I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4159 

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 

MARCH 6, 2014 

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

of California, Mr. HOYER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. EDWARDS, 

Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, 

Mr. MAFFEI, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. PETERS of California, 

Mr. KILMER, Mr. BERA of California, Ms. ESTY, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. TAKANO, and Ms. KELLY of Illinois) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—OSTP; GOVERNMENTWIDE SCIENCE 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 101. National Science and Technology Council amendments. 

Sec. 102. Review of Federal regulations and reporting requirements. 

Sec. 103. Amendments to prize competitions. 

Sec. 104. Coordination of international science and technology partnerships. 

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. 

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. Establishment of the Advanced Research Project Agency-Education. 

Sec. 205. Community college and industry partnerships STEM pilot grant program. 

Sec. 206. National Research Council report on STEAM education. 

Sec. 207. 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. 

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. 


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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. Sense of Congress on support for all fields of science and engineering. 

Sec. 303. Management and oversight of large facilities. 

Sec. 304. Data management plans. 

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. Advanced manufacturing technology consortia. 

Sec. 404. Network for manufacturing innovation. 

Sec. 405. Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership. 

Sec. 406. Bioscience measurement science and standards. 

Sec. 407. National Academy of Sciences review. 

Sec. 408. Improving NIST collaboration with other agencies. 

Sec. 409. Miscellaneous provisions. 

TITLE V—INNOVATION 

Sec. 501. Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

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

Sec. 503. Regional Innovation Program. 

Sec. 504. Innovation voucher pilot program. 

Sec. 505. Federal Acceleration of State Technology Commercialization Pilot 

Program. 

Sec. 506. National Academies report on university incubators and accelerators. 

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. Elimination of cost sharing requirement for research and development 

activities conducted by universities and nonprofit institutions. 

Sec. 645. Pilot Race to the Top for Energy Efficiency and Grid Modernization 

Program. 

Sec. 646. Rename Under Secretary for Science to Under Secretary for Science 

and Energy. 

Sec. 647. 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. NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL 

5 AMENDMENTS. 

6 Section 401 of the National Science and Technology 

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

8 U.S.C. 6651) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Federal Co10 ordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and 

11 Technology’’ and inserting ‘‘National Science and 

12 Technology Council’’; 


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

2 Research and Development Administration’’ and in3 serting ‘‘Department of Energy, and any other agen4 cy designated by the President’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (e)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘engineering, and tech7 nology’’ and inserting ‘‘engineering, technology, 

8 innovation, and STEM education’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘engi10 neering, and technological’’ and inserting ‘‘engi11 neering, technological, innovation, and STEM 

12 education’’; 

13 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

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

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

16 following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) address research needs identified under 

18 paragraph (2) through appropriate funding mecha19 nisms, which may include solicitations involving 2 or 

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

21 SEC. 102. REVIEW OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND RE22 PORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

24 Science and Technology Policy shall establish or designate 

25 a working group under the National Science and TechVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 Mar 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4159.IH H4159

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1 nology Council with the responsibility of reviewing Federal 

2 regulatory and reporting requirements across Federal 

3 agencies that affect the conduct of United States research 

4 in an effort to reduce regulatory burdens and to eliminate 

5 and harmonize duplicative regulatory and reporting re6 quirements. 

7 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The working group estab8 lished or designated under subsection (a) shall— 

9 (1) periodically review all Federal regulations 

10 and reporting requirements that affect the conduct 

11 of United States research to— 

12 (A) identify ways to harmonize overlapping 

13 or duplicative research regulations and report14 ing requirements across Federal agencies; 

15 (B) evaluate such regulations and report16 ing requirements in relationship to the risks the 

17 requirements seek to address to determine if 

18 the benefits of the requirements are commensu19 rate with the costs to the progress of science or 

20 to the taxpayer; 

21 (C) identify any regulations that are ap22 plied to scientific researchers or to research-per23 forming institutions for which exemptions could 

24 be reasonably applied or for which adjustments 


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1 could be made to better fit those regulations to 

2 diverse research environments; and 

3 (D) identify any specific regulations which 

4 could be refocused on performance-based goals 

5 rather than on process while still meeting the 

6 desired outcome; 

7 (2) examine the extent to which agencies’ guid8 ance documents adhere with the most recently up9 dated version of the Office of Management and 

10 Budget’s Agency Good Guidance Practices bulletin; 

11 and 

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

13 years a strategic plan for streamlining Federal regu14 lations and reporting requirements that affect the 

15 conduct of United States research that contains, at 

16 a minimum— 

17 (A) a priority list of research-related regu18 lations, reporting requirements, and agency 

19 guidance to be harmonized, streamlined, up20 dated, or eliminated; and 

21 (B) a plan, including a timeline, for imple22 menting the regulatory and reporting reforms 

23 identified in subparagraph (A). 

24 (c) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In carrying out the re25 sponsibilities under subsection (b), including the developVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 Mar 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4159.IH H4159

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1 ment of the strategic plan under subsection (b)(3), the 

2 working group established or designated under subsection 

3 (a) shall take into account input and recommendations 

4 from non-Federal stakeholders, including federally funded 

5 and nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 

6 education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, 

7 nonprofit research institutions, industry, including small 

8 businesses, federally funded research and development 

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

10 efficiency, and accountability in the performance of sci11 entific research. 

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

13 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in collabora14 tion with the Office of Management and Budget Office 

15 of Information and Regulatory Affairs, shall encourage 

16 and monitor the efforts of the participating agencies to 

17 ensure that the strategic plan is developed under sub18 section (b)(3) and that appropriate steps are taken by the 

19 agencies to effectively implement the recommendations, 

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

21 the strategic plan. 

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

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

24 Science and Technology Policy shall transmit the priority 

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


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1 to the Congress. The Director shall further provide a re2 port annually to the Congress, to be submitted not later 

3 than 60 days after the submission of the President’s an4 nual budget request, on the progress toward implementa5 tion of the regulatory reforms outlined in the strategic 

6 plan. 

7 SEC. 103. AMENDMENTS TO PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

8 Section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno9 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) by inserting ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘sec12 tion, a prize’’; 

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

14 and 

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

16 and inserting ‘‘prize competitions’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (f)— 

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

19 and inserting ‘‘on a publicly accessible Govern20 ment website, such as www.challenge.gov,’’; and 

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

22 and inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 

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

24 inserting ‘‘cash prize purse’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘prize’’ be2 fore ‘‘competition’’ both places it appears; 

3 (5) in subsection (i)— 

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

5 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; 

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

7 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’ both places it ap8 pears; 

9 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

10 paragraph (4); and 

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

12 following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—An agency may waive the re14 quirement under paragraph (2). The annual report 

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

16 waivers granted during the preceding fiscal year, 

17 along with an explanation of the reasons for grant18 ing the waivers.’’; 

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

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(2) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.— 

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

23 may negotiate a license for the use of intellec24 tual property developed by a participant for a 

25 prize competition. 


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1 ‘‘(B) OTHER CONDITIONS.—A Federal 

2 agency or agencies in cooperation may require 

3 participants to agree in advance to a specific 

4 approach to intellectual property as a condition 

5 for eligibility to participate in a prize competi6 tion.’’; 

7 (7) in subsection (k)— 

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

9 ‘‘prize’’ before ‘‘competition’’; and 

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

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

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

13 enter into’’ and inserting ‘‘a grant, contract, cooper14 ative agreement, or other agreement with a private 

15 sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer the 

16 prize competition, subject to the provisions of this 

17 section.’’; 

18 (9) in subsection (m)— 

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

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Support for a prize com22 petition under this section, including financial sup23 port for the design and administration of a prize 

24 competition or funds for a cash prize purse, may 

25 consist of Federal appropriated funds and funds 


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1 provided by private sector for-profit and nonprofit 

2 entities. The head of an agency may accept funds 

3 from other Federal agencies, private sector for-profit 

4 entities, and nonprofit entities to support such prize 

5 competitions. The head of an agency may not give 

6 any special consideration to any private sector for7 profit or nonprofit entity in return for a donation.’’; 

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

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

10 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘No prize’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘No prize competition’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘the prize’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘the cash prize purse’’; 

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

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

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

18 ‘‘competition’’ after ‘‘prize’’; 

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

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

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

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

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

24 for-profit and nonprofit entities,’’ after ‘‘contract ve25 hicle’’; 


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1 (11) in subsection (o)(1), by striking ‘‘or pro2 viding a prize’’ and insert ‘‘a prize competition or 

3 providing a cash prize purse’’; and 

4 (12) in subsection (p)— 

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

6 REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL REPORT’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘of each 

8 year’’ and inserting ‘‘of each odd-numbered 

9 year’’; and 

10 (C) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ‘‘cash 

11 prizes’’ both places it occurs and inserting 

12 ‘‘cash prize purses’’. 

13 SEC. 104. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE 

14 AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS. 

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

16 ‘‘International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 

17 2014’’. 

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

19 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a body 

20 under the National Science and Technology Council 

21 (NSTC) with the responsibility to identify and coordinate 

22 international science and technology cooperation that can 

23 strengthen the United States science and technology en24 terprise, improve economic and national security, and sup25 port United States foreign policy goals. 


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1 (c) NSTC BODY LEADERSHIP.—The body estab2 lished under subsection (b) shall be co-chaired by senior 

3 level officials from the Office of Science and Technology 

4 Policy and the Department of State. 

5 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The body established under 

6 subsection (b) shall— 

7 (1) plan and coordinate interagency inter8 national science and technology cooperative research 

9 and training activities and partnerships supported or 

10 managed by Federal agencies and work with other 

11 National Science and Technology Council commit12 tees to help plan and coordinate the international 

13 component of national science and technology prior14 ities; 

15 (2) establish Federal priorities and policies for 

16 aligning, as appropriate, international science and 

17 technology cooperative research and training activi18 ties and partnerships supported or managed by Fed19 eral agencies with the foreign policy goals of the 

20 United States; 

21 (3) identify opportunities for new international 

22 science and technology cooperative research and 

23 training partnerships that advance both the science 

24 and technology and the foreign policy priorities of 

25 the United States; 


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1 (4) in carrying out paragraph (3), solicit input 

2 and recommendations from non-Federal science and 

3 technology stakeholders, including universities, sci4 entific and professional societies, industry, and rel5 evant organizations and institutions; and 

6 (5) identify broad issues that influence the abil7 ity of United States scientists and engineers to col8 laborate with foreign counterparts, including bar9 riers to collaboration and access to scientific infor10 mation. 

11 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the Of12 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit a re13 port, to be updated annually, to the Committee on Science, 

14 Space, and Technology and the Committee on Foreign Af15 fairs of the House of Representatives, and to the Com16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

17 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. The report 

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

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

20 of— 

21 (1) the priorities and policies established under 

22 subsection (d)(2); 

23 (2) the ongoing and new partnerships estab24 lished since the last update to the report; 


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1 (3) the means by which stakeholder input was 

2 received, as well as summary views of stakeholder 

3 input; and 

4 (4) the issues influencing the ability of United 

5 States scientists and engineers to collaborate with 

6 foreign counterparts. 

7 Subtitle B—Reauthorization of the 

8 National Nanotechnology Initiative 

9 SEC. 111. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘National Nano11 technology Initiative Amendments Act of 2014’’. 

12 SEC. 112. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AMEND13 MENTS. 

14 The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De15 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended— 

16 (1) in section 2— 

17 (A) in subsection (c), by amending para18 graph (4) to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(4) develop, and update every 3 years there20 after, a strategic plan to guide the activities de21 scribed under subsection (b) that specifies near-term 

22 and long-term objectives for the Program, the antici23 pated timeframe for achieving the near-term objec24 tives, and the metrics to be used for assessing 

25 progress toward the objectives, and that describes— 


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

2 out of the laboratory and into applications for 

3 the benefit of society, including through co4 operation and collaborations with nanotechnol5 ogy research, development, and technology tran6 sition initiatives supported by the States; and 

7 ‘‘(B) proposed research in areas of na8 tional importance in accordance with the re9 quirements of section 116 of the National 

10 Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 

11 2014;’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (d)— 

13 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

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

15 respectively; 

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

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

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

19 year, for each agency that participates in the Pro20 gram, and for each program component area;’’; and 

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

22 redesignated by clause (i), to read as fol23 lows: 

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

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


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1 and a description of the amount of Small Business 

2 Innovative Research and Small Business Technology 

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

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

5 subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS SETTING.—The agencies partici7 pating in the Program shall support the activities of com8 mittees involved in the development of standards for nano9 technology and may reimburse the travel costs of scientists 

10 and engineers who participate in activities of such commit11 tees.’’; 

12 (2) in section 3— 

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

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The operation of the Na17 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall be 

18 supported by funds from each agency participating 

19 in the Program. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROPORTION.—The portion of such Of21 fice’s total budget provided by each agency for each 

22 fiscal year shall be in the same proportion as the 

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

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

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


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1 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The Director of the Na2 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office may es3 tablish a minimum contribution or other exception to 

4 the requirement in paragraph (2) for participating 

5 agencies whose share of the total budget for the Pro6 gram is below a threshold level, to be set by the Di7 rector.’’; and 

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

9 subsection: 

10 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC INFORMATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DATABASE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Nano13 technology Coordination Office shall develop 

14 and maintain a database accessible by the pub15 lic of projects funded under at least the Envi16 ronmental, Health, and Safety program compo17 nent area, or any successor program component 

18 area, including, to the extent practicable, a de19 scription of each project, its source of funding 

20 by agency, and its funding history. 

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

22 grouped by major objective as defined by the re23 search plan required under section 3(b) of the 

24 National Nanotechnology Initiative Amend25 ments Act of 2014. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACCESSIBLE FACILITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Nano3 technology Coordination Office shall develop, 

4 maintain, and publicize information on nano5 technology facilities supported under the Pro6 gram, and may include information on nano7 technology facilities supported by the States, 

8 that are accessible for use by individuals from 

9 academic institutions and from industry. 

10 ‘‘(B) WEBSITES.—The National Nanotech11 nology Coordination Office shall maintain active 

12 web links to the websites for each of these fa13 cilities and shall work with each facility sup14 ported under the Program to ensure that each 

15 facility publishes on its respective website up16 dated information on the terms and conditions 

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

18 capabilities of the instruments and equipment 

19 available for use at the facility, and a descrip20 tion of the technical support available to assist 

21 users of the facility.’’; 

22 (3) in section 4— 

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

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

25 Panel shall meet the qualifications of Panel 


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1 membership required in subsection (b) and may 

2 be members of the President’s Council of Advi3 sors on Science and Technology. The Advisory 

4 Panel shall include members having specific 

5 qualifications tailored to enable it to carry out 

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

7 (B) in subsection (c)— 

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

9 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

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

11 respectively; and 

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

13 follows: 

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

15 less frequently than every 3 years, and, to the extent prac16 ticable, 1 year following each of the National Research 

17 Council triennial reviews required under section 5, to the 

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

19 recommendations for ways to improve the Program. The 

20 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

21 shall transmit a copy of each report under this subsection 

22 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor23 tation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, 

24 and Technology of the House of Representatives, and 

25 other appropriate committees of the Congress.’’; 


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

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

3 NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

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

5 Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall enter into an ar6 rangement with the National Research Council of the Na7 tional Academy of Sciences to conduct a triennial review 

8 of the Program. The Director shall ensure that the ar9 rangement with the National Research Council is con10 cluded in order to allow sufficient time for the reporting 

11 requirements of subsection (b) to be satisfied. Each tri12 ennial review shall include an evaluation of the— 

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

14 the Program, including whether the balance of fund15 ing among program component areas, as designated 

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

17 ‘‘(2) Program’s scientific and technological ac18 complishments and its success in transferring tech19 nology to the private sector; and 

20 ‘‘(3) adequacy of the Program’s activities ad21 dressing ethical, legal, environmental, and other ap22 propriate societal concerns, including human health 

23 concerns. 

24 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY REPORTS.—If the Director of the Na25 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office, working with 


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1 the National Research Council and with input from the 

2 Advisory Panel, determines that a more narrowly focused 

3 review of the Program is in the best interests of the Pro4 gram, the Director may enter into such an arrangement 

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

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

7 every second triennial review. 

8 ‘‘(c) EVALUATION TO BE TRANSMITTED TO CON9 GRESS.—The National Research Council shall document 

10 the results of each triennial review carried out in accord11 ance with this section in a report that includes any rec12 ommendations for changes to the Program’s objectives, 

13 technical content, or other policy or Program changes. 

14 Each report shall be submitted to the Director of the Na15 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office, who shall 

16 transmit it to the Advisory Panel, the Committee on Com17 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the 

18 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

19 House of Representatives.’’; and 

20 (5) in section 10— 

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

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(2) NANOTECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘nanotech24 nology’ means the science and technology that will 

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


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1 manipulate, and manufacture at the nanoscale, 

2 aimed at creating materials, devices, and systems 

3 with fundamentally new properties or functions.’’; 

4 and 

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

6 paragraph: 

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

8 one or more dimensions of between approximately 1 

9 and 100 nanometers.’’. 

10 SEC. 113. SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. 

11 (a) COORDINATOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, 

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

13 Science and Technology Policy shall designate an associate 

14 director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

15 or other appropriate senior government official as the Co16 ordinator for Environmental, Health, and Safety Re17 search. The Coordinator shall be responsible for oversight 

18 of the coordination, planning, and budget prioritization of 

19 research and other activities related to environmental, 

20 health, safety, and other appropriate societal concerns re21 lated to nanotechnology. The responsibilities of the Coor22 dinator shall include— 

23 (1) ensuring that a research plan for the envi24 ronmental, health, and safety research activities re25 quired under subsection (b) is developed, updated, 


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1 and implemented and that the plan is responsive to 

2 the recommendations of the Advisory Panel estab3 lished under section 4(a) of the 21st Century Nano4 technology Research and Development Act (15 

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

6 (2) encouraging and monitoring the efforts of 

7 the agencies participating in the Program to allocate 

8 the level of resources and management attention 

9 necessary to ensure that the environmental, health, 

10 safety, and other appropriate societal concerns re11 lated to nanotechnology are addressed under the 

12 Program. 

13 (b) RESEARCH PLAN.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Coordinator for Envi15 ronmental, Health, and Safety Research shall con16 vene and chair a panel comprised of representatives 

17 from the agencies funding research activities under 

18 the Environmental, Health, and Safety program 

19 component area of the Program, or any successor 

20 program component area, and from such other agen21 cies as the Coordinator considers necessary to de22 velop, periodically update, and coordinate the imple23 mentation of a research plan for this program com24 ponent area. Such panel may be a subgroup of the 

25 Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology 


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1 Subcommittee of the National Science and Tech2 nology Council. In developing and updating the plan, 

3 the panel convened by the Coordinator shall solicit 

4 and be responsive to recommendations and advice 

5 from— 

6 (A) the Advisory Panel established under 

7 section 4(a) of the 21st Century Nanotechnol8 ogy Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 7503(a)); and 

10 (B) the agencies responsible for environ11 mental, health, and safety regulations associ12 ated with the production, use, and disposal of 

13 nanoscale materials and products. 

14 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—The plan 

15 required under paragraph (1) shall include a de16 scription of how the Program will help to ensure the 

17 development of— 

18 (A) standards related to nomenclature as19 sociated with engineered nanoscale materials; 

20 (B) engineered nanoscale standard ref21 erence materials for environmental, health, and 

22 safety testing; and 

23 (C) standards related to methods and pro24 cedures for detecting, measuring, monitoring, 

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1 terials for environmental, health, and safety im2 pacts. 

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

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

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

6 (A) specify near-term research objectives 

7 and long-term research objectives; 

8 (B) specify milestones associated with each 

9 near-term objective and the estimated time and 

10 resources required to reach each milestone; 

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

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

13 out or sponsoring research in order to meet the 

14 objectives specified under subparagraph (A) and 

15 to achieve the milestones specified under sub16 paragraph (B); and 

17 (D) specify the funding allocated to each 

18 major objective of the plan and the source of 

19 funding by agency for the current fiscal year. 

20 (4) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

21 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

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

23 transmitted to the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 


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1 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (5) UPDATING AND APPENDING TO REPORT.— 

4 The plan required under paragraph (1) shall be up5 dated at least every 3 years and may be submitted 

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

7 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and 

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

9 SEC. 114. NANOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. 

10 (a) UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The 

11 Program shall support efforts to introduce nanoscale 

12 science, engineering, and technology into undergraduate 

13 science and engineering education through a variety of 

14 interdisciplinary approaches. Activities supported may in15 clude— 

16 (1) development of courses of instruction or 

17 modules to existing courses; 

18 (2) faculty professional development; and 

19 (3) acquisition of equipment and instrumenta20 tion suitable for undergraduate education and re21 search in nanotechnology. 

22 (b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION OF EDUCATION.— 

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

24 Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act 

25 (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)) shall coordinate, as appropriate, with 


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1 the Committee established under section 101 of the Amer2 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

3 6621) to prioritize, plan, and assess the educational activi4 ties supported under the Program. 

5 (c) SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY

6 EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.—Activities supported under the 

7 Education and Societal Dimensions program component 

8 area, or any successor program component area, that in9 volve informal, precollege, or undergraduate nanotechnol10 ogy education shall include education regarding the envi11 ronmental, health and safety, and other societal aspects 

12 of nanotechnology. 

13 (d) REMOTE ACCESS TO NANOTECHNOLOGY FACILI14 TIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Agencies supporting nano16 technology research facilities as part of the Program 

17 shall require the entities that operate such facilities 

18 to allow access via the Internet, and support the 

19 costs associated with the provision of such access, by 

20 secondary school students and teachers, to instru21 ments and equipment within such facilities for edu22 cational purposes. The agencies may waive this re23 quirement for cases when particular facilities would 

24 be inappropriate for educational purposes or the 

25 costs for providing such access would be prohibitive. 


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1 (2) PROCEDURES.—The agencies identified in 

2 paragraph (1) shall require the entities that operate 

3 such nanotechnology research facilities to establish 

4 and publish procedures, guidelines, and conditions 

5 for the submission and approval of applications for 

6 the use of the facilities for the purpose identified in 

7 paragraph (1) and shall authorize personnel who op8 erate the facilities to provide necessary technical 

9 support to students and teachers. 

10 SEC. 115. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. 

11 (a) PROTOTYPING.— 

12 (1) ACCESS TO FACILITIES.—In accordance 

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

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

15 7501(b)(7)), the agencies supporting nanotechnology 

16 research facilities as part of the Program shall pro17 vide access to such facilities to companies for the 

18 purpose of assisting the companies in the develop19 ment of prototypes of nanoscale products, devices, or 

20 processes (or products, devices, or processes enabled 

21 by nanotechnology) for determining proof of concept. 

22 The agencies shall publicize the availability of these 

23 facilities and encourage their use by companies as 

24 provided for in this section. The agencies may waive 


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1 this requirement for academic facilities for which the 

2 costs of providing such access would be prohibitive. 

3 (2) PROCEDURES.—The agencies identified in 

4 paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) shall establish and publish procedures, 

6 guidelines, and conditions for the submission 

7 and approval of applications for use of nano8 technology facilities; 

9 (B) shall publish descriptions of the capa10 bilities of facilities available for use under this 

11 subsection, including the availability of tech12 nical support; and 

13 (C) may waive recovery, require full recov14 ery, or require partial recovery of the costs as15 sociated with use of the facilities for projects 

16 under this subsection. 

17 (3) SELECTION AND CRITERIA.— 

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

19 full cost recovery is required pursuant to para20 graph (2)(C), projects provided access to nano21 technology facilities in accordance with this sub22 section shall be selected through a competitive, 

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1 imum the readiness of the project for tech2 nology demonstration. 

3 (B) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—The agen4 cies may give special consideration in selecting 

5 projects to applications that are relevant to im6 portant national needs or requirements. 

7 (b) COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY.—The Pro8 gram shall coordinate with industry from all industrial 

9 sectors that would benefit from applications of nanotech10 nology by— 

11 (1) enhancing communication of information re12 lated to nanotechnology innovation, including infor13 mation about research, education and training, man14 ufacturing issues, and market-driven needs; 

15 (2) advancing and accelerating the creation of 

16 new products and manufacturing processes derived 

17 from discovery at the nanoscale by working with in18 dustry, including small and medium-sized manufac19 turers; 

20 (3) developing innovative methods for transfer21 ring nanotechnology products and processes from 

22 Federal agencies to industry; and 

23 (4) facilitating industry-led partnerships be24 tween the Program and industry sectors, including 

25 regional partnerships. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION WITH STATE, REGIONAL, AND

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

3 Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 

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

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

6 the development and application of nanotechnology, 

7 including through the coordination and leveraging of 

8 Federal investments with nanotechnology research, 

9 development, and technology transition initiatives 

10 supported by the States and regions across the coun11 try;’’. 

12 SEC. 116. SIGNATURE INITIATIVES IN AREAS OF NATIONAL 

13 IMPORTANCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall include sup15 port for nanotechnology research and development activi16 ties directed toward topical and application areas that 

17 have the potential for significant contributions to national 

18 economic competitiveness and for other significant societal 

19 benefits. The activities supported shall be designed to ad20 vance the development of research discoveries by dem21 onstrating technical solutions to important national chal22 lenges. The Advisory Panel shall make recommendations 

23 to the Program for candidate research and development 

24 areas for support under this section. 

25 (b) CHARACTERISTICS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Research and development 

2 activities under this section shall— 

3 (A) include projects selected on the basis 

4 of applications for support through a competi5 tive, merit-based process; 

6 (B) involve collaborations among research7 ers in academic institutions and industry, and 

8 may involve nonprofit research institutions and 

9 Federal laboratories, as appropriate; 

10 (C) when possible, leverage Federal invest11 ments through collaboration with related State 

12 initiatives; and 

13 (D) include a plan for fostering the trans14 fer of research discoveries and the results of 

15 technology demonstration activities to industry 

16 for commercial development. 

17 (2) JOINT SOLICITATIONS.—Projects supported 

18 under this section shall include projects for which 

19 determination of the requirements for applications, 

20 review and selection of applications for support, and 

21 subsequent funding of projects shall be carried out 

22 by a collaboration of no fewer than 2 agencies par23 ticipating in the Program. In selecting applications 

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1 cial consideration to projects that include cost shar2 ing from non-Federal sources. 

3 (3) INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

4 Research and development activities under this sec5 tion may be supported through interdisciplinary 

6 nanotechnology research centers, as authorized by 

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

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

9 7501(b)(4)), that are organized to investigate basic 

10 research questions and carry out technology dem11 onstration activities in areas such as those identified 

12 in subsection (a). 

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

14 the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Develop15 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(d)) shall include a description 

16 of research and development areas supported in accord17 ance with this section. 

18 SEC. 117. NANOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH. 

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

20 research on— 

21 (1) the development of instrumentation and 

22 tools required for the rapid characterization of 

23 nanoscale materials and for monitoring of nanoscale 

24 manufacturing processes; and 


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1 (2) approaches and techniques for scaling the 

2 synthesis of new nanoscale materials to achieve in3 dustrial-level production rates. 

4 (b) GREEN NANOTECHNOLOGY.—Interdisciplinary 

5 research centers supported under the Program in accord6 ance with section 2(b)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotech7 nology Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 7501(b)(4)) that are focused on nanomanufacturing re9 search shall include as part of the activities of such cen10 ters— 

11 (1) research on methods and approaches to de12 velop environmentally benign nanoscale products and 

13 nanoscale manufacturing processes, taking into con14 sideration relevant findings and results of research 

15 supported under the Environmental, Health, and 

16 Safety program component area, or any successor 

17 program component area; 

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

19 research to industry; and 

20 (3) providing for the education of scientists and 

21 engineers through interdisciplinary studies in the 

22 principles and techniques for the design and develop23 ment of environmentally benign nanoscale products 

24 and processes. 


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1 SEC. 118. DEFINITIONS. 

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

3 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Devel4 opment Act (15 U.S.C. 7509) have the meaning given 

5 those terms in that section. 

6 TITLE II—STEM EDUCATION AND 

7 DIVERSITY 

8 Subtitle A—STEM Education and 

9 Workforce 

10 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2014 BUDGET PROPOSAL.—It is 

12 the sense of Congress that Federal agencies need to de13 velop and implement a comprehensive Federal STEM edu14 cation strategy that focuses on leveraging the limited 

15 STEM education funding and other assets we have to in16 vest for maximum student learning benefit, and that such 

17 a strategy will involve a reorganization of the current port18 folio of Federal STEM investments. However, it is the 

19 sense of Congress that the Administration’s fiscal year 

20 2014 proposal to consolidate or eliminate 120 STEM pro21 grams across 14 Federal agencies lacked input or support 

22 from the Federal agencies and the stakeholder commu23 nities implicated in the proposal, was not based on evi24 dence about program effectiveness, lacks clarity in how it 

25 will meet the goals of the strategic plan required in the 

26 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, and 


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1 is not an adequate basis for implementing changes to ex2 isting agency and interagency STEM activities. 

3 (b) COSTEM.—It is the sense of Congress that the 

4 National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on 

5 STEM Education (CoSTEM), required under the America 

6 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, has taken im7 portant initial steps toward developing a comprehensive 

8 and defensible strategic plan through its completion of its 

9 first ‘‘Federal STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan,’’ 

10 but that much more work must be done to develop a clear 

11 evidence base for reorganization decisions and to solicit 

12 and take into account views and experience from stake13 holders who help implement or are the beneficiaries of 

14 Federal STEM programs across the Nation. It is further 

15 the sense of Congress that agencies, through CoSTEM, 

16 should play a leading role in developing the Administra17 tion’s budget proposals for STEM education just as they 

18 play a leading role in developing the budget proposals for 

19 other major interagency initiatives, such as the National 

20 Nanotechnology Initiative. 

21 (c) MISSION AGENCIES.—It is the sense of Congress 

22 that science mission agencies such as the National Aero23 nautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic 

24 and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of 

25 Energy are essential partners in contributing to the goals 


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1 and implementation of a Federal STEM strategic plan be2 cause such agencies have unique scientific and techno3 logical facilities as well as highly trained scientists who 

4 are eager and able to contribute to improved STEM learn5 ing outcomes in their own communities. It is further the 

6 sense of Congress that the Department of Education can 

7 play an important role in implementing any Federal 

8 STEM education strategy because of its unique relation9 ship with States, local educational agencies, schools, and 

10 institutions of higher education, as well as its capacity to 

11 scale and disseminate proven programs and models, but 

12 that the Department must take steps to build capacity in 

13 STEM education to maximize the effectiveness of any 

14 Governmentwide leadership role in K–12 STEM edu15 cation. 

16 SEC. 202. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL STEM EDUCATION. 

17 Section 101 of America COMPETES Reauthoriza18 tion Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)(5)— 

20 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

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

22 respectively; and 

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

24 as so redesigned by subparagraph (A) of this 

25 paragraph, the following new subparagraph: 


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

2 the limited STEM education funding and other 

3 assets, including intellectual capital, invested by 

4 Federal STEM agencies for maximum benefit 

5 to student learning;’’; 

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

7 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub8 section (f); 

9 (4) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol10 lowing new subsections: 

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

12 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

13 shall designate an associate director of the Office of 

14 Science and Technology Policy as the Coordinator for 

15 STEM Education. When an appropriate associate director 

16 is not available, the Director may designate another ap17 propriate senior government official as the Coordinator for 

18 STEM Education. The Coordinator shall chair the com19 mittee established under subsection (a). The Coordinator 

20 shall, with the assistance of appropriate senior officials 

21 from other Committee on STEM Education agencies, en22 sure that the requirements of this section are satisfied. 

23 ‘‘(d) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.— 

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

25 agency proposals to consolidate or transfer budgets 


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1 or functions for STEM education programs or ac2 tivities between agencies, at the time of submission 

3 of such proposals to Congress, the Director shall re4 port to Congress on activities undertaken by the Of5 fice of Science and Technology Policy or by relevant 

6 agencies to take into consideration relevant input 

7 from the STEM Education Advisory Panel estab8 lished under subsection (e) and other relevant edu9 cation stakeholders. 

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

11 agency proposals to internally consolidate or termi12 nate STEM education programs with budgets ex13 ceeding $3,000,000, at the time of submission of 

14 such proposals to Congress, the head of the relevant 

15 agency shall report to Congress on activities to so16 licit and take into consideration input on such pro17 posals from the STEM Education Advisory Panel 

18 established under subsection (e) and other relevant 

19 education stakeholders. 

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

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall estab22 lish or designate a STEM Education Advisory 

23 Panel. The cochairs of the Advisory Panel shall meet 

24 the qualifications of Panel membership required in 

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1 dent’s Council of Advisors on Science and Tech2 nology. 

3 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Advisory Panel es4 tablished or designated by the President under this 

5 subsection shall consist of members from academic 

6 institutions, industry, informal education providers, 

7 nonprofit STEM education organizations, founda8 tions, and local and State educational agencies. 

9 Members of the Advisory Panel shall be qualified to 

10 provide advice on Federal STEM education pro11 grams, best practices in STEM education, assess12 ment of STEM education programs, STEM edu13 cation standards, industry needs for STEM grad14 uates, and public-private STEM education partner15 ships. 

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

17 the President and the committee established under 

18 subsection (a) on implementing the Federal STEM 

19 education strategic plan required under subsection 

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

21 with nongovernmental STEM initiatives and State 

22 and local educational agencies. 

23 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Advisory Panel shall re24 port, not more than 1 year after enactment of the 

25 America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014, on 


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1 options for evidence-based implementation of the 

2 Federal STEM strategic plan required under sub3 section (b)(5), including options for designating cer4 tain agencies as coordinating leads for different pri5 ority investment areas, timelines for implementation, 

6 and specific management, budget, policy, or other 

7 steps that agencies must take to effectively imple8 ment the strategic plan. 

9 ‘‘(5) SUNSET.—The authorization for the Advi10 sory Panel established under this subsection shall 

11 expire 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

12 America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014.’’; 

13 and 

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

15 paragraph (3) of this section— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘progress made in imple17 menting’’ after ‘‘describing’’; 

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

19 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

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

21 SEC. 203. GRAND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION RESEARCH. 

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

23 Science Foundation and the Secretary of Education shall 

24 collaborate in— 


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1 (1) identifying, prioritizing, and developing 

2 strategies to address grand challenges in research 

3 and development, including assessment, on the 

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

5 level, in formal and informal settings, for diverse 

6 learning populations, including individuals identified 

7 in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering 

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

9 1885b); and 

10 (2) ensuring the dissemination and promoting 

11 the utilization of the results of such research and de12 velopment. 

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

14 challenges under subsection (a), the Director and the Sec15 retary shall— 

16 (1) take into consideration critical research 

17 gaps identified in existing reports, including reports 

18 by the National Academies, on the teaching and 

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

20 and informal settings; and 

21 (2) solicit input from a wide range of stake22 holders, including officials from State educational 

23 agencies and local educational agencies, STEM 

24 teachers, STEM education researchers, scientific 

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1 tions of higher education, informal STEM education 

2 providers, businesses with a large STEM workforce, 

3 and other stakeholders in the teaching and learning 

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

5 an arrangement with the National Research Council 

6 for these purposes. 

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

8 challenges under subsection (a), the Director and the Sec9 retary shall, at a minimum, consider research and develop10 ment on— 

11 (1) scalability, sustainability, and replication of 

12 successful STEM activities, programs, and models, 

13 in formal and informal environments; 

14 (2) model systems that support improved teach15 ing and learning of STEM across entire local edu16 cational agencies and States, including rural areas, 

17 and encompassing and integrating the teaching and 

18 learning of STEM in formal and informal venues; 

19 (3) implementation of new State mathematics 

20 and science standards; 

21 (4) what makes a STEM teacher effective and 

22 STEM teacher professional development effective, 

23 including development of tools and methodologies to 

24 measure STEM teacher effectiveness; 


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

2 teaching and learning, including massive open online 

3 courses; 

4 (6) STEM teaching and learning in informal 

5 environments, including development of tools and 

6 methodologies for assessing STEM teaching and 

7 learning in informal environments; and 

8 (7) how integrating engineering with mathe9 matics and science education may— 

10 (A) improve student learning of mathe11 matics and science; 

12 (B) increase student interest and persist13 ence in STEM; or 

14 (C) improve student understanding of engi15 neering design principles and of the built world. 

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

17 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc18 tor and the Secretary shall report to Congress with a de19 scription of— 

20 (1) the grand challenges identified pursuant to 

21 this section; 

22 (2) the role of each agency in supporting re23 search and development activities to address the 

24 grand challenges; 


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1 (3) the common metrics that will be used to as2 sess progress toward meeting the grand challenges; 

3 (4) plans for periodically updating the grand 

4 challenges; 

5 (5) how the agencies will disseminate and pro6 mote the utilization of the results of research and 

7 development activities carried out under this section 

8 to STEM education practitioners, to other Federal 

9 agencies that support STEM programs and activi10 ties, and to non-Federal funders of STEM edu11 cation; and 

12 (6) how the agencies will support implementa13 tion of best practices identified by the research and 

14 development activities. 

15 SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADVANCED RESEARCH 

16 PROJECT AGENCY-EDUCATION. 

17 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—From the amounts 

18 appropriated for section 14007 of division A of the Amer19 ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

20 111–5), the Secretary of Education may reserve up to 30 

21 percent to— 

22 (1) establish and carry out the Advanced Re23 search Projects Agency-Education (in this section 

24 referred to as ‘‘ARPA–ED’’) to— 


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1 (A) identify and promote advances in 

2 learning, fundamental and applied sciences, and 

3 engineering that may be translated into new 

4 learning technologies; 

5 (B) develop, test, and evaluate new learn6 ing technologies and related processes; and 

7 (C) accelerate transformational techno8 logical advances in education; 

9 (2) convene an advisory panel under subsection 

10 (d); and 

11 (3) carry out the evaluation and dissemination 

12 requirements under subsection (e). 

13 (b) APPOINTMENTS.— 

14 (1) DIRECTOR.—ARPA–ED shall be under the 

15 direction of the Director of ARPA–ED, who shall be 

16 appointed by the Secretary. 

17 (2) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary 

18 shall appoint, for a term of not more than 4 years, 

19 qualified individuals who represent scientific, engi20 neering, professional, and other personnel with ex21 pertise in carrying out the activities described in this 

22 section to positions in ARPA–ED, at rates of com23 pensation determined by the Secretary, without re24 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

25 except that such rates of compensation shall not to 


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1 exceed the rate for level I of the Executive Schedule 

2 under section 5312 of such title. 

3 (c) FUNCTIONS OF ARPA–ED.—Upon consultation 

4 with the advisory panel convened under subsection (d), the 

5 Secretary shall select public and private entities to carry 

6 out the activities described in subsection (a)(1) by— 

7 (1) awarding such entities grants, contracts, co8 operative agreements, or cash prizes; or 

9 (2) entering into such other transactions with 

10 such entities as the Secretary may prescribe in regu11 lations. 

12 (d) ADVISORY PANEL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convene 

14 an advisory panel to advise and consult with the 

15 Secretary, the Director, and the qualified individuals 

16 appointed under subsection (b)(2) on— 

17 (A) ensuring that the awards made and 

18 transaction entered into under subsection (c) 

19 are consistent with the purposes described in 

20 subsection (a)(1); and 

21 (B) ensuring the relevance, accessibility, 

22 and utility of such awards and transactions to 

23 education practitioners. 


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1 (2) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Sec2 retary shall appoint the following qualified individ3 uals to serve on the advisory panel: 

4 (A) Education practitioners. 

5 (B) Experts in technology. 

6 (C) Specialists in rapid gains in student 

7 achievement and school turnaround. 

8 (D) Specialists in personalized learning. 

9 (E) Researchers, including at least one 

10 representative from a comprehensive center es11 tablished under section 203 of the Educational 

12 Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

13 9602) or the regional laboratories system estab14 lished under section 174 of the Education 

15 Sciences Reform Act (20 U.S.C. 9564). 

16 (F) Other individuals with expertise who 

17 will contribute to the overall rigor and quality 

18 of ARPA–ED. 

19 (3) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Ad20 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

21 apply to the panel convened under this subsection 

22 and any appointee to such panel shall not be consid23 ered an ‘‘employee’’ under section 2105 of title 5, 

24 United States Code. 

25 (e) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.— 


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1 (1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall obtain 

2 independent, periodic, and rigorous evaluation of— 

3 (A) the effectiveness of the processes 

4 ARPA–Ed is using to achieve the purposes de5 scribed in subsection (a)(1); 

6 (B) the relevance, accessibility, and utility 

7 of the awards made and transactions entered 

8 into under subsection (c) to education practi9 tioners; and 

10 (C) the effectiveness of the projects carried 

11 out through such awards and transactions, 

12 using evidence standards developed in consulta13 tion with the Institute of Education Sciences, 

14 and the suitability of such projects for further 

15 investment or increased scale. 

16 (2) DISSEMINATION AND USE.—The Secretary 

17 shall disseminate information to education practi18 tioners, including teachers, principals, and local and 

19 State superintendents, on effective practices and 

20 technologies developed under ARPA–ED, as appro21 priate, through— 

22 (A) the comprehensive centers established 

23 under 203 of the Educational Technical Assist24 ance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602); 


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1 (B) the regional laboratories system estab2 lished under section 174 of the Education 

3 Sciences Reform Act (20 U.S.C. 9564); and 

4 (C) such other means as the Secretary de5 termines to be appropriate. 

6 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS.—Notwith7 standing section 437(d) of the General Education Provi8 sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)), the Secretary shall estab9 lish such processes as may be necessary for the Secretary 

10 to manage and administer ARPA–ED, which are not con11 strained by other Department-wide administrative require12 ments that may prevent ARPA–ED from carrying out the 

13 purposes described in subsection (a)(1). 

14 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

15 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

16 means the Department of Education. 

17 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

18 the Director of ARPA–ED. 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Education. 

21 SEC. 205. COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND INDUSTRY PARTNER22 SHIPS STEM PILOT GRANT PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

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1 pose of developing, offering, improving, or providing 

2 STEM education or career training programs for workers. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Entities eligible for a grant 

5 under this section are any of the following (or a con6 sortium of any of the following) in partnership with 

7 employers or an association of employers— 

8 (A) a junior or community college (as de9 fined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 

10 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(f))); 

11 (B) a postsecondary vocational institution 

12 (as defined in section 102(c) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))); 

14 (C) a four-year public institution of higher 

15 education (as defined in section 101 of the 

16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 1001)) that offers two-year degrees, will use 

18 funds provided under this section for activities 

19 at the certificate and associate degree levels, 

20 and is not reasonably close, as determined by 

21 the Secretary of Labor, to a community college; 

22 (D) a tribal college or university (as de23 fined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))); or 


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1 (E) at the discretion of the Secretary of 

2 Labor, a private, not-for-profit, two-year insti3 tution of higher education in Puerto Rico, 

4 Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, Amer5 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North6 ern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Mar7 shall Islands, the Federated States of Micro8 nesia, or the Republic of Palau. 

9 (2) ADDITIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.—In addition 

10 to partnering with employers or an association of 

11 employers, the eligible entities described in para12 graph (1) may partner with any of the following or13 ganizations: 

14 (A) An adult education provider or institu15 tion of higher education (as defined in section 

16 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 1001)). 

18 (B) A community-based organization. 

19 (C) A joint labor-management partnership. 

20 (D) Any other organization that the Sec21 retary of Labor considers appropriate. 

22 (3) WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD.—Any 

23 such partnership shall collaborate with, and may in24 clude, the State or local workforce investment board. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a grant 

2 under this section shall submit a grant proposal to the 

3 Secretary of Labor at such time and containing such infor4 mation as the Secretary may require. The proposal shall 

5 include, at a minimum, a detailed description of— 

6 (1) the specific project for which the grant pro7 posal is submitted, including the manner in which 

8 the grant will be used to develop, offer, improve, or 

9 provide a STEM education or career training pro10 gram; 

11 (2) the extent to which the project will meet the 

12 STEM education or career training needs of workers 

13 in the area served by the eligible entity; 

14 (3) the extent to which the project will meet the 

15 needs of employers in the region for skilled workers 

16 in in-demand industry sectors and in-demand occu17 pations, including high technology areas, nanotech18 nology, and advanced manufacturing; 

19 (4) the extent to which the project fits within 

20 any overall strategic plan developed by an eligible 

21 entity; and 

22 (5) any previous experience of the eligible entity 

23 in providing STEM education or career training pro24 grams, the absence of which shall not automatically 


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1 disqualify an eligible institution from receiving a 

2 grant under this section. 

3 (d) SPECIFICATIONS OF GRANTS.— 

4 (1) DURATION.—A grant shall be awarded 

5 under this section for a period of up to 36 months 

6 in duration. 

7 (2) SIZE OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant 

8 awarded under this subsection may not exceed 

9 $3,000,000 for an individual entity and $20,000,000 

10 for a consortium. 

11 (e) CRITERIA FOR AWARD.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this section 

13 shall be awarded based on— 

14 (A) a determination of the merits of the 

15 grant proposal submitted by the eligible entity 

16 to develop, offer, improve, or provide STEM 

17 education or career training programs to be 

18 made available to workers; 

19 (B) an assessment of the likely employ20 ment opportunities available in the region to in21 dividuals who complete a STEM education or 

22 career training program that the eligible entity 

23 proposes to develop, offer, improve, or provide; 

24 (C) an assessment of prior demand for 

25 STEM training programs by individuals eligible 


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1 for training served by the eligible entity as well 

2 as availability and capacity of existing STEM 

3 training programs to meet future demand for 

4 STEM training programs; and 

5 (D) any additional criteria established by 

6 the Secretary of Labor. 

7 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

8 give priority to eligible entities that— 

9 (A) include a partnership with a business 

10 or industry or sector partnership that— 

11 (i) pays a portion of the costs of such 

12 programs; or 

13 (ii) agrees to hire individuals who 

14 have completed a particular postsecondary 

15 degree, certificate, or credential resulting 

16 from the training program of the eligible 

17 entity; 

18 (B) enter into a partnership with a labor 

19 organization or labor-management training pro20 gram that provides technical expertise for occu21 pationally specific education necessary for a rec22 ognized postsecondary STEM credential leading 

23 to an occupation in an in-demand industry sec24 tor; 


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1 (C) are focused on serving individuals with 

2 barriers to employment, particularly individuals 

3 who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or 

4 longer; 

5 (D) are community colleges serving areas 

6 with high unemployment rates, including rural 

7 areas; and 

8 (E) are eligible entities that include an in9 stitution of higher education eligible for assist10 ance under title III or V of the Higher Edu11 cation Act of 1965. 

12 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this sec13 tion shall be used for one or more of the following: 

14 (1) The development, offering, improvement, or 

15 provision of STEM academic programs or training 

16 programs that provide relevant job training for 

17 skilled occupations that will meet the needs of em18 ployers in in-demand industry sectors, which may in19 clude registered apprenticeship programs, on-the-job 

20 training programs, and programs that support em21 ployers in upgrading the skills of their workforce. 

22 (2) The development and implementation of 

23 policies and programs to expand opportunities for 

24 students to earn a recognized postsecondary STEM 


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1 credential or degree in in-demand industry sectors 

2 and in-demand occupations, including by— 

3 (A) facilitating the transfer of academic 

4 credits between institutions of higher education, 

5 including the transfer of academic credits for 

6 courses in the same field of study; 

7 (B) expanding articulation agreements and 

8 policies that guarantee transfer between such 

9 institutions, including through common course 

10 numbering and general core curriculum; and 

11 (C) developing or enhancing student sup12 port services programs. 

13 (3) The creation of workforce programs that 

14 provide a sequence of education and occupational 

15 training that leads to a recognized postsecondary 

16 STEM credential or degree, including programs 

17 that— 

18 (A) blend basic skills and occupational 

19 training; 

20 (B) facilitate means of transitioning from 

21 noncredit occupational, basic skills, or develop22 mental coursework to for-credit coursework 

23 within and across institutions; 

24 (C) build or enhance linkages including the 

25 development of dual enrollment programs and 


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1 early college high schools between secondary 

2 education or adult education programs (includ3 ing programs established under the Carl D. 

4 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

5 2006); 

6 (D) implement other innovative programs 

7 designed to increase the provision of training 

8 for students, including students who are vet9 eran members of the National Guard or Re10 serves, to enter skilled occupations in in-de11 mand industry sectors; and 

12 (E) support paid internships that will allow 

13 students to simultaneously earn credit for work14 based learning and gain relevant employment 

15 experience in an in-demand industry sector or 

16 in-demand occupation, which shall include op17 portunities that transition individuals into em18 ployment. 

19 (4) The support of regional or national in-de20 mand industry sectors to develop skills consortia 

21 that will identify pressing workforce needs and de22 velop solutions such as— 

23 (A) standardizing industry certifications; 

24 (B) developing new training technologies; 

25 and 


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1 (C) collaborating with industry employers 

2 to define and describe how specific skills lead to 

3 particular jobs and career opportunities. 

4 (g) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

6 Labor $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 

7 2016 to carry out this section. 

8 (h) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec9 tion— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘in-demand industry sector’’ 

11 means an industry sector that has a substantial cur12 rent or potential impact (including through jobs that 

13 lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities 

14 for advancement) on the State, regional, or local 

15 economy, as appropriate, and that contributes to the 

16 growth or stability of other supporting businesses, or 

17 the growth of other industry sectors; and 

18 (2) the term ‘‘in-demand occupation’’ means an 

19 occupation that currently has or is projected to have 

20 a number of positions (including positions that lead 

21 to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for ad22 vancement) in an industry sector so as to have a sig23 nificant impact on the State, regional, or local econ24 omy. 


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1 SEC. 206. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REPORT ON 

2 STEAM EDUCATION. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

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

6 Mathematics (STEM) Talent Expansion Program 

7 set an important goal of increasing the number of 

8 students graduating with associate or baccalaureate 

9 degrees in the STEM fields, and this should con10 tinue to be a focus of that program; 

11 (2) to further the goal of the STEM Talent Ex12 pansion Program, as well as STEM education pro13 motion programs across the Federal Government, in14 novative approaches are needed to enhance STEM 

15 education in the United States; 

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

17 and design, broadly defined, into Federal STEM 

18 programming, research, and innovation activities, is 

19 a method-validated approach to maintaining the 

20 competitiveness of the United States in both work21 force and innovation and to increasing and broad22 ening students’ engagement in the STEM fields; 

23 (4) STEM graduates need more than technical 

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

25 also need to be creative, innovative, collaborative, 

26 and able to think critically; 


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1 (5) STEAM should be recognized as providing 

2 value to STEM research and education programs 

3 across Federal agencies, without supplanting the 

4 focus on the traditional STEM disciplines; 

5 (6) Federal agencies should work cooperatively 

6 on interdisciplinary initiatives to support the inte7 gration of arts and design into STEM, and current 

8 interdisciplinary programs should be strengthened; 

9 (7) Federal agencies should allow for STEAM 

10 activities under current and future grant-making 

11 and other activities; and 

12 (8) Federal agencies should clarify that, where 

13 appropriate, data collection, surveys, and reporting 

14 on STEM activities and grant-making should exam15 ine activities that involve cross-disciplinary learning 

16 that integrates specialized skills and expertise from 

17 both art and science. 

18 (b) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WORKSHOP.— 

19 The National Science Foundation shall enter into an ar20 rangement with the National Research Council to conduct 

21 a workshop on the integration of arts and design with 

22 STEM education. The workshop shall include a discussion 

23 of— 

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1 ment of science, engineering, and innovation, for ex2 ample through the development of visualization aids 

3 for large experimental and computational data sets; 

4 (2) how arts and design-based education experi5 ences might support formal and informal STEM 

6 education at the pre-K–12 level, particularly in fos7 tering creativity and risk taking, and encourage 

8 more students to pursue STEM studies, including 

9 students from groups historically underrepresented 

10 in STEM; 

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

12 better integrated into undergraduate engineering 

13 and other STEM curricula, including in the first two 

14 years of undergraduate studies, to enhance student 

15 capacity for creativity and innovation and improve 

16 student retention, including students from groups 

17 historically underrepresented in STEM; and 

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

19 science agencies should take to promote the inclu20 sion of arts and design principles in their respective 

21 STEM programs and activities in order to improve 

22 student STEM learning outcomes, increase the re23 cruitment and retention of students into STEM 

24 studies and careers, and increase innovation in the 

25 United States. 


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

2 date of enactment of this Act, the National Research 

3 Council shall submit a report to Congress providing a 

4 summary description of the discussion and findings from 

5 the workshop required under subsection (b). 

6 SEC. 207. ENGAGING FEDERAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGI7 NEERS IN STEM EDUCATION. 

8 The Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

9 Policy shall develop guidance for Federal agencies to in10 crease opportunities and training, as appropriate, for Fed11 eral scientists and engineers to participate in STEM en12 gagement activities through their respective agencies and 

13 in their communities. 

14 Subtitle B—Broadening 

15 Participation in STEM 

16 SEC. 211. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘STEM Opportuni18 ties Act of 2014’’. 

19 SEC. 212. PURPOSE. 

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

21 Science and Technology Policy, acting through the Fed22 eral science agencies, shall carry out programs and activi23 ties with the purpose of ensuring that Federal science 

24 agencies and institutions of higher education receiving 


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1 Federal research and development funding are fully en2 gaging their entire talent pool. 

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

4 follows: 

5 (1) To promote research on and increase under6 standing of the participation and trajectories of 

7 women and underrepresented minorities in STEM 

8 careers at institutions of higher education and Fed9 eral science agencies, including Federal laboratories. 

10 (2) To raise awareness within Federal science 

11 agencies, including Federal laboratories, and institu12 tions of higher education about cultural and institu13 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

14 promotion, and other indicators of participation and 

15 achievement of women and underrepresented minori16 ties in academic and Government STEM research 

17 careers at all levels. 

18 (3) To identify, disseminate, and implement 

19 best practices at Federal science agencies, including 

20 Federal laboratories, and at institutions of higher 

21 education to remove or reduce cultural and institu22 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 

23 and success of women and underrepresented minori24 ties in academic and Government STEM research 

25 careers. 


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1 (4) To provide grants to institutions of higher 

2 education to recruit, retain, and advance STEM fac3 ulty members from underrepresented minority 

4 groups and to implement or expand reforms in un5 dergraduate STEM education in order to increase 

6 the number of students from underrepresented mi7 nority groups receiving degrees in these fields. 

8 SEC. 213. FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POLICIES FOR CARE9 GIVERS. 

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

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

12 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall provide 

13 guidance to Federal science agencies to establish policies 

14 that— 

15 (1) apply to all— 

16 (A) intramural and extramural research 

17 awards; and 

18 (B) primary investigators who have 

19 caregiving responsibilities, including care for a 

20 newborn or newly adopted child and care for an 

21 immediate family member who is sick or dis22 abled; and 

23 (2) provide— 

24 (A) flexibility in timing for the initiation of 

25 approved research awards; 


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

2 (C) grant supplements as appropriate to 

3 research awards for research technicians or 

4 equivalent to sustain research activities; and 

5 (D) any other appropriate accommodations 

6 at the discretion of the head of each agency. 

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

8 guidance, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech9 nology Policy shall encourage uniformity and consistency 

10 in the policies across all agencies. 

11 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 

12 the guidance provided under this section, Federal science 

13 agencies shall maintain or develop and implement policies 

14 for caregivers and shall broadly disseminate such policies 

15 to current and potential grantees. 

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

17 shall— 

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

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

20 of higher education and Federal laboratories; and 

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

22 Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

23 Policy in such form as required by the Director. 


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1 SEC. 214. COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA ON FED2 ERAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

3 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

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

5 shall collect standardized record-level annual infor6 mation on demographics, primary field, award type, 

7 budget request, funding outcome, and awarded 

8 budget for all applications for merit-reviewed re9 search and development grants to institutions of 

10 higher education and Federal laboratories supported 

11 by that agency. 

12 (2) UNIFORMITY AND STANDARDIZATION.—The 

13 Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

14 Policy shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity 

15 and standardization of the data collection required 

16 under paragraph (1). 

17 (3) RECORD-LEVEL DATA.— 

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

19 beginning with the deadline under subpara20 graph (C), each Federal science agency shall 

21 submit to the Director of the National Science 

22 Foundation record-level data collected under 

23 paragraph (1) in the form required by such Di24 rector. 

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

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1 eral science agency, to the extent practicable, 

2 shall also submit comparable record-level data 

3 for the 5 years preceding the deadline under 

4 subparagraph (C). 

5 (C) DEADLINE.—The deadline under this 

6 paragraph is 2 years after the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (b) REPORTING OF DATA.—The Director of the Na9 tional Science Foundation shall publish statistical sum10 mary data collected under this section, disaggregated and 

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

12 since completion of doctoral degree, including in conjunc13 tion with the National Science Foundation’s report re14 quired by section 37 of the Science and Technology Equal 

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

16 516). 

17 SEC. 215. POLICIES FOR REVIEW OF FEDERAL RESEARCH 

18 GRANTS. 

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

20 Science and Technology Policy, in collaboration with the 

21 Director of the National Science Foundation, shall identify 

22 information and best practices useful for educating pro23 gram officers and members of standing peer review com24 mittees at Federal science agencies about— 


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

2 race, or ethnicity; and 

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

4 in the review of extramural and intramural Federal 

5 research grants. 

6 (b) GUIDANCE TO ALL FEDERAL SCIENCE AGEN7 CIES.—The Director of the Office of Science and Tech8 nology Policy shall disseminate the information and best 

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

10 agencies and provide guidance as necessary on policies to 

11 implement such practices within each agency. 

12 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 

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

14 agencies shall maintain or develop and implement policies 

15 and practices to minimize the effects of implicit bias in 

16 the review of extramural and intramural Federal research 

17 grants. 

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

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

20 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall report 

21 to Congress on what steps all Federal science agencies 

22 have taken to implement policies and practices to minimize 

23 the effects of bias in the review of extramural and intra24 mural Federal research grants. 


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1 SEC. 216. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF 

2 FACULTY. 

3 (a) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

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

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

6 5 years thereafter, the Director of the National 

7 Science Foundation shall carry out a survey to col8 lect institution-level data on the demographics of 

9 STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at dif10 ferent types of institutions of higher education. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—To the extent prac12 ticable, the Director of the National Science Foun13 dation shall consider, by gender, race, ethnicity, citi14 zenship status, age, and years since completion of 

15 doctoral degree— 

16 (A) the number and percentage of faculty; 

17 (B) the number and percentage of faculty 

18 at each rank; 

19 (C) the number and percentage of faculty 

20 who are in nontenure-track positions, including 

21 teaching and research; 

22 (D) the number and percentage of faculty 

23 who are reviewed for promotion, including ten24 ure, and the percentage of that number who are 

25 promoted, including being awarded tenure; 

26 (E) faculty years in rank; 


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1 (F) the number and percentage of faculty 

2 to leave tenure-track positions; 

3 (G) the number and percentage of faculty 

4 hired, by rank; and 

5 (H) the number and percentage of faculty 

6 in leadership positions. 

7 (b) EXISTING SURVEYS.—The Director of the Na8 tional Science Foundation— 

9 (1) may carry out the requirements under sub10 section (a) by collaborating with statistical centers 

11 at other Federal agencies to modify or expand, as 

12 necessary, existing Federal surveys of higher edu13 cation; or 

14 (2) may award a grant or contract to an insti15 tution of higher education or other nonprofit organi16 zation to design and carry out the requirements 

17 under subsection (a). 

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

19 Science Foundation shall publish statistical summary data 

20 collected under this section, including as part of the Na21 tional Science Foundation’s report required by section 37 

22 of the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96–516). 

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 


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

2 years 2014 through 2016 to develop and carry out the 

3 initial survey required in subsection (a). 

4 SEC. 217. CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO EX5 PANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL 

6 STEM WORKFORCE. 

7 (a) BEST PRACTICES AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

8 EDUCATION.— 

9 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

10 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

11 Act, the Director of the National Science Founda12 tion shall develop written guidance for institutions of 

13 higher education on the best practices for— 

14 (A) conducting periodic campus culture 

15 surveys of STEM departments, with a par16 ticular focus on identifying any cultural or in17 stitutional barriers to or successful enablers for 

18 the recruitment, retention, promotion, and 

19 other indicators of participation and achieve20 ment, of women and underrepresented minori21 ties in STEM degree programs and academic 

22 STEM careers; and 

23 (B) providing educational opportunities, in24 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

25 (c), for STEM faculty and administrators to 


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1 learn about current research on implicit bias in 

2 recruitment, evaluation, and promotion of fac3 ulty in STEM and recruitment and evaluation 

4 of undergraduate and graduate students in 

5 STEM degree programs. 

6 (2) EXISTING GUIDANCE.—In developing the 

7 guidance in paragraph (1), the Director of the Na8 tional Science Foundation shall utilize guidance al9 ready developed by the National Aeronautics and 

10 Space Administration, the Department of Energy, 

11 and the Department of Education. 

12 (3) DISSEMINATION OF GUIDANCE.—The Direc13 tor of the National Science Foundation shall broadly 

14 disseminate the guidance developed in paragraph (1) 

15 to institutions of higher education that receive Fed16 eral research funding. 

17 (4) REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL SCIENCE

18 FOUNDATION.—The Director of the National Science 

19 Foundation shall develop a policy that— 

20 (A) applies to, at a minimum, the institu21 tions classified by the Carnegie Foundation for 

22 the Advancement of Teaching on January 1, 

23 2013, as a doctorate-granting university with a 

24 very high level of research activity; and 


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1 (B) requires each institution identified in 

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

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

4 the Director of the National Science Founda5 tion on activities and policies developed and im6 plemented based on the guidance provided in 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 (b) BEST PRACTICES AT FEDERAL LABORA9 TORIES.— 

10 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE.—Not later 

11 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

12 Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech13 nology Policy shall develop written guidance for Fed14 eral laboratories to develop and implement practices 

15 and policies to— 

16 (A) conduct periodic laboratorywide culture 

17 surveys of research personnel at all levels, with 

18 a particular focus on identifying any cultural or 

19 institutional barriers to the recruitment, reten20 tion, and success of women and underrep21 resented minorities in STEM careers at Federal 

22 laboratories; and 

23 (B) provide educational opportunities, in24 cluding workshops as described in subsection 

25 (c), for STEM research personnel to learn 


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1 about current research in implicit bias in re2 cruitment, evaluation, and promotion of re3 search personnel at Federal laboratories. 

4 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent 

5 with the guidance provided in paragraph (1), Fed6 eral science agencies with Federal laboratories shall 

7 maintain or develop and implement policies for their 

8 respective Federal laboratories. 

9 (c) WORKSHOPS TO ADDRESS CULTURAL BARRIERS

10 TO EXPANDING THE ACADEMIC AND FEDERAL STEM 

11 WORKFORCE.— 

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

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

14 of the National Science Foundation shall recommend 

15 a uniform policy for Federal science agencies to 

16 carry out a program of workshops that educate 

17 STEM department chairs at institutions of higher 

18 education, senior managers at Federal laboratories, 

19 and other federally funded researchers about meth20 ods that minimize the effects of implicit bias in the 

21 career advancement, including hiring, tenure, pro22 motion, and selection for any honor based in part on 

23 the recipient’s research record, of academic and Fed24 eral STEM researchers. 


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1 (2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Direc2 tor of the National Science Foundation shall ensure 

3 that workshops supported under this subsection are 

4 coordinated across Federal science agencies and 

5 jointly supported as appropriate. 

6 (3) MINIMIZING COSTS.—To the extent prac7 ticable, workshops shall be held in conjunction with 

8 national or regional STEM disciplinary meetings to 

9 minimize costs associated with participant travel. 

10 (4) PRIORITY FIELDS FOR ACADEMIC PARTICI11 PANTS.—In considering the participation of STEM 

12 department chairs and other academic researchers, 

13 the Director of the National Science Foundation 

14 shall prioritize workshops for the broad fields of 

15 STEM in which the national rate of representation 

16 of women among tenured or tenure-track faculty or 

17 non-faculty researchers at doctorate-granting institu18 tions of higher education is less than 25 percent, ac19 cording to the most recent data available from the 

20 National Center for Science and Engineering Statis21 tics. 

22 (5) ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE TO CARRY OUT

23 WORKSHOPS.—Federal science agencies may carry 

24 out the program of workshops under this subsection 

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1 tion to any other organizations made eligible by the 

2 Federal science agencies, the following organizations 

3 are eligible for grants under this subsection: 

4 (A) Nonprofit scientific and professional 

5 societies and organizations that represent one 

6 or more STEM disciplines. 

7 (B) Nonprofit organizations that have the 

8 primary mission of advancing the participation 

9 of women or underrepresented minorities in 

10 STEM. 

11 (6) CHARACTERISTICS OF WORKSHOPS.—The 

12 workshops shall have the following characteristics: 

13 (A) Invitees to workshops shall include at 

14 least— 

15 (i) the chairs of departments in the 

16 relevant STEM discipline or disciplines 

17 from at least the top 50 institutions of 

18 higher education, as determined by the 

19 amount of Federal research and develop20 ment funds obligated to each institution of 

21 higher education in the prior year based on 

22 data available from the National Science 

23 Foundation; and 

24 (ii) in the case of Federal laboratories, 

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1 sponsibilities comparable to those of an in2 stitution of higher education department 

3 chair. 

4 (B) Activities at the workshops shall in5 clude research presentations and interactive dis6 cussions or other activities that increase the 

7 awareness of the existence of implicit bias in re8 cruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and 

9 other forms of formal recognition of individual 

10 achievement for faculty and other federally 

11 funded STEM researchers and shall provide 

12 strategies to overcome such bias. 

13 (C) Research presentations and other 

14 workshop programs, as appropriate, shall in15 clude a discussion of the unique challenges 

16 faced by underrepresented subgroups, including 

17 minority women, minority men, and first gen18 eration minority graduates in research. 

19 (D) Workshop programs shall include in20 formation on best practices for mentoring un21 dergraduate and graduate women and under22 represented minority students. 

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

24 funding by an organization seeking to carry out a 


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1 workshop under this subsection shall include a de2 scription of how such organization will— 

3 (A) collect data on the rates of attendance 

4 by invitees in workshops, including information 

5 on the home institution and department of 

6 attendees, and the rank of faculty attendees; 

7 (B) conduct attitudinal surveys on work8 shop attendees before and after the workshops; 

9 and 

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

11 institutional policy or practice changes reported 

12 by attendees not later than 1 year after attend13 ance in such a workshop. 

14 (8) REPORT TO NSF.—Organizations receiving 

15 funding to carry out workshops under this sub16 section shall report the data required in paragraph 

17 (7) to the Director of the National Science Founda18 tion in such form as required by such Director. 

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

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

21 the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to 

22 Congress that includes— 

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

24 frequency of activities and policies developed and 

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1 ports submitted under paragraph (4) of such sub2 section; and 

3 (2) a description and evaluation of the status 

4 and effectiveness of the program of workshops re5 quired under subsection (c), including a summary of 

6 any data reported under paragraph (8) of such sub7 section. 

8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

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

11 years 2014 through 2018 to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 218. RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION AT THE NA13 TIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 

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

15 Science Foundation shall award research grants and carry 

16 out dissemination activities consistent with the purposes 

17 of this subtitle, including— 

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

19 data collected under section 214 and section 216, 

20 consistent with policies to ensure the privacy of indi21 viduals identifiable by such data; 

22 (2) research grants to study best practices for 

23 work-life accommodation; 

24 (3) research grants to study the impact of poli25 cies and practices that are implemented under this 


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1 subtitle or that are otherwise consistent with the 

2 purposes of this subtitle; 

3 (4) collaboration with other Federal science 

4 agencies and professional associations to exchange 

5 best practices, harmonize work-life accommodation 

6 policies and practices, and overcome common bar7 riers to work-life accommodation; and 

8 (5) collaboration with institutions of higher 

9 education in order to clarify and catalyze the adop10 tion of a coherent and consistent set of work-life ac11 commodation policies and practices. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

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

15 years 2014 through 2018 to carry out this section. 

16 SEC. 219. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

17 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech19 nology Policy shall submit a report to Congress that in20 cludes— 

21 (1) a description and evaluation of the status 

22 and usage of caregiver policies at all Federal science 

23 agencies, including any recommendations for revis24 ing or expanding such policies; 


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1 (2) a description of any significant updates to 

2 the policies for review of Federal research grants re3 quired under section 215, and any evidence of the 

4 impact of such policies on the review or awarding of 

5 Federal research grants; and 

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

7 Federal laboratory policies and practices required 

8 under section 217(b), including any recommenda9 tions for revising or expanding such policies. 

10 SEC. 220. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 

11 INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG STEM FAC12 ULTY AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU13 CATION. 

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

15 Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

16 education (or consortia thereof) for the development of in17 novative reform efforts designed to increase the recruit18 ment, retention, and advancement of individuals from 

19 underrepresented minority groups in academic STEM ca20 reers. 

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

22 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi23 tive basis. 

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

25 under this section may include— 


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1 (1) institutional assessment activities, such as 

2 data analyses and policy review, in order to identify 

3 and address specific issues in the recruitment, reten4 tion, and advancement of faculty members from 

5 underrepresented minority groups; 

6 (2) implementation of institution-wide improve7 ments in workload distribution, such that faculty 

8 members from underrepresented minority groups are 

9 not disadvantaged in the amount of time available to 

10 focus on research, publishing papers, and engaging 

11 in other activities required to achieve tenure status 

12 and run a productive research program; 

13 (3) development and implementation of training 

14 courses for administrators and search committee 

15 members to ensure that candidates from underrep16 resented minority groups are not subject to implicit 

17 biases in the search and hiring process; 

18 (4) development and hosting of intra- or inter19 institutional workshops to propagate best practices 

20 in recruiting, retaining, and advancing faculty mem21 bers from underrepresented minority groups; 

22 (5) professional development opportunities for 

23 faculty members from underrepresented minority 

24 groups; 


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1 (6) activities aimed at making undergraduate 

2 STEM students from underrepresented minority 

3 groups aware of opportunities for academic careers 

4 in STEM fields; 

5 (7) activities to identify and engage exceptional 

6 graduate students from underrepresented minority 

7 groups at various stages of their studies and to en8 courage them to enter academic careers; and 

9 (8) other activities consistent with subsection 

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

11 Science Foundation. 

12 (d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

13 (1) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher 

14 education (or consortia thereof) seeking funding 

15 under this section shall submit an application to the 

16 Director of the National Science Foundation at such 

17 time, in such manner, and containing such informa18 tion and assurances as such Director may require. 

19 The application shall include, at a minimum, a de20 scription of— 

21 (A) the reform effort that is being pro22 posed for implementation by the institution of 

23 higher education; 

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1 vancement of faculty members from underrep2 resented minority groups in STEM academic 

3 careers within the institution of higher edu4 cation submitting an application, and how the 

5 proposed reform effort would address such 

6 issues; 

7 (C) how the institution of higher education 

8 submitting an application plans to sustain the 

9 proposed reform effort beyond the duration of 

10 the grant; and 

11 (D) how the success and effectiveness of 

12 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

13 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

14 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in15 stitutional change. 

16 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

17 grant recipients under this section, the Director of 

18 the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 

19 minimum— 

20 (A) the likelihood of success in under21 taking the proposed reform effort at the institu22 tion of higher education submitting the applica23 tion, including the extent to which the adminis24 trators of the institution are committed to mak25 ing the proposed reform effort a priority; 


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1 (B) the degree to which the proposed re2 form effort will contribute to change in institu3 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

4 is placed on the recruitment, retention, and ad5 vancement of faculty members from underrep6 resented minority groups; 

7 (C) the likelihood that the institution of 

8 higher education will sustain or expand the pro9 posed reform effort beyond the period of the 

10 grant; and 

11 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as12 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

13 proposed reform effort. 

14 (3) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 

15 the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 

16 extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 

17 section are made to a variety of types of institutions 

18 of higher education. 

19 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

21 National Science Foundation $10,000,000 for each of fis22 cal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 221. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SUPPORT FOR 

2 BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN UNDER3 GRADUATE STEM EDUCATION. 

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

5 Foundation shall award grants to institutions of higher 

6 education (or consortia thereof) to implement or expand 

7 research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM edu8 cation for the purpose of recruiting and retaining students 

9 from minority groups who are underrepresented in STEM 

10 fields, with a priority focus on natural science and engi11 neering fields. 

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

13 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi14 tive basis. 

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

16 under this section may include— 

17 (1) implementation or expansion of innovative, 

18 research-based approaches to broaden participation 

19 of underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

20 fields; 

21 (2) implementation or expansion of bridge, co22 hort, tutoring, or mentoring programs designed to 

23 enhance the recruitment and retention of students 

24 from underrepresented minority groups in STEM 

25 fields; 


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1 (3) implementation or expansion of outreach 

2 programs linking institutions of higher education 

3 and K–12 school systems in order to heighten 

4 awareness among pre-college students from under5 represented minority groups of opportunities in col6 lege-level STEM fields and STEM careers; 

7 (4) implementation or expansion of faculty de8 velopment programs focused on improving retention 

9 of undergraduate STEM students from underrep10 resented minority groups; 

11 (5) implementation or expansion of mechanisms 

12 designed to recognize and reward faculty members 

13 who demonstrate a commitment to increasing the 

14 participation of students from underrepresented mi15 nority groups in STEM fields; 

16 (6) expansion of successful reforms aimed at in17 creasing the number of STEM students from under18 represented minority groups beyond a single course 

19 or group of courses to achieve reform within an en20 tire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform 

21 efforts beyond a single academic unit to other 

22 STEM academic units within an institution of high23 er education; 

24 (7) expansion of opportunities for students from 

25 underrepresented minority groups to conduct STEM 


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1 research in industry, at Federal laboratories, and at 

2 international research institutions or research sites; 

3 (8) provision of stipends for students from 

4 underrepresented minority groups participating in 

5 research; 

6 (9) development of research collaborations be7 tween research-intensive universities and primarily 

8 undergraduate minority-serving institutions; 

9 (10) support for graduate students and post10 doctoral fellows from underrepresented minority 

11 groups to participate in instructional or assessment 

12 activities at primarily undergraduate institutions, in13 cluding primarily undergraduate minority-serving in14 stitutions and two-year institutions of higher edu15 cation; and 

16 (11) 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 consortium thereof) seeking a grant 

22 under this section shall submit an application to the 

23 Director of the National Science Foundation at such 

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1 tion and assurances as such Director may require. 

2 The application shall include, at a minimum— 

3 (A) a description of the proposed reform 

4 effort; 

5 (B) a description of the research findings 

6 that will serve as the basis for the proposed re7 form effort or, in the case of applications that 

8 propose an expansion of a previously imple9 mented reform, a description of the previously 

10 implemented reform effort, including data about 

11 the recruitment, retention, and academic 

12 achievement of students from underrepresented 

13 minority groups; 

14 (C) evidence of an institutional commit15 ment to, and support for, the proposed reform 

16 effort, including a long-term commitment to im17 plement successful strategies from the current 

18 reform beyond the academic unit or units in19 cluded in the grant proposal; 

20 (D) a description of existing or planned in21 stitutional policies and practices regarding fac22 ulty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching as23 signment that reward faculty contributions to 

24 improving the education of students from 


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1 underrepresented minority groups in STEM; 

2 and 

3 (E) how the success and effectiveness of 

4 the proposed reform effort will be evaluated and 

5 assessed in order to contribute to the national 

6 knowledge base about models for catalyzing in7 stitutional change. 

8 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

9 grant recipients under this section, the Director of 

10 the National Science Foundation shall consider, at a 

11 minimum— 

12 (A) the likelihood of success of the pro13 posed reform effort at the institution submit14 ting the application, including the extent to 

15 which the faculty, staff, and administrators of 

16 the institution are committed to making the 

17 proposed institutional reform a priority of the 

18 participating academic unit or units; 

19 (B) the degree to which the proposed re20 form effort will contribute to change in institu21 tional culture and policy such that greater value 

22 is placed on faculty engagement in the retention 

23 of students from underrepresented minority 

24 groups; 


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1 (C) the likelihood that the institution will 

2 sustain or expand the proposed reform effort 

3 beyond the period of the grant; and 

4 (D) the degree to which evaluation and as5 sessment plans are included in the design of the 

6 proposed reform effort. 

7 (3) PRIORITY.—For applications that include 

8 an expansion of existing reforms beyond a single 

9 academic unit, the Director of the National Science 

10 Foundation shall give priority to applications for 

11 which a senior institutional administrator, such as a 

12 dean or other administrator of equal or higher rank, 

13 serves as the principal investigator. 

14 (4) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director of 

15 the National Science Foundation shall ensure, to the 

16 extent practicable, that grants awarded under this 

17 section are made to a variety of types of institutions 

18 of higher education, including two-year and minor19 ity-serving institutions of higher education. 

20 (e) EDUCATION RESEARCH.— 

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

22 section shall include an education research compo23 nent that will support the design and implementa24 tion of a system for data collection and evaluation 

25 of proposed reform efforts in order to build the 


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1 knowledge base on promising models for increasing 

2 recruitment and retention of students from under3 represented minority groups in STEM education at 

4 the undergraduate level across a diverse set of insti5 tutions. 

6 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Director of the Na7 tional Science Foundation shall coordinate with rel8 evant Federal agencies in disseminating the results 

9 of the research under this subsection to ensure that 

10 best practices in broadening participation in STEM 

11 education at the undergraduate level are made read12 ily available to all institutions of higher education, 

13 other Federal agencies that support STEM pro14 grams, non-Federal funders of STEM education, 

15 and the general public. 

16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

18 National Science Foundation $15,000,000 for each of fis19 cal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 222. DEFINITIONS. 

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

22 (1) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed23 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

24 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno25 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 


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1 (2) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

3 with at least $100,000,000 in research and develop4 ment expenditures in fiscal year 2012. 

5 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

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

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

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

10 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

11 computer science. 

12 (b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AUTHORIZA13 TION ACT OF 2002.—Section 4 of the National Science 

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

15 note) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating paragraph (16) as para17 graph (17); and 

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(16) STEM.—The term ‘STEM’ means 

21 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 

22 including computer science.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—NATIONAL SCIENCE 

2 FOUNDATION 

3 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

4 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2015.— 

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

7 appropriated to the Foundation $7,520,900,000 for 

8 fiscal year 2015. 

9 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

10 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) $6,099,360,000 shall be made avail12 able for research and related activities; 

13 (B) $888,830,000 shall be made available 

14 for education and human resources, of which 

15 $62,000,000 shall be for informal STEM edu16 cation activities under section 327; 

17 (C) $200,760,000 shall be made available 

18 for major research equipment and facilities con19 struction; 

20 (D) $312,900,000 shall be made available 

21 for agency operations and award management; 

22 (E) $4,430,000 shall be made available for 

23 the Office of the National Science Board, in24 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

25 of the Board and staff appointed under section 


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1 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

2 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

3 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

4 general and Board operating expenses, rep5 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

6 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

7 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

8 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

9 (F) $14,630,000 shall be made available 

10 for the Office of Inspector General. 

11 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

13 appropriated to the Foundation $7,885,770,000 for 

14 fiscal year 2016. 

15 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

16 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) $6,404,330,000 shall be made avail18 able for research and related activities; 

19 (B) $933,270,000 shall be made available 

20 for education and human resources, of which 

21 $65,100,000 shall be for informal STEM edu22 cation activities under section 327; 

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

24 for major research equipment and facilities con25 struction; 


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1 (D) $328,550,000 shall be made available 

2 for agency operations and award management; 

3 (E) $4,560,000 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) $15,060,000 shall be made available 

16 for the Office of Inspector General. 

17 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

19 appropriated to the Foundation $8,269,670,000 for 

20 fiscal year 2017. 

21 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

22 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) $6,724,550,000 shall be made avail24 able for research and related activities; 


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1 (B) $979,930,000 shall be made available 

2 for education and human resources, of which 

3 $68,360,000 shall be for informal STEM edu4 cation activities under section 327; 

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

6 for major research equipment and facilities con7 struction; 

8 (D) $344,970,000 shall be made available 

9 for agency operations and award management; 

10 (E) $4,700,000 shall be made available for 

11 the Office of the National Science Board, in12 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

13 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

14 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

15 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

16 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

17 general and Board operating expenses, rep18 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

19 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

20 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

21 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

22 (F) $15,520,000 shall be made available 

23 for the Office of Inspector General. 

24 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2018.— 


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

2 appropriated to the Foundation $8,672,740,000 for 

3 fiscal year 2018. 

4 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

5 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) $7,060,780,000 shall be made avail7 able for research and related activities; 

8 (B) $1,028,930,000 shall be made avail9 able for education and human resources, of 

10 which $71,770,000 shall be for informal STEM 

11 education activities under section 327; 

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

13 for major research equipment and facilities con14 struction; 

15 (D) $362,220,000 shall be made available 

16 for agency operations and award management; 

17 (E) $4,840,000 shall be made available for 

18 the Office of the National Science Board, in19 cluding salaries and compensation for members 

20 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

21 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

22 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

23 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

24 general and Board operating expenses, rep25 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 


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1 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

2 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

3 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

4 (F) $15,980,000 shall be made available 

5 for the Office of Inspector General. 

6 (e) FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

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

8 appropriated to the Foundation $9,095,970,000 for 

9 fiscal year 2019. 

10 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

11 authorized under paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) $7,413,810,000 shall be made avail13 able for research and related activities; 

14 (B) $1,080,370,000 shall be made avail15 able for education and human resources, of 

16 which $75,360,000 shall be for informal STEM 

17 education activities under section 327; 

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

19 for major research equipment and facilities con20 struction; 

21 (D) $380,330,000 shall be made available 

22 for agency operations and award management; 

23 (E) $4,980,000 shall be made available for 

24 the Office of the National Science Board, in25 cluding salaries and compensation for members 


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1 of the Board and staff appointed under section 

2 4 of the National Science Foundation Act of 

3 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863), travel and training 

4 costs for members of the Board and such staff, 

5 general and Board operating expenses, rep6 resentational expenses for the Board, honorary 

7 awards made by the Board, Board reports 

8 (other than the report entitled ‘‘Science and 

9 Engineering Indicators’’), and contracts; and 

10 (F) $16,460,000 shall be made available 

11 for the Office of Inspector General. 

12 SEC. 302. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUPPORT FOR ALL 

13 FIELDS OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that in order to achieve 

15 its mission ‘‘to promote the progress of science; to advance 

16 the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the 

17 national defense . . .’’ the National Science Foundation 

18 must continue to support unfettered, competitive, merit19 reviewed basic research across all fields of science and en20 gineering, including the social and behavioral sciences. It 

21 is further the sense of Congress that the Foundation’s 

22 process for selecting proposals for funding, which includes 

23 merit review based on both intellectual merit and broader 

24 impacts, remains the gold standard for the world, and that 


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1 program officers and division directors at the Foundation 

2 play an essential role in this process. 

3 SEC. 303. MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FA4 CILITIES. 

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

6 maintain a Large Facilities Office within the Foundation. 

7 The functions of the Large Facilities Office shall be to 

8 support the research directorates in the development and 

9 implementation of major research facilities, including by— 

10 (1) serving as the Foundation’s primary re11 source for all policy or process issues related to the 

12 development and implementation of major research 

13 facilities; 

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

15 project management, including providing expert as16 sistance on nonscientific and nontechnical aspects of 

17 project planning, budgeting, implementation, man18 agement, and oversight; and 

19 (3) coordinating and collaborating with research 

20 directorates to share best management practices and 

21 lessons learned from prior projects. 

22 (b) OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FACILITIES.—The Direc23 tor shall appoint a senior agency official within the Office 

24 of the Director whose primary responsibility is oversight 


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

2 include— 

3 (1) oversight of the development, construction, 

4 and operation of major research facilities across the 

5 Foundation; 

6 (2) in collaboration with the directors of the re7 search directorates and other senior agency officials 

8 as appropriate, ensuring that the requirements of 

9 section 14(a) of the National Science Foundation 

10 Authorization Act of 2002 are satisfied; 

11 (3) serving as a liaison to the National Science 

12 Board for approval and oversight of major research 

13 facilities; and 

14 (4) periodically reviewing and updating as nec15 essary Foundation policies and guidelines for the de16 velopment and construction of major research facili17 ties. 

18 (c) POLICIES FOR COSTING LARGE FACILITIES.— 

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

20 that the Foundation’s policies for developing and 

21 managing major research facility construction costs 

22 are consistent with the best practices described in 

23 the March 2009 General Accountability Office Re24 port GAO–09–3SP. 


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

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

3 submit to Congress a report describing the Founda4 tion’s policies for developing and managing major re5 search facility construction costs, including a de6 scription of any aspects of the policies that diverge 

7 from the best practices recommended in General Ac8 countability Office Report GAO–09–3SP. 

9 SEC. 304. DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

10 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF DATA MANAGEMENT POLI11 CIES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enact12 ment of this Act, the Director shall develop and implement 

13 a policy requiring that all proposals for research funding 

14 from the Foundation include a plan for long-term manage15 ment of data resulting from such funding. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The policy shall— 

17 (1) include a clear definition of what constitutes 

18 data for the purposes of data management plans; 

19 (2) include mechanisms to ensure appropriate 

20 evaluation of the merits of submitted data manage21 ment plans required under this section; 

22 (3) include mechanisms to ensure that research23 ers comply with approved data management plans; 

24 and 


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1 (4) allow for the inclusion of appropriate costs 

2 for data management in proposals for research 

3 grants. 

4 (c) PUBLIC DATABASES.—The Foundation shall pro5 mote the deposit of data covered under this section in pub6 licly accessible databases, where appropriate and available. 

7 SEC. 305. SUPPORT FOR POTENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE 

8 RESEARCH. 

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

10 periodically update grant solicitation, merit review, and 

11 funding policies and mechanisms designed to identify and 

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

13 proposals. 

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

15 mechanisms may include— 

16 (1) development of solicitations specifically for 

17 high-risk, high-reward basic research; 

18 (2) establishment of review panels for the pri19 mary purpose of selecting high-risk, high-reward 

20 proposals; 

21 (3) development of guidance to standard review 

22 panels to encourage the identification and consider23 ation of high-risk, high-reward proposals; and 

24 (4) support for workshops and other con25 ferences with the primary purpose of identifying new 


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1 opportunities for high-risk, high-reward basic re2 search, especially at interdisciplinary interfaces. 

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

4 term ‘‘high-risk, high-reward basic research’’ means re5 search driven by ideas that have the potential to radically 

6 change our understanding of an important existing sci7 entific or engineering concept, or leading to the creation 

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

9 that is characterized by its challenge to current under10 standing or its pathway to new frontiers. 

11 SEC. 306. STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH 

12 PARTNERSHIPS. 

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

14 grant, in an amount greater than $5,000,000, to be car15 ried out through a partnership that includes one or more 

16 minority-serving institutions or predominantly under17 graduate institutions and one or more institutions de18 scribed in subsection (b), the Director shall award funds 

19 directly, according to the budget justification described in 

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

21 higher education in the partnership, including at least one 

22 minority-serving institution or one predominantly under23 graduate institution, to ensure a strong and equitable 

24 partnership. 


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

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

3 among the 100 institutions receiving, over the 3-year pe4 riod immediately preceding the awarding of grants, the 

5 highest amount of research funding from the Foundation. 

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

7 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide a re8 port to Congress on institutional research partnerships 

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

10 years and make any recommendations for how such part11 nerships can continue to be strengthened. 

12 SEC. 307. INNOVATION CORPS. 

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

15 (1) the National Science Foundation’s Innova16 tion Corps (I-Corps) was established to foster a na17 tional innovation ecosystem by encouraging institu18 tions, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to 

19 identify and explore the innovation and commercial 

20 potential of Foundation-funded research well beyond 

21 the laboratory; 

22 (2) the Foundation’s I-Corps includes invest23 ments in entrepreneurship and commercialization 

24 education, training, and mentoring, ultimately lead25 ing to the practical deployment of technologies, 


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1 products, processes, and services that improve the 

2 Nation’s competitiveness, promote economic growth, 

3 and benefit society; and 

4 (3) by building networks of entrepreneurs, edu5 cators, mentors, institutions, and collaborations, and 

6 supporting specialized education and training, I7 Corps is at the leading edge of a strong, lasting 

8 foundation for an American innovation ecosystem. 

9 (b) PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

11 a program to award grants for entrepreneurship and 

12 commercialization education to Foundation-funded 

13 researchers to increase the economic and social im14 pact of federally funded research. 

15 (2) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the program 

16 shall be to increase the capacity of STEM research17 ers and students to successfully engage in entrepre18 neurial activities and to help transition the results of 

19 federally funded research into the marketplace by— 

20 (A) identifying STEM research that can 

21 lead to the practical deployment of technologies, 

22 products, processes, and services that improve 

23 the Nation’s economic competitiveness; 

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1 italists, and other industry representatives expe2 rienced in commercialization of new tech3 nologies; 

4 (C) supporting entrepreneurship and com5 mercialization education and training for fac6 ulty, students, postdoctoral fellows, and other 

7 STEM researchers; and 

8 (D) promoting the development of regional 

9 and national networks of entrepreneurs, venture 

10 capitalists, and other industry representatives 

11 who can serve as mentors to researchers and 

12 students at Foundation-funded institutions 

13 across the country. 

14 (3) ADDITIONAL USE OF FUNDS.—Grants 

15 awarded under this subsection may be used to help 

16 support— 

17 (A) prototype and proof-of-concept devel18 opment for the funded project; and 

19 (B) additional activities needed to build a 

20 national infrastructure for STEM entrepreneur21 ship. 

22 (4) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Director 

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1 ers funded by those agencies eligible to participate 

2 in the Foundation’s Innovation Corps program. 

3 SEC. 308. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For purposes of this title: 

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

6 the Director of the Foundation. 

7 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

8 means the National Science Foundation. 

9 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

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

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

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

14 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

15 computer science. 

16 Subtitle B—STEM Education 

17 SEC. 321. NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD REPORT ON CONSOLI18 DATION OF STEM EDUCATION ACTIVITIES AT 

19 THE FOUNDATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Science Board shall 

21 review and evaluate the appropriateness of the Founda22 tion’s portfolio of STEM education programs and activi23 ties at the pre-K–12 and undergraduate levels, including 

24 informal education, taking into account the mission of the 


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1 Foundation and the 2013 Federal STEM Education 5- 

2 Year Strategic Plan. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the National Science Board shall 

5 submit to Congress a report summarizing their findings 

6 and including— 

7 (1) an analysis of how well the Foundation’s 

8 portfolio of STEM education programs is contrib9 uting to the mission of the Foundation; 

10 (2) an analysis of how well STEM education 

11 programs and activities are coordinated and best 

12 practices are shared across the Foundation; 

13 (3) an analysis of how well the Foundation’s 

14 portfolio of STEM education programs is aligned 

15 with and contributes to priority STEM education in16 vestment areas described in the 2013 Federal STEM 

17 Education 5-Year Strategic Plan; 

18 (4) any Board recommendations regarding in19 ternal reorganization, including consolidation, of the 

20 Foundation’s STEM education programs and activi21 ties, taking into account both the mission of the 

22 Foundation and the 2013 Federal STEM Education 

23 5-Year Strategic Plan; 

24 (5) any Board recommendations regarding the 

25 Foundation’s role in helping to implement the FedVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 Mar 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4159.IH H4159

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1 eral STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan, includ2 ing opportunities for the Foundation to more effec3 tively partner and collaborate with other Federal 

4 agencies; and 

5 (6) any additional Board recommendations re6 garding specific management, policy, budget, or 

7 other steps the Foundation should take to increase 

8 effectiveness and accountability across its portfolio 

9 of STEM education programs and activities. 

10 SEC. 322. MODELS FOR GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall enter into an 

12 agreement with the National Research Council to convene 

13 a workshop or roundtable to examine models of Federal 

14 support for STEM graduate students, including the Foun15 dation’s Graduate Research Fellowship program and com16 parable fellowship programs at other agencies, traineeship 

17 programs, and the research assistant model. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the workshop or 

19 roundtable shall be to compare and evaluate the extent 

20 to which each of these models helps to prepare graduate 

21 students for diverse careers utilizing STEM degrees, in22 cluding at diverse types of institutions of higher education, 

23 in industry, and at government agencies and research lab24 oratories, and to make recommendations regarding— 


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1 (1) how current Federal programs and models, 

2 including programs and models at the Foundation, 

3 can be improved; 

4 (2) the appropriateness of the current distribu5 tion of funding among the different models at the 

6 Foundation and across the agencies; and 

7 (3) the appropriateness of creating a new edu8 cation and training program for graduate students 

9 distinct from programs that provide direct financial 

10 support, including the grants authorized in section 

11 527 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization 

12 Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–15). 

13 (c) CRITERIA.—At a minimum, in comparing pro14 grams and models, the workshop or roundtable partici15 pants shall consider the capacity of such programs or 

16 models to provide students with knowledge and skills— 

17 (1) to become independent, creative, successful 

18 researchers; 

19 (2) to participate in large interdisciplinary re20 search projects, including in an international con21 text; 

22 (3) to adhere to the highest standards for re23 search ethics; 

24 (4) to become high-quality teachers utilizing the 

25 most currently available evidence-based pedagogy; 


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1 (5) in oral and written communication, to both 

2 technical and nontechnical audiences; 

3 (6) in innovation, entrepreneurship, and busi4 ness ethics; and 

5 (7) in program management. 

6 (d) GRADUATE STUDENT INPUT.—The participants 

7 in the workshop or roundtable shall include current or re8 cent STEM graduate students. 

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

10 of enactment of this Act, the National Research Council 

11 shall submit to Congress a summary report of the findings 

12 and recommendations of the workshop or roundtable con13 vened under this section. 

14 SEC. 323. UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION REFORM. 

15 Section 17 of the National Science Foundation Au16 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–6) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 17. UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION REFORM. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, through the Direc20 torate for Education and Human Resources, shall award 

21 grants, on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institu22 tions of higher education (or to consortia thereof) and to 

23 other eligible nonprofit organizations to reform under24 graduate STEM education for the purpose of increasing 

25 the number and quality of students studying toward and 


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1 completing baccalaureate degrees in STEM and improving 

2 the STEM learning outcomes for all undergraduate stu3 dents. 

4 ‘‘(b) INTERDIRECTORATE WORKING GROUP ON UN5 DERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION.—In carrying out the 

6 requirements of this section, the Directorate for Education 

7 and Human Resources shall collaborate and coordinate 

8 with the Research Directorates, including through the es9 tablishment of an interdirectorate working group on un10 dergraduate STEM education reform, in order to identify 

11 and implement new and expanded opportunities for col12 laboration between STEM disciplinary researchers and 

13 education researchers on the reform of undergraduate 

14 STEM education. 

15 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.—Research and development supported 

16 by grants under this section may encompass a single dis17 cipline, multiple disciplines, or interdisciplinary education 

18 at the undergraduate level, and may include— 

19 ‘‘(1) research foundational to the improvement 

20 of teaching, learning, and retention; 

21 ‘‘(2) development, implementation, and assess22 ment of innovative, research-based approaches to 

23 transforming teaching, learning, and retention; and 

24 ‘‘(3) scaling of successful efforts on learning 

25 and learning environments, broadening participation, 


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1 workforce preparation, employing emerging tech2 nologies, or other reforms in STEM education, in3 cluding expansion of successful STEM reform ef4 forts beyond a single course or group of courses to 

5 achieve reform within an entire academic unit, or ex6 pansion of successful reform efforts beyond a single 

7 academic unit to other STEM academic units within 

8 an institution or to comparable academic units at 

9 other institutions. 

10 ‘‘(d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher 

12 education or other eligible nonprofit organization 

13 seeking a grant under this section shall submit an 

14 application to the Director at such time, in such 

15 manner, and containing such information as the Di16 rector may require. In addition to a description of 

17 the proposed research, development, or scaling ef18 fort, including a description of the research findings 

19 that will serve as the basis for the proposed effort, 

20 applications shall include, at a minimum— 

21 ‘‘(A) evidence of institutional support for, 

22 and commitment to, the proposed effort, includ23 ing long-term commitment to implement and 

24 scale successful strategies resulting from the 

25 current effort; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a description of existing or planned 

2 institutional policies and practices regarding 

3 faculty hiring, promotion, tenure, and teaching 

4 assignment that reward faculty contributions to 

5 undergraduate STEM education; and 

6 ‘‘(C) a description of the plans for assess7 ment and evaluation of the effort, including evi8 dence of participation by individuals with expe9 rience in assessment and evaluation of teaching 

10 and learning programs. 

11 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—In selecting 

12 grant recipients for funding under this section, the 

13 Director shall consider, as appropriate to the scale 

14 of the proposed effort— 

15 ‘‘(A) the likelihood of success in under16 taking the proposed effort at the institution 

17 submitting the application, including the extent 

18 to which the faculty, staff, and administrators 

19 of the institution are committed to making un20 dergraduate STEM education reform a priority 

21 of the participating academic unit or units; 

22 ‘‘(B) the degree to which the proposed ef23 fort will contribute to change in institutional 

24 culture and policy such that a greater value is 


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1 placed on faculty engagement in undergraduate 

2 education; 

3 ‘‘(C) the likelihood that the institution will 

4 sustain or expand the effort beyond the period 

5 of the grant; and 

6 ‘‘(D) the degree to which the proposed ef7 fort will contribute to the systematic accumula8 tion of knowledge on STEM education. 

9 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Director shall give pri10 ority to proposals focused on the first 2 years of un11 dergraduate education, including STEM education 

12 at 2-year institutions of higher education. 

13 ‘‘(4) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 

14 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that grants 

15 awarded under this section are made to a variety of 

16 types of institutions of higher education.’’. 

17 SEC. 324. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EDUCATION. 

18 Section 506(b) of the America COMPETES Reau19 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–1(b)) is amend20 ed to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EDUCATION.— 

22 The Director shall award grants, on a competitive, merit 

23 reviewed basis, to community colleges for the development 

24 and implementation of innovative advanced manufacturing 

25 education reforms to ensure an adequate and well-trained 


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1 advanced manufacturing workforce. Activities supported 

2 by grants under this subsection may include— 

3 ‘‘(1) the development or expansion of edu4 cational materials, courses, curricula, strategies, and 

5 methods that will lead to improved advanced manu6 facturing degree or certification programs, including 

7 the integration of industry standards and workplace 

8 competencies into the curriculum; 

9 ‘‘(2) the development and implementation of 

10 faculty professional development programs that en11 hance a faculty member’s capabilities and teaching 

12 skills in advanced manufacturing, including efforts 

13 to understand current advanced manufacturing tech14 nologies and practices; 

15 ‘‘(3) the establishment of centers that provide 

16 models and leadership in advanced manufacturing 

17 education and serve as regional or national clearing18 houses for educational materials and methods, in19 cluding in rural areas; 

20 ‘‘(4) activities to enhance the recruitment and 

21 retention of students into certification and degree 

22 programs in advanced manufacturing, including the 

23 provision of improved mentoring and internship op24 portunities; 


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1 ‘‘(5) the establishment of partnerships with pri2 vate sector entities to ensure the development of an 

3 advanced manufacturing workforce with the skills 

4 necessary to meet regional economic needs; and 

5 ‘‘(6) other activities as determined appropriate 

6 by the Director.’’. 

7 SEC. 325. STEM EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS. 

8 Section 9 of the National Science Foundation Au9 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n) is amended— 

10 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MATH11 EMATICS AND SCIENCE’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘mathematics and science’’ each 

13 place it appears in subsections (a) and (b) and in14 serting ‘‘STEM’’; 

15 (3) by striking ‘‘mathematics or science’’ each 

16 place it appears in subsection (a)(3) and (4)(A) and 

17 inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

18 (4) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, or engi19 neering’’ in subsection (a)(2)(B) and inserting 

20 ‘‘STEM’’; 

21 (5) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, and tech22 nology’’ in subsection (a)(3)(B)(ii)(II) and (8) and 

23 inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 


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1 (6) by striking ‘‘professional mathematicians, 

2 scientists, and engineers’’ in subsection (a)(3)(F) 

3 and inserting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 

4 (7) by striking ‘‘mathematicians, scientists, and 

5 engineers’’ in subsection (a)(3)(J) and (M) and in6 serting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 

7 (8) by striking ‘‘scientists, technologists, engi8 neers, or mathematicians’’ in subsection (a)(8) and 

9 inserting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 

10 (9) by striking ‘‘science, technology, engineer11 ing, and mathematics’’ each place it appears in sub12 section (a)(3)(K) and (10) and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

13 (10) by striking ‘‘science, technology, engineer14 ing, or mathematics’’ in subsection (a)(10)(A)(ii)(II) 

15 and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

16 (11) by striking ‘‘science, mathematics, engi17 neering, and technology’’ each place it appears in 

18 subsection (a)(5) and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

19 (12) by striking ‘‘science, mathematics, engi20 neering, or technology’’ in subsection (a)(5) and in21 serting ‘‘STEM’’; 

22 (13) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, engi23 neering, and technology’’ in subsection (b)(1) and 

24 (2) and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

25 (14) by striking subsection (d). 


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1 SEC. 326. NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

2 Section 10A of the National Science Foundation Au3 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1a) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or 

6 bachelor’s’’ after ‘‘master’s’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para9 graph (2)(B); 

10 (B) in paragraph (3), by— 

11 (i) inserting ‘‘for teachers with mas12 ter’s degrees in their field’’ after ‘‘Teach13 ing Fellowships’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

15 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; 

16 and’’; and 

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

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(4) in the case of National Science Foundation 

20 Master Teaching Fellowships for teachers with bach21 elor’s degrees in their field— 

22 ‘‘(A) offering academic courses leading to 

23 a master’s degree and leadership training to 

24 prepare individuals to become master teachers 

25 in elementary and secondary schools; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) offering programs both during and 

2 after matriculation in the program for which 

3 the fellowship is received to enable fellows to 

4 become highly effective mathematics and 

5 science teachers, including mentoring, training, 

6 induction, and professional development activi7 ties, to fulfill the service requirements of this 

8 section, including the requirements of sub9 section (e), and to exchange ideas with others 

10 in their fields.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘subsection 

12 (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

13 (4) by adding after subsection (f) the following 

14 new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(g) SUPPORT FOR MASTER TEACHING FELLOWS

16 WHILE ENROLLED IN A MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM.— 

17 A National Science Foundation Master Teacher Fellow 

18 may receive a maximum of 1 year of fellowship support 

19 while enrolled in a master’s degree program as described 

20 in subsection (c)(4)(A), except that if such fellow is en21 rolled in a part-time program, such amount shall be pro22 rated according to the length of the program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 327. INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION. 

2 (a) GRANTS.—The Director, through the Directorate 

3 for Education and Human Resources, shall continue to 

4 award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support— 

5 (1) research and development of innovative out6 of-school STEM learning and emerging STEM 

7 learning environments in order to improve STEM 

8 learning outcomes and engagement in STEM; and 

9 (2) research that advances the field of informal 

10 STEM education. 

11 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by grants 

12 under this section may encompass a single STEM dis13 cipline, multiple STEM disciplines, or integrative STEM 

14 initiatives and shall include— 

15 (1) research and development that improves our 

16 understanding of learning and engagement in infor17 mal environments, including the role of informal en18 vironments in broadening participation in STEM; 

19 and 

20 (2) design and testing of innovative STEM 

21 learning models, programs, and other resources for 

22 informal learning environments to improve STEM 

23 learning outcomes and increase engagement for K– 

24 12 students, K–12 teachers, and the general public, 

25 including design and testing of the scalability of 

26 models, programs, and other resources. 


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1 SEC. 328. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT IM2 PROVED K–12 LEARNING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, acting through the 

4 Directorate for Education and Human Resources, shall 

5 award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support re6 search and development on alignment, implementation, 

7 impact, and ongoing improvement of standards and equiv8 alent learning expectations used by States in mathematics, 

9 science, and, as appropriate, other State-based STEM 

10 standards. 

11 (b) RESEARCH AREAS.—In making awards under 

12 this section, the Director shall consider proposals for re13 search and development, including, as appropriate, large14 scale research and development, of— 

15 (1) resources, including virtual resources such 

16 as web portals, for content, professional develop17 ment, and research results; 

18 (2) teacher education and professional develop19 ment; 

20 (3) learning progressions; 

21 (4) assessments; 

22 (5) metrics for evaluating the impact of stand23 ards; and 

24 (6) other areas of research and development 

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1 mentation, impact, and ongoing improvement of 

2 standards in STEM subjects. 

3 TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

4 OF STANDARDS AND TECH5 NOLOGY 

6 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Institute of 

8 Standards and Technology Authorization Act of 2014’’. 

9 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2015.— 

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

12 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

13 $892,500,000 for the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2015. 

15 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

16 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) $683,550,000 shall be authorized for 

18 scientific and technical research and services 

19 laboratory activities; 

20 (B) $58,800,000 shall be authorized for 

21 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

22 and 

23 (C) $150,150,000 shall be authorized for 

24 industrial technology services activities, of 

25 which— 


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1 (i) $134,400,000 shall be authorized 

2 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

3 Partnership under section 25 of the Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Tech5 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro6 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

8 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

9 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

10 Act; and 

11 (ii) $15,750,000 shall be authorized 

12 for the Advanced Manufacturing Tech13 nology Consortia program established 

14 under section 33 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 278r). 

16 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

18 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

19 $937,130,000 for the National Institute of Stand20 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2016. 

21 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

22 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) $717,730,000 shall be authorized for 

24 scientific and technical research and services 

25 laboratory activities; 


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1 (B) $61,740,000 shall be authorized for 

2 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

3 and 

4 (C) $157,660,000 shall be authorized for 

5 industrial technology services activities, of 

6 which— 

7 (i) $141,120,000 shall be authorized 

8 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

9 Partnership under section 25 of the Na10 tional Institute of Standards and Tech11 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro12 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

14 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

15 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

16 Act; and 

17 (ii) $16,540,000 shall be authorized 

18 for the Advanced Manufacturing Tech19 nology Consortia program established 

20 under section 33 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

21 278r). 

22 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

24 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 


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1 $983,980,000 for the National Institute of Stand2 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2017. 

3 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

4 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) $753,610,000 shall be authorized for 

6 scientific and technical research and services 

7 laboratory activities; 

8 (B) $64,830,000 shall be authorized for 

9 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

10 and 

11 (C) $165,540,000 shall be authorized for 

12 industrial technology services activities, of 

13 which— 

14 (i) $148,180,000 shall be authorized 

15 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

16 Partnership under section 25 of the Na17 tional Institute of Standards and Tech18 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro19 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

21 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

22 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

23 Act; and 

24 (ii) $17,360,000 shall be authorized 

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1 nology Consortia program established 

2 under section 33 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 278r). 

4 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2018.— 

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

6 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

7 $1,033,180,000 for the National Institute of Stand8 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2018. 

9 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

10 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) $791,290,000 shall be authorized for 

12 scientific and technical research and services 

13 laboratory activities; 

14 (B) $68,070,000 shall be authorized for 

15 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

16 and 

17 (C) $173,820,000 shall be authorized for 

18 industrial technology services activities, of 

19 which— 

20 (i) $155,580,000 shall be authorized 

21 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

22 Partnership under section 25 of the Na23 tional Institute of Standards and Tech24 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro25 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 


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1 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

2 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

3 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

4 Act; and 

5 (ii) $18,230,000 shall be authorized 

6 for the Advanced Manufacturing Tech7 nology Consortia program established 

8 under section 33 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 278r). 

10 (e) FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

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

12 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

13 $1,084,840,000 for the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2019. 

15 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

16 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) $830,860,000 shall be authorized for 

18 scientific and technical research and services 

19 laboratory activities; 

20 (B) $71,470,000 shall be authorized for 

21 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

22 and 

23 (C) $182,510,000 shall be authorized for 

24 industrial technology services activities, of 

25 which— 


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1 (i) $163,360,000 shall be authorized 

2 for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

3 Partnership under section 25 of the Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Tech5 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and the pro6 gram under section 26 of such Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 278l), of which not more than 

8 $20,000,000 shall be for the competitive 

9 grant program under section 25(f) of such 

10 Act; and 

11 (ii) $19,140,000 shall be authorized 

12 for the Advanced Manufacturing Tech13 nology Consortia program established 

14 under section 33 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 278r). 

16 SEC. 403. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY CON17 SORTIA. 

18 Section 33 of the National Institute of Standards and 

19 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278r) is amended to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 33. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY CON22 SORTIA. 

23 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry 

25 out a program to facilitate the development of and 


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1 provide support to industry-led consortia that will 

2 identify, prioritize, and address long-term, 

3 precompetitive industrial research needs in the area 

4 of advanced manufacturing. 

5 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of 

6 the program established under this section include 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) To promote collective public-private 

9 efforts to develop key technology platforms and 

10 infrastructure for advanced manufacturing. 

11 ‘‘(B) To enable the prioritization of public 

12 research portfolios to be more responsive to the 

13 long-term technology development needs of in14 dustry. 

15 ‘‘(C) To leverage Federal investment in ad16 vanced manufacturing with shared investment 

17 by the private sector. 

18 ‘‘(D) To increase industrial research and 

19 development investment in precompetitive tech20 nology platforms and infrastructure. 

21 ‘‘(E) To accelerate technological innovation 

22 in advanced manufacturing. 

23 ‘‘(F) To foster broad participation by in24 dustry, the Federal Government, institutions of 

25 higher education, and State, local, and tribal 


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1 governments in advanced manufacturing re2 search and development. 

3 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program estab4 lished under this section, the Director shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) support the formation of industry-led con6 sortia composed of representatives from industry (in7 cluding small and medium-sized manufacturers), in8 stitutions of higher education, the Federal Govern9 ment, State, local, and tribal governments, and other 

10 entities, as appropriate; 

11 ‘‘(2) collaborate with consortia participants in 

12 the development of technology roadmaps that iden13 tify research needs in the area of advanced manufac14 turing; 

15 ‘‘(3) support precompetitive research directed at 

16 meeting the research needs identified in the road17 maps developed under paragraph (2); 

18 ‘‘(4) promote the transfer of precompetitive 

19 technology platforms and infrastructure resulting 

20 from consortia research to the private sector and fa21 cilitate open access to the intellectual property un22 derpinning those platforms and technology; and 

23 ‘‘(5) facilitate the development of new tech24 nologies into commercial products. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting applica2 tions for awards under this section, the Director shall con3 sider, at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(1) the degree to which the activities proposed 

5 under the consortia will broadly impact manufac6 turing, including regional manufacturing efforts, and 

7 increase the productivity and economic competitive8 ness of the United States; 

9 ‘‘(2) the level of technical risk to be addressed 

10 by the consortia; 

11 ‘‘(3) the potential to produce fundamental new 

12 knowledge; and 

13 ‘‘(4) the likelihood that the consortia will be14 come self-sustaining, if appropriate.’’. 

15 SEC. 404. NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION. 

16 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

17 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating section 34 as section 36; 

19 and 

20 (2) by inserting after section 33 (15 U.S.C. 

21 278r) the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 34. NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION. 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NETWORK FOR MANUFAC24 TURING INNOVATION PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish within the Institute a program to be known as 

3 the ‘Network for Manufacturing Innovation Pro4 gram’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Program’). 

5 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES OF PROGRAM.—The purposes of 

6 the Program are— 

7 ‘‘(A) to improve the competitiveness of 

8 United States manufacturing and to increase 

9 domestic production; 

10 ‘‘(B) to stimulate United States leadership 

11 in advanced manufacturing research, innova12 tion, and technology; 

13 ‘‘(C) to facilitate the transition of innova14 tive technologies into scalable, cost-effective, 

15 and high-performing manufacturing capabili16 ties; 

17 ‘‘(D) to facilitate access by manufacturing 

18 enterprises to capital-intensive infrastructure, 

19 including high-performance computing, in order 

20 to improve the speed with which such enter21 prises commercialize new processes and tech22 nologies; 

23 ‘‘(E) to accelerate the development of an 

24 advanced manufacturing workforce; 


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1 ‘‘(F) to facilitate peer exchange of and the 

2 documentation of best practices in addressing 

3 advanced manufacturing challenges; and 

4 ‘‘(G) to leverage non-Federal sources of 

5 support to promote a stable and sustainable 

6 business model without the need for long-term 

7 Federal funding. 

8 ‘‘(3) SUPPORT.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Director, shall carry out the purposes set forth 

10 in paragraph (2) by supporting— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Network for Manufacturing Inno12 vation established under subsection (b); and 

13 ‘‘(B) the establishment of centers for man14 ufacturing innovation. 

15 ‘‘(4) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall carry out 

16 the Program through the Director. 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NETWORK FOR MANUFAC18 TURING INNOVATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Program, 

20 the Secretary shall establish a network of centers for 

21 manufacturing innovation. 

22 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION.—The network established 

23 under paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘Network 

24 for Manufacturing Innovation’ (referred to in this 

25 section as the ‘Network’). 


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1 ‘‘(c) CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec3 tion, a ‘center for manufacturing innovation’ is a 

4 center that— 

5 ‘‘(A) has been established by a person to 

6 address challenges in advanced manufacturing 

7 and to assist manufacturers in retaining or ex8 panding industrial production and jobs in the 

9 United States; 

10 ‘‘(B) has a predominant focus on a manu11 facturing process, novel material, enabling tech12 nology, supply chain integration methodology, 

13 or another relevant aspect of advanced manu14 facturing, as determined by the Secretary, with 

15 the potential— 

16 ‘‘(i) to improve the competitiveness of 

17 United States manufacturing; 

18 ‘‘(ii) to accelerate investment in ad19 vanced manufacturing production capacity 

20 in the United States; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) to enable the commercial appli22 cation of new technologies or industry-wide 

23 manufacturing processes; and 

24 ‘‘(C) includes active participation among 

25 representatives from multiple industrial entities, 


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1 research universities, community colleges, and 

2 such other entities as the Secretary considers 

3 appropriate, which may include career and tech4 nical education schools, Federal laboratories, 

5 State, local, and tribal governments, businesses, 

6 educational institutions, and nonprofit organiza7 tions. 

8 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—Activities of a center for 

9 manufacturing innovation may include the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) Research, development, and dem11 onstration projects, including proof-of-concept 

12 development and prototyping, to reduce the 

13 cost, time, and risk of commercializing new 

14 technologies and improvements in existing tech15 nologies, processes, products, and research and 

16 development of materials to solve pre-competi17 tive industrial problems with economic or na18 tional security implications. 

19 ‘‘(B) Development and implementation of 

20 education and training courses, materials, and 

21 programs. 

22 ‘‘(C) Development of innovative methodolo23 gies and practices for supply chain integration 

24 and introduction of new technologies into sup25 ply chains. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Outreach and engagement with small 

2 and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, in 

3 addition to large manufacturing enterprises. 

4 ‘‘(E) Such other activities as the Sec5 retary, in consultation with Federal depart6 ments and agencies whose missions contribute 

7 to or are affected by advanced manufacturing, 

8 considers consistent with the purposes described 

9 in subsection (a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CENTERS FOR MANUFAC11 TURING INNOVATION.—The National Additive Man12 ufacturing Innovation Institute and pending manu13 facturing centers under interagency review shall be 

14 considered centers for manufacturing innovation. 

15 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ESTABLISH AND

16 SUPPORT CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVA17 TION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Pro19 gram, the Secretary shall award financial assistance 

20 to a person to assist the person in planning, estab21 lishing, or supporting a center for manufacturing in22 novation. 

23 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A person seeking financial 

24 assistance under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 

25 Secretary an application therefor at such time, in 


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1 such manner, and containing such information as 

2 the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(3) OPEN PROCESS.—In soliciting applications 

4 for financial assistance under paragraph (1), the 

5 Secretary shall ensure an open process that will 

6 allow for the consideration of all applications rel7 evant to advanced manufacturing regardless of tech8 nology area. 

9 ‘‘(4) SELECTION.— 

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

11 awarding financial assistance under paragraph 

12 (1), the Secretary shall use a competitive, merit 

13 review process. 

14 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—In awarding fi15 nancial assistance under paragraph (1), the 

16 Secretary shall, acting through the National 

17 Program Office established under subsection 

18 (e)(1), collaborate with Federal departments 

19 and agencies whose missions contribute to or 

20 are affected by advanced manufacturing. 

21 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting a 

22 person who submitted an application under 

23 paragraph (2) for an award of financial assist24 ance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

25 consider, at a minimum, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The potential of the center for 

2 manufacturing innovation to advance do3 mestic manufacturing and the likelihood of 

4 economic impact in the predominant focus 

5 areas of the center for manufacturing in6 novation. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The commitment of continued fi8 nancial support, advice, participation, and 

9 other contributions from non-Federal 

10 sources to provide leverage and resources 

11 to promote a stable and sustainable busi12 ness model without the need for long-term 

13 Federal funding. 

14 ‘‘(iii) How the center for manufac15 turing innovation will engage with small 

16 and medium-sized manufacturing enter17 prises, to improve the capacity of such en18 terprises to commercialize new processes 

19 and technologies. 

20 ‘‘(iv) How the center for manufac21 turing innovation will carry out educational 

22 and workforce activities that meet indus23 trial needs related to the predominant 

24 focus areas of the center for manufac25 turing innovation. 


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1 ‘‘(v) How the center for manufac2 turing innovation will advance economic 

3 competitiveness. 

4 ‘‘(vi) How the center for manufac5 turing innovation will strengthen and lever6 age the assets of a region. 

7 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON PERIOD FOR AWARDS.— 

8 No award of financial assistance may be made under 

9 paragraph (1) to a center of manufacturing innova10 tion after the 7-year period beginning on the date on 

11 which the Secretary first awards financial assistance 

12 to a center under such paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish or designate, within the Institute, an Ad16 vanced Manufacturing National Program Office (re17 ferred to in this section as the ‘National Program 

18 Office’), which shall oversee and carry out the Pro19 gram. 

20 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Na21 tional Program Office are— 

22 ‘‘(A) to oversee the planning, management, 

23 and coordination of the Program; 

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1 cies, whose missions contribute to or are af2 fected by advanced manufacturing, to carry out 

3 the purposes described in subsection (a)(2); 

4 ‘‘(C) to develop, not later than 1 year after 

5 the date of the enactment of the National Insti6 tute of Standards and Technology Authoriza7 tion Act of 2014, and update not less frequently 

8 than once every 3 years thereafter, a strategic 

9 plan to guide the Program; 

10 ‘‘(D) to establish such procedures, proc11 esses, and criteria as may be necessary and ap12 propriate to maximize cooperation and coordi13 nate of the activities of the Program with pro14 grams and activities of other Federal depart15 ments and agencies whose missions contribute 

16 to or are affected by advanced manufacturing; 

17 ‘‘(E) to establish a clearinghouse of public 

18 information related to the activities of the Pro19 gram; and 

20 ‘‘(F) to act as a convener of the Network. 

21 ‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In developing and 

22 updating the strategic plan under paragraph (2)(C), 

23 the Secretary shall solicit recommendations and ad24 vice from a wide range of stakeholders, including in25 dustry, small and medium-sized manufacturing enVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 Mar 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00146 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4159.IH H4159

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1 terprises, research universities, community colleges, 

2 and other relevant organizations and institutions. 

3 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

4 shall transmit the strategic plan required under 

5 paragraph (2)(C) to the Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

7 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 ‘‘(5) HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION

10 PARTNERSHIP.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

11 National Program Office incorporates the Hollings 

12 Manufacturing Extension Partnership into Program 

13 planning to ensure that the results of the Program 

14 reach small and medium-sized entities. 

15 ‘‘(6) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government 

16 employee may be detailed to the National Program 

17 Office without reimbursement. Such detail shall be 

18 without interruption or loss of civil service status or 

19 privilege. 

20 ‘‘(f) REPORTING AND AUDITING.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 require recipients of financial assistance under 

24 subsection (d)(1) to annually submit a report to 

25 the Secretary that describes the finances and 


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1 performance of the center for manufacturing in2 novation for which such assistance was award3 ed. 

4 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

6 ‘‘(i) an accounting of expenditures of 

7 amounts awarded to the recipient under 

8 subsection (d)(1); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) a description of the performance 

10 of the center for manufacturing innovation 

11 with respect to— 

12 ‘‘(I) its goals, plans, financial 

13 support, and accomplishments; and 

14 ‘‘(II) how the center for manu15 facturing innovation has furthered the 

16 purposes described in subsection 

17 (a)(2). 

18 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

20 than once each year, the Secretary shall submit 

21 a report to Congress that describes the per22 formance of the Program during the most re23 cent 1-year period. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall include, for the 

3 period covered by the report— 

4 ‘‘(i) a summary and assessment of the 

5 reports received by the Secretary under 

6 paragraph (1); 

7 ‘‘(ii) an accounting of the funds ex8 pended by the Secretary under the Pro9 gram; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) an assessment of the Program 

11 with respect to the purposes described in 

12 subsection (a)(2). 

13 ‘‘(3) TRIENNIAL ASSESSMENT BY GAO.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

15 than once every 3 years, the Comptroller Gen16 eral of the United States shall submit to Con17 gress an assessment of the operation of the 

18 Program during the most recent 3-year period. 

19 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each assessment sub20 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall include, 

21 for the period covered by the report— 

22 ‘‘(i) a review of the management, co23 ordination, and industry utility of the Pro24 gram; 


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

2 which the Program has furthered the pur3 poses described in subsection (a)(2); and 

4 ‘‘(iii) such recommendations for legis5 lative and administrative action as the 

6 Comptroller General considers appropriate 

7 to improve the Program. 

8 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND CON10 TRACTS.—The Secretary may appoint such per11 sonnel and enter into such contracts, financial as12 sistance agreements, and other agreements as the 

13 Secretary considers necessary or appropriate to 

14 carry out the Program including support for re15 search and development activities involving a center 

16 for manufacturing innovation. 

17 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

18 may transfer to other Federal agencies such sums as 

19 the Secretary considers necessary or appropriate to 

20 carry out the Program. 

21 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF OTHER AGENCIES.—In the 

22 event that the Secretary exercises the authority to 

23 transfer funds to another agency under paragraph 

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1 pects of financial assistance awards under this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(4) USE OF RESOURCES.—In furtherance of 

4 the purposes of the Program, the Secretary may use, 

5 with the consent of a covered entity and with or 

6 without reimbursement, the land, services, equip7 ment, personnel, and facilities of such covered entity. 

8 ‘‘(5) ACCEPTANCE OF RESOURCES.—In addition 

9 to amounts appropriated to carry out the Program, 

10 the Secretary may accept funds, services, equipment, 

11 personnel, and facilities from any covered entity to 

12 carry out the Program. 

13 ‘‘(6) COVERED ENTITY.—For purposes of this 

14 subsection, a covered entity is any Federal depart15 ment, Federal agency, instrumentality of the United 

16 States, State, local government, tribal government, 

17 territory or possession of the United States, or of 

18 any political subdivision thereof, or international or19 ganization, or any public or private entity or indi20 vidual. 

21 ‘‘(h) PATENTS.—Chapter 18 of title 35, United 

22 States Code, shall not apply if financial assistance is 

23 awarded under this section solely for the purpose of plan24 ning, establishing, or supporting new or existing centers 

25 for manufacturing innovation. 


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1 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) NETWORK FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVA3 TION FUND.— 

4 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab5 lished in the Treasury of the United States a 

6 fund to be known as the ‘Network for Manufac7 turing Innovation Fund’ (referred to in this 

8 paragraph as the ‘Fund’). 

9 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—There shall be depos10 ited in the Fund, which shall constitute the as11 sets of the Fund, amounts appropriated or oth12 erwise made available to carry out the Program. 

13 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts deposited 

14 in the Fund shall be available to the Secretary, 

15 at the discretion of the Secretary, or the Sec16 retary’s delegee, to carry out the Program with17 out further appropriation and without fiscal 

18 year limitation. 

19 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated 

21 $600,000,000 to the Secretary to carry out this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Sec24 retary may use not more than 5 percent of the 

25 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (2) to 


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1 pay the salaries, expenses, and other administrative 

2 costs incurred by the Secretary under this section.’’. 

3 SEC. 405. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART4 NERSHIP. 

5 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

6 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART9 NERSHIP. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

12 Director shall provide assistance for the creation and 

13 support of regional manufacturing extension centers 

14 for the transfer of manufacturing technology and 

15 best business practices. These centers shall be 

16 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

17 Centers’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘Centers’). 

18 The program under this section shall be known as 

19 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership’. 

20 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af21 filiated with any United States-based public or non22 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

23 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

24 under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the pro2 gram is to enhance productivity, competitiveness, 

3 and technological performance in United States 

4 manufacturing through— 

5 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech6 nology and techniques to Centers and, through 

7 them, to manufacturing companies throughout 

8 the United States; 

9 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

10 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

11 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

12 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech13 nology transfer activities; 

14 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

15 technology and processes usable by United 

16 States-based small and medium-sized compa17 nies; 

18 ‘‘(D) the active dissemination of scientific, 

19 engineering, technical, and management infor20 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

21 including small and medium-sized manufac22 turing companies; 

23 ‘‘(E) the development of new partnerships, 

24 networks, and services that will assist small and 


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1 medium-sized manufacturing companies expand 

2 into new markets, including global markets; 

3 ‘‘(F) the utilization, when appropriate, of 

4 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed5 eral laboratories other than the Institute; and 

6 ‘‘(G) the provision to community colleges 

7 and area career and technical education schools 

8 of information about the job skills needed in 

9 small and medium-sized manufacturing busi10 nesses in the regions they serve. 

11 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Centers shall 

12 include— 

13 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac14 turing systems and other advanced production tech15 nologies, based on research by the Institute and 

16 other entities, for the purpose of demonstrations and 

17 technology transfer; 

18 ‘‘(2) assistance to Federal agencies in sup19 porting United States-based manufacturing by iden20 tifying and providing technical assistance to small 

21 and medium-sized manufacturers to help them meet 

22 Federal agency procurement and acquisition needs; 

23 ‘‘(3) the active transfer and dissemination of re24 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 


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1 of companies and enterprises, particularly small and 

2 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

3 ‘‘(4) the facilitation of collaborations and part4 nerships between small and medium-sized manufac5 turing companies and community colleges and area 

6 career and technical education schools to help such 

7 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

8 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

9 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

10 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

11 ‘‘(c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND REQUIRE12 MENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary may 

14 provide financial support to any Center created 

15 under subsection (a) for an initial period of 5 years, 

16 which may be renewed for an additional 5-year pe17 riod. The Secretary may provide to a Center up to 

18 50 percent of the capital and annual operating and 

19 maintenance funds required to create and maintain 

20 such Center. 

21 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im22 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

23 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

24 least once every 5 years. 

25 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any public or non2 profit institution, or consortium thereof, may 

3 submit to the Secretary an application for fi4 nancial support under this section, in accord5 ance with the procedures established by the 

6 Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(B) COST-SHARING.—In order to receive 

8 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

9 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

10 shall provide adequate assurances that non11 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

12 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

13 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

14 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

15 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

16 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

17 activities undertaken to improve the manage18 ment, productivity, competitiveness, and techno19 logical performance of small and medium-sized 

20 manufacturing companies. 

21 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI22 TIES.—In meeting the 50-percent requirement, 

23 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

24 agreements with other entities such as private 

25 industry, institutions of higher education, and 


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1 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

2 objectives and access new and existing resources 

3 that will further the impact of the Federal in4 vestment made on behalf of small and medium5 sized manufacturing companies. 

6 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—Each applicant 

7 under subparagraph (A) shall submit a proposal 

8 for the allocation of the legal rights associated 

9 with any invention that may result from the 

10 proposed Center’s activities. 

11 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub12 ject each such application to merit review. In mak13 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

14 and provide financial support under this section, the 

15 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par18 ticularly those portions of the application re19 garding technology transfer, training and edu20 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech21 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

22 sectors. 

23 ‘‘(B) The quality of service to be provided. 

24 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

25 service area. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

2 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

3 sources. 

4 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re6 ceives financial assistance under this section 

7 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper8 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

9 Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua11 tion panel shall be composed of independent ex12 perts, none of whom shall be connected with the 

13 involved Center, and Federal officials. 

14 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—An official of the Institute 

15 shall chair the panel. 

16 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

17 Each evaluation panel shall measure the in18 volved Center’s performance against the objec19 tives specified in this section. 

20 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval21 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

22 continued funding through the fifth year. 

23 ‘‘(F) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The 

24 Secretary may not provide funding for the re25 maining years of a Center’s operation unless 


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1 the evaluation is positive. A Center that has not 

2 received a positive evaluation by the evaluation 

3 panel shall be notified by the panel of the defi4 ciencies in its performance and shall be placed 

5 on a corrective action plan and provided the op6 portunity to address deficiencies unless imme7 diate action is necessary to protect the public 

8 interest. The program shall re-evaluate the Cen9 ter within one year and if the Center has not 

10 addressed the deficiencies identified by the 

11 panel, or shown a significant improvement in its 

12 performance, the Director shall conduct a new 

13 competition or may close the Center. 

14 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

15 After the fifth year, a Center may receive addi16 tional financial support under this section if it 

17 has received a positive evaluation through an 

18 independent review, under procedures estab19 lished by the Institute. 

20 ‘‘(H) RECOMPETITION.—If a Center has 

21 received financial support for 10 consecutive 

22 years, the Director shall conduct a new com23 petition. An existing Center may submit an ap24 plication as part of the new competition. 


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1 ‘‘(I) RECOMPETITION PLAN.—Not later 

2 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

3 the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 

4 2014, the Director shall submit a plan to the 

5 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

6 of the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation of the Senate detailing how the program 

9 will implement the new competitions required 

10 under subparagraph (H). The Director shall 

11 consult with the MEP Advisory Board estab12 lished under subsection (f) in the development 

13 and implementation of the plan. 

14 ‘‘(6) OVERSIGHT BOARD.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re16 ceives financial assistance under this section 

17 shall establish an oversight board that is broad18 ly representative of regional stakeholders with a 

19 majority of board members drawn from local 

20 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms. 

21 ‘‘(B) BYLAWS AND CONFLICT OF INTER22 EST.—Each board under subparagraph (A) 

23 shall adopt and submit to the Director bylaws 

24 to govern the operation of the board, including 

25 a conflict of interest policy to ensure relevant 


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1 relationships are disclosed and proper recusal 

2 procedures are in place. 

3 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Board members may 

4 not serve simultaneously on more than one Cen5 ter’s oversight board or serve as a contractor 

6 providing services to a Center. 

7 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMA8 TION.—The Secretary shall ensure that the following 

9 are not publically disclosed: 

10 ‘‘(A) Confidential information on the busi11 ness operations of— 

12 ‘‘(i) a participant under the program; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a client of a Center. 

15 ‘‘(B) Trade secrets possessed by any client 

16 of a Center. 

17 ‘‘(8) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap18 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

19 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

20 the promotion of technology from research by Cen21 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

22 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

23 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 

24 ‘‘(d) REPORTING AND AUDITING REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 The Director shall establish procedures regarding Center 


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1 financial reporting and auditing to ensure that awards are 

2 used for the purposes specified in this section and are in 

3 accordance with sound accounting practices. 

4 ‘‘(e) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such sums 

6 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc7 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

8 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

9 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

10 agencies and, under section 2(c)(7), from the private 

11 sector for the purpose of strengthening United 

12 States manufacturing. 

13 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED15 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di16 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

17 from other Federal departments or agencies 

18 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed19 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

20 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI22 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri23 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

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1 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

2 of this section. 

3 ‘‘(f) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

5 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

6 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re7 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The MEP Advisory 

10 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem11 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

12 be appointed by the Director. At least 2 mem13 bers shall be employed by or on an advisory 

14 board for the Centers, at least 1 member shall 

15 represent a community college, and at least 5 

16 other members shall be from United States 

17 small businesses in the manufacturing sector. 

18 No member shall be an employee of the Federal 

19 Government. 

20 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub21 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

22 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

23 years. 

24 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

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1 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

2 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

3 of such term. 

4 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

5 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

6 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

7 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint8 ment during the one-year period following the 

9 expiration of the second such term. 

10 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The MEP Advisory Board 

11 shall meet not less than 2 times annually and shall 

12 provide to the Director— 

13 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

14 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

15 policies; 

16 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol17 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

18 plans and strategies; and 

19 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

20 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

21 Partnership program plans. 

22 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP23 PLICABILITY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du25 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 


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1 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca2 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

3 Committee Act. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed5 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

6 the MEP Advisory Board. 

7 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—The MEP Advisory Board shall 

8 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

9 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 

10 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

11 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad12 dress the status of the program established pursuant 

13 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

14 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

15 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

16 under subsections (c) and (d) of section 23. 

17 ‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es19 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten20 sion Partnership, a program of competitive awards 

21 among participants described in paragraph (2) for 

22 the purposes described in paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

24 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

25 a consortium of such Centers. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

2 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

3 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in4 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

5 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 

6 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

7 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the 

8 MEP Advisory Board, and small and medium-sized 

9 manufacturers. 

10 ‘‘(4) THEMES.—One or more themes for the 

11 competition may be identified, which may vary from 

12 year to year, depending on the needs of manufactur13 ers and the success of previous competitions. These 

14 themes may include— 

15 ‘‘(A) supply chain integration and quality 

16 management; 

17 ‘‘(B) the creation of partnerships to en18 courage the development of a workforce with 

19 the skills necessary to meet the needs of a re20 gion, including the creation of apprenticeship 

21 opportunities and the adoption of universally 

22 recognized credential programs, as appropriate; 

23 ‘‘(C) energy efficiency, including efficient 

24 building technologies and environmentally 

25 friendly materials, products, and processes; 


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1 ‘‘(D) enhancing the competitiveness of 

2 small and medium-sized manufacturers in the 

3 global marketplace; 

4 ‘‘(E) the transfer of technology based on 

5 the technological needs of manufacturers and 

6 available technologies from institutions of high7 er education, laboratories, and other technology 

8 producing entities; and 

9 ‘‘(F) areas that extend beyond traditional 

10 areas of manufacturing extension activities, in11 cluding projects related to construction industry 

12 modernization. 

13 ‘‘(5) REIMBURSEMENT.—Centers may be reim14 bursed for costs incurred under the program under 

15 this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(6) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 

17 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

18 manner, at such time, and containing such informa19 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

20 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

21 ‘‘(7) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub22 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

23 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

24 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 


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1 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

2 will— 

3 ‘‘(A) utilize innovative or collaborative ap4 proaches to solving the problem described in the 

5 competition; 

6 ‘‘(B) improve the competitiveness of indus7 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen8 ters are located; and 

9 ‘‘(C) contribute to the long-term economic 

10 stability of that region, including the creation of 

11 jobs or training employees. 

12 ‘‘(8) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 

13 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

14 to provide a matching contribution. 

15 ‘‘(9) DURATION.—Awards under this subsection 

16 shall last no longer than 5 years. 

17 ‘‘(h) INNOVATIVE SERVICES INITIATIVE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director, in co19 ordination with the Advanced Manufacturing Office 

20 of the Department of Energy, shall establish, within 

21 the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 

22 an innovative services initiative to assist small and 

23 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. 406. BIOSCIENCE MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND 

10 STANDARDS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Stand12 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is 

13 amended by inserting after section 34, as added by section 

14 404 of this Act, the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 35. BIOSCIENCE MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND 

16 STANDARDS. 

17 ‘‘The Director shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) establish a bioscience research program to 

19 support the development of standards and measure20 ments and to create new data, tools, techniques, and 

21 processes necessary to promote new research and in22 dustries at the intersection of the biological, phys23 ical, and information sciences and engineering; 

24 ‘‘(2) provide access to user facilities with ad25 vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 


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1 other resources to industry, institutions of higher 

2 education, nonprofit organizations, and government 

3 agencies to perform research and testing related to 

4 the biosciences program established under this sec5 tion; and 

6 ‘‘(3) provide technical expertise to inform the 

7 development of guidelines and safeguards for new 

8 products, processes, and systems that may result 

9 from advancements at the intersection of the biologi10 cal, physical, and information sciences and engineer11 ing.’’. 

12 SEC. 407. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW. 

13 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 

15 Standards and Technology shall enter into a contract with 

16 the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, 

17 comprehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory pro18 grams. The review shall— 

19 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

20 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 

21 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

22 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

23 ability to fulfill its mission; 


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1 (3) evaluate how cross-cutting research and de2 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

3 executed across the laboratories; and 

4 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in5 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

6 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti7 tute. 

8 SEC. 408. IMPROVING NIST COLLABORATION WITH OTHER 

9 AGENCIES. 

10 Section 8 of the National Bureau of Standards Au11 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983 (15 U.S.C. 275b) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

14 WITH’’ after ‘‘PERFORMED FOR’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

16 Secretary may accept, apply for, use, and spend 

17 Federal, State, and non-governmental acquisition 

18 and assistance funds to further the mission of the 

19 Institute without regard to the source or the period 

20 of availability of these funds as well as share per21 sonnel, associates, facilities, and property with these 

22 partner organizations, with or without reimburse23 ment, upon mutual agreement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 409. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES.—Section 15 of the 

3 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 278e) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Government; and’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘of the Government;’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘transportation services for em8 ployees of the Institute’’ and inserting ‘‘transpor9 tation services for employees, associates, or fellows 

10 of the Institute’’; and 

11 (3) by striking ‘‘Code.’’ and inserting ‘‘Code; 

12 and (i) the protection of Institute buildings and 

13 other plant facilities, equipment, and property, and 

14 of employees, associates, visitors, or other persons 

15 located therein or associated therewith, notwith16 standing any other provision of law.’’. 

17 (b) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—Sec18 tion 19 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech19 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–2) is amended to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 19. POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

22 ‘‘The Director, in conjunction with the National 

23 Academy of Sciences, shall establish and conduct a post24 doctoral fellowship program that shall include not less 

25 than 20 new fellows per fiscal year. In evaluating applica26 tions for fellowships under this section, the Director shall 


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1 give consideration to the goal of promoting the participa2 tion of underrepresented minorities in research areas sup3 ported by the Institute.’’. 

4 TITLE V—INNOVATION 

5 SEC. 501. OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEUR6 SHIP. 

7 Section 25 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno8 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3720) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘with a Direc10 tor and full-time staff’’ after ‘‘Office of Innovation 

11 and Entrepreneurship’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(3) providing access to relevant data, research, 

16 and technical assistance on innovation and commer17 cialization, including best practices for university18 based incubators and accelerators;’’; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

20 (5) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; and 

21 (C) by inserting the following after para22 graph (3): 

23 ‘‘(4) overseeing the implementation of the loan 

24 guarantee programs and the Regional Innovation 


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1 Program established under sections 26 and 27, re2 spectively; 

3 ‘‘(5) developing, within 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of the America Competes Reauthoriza5 tion Act of 2014, and updating at least every 5 

6 years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the 

7 Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship that 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) specify and prioritize near-term and 

10 long-term goals, objectives, and policies to ac11 celerate innovation and advance the commer12 cialization of research and development, includ13 ing federally funded research and development, 

14 set forth the anticipated time for achieving the 

15 objectives, and identify metrics for use in as16 sessing progress toward such objectives; 

17 ‘‘(B) describe how the Department of 

18 Commerce is working in conjunction with other 

19 Federal agencies to foster innovation and com20 mercialization across the United States; and 

21 ‘‘(C) provide a summary of the activities, 

22 including the development of metrics to evalu23 ate regional innovation strategies undertaken 

24 through the Regional Innovation Research and 


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1 Information Program established under section 

2 27(e);’’; 

3 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es7 tablish or designate an advisory committee, which 

8 shall meet at least twice each fiscal year, to provide 

9 advice to the Secretary on carrying out the duties 

10 and responsibilities of the Office of Innovation and 

11 Entrepreneurship. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The advisory 

13 committee shall prepare a report, to be submitted to 

14 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

15 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen17 ate every 3 years. The first report shall be submitted 

18 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

19 the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014 

20 and shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the strategic plan 

22 developed under subsection (b)(5) and the 

23 progress made in implementing the plan and 

24 the duties of the Office of Innovation and En25 trepreneurship; 


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1 ‘‘(B) an assessment of how the Office of 

2 Innovation and Entrepreneurship is working 

3 with other Federal agencies to meet the goals 

4 and duties of the office; and 

5 ‘‘(C) any recommendations for how the Of6 fice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship could 

7 be improved.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

11 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019 

12 to carry out this section.’’. 

13 SEC. 502. FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR INNOVATIVE 

14 TECHNOLOGIES IN MANUFACTURING. 

15 Section 26(t) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 

16 Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3721(t)) is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 2013’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘fiscal years 2014 through 2018’’. 

19 SEC. 503. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

20 Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno21 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(8) OUTREACH TO RURAL COMMUNITIES.— 

25 The Secretary shall conduct outreach to public and 


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1 private sector entities in rural communities to en2 courage those entities to participate in regional inno3 vation cluster activities under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(9) FUNDING.—The Secretary may accept 

5 funds from other Federal agencies to support grants 

6 and activities under this subsection.’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 

8 2011 through 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 

9 2015 through 2019’’. 

10 SEC. 504. INNOVATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM. 

11 Section 25 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno12 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3720) as amended by sec13 tion 501 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(e) INNOVATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

17 through the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneur18 ship and in conjunction with the States, shall estab19 lish an innovation voucher pilot program to accel20 erate innovative activities and enhance the competi21 tiveness of small and medium-sized manufacturers in 

22 the United States. The pilot program shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) foster collaborations between small 

24 and medium-sized manufacturers and research 

25 institutions; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) enable small and medium-sized man2 ufacturers to access technical expertise and ca3 pabilities that will lead to the development of 

4 innovative products or manufacturing processes, 

5 including through— 

6 ‘‘(i) research and development, includ7 ing proof of concept, technical develop8 ment, and compliance testing activities; 

9 ‘‘(ii) early-stage product development, 

10 including engineering design services; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) technology transfer and related 

12 activities. 

13 ‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE.—The Secretary shall com14 petitively award vouchers worth up to $20,000 to 

15 small and medium-sized manufacturers for use at el16 igible research institutions to acquire the services de17 scribed in paragraph (1)(B). 

18 ‘‘(3) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES.—The Sec19 retary shall streamline and simplify the application, 

20 administrative, and reporting procedures for vouch21 ers administered under the program. 

22 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Prior to awarding any 

23 vouchers under the program, the Secretary shall pro24 mulgate regulations— 


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1 ‘‘(A) establishing criteria for the selection 

2 of recipients of awards under this subsection; 

3 ‘‘(B) establishing procedures regarding fi4 nancial reporting and auditing— 

5 ‘‘(i) to ensure that awards are used 

6 for the purposes of the program; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) that are in accordance with 

8 sound accounting practices; and 

9 ‘‘(C) describing any other policies, proce10 dures, or information necessary to implement 

11 this subsection, including those intended to 

12 streamline and simplify the program in accord13 ance with paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(5) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

15 may transfer funds appropriated to the Department 

16 of Commerce to other Federal agencies for the per17 formance of services authorized under this sub18 section. 

19 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—All of the 

20 amounts appropriated to carry out this subsection 

21 for a fiscal year shall be used for vouchers awarded 

22 under this subsection, except that the Secretary may 

23 set aside a percentage of such amounts for eligible 

24 research institutions performing the services de25 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) to defray administrative 


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1 costs associated with the services. The Secretary 

2 shall establish a single, fixed percentage for such 

3 purposes that will apply to all eligible research insti4 tutions. 

5 ‘‘(7) OUTREACH.—The Secretary may use cen6 ters established under section 25 of the National In7 stitute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 278k) to provide information about the program es9 tablished under this subsection and to conduct out10 reach to potential applicants, as appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(8) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of enactment of the America 

14 Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014, the 

15 Secretary shall transmit to Congress a plan 

16 that will serve as a guide for the activities of 

17 the program. The plan shall include a descrip18 tion of the specific objectives of the program 

19 and the metrics that will be used in assessing 

20 progress toward those objectives. 

21 ‘‘(B) OUTCOMES.—Not later than 3 years 

22 after the date of enactment of the America 

23 Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014, the 

24 Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report 

25 containing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a summary of the activities car2 ried out under this subsection; 

3 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of the impact of 

4 such activities on the innovative capacity of 

5 small and medium-sized manufacturers re6 ceiving assistance under the pilot program; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) any recommendations for admin9 istrative and legislative action that could 

10 optimize the effectiveness of the pilot pro11 gram. 

12 ‘‘(9) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.— 

13 To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

14 shall ensure that the activities carried out under this 

15 subsection are coordinated with, and do not dupli16 cate the efforts of, other programs within the Fed17 eral Government. 

18 ‘‘(10) ELIGIBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS DE19 FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection, the 

20 term ‘eligible research institution’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education, as 

22 such term is defined in section 101(a) of the 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1001(a)); 

25 ‘‘(B) a Federal laboratory; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a federally funded research and devel2 opment center; or 

3 ‘‘(D) a Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

4 Center established under section 25 of the Na5 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k). 

7 ‘‘(11) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary to carry out the pilot program in this sub10 section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 

11 through 2019.’’. 

12 SEC. 505. FEDERAL ACCELERATION OF STATE TECH13 NOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION PILOT PRO14 GRAM. 

15 The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

16 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 28. FEDERAL ACCELERATION OF STATE TECH19 NOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION PILOT PRO20 GRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish a Federal Acceleration of State Technology 

24 Commercialization Pilot Program or FAST Com25 mercialization Pilot Program to award grants to 


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1 States, or consortia thereof, for the purposes de2 scribed in paragraph (2). Awards under this section 

3 shall be made through a competitive, merit-based 

4 process. 

5 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

6 under this section is to advance United States pro7 ductivity and global competitiveness by accelerating 

8 commercialization of innovative technology by 

9 leveraging Federal support for State commercializa10 tion efforts. The program shall provide matching 

11 funds to a State, or consortium thereof, for the ac12 celeration of commercialization activities and the 

13 promotion of small manufacturing enterprises in the 

14 United States. 

15 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Applications for awards under 

16 this section shall be submitted in such a manner, at such 

17 a time, and containing such information as the Secretary 

18 shall require, including— 

19 ‘‘(1) a description of the current state of tech20 nology commercialization in the State or States, in21 cluding successes and barriers to commercialization; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) a description of the State’s or consortium’s 

24 plan for increasing commercialization of new tech25 nologies, products, processes, and services. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es2 tablish criteria for the selection of awardees, which shall 

3 consider at a minimum a review of efforts during the fiscal 

4 year prior to submitting an application to— 

5 ‘‘(1) promote manufacturing; and 

6 ‘‘(2) commercialize new technologies, products, 

7 processes, and services, including activities to trans8 late federally funded research and technologies to 

9 small manufacturing enterprises. 

10 ‘‘(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State or consor11 tium receiving a grant under this section shall provide 

12 non-Federal cash contributions in an amount equal to 50 

13 percent of the total cost of the project for which the grant 

14 is provided. 

15 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—In 

16 carrying out the program under this section, the Secretary 

17 shall ensure that grants made under the program are co18 ordinated with, and do not duplicate, the efforts of other 

19 commercialization programs within the Federal Govern20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

23 after the date of enactment of the America Com24 petes Reauthorization Act of 2014, the Secretary 

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1 ty, such as the National Academy of Sciences, to 

2 conduct an evaluation of the program established 

3 under subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The evaluation shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) assess whether the program is achiev6 ing its goals; 

7 ‘‘(B) include any recommendations for how 

8 the program may be improved; and 

9 ‘‘(C) include a recommendation as to 

10 whether the program should be continued or 

11 terminated. 

12 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘State’ has the meaning given 

14 that term in section 3 of the Public Works and Eco15 nomic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘commercialization’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 9(e)(10) of the 

19 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)(10)). 

20 ‘‘(h) DURATION.—Each award shall be for a 5-year 

21 period. 

22 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

24 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2017 

25 to carry out this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 506. NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT ON UNIVERSITY 

2 INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter into 

5 a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to con6 duct a study on the role of incubators and accelerators, 

7 including university-based incubators and accelerators, in 

8 the commercialization of federally funded research and re9 gional economic development. The study shall— 

10 (1) examine the effectiveness of incubators and 

11 accelerators in stimulating the creation of start-ups, 

12 including metrics for comparing start-ups that have 

13 and have not completed incubator or accelerator pro14 grams, and developing regional innovation clusters; 

15 and 

16 (2) identify best practices in the structure, 

17 goals, operation, management, and funding mecha18 nisms of leading incubators and accelerators. 

19 TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF 

20 ENERGY 

21 Subtitle A—Office of Science 

22 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Department of En24 ergy Office of Science Authorization Act of 2014’’. 

25 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

26 Except as otherwise provided, in this subtitle: 


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1 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of Energy. 

3 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of the Office of Science. 

5 (3) OFFICE OF SCIENCE.—The term ‘‘Office of 

6 Science’’ means the Department of Energy Office of 

7 Science. 

8 (4) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

9 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Science 

10 and Energy. 

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Energy. 

13 SEC. 603. MISSION OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE. 

14 Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza15 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) MISSION.—The mission of the Office of Science 

18 shall be the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, 

19 and major scientific tools to transform the understanding 

20 of nature and to advance the energy, economic, and na21 tional security of the United States. 

22 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—In support of this mission, the Direc23 tor shall carry out programs, including those in basic en24 ergy sciences, biological and environmental research, ad25 vanced scientific computing research, fusion energy 


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1 sciences, high energy physics, and nuclear physics, 

2 through activities focused on— 

3 ‘‘(1) Science for Discovery to unravel nature’s 

4 mysteries through activities which range from the 

5 study of subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules 

6 that make up the materials of our everyday world to 

7 the study of DNA, proteins, cells, and entire biologi8 cal systems; 

9 ‘‘(2) Science for National Need by— 

10 ‘‘(A) advancing a clean energy agenda 

11 through research on energy production, storage, 

12 transmission, efficiency, and use; and 

13 ‘‘(B) advancing our understanding of the 

14 Earth and its climate through research in at15 mospheric and environmental sciences and cli16 mate change; and 

17 ‘‘(3) National Scientific User Facilities to de18 liver the 21st century tools of science, engineering, 

19 and technology and provide the Nation’s researchers 

20 with the most advanced tools of modern science in21 cluding accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light 

22 sources and neutron sources, and facilities for study23 ing complex molecular systems and the nanoworld. 

24 ‘‘(e) SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES.—The activities de25 scribed in subsection (d) shall include providing for relVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 Mar 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00191 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4159.IH H4159

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1 evant facilities and infrastructure, programmatic analysis, 

2 interagency coordination, and workforce development and 

3 outreach activities. 

4 ‘‘(f) USER FACILITIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry 

6 out the construction, operation, and maintenance of 

7 user facilities, including underground research facili8 ties, to support the activities described in subsection 

9 (d). As practicable, these facilities shall serve the 

10 needs of the Department, industry, the academic 

11 community, and other relevant entities for the pur12 poses of advancing the missions of the Department. 

13 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL

14 AGENCIES.—The Director may form partnerships to 

15 enhance the utilization of and ensure access to user 

16 facilities, including underground research facilities, 

17 by other Federal agencies. 

18 ‘‘(3) UNDERGROUND RESEARCH FACILITIES RE19 PORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

20 enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit to 

21 Congress a report describing the underground re22 search priorities of the Department, taking into con23 sideration previous reports by the High Energy 

24 Physics Advisory Panel, the National Research 


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1 Council, the Department of Energy, the National 

2 Science Foundation, and other appropriate entities. 

3 ‘‘(g) OTHER AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In addition 

4 to the activities authorized under the Department of En5 ergy Office of Science Authorization Act of 2014, the Of6 fice of Science shall carry out other such activities as it 

7 is authorized or required to carry out by law. 

8 ‘‘(h) COORDINATION AND JOINT ACTIVITIES WITH

9 OTHER DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROGRAMS.—The 

10 Under Secretary shall ensure the coordination of activities 

11 under the Department of Energy Office of Science Author12 ization Act of 2014 with the other activities of the Depart13 ment, and shall support joint activities among the pro14 grams of the Department. 

15 ‘‘(i) DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY FOR

16 OFFICE OF SCIENCE FACILITIES REPORT.—Not later 

17 than one year after the date of enactment of the Depart18 ment of Energy Office of Science Authorization Act of 

19 2014, the Secretary shall transmit a report to the Com20 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

21 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

22 Natural Resources of the Senate. The report shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) assess the current ability of domestic man24 ufacturers to meet the procurement requirements for 

25 major ongoing projects funded by the Office of 


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1 Science, including a calculation of the percentage of 

2 equipment acquired from domestic manufacturers 

3 for this purpose; and 

4 ‘‘(2) identify steps that can be taken by the 

5 Federal Government and by private industry to in6 crease the capability of domestic manufacturers to 

7 meet procurement requirements of the Office of 

8 Science for major projects.’’. 

9 SEC. 604. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM. 

10 (a) PROGRAM.—As part of the activities authorized 

11 under the amendment made by section 603, the Director 

12 shall carry out a program in basic energy sciences, includ13 ing materials sciences and engineering, chemical sciences, 

14 physical biosciences, and geosciences, for the purpose of 

15 providing the scientific foundations for new energy tech16 nologies and addressing scientific grand challenges. 

17 (b) BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES USER FACILITIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

19 a subprogram to support and oversee the construc20 tion, operation, and maintenance of national user fa21 cilities that support the program under this section. 

22 As practicable, these facilities shall serve the needs 

23 of the Department, industry, the academic commu24 nity, and other relevant entities to create and exam25 ine new materials and chemical processes for the 


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1 purposes of advancing new energy technologies and 

2 improving the competitiveness of the United States. 

3 These facilities shall include— 

4 (A) x-ray light sources; 

5 (B) neutron sources; 

6 (C) nanoscale science research centers; and 

7 (D) other facilities the Director considers 

8 appropriate, consistent with section 209(f) of 

9 the Department of Energy Organization Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 7139(f)). 

11 (2) FACILITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

12 The Director shall carry out research and develop13 ment on advanced accelerator and storage ring tech14 nologies relevant to the Basic Energy Sciences user 

15 facilities, in consultation with the Office of Science’s 

16 High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics pro17 grams. 

18 (3) FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND UP19 GRADES.—Consistent with the Office of Science’s 

20 project management practices, the Director shall 

21 support construction of— 

22 (A) an upgrade of the Advanced Photon 

23 Source to optimize and enhance beam bright24 ness; 


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1 (B) a Second Target Station at the Spall2 ation Neutron Source to double user capacity 

3 and expand the suite of instruments to meet 

4 new scientific challenges; 

5 (C) the Linac Coherent Light Source II to 

6 expand the x-ray wavelength range, incorporate 

7 high repetition rate operation for soft and me8 dium energy x-rays, and increase user capacity 

9 of the Linac Coherent Light Source; and 

10 (D) an upgrade to the Advanced Light 

11 Source to improve brightness and performance. 

12 (c) ENERGY FRONTIER RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

14 a program to provide awards, on a competitive, 

15 merit-reviewed basis, to multi-institutional collabora16 tions or other appropriate entities to conduct funda17 mental and use-inspired energy research to accel18 erate scientific breakthroughs related to needs iden19 tified in— 

20 (A) the Grand Challenges report of the De21 partment’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory 

22 Committee; 

23 (B) the report of the Department’s Basic 

24 Energy Sciences Advisory Committee entitled 


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1 ‘‘From Quanta to the Continuum: Opportuni2 ties for Mesoscale Science’’; 

3 (C) the Basic Energy Sciences Basic Re4 search Needs workshop report; or 

5 (D) other relevant reports identified by the 

6 Director. 

7 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—A collaboration receiv8 ing an award under this subsection may include mul9 tiple types of institutions and private sector entities. 

10 (3) SELECTION AND DURATION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—A collaboration under 

12 this subsection shall be selected for a period of 

13 5 years. An Energy Frontier Research Center 

14 already in existence and supported by the Di15 rector on the date of enactment of this Act may 

16 continue to receive support for a period of 5 

17 years beginning on the date of establishment of 

18 that center. 

19 (B) REAPPLICATION.—After the end of the 

20 period described in subparagraph (A), an 

21 awardee may reapply for selection for a second 

22 period of 5 years on a competitive, merit-re23 viewed basis. 

24 (C) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

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1 rector may terminate an underperforming cen2 ter for cause during the performance period. 

3 (4) NO FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION.—No 

4 funding provided pursuant to this subsection may be 

5 used for the construction of new buildings or facili6 ties. 

7 SEC. 605. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities author9 ized under section 209 of the Department of Energy Orga10 nization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), and coordinated with the 

11 activities authorized under section 604 and section 606, 

12 the Director shall carry out a program of research and 

13 development in the areas of biological systems science and 

14 climate and environmental science, including subsurface 

15 science, to support the energy and environmental missions 

16 of the Department. 

17 (b) BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS SCIENCE ACTIVITIES.— 

18 (1) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the activities au19 thorized under subsection (a), the Director shall 

20 carry out research and development activities in fun21 damental, structural, computational, and systems bi22 ology to increase systems-level understanding of the 

23 complex biological systems, which shall include ac24 tivities to— 


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1 (A) accelerate breakthroughs and new 

2 knowledge that will enable cost-effective sus3 tainable production of— 

4 (i) biomass-based liquid transpor5 tation fuels; 

6 (ii) bioenergy; and 

7 (iii) biobased materials; 

8 (B) improve understanding of the global 

9 carbon cycle, including processes for removing 

10 carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, through 

11 photosynthesis and other biological processes, 

12 for sequestration and storage; and 

13 (C) understand the biological mechanisms 

14 used to transform, immobilize, or remove con15 taminants from subsurface environments. 

16 (2) BIOENERGY RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activi18 ties under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

19 support at least 3 bioenergy research centers to 

20 accelerate advanced research and development 

21 of biomass-based liquid transportation fuels, 

22 bioenergy, or biobased materials that are pro23 duced from a variety of regionally diverse feed24 stocks. 


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1 (B) SELECTION AND DURATION.—A center 

2 established under subparagraph (A) shall be se3 lected on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis for 

4 a period of 5 years beginning on the date of es5 tablishment of that center. A center already in 

6 existence on the date of enactment of this Act 

7 may continue to receive support for a period of 

8 5 years beginning on the date of establishment 

9 of that center. 

10 (C) RENEWAL.—After the end of the pe11 riod described in subparagraph (B), an awardee 

12 may apply for a second period of 5 years on a 

13 merit-reviewed basis. 

14 (D) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

15 existing authorities of the Department, the Di16 rector may terminate an underperforming cen17 ter for cause during the performance period. 

18 (3) LOW DOSE RADIATION RESEARCH PRO19 GRAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

21 carry out a research program on low dose radi22 ation. The purpose of the program is to en23 hance the scientific understanding of and re24 duce uncertainties associated with the effects of 


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1 exposure to low dose radiation in order to in2 form improved risk management methods. 

3 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

4 term ‘‘low dose radiation’’ means a radiation 

5 dose of less than 100 millisieverts. 

6 (C) STUDY.—Not later than 60 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

8 shall enter into an agreement with the National 

9 Academies to conduct a study assessing the 

10 current status and development of a long-term 

11 strategy for low dose radiation research. The 

12 study shall be conducted in coordination with 

13 Federal agencies that perform ionizing radi14 ation effects research. 

15 (D) CONTENTS.—The study performed 

16 under subparagraph (C) shall— 

17 (i) identify current scientific chal18 lenges for understanding the long-term ef19 fects of ionizing radiation; 

20 (ii) assess the status of current low 

21 dose radiation research in the United 

22 States and internationally; 

23 (iii) formulate overall scientific goals 

24 for the future of low-dose radiation re25 search in the United States; 


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1 (iv) recommend a long-term strategic 

2 and prioritized research agenda to address 

3 scientific research goals for overcoming the 

4 identified scientific challenges in coordina5 tion with other research efforts; 

6 (v) define the essential components of 

7 a research program that would address 

8 this research agenda within the universities 

9 and the National Laboratories; and 

10 (vi) assess the cost-benefit effective11 ness of such a program. 

12 (E) 5-YEAR RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later 

13 than 90 days after the completion of the assess14 ment performed under subparagraph (C), the 

15 Secretary shall deliver to the Committee on 

16 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

18 and Natural Resources of the Senate a five-year 

19 research plan that responds to the assessment’s 

20 findings and recommendations and identifies 

21 and prioritizes research needs. 

22 (4) REPEAL.—Section 977 of the Energy Policy 

23 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16317) is repealed. 

24 (c) CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ACTIVI25 TIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities au2 thorized under subsection (a), and in coordination 

3 with activities carried out under subsection (b), the 

4 Director shall carry out climate and environmental 

5 science research, which shall include activities to— 

6 (A) understand, observe, and model the re7 sponse of Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere to 

8 increased concentrations of greenhouse gas 

9 emissions and any associated changes in cli10 mate; 

11 (B) understand the processes for immo12 bilization, or removal of, and understand the 

13 movement of, energy production-derived con14 taminants such as radionuclides and heavy met15 als, and understand the process of sequestration 

16 and transformation of carbon dioxide in sub17 surface environments; and 

18 (C) inform potential mitigation and adap19 tation options for increased concentrations of 

20 greenhouse gas emissions and any associated 

21 changes in climate. 

22 (2) SUBSURFACE BIOGEOCHEMICAL RE23 SEARCH.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities 

25 described in paragraph (1), the Director shall 


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1 carry out research to advance a fundamental 

2 understanding of coupled physical, chemical, 

3 and biological processes for controlling the 

4 movement of sequestered carbon and subsurface 

5 environmental contaminants. 

6 (B) COORDINATION.— 

7 (i) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall 

8 carry out activities under this paragraph in 

9 accordance with priorities established by 

10 the Under Secretary to support and accel11 erate the decontamination of relevant fa12 cilities managed by the Department. 

13 (ii) UNDER SECRETARY.—The Under 

14 Secretary shall ensure the coordination of 

15 activities of the Department, including ac16 tivities under this paragraph, to support 

17 and accelerate the decontamination of rel18 evant facilities managed by the Depart19 ment. 

20 (3) CLIMATE AND EARTH MODELING.—As part 

21 of the activities described in paragraph (1), the Di22 rector, in collaboration with the Advanced Scientific 

23 Computing Research program described in section 

24 606, shall carry out research to develop, evaluate, 

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1 mate, and Earth models to inform decisions on re2 ducing the impacts of a changing climate. Such 

3 modeling shall include, among other critical ele4 ments, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and 

5 interaction among human and Earth systems. 

6 SEC. 606. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities author9 ized under section 209 of the Department of Energy Orga10 nization Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), the Director shall carry 

11 out a research, development, demonstration, and commer12 cial application program to advance computational and 

13 networking capabilities for data-driven discovery and to 

14 analyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena 

15 relevant to the development of new energy technologies 

16 and the competitiveness of the United States. 

17 (b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall en18 sure the coordination of the activities of the Department, 

19 including activities under this section, to determine and 

20 meet the computational and networking research and fa21 cility needs of the Office of Science and all other relevant 

22 energy technology and energy efficiency programs within 

23 the Department. 

24 (c) RESEARCH TO SUPPORT ENERGY APPLICA25 TIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the activities au2 thorized under subsection (a), the program shall 

3 support research in high-performance computing and 

4 networking relevant to energy applications including 

5 modeling, simulation, and advanced data analytics 

6 for basic and applied energy research programs car7 ried out by the Secretary. 

8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

10 transmit to the Congress a plan to integrate and le11 verage the expertise and capabilities of the program 

12 described in subsection (a), as well as other relevant 

13 computational and networking research programs 

14 and resources supported by the Federal Government, 

15 to advance the missions of the Department’s applied 

16 energy and energy efficiency programs. 

17 (d) APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND SOFTWARE DEVEL18 OPMENT FOR HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEMS.—The Di19 rector shall carry out activities to develop, test, and sup20 port mathematics, models, and algorithms for complex 

21 systems, as well as programming environments, tools, lan22 guages, and operating systems for high-end computing 

23 systems (as defined in section 2 of the Department of En24 ergy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 (15 

25 U.S.C. 5541)). 


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1 (e) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.—Section 3 of 

2 the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revital3 ization Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 5542) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro6 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated program 

7 across the Department’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para9 graph (1); 

10 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

11 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(3) partner with universities, National Labora15 tories, and industry to ensure the broadest possible 

16 application of the technology developed in this pro17 gram to other challenges in science, engineering, 

18 medicine, and industry.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘vector’’ 

20 and all that follows through ‘‘architectures’’ and in21 serting ‘‘computer technologies that show promise of 

22 substantial reductions in power requirements and 

23 substantial gains in parallelism of multicore proc24 essors, concurrency, memory and storage, band25 width, and reliability’’; and 


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1 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(d) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con5 duct a coordinated research program to develop 

6 exascale computing systems to advance the missions 

7 of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXECUTION.—The Secretary shall, 

9 through competitive merit review, establish two or 

10 more National Laboratory-industry-university part11 nerships to conduct integrated research, develop12 ment, and engineering of multiple exascale architec13 tures, and— 

14 ‘‘(A) conduct mission-related co-design ac15 tivities in developing such exascale platforms; 

16 ‘‘(B) develop those advancements in hard17 ware and software technology required to fully 

18 realize the potential of an exascale production 

19 system in addressing Department target appli20 cations and solving scientific problems involving 

21 predictive modeling and simulation and large22 scale data analytics and management; and 

23 ‘‘(C) explore the use of exascale computing 

24 technologies to advance a broad range of 

25 science and engineering. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out this 

2 program, the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide, on a competitive, merit-re4 viewed basis, access for researchers in United 

5 States industry, institutions of higher edu6 cation, National Laboratories, and other Fed7 eral agencies to these exascale systems, as ap8 propriate; and 

9 ‘‘(B) conduct outreach programs to in10 crease the readiness for the use of such plat11 forms by domestic industries, including manu12 facturers. 

13 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INTEGRATED STRATEGY AND PRO15 GRAM MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 

16 shall submit to Congress, not later than 90 

17 days after the date of enactment of the Depart18 ment of Energy Office of Science Authorization 

19 Act of 2014, a report outlining an integrated 

20 strategy and program management plan, in21 cluding target dates for prototypical and pro22 duction exascale platforms, interim milestones 

23 to reaching these targets, functional require24 ments, roles and responsibilities of National 

25 Laboratories and industry, acquisition strategy, 


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1 and estimated resources required, to achieve 

2 this exascale system capability. The report shall 

3 include the Secretary’s plan for Departmental 

4 organization to manage and execute the 

5 Exascale Computing Program, including defini6 tion of the roles and responsibilities within the 

7 Department to ensure an integrated program 

8 across the Department. The report shall also 

9 include a plan for ensuring balance and 

10 prioritizing across ASCR subprograms in a flat 

11 or slow-growth budget environment. 

12 ‘‘(B) STATUS REPORTS.—At the time of 

13 the budget submission of the Department for 

14 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a 

15 report to Congress that describes the status of 

16 milestones and costs in achieving the objectives 

17 of the exascale computing program. 

18 ‘‘(C) EXASCALE MERIT REPORT.—At least 

19 18 months prior to the initiation of construction 

20 or installation of any exascale-class computing 

21 facility, the Secretary shall transmit a plan to 

22 the Congress detailing— 

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1 erate the development of new energy tech2 nologies; 

3 ‘‘(ii) technical risks and challenges 

4 that must be overcome to achieve success5 ful completion and operation of the facility; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) an independent assessment of 

8 the scientific and technological advances 

9 expected from such a facility relative to 

10 those expected from a comparable invest11 ment in expanded research and applica12 tions at terascale-class and petascale-class 

13 computing facilities, including an evalua14 tion of where investments should be made 

15 in the system software and algorithms to 

16 enable these advances.’’. 

17 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Department of 

18 Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 

19 (15 U.S.C. 5541) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 

20 through (5) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) CO-DESIGN.—The term ‘co-design’ means 

22 the joint development of application algorithms, 

23 models, and codes with computer technology archi24 tectures and operating systems to maximize effective 

25 use of high-end computing systems. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

2 means the Department of Energy. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXASCALE.—The term ‘exascale’ means 

4 computing system performance at or near 10 to the 

5 18th power floating point operations per second. 

6 ‘‘(4) HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEM.—The 

7 term ‘high-end computing system’ means a com8 puting system with performance that substantially 

9 exceeds that of systems that are commonly available 

10 for advanced scientific and engineering applications. 

11 ‘‘(5) LEADERSHIP SYSTEM.—The term ‘Leader12 ship System’ means a high-end computing system 

13 that is among the most advanced in the world in 

14 terms of performance in solving scientific and engi15 neering problems. 

16 ‘‘(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

17 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 

19 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801). 

20 ‘‘(7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na21 tional Laboratory’ has the meaning given the term 

22 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

23 U.S.C. 15801). 

24 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

25 the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 ‘‘(9) SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

2 ‘software technology’ includes optimal algorithms, 

3 programming environments, tools, languages, and 

4 operating systems for high-end computing systems.’’. 

5 SEC. 607. FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH. 

6 (a) PROGRAM.—As part of the activities authorized 

7 under section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza8 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) and section 972 of the Energy 

9 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16312), the Director shall 

10 carry out a fusion energy sciences research and enabling 

11 technology development program to effectively address the 

12 scientific and engineering challenges to building a cost13 competitive fusion power plant and a competitive fusion 

14 power industry in the United States. As part of this pro15 gram, the Director shall carry out research activities to 

16 expand the fundamental understandings of plasmas and 

17 matter at very high temperatures and densities. 

18 (b) ITER.—The Director shall coordinate and carry 

19 out the responsibilities of the United States with respect 

20 to the ITER international fusion project pursuant to the 

21 Agreement on the Establishment of the International Fu22 sion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of 

23 the ITER Project. 

24 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITIES.— 


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1 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall transmit to the Congress a report on the De4 partment’s proposed research and development ac5 tivities in magnetic fusion over the 10 years fol6 lowing the date of enactment of this Act under at 

7 least three realistic budget scenarios. The report 

8 shall— 

9 (A) identify specific areas of fusion energy 

10 research enabling technology development in 

11 which the United States can and should estab12 lish or solidify a lead in the global fusion energy 

13 development effort; and 

14 (B) identify priorities for initiation of facil15 ity construction and facility decommissioning 

16 under each of those scenarios. 

17 (2) REVIEW.—The report shall be reviewed by 

18 the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 

19 prior to its transmittal to Congress. The Secretary 

20 shall provide the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory 

21 Committee with the opportunity and sufficient re22 sources to submit its own recommendations and ad23 ditional views on the Department’s final report to 

24 Congress. 


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1 (d) FUSION MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT.—As part of the activities authorized in section 978 

3 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16318), the 

4 Director, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for 

5 Nuclear Energy of the Department, shall carry out re6 search and development activities to identify, characterize, 

7 and create materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, 

8 and heat fluxes expected in a commercial fusion power 

9 plant. As part of the activities authorized under subsection 

10 (c), the Secretary shall— 

11 (1) provide an assessment of the need for a fa12 cility or facilities that can examine and test potential 

13 fusion and next generation fission materials and 

14 other enabling technologies relevant to the develop15 ment of commercial fusion power plants; and 

16 (2) provide an assessment of whether a single 

17 new facility that substantially addresses magnetic 

18 fusion, inertial fusion, and next generation fission 

19 materials research needs is feasible, in conjunction 

20 with the expected capabilities of facilities operational 

21 as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 (e) INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH AND DE23 VELOPMENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

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1 tial fusion for energy applications, including ion beam, 

2 laser, and pulsed power fusion systems. 

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— 

18 (1) include collaborations with the National 

19 Science Foundation or international collaborations 

20 on relevant research projects; and 

21 (2) utilize components of existing accelerator 

22 facilities to produce neutrino beams of sufficient in23 tensity to explore research priorities identified by the 

24 High Energy Physics Advisory Panel or the National 

25 Academy of Sciences. 


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1 (d) DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER RE2 SEARCH.—As part of the program described in subsection 

3 (a), the Director shall carry out research activities on the 

4 nature of dark energy and dark matter. These activities 

5 shall be consistent with the research priorities identified 

6 by the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel or the Na7 tional Academy of Sciences, and may include— 

8 (1) collaborations with the National Aeronautics 

9 and Space Administration, the National Science 

10 Foundation, or international collaborations on rel11 evant research projects; and 

12 (2) the development of space-based, land-based, 

13 and underground facilities and experiments. 

14 (e) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP15 MENT.—As part of the program described in subsection 

16 (a), the Director shall carry out research and development 

17 in advanced accelerator concepts and technologies, includ18 ing laser technologies, to reduce the necessary scope and 

19 cost for the next generation of particle accelerators, in co20 ordination with the Office of Science’s Basic Energy 

21 Sciences and Nuclear Physics programs. 

22 (f) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Direc23 tor, as practicable and in coordination with other appro24 priate Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the ac25 cess of United States researchers to the most advanced 


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1 accelerator facilities and research capabilities in the world, 

2 including the Large Hadron Collider. 

3 SEC. 609. NUCLEAR PHYSICS PROGRAM. 

4 (a) PROGRAM.—As part of the activities authorized 

5 under section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza6 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139), the Director shall carry out 

7 a research program, and support relevant facilities, to dis8 cover and understand various forms of nuclear matter. 

9 (b) FACILITY CONSTRUCTION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the Office of 

11 Science’s project management practices, the Director 

12 shall continue to support the construction of the Fa13 cility for Rare Isotope Beams. 

14 (2) REPEAL.—Section 981 of the Energy Policy 

15 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16321) is repealed. 

16 (c) ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR

17 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

19 a program for the production of isotopes that the 

20 Director determines are needed for research and ap21 plications, including— 

22 (A) the development of techniques to 

23 produce isotopes; and 

24 (B) support for infrastructure required for 

25 isotope research and production. 


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1 (2) COORDINATION.—In making the determina2 tion described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 (A) ensure that isotope production activi5 ties do not compete with private industry unless 

6 critical national interests necessitate the Fed7 eral Government’s involvement; and 

8 (B) consider any relevant recommendations 

9 made by Federal advisory committees, the Na10 tional Academies, and interagency working 

11 groups in which the Department participates. 

12 SEC. 610. SCIENCE LABORATORIES INFRASTRUCTURE PRO13 GRAM. 

14 (a) PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out a pro15 gram to improve the safety, efficiency, and mission readi16 ness of infrastructure at Office of Science laboratories. 

17 The program shall include projects to— 

18 (1) renovate or replace space that does not 

19 meet research needs; 

20 (2) replace facilities that are no longer cost ef21 fective to renovate or operate; 

22 (3) modernize utility systems to prevent failures 

23 and ensure efficiency; 

24 (4) remove excess facilities to allow safe and ef25 ficient operations; and 


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1 (5) construct modern facilities to conduct ad2 vanced research in controlled environmental condi3 tions. 

4 (b) APPROACH.—In carrying out this section, the Di5 rector shall utilize all available approaches and mecha6 nisms, including capital line items, minor construction 

7 projects, energy savings performance contracts, utility en8 ergy service contracts, alternative financing, and expense 

9 funding, as appropriate. 

10 (c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘Office of Science lab11 oratory’’ means a subset of National Laboratories as de12 fined in section 2(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

13 (42 U.S.C. 15801) consisting of subparagraphs (A), (B), 

14 (C), (D), (F), (K), (L), (M), (P), and (Q). 

15 SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec17 retary for the activities of the Office of Science— 

18 (1) $5,324,550,000 for fiscal year 2015; 

19 (2) $5,590,777,500 for fiscal year 2016; 

20 (3) $5,870,316,375 for fiscal year 2017; 

21 (4) $6,163,832,194 for fiscal year 2018; and 

22 (5) $6,472,023,803 for fiscal year 2019. 


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1 Subtitle B—ARPA–E 

2 SEC. 621. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘ARPA–E Reau4 thorization Act of 2014’’. 

5 SEC. 622. ARPA–E AMENDMENTS. 

6 Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 16538) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub9 section (o) and inserting after subsection (m) the 

10 following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(n) PROTECTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMA12 TION.—The following categories of information collected 

13 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy from 

14 recipients of financial assistance awards shall be consid15 ered privileged and confidential and not subject to disclo16 sure pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States 

17 Code: 

18 ‘‘(1) Plans for commercialization of technologies 

19 developed under the award, including business plans, 

20 technology to market plans, market studies, and cost 

21 and performance models. 

22 ‘‘(2) Investments provided to an awardee from 

23 third parties, such as venture capital, hedge fund, or 

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1 age of ownership of the awardee provided in return 

2 for such investments. 

3 ‘‘(3) Additional financial support that the 

4 awardee plans to invest or has invested into the 

5 technology developed under the award, or that the 

6 awardee is seeking from third parties. 

7 ‘‘(4) Revenue from the licensing or sale of new 

8 products or services resulting from the research con9 ducted under the award.’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2) of subsection (o), as so re11 designated by paragraph (1) of this section, by— 

12 (A) striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara13 graph (D); 

14 (B) striking the period at the end of sub15 paragraph (E) and inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (C) adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(F) $325,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; 

18 ‘‘(G) $341,250,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

19 ‘‘(H) $358,312,500 for fiscal year 2017; 

20 ‘‘(I) $376,228,125 for fiscal year 2018; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(J) $395,039,531 for fiscal year 2019.’’. 

23 Subtitle C—Energy Innovation 

24 SEC. 641. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS. 

25 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 

2 shall carry out a program to enhance the Nation’s 

3 economic, environmental, and energy security by 

4 making awards to consortia for establishing and op5 erating Energy Innovation Hubs to conduct and 

6 support, whenever practicable at one centralized lo7 cation, multidisciplinary, collaborative research, de8 velopment, demonstration, and commercial applica9 tion of advanced energy technologies. 

10 (2) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

11 Secretary shall designate for each Hub a unique ad12 vanced energy technology focus. 

13 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en14 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du15 plication of, the activities of Hubs with those of 

16 other Department of Energy research entities, in17 cluding the National Laboratories, the Advanced Re18 search Projects Agency-Energy, Energy Frontier Re19 search Centers, and within industry. 

20 (b) CONSORTIA.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 

22 award under this section for the establishment and 

23 operation of a Hub, a consortium shall— 

24 (A) be composed of no fewer than 2 quali25 fying entities; and 


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1 (B) operate subject to an agreement en2 tered into by its members that documents— 

3 (i) the proposed partnership agree4 ment, including the governance and man5 agement structure of the Hub; 

6 (ii) measures to enable cost-effective 

7 implementation of the program under this 

8 section; 

9 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi10 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

11 sources; 

12 (iv) a plan for managing intellectual 

13 property rights; and 

14 (v) an accounting structure that en15 ables the Secretary to ensure that the con16 sortium has complied with the require17 ments of this section. 

18 (2) APPLICATION.—A consortium seeking to es19 tablish and operate a Hub under this section, acting 

20 through a prime applicant, shall transmit to the Sec21 retary an application at such time, in such form, 

22 and accompanied by such information as the Sec23 retary shall require, including a detailed description 

24 of the elements of the consortium agreement re25 quired under paragraph (1)(B). If the consortium 


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1 members will not be located at one centralized loca2 tion, such application shall include a communica3 tions plan that ensures close coordination and inte4 gration of the Hub’s activities. 

5 (c) SELECTION AND SCHEDULE.—The Secretary 

6 shall select consortia for awards for the establishment and 

7 operation of Hubs through competitive selection processes. 

8 In selecting consortia, the Secretary shall consider the in9 formation a consortium must disclose according to sub10 section (b), as well as any existing facilities a consortium 

11 will provide for Hub activities. Awards made to a Hub 

12 shall be for a period not to exceed 5 years, after which 

13 the award may be renewed, subject to a rigorous merit 

14 review. A Hub already in existence on the date of enact15 ment of this Act may continue to receive support for a 

16 period of 5 years beginning on the date of establishment 

17 of that Hub. 

18 (d) HUB OPERATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Hub shall conduct or 

20 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 

21 development, demonstration, and, where appropriate, 

22 commercial application of advanced energy tech23 nologies within the technology development focus 

24 designated under subsection (a)(2). Each Hub 

25 shall— 


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1 (A) encourage collaboration and commu2 nication among the member qualifying entities 

3 of the consortium and awardees by conducting 

4 activities whenever practicable at one central5 ized location; 

6 (B) develop and publish on the Depart7 ment of Energy’s website proposed plans and 

8 programs; 

9 (C) submit an annual report to the Sec10 retary summarizing the Hub’s activities, includ11 ing detailing organizational expenditures, and 

12 describing each project undertaken by the Hub; 

13 and 

14 (D) monitor project implementation and 

15 coordination. 

16 (2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

17 (A) PROCEDURES.—Hubs shall maintain 

18 conflict of interest procedures, consistent with 

19 those of the Department of Energy, to ensure 

20 that employees and consortia designees for Hub 

21 activities who are in decisionmaking capacities 

22 disclose all material conflicts of interest. 

23 (B) DISQUALIFICATION AND REVOCA24 TION.—The Secretary may disqualify an appli25 cation or revoke funds distributed to a Hub if 


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1 the Secretary discovers a failure to comply with 

2 conflict of interest procedures established under 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 (3) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—No funds provided pur6 suant to this section may be used for construc7 tion of new buildings or facilities for Hubs. 

8 Construction of new buildings or facilities shall 

9 not be considered as part of the non-Federal 

10 share of a Hub cost-sharing agreement. 

11 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP12 TION.—Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 

13 the use of funds provided pursuant to this sec14 tion, or non-Federal cost share funds, for re15 search or for the construction of a test bed or 

16 renovations to existing buildings or facilities for 

17 the purposes of research if the Secretary deter18 mines that the test bed or renovations are lim19 ited to a scope and scale necessary for the re20 search to be conducted. 

21 (e) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the existing au22 thorities of the Department, the Secretary may terminate 

23 an underperforming Hub for cause during the perform24 ance period. 

25 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 


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1 (1) ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The 

2 term ‘‘advanced energy technology’’ means— 

3 (A) an innovative technology— 

4 (i) that produces energy from solar, 

5 wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, 

6 ocean, or other renewable energy resources; 

7 (ii) that produces nuclear energy; 

8 (iii) for carbon capture and sequestra9 tion; 

10 (iv) that enables advanced vehicles, 

11 vehicle components, and related tech12 nologies that result in significant energy 

13 savings; 

14 (v) that generates, transmits, distrib15 utes, utilizes, or stores energy more effi16 ciently than conventional technologies, in17 cluding through Smart Grid technologies; 

18 or 

19 (vi) that enhances the energy inde20 pendence and security of the United States 

21 by enabling improved or expanded supply 

22 and production of domestic energy re23 sources, including coal, oil, and natural 

24 gas; 


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1 (B) research, development, demonstration, 

2 and commercial application activities necessary 

3 to ensure the long-term, secure, and sustainable 

4 supply of energy critical elements; or 

5 (C) another innovative energy technology 

6 area identified by the Secretary. 

7 (2) ENERGY CRITICAL ELEMENT.—The term 

8 ‘‘energy critical element’’ means any of a class of 

9 chemical elements that have a high risk of a supply 

10 disruption and are critical to one or more new, en11 ergy-related technologies such that a shortage of 

12 such element would significantly inhibit large-scale 

13 deployment of technologies that produce, transmit, 

14 store, or conserve energy. 

15 (3) HUB.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ means an Energy 

16 Innovation Hub established or operating in accord17 ance with this section, including any Energy Innova18 tion Hub existing as of the date of enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 (4) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali21 fying entity’’ means— 

22 (A) an institution of higher education; 

23 (B) an appropriate State or Federal entity, 

24 including the Department of Energy Federally 

25 Funded Research and Development Centers; 


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1 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 

2 expertise in advanced energy technology re3 search, development, demonstration, or com4 mercial application; or 

5 (D) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

6 considers appropriate. 

7 SEC. 642. PARTICIPATION IN THE INNOVATION CORPS PRO8 GRAM. 

9 (a) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

10 enter into an agreement with the Director of the National 

11 Science Foundation to enable researchers funded by the 

12 Department of Energy to participate in the Innovation 

13 Corps program authorized by section 307. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Energy may 

15 also establish a Department of Energy Innovation Corps 

16 program, modeled after the National Science Foundation 

17 Innovation Corps program, to incorporate experts from 

18 the Department of Energy National Laboratories in the 

19 training curriculum of the program. 

20 SEC. 643. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. 

21 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to 

23 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 


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1 and Natural Resources of the Senate a report which shall 

2 include— 

3 (1) an assessment of the Department’s current 

4 ability to carry out the goals of section 1001 of the 

5 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391), in6 cluding an assessment of the role and effectiveness 

7 of the Technology Transfer Coordinator position; 

8 and 

9 (2) recommended departmental policy changes 

10 and legislative changes to section 1001 of the En11 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391) to im12 prove the Department’s ability to successfully trans13 fer new energy technologies to the private sector. 

14 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Section 1001 of the Energy Pol15 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

17 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol19 lowing new subsections: 

20 ‘‘(f) AGREEMENTS FOR COMMERCIALIZING TECH21 NOLOGY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit 

23 the directors of the National Laboratories to exercise 

24 Agreements for Commercializing Technology author25 ity and execute agreements with non-Federal entities 


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1 to sponsor research and development activities at the 

2 National Laboratories. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—When exercising the au4 thority authorized by this subsection, the Secretary 

5 shall permit the directors of the National Labora6 tories to execute agreements with non-Federal enti7 ties, including non-Federal entities that have re8 ceived Federal funding, provided that the non-Fed9 eral entity uses no funds derived from a current 

10 Federal contract or award to carry out such an 

11 agreement. 

12 ‘‘(3) CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Sec13 retary shall continue to provide Agreements for 

14 Commercializing Technology authority for at least 2 

15 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Upon completion of the Agree17 ments for Commercializing Technology pilot pro18 gram, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

19 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on En21 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate that in22 cludes the results of the pilot program and explains 

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1 oratories to exercise Agreements for Commer2 cializing Technology authority. 

3 ‘‘(g) INCLUSION OF TECHNOLOGY MATURATION IN

4 AUTHORIZED TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ACTIVITIES.—The 

5 Secretary shall permit the directors of the National Lab6 oratories to use funds authorized to support technology 

7 transfer, following the standard practices of the Depart8 ment, to carry out technology maturation activities to 

9 identify and improve potential commercial application op10 portunities and demonstrate applications of research and 

11 technologies arising from National Laboratory activities.’’. 

12 (c) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FOR TECHNOLOGY

13 TRANSFER AGREEMENTS.— 

14 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Energy 

15 shall delegate to directors of the National Labora16 tories signature authority for any technology trans17 fer agreement with a total cost of not more than 

18 $500,000, including both National Laboratory con19 tributions and the project recipient cost share con20 tribution, if such an agreement falls within the scope 

21 of a strategic plan for the National Laboratory that 

22 has been approved by the Department. 

23 (2) AGREEMENTS INCLUDED.—The agreements 

24 to which this subsection applies include— 


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1 (A) Cooperative Research and Develop2 ment Agreements; and 

3 (B) non-Federal Work for Others Agree4 ments. 

5 SEC. 644. ELIMINATION OF COST SHARING REQUIREMENT 

6 FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVI7 TIES CONDUCTED BY UNIVERSITIES AND 

8 NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS. 

9 Section 988(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 16352(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Except as 

12 provided in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3) and 

14 (4)’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

19 not apply to a research or development activity 

20 performed by universities and other nonprofit 

21 institutions. 

22 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

23 term ‘nonprofit institution’ has the meaning 

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1 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 

2 (15 U.S.C. 3703(3)).’’. 

3 SEC. 645. PILOT RACE TO THE TOP FOR ENERGY EFFI4 CIENCY AND GRID MODERNIZATION PRO5 GRAM. 

6 The Secretary of Energy shall carry out a pilot pro7 gram to promote innovative technologies and practices at 

8 the State, local, or tribal level or by electric cooperatives 

9 to increase energy efficiency, increase distributed elec10 tricity generation, and modernize the grid. The Depart11 ment shall provide— 

12 (1) informational resources as appropriate to 

13 potential applicants; and 

14 (2) technical assistance awards to carry out 

15 these activities on a competitive merit-reviewed 

16 basis. 

17 SEC. 646. RENAME UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE TO 

18 UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE AND EN19 ERGY. 

20 Section 202 of the Department of Energy Organiza21 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7132) is amended by striking ‘‘Under 

22 Secretary for Science’’ each place it appears and inserting 

23 ‘‘Under Secretary for Science and Energy’’. 


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1 SEC. 647. SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY FOR SCIENTIFIC, 

2 ENGINEERING, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

3 PERSONNEL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall have 

5 the authority to— 

6 (1) make appointments of scientific, engineer7 ing, and professional personnel, without regard to 

8 civil service laws, to assist the Department in meet9 ing specific project or research needs; 

10 (2) fix the basic pay of any employee appointed 

11 under this section at a rate to be determined by the 

12 Under Secretary at rates not in excess of the Execu13 tive Schedule (EX–II) without regard to the civil 

14 service laws; and 

15 (3) pay any employee appointed under this sec16 tion payments in addition to basic pay, except that 

17 the total amount of additional payments paid to an 

18 employee under this subsection for any 12-month pe19 riod shall not exceed the least of the following 

20 amounts: 

21 (A) $25,000. 

22 (B) The amount equal to 25 percent of the 

23 annual rate of basic pay of that employee. 

24 (C) The amount of the limitation that is 

25 applicable for a calendar year under section 

26 5307(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (b) TERM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of any employee 

3 appointed under this section shall not exceed 3 

4 years. 

5 (2) TERMINATION.—The Under Secretary shall 

6 have the authority to terminate any employee ap7 pointed under this section at any time based on per8 formance or changing project or research needs of 

9 the Department. 

Æ 


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