve as the basis for the proposed effort, 

15 applications shall include, at a minimum— 

16 ‘‘(A) evidence of institutional support for, 

17 and commitment to, the proposed effort, includ18 ing long-term commitment to implement and 

19 scale successful strategies resulting from the 

20 current effort; 

21 ‘‘(B) a description of existing or planned 

22 institutional policies and practices regarding 

23 faculty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching 

24 assignment that reward faculty contributions to 

25 undergraduate STEM education; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) a description of the plans for assess2 ment and evaluation of the effort, including evi3 dence of participation by individuals with expe4 rience in assessment and evaluation of teaching 

5 and learning programs. 

6 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

7 grant recipients for funding under this section, the 

8 Director shall consider, as appropriate to the scale 

9 of the proposed effort— 

10 ‘‘(A) the likelihood of success in under11 taking the proposed effort at the institution 

12 submitting the application, including the extent 

13 to which the faculty, staff, and administrators 

14 of the institution are committed to making un15 dergraduate STEM education reform a priority 

16 of the participating academic unit or units; 

17 ‘‘(B) the degree to which the proposed ef18 fort will contribute to change in institutional 

19 culture and policy such that a greater value is 

20 placed on faculty engagement in undergraduate 

21 education; 

22 ‘‘(C) the likelihood that the institution will 

23 sustain or expand the effort beyond the period 

24 of the grant; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the degree to which the proposed ef2 fort will contribute to the systematic accumula3 tion of knowledge on STEM education. 

4 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Director shall give pri5 ority to proposals focused on the first 2 years of un6 dergraduate education, including STEM education 

7 at 2-year institutions of higher education. 

8 ‘‘(4) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 

9 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that grants 

10 awarded under this section are made to a variety of 

11 types of institutions of higher education.’’. 

12 SEC. 324. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EDUCATION. 

13 Section 506(b) of the America COMPETES Reau14 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–1(b)) is amend15 ed to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(b) ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EDUCATION.— 

17 The Director shall award grants, on a competitive, merit 

18 reviewed basis, to community colleges for the development 

19 and implementation of innovative advanced manufacturing 

20 education reforms to ensure an adequate and well-trained 

21 advanced manufacturing workforce. Activities supported 

22 by grants under this subsection may include— 

23 ‘‘(1) the development or expansion of edu24 cational materials, courses, curricula, strategies, and 

25 methods that will lead to improved advanced manuVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00123 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 facturing degree or certification programs, including 

2 the integration of industry standards and workplace 

3 competencies into the curriculum; 

4 ‘‘(2) the development and implementation of 

5 faculty professional development programs that en6 hance a faculty member’s capabilities and teaching 

7 skills in advanced manufacturing, including efforts 

8 to understand current advanced manufacturing tech9 nologies and practices; 

10 ‘‘(3) the establishment of centers that provide 

11 models and leadership in advanced manufacturing 

12 education and serve as regional or national clearing13 houses for educational materials and methods, in14 cluding in rural areas; 

15 ‘‘(4) activities to enhance the recruitment and 

16 retention of students into certification and degree 

17 programs in advanced manufacturing, including the 

18 provision of improved mentoring and internship op19 portunities; 

20 ‘‘(5) the establishment of partnerships with pri21 vate sector entities to ensure the development of an 

22 advanced manufacturing workforce with the skills 

23 necessary to meet regional economic needs; and 

24 ‘‘(6) other activities as determined appropriate 

25 by the Director.’’. 


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1 SEC. 325. STEM EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS. 

2 Section 9 of the National Science Foundation Au3 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n) is amended— 

4 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MATH5 EMATICS AND SCIENCE’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘mathematics and science’’ each 

7 place it appears in subsections (a) and (b) and in8 serting ‘‘STEM’’; 

9 (3) by striking ‘‘mathematics or science’’ each 

10 place it appears in subsection (a)(3) and (4)(A) and 

11 inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

12 (4) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, or engi13 neering’’ in subsection (a)(2)(B) and inserting 

14 ‘‘STEM’’; 

15 (5) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, and tech16 nology’’ in subsection (a)(3)(B)(ii)(II) and (8) and 

17 inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

18 (6) by striking ‘‘professional mathematicians, 

19 scientists, and engineers’’ in subsection (a)(3)(F) 

20 and inserting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 

21 (7) by striking ‘‘mathematicians, scientists, and 

22 engineers’’ in subsection (a)(3)(J) and (M) and in23 serting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 

24 (8) by striking ‘‘scientists, technologists, engi25 neers, or mathematicians’’ in subsection (a)(8) and 

26 inserting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 


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1 (9) by striking ‘‘science, technology, engineer2 ing, and mathematics’’ each place it appears in sub3 section (a)(3)(K) and (10) and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

4 (10) by striking ‘‘science, technology, engineer5 ing, or mathematics’’ in subsection (a)(10)(A)(ii)(II) 

6 and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

7 (11) by striking ‘‘science, mathematics, engi8 neering, and technology’’ each place it appears in 

9 subsection (a)(5) and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

10 (12) by striking ‘‘science, mathematics, engi11 neering, or technology’’ in subsection (a)(5) and in12 serting ‘‘STEM’’; 

13 (13) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, engi14 neering, and technology’’ in subsection (b)(1) and 

15 (2) and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

16 (14) by striking subsection (d). 

17 SEC. 326. NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

18 Section 10A of the National Science Foundation Au19 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1a) is amend20 ed— 

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

22 bachelor’s’’ after ‘‘master’s’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (c)— 

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


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by— 

2 (i) inserting ‘‘for teachers with mas3 ter’s degrees in their field’’ after ‘‘Teach4 ing Fellowships’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

6 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; 

7 and’’; and 

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

9 paragraph: 

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

11 Master Teaching Fellowships for teachers with bach12 elor’s degrees in their field— 

13 ‘‘(A) offering academic courses leading to 

14 a master’s degree and leadership training to 

15 prepare individuals to become master teachers 

16 in elementary and secondary schools; and 

17 ‘‘(B) offering programs both during and 

18 after matriculation in the program for which 

19 the fellowship is received to enable fellows to 

20 become highly effective mathematics and 

21 science teachers, including mentoring, training, 

22 induction, and professional development activi23 ties, to fulfill the service requirements of this 

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1 section (e), and to exchange ideas with others 

2 in their fields.’’; 

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

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

5 (4) by adding after subsection (f) the following 

6 new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(g) SUPPORT FOR MASTER TEACHING FELLOWS

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

9 A National Science Foundation Master Teacher Fellow 

10 may receive a maximum of 1 year of fellowship support 

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

12 in subsection (c)(4)(A), except that if such fellow is en13 rolled in a part-time program, such amount shall be pro14 rated according to the length of the program.’’. 

15 SEC. 327. INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION. 

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

17 for Education and Human Resources, shall continue to 

18 award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support— 

19 (1) research and development of innovative out20 of-school STEM learning and emerging STEM 

21 learning environments in order to improve STEM 

22 learning outcomes and engagement in STEM; and 

23 (2) research that advances the field of informal 

24 STEM education. 


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

2 under this section may encompass a single STEM dis3 cipline, multiple STEM disciplines, or integrative STEM 

4 initiatives and shall include— 

5 (1) research and development that improves our 

6 understanding of learning and engagement in infor7 mal environments, including the role of informal en8 vironments in broadening participation in STEM; 

9 and 

10 (2) design and testing of innovative STEM 

11 learning models, programs, and other resources for 

12 informal learning environments to improve STEM 

13 learning outcomes and increase engagement for K– 

14 12 students, K–12 teachers, and the general public, 

15 including design and testing of the scalability of 

16 models, programs, and other resources. 

17 SEC. 328. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT IM18 PROVED K–12 LEARNING. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, acting through the 

20 Directorate for Education and Human Resources, shall 

21 award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support re22 search and development on alignment, implementation, 

23 impact, and ongoing improvement of standards and equiv24 alent learning expectations used by States in mathematics, 


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1 science, and, as appropriate, other State-based STEM 

2 standards. 

3 (b) RESEARCH AREAS.—In making awards under 

4 this section, the Director shall consider proposals for re5 search and development, including, as appropriate, large6 scale research and development, of— 

7 (1) resources, including virtual resources such 

8 as web portals, for content, professional develop9 ment, and research results; 

10 (2) teacher education and professional develop11 ment; 

12 (3) learning progressions; 

13 (4) assessments; 

14 (5) metrics for evaluating the impact of stand15 ards; and 

16 (6) other areas of research and development 

17 that are likely to contribute to the alignment, imple18 mentation, impact, and ongoing improvement of 

19 standards in STEM subjects. 

20 TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

21 OF STANDARDS AND TECH22 NOLOGY 

23 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Institute of 

25 Standards and Technology Authorization Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

4 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

5 $1,119,700,000 for the National Institute of Stand6 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2016. 

7 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

8 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) $754,700,000 shall be authorized for 

10 scientific and technical research and services 

11 laboratory activities; 

12 (B) $59,000,000 shall be authorized for 

13 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

14 and 

15 (C) $306,000,000 shall be authorized for 

16 industrial technology services activities, of 

17 which— 

18 (i) $141,000,000 shall be authorized 

19 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

20 Partnership under section 25 of the Na21 tional Institute of Standards and Tech22 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro23 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

25 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 


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1 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

2 Act; and 

3 (ii) $150,000,000 shall be authorized 

4 for the Network for Manufacturing Inno5 vation Program established under section 

6 34 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

7 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

9 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

10 $1,484,390,000 for the National Institute of Stand11 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2017. 

12 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

13 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) $792,440,000 shall be authorized for 

15 scientific and technical research and services 

16 laboratory activities; 

17 (B) $61,950,000 shall be authorized for 

18 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

19 and 

20 (C) $320,000,000 shall be authorized for 

21 industrial technology services activities, of 

22 which— 

23 (i) $160,000,000 shall be authorized 

24 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

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1 tional Institute of Standards and Tech2 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro3 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

5 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

6 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

7 Act; and 

8 (ii) $150,000,000 shall be authorized 

9 for the Network for Manufacturing Inno10 vation Program established under section 

11 34 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

12 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2018.— 

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

14 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

15 $1,517,100,000 for the National Institute of Stand16 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2018. 

17 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

18 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) $832,060,000 shall be authorized for 

20 scientific and technical research and services 

21 laboratory activities; 

22 (B) $65,050,000 shall be authorized for 

23 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

24 and 


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1 (C) $310,000,000 shall be authorized for 

2 industrial technology services activities, of 

3 which— 

4 (i) $160,000,000 shall be authorized 

5 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

6 Partnership under section 25 of the Na7 tional Institute of Standards and Tech8 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro9 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

11 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

12 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

13 Act; and 

14 (ii) $150,000,000 shall be authorized 

15 for the Network for Manufacturing Inno16 vation Program established under section 

17 34 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

18 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

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

20 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

21 $1,561,960,000 for the National Institute of Stand22 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2019. 

23 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

24 authorized by paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) $873,660,000 shall be authorized for 

2 scientific and technical research and services 

3 laboratory activities; 

4 (B) $68,300,000 shall be authorized for 

5 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

6 and 

7 (C) $310,000,000 shall be authorized for 

8 industrial technology services activities, of 

9 which— 

10 (i) $160,000,000 shall be authorized 

11 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

12 Partnership under section 25 of the Na13 tional Institute of Standards and Tech14 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro15 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

17 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

18 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

19 Act; and 

20 (ii) $150,000,000 shall be authorized 

21 for the Network for Manufacturing Inno22 vation Program established under section 

23 34 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

24 (e) FISCAL YEAR 2020.— 


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

2 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

3 $1,609,060,000 for the National Institute of Stand4 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2020. 

5 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

6 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) $917,340,000 shall be authorized for 

8 scientific and technical research and services 

9 laboratory activities; 

10 (B) $71,710,000 shall be authorized for 

11 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

12 and 

13 (C) $310,000,000 shall be authorized for 

14 industrial technology services activities, of 

15 which— 

16 (i) $160,000,000 shall be authorized 

17 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

18 Partnership under section 25 of the Na19 tional Institute of Standards and Tech20 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro21 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

22 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

23 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

24 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

25 Act; and 


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1 (ii) $150,000,000 shall be authorized 

2 for the Network for Manufacturing Inno3 vation Program established under section 

4 34 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278s). 

5 SEC. 403. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART6 NERSHIP. 

7 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART11 NERSHIP. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

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

14 Director shall provide assistance for the creation and 

15 support of regional manufacturing extension centers 

16 for the transfer of manufacturing technology and 

17 best business practices. These centers shall be 

18 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

19 Centers’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘Centers’). 

20 The program under this section shall be known as 

21 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership’. 

22 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af23 filiated with any United States-based public or non24 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 


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1 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the pro4 gram is to enhance productivity, competitiveness, 

5 and technological performance in United States 

6 manufacturing through— 

7 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech8 nology and techniques to Centers and, through 

9 them, to manufacturing companies throughout 

10 the United States; 

11 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

12 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

13 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

14 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech15 nology transfer activities; 

16 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

17 technology and processes usable by United 

18 States-based small- and medium-sized compa19 nies; 

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

21 engineering, technical, and management infor22 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

23 including small- and medium-sized manufac24 turing companies; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the development of new partnerships, 

2 networks, and services that will assist small3 and medium-sized manufacturing companies ex4 pand into new markets, including global mar5 kets; 

6 ‘‘(F) the utilization, when appropriate, of 

7 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed8 eral laboratories other than the Institute; and 

9 ‘‘(G) the provision to community colleges 

10 and area career and technical education schools 

11 of information about the job skills needed in 

12 small- and medium-sized manufacturing busi13 nesses in the regions they serve. 

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

15 include— 

16 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac17 turing systems and other advanced production tech18 nologies, based on research by the Institute and 

19 other entities, for the purpose of demonstrations and 

20 technology transfer; 

21 ‘‘(2) assistance to Federal agencies in sup22 porting United States-based manufacturing by iden23 tifying and providing technical assistance to small24 and medium-sized manufacturers to help them meet 

25 Federal agency procurement and acquisition needs; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the active transfer and dissemination of re2 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

3 of companies and enterprises, particularly small- and 

4 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

5 ‘‘(4) the facilitation of collaborations and part6 nerships between small- and medium-sized manufac7 turing companies and community colleges and area 

8 career and technical education schools to help such 

9 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

10 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

11 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

12 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

13 ‘‘(c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND REQUIRE14 MENTS.— 

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

16 provide financial support to any Center created 

17 under subsection (a) for an initial period of 5 years, 

18 which may be renewed for an additional 5-year pe19 riod. The Secretary may provide to a Center up to 

20 50 percent of the capital and annual operating and 

21 maintenance funds required to create and maintain 

22 such Center. 

23 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im24 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 


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1 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

2 least once every 5 years. 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any public or non5 profit institution, or consortium thereof, may 

6 submit to the Secretary an application for fi7 nancial support under this section, in accord8 ance with the procedures established by the 

9 Secretary. 

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

11 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

12 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

13 shall provide adequate assurances that non14 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

15 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

16 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

17 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

18 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

19 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

20 activities undertaken to improve the manage21 ment, productivity, competitiveness, and techno22 logical performance of small- and medium-sized 

23 manufacturing companies. 

24 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI25 TIES.—In meeting the 50-percent requirement, 


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1 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

2 agreements with other entities such as private 

3 industry, institutions of higher education, and 

4 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

5 objectives and access new and existing resources 

6 that will further the impact of the Federal in7 vestment made on behalf of small- and medium8 sized manufacturing companies. 

9 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—Each applicant 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall submit a proposal 

11 for the allocation of the legal rights associated 

12 with any invention that may result from the 

13 proposed Center’s activities. 

14 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub15 ject each such application to merit review. In mak16 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

17 and provide financial support under this section, the 

18 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par21 ticularly those portions of the application re22 garding technology transfer, training and edu23 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech24 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

25 sectors. 


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

2 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

3 service area. 

4 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

5 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

6 sources. 

7 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re9 ceives financial assistance under this section 

10 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper11 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

12 Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua14 tion panel shall be composed of independent ex15 perts, none of whom shall be connected with the 

16 involved Center, and Federal officials. 

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

18 shall chair the panel. 

19 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

20 Each evaluation panel shall measure the in21 volved Center’s performance against the objec22 tives specified in this section. 

23 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval24 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

25 continued funding through the fifth year. 


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1 ‘‘(F) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The 

2 Secretary may not provide funding for the re3 maining years of a Center’s operation unless 

4 the evaluation is positive. A Center that has not 

5 received a positive evaluation by the evaluation 

6 panel shall be notified by the panel of the defi7 ciencies in its performance and shall be placed 

8 on a corrective action plan and provided the op9 portunity to address deficiencies unless imme10 diate action is necessary to protect the public 

11 interest. The program shall re-evaluate the Cen12 ter within one year and if the Center has not 

13 addressed the deficiencies identified by the 

14 panel, or shown a significant improvement in its 

15 performance, the Director shall conduct a new 

16 competition or may close the Center. 

17 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

18 After the fifth 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) RECOMPETITION.—If a Center has 

24 received financial support for 10 consecutive 

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1 petition. An existing Center may submit an ap2 plication as part of the new competition. 

3 ‘‘(I) RECOMPETITION PLAN.—Not later 

4 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

5 the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 

6 2015, the Director shall submit a plan to the 

7 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

8 of the House of Representatives and the Com9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor10 tation of the Senate detailing how the program 

11 will implement the new competitions required 

12 under subparagraph (H). The Director shall 

13 consult with the MEP Advisory Board estab14 lished under subsection (f) in the development 

15 and implementation of the plan. 

16 ‘‘(6) OVERSIGHT BOARD.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re18 ceives financial assistance under this section 

19 shall establish an oversight board that is broad20 ly representative of regional stakeholders with a 

21 majority of board members drawn from local 

22 small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms. 

23 ‘‘(B) BYLAWS AND CONFLICT OF INTER24 EST.—Each board under subparagraph (A) 

25 shall adopt and submit to the Director bylaws 


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1 to govern the operation of the board, including 

2 a conflict of interest policy to ensure relevant 

3 relationships are disclosed and proper recusal 

4 procedures are in place. 

5 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Board members may 

6 not serve simultaneously on more than one Cen7 ter’s oversight board or serve as a contractor 

8 providing services to a Center. 

9 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMA10 TION.—The Secretary shall ensure that the following 

11 are not publically disclosed: 

12 ‘‘(A) Confidential information on the busi13 ness operations of— 

14 ‘‘(i) a participant under the program; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a client of a Center. 

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

18 of a Center. 

19 ‘‘(8) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap20 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

21 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

22 the promotion of technology from research by Cen23 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

24 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

25 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 


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1 ‘‘(d) REPORTING AND AUDITING REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 The Director shall establish procedures regarding Center 

3 financial reporting and auditing to ensure that awards are 

4 used for the purposes specified in this section and are in 

5 accordance with sound accounting practices. 

6 ‘‘(e) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

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

8 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc9 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

10 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

11 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

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

13 sector for the purpose of strengthening United 

14 States manufacturing. 

15 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED17 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di18 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

19 from other Federal departments or agencies 

20 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed21 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

22 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

23 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI24 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri25 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 


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1 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula2 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

3 of this section. 

4 ‘‘(f) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

6 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

7 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re8 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

9 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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

11 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem12 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

13 be appointed by the Director. At least 2 mem14 bers shall be employed by or on an advisory 

15 board for the Centers, at least 1 member shall 

16 represent a community college, and at least 5 

17 other members shall be from United States 

18 small businesses in the manufacturing sector. 

19 No member shall be an employee of the Federal 

20 Government. 

21 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub22 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

23 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

24 years. 


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

2 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira3 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

4 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

5 of such term. 

6 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

7 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

8 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

9 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint10 ment during the one-year period following the 

11 expiration of the second such term. 

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

13 shall meet not less than 2 times annually and shall 

14 provide to the Director— 

15 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

16 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

17 policies; 

18 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol19 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

20 plans and strategies; and 

21 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

22 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

23 Partnership program plans. 

24 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP25 PLICABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du2 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

3 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca4 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

5 Committee Act. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed7 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

8 the MEP Advisory Board. 

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

10 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

11 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 

12 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

13 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad14 dress the status of the program established pursuant 

15 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

16 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

17 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

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

19 ‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es21 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten22 sion Partnership, a program of competitive awards 

23 among participants described in paragraph (2) for 

24 the purposes described in paragraph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

2 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

3 a consortium of such Centers. 

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

5 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

6 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in7 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

8 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 

9 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

10 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the 

11 MEP Advisory Board, and small- and medium-sized 

12 manufacturers. 

13 ‘‘(4) THEMES.—One or more themes for the 

14 competition may be identified, which may vary from 

15 year to year, depending on the needs of manufactur16 ers and the success of previous competitions. These 

17 themes may include— 

18 ‘‘(A) supply chain integration and quality 

19 management; 

20 ‘‘(B) the creation of partnerships to en21 courage the development of a workforce with 

22 the skills necessary to meet the needs of a re23 gion, including the creation of apprenticeship 

24 opportunities and the adoption of universally 

25 recognized credential programs, as appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(C) energy efficiency, including efficient 

2 building technologies and environmentally 

3 friendly materials, products, and processes; 

4 ‘‘(D) enhancing the competitiveness of 

5 small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the 

6 global marketplace; 

7 ‘‘(E) the transfer of technology based on 

8 the technological needs of manufacturers and 

9 available technologies from institutions of high10 er education, laboratories, and other technology 

11 producing entities; and 

12 ‘‘(F) areas that extend beyond traditional 

13 areas of manufacturing extension activities, in14 cluding projects related to construction industry 

15 modernization. 

16 ‘‘(5) REIMBURSEMENT.—Centers may be reim17 bursed for costs incurred under the program under 

18 this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(6) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 

20 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

21 manner, at such time, and containing such informa22 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

23 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

24 ‘‘(7) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub25 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 


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1 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

2 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 

3 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

4 will— 

5 ‘‘(A) utilize innovative or collaborative ap6 proaches to solving the problem described in the 

7 competition; 

8 ‘‘(B) improve the competitiveness of indus9 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen10 ters are located; and 

11 ‘‘(C) contribute to the long-term economic 

12 stability of that region, including the creation of 

13 jobs or training employees. 

14 ‘‘(8) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 

15 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

16 to provide a matching contribution. 

17 ‘‘(9) DURATION.—Awards under this subsection 

18 shall last no longer than 5 years. 

19 ‘‘(h) INNOVATIVE SERVICES INITIATIVE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director, in co21 ordination with the Advanced Manufacturing Office 

22 of the Department of Energy, shall establish, within 

23 the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 

24 an innovative services initiative to assist small- and 

25 medium-sized manufacturers in— 


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1 ‘‘(A) reducing their energy usage, green2 house gas emissions, and environmental waste 

3 to improve profitability; 

4 ‘‘(B) accelerating the domestic commer5 cialization of new product technologies, includ6 ing components for renewable energy and en7 ergy efficiency systems; and 

8 ‘‘(C) identifying and diversifying to new 

9 markets, including support for transitioning to 

10 the production of components for renewable en11 ergy and energy efficiency systems. 

12 ‘‘(2) MARKET DEMAND.—The Director may not 

13 undertake any activity to accelerate the domestic 

14 commercialization of a new product technology 

15 under this subsection unless an analysis of market 

16 demand for the new product technology has been 

17 conducted. 

18 ‘‘(i) EXPORT ASSISTANCE TO SMALL- AND MEDIUM19 SIZED MANUFACTURERS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) evaluate obstacles that are unique to 

22 small- and medium-sized manufacturers that 

23 prevent such manufacturers from effectively 

24 competing in the global market; 


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1 ‘‘(B) implement a comprehensive export 

2 assistance initiative through the Centers to help 

3 small- and medium-sized manufacturers address 

4 such obstacles; and 

5 ‘‘(C) to the maximum extent practicable, 

6 ensure that the activities carried out under this 

7 subsection are coordinated with, and do not du8 plicate the efforts of, other export assistance 

9 programs within the Federal Government. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The initiative shall in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(A) export assistance counseling; 

13 ‘‘(B) the development of partnerships that 

14 will provide small- and medium-sized manufac15 turers with greater access to and knowledge of 

16 global markets; and 

17 ‘‘(C) improved communication between the 

18 Centers to assist such manufacturers in imple19 menting appropriate, targeted solutions to such 

20 obstacles. 

21 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) AREA CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU23 CATION SCHOOL.—The term ‘area career and tech24 nical education school’ has the meaning given such 

25 term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 


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1 Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 

2 U.S.C. 2302). 

3 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com4 munity college’ means an institution of higher edu5 cation (as defined under section 101(a) of the High6 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at 

7 which the highest degree that is predominately 

8 awarded to students is an associate’s degree.’’. 

9 SEC. 404. NATIONAL ACADEMIES REVIEW. 

10 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 

12 Standards and Technology shall enter into a contract with 

13 the National Academies to conduct a single, comprehen14 sive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. The re15 view shall— 

16 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

17 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 

18 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

19 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

20 ability to fulfill its mission; 

21 (3) evaluate how cross-cutting research and de22 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

23 executed across the laboratories; and 

24 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in25 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 


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1 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti2 tute. 

3 SEC. 405. IMPROVING NIST COLLABORATION WITH OTHER 

4 AGENCIES. 

5 Section 8 of the National Bureau of Standards Au6 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983 (15 U.S.C. 275b) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

9 WITH’’ after ‘‘PERFORMED FOR’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

11 Secretary may accept, apply for, use, and spend 

12 Federal, State, and non-governmental acquisition 

13 and assistance funds to further the mission of the 

14 Institute without regard to the source or the period 

15 of availability of these funds as well as share per16 sonnel, associates, facilities, and property with these 

17 partner organizations, with or without reimburse18 ment, upon mutual agreement.’’. 

19 SEC. 406. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

20 (a) FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES.—Section 15 of the 

21 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act 

22 (15 U.S.C. 278e) is amended— 

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

24 inserting ‘‘of the Government;’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘transportation services for em2 ployees of the Institute’’ and inserting ‘‘transpor3 tation services for employees, associates, or fellows 

4 of the Institute’’; and 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘Code.’’ and inserting ‘‘Code; 

6 and (i) the protection of Institute buildings and 

7 other plant facilities, equipment, and property, and 

8 of employees, associates, visitors, or other persons 

9 located therein or associated therewith, notwith10 standing any other provision of law.’’. 

11 (b) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—Sec12 tion 19 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech13 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–2) is amended to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 19. POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

16 ‘‘The Director, in conjunction with the National 

17 Academy of Sciences, shall establish and conduct a post18 doctoral fellowship program that shall include not less 

19 than 20 new fellows per fiscal year. In evaluating applica20 tions for fellowships under this section, the Director shall 

21 give consideration to the goal of promoting the participa22 tion of underrepresented minorities in research areas sup23 ported by the Institute.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—INNOVATION 

2 SEC. 501. OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEUR3 SHIP. 

4 Section 25 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno5 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3720) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘with a Direc7 tor and full-time staff’’ after ‘‘Office of Innovation 

8 and Entrepreneurship’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(3) providing access to relevant data, research, 

13 and technical assistance on innovation and commer14 cialization, including best practices for university15 based incubators and accelerators;’’; 

16 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

17 (5) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; and 

18 (C) by inserting the following after para19 graph (3): 

20 ‘‘(4) overseeing the implementation of the loan 

21 guarantee programs and the Regional Innovation 

22 Program established under sections 26 and 27, re23 spectively; 

24 ‘‘(5) developing, within 180 days after the date 

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1 tion Act of 2015, and updating at least every 5 

2 years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the 

3 Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship that 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) specify and prioritize near-term and 

6 long-term goals, objectives, and policies to ac7 celerate innovation and advance the commer8 cialization of research and development, includ9 ing federally funded research and development, 

10 set forth the anticipated time for achieving the 

11 objectives, and identify metrics for use in as12 sessing progress toward such objectives; 

13 ‘‘(B) describe how the Department of 

14 Commerce is working in conjunction with other 

15 Federal agencies to foster innovation and com16 mercialization across the United States; and 

17 ‘‘(C) provide a summary of the activities, 

18 including the development of metrics to evalu19 ate regional innovation strategies undertaken 

20 through the Regional Innovation Research and 

21 Information Program established under section 

22 27(e);’’; 

23 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol24 lows: 

25 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es2 tablish or designate an advisory committee, which 

3 shall meet at least twice each fiscal year, to provide 

4 advice to the Secretary on carrying out the duties 

5 and responsibilities of the Office of Innovation and 

6 Entrepreneurship. 

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The advisory 

8 committee shall prepare a report, to be submitted to 

9 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

10 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen12 ate every 3 years. The first report shall be submitted 

13 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

14 the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015 

15 and shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the strategic plan 

17 developed under subsection (b)(5) and the 

18 progress made in implementing the plan and 

19 the duties of the Office of Innovation and En20 trepreneurship; 

21 ‘‘(B) an assessment of how the Office of 

22 Innovation and Entrepreneurship is working 

23 with other Federal agencies to meet the goals 

24 and duties of the office; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) any recommendations for how the Of2 fice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship could 

3 be improved.’’; and 

4 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

7 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 

8 to carry out this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 502. FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR INNOVATIVE 

10 TECHNOLOGIES IN MANUFACTURING. 

11 Section 26(t) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 

12 Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3721(t)) is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 2013’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘fiscal years 2016 through 2020’’. 

15 SEC. 503. INNOVATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM. 

16 Section 25 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno17 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3720) as amended by sec18 tion 501 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) INNOVATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM.— 

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

22 through the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneur23 ship and in conjunction with the States, shall estab24 lish an innovation voucher pilot program to accel25 erate innovative activities and enhance the competiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00162 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 tiveness of small- and medium-sized manufacturers 

2 in the United States. The pilot program shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) foster collaborations between small4 and medium-sized manufacturers and research 

5 institutions; and 

6 ‘‘(B) enable small- and medium-sized man7 ufacturers to access technical expertise and ca8 pabilities that will lead to the development of 

9 innovative products or manufacturing processes, 

10 including through— 

11 ‘‘(i) research and development, includ12 ing proof of concept, technical develop13 ment, and compliance testing activities; 

14 ‘‘(ii) early-stage product development, 

15 including engineering design services; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) technology transfer and related 

17 activities. 

18 ‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE.—The Secretary shall com19 petitively award vouchers worth up to $20,000 to 

20 small- and medium-sized manufacturers for use at 

21 eligible research institutions to acquire the services 

22 described in paragraph (1)(B). 

23 ‘‘(3) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES.—The Sec24 retary shall streamline and simplify the application, 


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1 administrative, and reporting procedures for vouch2 ers administered under the program. 

3 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Prior to awarding any 

4 vouchers under the program, the Secretary shall pro5 mulgate regulations— 

6 ‘‘(A) establishing criteria for the selection 

7 of recipients of awards under this subsection; 

8 ‘‘(B) establishing procedures regarding fi9 nancial reporting and auditing— 

10 ‘‘(i) to ensure that awards are used 

11 for the purposes of the program; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) that are in accordance with 

13 sound accounting practices; and 

14 ‘‘(C) describing any other policies, proce15 dures, or information necessary to implement 

16 this subsection, including those intended to 

17 streamline and simplify the program in accord18 ance with paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(5) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

20 may transfer funds appropriated to the Department 

21 of Commerce to other Federal agencies for the per22 formance of services authorized under this sub23 section. 

24 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—All of the 

25 amounts appropriated to carry out this subsection 


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1 for a fiscal year shall be used for vouchers awarded 

2 under this subsection, except that the Secretary may 

3 set aside a percentage of such amounts for eligible 

4 research institutions performing the services de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) to defray administrative 

6 costs associated with the services. The Secretary 

7 shall establish a single, fixed percentage for such 

8 purposes that will apply to all eligible research insti9 tutions. 

10 ‘‘(7) OUTREACH.—The Secretary may use cen11 ters established under section 25 of the National In12 stitute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 278k) to provide information about the program es14 tablished under this subsection and to conduct out15 reach to potential applicants, as appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(8) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of the America 

19 Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015, the 

20 Secretary shall transmit to Congress a plan 

21 that will serve as a guide for the activities of 

22 the program. The plan shall include a descrip23 tion of the specific objectives of the program 

24 and the metrics that will be used in assessing 

25 progress toward those objectives. 


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1 ‘‘(B) OUTCOMES.—Not later than 3 years 

2 after the date of enactment of the America 

3 Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015, the 

4 Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report 

5 containing— 

6 ‘‘(i) a summary of the activities car7 ried out under this subsection; 

8 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the impact of 

9 such activities on the innovative capacity of 

10 small- and medium-sized manufacturers re11 ceiving assistance under the pilot program; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(iii) any recommendations for admin14 istrative and legislative action that could 

15 optimize the effectiveness of the pilot pro16 gram. 

17 ‘‘(9) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.— 

18 To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

19 shall ensure that the activities carried out under this 

20 subsection are coordinated with, and do not dupli21 cate the efforts of, other programs within the Fed22 eral Government. 

23 ‘‘(10) ELIGIBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS DE24 FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection, the 

25 term ‘eligible research institution’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education, as 

2 such term is defined in section 101(a) of the 

3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1001(a)); 

5 ‘‘(B) a Federal laboratory; 

6 ‘‘(C) a federally funded research and devel7 opment center; or 

8 ‘‘(D) a Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

9 Center established under section 25 of the Na10 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

11 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k). 

12 ‘‘(11) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec14 retary to carry out the pilot program in this sub15 section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

16 through 2020.’’. 

17 SEC. 504. FEDERAL ACCELERATION OF STATE TECH18 NOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION PILOT PRO19 GRAM. 

20 The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

21 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 28. FEDERAL ACCELERATION OF STATE TECH2 NOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION PILOT PRO3 GRAM. 

4 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es6 tablish a Federal Acceleration of State Technology 

7 Commercialization Pilot Program or FAST Com8 mercialization Pilot Program to award grants to 

9 States, or consortia thereof, for the purposes de10 scribed in paragraph (2). Awards under this section 

11 shall be made through a competitive, merit-based 

12 process. 

13 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

14 under this section is to advance United States pro15 ductivity and global competitiveness by accelerating 

16 commercialization of innovative technology by 

17 leveraging Federal support for State commercializa18 tion efforts. The program shall provide matching 

19 funds to a State, or consortium thereof, for the ac20 celeration of commercialization activities and the 

21 promotion of small manufacturing enterprises in the 

22 United States. 

23 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Applications for awards under 

24 this section shall be submitted in such a manner, at such 

25 a time, and containing such information as the Secretary 

26 shall require, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a description of the current state of tech2 nology commercialization in the State or States, in3 cluding successes and barriers to commercialization; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(2) a description of the State’s or consortium’s 

6 plan for increasing commercialization of new tech7 nologies, products, processes, and services. 

8 ‘‘(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es9 tablish criteria for the selection of awardees, which shall 

10 consider at a minimum a review of efforts during the fiscal 

11 year prior to submitting an application to— 

12 ‘‘(1) promote manufacturing; and 

13 ‘‘(2) commercialize new technologies, products, 

14 processes, and services, including activities to trans15 late federally funded research and technologies to 

16 small manufacturing enterprises. 

17 ‘‘(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State or consor18 tium receiving a grant under this section shall provide 

19 non-Federal cash contributions in an amount equal to 50 

20 percent of the total cost of the project for which the grant 

21 is provided. 

22 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—In 

23 carrying out the program under this section, the Secretary 

24 shall ensure that grants made under the program are co25 ordinated with, and do not duplicate, the efforts of other 


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1 commercialization programs within the Federal Govern2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

5 after the date of enactment of the America Com6 petes Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Secretary 

7 shall enter into a contract with an independent enti8 ty, such as the National Academy of Sciences, to 

9 conduct an evaluation of the program established 

10 under subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The evaluation shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) assess whether the program is achiev13 ing its goals; 

14 ‘‘(B) include any recommendations for how 

15 the program may be improved; and 

16 ‘‘(C) include a recommendation as to 

17 whether the program should be continued or 

18 terminated. 

19 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘State’ has the meaning given 

21 that term in section 3 of the Public Works and Eco22 nomic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122); 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘commercialization’ has the 

2 meaning given that term in section 9(e)(10) of the 

3 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)(10)). 

4 ‘‘(h) DURATION.—Each award shall be for a 5-year 

5 period. 

6 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

8 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2018 

9 to carry out this section.’’. 

10 TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF 

11 ENERGY 

12 Subtitle A—Office of Science 

13 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Department of En15 ergy Office of Science Authorization Act of 2015’’. 

16 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

17 Except as otherwise provided, in this subtitle: 

18 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

19 means the Department of Energy. 

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

21 the Director of the Office of Science. 

22 (3) OFFICE OF SCIENCE.—The term ‘‘Office of 

23 Science’’ means the Department of Energy Office of 

24 Science. 


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1 (4) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

2 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Science 

3 and Energy. 

4 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Energy. 

6 SEC. 603. MISSION OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE. 

7 Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza8 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

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

11 shall be the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, 

12 and major scientific tools to transform the understanding 

13 of nature and to advance the energy, economic, and na14 tional security of the United States. 

15 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—In support of this mission, the Direc16 tor shall carry out programs, including those in basic en17 ergy sciences, biological and environmental research, ad18 vanced scientific computing research, fusion energy 

19 sciences, high energy physics, and nuclear physics, 

20 through activities focused on— 

21 ‘‘(1) Science for Discovery to unravel nature’s 

22 mysteries through activities which range from the 

23 study of subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules 

24 that make up the materials of our everyday world to 


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1 the study of DNA, proteins, cells, and entire biologi2 cal systems; 

3 ‘‘(2) Science for National Need by— 

4 ‘‘(A) advancing a clean energy agenda 

5 through research on energy production, storage, 

6 transmission, efficiency, and use; and 

7 ‘‘(B) advancing our understanding of the 

8 Earth and its climate through research in at9 mospheric and environmental sciences and cli10 mate change; and 

11 ‘‘(3) National Scientific User Facilities to de12 liver the 21st century tools of science, engineering, 

13 and technology and provide the Nation’s researchers 

14 with the most advanced tools of modern science in15 cluding accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light 

16 sources and neutron sources, and facilities for study17 ing complex molecular systems and the nanoworld. 

18 ‘‘(e) SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES.—The activities de19 scribed in subsection (d) shall include providing for rel20 evant facilities and infrastructure, programmatic analysis, 

21 interagency coordination, and workforce development and 

22 outreach activities. 

23 ‘‘(f) USER FACILITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry 

25 out the construction, operation, and maintenance of 


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1 user facilities, including underground research facili2 ties, to support the activities described in subsection 

3 (d). As practicable, these facilities shall serve the 

4 needs of the Department, industry, the academic 

5 community, and other relevant entities for the pur6 poses of advancing the missions of the Department. 

7 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL

8 AGENCIES.—The Director may form partnerships to 

9 enhance the utilization of and ensure access to user 

10 facilities, including underground research facilities, 

11 by other Federal agencies. 

12 ‘‘(g) OTHER AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In addition 

13 to the activities authorized under the Department of En14 ergy Office of Science Authorization Act of 2015, the Of15 fice of Science shall carry out other such activities as it 

16 is authorized or required to carry out by law. 

17 ‘‘(h) COORDINATION AND JOINT ACTIVITIES WITH

18 OTHER DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROGRAMS.—The 

19 Under Secretary shall ensure the coordination of activities 

20 under the Department of Energy Office of Science Author21 ization Act of 2015 with the other activities of the Depart22 ment, and shall support joint activities among the pro23 grams of the Department. 

24 ‘‘(i) DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY FOR

25 OFFICE OF SCIENCE FACILITIES REPORT.—Not later 


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1 than one year after the date of enactment of the Depart2 ment of Energy Office of Science Authorization Act of 

3 2015, the Secretary shall transmit a report to the Com4 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

5 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

6 Natural Resources of the Senate. The report shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) assess the current ability of domestic man8 ufacturers to meet the procurement requirements for 

9 major ongoing projects funded by the Office of 

10 Science, including a calculation of the percentage of 

11 equipment acquired from domestic manufacturers 

12 for this purpose; and 

13 ‘‘(2) identify steps that can be taken by the 

14 Federal Government and by private industry to in15 crease the capability of domestic manufacturers to 

16 meet procurement requirements of the Office of 

17 Science for major projects.’’. 

18 SEC. 604. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM. 

19 (a) PROGRAM.—As part of the activities authorized 

20 under the amendment made by section 603, the Director 

21 shall carry out a program in basic energy sciences, includ22 ing materials sciences and engineering, chemical sciences, 

23 physical biosciences, and geosciences, for the purpose of 

24 providing the scientific foundations for new energy tech25 nologies and addressing scientific grand challenges. 


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1 (b) BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES USER FACILITIES.— 

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

3 a subprogram to support and oversee the construc4 tion, operation, and maintenance of national user fa5 cilities that support the program under this section. 

6 As practicable, these facilities shall serve the needs 

7 of the Department, industry, the academic commu8 nity, and other relevant entities to create and exam9 ine new materials and chemical processes for the 

10 purposes of advancing new energy technologies and 

11 improving the competitiveness of the United States. 

12 These facilities shall include— 

13 (A) x-ray light sources; 

14 (B) neutron sources; 

15 (C) nanoscale science research centers; and 

16 (D) other facilities the Director considers 

17 appropriate, consistent with section 209(f) of 

18 the Department of Energy Organization Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 7139(f)). 

20 (2) FACILITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

21 The Director shall carry out research and develop22 ment on advanced accelerator and storage ring tech23 nologies relevant to the Basic Energy Sciences user 

24 facilities, in consultation with the Office of Science’s 


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1 High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics pro2 grams. 

3 (3) FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND UP4 GRADES.—Consistent with the Office of Science’s 

5 project management practices, the Director shall 

6 support construction of— 

7 (A) an upgrade of the Advanced Photon 

8 Source to optimize and enhance beam bright9 ness; 

10 (B) a Second Target Station at the Spall11 ation Neutron Source to double user capacity 

12 and expand the suite of instruments to meet 

13 new scientific challenges; 

14 (C) the Linac Coherent Light Source II to 

15 expand the x-ray wavelength range, incorporate 

16 high repetition rate operation for soft and me17 dium energy x-rays, and increase user capacity 

18 of the Linac Coherent Light Source; and 

19 (D) an upgrade to the Advanced Light 

20 Source to improve brightness and performance. 

21 (c) ENERGY FRONTIER RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

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

23 a program to provide awards, on a competitive, 

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1 mental and use-inspired energy research to accel2 erate scientific breakthroughs related to needs iden3 tified in— 

4 (A) the Grand Challenges report of the De5 partment’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory 

6 Committee; 

7 (B) the report of the Department’s Basic 

8 Energy Sciences Advisory Committee entitled 

9 ‘‘From Quanta to the Continuum: Opportuni10 ties for Mesoscale Science’’; 

11 (C) the Basic Energy Sciences Basic Re12 search Needs workshop report; or 

13 (D) other relevant reports identified by the 

14 Director. 

15 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—A collaboration receiv16 ing an award under this subsection may include mul17 tiple types of institutions and private sector entities. 

18 (3) SELECTION AND DURATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A collaboration under 

20 this subsection shall be selected for a period of 

21 5 years. An Energy Frontier Research Center 

22 already in existence and supported by the Di23 rector on the date of enactment of this Act may 

24 continue to receive support for a period of 5 


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1 years beginning on the date of establishment of 

2 that center. 

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

4 period described in subparagraph (A), an 

5 awardee may reapply for selection for a second 

6 period of 5 years on a competitive, merit-re7 viewed basis. 

8 (C) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

9 existing authorities of the Department, the Di10 rector may terminate an underperforming cen11 ter for cause during the performance period. 

12 (4) NO FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION.—No 

13 funding provided pursuant to this subsection may be 

14 used for the construction of new buildings or facili15 ties. 

16 SEC. 605. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities author18 ized under section 209 of the Department of Energy Orga19 nization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), and coordinated with the 

20 activities authorized under section 604 and section 606, 

21 the Director shall carry out a program of research and 

22 development in the areas of biological systems science and 

23 climate and environmental science, including subsurface 

24 science, to support the energy and environmental missions 

25 of the Department. 


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1 (b) BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS SCIENCE ACTIVITIES.— 

2 (1) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the activities au3 thorized under subsection (a), the Director shall 

4 carry out research and development activities in fun5 damental, structural, computational, and systems bi6 ology to increase systems-level understanding of the 

7 complex biological systems, which shall include ac8 tivities to— 

9 (A) accelerate breakthroughs and new 

10 knowledge that will enable cost-effective sus11 tainable production of— 

12 (i) biomass-based liquid transpor13 tation fuels; 

14 (ii) bioenergy; and 

15 (iii) biobased materials; 

16 (B) improve understanding of the global 

17 carbon cycle, including processes for removing 

18 carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, through 

19 photosynthesis and other biological processes, 

20 for sequestration and storage; and 

21 (C) understand the biological mechanisms 

22 used to transform, immobilize, or remove con23 taminants from subsurface environments. 

24 (2) BIOENERGY RESEARCH CENTERS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activi2 ties under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

3 support at least 3 bioenergy research centers to 

4 accelerate advanced research and development 

5 of biomass-based liquid transportation fuels, 

6 bioenergy, or biobased materials that are pro7 duced from a variety of regionally diverse feed8 stocks. 

9 (B) SELECTION AND DURATION.—A center 

10 established under subparagraph (A) shall be se11 lected on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis for 

12 a period of 5 years beginning on the date of es13 tablishment of that center. A center already in 

14 existence on the date of enactment of this Act 

15 may continue to receive support for a period of 

16 5 years beginning on the date of establishment 

17 of that center. 

18 (C) RENEWAL.—After the end of the pe19 riod described in subparagraph (B), an awardee 

20 may apply for a second period of 5 years on a 

21 merit-reviewed basis. 

22 (D) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

23 existing authorities of the Department, the Di24 rector may terminate an underperforming cen25 ter for cause during the performance period. 


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1 (3) LOW DOSE RADIATION RESEARCH PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

4 carry out a research program on low dose radi5 ation. The purpose of the program is to en6 hance the scientific understanding of and re7 duce uncertainties associated with the effects of 

8 exposure to low dose radiation in order to in9 form improved risk management methods. 

10 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

11 term ‘‘low dose radiation’’ means a radiation 

12 dose of less than 100 millisieverts. 

13 (C) STUDY.—Not later than 60 days after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

15 shall enter into an agreement with the National 

16 Academies to conduct a study assessing the 

17 current status and development of a long-term 

18 strategy for low dose radiation research. The 

19 study shall be conducted in coordination with 

20 Federal agencies that perform ionizing radi21 ation effects research. 

22 (D) CONTENTS.—The study performed 

23 under subparagraph (C) shall— 


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1 (i) identify current scientific chal2 lenges for understanding the long-term ef3 fects of ionizing radiation; 

4 (ii) assess the status of current low 

5 dose radiation research in the United 

6 States and internationally; 

7 (iii) formulate overall scientific goals 

8 for the future of low-dose radiation re9 search in the United States; 

10 (iv) recommend a long-term strategic 

11 and prioritized research agenda to address 

12 scientific research goals for overcoming the 

13 identified scientific challenges in coordina14 tion with other research efforts; 

15 (v) define the essential components of 

16 a research program that would address 

17 this research agenda within the universities 

18 and the National Laboratories; and 

19 (vi) assess the cost-benefit effective20 ness of such a program. 

21 (E) 5-YEAR RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later 

22 than 90 days after the completion of the assess23 ment performed under subparagraph (C), the 

24 Secretary shall deliver to the Committee on 

25 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 


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1 Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

2 and Natural Resources of the Senate a five-year 

3 research plan that responds to the assessment’s 

4 findings and recommendations and identifies 

5 and prioritizes research needs. 

6 (4) REPEAL.—Section 977 of the Energy Policy 

7 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16317) is repealed. 

8 (c) CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ACTIVI9 TIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities au11 thorized under subsection (a), and in coordination 

12 with activities carried out under subsection (b), the 

13 Director shall carry out climate and environmental 

14 science research, which shall include activities to— 

15 (A) understand, observe, and model the re16 sponse of Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere to 

17 increased concentrations of greenhouse gas 

18 emissions and any associated changes in cli19 mate; 

20 (B) understand the processes for immo21 bilization, or removal of, and understand the 

22 movement of, energy production-derived con23 taminants such as radionuclides and heavy met24 als, and understand the process of sequestration 


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1 and transformation of carbon dioxide in sub2 surface environments; and 

3 (C) inform potential mitigation and adap4 tation options for increased concentrations of 

5 greenhouse gas emissions and any associated 

6 changes in climate. 

7 (2) SUBSURFACE BIOGEOCHEMICAL RE8 SEARCH.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities 

10 described in paragraph (1), the Director shall 

11 carry out research to advance a fundamental 

12 understanding of coupled physical, chemical, 

13 and biological processes for controlling the 

14 movement of sequestered carbon and subsurface 

15 environmental contaminants. 

16 (B) COORDINATION.— 

17 (i) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall 

18 carry out activities under this paragraph in 

19 accordance with priorities established by 

20 the Under Secretary to support and accel21 erate the decontamination of relevant fa22 cilities managed by the Department. 

23 (ii) UNDER SECRETARY.—The Under 

24 Secretary shall ensure the coordination of 

25 activities of the Department, including acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00185 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 tivities under this paragraph, to support 

2 and accelerate the decontamination of rel3 evant facilities managed by the Depart4 ment. 

5 (3) CLIMATE AND EARTH MODELING.—As part 

6 of the activities described in paragraph (1), the Di7 rector, in collaboration with the Advanced Scientific 

8 Computing Research program described in section 

9 606, shall carry out research to develop, evaluate, 

10 and use high-resolution regional climate, global cli11 mate, and Earth models to inform decisions on re12 ducing the impacts of a changing climate. Such 

13 modeling shall include, among other critical ele14 ments, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and 

15 interaction among human and Earth systems. 

16 SEC. 606. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH 

17 PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities author19 ized under section 209 of the Department of Energy Orga20 nization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), the Director shall carry 

21 out a research, development, demonstration, and commer22 cial application program to advance computational and 

23 networking capabilities for data-driven discovery and to 

24 analyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena 


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1 relevant to the development of new energy technologies 

2 and the competitiveness of the United States. 

3 (b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall en4 sure the coordination of the activities of the Department, 

5 including activities under this section, to determine and 

6 meet the computational and networking research and fa7 cility needs of the Office of Science and all other relevant 

8 energy technology and energy efficiency programs within 

9 the Department. 

10 (c) RESEARCH TO SUPPORT ENERGY APPLICA11 TIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities au13 thorized under subsection (a), the program shall 

14 support research in high-performance computing and 

15 networking relevant to energy applications including 

16 modeling, simulation, and advanced data analytics 

17 for basic and applied energy research programs car18 ried out by the Secretary. 

19 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

21 transmit to the Congress a plan to integrate and le22 verage the expertise and capabilities of the program 

23 described in subsection (a), as well as other relevant 

24 computational and networking research programs 

25 and resources supported by the Federal Government, 


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1 to advance the missions of the Department’s applied 

2 energy and energy efficiency programs. 

3 (d) APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND SOFTWARE DEVEL4 OPMENT FOR HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEMS.—The Di5 rector shall carry out activities to develop, test, and sup6 port mathematics, models, and algorithms for complex 

7 systems, as well as programming environments, tools, lan8 guages, and operating systems for high-end computing 

9 systems (as defined in section 2 of the Department of En10 ergy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 (15 

11 U.S.C. 5541)). 

12 (e) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.—Section 3 of 

13 the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revital14 ization Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 5542) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro17 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated program 

18 across the Department’’; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para20 graph (1); 

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

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

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

24 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 Depart5 ment of Energy Office of Science Authorization 

6 Act of 2015, a report outlining an integrated 

7 strategy and program management plan, in8 cluding target dates for prototypical and pro9 duction exascale platforms, interim milestones 

10 to reaching these targets, functional require11 ments, roles and responsibilities of National 

12 Laboratories and industry, acquisition strategy, 

13 and estimated resources required, to achieve 

14 this exascale system capability. The report shall 

15 include the Secretary’s plan for Departmental 

16 organization to manage and execute the 

17 Exascale Computing Program, including defini18 tion of the roles and responsibilities within the 

19 Department to ensure an integrated program 

20 across the Department. The report shall also 

21 include a plan for ensuring balance and 

22 prioritizing across ASCR subprograms in a flat 

23 or slow-growth budget environment. 

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

25 the budget submission of the Department for 


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1 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a 

2 report to Congress that describes the status of 

3 milestones and costs in achieving the objectives 

4 of the exascale computing program. 

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

6 18 months prior to the initiation of construction 

7 or installation of any exascale-class computing 

8 facility, the Secretary shall transmit a plan to 

9 the Congress detailing— 

10 ‘‘(i) the proposed facility’s cost projec11 tions and capabilities to significantly accel12 erate the development of new energy tech13 nologies; 

14 ‘‘(ii) technical risks and challenges 

15 that must be overcome to achieve success16 ful completion and operation of the facility; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(iii) an independent assessment of 

19 the scientific and technological advances 

20 expected from such a facility relative to 

21 those expected from a comparable invest22 ment in expanded research and applica23 tions at terascale-class and petascale-class 

24 computing facilities, including an evalua25 tion of where investments should be made 


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1 in the system software and algorithms to 

2 enable these advances.’’. 

3 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Department of 

4 Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 

5 (15 U.S.C. 5541) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 

6 through (5) and inserting the following: 

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

8 the joint development of application algorithms, 

9 models, and codes with computer technology archi10 tectures and operating systems to maximize effective 

11 use of high-end computing systems. 

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

13 means the Department of Energy. 

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

15 computing system performance at or near 10 to the 

16 18th power floating point operations per second. 

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

18 term ‘high-end computing system’ means a com19 puting system with performance that substantially 

20 exceeds that of systems that are commonly available 

21 for advanced scientific and engineering applications. 

22 ‘‘(5) 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 ‘‘(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

4 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 

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

7 ‘‘(7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na8 tional Laboratory’ has the meaning given the term 

9 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 15801). 

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

12 the Secretary of Energy. 

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

14 ‘software technology’ includes optimal algorithms, 

15 programming environments, tools, languages, and 

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

17 SEC. 607. FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH. 

18 (a) PROGRAM.—As part of the activities authorized 

19 under section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza20 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) and section 972 of the Energy 

21 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16312), the Director shall 

22 carry out a fusion energy sciences research and enabling 

23 technology development program to effectively address the 

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1 tive fusion power industry in the United States. As part 

2 of this program, the Director shall carry out research ac3 tivities to expand the fundamental understandings of plas4 mas and matter at very high temperatures and densities 

5 for fusion applications and for other plasma science appli6 cations. 

7 (b) TOKAMAK RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program de9 scribed in subsection (a), the Director shall support 

10 research and development activities and facility oper11 ations to— 

12 (A) optimize the tokamak approach to fu13 sion energy; and 

14 (B) determine the viability of the tokamak 

15 approach to fusion energy to lead to a commer16 cial fusion power plant. 

17 (2) ITER.— 

18 (A) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director 

19 shall coordinate and carry out the responsibil20 ities of the United States with respect to the 

21 ITER international fusion project pursuant to 

22 the Agreement on the Establishment of the 

23 International Fusion Energy Organization for 

24 the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project. 


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1 (B) 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 (C) 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 (D) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

23 of Congress that the United States should sup24 port a robust, diverse program in addition to 

25 meeting its commitments to ITER. It is further 


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1 the sense of Congress that developing the sci2 entific basis for fusion, providing research re3 sults key to the success of ITER, and training 

4 the next generation of fusion scientists are of 

5 critical importance to the United States and 

6 should in no way be diminished by participation 

7 of the United States in the ITER project. 

8 (c) INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH AND DE9 VELOPMENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

10 program of research and technology development in iner11 tial fusion for energy applications, including ion beam, 

12 laser, and pulsed power fusion systems. 

13 (d) ALTERNATIVE AND ENABLING CONCEPTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program de15 scribed in subsection (a), the Director shall support 

16 research and development activities and facility oper17 ations at United States universities, national labora18 tories, and private facilities for a portfolio of alter19 native and enabling fusion energy concepts that may 

20 provide solutions to significant challenges to the es21 tablishment of a commercial magnetic fusion power 

22 plant, prioritized based on the ability of the United 

23 States to play a leadership role in the international 

24 fusion research community. Fusion energy concepts 


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1 and activities explored under this paragraph may in2 clude— 

3 (A) high magnetic field approaches facili4 tated by high temperature superconductors; 

5 (B) advanced stellarator concepts; 

6 (C) non-tokamak confinement configura7 tions operating at low magnetic fields; 

8 (D) magnetized target fusion energy con9 cepts; 

10 (E) liquid metals to address issues associ11 ated with fusion plasma interactions with the 

12 inner wall of the encasing device; 

13 (F) immersion blankets for heat manage14 ment and fuel breeding; 

15 (G) advanced scientific computing activi16 ties: and 

17 (H) other promising fusion energy con18 cepts identified by the Director. 

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

20 Secretary and the Director shall coordinate with the 

21 Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency– 

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

23 E’’) to— 

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1 resent a promising approach to a commercially 

2 viable fusion power plant; 

3 (B) determine whether the results of any 

4 fusion energy project supported by ARPA–E 

5 merit the support of follow-on research activi6 ties carried out by the Office of Science; and 

7 (C) avoid unintentional duplication of ac8 tivities. 

9 (e) FUSION MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP10 MENT.—As part of the activities authorized in section 978 

11 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16318), the 

12 Director, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for 

13 Nuclear Energy of the Department, shall carry out re14 search and development activities to identify, characterize, 

15 and create materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, 

16 and heat fluxes expected in a commercial fusion power 

17 plant. As part of the activities authorized under subsection 

18 (g), the Secretary shall— 

19 (1) provide an assessment of the need for a fa20 cility or facilities that can examine and test potential 

21 fusion and next generation fission reactor materials 

22 and other enabling technologies relevant to the de23 velopment of commercial fusion power plants; and 

24 (2) provide an assessment of whether a single 

25 new facility that substantially addresses magnetic 


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1 fusion, inertial fusion, and next generation fission 

2 materials research needs is feasible, in conjunction 

3 with the expected capabilities of facilities operational 

4 at the time of this assessment. 

5 (f) GENERAL PLASMA SCIENCE AND APPLICA6 TIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide to Congress 

8 an assessment of opportunities in which the United States 

9 can provide world-leading contributions to advancing plas10 ma science and non-fusion energy applications, and iden11 tify opportunities for partnering with other Federal agen12 cies both within and outside of the Department of Energy. 

13 (g) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITIES.— 

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

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

16 transmit to Congress a report on the Department’s 

17 proposed fusion energy research and development 

18 activities over the following 10 years under at least 

19 3 realistic budget scenarios, including a scenario 

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

21 portion of the budget for fusion energy research and 

22 development activities. The report shall— 

23 (A) identify specific areas of fusion energy 

24 research and enabling technology development 

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1 tablish or solidify a lead in the global fusion en2 ergy development effort; 

3 (B) identify priorities for initiation of facil4 ity construction and facility decommissioning 

5 under each of those scenarios; 

6 (C) provide a roadmap addressing critical 

7 scientific challenges to ensure that within 10 

8 years after the date of enactment of this Act 

9 there is sufficient basis to justify and motivate 

10 the initiation of an applied fusion energy devel11 opment program; and 

12 (D) assess the ability of the United States 

13 fusion workforce to carry out the activities iden14 tified in subparagraphs (A) through (C), includ15 ing the adequacy of college and university pro16 grams to train the leaders and workers of the 

17 next generation of fusion energy researchers. 

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

19 required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall le20 verage best practices and lessons learned from the 

21 process used to develop the most recent report of the 

22 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel of the 

23 High Energy Physics Advisory Panel. No member of 

24 the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 

25 shall be excluded from participating in developing or 


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1 voting on final approval of the report required under 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 SEC. 608. HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities author5 ized under section 209 of the Department of Energy Orga6 nization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), the Director shall carry 

7 out a research program on the elementary constituents of 

8 matter and energy and the nature of space and time. 

9 (b) ENERGY FRONTIER RESEARCH.—As part of the 

10 program described in subsection (a), the Director shall 

11 carry out research using high energy accelerators and ad12 vanced detectors to create and study interactions of novel 

13 particles and investigate fundamental forces. 

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

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

16 research activities on rare decay processes and the nature 

17 of the neutrino, which may include collaborations with the 

18 National Science Foundation or international collabora19 tions on relevant research projects. 

20 (d) DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER RE21 SEARCH.—As part of the program described in subsection 

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

23 nature of dark energy and dark matter. These activities 

24 shall be consistent with the research priorities identified 


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1 by the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel or the Na2 tional Academy of Sciences, and may include— 

3 (1) collaborations with the National Aeronautics 

4 and Space Administration, the National Science 

5 Foundation, or international collaborations on rel6 evant research projects; and 

7 (2) the development of space-based, land-based, 

8 and underground facilities and experiments. 

9 (e) FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND MAJOR ITEMS OF

10 EQUIPMENT.—Consistent with the Office of Science’s 

11 project management practices, the Director shall support 

12 construction or fabrication of— 

13 (1) an international Long-Baseline Neutrino 

14 Facility based in the United States; 

15 (2) the Muon to Electron Conversion Experi16 ment; 

17 (3) Second Generation Dark Matter experi18 ments; 

19 (4) the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument; 

20 (5) the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope cam21 era; 

22 (6) upgrades to components of the Large 

23 Hadron Collider; and 

24 (7) other high priority projects recommended in 

25 the most recent report of the Particle Physics 


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1 Project Prioritization Panel of the High Energy 

2 Physics Advisory Panel. 

3 (f) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

4 As part of the program described in subsection (a), the 

5 Director shall carry out research and development in ad6 vanced accelerator concepts and technologies, including 

7 laser technologies, to reduce the necessary scope and cost 

8 for the next generation of particle accelerators, in coordi9 nation with the Office of Science’s Basic Energy Sciences 

10 and Nuclear Physics programs. 

11 (g) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Direc12 tor, as practicable and in coordination with other appro13 priate Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the ac14 cess of United States researchers to the most advanced 

15 accelerator facilities and research capabilities in the world, 

16 including the Large Hadron Collider. 

17 SEC. 609. NUCLEAR PHYSICS PROGRAM. 

18 (a) PROGRAM.—As part of the activities authorized 

19 under section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza20 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), the Director shall carry out 

21 a research program, and support relevant facilities, to dis22 cover and understand various forms of nuclear matter. 

23 (b) FACILITY CONSTRUCTION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the Office of 

25 Science’s project management practices, the Director 


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1 shall continue to support the construction of the Fa2 cility for Rare Isotope Beams. 

3 (2) REPEAL.—Section 981 of the Energy Policy 

4 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16321) is repealed. 

5 (c) ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR

6 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS.— 

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

8 a program for the production of isotopes that the 

9 Director determines are needed for research and ap10 plications, including— 

11 (A) the development of techniques to 

12 produce isotopes; and 

13 (B) support for infrastructure required for 

14 isotope research and production. 

15 (2) COORDINATION.—In making the determina16 tion described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 (A) ensure that isotope production activi19 ties do not compete with private industry unless 

20 critical national interests necessitate the Fed21 eral Government’s involvement; and 

22 (B) consider any relevant recommendations 

23 made by Federal advisory committees, the Na24 tional Academies, and interagency working 

25 groups in which the Department participates. 


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1 SEC. 610. 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 (c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘Office of Science lab25 oratory’’ means a subset of National Laboratories as de26 fined in section 2(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 15801) consisting of subparagraphs (A), (B), 

2 (C), (D), (F), (K), (L), (M), (P), and (Q). 

3 SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary for the activities of the Office of Science— 

6 (1) $5,339,794,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

7 (2) $5,606,783,700 for fiscal year 2017; 

8 (3) $5,887,122,885 for fiscal year 2018; 

9 (4) $6,181,479,029 for fiscal year 2019; and 

10 (5) $6,490,552,981 for fiscal year 2020. 

11 Subtitle B—ARPA–E 

12 SEC. 621. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘ARPA–E Reau14 thorization Act of 2015’’. 

15 SEC. 622. ARPA–E AMENDMENTS. 

16 Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 16538) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub19 section (o) and inserting after subsection (m) the 

20 following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(n) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA22 TION.—The following categories of information collected 

23 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy from 

24 recipients of financial assistance awards shall be consid25 ered privileged and confidential and not subject to discloVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00207 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 sure pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States 

2 Code: 

3 ‘‘(1) Plans for commercialization of technologies 

4 developed under the award, including business plans, 

5 technology to market plans, market studies, and cost 

6 and performance models. 

7 ‘‘(2) Investments provided to an awardee from 

8 third parties, such as venture capital, hedge fund, or 

9 private equity firms, including amounts and percent10 age of ownership of the awardee provided in return 

11 for such investments. 

12 ‘‘(3) Additional financial support that the 

13 awardee plans to invest or has invested into the 

14 technology developed under the award, or that the 

15 awardee is seeking from third parties. 

16 ‘‘(4) Revenue from the licensing or sale of new 

17 products or services resulting from the research con18 ducted under the award.’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (2) of subsection (o), as so re20 designated by paragraph (1) of this section, by— 

21 (A) striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara22 graph (D); 

23 (B) striking the period at the end of sub24 paragraph (E) and inserting a semicolon; and 

25 (C) adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(F) $325,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

2 ‘‘(G) $341,250,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

3 ‘‘(H) $358,312,500 for fiscal year 2018; 

4 ‘‘(I) $376,228,125 for fiscal year 2019; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(J) $395,039,531 for fiscal year 2020.’’. 

7 Subtitle C—Energy Innovation 

8 SEC. 641. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 

11 shall carry out a program to enhance the Nation’s 

12 economic, environmental, and energy security by 

13 making awards to consortia for establishing and op14 erating Energy Innovation Hubs to conduct and 

15 support, whenever practicable at one centralized lo16 cation, multidisciplinary, collaborative research, de17 velopment, demonstration, and commercial applica18 tion of advanced energy technologies. 

19 (2) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

20 Secretary shall designate for each Hub a unique ad21 vanced energy technology focus. 

22 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en23 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du24 plication of, the activities of Hubs with those of 

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1 cluding the National Laboratories, the Advanced Re2 search Projects Agency-Energy, Energy Frontier Re3 search Centers, and within industry. 

4 (b) CONSORTIA.— 

5 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 

6 award under this section for the establishment and 

7 operation of a Hub, a consortium shall— 

8 (A) be composed of no fewer than 2 quali9 fying entities; and 

10 (B) operate subject to an agreement en11 tered into by its members that documents— 

12 (i) the proposed partnership agree13 ment, including the governance and man14 agement structure of the Hub; 

15 (ii) measures to enable cost-effective 

16 implementation of the program under this 

17 section; 

18 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi19 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

20 sources; 

21 (iv) a plan for managing intellectual 

22 property rights; and 

23 (v) an accounting structure that en24 ables the Secretary to ensure that the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00210 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 sortium has complied with the require2 ments of this section. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—A consortium seeking to es4 tablish and operate a Hub under this section, acting 

5 through a prime applicant, shall transmit to the Sec6 retary an application at such time, in such form, 

7 and accompanied by such information as the Sec8 retary shall require, including a detailed description 

9 of the elements of the consortium agreement re10 quired under paragraph (1)(B). If the consortium 

11 members will not be located at one centralized loca12 tion, such application shall include a communica13 tions plan that ensures close coordination and inte14 gration of the Hub’s activities. 

15 (c) SELECTION AND SCHEDULE.—The Secretary 

16 shall select consortia for awards for the establishment and 

17 operation of Hubs through competitive selection processes. 

18 In selecting consortia, the Secretary shall consider the in19 formation a consortium must disclose according to sub20 section (b), as well as any existing facilities a consortium 

21 will provide for Hub activities. Awards made to a Hub 

22 shall be for a period not to exceed 5 years, after which 

23 the award may be renewed, subject to a rigorous merit 

24 review. A Hub already in existence on the date of enact25 ment of this Act may continue to receive support for a 


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1 period of 5 years beginning on the date of establishment 

2 of that Hub. 

3 (d) HUB OPERATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Hub shall conduct or 

5 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 

6 development, demonstration, and, where appropriate, 

7 commercial application of advanced energy tech8 nologies within the technology development focus 

9 designated under subsection (a)(2). Each Hub 

10 shall— 

11 (A) encourage collaboration and commu12 nication among the member qualifying entities 

13 of the consortium and awardees by conducting 

14 activities whenever practicable at one central15 ized location; 

16 (B) develop and publish on the Depart17 ment of Energy’s website proposed plans and 

18 programs; 

19 (C) submit an annual report to the Sec20 retary summarizing the Hub’s activities, includ21 ing detailing organizational expenditures, and 

22 describing each project undertaken by the Hub; 

23 and 

24 (D) monitor project implementation and 

25 coordination. 


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1 (2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

2 (A) PROCEDURES.—Hubs shall maintain 

3 conflict of interest procedures, consistent with 

4 those of the Department of Energy, to ensure 

5 that employees and consortia designees for Hub 

6 activities who are in decisionmaking capacities 

7 disclose all material conflicts of interest. 

8 (B) DISQUALIFICATION AND REVOCA9 TION.—The Secretary may disqualify an appli10 cation or revoke funds distributed to a Hub if 

11 the Secretary discovers a failure to comply with 

12 conflict of interest procedures established under 

13 subparagraph (A). 

14 (3) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—No funds provided pur16 suant to this section may be used for construc17 tion of new buildings or facilities for Hubs. 

18 Construction of new buildings or facilities shall 

19 not be considered as part of the non-Federal 

20 share of a Hub cost-sharing agreement. 

21 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP22 TION.—Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 

23 the use of funds provided pursuant to this sec24 tion, or non-Federal cost share funds, for re25 search or for the construction of a test bed or 


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1 renovations to existing buildings or facilities for 

2 the purposes of research if the Secretary deter3 mines that the test bed or renovations are lim4 ited to a scope and scale necessary for the re5 search to be conducted. 

6 (e) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the existing au7 thorities of the Department, the Secretary may terminate 

8 an underperforming Hub for cause during the perform9 ance period. 

10 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

11 (1) ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The 

12 term ‘‘advanced energy technology’’ means— 

13 (A) an innovative technology— 

14 (i) that produces energy from solar, 

15 wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, 

16 ocean, or other renewable energy resources; 

17 (ii) that produces nuclear energy; 

18 (iii) for carbon capture and sequestra19 tion; 

20 (iv) that enables advanced vehicles, 

21 vehicle components, and related tech22 nologies that result in significant energy 

23 savings; 

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1 ciently than conventional technologies, in2 cluding through Smart Grid technologies; 

3 or 

4 (vi) that enhances the energy inde5 pendence and security of the United States 

6 by enabling improved or expanded supply 

7 and production of domestic energy re8 sources, including coal, oil, and natural 

9 gas; 

10 (B) research, development, demonstration, 

11 and commercial application activities necessary 

12 to ensure the long-term, secure, and sustainable 

13 supply of energy critical elements; or 

14 (C) another innovative energy technology 

15 area identified by the Secretary. 

16 (2) ENERGY CRITICAL ELEMENT.—The term 

17 ‘‘energy critical element’’ means any of a class of 

18 chemical elements that have a high risk of a supply 

19 disruption and are critical to one or more new, en20 ergy-related technologies such that a shortage of 

21 such element would significantly inhibit large-scale 

22 deployment of technologies that produce, transmit, 

23 store, or conserve energy. 

24 (3) HUB.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ means an Energy 

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1 ance with this section, including any Energy Innova2 tion Hub existing as of the date of enactment of this 

3 Act. 

4 (4) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali5 fying entity’’ means— 

6 (A) an institution of higher education; 

7 (B) an appropriate State or Federal entity, 

8 including the Department of Energy Federally 

9 Funded Research and Development Centers; 

10 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 

11 expertise in advanced energy technology re12 search, development, demonstration, or com13 mercial application; or 

14 (D) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

15 considers appropriate. 

16 SEC. 642. PARTICIPATION IN THE INNOVATION CORPS PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

19 enter into an agreement with the Director of the National 

20 Science Foundation to enable researchers funded by the 

21 Department of Energy to participate in the Innovation 

22 Corps program authorized by section 307. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Energy may 

24 also establish a Department of Energy Innovation Corps 

25 program, modeled after the National Science Foundation 


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1 Innovation Corps program, to incorporate experts from 

2 the Department of Energy National Laboratories in the 

3 training curriculum of the program. 

4 SEC. 643. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. 

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

6 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec7 retary of Energy shall transmit to the Committee on 

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

10 Resources of the Senate a report 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 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Section 1001 of the Energy Pol23 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘for commer25 cial purposes’’ and inserting ‘‘of any sort for comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00217 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 mercial purposes, including energy technologies not 

2 currently supported by the Department of Energy’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

4 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol6 lowing new subsections: 

7 ‘‘(f) AGREEMENTS FOR COMMERCIALIZING TECH8 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

10 out the Agreements for Commercializing Technology 

11 pilot program of the Department, as announced by 

12 the Secretary on December 8, 2011, in accordance 

13 with this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—Each agreement entered into 

15 pursuant to the pilot program referred to in para16 graph (1) shall provide to the contractor of the ap17 plicable National Laboratory, to the maximum ex18 tent determined to be appropriate by the Secretary, 

19 increased authority to negotiate contract terms, such 

20 as intellectual property rights, payment structures, 

21 performance guarantees, and multiparty collabora22 tions. 

23 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any director of a Na25 tional Laboratory may enter into an agreement 


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1 pursuant to the pilot program referred to in 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(B) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FEDERAL

4 ENTITIES.—To carry out subparagraph (A) and 

5 subject to subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall 

6 permit the directors of the National Labora7 tories to execute agreements with a non-Federal 

8 entity, including a non-Federal entity already 

9 receiving Federal funding that will be used to 

10 support activities under agreements executed 

11 pursuant to subparagraph (A), provided that 

12 such funding is solely used to carry out the pur13 poses of the Federal award. 

14 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTION.—The requirements of 

15 chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code 

16 (commonly known as the ‘Bayh-Dole Act’) shall 

17 apply if— 

18 ‘‘(i) the agreement is a funding agree19 ment (as that term is defined in section 

20 201 of that title); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) at least 1 of the parties to the 

22 funding agreement is eligible to receive 

23 rights under that chapter. 

24 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—Each af25 fected director of a National Laboratory shall subVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00219 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 mit to the Secretary, with respect to each agreement 

2 entered into under this subsection— 

3 ‘‘(A) a summary of information relating to 

4 the relevant project; 

5 ‘‘(B) the total estimated costs of the 

6 project; 

7 ‘‘(C) estimated commencement and com8 pletion dates of the project; and 

9 ‘‘(D) other documentation determined to 

10 be appropriate by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(5) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall re12 quire the contractor of the affected National Labora13 tory to certify that each activity carried out under 

14 a project for which an agreement is entered into 

15 under this subsection— 

16 ‘‘(A) is not in direct competition with the 

17 private sector; and 

18 ‘‘(B) does not present, or minimizes, any 

19 apparent conflict of interest, and avoids or neu20 tralizes any actual conflict of interest, as a re21 sult of the agreement under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(6) EXTENSION.—The pilot program referred 

23 to in paragraph (1) shall be extended until October 

24 31, 2017. 

25 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) OVERALL ASSESSMENT.—Not later 

2 than 60 days after the date described in para3 graph (6), the Secretary, in coordination with 

4 directors of the National Laboratories, shall 

5 submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

6 and Technology of the House of Representa7 tives and the Committee on Energy and Nat8 ural Resources of the Senate a report that— 

9 ‘‘(i) assesses the overall effectiveness 

10 of the pilot program referred to in para11 graph (1); 

12 ‘‘(ii) identifies opportunities to im13 prove the effectiveness of the pilot pro14 gram; 

15 ‘‘(iii) assesses the potential for pro16 gram activities to interfere with the re17 sponsibilities of the National Laboratories 

18 to the Department; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) provides a recommendation re20 garding the future of the pilot program. 

21 ‘‘(B) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, in 

22 coordination with directors of the National Lab23 oratories, shall submit to the Committee on 

24 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

25 Representatives and the Committee on Energy 


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1 and Natural Resources of the Senate an annual 

2 report that accounts for all incidences of, and 

3 provides a justification for, non-Federal entities 

4 using funds derived from a Federal contract or 

5 award to carry out agreements pursuant to this 

6 subsection. 

7 ‘‘(g) INCLUSION OF TECHNOLOGY MATURATION IN

8 AUTHORIZED TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ACTIVITIES.—The 

9 Secretary shall permit the directors of the National Lab10 oratories to use funds authorized to support technology 

11 transfer, following the standard practices of the Depart12 ment, to carry out technology maturation activities to 

13 identify and improve potential commercial application op14 portunities and demonstrate applications of research and 

15 technologies arising from National Laboratory activities.’’. 

16 (c) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FOR TECHNOLOGY

17 TRANSFER AGREEMENTS.— 

18 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Energy 

19 shall delegate to directors of the National Labora20 tories signature authority for any technology trans21 fer agreement with a total cost of not more than 

22 $500,000, including both National Laboratory con23 tributions and the project recipient cost share con24 tribution, if such an agreement falls within the scope 


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1 of a strategic plan for the National Laboratory that 

2 has been approved by the Department. 

3 (2) AGREEMENTS INCLUDED.—The agreements 

4 to which this subsection applies include— 

5 (A) Cooperative Research and Develop6 ment Agreements; and 

7 (B) non-Federal Work for Others Agree8 ments. 

9 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.— 

10 (A) Not later than 7 days after the date on 

11 which the director of a National Laboratory en12 ters into an agreement under this subsection, 

13 such director shall submit to the Secretary of 

14 Energy for monitoring and review all records of 

15 the National Laboratory relating to the agree16 ment. 

17 (B) Not later than 30 days after the date 

18 on which the director of a specific National 

19 Laboratory enters into an agreement under this 

20 subsection, the Secretary may terminate the 

21 agreement and the authority of any director of 

22 such National Laboratory to enter into agree23 ments under this subsection if— 

24 (i) all records of the National Labora25 tory relating to the agreement have not 


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1 been transmitted to the Secretary in ac2 cordance with subparagraph (A); or 

3 (ii) the Secretary determines that this 

4 agreement is inconsistent with the mission 

5 of the Department. 

6 (4) LIMITATION.—This subsection does not 

7 apply to any agreement with a majority foreign8 owned company. 

9 (5) SUNSET.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall 

11 apply only during the 4-year period beginning 

12 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (B) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than the 

14 date that is 180 days prior to the last day of 

15 the period described in subparagraph (A), the 

16 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

17 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

18 Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

19 and Natural Resources of the Senate an assess20 ment of the effectiveness of the authority pro21 vided to the directors of the National Labora22 tories under this subsection to accelerate the 

23 development of new technologies, and an assess24 ment of any incidences of potential misuse of 

25 this authority in the opinion of the Secretary. 


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1 SEC. 644. 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. 645. UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE AND ENERGY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(b) of the Department 

3 of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7132(b)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Under Secretary for Science’’ 

6 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Under Sec7 retary for Science and Energy’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

12 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

13 and 

14 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(H) establish appropriate linkages be17 tween offices under the jurisdiction of the 

18 Under Secretary; and 

19 ‘‘(I) perform such functions and duties as 

20 the Secretary shall prescribe, consistent with 

21 this section.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) Section 3164(b)(1) of the Department of 

24 Energy Science Education Enhancement Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 7381a(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Under 


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1 Secretary for Science’’ and inserting ‘‘Under Sec2 retary for Science and Energy’’. 

3 (2) Section 641(h)(2) of the United States En4 ergy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 (42 

5 U.S.C. 17231(h)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘Under 

6 Secretary for Science’’ and inserting ‘‘Under Sec7 retary for Science and Energy’’. 

8 SEC. 646. SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY FOR SCIENTIFIC, 

9 ENGINEERING, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

10 PERSONNEL. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall have 

12 the authority to— 

13 (1) make appointments of scientific, engineer14 ing, and professional personnel, without regard to 

15 civil service laws, to assist the Department in meet16 ing specific project or research needs; 

17 (2) fix the basic pay of any employee appointed 

18 under this section at a rate to be determined by the 

19 Under Secretary at rates not in excess of the Execu20 tive Schedule (EX–II) without regard to the civil 

21 service laws; and 

22 (3) pay any employee appointed under this sec23 tion payments in addition to basic pay, except that 

24 the total amount of additional payments paid to an 

25 employee under this subsection for any 12-month peVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Apr 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00227 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1898.IH H1898

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1 riod shall not exceed the least of the following 

2 amounts: 

3 (A) $25,000. 

4 (B) The amount equal to 25 percent of the 

5 annual rate of basic pay of that employee. 

6 (C) The amount of the limitation that is 

7 applicable for a calendar year under section 

8 5307(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (b) TERM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of any employee 

11 appointed under this section shall not exceed 3 

12 years. 

13 (2) TERMINATION.—The Under Secretary shall 

14 have the authority to terminate any employee ap15 pointed under this section at any time based on per16 formance or changing project or research needs of 

17 the Department. 

Æ 


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