II 

Calendar No. 584 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1427 

[Report No. 116–291] 

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

the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 13, 2019 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. GARDNER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. 

HASSAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MORAN, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and 

Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to improve the Network for Manufacturing 

Innovation Program, 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, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1427 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Leadership in 

3 Advanced Manufacturing Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO NETWORK FOR MANUFAC5 TURING INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

6 (a) CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION.— 

7 Subsection (c) of section 34 of the National Institute of 

8 Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraphs (B) and (C)(i) of para11 graph (1), by striking ‘‘and tool’’ both places it ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘tool development for microelec13 tronics, food manufacturing, superconductors, ad14 vanced battery technologies, robotics, advanced sen15 sors, quantum information science, supply chain 

16 water optimization, and aeronautics and advanced 

17 materials’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ‘‘and mi19 nority’’ and inserting ‘‘, minority, and veteran’’; and 

20 (3) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘, but 

21 such’’ and all that follows through ‘‘under subsection 

22 (d)’’. 

23 (b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ESTABLISH AND

24 SUPPORT CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVA25 TION.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended— 

26 (1) in paragraph (4)— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1427 RS

1 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 

2 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

3 and inserting a semicolon; 

4 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

5 (I) by inserting ‘‘, including ap6 propriate measures for assessing the 

7 effectiveness of the activities funded 

8 with regards to the center’s success in 

9 advancing the current state of the ap10 plicable advanced manufacturing tech11 nology area such as technology readi12 ness level and manufacturing readi13 ness level,’’ after ‘‘measures’’; and 

14 (II) by striking the period at the 

15 end; and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(iii) establish standards for the per19 formance of centers for manufacturing in20 novation that are based on the measures 

21 developed under clause (ii); and 

22 ‘‘(iv) for each center for manufac23 turing innovation supported by the award, 

24 if any, once every 5 years, conduct an as25 sessment of the center to confirm whether 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1427 RS

1 the performance of the center is meeting 

2 the standards for performance established 

3 under clause (iii).’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, 

5 including the Department of Agriculture, the 

6 Department of Defense, the Department of 

7 Education, the Department of Energy, the De8 partment of Labor, the Food and Drug Admin9 istration, the National Aeronautics and Space 

10 Administration, the National Institutes of 

11 Health, and the National Science Foundation’’ 

12 after ‘‘manufacturing’’; and 

13 (C) in subparagraph (E)— 

14 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘without 

15 the need for long-term Federal funding’’; 

16 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘signifi17 cantly’’; 

18 (iii) in clause (v), by inserting ‘‘and to 

19 improve the domestic supply chain’’ after 

20 ‘‘technologies’’; and 

21 (iv) in clause (ix), by inserting ‘‘indus22 trial, research, entrepreneurship, and 

23 other’’ after ‘‘leverage the’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (5)— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1427 RS

1 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No award of financial 

4 assistance may be made under paragraph (1) to 

5 support a center for manufacturing innovation 

6 that the Secretary finds under paragraph 

7 (4)(C) does not meet the standards for per8 formance established under paragraph 

9 (4)(C)(iii).’’; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

12 ‘‘large capital facilities or equipment pur13 chases’’ and inserting ‘‘large capital facili14 ties, equipment purchases, workforce devel15 opment, or general operations’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking the second sentence; 

17 and 

18 (C) by striking subparagraph (C); and 

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

20 ‘‘(6) USE OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Finan21 cial assistance awarded under paragraph (1) may be 

22 used— 

23 ‘‘(A) for the purposes described in such 

24 paragraph; or 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(B) to carry out Program-wide activities 

2 directed by the Secretary, such as activities tar3 geting workforce development.’’. 

4 (c) FUNDING.—Subsection (e)(2) of such section is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) NIST INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL SERV9 ICES ACCOUNT.—To the extent provided for in 

10 advance by appropriations Acts, the Secretary 

11 may use amounts appropriated to the Institute 

12 for Industrial Technical Services account to 

13 carry out this section as follows: 

14 ‘‘(i) For each of the fiscal years 2015 

15 through 2019, an amount not to exceed 

16 $5,000,000. 

17 ‘‘(ii) For each of fiscal years 2020 

18 through 2030, such amounts as may be 

19 necessary to carry out this section.’’; and 

20 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘through 

21 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2019’’. 

22 (d) NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE.—Subsection (f) of 

23 such section is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

25 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1427 RS

1 (i) by inserting ‘‘coordinate with and, 

2 as appropriate,’’ before ‘‘enter’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘including the De4 partment of Agriculture, the Department 

5 of Defense, the Department of Education, 

6 the Department of Energy, the Depart7 ment of Labor, the Food and Drug Admin8 istration, the National Aeronautics and 

9 Space Administration, the National Insti10 tutes of Health, and the National Science 

11 Foundation,’’ after ‘‘manufacturing,’’; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; 

13 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

14 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 

15 subparagraph (J); and 

16 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(F) to carry out pilot programs in col19 laboration with the centers for manufacturing 

20 innovation such as a laboratory-embedded en21 trepreneurship program; 

22 ‘‘(G) to provide support services and fund23 ing as necessary to promote workforce develop24 ment activities; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(H) to coordinate with centers for manu2 facturing innovation to develop best practices 

3 for the membership agreements and coordina4 tion of similar project solicitations; 

5 ‘‘(I) to collaborate with the Department of 

6 Labor, the Department of Education, industry, 

7 career and technical education schools, local 

8 community colleges, universities, and labor or9 ganizations to provide input for the develop10 ment of national certifications for advanced 

11 manufacturing workforce skills in the tech12 nology areas of the centers for manufacturing 

13 innovation; and’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘State and 

15 local governments,’’ after ‘‘community colleges,’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in19 serting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(B) LIAISONS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

24 may provide financial assistance to a man25 ufacturing extension center established as 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1427 RS

1 part of the Hollings Manufacturing Exten2 sion Partnership to detail a liaison of the 

3 center to a center for manufacturing inno4 vation to facilitate the support by the Part5 nership of at least the following: 

6 ‘‘(I) Cybersecurity awareness and 

7 support services for small- and me8 dium-sized manufacturers. 

9 ‘‘(II) Assistance with workforce 

10 development. 

11 ‘‘(III) Technology transfer for 

12 small and medium-sized manufactur13 ers. 

14 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION OF LIAISONS.—Selec15 tion of a liaison under this subparagraph 

16 shall be made in coordination with the ap17 plicable center for manufacturing innova18 tion.’’. 

19 (e) REPORTING AND AUDITING.—Subsection (g) of 

20 such section is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘December 

22 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2030’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1427 RS

1 (i) by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘3 years’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘2-year’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘3-year’’; and 

5 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘De6 cember 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

7 2030’’. 

8 (f) EXPANSION.—Subject to the availability of appro9 priations, the Secretary of Commerce shall increase the 

10 number of centers for manufacturing innovation that par11 ticipate in the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Pro12 gram. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Leadership in 

15 Advanced Manufacturing Act of 2019’’. 

16 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO NETWORK FOR MANUFAC17 TURING INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ALTERNATE PROGRAM NAME.—Subsection (a) of 

19 section 34 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech20 nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

21 as ‘Manufacturing USA’ ’’ after ‘‘as the ‘Network for Manu22 facturing Innovation Program’ ’’. 

23 (b) CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION.— 

24 Subsection (c) of such section is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1427 RS

1 (1) in subparagraphs (B) and (C)(i) of para2 graph (1), by striking ‘‘and tool development for 

3 microelectronics’’ both places it appears and inserting 

4 ‘‘tool development for microelectronics, food manufac5 turing, superconductors, advanced battery tech6 nologies, robotics, advanced sensors, quantum infor7 mation science, supply chain water optimization, aer8 onautics and advanced materials, and graphene and 

9 graphene commercialization’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ‘‘and mi11 nority’’ and inserting ‘‘, minority, and veteran’’; and 

12 (3) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘, but such’’ 

13 and all that follows through ‘‘under subsection (d)’’. 

14 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ESTABLISH AND SUP15 PORT CENTERS FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION.—Sub16 section (d) of such section is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1) is amended to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Pro20 gram, the Secretary shall award financial assistance 

21 to the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) To a person or group of persons to as23 sist the person or group of persons in planning, 

24 establishing, or supporting a center for manufac25 turing innovation. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(B) To a center for manufacturing innova2 tion, including a center that was not established 

3 using Federal funds, to support workforce devel4 opment, cross-center projects, and other efforts 

5 which support the purposes of the Program.’’; 

6 (2) in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), by striking 

7 ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ each place it appears and in8 serting ‘‘under paragraph (1)(A)’’; 

9 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 

11 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

12 and inserting a semicolon; 

13 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

14 (I) by inserting ‘‘, including ap15 propriate measures for assessing the ef16 fectiveness of the activities funded with 

17 regards to the center’s success in ad18 vancing the current state of the appli19 cable advanced manufacturing tech20 nology area such as technology readi21 ness level and manufacturing readiness 

22 level,’’ after ‘‘measures’’; and 

23 (II) by striking the period at the 

24 end and inserting a semicolon; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1427 RS

1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(iii) establish standards for the per4 formance of centers for manufacturing inno5 vation that are based on the measures devel6 oped under clause (ii); and 

7 ‘‘(iv) for each center for manufacturing 

8 innovation supported by the award, 5 years 

9 after the initial award and every 5 years 

10 thereafter until Federal funding is discon11 tinued, conduct an assessment of the center 

12 to confirm whether the performance of the 

13 center is meeting the standards for perform14 ance established under clause (iii).’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, 

16 including, as appropriate, the Department of Ag17 riculture, the Department of Defense, the Depart18 ment of Education, the Department of Energy, 

19 the Department of Labor, the Food and Drug 

20 Administration, the National Aeronautics and 

21 Space Administration, the National Institutes of 

22 Health, and the National Science Foundation’’ 

23 after ‘‘manufacturing’’; and 

24 (C) in subparagraph (E)— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1427 RS

1 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘without 

2 the need for long-term Federal funding’’; 

3 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘signifi4 cantly’’; 

5 (iii) in clause (v), by inserting ‘‘and to 

6 improve the domestic supply chain’’ after 

7 ‘‘technologies’’; and 

8 (iv) in clause (ix), by inserting ‘‘indus9 trial, research, entrepreneurship, and other’’ 

10 after ‘‘leverage the’’; 

11 (4) in paragraph (5)— 

12 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) PERFORMANCE DEFICIENCY.— 

15 ‘‘(i) NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY.—If the 

16 Secretary finds that a center for manufac17 turing innovation does not meet the stand18 ards for performance established under 

19 clause (iii) of paragraph (4)(C) during an 

20 assessment pursuant to clause (iv) of such 

21 paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the 

22 center of any deficiencies in the perform23 ance of the center and provide the center 

24 one year to remedy such deficiencies. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(ii) FAILURE TO REMEDY.—If a cen2 ter for manufacturing innovation fails to 

3 remedy a deficiency identified under clause 

4 (i) or to show significant improvement in 

5 performance one year after notification of a 

6 performance deficiency identified under 

7 clause (i), the Secretary shall notify the cen8 ter that the center is ineligible for further fi9 nancial assistance awarded under para10 graph (1) .’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (B), in the first sen12 tence, by striking ‘‘large capital facilities or 

13 equipment purchases’’ and inserting ‘‘satellite 

14 centers, large capital facilities, equipment pur15 chases, workforce development, or general oper16 ations’’; and 

17 (C) by striking subparagraph (C); and 

18 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) USE OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Financial 

20 assistance awarded under paragraph (1)(B) may be 

21 used to carry out Program-wide activities directed by 

22 the Secretary, such as activities targeting workforce 

23 development.’’. 

24 (d) FUNDING.—Subsection (e)(2) of such section is 

25 amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1427 RS

1 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) NIST INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL SERV4 ICES ACCOUNT.—To the extent provided for in 

5 advance by appropriations Acts, the Secretary 

6 may use amounts appropriated to the Institute 

7 for Industrial Technical Services account to 

8 carry out this section as follows: 

9 ‘‘(i) For each of the fiscal years 2015 

10 through 2019, an amount not to exceed 

11 $5,000,000. 

12 ‘‘(ii) For each of fiscal years 2020 

13 through 2030, such amounts as may be nec14 essary to carry out this section.’’; and 

15 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘through 

16 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2019’’. 

17 (e) NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE.—Subsection (f) of 

18 such section is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘coordinate with and, 

22 as appropriate,’’ before ‘‘enter’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘including the De24 partment of Agriculture, the Department of 

25 Defense, the Department of Education, the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1427 RS

1 Department of Energy, the Department of 

2 Labor, the Food and Drug Administration, 

3 the National Aeronautics and Space Ad4 ministration, the National Institutes of 

5 Health, and the National Science Founda6 tion,’’ after ‘‘manufacturing,’’; 

7 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; 

8 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

9 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 

10 subparagraph (J); and 

11 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(F) to carry out pilot programs in collabo14 ration with the centers for manufacturing inno15 vation such as a laboratory-embedded entrepre16 neurship program; 

17 ‘‘(G) to provide support services and fund18 ing as necessary to promote workforce develop19 ment activities; 

20 ‘‘(H) to coordinate with centers for manu21 facturing innovation to develop best practices for 

22 the membership agreements and coordination of 

23 similar project solicitations; 

24 ‘‘(I) to collaborate with the Department of 

25 Labor, the Department of Education, industry, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1427 RS

1 career and technical education schools, local com2 munity colleges, universities, and labor organiza3 tions to provide input for the development of na4 tional certifications for advanced manufacturing 

5 workforce skills in the technology areas of the 

6 centers for manufacturing innovation; and’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘State, Trib8 al, and local governments,’’ after ‘‘community col9 leges,’’; and 

10 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(B) LIAISONS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

17 provide financial assistance to a manufac18 turing extension center established as part 

19 of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

20 Partnership to support the purposes of the 

21 Program by providing services in one or 

22 more of the following areas: 

23 ‘‘(I) Cybersecurity awareness and 

24 support services for small- and me25 dium-sized manufacturers. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(II) Assistance with workforce 

2 development. 

3 ‘‘(III) Technology transfer for 

4 small and medium-sized manufactur5 ers. 

6 ‘‘(IV) Such other areas as the Sec7 retary determines appropriate to sup8 port the purposes of the Program. 

9 ‘‘(ii) SUPPORT.—Support under clause 

10 (i) may include the designation of a liai11 son.’’. 

12 (f) REPORTING AND AUDITING.—Subsection (g) of such 

13 section is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking 

15 ‘‘under subsection (d)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘under sub16 section (d)(1)(A)’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘December 

18 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2030’’; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘3 years’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘2-year’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘3-year’’; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1427 RS

1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘De2 cember 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

3 2030’’. 

4 (g) EXPANSION.—Subject to the availability of appro5 priations, the Secretary of Commerce shall increase the 

6 number of centers for manufacturing innovation that par7 ticipate in the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Pro8 gram. 

9 SEC. 3. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

10 Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno11 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722) is amended to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 27. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT DEFINED.—The term 

16 ‘eligible recipient’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a State; 

18 ‘‘(B) an Indian tribe; 

19 ‘‘(C) a city or other political subdivision of 

20 a State; 

21 ‘‘(D) an entity that is a nonprofit organiza22 tion, an institution of higher education, a pub23 lic-private partnership, a science or research 

24 park, a Federal laboratory, a venture develop25 ment organization, or an economic development 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1427 RS

1 organization or similar entity that is focused 

2 primarily on improving science, technology, in3 novation, or entrepreneurship; or 

4 ‘‘(E) a consortium of any of the entities de5 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

6 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL INNOVATION INITIATIVE.—The 

7 term ‘regional innovation initiative’ means a geo8 graphically-bounded public or nonprofit activity or 

9 program to address issues in the local innovation sys10 tems in order to— 

11 ‘‘(A) increase the success of innovation-driv12 en industry; 

13 ‘‘(B) strengthen the competitiveness of in14 dustry through new product innovation and new 

15 technology adoption; 

16 ‘‘(C) improve the pace of market readiness 

17 and overall commercialization of innovative re18 search; 

19 ‘‘(D) enhance the overall innovation capac20 ity and long-term resilience of the region; and 

21 ‘‘(E) leverage the region’s unique competi22 tive strengths to stimulate innovation and to cre23 ate jobs. 

24 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means one of the 

25 several States of the United States, the District of CoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1427.RS S1427

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 1427 RS

1 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

2 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

3 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

4 Islands, or any other territory or possession of the 

5 United States. 

6 ‘‘(4) VENTURE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.— 

7 The term ‘venture development organization’ means a 

8 State or nonprofit organization that contributes to re9 gional or sector-based economic prosperity by pro10 viding services for the purposes of— 

11 ‘‘(A) accelerating the commercialization of 

12 research; 

13 ‘‘(B) strengthening the competitive position 

14 of industry through the development, commercial 

15 adoption, or deployment of technology; and 

16 ‘‘(C) providing financial grants, loans, or 

17 direct financial investment to commercialize 

18 technology. 

19 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

20 a regional innovation program to encourage and support 

21 the development of regional innovation strategies designed 

22 to increase innovation-driven economic opportunity within 

23 their respective regions. 

24 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL INNOVATION GRANTS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.—As part of 

2 the program established pursuant to subsection (b), 

3 the Secretary may award grants, on a competitive 

4 basis, to eligible recipients for activities designed to 

5 develop and support a regional innovation initiative. 

6 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A grant award7 ed under this subsection shall be used for multiple ac8 tivities determined appropriate by the Secretary, in9 cluding— 

10 ‘‘(A) improving the connectedness and stra11 tegic orientation of the region through planning, 

12 technical assistance, and communication among 

13 participants of a regional innovation initiative; 

14 ‘‘(B) attracting additional participants to a 

15 regional innovation initiative; 

16 ‘‘(C) increasing the availability and invest17 ment of private and philanthropic financing 

18 that supports innovation-based business ventures; 

19 ‘‘(D) completing the research, development 

20 and introduction of new products, processes, and 

21 services into the commercial market; 

22 ‘‘(E) increasing the number of full-time 

23 equivalent employment opportunities within in24 novation-based business ventures in the geo25 graphic region; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(F) achieving quantifiable, positive bene2 fits to, or measurable enhancements for, the eco3 nomic performance of the geographic region. 

4 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES.—Grants awarded 

5 under this subsection may not be used to pay for— 

6 ‘‘(A) costs related to the recruitment, in7 ducement, or associated financial or tangible in8 centives that might be offered to relocate an ex9 isting business from a geographic area to another 

10 geographic area; or 

11 ‘‘(B) costs associated with offsetting reve12 nues forgone by one or more taxing authorities 

13 through tax incentives, tax increment financing, 

14 special improvement districts, tax abatements for 

15 private development within designated zones or 

16 geographic areas, or other reduction in revenues 

17 resulting from tax credits affecting the geo18 graphic region of the eligible recipients. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible recipient 

21 shall submit an application to the Secretary at 

22 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

23 information and assurances as the Secretary 

24 may require. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(B) COMPONENTS.—Each application sub2 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) describe the regional innovation 

4 initiative; 

5 ‘‘(ii) indicate whether the regional in6 novation initiative is supported by the pri7 vate sector, State and local governments, 

8 and other relevant stakeholders; 

9 ‘‘(iii) identify what activities the re10 gional innovation initiative will undertake; 

11 ‘‘(iv) describe the expected outcomes of 

12 the regional innovation initiative and how 

13 the eligible recipient will measure progress 

14 toward those outcomes; 

15 ‘‘(v) indicate whether the participants 

16 in the regional innovation initiative have 

17 access to, or contribute to, a well-trained 

18 workforce and other innovation assets that 

19 are critical to the successful outcomes speci20 fied in the application; 

21 ‘‘(vi) indicate whether the participants 

22 in the regional innovation initiative are ca23 pable of attracting additional funds from 

24 non-Federal sources; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(vii) if appropriate for the activities 

2 proposed in the application, analyze the 

3 likelihood that the participants in the re4 gional innovation initiative will be able to 

5 sustain activities after grant funds received 

6 under this subsection have been expended. 

7 ‘‘(C) FEEDBACK.—The Secretary shall pro8 vide feedback to program applicants that are not 

9 awarded grants to help them improve future ap10 plications. 

11 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—The Sec12 retary shall give special consideration to— 

13 ‘‘(i) applications proposing to include 

14 workforce or training related activities in 

15 their regional innovation initiative from el16 igible recipients who agree to collaborate 

17 with local workforce investment area boards; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) applications from regions that 

20 contain communities negatively impacted 

21 by trade. 

22 ‘‘(5) COST SHARE.—The Secretary may not pro23 vide more than 50 percent of the total cost of any ac24 tivity funded under this subsection. 

25 ‘‘(6) OUTREACH TO RURAL COMMUNITIES.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 conduct outreach to public and private sector en3 tities in rural communities to encourage those 

4 entities to participate in regional innovation 

5 initiatives under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(B) JUSTIFICATION.—As part of the pro7 gram established pursuant to subsection (b), not 

8 less frequently than once each year for the dura9 tion of the program as authorized, the Secretary, 

10 acting through the Assistant Secretary of Com11 merce for Economic Development, shall submit to 

12 Congress an annual report that explains the bal13 ance in the allocation of grants to eligible recipi14 ents under this subsection between rural and 

15 urban areas. 

16 ‘‘(7) FUNDING.—The Secretary may accept funds 

17 from other Federal agencies to support grants and ac18 tivities under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL INNOVATION RESEARCH AND INFOR20 MATION PROGRAM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program es22 tablished pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary 

23 shall establish a regional innovation research and in24 formation program— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(A) to gather, analyze, and disseminate in2 formation on best practices for regional innova3 tion initiatives, including information relating 

4 to how innovation, productivity, and economic 

5 development can be maximized through such 

6 strategies; 

7 ‘‘(B) to provide technical assistance, includ8 ing through the development of technical assist9 ance guides, for the development and implemen10 tation of regional innovation initiatives; 

11 ‘‘(C) to support the development of relevant 

12 metrics and measurement standards to evaluate 

13 regional innovation initiatives, including the ex14 tent to which such strategies stimulate innova15 tion, productivity, and economic development; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(D) to collect and make available data on 

18 regional innovation initiatives in the United 

19 States, including data on— 

20 ‘‘(i) the size, specialization, and com21 petitiveness of regional innovation initia22 tives; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the regional domestic product 

24 contribution, total jobs and earnings by key 

25 occupations, establishment size, nature of 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 1427 RS

1 specialization, patents, Federal research 

2 and development spending, and other rel3 evant information for regional innovation 

4 initiatives; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) supply chain product and service 

6 flows within and between regional innova7 tion initiatives. 

8 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH GRANTS.—The Secretary may 

9 award research grants on a competitive basis to sup10 port and further the goals of the program established 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(3) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—Data 

13 and analysis compiled by the Secretary under the 

14 program established in this subsection shall be made 

15 available to other Federal agencies, State and local 

16 governments, and nonprofit and for-profit entities. 

17 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM.— 

18 The Secretary shall incorporate data and analysis re19 lating to any grant awarded under subsection (c) into 

20 the program established under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(e) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent 

23 practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that the activi24 ties carried out under this section are coordinated 

25 with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, other proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1427.RS S1427

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 1427 RS

1 grams at the Department of Commerce or at other 

2 Federal agencies. 

3 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ex5 plore and pursue collaboration with other Fed6 eral agencies, including through multi-agency 

7 funding opportunities, on regional innovation 

8 strategies. 

9 ‘‘(B) SMALL BUSINESSES.—The Secretary 

10 shall ensure that such collaboration with Federal 

11 agencies prioritizes the needs and challenges of 

12 small businesses. 

13 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

15 Congress first appropriates funds to carry out this 

16 section, the Secretary shall competitively award a 

17 contract with an independent entity to conduct an 

18 evaluation of programs established under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The evaluation conducted 

20 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) an assessment of whether the program 

22 is achieving its goals; 

23 ‘‘(B) the program’s efficacy in providing 

24 awards to geographically diverse entities; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 1427 RS

1 ‘‘(C) any recommendations for how the pro2 gram may be improved; and 

3 ‘‘(D) a recommendation as to whether the 

4 program should be continued or terminated. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 5 

6 years after the first grant is awarded under subsection (c), 

7 and every 5 years thereafter until 5 years after the last 

8 grant recipient completes the regional innovation initiative 

9 for which such grant was awarded, the Secretary shall sub10 mit a report to Congress that describes the outcome of each 

11 regional innovation initiative that was completed during 

12 the previous 5 years. 

13 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.—From amounts appropriated by Con14 gress for economic development assistance authorized under 

15 section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

16 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722), the Secretary may use up 

17 to $50,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024 

18 to carry out this section.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 584 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1427 

[Report No. 116–291] 

A BILL 

To amend the National Institute of Standards and 

purposes. ufacturing Innovation Program, and for other Technology Act to improve the Network for ManNOVEMBER 16, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS