IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2397 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2019 

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

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

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

the Manufacturing USA Network, 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, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

HR 2397 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Manufac3 turing Leadership Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. CHANGES IN IMPLEMENTATION OF MANUFAC5 TURING USA. 

6 Section 34 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

8 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘NET9 WORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘MANUFACTURING USA NETWORK’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘centers for manufacturing in12 novation’’ each place it appears in subsections 

13 (a)(3)(B), (b)(1), (d), (g), and (i) and inserting 

14 ‘‘Manufacturing USA institutes’’; 

15 (3) by striking ‘‘center for manufacturing inno16 vation’’ each place it appears in subsections (d)(1), 

17 (d)(4)(E), (g), and (h)(1) and inserting ‘‘Manufac18 turing USA institute’’; 

19 (4) by striking ‘‘center’’ each place it appears 

20 in subsection (d)(2), (d)(4)(E), and (d)(5) and in21 serting ‘‘Manufacturing USA institute’’; 

22 (5) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

25 PROGRAM’’ and inserting ‘‘MANUFACTURING

26 USA PROGRAM’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

HR 2397 RFS

1 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘ ‘Net2 work for Manufacturing Innovation Program’ ’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘ ‘Manufacturing USA Pro4 gram’ ’’; 

5 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

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

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

9 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

10 and’’; and 

11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(I) to contribute to the development of re14 gional manufacturing innovation clusters across 

15 the Nation.’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘Net17 work for Manufacturing Innovation’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘Manufacturing USA Network’’; 

19 (6) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

21 ‘‘NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVA22 TION’’ and inserting ‘‘MANUFACTURING USA 

23 NETWORK’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

HR 2397 RFS

1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘ ‘Net2 work for Manufacturing Innovation’ ’’ and in3 serting ‘‘ ‘Manufacturing USA Network’ ’’; 

4 (7) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVA7 TION’’ and inserting ‘‘MANUFACTURING USA 

8 INSTITUTES’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) in the matter preceding subpara11 graph (A), by striking ‘‘ ‘center for manu12 facturing innovation’ is a center’’ and in13 serting ‘‘ ‘Manufacturing USA institute’ is 

14 an institute’’; 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ each place 

16 it appears in subparagraph (C) and (D) 

17 and inserting ‘‘agency head’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘center for manu21 facturing innovation’’ and inserting ‘‘Man22 ufacturing USA institute’’; 

23 (ii) by striking subparagraph (E); 

24 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

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


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

HR 2397 RFS

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

2 margins of such clauses (as so redesig3 nated) two ems to the right; 

4 (iv) in the matter preceding clause (i) 

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

6 of a Manufacturing USA institute may in7 clude’’ and inserting the following: 

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

9 a Manufacturing USA institute shall include’’; 

10 (v) in clause (i), as so redesignated, 

11 by striking ‘‘cost, time, and risk’’ and in12 serting ‘‘cost, time, or risk’’; 

13 (vi) in clause (ii), as so redesignated, 

14 by inserting before the period at the end 

15 the following: ‘‘addressing workforce needs 

16 through training and education programs 

17 at all appropriate education levels, includ18 ing programs on applied engineering’’; 

19 (vii) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

20 by inserting before the period at the end 

21 the following: ‘‘, as appropriate’’; 

22 (viii) in clause (iv), as so redesig23 nated, by striking ‘‘women and minority 

24 owned’’ and inserting ‘‘women, minority, 

25 and veteran owned’’ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

HR 2397 RFS

1 (ix) by inserting after clause (iv) (as 

2 so redesignated) the following: 

3 ‘‘(v) Development of roadmaps or 

4 leveraging of existing roadmaps with re5 spect to technology areas being pursued by 

6 that Manufacturing USA institute that 

7 take into account the research and develop8 ment undertaken at other Manufacturing 

9 USA institutes and Federal agencies with 

10 respect to such areas.’’; and 

11 (x) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Activities 

13 of a Manufacturing USA institute may include 

14 such other activities as the agency head, in con15 sultation with Federal departments and agen16 cies 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 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘centers for manufacturing innovation’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘Manufacturing USA insti24 tutes’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

HR 2397 RFS

1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘center for manufacturing innovation’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘Manufacturing USA institute’’; 

4 and 

5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—Effective beginning 

8 on the date of the enactment of the American 

9 Manufacturing Leadership Act, an institute 

10 shall be subject to subsections (a)(2), (c), and 

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

12 as such provisions apply to a Manufacturing 

13 USA institute established pursuant to this sec14 tion if such institute— 

15 ‘‘(i)(I) is, as of such date of enact16 ment, considered a Manufacturing USA in17 stitute under subparagraph (A) or recog18 nized as a Manufacturing USA institute 

19 under subparagraph (B); and 

20 ‘‘(II) as of such date of enactment, re21 ceives Federal financial assistance under 

22 subsection (d) or otherwise consistent with 

23 the purposes of this section; or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

HR 2397 RFS

1 ‘‘(ii) is under pending agency review 

2 for such recognition as of such date of en3 actment.’’; 

4 (8) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘agency head’’; and 

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

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

10 after ‘‘financial assistance’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec12 retary’’ each place it appears and inserting 

13 ‘‘agency head’’; 

14 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 

15 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

16 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

17 read as follows: 

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

19 awarding financial assistance under paragraph 

20 (1), the agency head shall— 

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

22 process that includes peer review by a di23 verse group of individuals with relevant ex24 pertise from both the private and public 

25 sectors; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

HR 2397 RFS

1 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the technology focus 

2 of a Manufacturing USA institute does not 

3 substantially duplicate the technology focus 

4 of any other Manufacturing USA insti5 tute.’’; 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik7 ing ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘agency 

8 head’’; 

9 (iii) by amending subparagraph (C) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(C) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT, 

12 TRANSPARENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—For 

13 each award of financial assistance under para14 graph (1), the agency head shall develop and 

15 implement metrics-based performance standards 

16 to assess the effectiveness of activities funded in 

17 making progress toward the purposes of the 

18 Program, including the effectiveness of Manu19 facturing USA institutes in advancing tech20 nology readiness levels or manufacturing readi21 ness levels.’’; 

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

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

24 through ‘‘collaborate’’ and inserting the 

25 following: ‘‘the agency head, in coordinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2397.RFS H2397

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

HR 2397 RFS

1 tion with the National Program Office, as 

2 appropriate, shall collaborate’’; and 

3 (v) in subparagraph (E)— 

4 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

5 (i), by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and in6 serting ‘‘agency head’’; and 

7 (II) in clause (x), by striking 

8 ‘‘center for manufacturing’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Manufacturing USA insti10 tute’’; and 

11 (E) in paragraph (5)— 

12 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

13 read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) TERM OF AWARD.— 

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

16 (ii), an award made to a Manufacturing 

17 USA institute may be renewed for an addi18 tional period not to exceed the duration of 

19 the original funding award, subject to a 

20 rigorous merit review. In awarding addi21 tional funds, the agency head shall con22 sider the extent to which the institute has 

23 made progress in achieving the purposes 

24 described in subsection (a) and carrying 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

HR 2397 RFS

1 out the activities specified in subsection 

2 (c)(2). 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXISTING INSTITUTES.—Not4 withstanding clause (i), an institute al5 ready in existence or undergoing a renewal 

6 process on the date of enactment of the 

7 American Manufacturing Leadership Act— 

8 ‘‘(I) may continue to receive sup9 port for the duration of the original 

10 funding award beginning on the date 

11 of establishment of that institute; and 

12 ‘‘(II) shall be eligible for renewal 

13 of that funding pursuant to clause 

14 (i).’’; 

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

16 ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears and in17 serting ‘‘agency head’’; and 

18 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

19 (9) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(e) GRANT PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ACTIVI22 TIES FOR MANUFACTURING USA INSTITUTES WITHOUT

23 FEDERAL FUNDING.—The Secretary may award grants 

24 on a competitive basis to Manufacturing USA institutes 

25 that are no longer recognized as such under subsection 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

HR 2397 RFS

1 (c)(3)(C) to carry out workforce development, outreach to 

2 small- and medium-sized manufacturers, and other activi3 ties that— 

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

5 the national interest; and 

6 ‘‘(2) are unlikely to receive private sector finan7 cial support.’’; 

8 (10) in subsection (f)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Net10 work for Manufacturing Innovation Program’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘Manufacturing USA Program’’; 

12 (B) 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 

22 sponsoring Manufacturing USA institutes at 

23 such agencies; 

24 ‘‘(H) to work with sponsoring Federal 

25 agencies to develop and implement networkVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2397.RFS H2397

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

HR 2397 RFS

1 wide performance goals with measurable targets 

2 and timelines; 

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

4 may be implemented by the Manufacturing 

5 USA institutes 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 

10 across Manufacturing USA institutes and fur11 ther enhance collaboration among Manufac12 turing USA institutes in developing and imple13 menting such practices.’’; and 

14 (C) 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 Manufacturing USA insti24 tutes across the entirety of the manufacturing 

25 supply chain; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

HR 2397 RFS

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 

5 assistance, as appropriate, in deploying those 

6 technologies.’’; 

7 (11) in subsection (g)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

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

10 all 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 

14 under subsection (d)(1) and any other in15 stitutes considered to be Manufacturing 

16 USA institutes pursuant to subsection 

17 (c)(3) to annually submit to the appro18 priate agency head a report’’; and 

19 (ii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: ‘‘Each agency head shall submit 

21 such reports to the Secretary.’’; and 

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

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENTS BY GAO.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

HR 2397 RFS

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

2 than once every 3 years, the Comptroller Gen3 eral shall submit to Congress an assessment of 

4 the operation of the Program during the most 

5 recent 3-year period, including an assessment of 

6 the progress made towards achieving the goals 

7 specified in the national strategic plan for ad8 vanced manufacturing required under section 

9 102(b)(7) of the America COMPETES Reau10 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6622(b)(7)). 

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

13 for 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 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

HR 2397 RFS

1 made by the Comptroller General have 

2 been implemented or adopted.’’; 

3 (12) 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 ‘‘(7) COLLABORATIONS WITH OTHER FEDERAL

8 AGENCIES.—The Secretary shall collaborate with 

9 Federal agencies whose missions contribute to, or 

10 are affected by, advanced manufacturing to identify 

11 and leverage existing resources at such Federal 

12 agencies to assist Manufacturing USA institutes in 

13 carrying out the purposes of the program specified 

14 in subsection (a)(2). Such existing resources may in15 clude programs— 

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

17 to labor and apprenticeships; 

18 ‘‘(B) at the Economic Development Ad19 ministration relating to regional innovation, 

20 such as the Regional Innovation Strategies pro21 gram; 

22 ‘‘(C) at the Department of Education re23 lating to workforce development, education, 

24 training, and retraining; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
17 

HR 2397 RFS

1 ‘‘(D) at the Department of Defense relat2 ing to procurement and other authorities of the 

3 Department 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 Edu8 cation program; 

9 ‘‘(G) at the National Aeronautics and 

10 Space Administration relating to procurement, 

11 workforce development, education, training, and 

12 retraining; and 

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

15 the activities of existing Manufacturing USA 

16 institutes.’’; and 

17 (13) 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 any Executive agency (as defined 

21 in section 105 of title 5, United States Code), ex22 cluding the Department of Defense, that is providing 

23 financial assistance for a Manufacturing USA insti24 tute, including the Secretary of Commerce and the 

25 Secretary of Energy. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
18 

HR 2397 RFS

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

2 term ‘regional innovation cluster’ has the meaning 

3 given such term in section 27(f)(1) of the Stevenson4 Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

5 U.S.C. 3722(f)(1)). 

6 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NIST.—There are authorized to be appro8 priated to the Secretary to carry out this section 

9 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

10 2024. 

11 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION.—Of the amount made 

12 available under paragraph (1) the Secretary shall re13 serve not less than $5,000,000 for the National Of14 fice of the Manufacturing USA Program established 

15 under subsection (f). 

16 ‘‘(3) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—For Manufac17 turing USA institutes operated by the Department 

18 of Energy, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 to the Secretary of Energy— 

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

21 2020, 2021, and 2022; and 

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

23 2023 and 2024.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
19 

HR 2397 RFS

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 

7 the 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’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 23, 2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS