IB 

Union Calendar No. 89 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2397 

[Report No. 116–121] 

To amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to make 

changes to the implementation of the network for manufacturing innovation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Ms. STEVENS (for herself, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. REED, Ms. 

JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

JUNE 19, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. RYAN, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CASTEN

of Illinois, Mr. CRIST, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of 

Oklahoma, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. LAMB, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. MORELLE, Mrs. 

DINGELL, Mrs. WAGNER, Mrs. CRAIG, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. SUOZZI, 

and Mrs. LAWRENCE

JUNE 19, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 30, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to make changes to the implementation of 

the network for manufacturing innovation, and for other 

purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Manufac5 turing Leadership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CHANGES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF NETWORK FOR 

7 MANUFACTURING INNOVATION. 

8 Section 34 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Network 

12 for Manufacturing Innovation Program’’ and in13 serting ‘‘Manufacturing USA Program’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

18 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

19 and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(I) to contribute to the development of re23 gional manufacturing innovation clusters across 

24 the Nation.’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Sec2 retary’’ each place it appears in subparagraph 

3 (C) and (D) and inserting ‘‘agency head’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking subparagraph (E); 

6 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

7 (A), (B), (C), and (D) as clauses (i), (ii), 

8 (iii), and (iv), respectively, and moving the 

9 margins of such clauses (as so redesignated) 

10 two ems to the right; 

11 (iii) in the matter preceding clause (i) 

12 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘Activities 

13 of a center for manufacturing innovation 

14 may include’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Activities of 

16 a center for manufacturing innovation shall in17 clude’’; 

18 (iv) in clause (ii), as so redesignated, 

19 by inserting before the period at the end the 

20 following: ‘‘addressing workforce needs 

21 through training and education programs 

22 at all appropriate education levels’’; 

23 (v) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

24 by inserting before the period at the end the 

25 following: ‘‘, as appropriate’’; 


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1 (vi) by inserting after clause (iv) (as so 

2 redesignated) the following: 

3 ‘‘(v) Development of roadmaps with re4 spect to technology areas being pursued by 

5 that center for manufacturing innovation 

6 that take into account the research and de7 velopment undertaken at other centers for 

8 manufacturing innovation and Federal 

9 agencies with respect to such areas.’’; and 

10 (vii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Activities 

13 of a center for manufacturing innovation may 

14 include such other activities as the agency head, 

15 in consultation with Federal departments and 

16 agencies whose missions contribute to, or are af17 fected by, advanced manufacturing, considers 

18 consistent with the purposes described in sub19 section (a)(2).’’; and 

20 (C) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—Effective beginning on 

23 the date of the enactment of the American Manu24 facturing Leadership Act, a manufacturing cen25 ter shall be subject to subsections (a)(2), (c), and 


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1 (d) in the same manner and to the same extent 

2 as such provisions apply to a center for manu3 facturing innovation established pursuant to this 

4 section if such center— 

5 ‘‘(i)(I) is, as of such date of enactment, 

6 considered a center for manufacturing inno7 vation under subparagraph (A) or recog8 nized as a center for manufacturing innova9 tion under subparagraph (B); and 

10 ‘‘(II) as of such date of enactment, re11 ceives Federal financial assistance under 

12 subsection (d) or otherwise consistent with 

13 the purposes of this section; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) is under pending agency review 

15 for such recognition as of such date of en16 actment.’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (d)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘agency head’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘for a period of not 

22 less than 5 and not more than 7 years’’ 

23 after ‘‘financial assistance’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec2 retary’’ each place it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘agency head’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

5 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) COMPETITIVE, MERIT REVIEW.—In 

8 awarding financial assistance under paragraph 

9 (1), the agency head shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) use a competitive, merit review 

11 process that includes peer review by a di12 verse group of individuals with relevant ex13 pertise from both the private and public sec14 tors; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the technology focus of 

16 a center for manufacturing innovation does 

17 not substantially duplicate the technology 

18 focus of any other center for manufacturing 

19 innovation.’’; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik21 ing ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘agency 

22 head’’; 

23 (iii) by amending subparagraph (C) to 

24 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(C) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT, TRANS2 PARENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—For each 

3 award of financial assistance under paragraph 

4 (1), the agency head shall develop and implement 

5 metrics-based performance standards to assess 

6 the effectiveness of activities funded in making 

7 progress toward the purposes of the Program.’’; 

8 (iv) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

9 ‘‘the Secretary shall’’ and all that follows 

10 through ‘‘collaborate’’ and inserting the fol11 lowing: ‘‘agency head, in coordination with 

12 the National Program Office, as appro13 priate, shall collaborate’’; and 

14 (v) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

15 ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘agency head’’; 

16 and 

17 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(A) TERM OF AWARD.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

22 (ii), an award made to a center for manu23 facturing innovation may be renewed for an 

24 additional period not to exceed the duration 

25 of the original funding award, subject to a 


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1 rigorous merit review. In awarding addi2 tional funds, the agency head shall consider 

3 the extent to which the center has made 

4 progress in achieving the purposes described 

5 in subsection (a) and carrying out the ac6 tivities specified in subsection (c)(2). 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXISTING CENTERS.—Notwith8 standing clause (i), a center already in ex9 istence or undergoing a renewal process on 

10 the date of enactment of the American Man11 ufacturing Leadership Act— 

12 ‘‘(I) may continue to receive sup13 port for the duration of the original 

14 funding award beginning on the date 

15 of establishment of that center; and 

16 ‘‘(II) shall be eligible for renewal 

17 of that funding pursuant to clause 

18 (i).’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraphs (B) and (C), by 

20 striking ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears 

21 and inserting ‘‘agency head’’; 

22 (4) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(e) GRANT PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ACTIVI25 TIES FOR CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION


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1 WITHOUT FEDERAL FUNDING.—The Secretary may award 

2 grants on a competitive basis to centers of manufacturing 

3 innovation that are no longer recognized as such under sub4 section (c)(3)(C) to carry out workforce development, out5 reach to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, and other 

6 activities that— 

7 ‘‘(1) are determined by the Secretary to be in the 

8 national interest; and 

9 ‘‘(2) are unlikely to receive private sector finan10 cial support.’’; 

11 (5) in subsection (f)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

16 the period at the end and inserting a semi17 colon; and 

18 (iii) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(G) to work with non-sponsoring Federal 

21 agencies to explore and develop options for spon22 soring centers for manufacturing innovation at 

23 such agencies; 

24 ‘‘(H) to work with sponsoring Federal agen25 cies to develop and implement network-wide perVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jun 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2397.RH H2397

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1 formance goals with measurable targets and 

2 timelines; 

3 ‘‘(I) to help develop pilot programs that 

4 may be implemented by the centers for manufac5 turing innovation to address specific purposes of 

6 the Program, including to accelerate technology 

7 transfer to the private sector; and 

8 ‘‘(J) to identify and disseminate best prac9 tices for workforce education and training across 

10 centers for manufacturing innovation and fur11 ther enhance collaboration among centers for 

12 manufacturing innovation in developing and 

13 implementing such practices.’’; and 

14 (B) by amending paragraph (5) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(5) HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION

17 PARTNERSHIP.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

18 National Program Office incorporates the Hollings 

19 Manufacturing Extension Partnership into Program 

20 planning to ensure— 

21 ‘‘(A) significant outreach to, participation 

22 of, and engagement of small- and medium-sized 

23 manufacturers in centers for manufacturing in24 novation across the entirety of the manufac25 turing supply chain; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) that the results of the Program, in2 cluding technologies developed by the Program, 

3 reach small- and medium-sized manufacturers 

4 and that such entities have access to technical as5 sistance, as appropriate, in deploying those tech6 nologies.’’; 

7 (6) in subsection (g)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and all 

10 that follows through ‘‘report to the Sec11 retary’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘Each 

12 agency head shall require each recipient of 

13 financial assistance from that agency under 

14 subsection (d)(1) and any other manufac15 turing centers considered to be centers for 

16 manufacturing innovation pursuant to sub17 section (c)(3) to annually submit to the ap18 propriate agency head a report’’; and 

19 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘Each agency head shall submit such re21 ports to the Secretary.’’; and 

22 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENTS BY GAO.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ASSESSMENTS.—Not less frequently 

2 than once every 3 years, the Comptroller General 

3 shall submit to Congress an assessment of the op4 eration of the Program during the most recent 3- 

5 year period, including an assessment of the 

6 progress made towards achieving the goals speci7 fied in the national strategic plan for advanced 

8 manufacturing under section 102(b)(7) of the 

9 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

10 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6622(b)(7)). 

11 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each assessment sub12 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall include, for 

13 the period covered by the report— 

14 ‘‘(i) a review of the management, co15 ordination, and industry utility of the Pro16 gram; 

17 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the extent to 

18 which the Program has furthered the pur19 poses described in subsection (a)(2); 

20 ‘‘(iii) such recommendations for legis21 lative and administrative action as the 

22 Comptroller General considers appropriate 

23 to improve the Program; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) an assessment as to whether any 

25 prior recommendations for improvement 


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1 made by the Comptroller General have been 

2 implemented or adopted.’’; 

3 (7) in subsection (h)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub5 section (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (k)’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(6) COLLABORATIONS WITH OTHER FEDERAL

8 AGENCIES.—The Secretary shall collaborate with Fed9 eral agencies whose missions contribute to, or are af10 fected by, advanced manufacturing to identify and le11 verage existing resources at such Federal agencies to 

12 assist centers of manufacturing innovation in car13 rying out the purposes of the program specified in 

14 subsection (a)(2). Such existing resources may include 

15 programs— 

16 ‘‘(A) at the Department of Labor relating to 

17 labor and apprenticeships; 

18 ‘‘(B) at the Economic Development Admin19 istration relating to regional innovation, such as 

20 the Regional Innovation Strategies program; 

21 ‘‘(C) at the Department of Education relat22 ing to workforce development, education, train23 ing, and retraining; 


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1 ‘‘(D) at the Department of Defense relating 

2 to procurement and other authorities of the De3 partment of Defense; 

4 ‘‘(E) at the Food and Drug Administration 

5 relating to biopharmaceutical manufacturing; 

6 ‘‘(F) at the National Science Foundation, 

7 including the Advanced Technological Education 

8 program; 

9 ‘‘(G) at the National Aeronautics and Space 

10 Administration relating to procurement, work11 force development, education, training, and re12 training; and 

13 ‘‘(H) additional programs that the Sec14 retary determines are appropriate to support the 

15 activities of existing centers for manufacturing 

16 innovation.’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘agency head’ 

20 means the head of a Federal agency that is providing 

21 financial assistance for a center of manufacturing in22 novation, including the Secretary of Commerce and 

23 the Secretary of Energy. 

24 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL INNOVATION CLUSTER.—The 

25 term ‘regional innovation cluster’ has the meaning 


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1 given such term in section 27(f)(1) of the Stevenson2 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

3 3722(f)(1)). 

4 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) NIST.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated to the Secretary to carry out this section 

7 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

8 2024. 

9 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION.—Of the amount made avail10 able under paragraph (1) the Secretary shall reserve 

11 not less than $5,000,000 for the National Office of the 

12 Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program es13 tablished under subsection (f). 

14 ‘‘(3) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—For centers of 

15 manufacturing innovation operated by the Depart16 ment of Energy, there are authorized to be appro17 priated to the Secretary of Energy— 

18 ‘‘(A) $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2020, 2021, and 2022; and 

20 ‘‘(B) $84,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2023 and 2024.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. INCREASED EMPHASIS ON REGIONAL INNOVATION 

2 WITHIN AND EXTENSION OF REGIONAL INNO3 VATION PROGRAM. 

4 Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno5 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)(2) by adding at the end the 

7 following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(I) Developing relationships at the local 

9 level to build supply chains and use existing ca10 pabilities of entities operating on that level to 

11 bring economic growth to suburban and rural 

12 areas.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (g)(2) by striking ‘‘2019’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘2024’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 89 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2397 

[Report No. 116–121] 

A BILL 

To amend the National Institute of Standards and 

novation, and for other purposes. mentation of the network for manufacturing inTechnology Act to make changes to the impleJUNE 19, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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