II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3078 

To establish a National Innovation Council, to improve the coordination 

of innovation activities among industries in the United States, for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2008 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mrs. CLINTON) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a National Innovation Council, to improve the 

coordination of innovation activities among industries in 

the United States, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Innovation 

5 and Job Creation Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na2 tional Innovation Council Board appointed under 

3 section 4. 

4 (2) CLIC.—The term ‘‘CLIC’’ means the 

5 CLUSTER Information Center established under 

6 section 6. 

7 (3) CLUSTER INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘CLUS8 TER Initiative’’ means a formally organized effort 

9 to promote cluster growth and competitiveness 

10 through collaborative activities among cluster par11 ticipants. 

12 (4) CLUSTER PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘CLUS13 TER Program’’ means the Competitive Leadership 

14 for the United States Through its Economic Regions 

15 Program established under this Act to create and 

16 sustain a series of initiatives to promote economic 

17 growth in industry groups. 

18 (5) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

19 National Innovation Council established under sec20 tion 3. 

21 (6) INDUSTRY CLUSTER.—The term ‘‘industry 

22 cluster’’ means a geographic concentration of inter23 connected businesses, suppliers, service providers, 

24 and associated institutions in a particular field. 


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1 (7) INDUSTRY RESEARCH COUNCIL.—The term 

2 ‘‘Industry Research Council’’ means an entity that— 

3 (A) is organized for the purpose of advanc4 ing innovation; 

5 (B) is comprised of at least 5 for profit en6 tities; and 

7 (C) contributes not less than the minimum 

8 amount established by the Council toward any 

9 grant awarded by the Council. 

10 (8) INNOVATION.—The term ‘‘innovation’’ 

11 means the achievement of meaningful increases in 

12 productivity through the introduction or diffusion of 

13 a new or improved product, service, process, source 

14 of supply of materials, business structure, business 

15 practice, business model, or methods of production, 

16 delivery, distribution, financing, marketing, pack17 aging, promoting, or pricing. 

18 (9) PRODUCTIVITY.—The term ‘‘productivity’’ 

19 means the measure of the quality or quantity of eco20 nomic output relative to the input required to 

21 produce that output. 

22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INNOVATION COUNCIL. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a coun25 cil in the Executive Office of the President, to be 


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1 known as the ‘‘National Innovation Council’’, which 

2 shall coordinate Federal innovation policy and pro3 vide financial assistance for State and local innova4 tion initiatives. 

5 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Council shall be under the 

6 direction of a Director, who shall be appointed by 

7 the President, with the advice and consent of the 

8 Senate. 

9 (3) STAFF.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, in 

11 accordance with such policies as the Council 

12 shall from time to time prescribe, appoint and 

13 fix the compensation of such personnel as may 

14 be necessary to enable the Council to perform 

15 its duties under this Act. 

16 (B) TEMPORARY STAFF.—The Director 

17 may appoint, for a limited term or on a tem18 porary basis, such professional or technical staff 

19 as the Director determines to be necessary to 

20 carry out specific functions under this Act for 

21 which their expertise is required. 

22 (b) POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

23 (1) POLICY FORMULATION AND ADVOCACY.— 

24 The Council shall be responsible for formulating and 


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1 advocating for the innovation policy of the Federal 

2 Government. 

3 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The Council shall achieve 

4 the goal described in paragraph (1) by— 

5 (A) providing assistance to other Federal 

6 agencies with respect to innovation, upon re7 quest; 

8 (B) assisting the Census Bureau, the Bu9 reau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of 

10 Labor Statistics, other major Federal statistical 

11 agencies, and the National Science Foundation 

12 in developing operational measures of innova13 tion that can be included in new or existing eco14 nomic data sources, and provide funding to 

15 these agencies for this purpose; 

16 (C) providing Federal agencies and compa17 nies with the information they need to promote 

18 innovation and productivity; and 

19 (D) assisting companies with activities 

20 such as— 

21 (i) joint industry-university research 

22 partnerships; 

23 (ii) technology transfer from labora24 tories to businesses; 


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1 (iii) technology-based entrepreneur2 ship; 

3 (iv) industrial modernization through 

4 adoption of best practice technologies and 

5 business practices; and 

6 (v) incumbent worker training. 

7 (3) INNOVATION MEASUREMENT.—The Council 

8 shall create methods of measuring innovation and 

9 productivity. 

10 (4) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—The Council shall 

11 carry out a program of research on innovation and 

12 productivity. 

13 (5) ADVOCACY.—The Council shall recommend 

14 specific measures to improve innovation and produc15 tivity in the United States. 

16 (c) COLLABORATION.—The Council shall collaborate 

17 with, and provide funding to, the Census Bureau, the Bu18 reau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statis19 tics, other major Federal statistical agencies, and the Na20 tional Science Foundation to develop— 

21 (1) measures of productivity in the service sec22 tor; 

23 (2) measures of total factor productivity, re24 flecting capital, materials, energy, and purchased 


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1 services, labor, and other relevant factors as produc2 tive inputs for all industries; 

3 (3) measures of gross product and productivity 

4 for counties and metropolitan areas; and 

5 (4) measures of private rates of return from re6 search and development. 

7 (d) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.—The Council 

8 shall— 

9 (1) collect and analyze data necessary to evalu10 ate the impact on productivity resulting from the 

11 Council’s programs; and 

12 (2) require recipients of funding or other assist13 ance from the Council to provide information nec14 essary to measure improvements in productivity re15 sulting from such funding or assistance. 

16 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Council shall annually 

17 submit to Congress a report, to be known as the National 

18 Innovation Report, which shall set forth— 

19 (1) the current and foreseeable trends in inno20 vation and productivity in the Nation; 

21 (2) a review and analysis of recent domestic 

22 and international developments affecting innovation 

23 and productivity in the Nation; 

24 (3) goals for improved innovation and produc25 tivity in the Nation; 


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1 (4) a program designed to improve innovation 

2 and productivity in the Nation; and 

3 (5) such recommendations for legislation as the 

4 President considers desirable. 

5 SEC. 4. NATIONAL INNOVATION COUNCIL BOARD. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Council shall be under 

7 the direction of the National Innovation Council Board, 

8 which shall be comprised of 11 voting members to be ap9 pointed by the President, with the advice and consent of 

10 the Senate. 

11 (b) APPOINTMENT CRITERIA.— 

12 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each voting member of 

13 the Board— 

14 (A) shall be eminent in the field of busi15 ness, economic development, health care, ap16 plied sciences, engineering, education, or public 

17 affairs; 

18 (B) shall have a record of distinguished 

19 service in his or her field; and 

20 (C) shall have demonstrated knowledge 

21 and appreciation of the value of innovation. 

22 (2) REPRESENTATION.—In making appoint23 ments under this section, the President shall— 


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1 (A) give due regard to equitable represen2 tation of members who are women or who rep3 resent minority groups; 

4 (B) provide representation of the views of 

5 leaders in economic development and innovation 

6 in all areas of the Nation; and 

7 (C) appoint not fewer than— 

8 (i) 1 representative with a background 

9 in manufacturing; 

10 (ii) 1 representative with a back11 ground in the service industry; 

12 (iii) 1 representative of higher edu13 cation; 

14 (iv) 1 representative of State and local 

15 government; 

16 (v) 1 representative of organized 

17 labor; 

18 (vi) 1 representative of the nonprofit 

19 sector; 

20 (vii) 1 representative of economic de21 velopment organizations; 

22 (viii) 1 representative of professional 

23 associations; and 

24 (ix) 1 recognized expert in innovation. 


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1 (3) TERMS.—Voting members of the Board 

2 shall be appointed to 4-year terms. 

3 (4) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Secretary of 

4 Commerce and the Secretary of Labor shall serve as 

5 ex officio members of the Board. 

6 SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF PROGRAMS AND FUNCTIONS. 

7 There shall be transferred to the Council the func8 tions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of— 

9 (1) the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

10 Program of the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology; 

12 (2) the Technology Innovation Program of the 

13 National Institute of Standards and Technology; 

14 (3) the Office of Technology Partnerships of 

15 the National Institute of Standards and Technology; 

16 (4) the Partnerships for Innovation of the Na17 tional Science Foundation; 

18 (5) the Industry-University Cooperative Re19 search Center Program of the National Science 

20 Foundation; 

21 (6) the Engineering Research Center Program 

22 of the National Science Foundation; and 

23 (7) the Workforce Innovation in Regional Eco24 nomic Development of the Department of Labor. 


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1 SEC. 6. CLUSTER INFORMATION CENTER. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

3 the Council the CLUSTER Information Center (referred 

4 to in this section as the ‘‘CLIC’’). 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the CLIC is to pro6 mote the collection, development, and dissemination of 

7 data and analysis on industry clusters throughout the 

8 United States. 

9 (c) DATABASES.—The Director of the Council shall 

10 compile databases for the CLIC from existing Federal 

11 data sets available from— 

12 (1) the Census Bureau; 

13 (2) the Bureau of Economic Analysis; 

14 (3) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 

15 (4) the International Trade Administration; 

16 (5) the Statistics of Income Program of the In17 ternal Revenue Service; 

18 (6) the Office of Patent Resource Administra19 tion in the United States Patent and Trademark Of20 fice; 

21 (7) the National Science Foundation; 

22 (8) the National Innovation Council; 

23 (9) other Federal agencies; and 

24 (10) non-Federal sources, including private 

25 databases, as appropriate. 

26 (d) FUNCTIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The CLIC shall— 

2 (A) support and disseminate research on 

3 the formation and evolution of industry clus4 ters, CLUSTER Initiatives, and cluster pro5 grams; 

6 (B) gather, analyze, and disseminate infor7 mation on the best practices for the develop8 ment of industry clusters, CLUSTER Initia9 tives, and cluster programs in the United States 

10 and in other countries, specifically determining 

11 how productivity, innovation, and competitive 

12 advantage can be maximized through industry 

13 clusters, CLUSTER Initiatives, and cluster 

14 programs; 

15 (C) develop technical assistance guides for 

16 regional cluster analysis and CLUSTER Initia17 tive and initiative program development and op18 erations; and 

19 (D) bring together representatives of in20 dustry clusters, CLUSTER Initiatives, and 

21 cluster programs, experts, and scholars to dis22 seminate developments in cluster analysis, ini23 tiatives, and programs. 


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1 (2) DATA COLLECTION.—The CLIC shall col2 lect and make available data on cluster activity 

3 showing— 

4 (A) breadth, a geographically-specific pic5 ture of the array of clusters in each key indus6 try throughout the United States, with data on 

7 size, specialization, and competitiveness of the 

8 industry clusters in each State, region, and 

9 major metropolitan area; 

10 (B) depth, for each cluster, detailed data 

11 such as regional domestic product contribution, 

12 total jobs and earnings by key occupations, es13 tablishment size, nature of specialization, pat14 ents, Federal research and development spend15 ing, citation patterns, and trade; and 

16 (C) flow, estimates of supply chain product 

17 and service flows within and between industry 

18 clusters. 

19 (3) REPORT.—The CLIC shall— 

20 (A) monitor the extent to which the data 

21 available to it is sufficient for proper analysis of 

22 cluster activity; and 

23 (B) submit a report to Congress that in24 cludes recommendations regarding further au25 thorization for data collection, as necessary. 


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1 (4) LIMITATION.—The CLIC may not collect or 

2 analyze data which would otherwise be in violation 

3 of Federal privacy laws. 

4 (5) DISSEMINATION OF ANALYSES.—Data and 

5 analysis compiled by the CLIC shall be made avail6 able to other Federal agencies, State and local gov7 ernments, and nonprofit and for-profit entities, to 

8 guide investments in industry cluster activities that 

9 will lead to increased productivity, innovation, and 

10 competitive advantage, including— 

11 (A) cluster development; 

12 (B) economic development; 

13 (C) workforce development; 

14 (D) research and development; 

15 (E) business site locations; 

16 (F) analysis of United States competitive17 ness, by industry, industry cluster, and geog18 raphy; and 

19 (G) other appropriate activities. 

20 (e) CLUSTER INITIATIVE AND CLUSTER PROGRAM

21 REGISTRY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The CLIC shall maintain a 

23 publicly available registry of CLUSTER Initiatives 

24 and cluster programs that contain information that 


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1 is useful to the study and analysis of CLUSTER 

2 Initiatives and cluster programs, including— 

3 (A) organizational structure; 

4 (B) membership; 

5 (C) activities; 

6 (D) funding; and 

7 (E) perceived impacts of registered CLUS8 TER Initiatives and Cluster Programs. 

9 (2) INFORMATION COLLECTED.—At the time a 

10 CLUSTER Initiative is registered, the CLIC shall 

11 collect sufficient information to demonstrate that the 

12 CLUSTER Initiative— 

13 (A) is an industry-led effort with not fewer 

14 than 5 member firms and 1 lead organizing en15 tity; 

16 (B) involves not fewer than 3 cluster sup17 port organizations, such workforce boards, com18 munity colleges, universities, and industry asso19 ciations; and 

20 (C) has a strategy to enhance the competi21 tive position of the cluster. 

22 (3) PRIORITY FUNDING.—Registered CLUS23 TER Initiatives and cluster programs shall receive 

24 priority for funding from the Council and the CLIC. 


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1 (4) USE OF INFORMATION.—Information con2 tained in the CLUSTER Initiative and Cluster Pro3 gram Registry shall be made available to other Fed4 eral agencies, State and local governments, and non5 profit and for-profit entities. 

6 (f) OUTSIDE CONTRACTS.—The Director of the 

7 Council may contract out the operation of the CLIC to 

8 an external organization such as another Federal agency, 

9 a university, a nonprofit research entity, or a private com10 pany. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 to carry 

13 out this section. 

14 SEC. 7. GRANT PROGRAMS. 

15 (a) CLUSTER GRANT PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Council shall award 

17 grants to eligible grantees to operate a CLUSTER 

18 Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants 

19 to CLUSTER Initiatives in accordance with the re20 quirements under this subsection. 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE GRANTEES.—A grant may be 

22 awarded under this subsection to— 

23 (A) a State; or 

24 (B) an entity designated by a State or a 

25 group of States, which may be a city, a county, 


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1 another political subdivision of a State, a non2 profit organization, or any other economic de3 velopment organization. 

4 (3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—All entities receiv5 ing grant funds under this subsection shall ensure 

6 that CLUSTER Initiatives supported by such 

7 funds— 

8 (A) are operated in a manner consistent 

9 with the ‘‘best practices’’ established by the 

10 CLUSTER Program; 

11 (B) are industry-led; 

12 (C) are inclusive, seeking any and all orga13 nizations that might find benefit from partici14 pation, including startups, firms not locally 

15 owned, and firms rival to existing members; 

16 (D) encourage broad participation by and 

17 collaboration among all types of participants; 

18 (E) involve key State and local government 

19 actors; and 

20 (F) participate in the CLIC registry and 

21 research activities described in section 6(e). 

22 (4) GRANT TYPES.— 

23 (A) FEASIBILITY STUDY GRANTS.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—A grant in an 

25 amount not to exceed $250,000 shall be 


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1 awarded to eligible grantees for Cluster 

2 Program feasibility studies, planning, and 

3 operations. 

4 (ii) CONDITIONS.—A feasibility study 

5 grant shall be awarded to not fewer than 

6 1 eligible grantee in each State on a 1-time 

7 basis, with no matching funds required. 

8 (B) START UP AND ANNUAL GRANTS.— 

9 (i) START UP GRANT.—A 1-year grant 

10 in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 

11 shall be awarded to not fewer than 1 new 

12 cluster program in each State to support 

13 planning studies, provide technical assist14 ance, and fund start-up activities. 

15 (ii) ANNUAL GRANT.—An annual 

16 grant shall be awarded to not fewer than 

17 1 early-stage cluster programs in each 

18 State to provide technical assistance and 

19 fund operating activities. 

20 (iii) RENEWAL.—Grants awarded 

21 under clause (ii) may be renewed for a 

22 total period not to exceed 5 years (includ23 ing any start up grant). 

24 (iv) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRE25 MENT.— 


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1 (I) INITIAL PERIOD.—During the 

2 first 2 years in which an eligible enti3 ty receives grant funding under this 

4 subparagraph, the eligible entity shall 

5 provide matching funds in an amount 

6 equal to the amount of funds received 

7 under this subparagraph. 

8 (II) SUBSEQUENT PERIOD.—If 

9 the Council determines, in accordance 

10 with criteria established by the 

11 CLUSTER Program, that an eligible 

12 grantee has demonstrated greater ef13 fectiveness than other grant recipients 

14 during the period described in sub15 clause (I), the non-Federal matching 

16 requirement for such eligible grantee 

17 in future years may be reduced. 

18 (C) MATCHING GRANTS FOR CLUSTER INI19 TIATIVES.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—A grant in an 

21 amount of between $1,000,000 and 

22 $15,000,000 may be awarded, on a com23 petitive basis, to Cluster Programs for the 

24 purpose of supporting CLUSTER Initia25 tives. 


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1 (ii) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An 

2 eligible entity receiving a grant under this 

3 subparagraph shall provide matching funds 

4 in an amount equal to the amount of grant 

5 funds received under this subparagraph. 

6 (iii) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In select7 ing grant recipients under this subpara8 graph, the Council shall consider— 

9 (I) the probable impact of the 

10 proposed effort on the competitiveness 

11 of the area’s traded sector; 

12 (II) if the proposed effort fits 

13 within a broader achievable economic 

14 development strategy; 

15 (III) the capacity and commit16 ment of the sponsoring organization; 

17 (IV) the degree of support and 

18 involvement from relevant State and 

19 regional economic and workforce de20 velopment organizations, other public 

21 purpose institutions (such as univer22 sities, community colleges, workforce 

23 boards), and the private sector, in24 cluding industry associations; 


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1 (V) the eligible grantee’s ex2 pected ability to access additional 

3 funds from Federal, State, and local 

4 sources; 

5 (VI) the eligible grantee’s capac6 ity to sustain activities once grant 

7 funds have been expended; and 

8 (VII) the extent to which eco9 nomic diversity across regions of the 

10 United States would be increased 

11 through the grant. 

12 (5) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The application 

13 process for grants awarded under this subsection 

14 shall be on a rolling basis. 

15 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated 

17 $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and each subse18 quent fiscal year to carry out this subsection. 

19 (b) NATIONAL SECTOR RESEARCH GRANTS.— 

20 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Council shall 

21 award competitive grants to eligible companies and 

22 joint ventures to encourage innovation through re23 search partnerships between academic institutions in 

24 the United States and industry research alliances. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Each company and joint 

2 venture desiring a grant under this subsection 

3 shall— 

4 (A) submit an application to the Council 

5 containing such information as the Council may 

6 reasonably require; 

7 (B) form an industry-led research consor8 tium consisting of at least 5 companies; and 

9 (C) agree to develop a 3- to 10-year tech10 nology roadmap that charts out generic science 

11 and technology needs that the companies share. 

12 (3) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal share 

13 of a project funded by a grant under this subsection 

14 shall be not more than 50 percent of the total 

15 project costs. 

16 (c) PRODUCTIVITY ENHANCEMENT RESEARCH

17 GRANTS.—The Council shall award grants to academic in18 stitutions in the United States and to joint ventures com19 prised of academic institutions and private companies to 

20 support early-stage research into methods of increasing 

21 productivity and innovation, with broad application for a 

22 range of industries, including— 

23 (1) automated manufacturing or service proc24 esses; 

25 (2) technology-enabled remote service delivery; 


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1 (3) quality improvement; and 

2 (4) other methods of improving productivity 

3 and innovation. 

4 (d) STATE INNOVATION-BASED ECONOMIC DEVEL5 OPMENT PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.— 

6 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Council shall 

7 award innovation-based economic development part8 nership grants to State economic development enti9 ties designated by each State. 

10 (2) GRANT TYPES.— 

11 (A) FEASIBILITY STUDY GRANTS.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—A grant in an 

13 amount not to exceed $250,000 shall be 

14 awarded to States for feasibility studies, 

15 planning, and operations. 

16 (ii) CONDITIONS.—A feasibility study 

17 grant shall be awarded to not fewer than 

18 1 eligible grantee in each State on a 1-time 

19 basis, with no matching funds required. 

20 (B) START-UP AND ANNUAL GRANTS.— 

21 (i) START UP GRANT.—A 1-year grant 

22 in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 

23 shall be awarded to States to support plan24 ning studies, provide technical assistance, 

25 and fund start-up activities. 


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1 (ii) ANNUAL GRANTS.—In addition to 

2 the grants authorized under clause (i), an3 nual grants shall be awarded to States to 

4 provide technical assistance and fund oper5 ating activities. Grants awarded under this 

6 clause may be renewed indefinitely. 

7 (iii) MINIMUM GRANTS.—Each State 

8 shall be awarded not fewer than 1 grant 

9 under this subparagraph. 

10 (iv) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRE11 MENT.—A State receiving a start-up grant 

12 under this subparagraph shall provide— 

13 (I) for the first $1,000,000 in 

14 grant funds, a match of $1 for every 

15 $2 received in grant funds; and 

16 (II) for any additional amount in 

17 grant funds, a match of $2 for every 

18 $1 received in grant funds. 

19 (3) IBED PLANS.— 

20 (A) INITIAL PLANS.—Each State desiring 

21 a grant under this subsection shall submit to 

22 the Council an initial innovation-based economic 

23 development plan (referred to in this paragraph 

24 as the ‘‘IBED plan’’), which describes— 


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1 (i) how grant funds would be used to 

2 support the creation of alliances for the 

3 dissemination of innovation among local 

4 governments, businesses, educational insti5 tutions, and other institutions; 

6 (ii) how companies within the State 

7 would benefit from the activities funded 

8 through a grant under this subsection; and 

9 (iii) how innovation would be dissemi10 nated through the activities described in 

11 paragraph (4) to companies within the 

12 State. 

13 (B) REVIEW.—The Council and an outside 

14 panel of experts shall— 

15 (i) review the initial IBED plans sub16 mitted under subparagraph (A); and 

17 (ii) notify the States of any suggested 

18 modifications to such plans. 

19 (C) RESUBMISSION OF PLANS.—States 

20 may submit modified IBED plans to the Coun21 cil. 

22 (D) USE OF PLANS.—The Council shall 

23 score IBED plans submitted under this section 

24 and award competitive grants to States under 

25 this subsection, to the extent available, on the 


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1 basis of such scores. In scoring plans under this 

2 subparagraph, the Council shall award addi3 tional points for multistate and regional innova4 tion-based economic development efforts. 

5 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds received 

6 under this subsection may be used to establish— 

7 (A) technology commercialization centers; 

8 (B) industry-university research centers; 

9 (C) regional cluster development programs; 

10 (D) regional skills alliances; 

11 (E) entrepreneurial support programs; 

12 (F) science parks; and 

13 (G) related activities to spur innovation or 

14 productivity. 

15 (5) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal share 

16 of a project funded by a grant under this subsection 

shall be not more than 1 17 ⁄3 of the total project costs. 

18 (6) NONCOMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Council 

19 shall award noncompetitive planning and technical 

20 assistance grants to States that do not receive a 

21 competitive grant under this subsection, which shall 

22 be used to improve the quality of the States’ pro23 posals for subsequent grants under this section. 

24 (e) TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Council shall 

2 award grants to manufacturing extension partner3 ship centers in each State to promote the diffusion 

4 of existing technological innovations to companies in 

5 which such innovations are underutilized. Notwith6 standing any other provision of law, a manufac7 turing extension partnership may use grant funds 

8 awarded under this subsection for activities in the 

9 service sector that comply with the requirements 

10 under this subsection. 

11 (2) GRANT TYPES.— 

12 (A) FEASIBILITY STUDY GRANTS.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—A grant in an 

14 amount not to exceed $250,000 shall be 

15 awarded to manufacturing extension part16 nership centers for feasibility studies, plan17 ning, and operations. 

18 (ii) CONDITIONS.—A feasibility study 

19 grant shall be awarded to not fewer than 

20 1 eligible grantee in each State on a 1-time 

21 basis, with no matching funds required. 

22 (B) START UP AND ANNUAL GRANTS.— 

23 (i) START UP GRANT.—A 1-year grant 

24 in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 

25 shall be awarded to a manufacturing exVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:24 Jun 04, 2008 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3078.IS S3078

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1 tension partnership center in each State to 

2 support planning studies, provide technical 

3 assistance, and fund start-up activities. 

4 (ii) ANNUAL GRANTS.—In addition to 

5 the grants authorized under clause (i), an6 nual grants shall be awarded to manufac7 turing extension partnership centers in 

8 each State provide technical assistance and 

9 fund operating activities. Grants awarded 

10 under this clause may be renewed indefi11 nitely. 

12 (iii) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRE13 MENT.—A manufacturing extension part14 nership center receiving a grant under this 

15 subparagraph shall provide— 

16 (I) for the first $1,000,000 in 

17 grant funds, a match of $1 for every 

18 $2 received in grant funds; and 

19 (II) for any additional amount in 

20 grant funds, a match of $2 for every 

21 $1 received in grant funds. 

22 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants funds received 

23 under this subsection may be used to— 

24 (A) establish manufacturing extension 

25 partnership centers in each State to provide— 


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1 (i) support for manufacturing and 

2 services; and 

3 (ii) innovation awards; and 

4 (B) support the diffusion of innovation in 

5 any sector of the economy, including the service 

6 sector. 

7 (4) EVALUATION PROCESS.—In evaluating pro8 posals for grants under this subsection, the Council 

9 shall— 

10 (A) determine the degree to which measur11 able productivity gains are expected to be 

12 achieved through each applicant’s proposed dif13 fusion of innovation; 

14 (B) follow the 2-step process established 

15 under subsection (d)(3) for grants to carry out 

16 the activities described in paragraph (3)(A); 

17 and 

18 (C) require manufacturing extension part19 nership centers to submit a plan to carry out 

20 the activities described in paragraph (3)(B). 

21 (f) USE OF GRANTS.—Grant funds received under 

22 this section shall be used to— 

23 (1) perform Council-supported grant work in 

24 the United States; and 


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1 (2) promote the production of any resulting 

2 goods or services in the United States. 

3 (g) AWARD CRITERIA.—In evaluating proposals for 

4 grants under this section, the Council shall— 

5 (1) determine, as 1 award factor, the extent to 

6 which a grant to each State or manufacturing exten7 sion partnership center is expected to increase pro8 duction, wages, or employment in the United States; 

9 (2) not award any grant which the Council be10 lieves could result in a decrease in production, 

11 wages, or employment in the United States; and 

12 (3) consult with technology-specific boards 

13 staffed with experts in fields appropriate to the pro14 posals for grants being evaluated. 

15 (h) MINIMUM FUNDING LEVEL.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of the grant pro17 grams established under subsections (a), (d), and 

18 (e)— 

19 (A) not fewer than 1 grant shall be award20 ed to a grantee in each State; and 

21 (B) the amount of each grant shall be not 

22 less than 80 percent of the average grant 

23 awarded in such grant program. 

24 (2) POPULATION-BASED ALLOCATIONS.—In 

25 each State, the total amount of grant funds awarded 


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1 to grantees in such State under subsections (a) 

2 through (e) shall be not less than 50 percent of the 

3 product of— 

4 (A) the percentage of the population of the 

5 United States who are residents of such State, 

6 according to the most recent decennial census; 

7 and 

8 (B) the total amount of grant funds 

9 awarded under subsections (a) through (e). 

10 (i) COORDINATION OF FUNDS.—Recipients of grants 

11 under this section may use, as matching funds, amounts 

12 received from the agencies listed in section 5, to the extent 

13 approved by the Council and such agencies. 

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na16 tional Innovation Council, for each of the fiscal years 2009 

17 through 2013, such sums as may be necessary to carry 

18 out this Act. 

Æ 


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