II

Calendar No. 936

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1756

[Report No. 106–487]

To enhance the ability of the National Laboratories to meet Department

of Energy missions, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 20, 1999

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. DOMENICI, and Mr. GORTON)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

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

A BILL

To enhance the ability of the National Laboratories to meet

Department of Energy missions, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 Partnership Improvement Act of 1999.’’
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) The National Laboratories play a crucial

4 role in the Department of Energy’s ability to achieve

5 its missions in national security, science, energy, and

6 environment.

7 (2) The National Laboratories must be on the

8 leading edge of advances in science and technology

9 to help the Department to achieve its missions.

10 (3) The private sector is now performing a

11 much larger share of the Nation’s research and de12 velopment activities, and is on the leading edge of

13 many technologies that could be adapted to meet de14 partmental missions.

15 (4) To be able to help the Department to

16 achieve its missions in the most cost effective man17 ner, the National Laboratories must take advantage,

18 to the greatest extent practicable, of the scientific

19 and technological expertise that exists in the private

20 sector, as well as at leading universities, through

21 joint research and development projects, personnel

22 exchanges, and other arrangements.

23 (5) The Department needs to strengthen the re24 gional technology infrastructure of firms, research

25 and academic institutions, non-profit and govern26 mental organizations, and work force around its Na-
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1 tional Laboratories to maintain the long-term vital2 ity of the laboratories and ensure their continued ac3 cess to the widest range of high quality research,

4 technology and personnel.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 For purposes of this Act, except for sections 8 and

7 9—

8 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart9 ment of Energy;

10 (2) the term ‘‘departmental mission’’ means

11 any of the functions vested in the Secretary of En12 ergy by the Department of Energy Organization Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) or other law;

14 (3) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’

15 has the meaning given such term in section 1201(a)

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

17 1141(a));

18 (4) the term ‘‘multiprogram National Labora19 tory’’ means any of the following institutions owned

20 by the Department of Energy—

21 (A) Argonne National Laboratory;

22 (B) Brookhaven National Laboratory;

23 (C) Idaho National Engineering and Envi24 ronmental Laboratory;
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1 (D) Lawrence Berkeley National Labora2 tory;

3 (E) Lawrence Livermore National Labora4 tory;

5 (F) Los Alamos National Laboratory;

6 (G) Oak Ridge National Laboratory;

7 (H) Pacific Northwest National Labora8 tory;

9 (I) Sandia National Laboratory;

10 (5) the term ‘‘National Laboratory or facility’’

11 means any of the multiprogram National Labora12 tories or any of the following institutions owned by

13 the Department of Energy—

14 (A) Ames Laboratory;

15 (B) East Tennessee Technology Park;

16 (C) Environmental Measurement Labora17 tory;

18 (D) Federal Energy Technology Center;

19 (E) Fermi National Accelerator Labora20 tory;

21 (F) National Renewable Energy Labora22 tory;

23 (G) Nevada Test Site;

24 (H) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory;

25 (I) Savannah River Technology Center;
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1 (J) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center;

2 (K) Thomas Jefferson National Accel3 erator Facility;

4 (L) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; or

5 (M) other similar organization of the De6 partment designated by the Secretary that en7 gages in technology transfer activities;

8 (6) the term ‘‘nonprofit institution’’ has the

9 meaning given such term in section 4 of the Steven10 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15

11 U.S.C. 3703(5));

12 (7) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

13 of Energy;

14 (8) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the

15 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Small

16 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632);

17 (9) the term ‘‘technology-related business con18 cern’’ means a for-profit corporation, company, asso19 ciation, firm, partnership, or small business concern

20 that—

21 (A) conducts scientific or engineering re22 search,

23 (B) develops new technologies,

24 (C) manufactures products based on new

25 technologies, or
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1 (D) performs technological services; and

2 (10) the term ‘‘technology cluster’’ means a ge3 ographic concentration of—

4 (A) technology-related business concerns;

5 (B) institutions of higher education; or

6 (C) other nonprofit institutions;

7 that reinforce each other’s performance through for8 mal or informal relationships.

9 SEC. 4. REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE PRO10 GRAM.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish

12 a Regional Technology Infrastructure Program in accord13 ance with this section.

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program shall be

15 to improve the ability of National Laboratories or facilities

16 to support departmental missions by—

17 (1) stimulating the development of technology

18 clusters in the vicinity of National Laboratories or

19 facilities;

20 (2) improving the ability of National Labora21 tories or facilities to leverage commercial research,

22 technology, products, processes, and services; and

23 (3) encouraging the exchange of scientific and

24 technological expertise between National Labora25 tories or facilities and—
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1 (A) institutions of higher education,

2 (B) technology-related business concerns,

3 (C) nonprofit institutions, and

4 (D) agencies of State, tribal, or local

5 governments—

6 that are located in the vicinity of a National Labora7 tory or facility.

8 (c) PROGRAM PHASES.—The Secretary shall conduct

9 the Regional Technology Infrastructure Program in two

10 phases as follows:

11 (1) PILOT PHASE.—No later than six months

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary shall provide $1,000,000 to each of the multi14 program National Laboratories to conduct Regional

15 Technology Infrastructure Program pilots.

16 (2) FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than

17 eighteen months after the date of enactment of this

18 Act, the Secretary shall expand or alter the Regional

19 Technology Infrastructure Program to include

20 whichever National Laboratories or facilities the

21 Secretary determines to be appropriate based upon

22 the experience of the program to date and the extent

23 to which the pilot projects under paragraph (1) met

24 the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).
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1 (d) PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall authorize the di2 rector of each National Laboratory or facility designated

3 under subsection (c) to implement the Regional Tech4 nology Infrastructure Program at such National Labora5 tory or facility through projects that meet the require6 ments of subsections (e) and (f).

7 (e) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Each project funded

8 under this program shall meet the following requirements:

9 (1) MINIMUM PARTICIPANTS.—Each project

10 shall at a minimum include—

11 (A) a National Laboratory or facility;

12 (B) a business located within the vicinity

13 of the participating National Laboratory or fa14 cility; and

15 (C) one or more of the following entities

16 that is located within the vicinity of the partici17 pating National Laboratory or facility—

18 (i) an institution of higher education,

19 (ii) a nonprofit institution,

20 (iii) an agency of a State, local, or

21 tribal government, or

22 (iv) an additional business.

23 (2) COST SHARING.—

24 (A) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Not less than 50

25 percent of the costs of each project funded
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1 under this section shall be provided from non2 Federal sources.

3 (B) QUALIFIED FUNDING AND RE4 SOURCES.—

5 (i) The calculation of costs paid by

6 the non-Federal sources to a project shall

7 include cash, personnel, services, equip8 ment, and other resources expended on the

9 project.

10 (ii) Independent research and develop11 ment expenses of Government contractors

12 that qualify for reimbursement under sec13 tion 31–205–18(e) of the Federal Acquisi14 tion Regulations issued pursuant to section

15 25(c)(1) of the Office of Federal Procure16 ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421(c)(1))

17 may be credited towards costs paid by non18 Federal sources to a project, if the ex19 penses meet the other requirements of this

20 section.

21 (iii) No funds or other resources ex22 pended either before the start of a project

23 under this program or outside the project’s

24 scope of work shall be credited toward the
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1 costs paid by the non-Federal sources to

2 the project.

3 (3) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—All projects

4 where a party other than the Department or a Na5 tional Laboratory or facility receives funding under

6 this program shall be competitively selected using

7 procedures determined to be appropriate by the Sec8 retary.

9 (4) ACCOUNTING STANDARDS.—Any partici10 pants receiving funding under this program, other

11 than a National Laboratory or facility, may use gen12 erally accepted accounting principles for maintaining

13 accounts, books, and records relating to the project.

14 (5) LIMITATIONS.—No Federal funds shall be

15 made available under this program for—

16 (A) construction; or

17 (B) any project for more than five years.

18 (f) CRITERIA.—

19 (1) MANDATORY CRITERIA.—The Secretary

20 shall not authorize the provision of Federal funds

21 for a project under this section unless there is a de22 termination by the Director of the National Labora23 tory or facility managing the project that the project

24 is likely—
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1 (A) to succeed, based on its technical

2 merit, team members, management approach,

3 resources, and project plan; and

4 (B) to improve the participating National

5 Laboratory or facility’s ability to achieve tech6 nical success in meeting departmental missions,

7 promote the commercial development of techno8 logical innovations made at such Laboratory or

9 facility, and use commercial innovations to

10 achieve its missions.

11 (2) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Secretary

12 shall also require the consideration of the following

13 factors by the Director of the National Laboratory

14 or facility managing projects under this section in

15 providing Federal funds to projects under this

16 section—

17 (A) the potential of the project to promote

18 the development of a commercially sustainable

19 technology cluster, one that will derive most of

20 the demand for its products or services from

21 the private sector, in the vicinity of the partici22 pating National Laboratory or facility;

23 (B) the commitment shown by non-Federal

24 organizations to the project, based primarily on
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1 the nature and amount of the financial and

2 other resources they will risk on the project;

3 (C) the extent to which the project involves

4 a wide variety and number of institutions of

5 higher education, nonprofit institutions, and

6 technology-related business concerns located in

7 the vicinity of the participating National Lab8 oratory or facility that will make substantive

9 contributions to achieving the goals of the

10 project;

11 (D) the extent of participation in the

12 project by agencies of State, tribal, or local gov13 ernments that will make substantive contribu14 tions to achieving the goals of the project;

15 (E) the extent to which the project focuses

16 on promoting the development of technology-re17 lated business concerns that are small business

18 concerns located in the vicinity of the National

19 Laboratory or facility or involves such small

20 business concerns substantively in the project.

21 (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub22 section shall limit the Secretary from requiring the

23 consideration of other factors, as appropriate, in de24 termining whether to fund projects under this sec25 tion.
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1 SEC. 5. SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY AND ASSISTANCE.

2 (a) ADVOCACY FUNCTION.—The Secretary shall di3 rect the Director of each multiprogram National Labora4 tory, and may direct the Director of each other National

5 Laboratory or facility the Secretary determines to be ap6 propriate, to establish a small business advocacy function

7 that is organizationally independent of the procurement

8 function at the National Laboratory or facility. The mis9 sion of the small business advocacy function shall be to

10 increase the participation of small business concerns, par11 ticularly those small business concerns located near the

12 laboratory and small business concerns that are owned by

13 women or minorities, in procurements and collaborative

14 research conducted by the National Laboratory or facility.

15 The person or office vested with the small business advo16 cacy function shall—

17 (1) report to the Director of the National Lab18 oratory or facility on the actual participation of

19 small business concerns in procurements and col20 laborative research along with recommendations, if

21 appropriate, on how to improve participation;

22 (2) make available to small business concerns

23 training, mentoring, and clear, up-to-date informa24 tion on how to participate in the procurements and

25 collaborative research, including how to submit effec26 tive proposals;
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1 (3) increase the awareness inside the National

2 Laboratory or facility of the capabilities and oppor3 tunities presented by small business concerns; and

4 (4) establish guidelines for the program under

5 subsection (b) and report on the effectiveness of

6 such program to the Director of the National Lab7 oratory or facility.

8 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS ASSIST9 ANCE PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall direct the Director

10 of each multiprogram National Laboratory, and may di11 rect the Director of each other National Laboratory or fa12 cility the Secretary determines to be appropriate, to estab13 lish a program to provide small business concerns—

14 (1) assistance directed at making them more ef15 fective and efficient subcontractors or suppliers to

16 the National Laboratory or facility; or

17 (2) general technical assistance to improve the

18 small business concern’s products or services.

19 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—None of the funds expended on

20 a program under subsection (b) may be used for direct

21 grants to the small business concerns.

22 SEC. 6. TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS OMBUDSMAN.

23 (a) APPOINTMENT OF OMBUDSMAN.—The Secretary

24 shall direct the Director of each multiprogram National

25 Laboratory, and may direct the Director of each other Na-
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1 tional Laboratory or facility the Secretary determines to

2 be appropriate, to appoint a technology partnership om3 budsman to hear and help resolve complaints from outside

4 organizations regarding each laboratory’s policies and ac5 tions with respect to technology partnerships (including

6 cooperative research and development agreements), pat7 ents, and technology licensing. Each ombudsman shall—

8 (1) be a senior official of the National Labora9 tory or facility who is not involved in day-to-day

10 technology partnerships, patents, or technology li11 censing; and

12 (2) report to the Director of the National Lab13 oratory or facility.

14 (b) DUTIES.—Each ombudsman shall—

15 (1) serve as the focal point for assisting the

16 public and industry in resolving complaints and dis17 putes with the laboratory regarding technology part18 nerships, patents, and technology licensing;

19 (2) promote the use of collaborative alternative

20 dispute resolution techniques such as mediation to

21 facilitate the speedy and low-cost resolution of com22 plaints and disputes, when appropriate; and

23 (3) report, through the Director of the National

24 Laboratory or facility, to the Department annually

25 on the number and nature of complaints and dis-
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1 putes raised, along with the ombudsman’s assess2 ment of their resolution, consistent with the protec3 tion of confidential and sensitive information.

4 SEC. 7. MOBILITY OF TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

5 (a) GENERAL POLICY.—Not later than two years

6 after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall ensure

7 that each contractor operating a National Laboratory or

8 facility has policies and procedures, including an employee

9 benefits program, that do not create disincentives to the

10 transfer of scientific and technical personnel among the

11 contractor-operated National Laboratory or facilities.

12 (b) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may delay imple13 mentation of the policy in subsection (a) if the Secretary—

14 (1) determines that the implementation of the

15 policy within two years would be unnecessarily ex16 pensive or disruptive to the operations of the con17 tractor-operated National Laboratory or facilities;

18 and

19 (2) recommends to Congress alternative meas20 ures to increase the mobility of technical personnel

21 among the contractor-operated National Laboratory

22 or facilities.

23 (c) STUDY OF WIDER MOBILITY.—Not later than

24 two years after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

25 shall recommend to Congress legislation to reduce any
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1 undue disincentives to scientific and technical personnel

2 employed by a contractor-operated National Laboratory or

3 facility taking a job with an institution of higher edu4 cation, nonprofit institution, or technology-related busi5 ness concern that is located in the vicinity of the National

6 Laboratory or facility.

7 SEC. 8. OTHER TRANSACTIONS AUTHORITY.

8 Section 646 of the Department of Energy Organiza9 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7256) is amended by adding at the

10 end the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(g)(1) In addition to other authorities granted to the

12 Secretary to enter into procurement contracts, leases, co13 operative agreements, grants, and other similar arrange14 ments, the Secretary may enter into other transactions

15 with public agencies, private organizations, or persons on

16 such terms as the Secretary may deem appropriate in fur17 therance of functions now or hereafter vested in the Sec18 retary, including research, development, or demonstration

19 projects. Such other transactions shall not be subject to

20 the provisions of section 9 of the Federal Nonnuclear En21 ergy Research and Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

22 5908).

23 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall not disclose any trade

24 secret or commercial or financial information submitted
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1 by a non-Federal entity under paragraph (1) that is privi2 leged and confidential.

3 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not disclose, for five years

4 after the date the information is received, any other infor5 mation submitted by a non-Federal entity under para6 graph (1), including any proposal, proposal abstract, docu7 ment supporting a proposal, business plan, or technical

8 information that is privileged and confidential.

9 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may protect from disclosure, for

10 up to five years, any information developed pursuant to

11 a transaction under paragraph (1) that would be protected

12 from disclosure under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United

13 States Code, if obtained from a person other than a Fed14 eral agency.’’.

15 SEC. 9. AMENDMENTS TO THE STEVENSON-WYDLER ACT.

16 (a) STRATEGIC PLANS.—Section 12(a) of the Steven17 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.

18 3710a(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘joint work state19 ment’’ the following: ‘‘or, if permitted by the agency, in

20 an agency-approved annual strategic plan.’’.

21 (b) FEDERAL WAIVERS.—Subsection 12(b) of the

22 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15

23 U.S.C. 3710a(b)) is amended by adding at the end the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(6) The director of a government-operated lab2 oratory (in the case of a Government operated lab3 oratory) or a designated official of the agency (in

4 the case of a contractor-operated laboratory) may

5 waive any license retained by the Government under

6 paragraphs (1)(A), 2, or 3(D) in whole or in part

7 and according to negotiated terms and conditions if

8 the director or designated official, as appropriate,

9 finds that the requirement for the license would sub10 stantially inhibit the commercialization of an inven11 tion that would otherwise serve an important Fed12 eral mission.’’.

13 (c) TIME REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL.—Section

14 12(c)(5) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation

15 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(c)(5)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking subparagraph (C);

17 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub18 paragraph (C);

19 (3) by striking ‘‘with a small business firm’’

20 and inserting ‘‘if’’ after ‘‘statement’’ in subpara21 graph (C)(i) (as redesignated); and

22 (4) by adding after subparagraph (C)(iii) (as

23 redesignated) the following:

24 ‘‘(iv) Any agency that has contracted

25 with a non-Federal entity to operate a lab-
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1 oratory may develop and provide to such

2 laboratory one or more model cooperative

3 research and development agreements, for

4 the purposes of standardizing practices

5 and procedures, resolving common legal

6 issues, and enabling review of cooperative

7 research and development agreements to

8 be carried out in a routine and prompt

9 manner.

10 ‘‘(v) A federal agency may waive the

11 requirements of clause (i) or (ii) under

12 such circumstances as the agency deems

13 appropriate. However, the agency may not

14 take longer than 30 days to review and ap15 prove, request modifications to, or dis16 approve any proposed agreement or joint

17 work statement that it elects to receive.’’.

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Laboratories

20 Partnership Improvement Act of 2000’’.

21 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

22 For purposes of this Act—

23 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart24 ment of Energy;
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1 (2) the term ‘‘departmental mission’’ means any

2 of the functions vested in the Secretary of Energy by

3 the Department of Energy Organization Act (42

4 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) or other law;

5 (3) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’

6 has the meaning given such term in section 1201(a)

7 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

8 1141(a));

9 (4) the term ‘‘National Laboratory’’ means any

10 of the following institutions owned by the Department

11 of Energy—

12 (A) Argonne National Laboratory;

13 (B) Brookhaven National Laboratory;

14 (C) Idaho National Engineering and Envi15 ronmental Laboratory;

16 (D) Lawrence Berkeley National Labora17 tory;

18 (E) Lawrence Livermore National Labora19 tory;

20 (F) Los Alamos National Laboratory;

21 (G) National Renewable Energy Labora22 tory;

23 (H) Oak Ridge National Laboratory;

24 (I) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory;

25 or
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1 (J) Sandia National Laboratory;

2 (5) the term ‘‘facility’’ means any of the fol3 lowing institutions owned by the Department of

4 Energy—

5 (A) Ames Laboratory;

6 (B) East Tennessee Technology Park;

7 (C) Environmental Measurement Labora8 tory;

9 (D) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory;

10 (E) Kansas City Plant;

11 (F) National Energy Technology Labora12 tory;

13 (G) Nevada Test Site;

14 (H) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory;

15 (I) Savannah River Technology Center;

16 (J) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center;

17 (K) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator

18 Facility;

19 (L) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant;

20 (M) Y–12 facility at Oak Ridge National

21 Laboratory; or

22 (N) other similar organization of the De23 partment designated by the Secretary that en24 gages in technology transfer, partnering, or li25 censing activities;
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1 (6) the term ‘‘nonprofit institution’’ has the

2 meaning given such term in section 4 of the Steven3 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15

4 U.S.C. 3703(5));

5 (7) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

6 Energy;

7 (8) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the

8 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Small

9 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632);

10 (9) the term ‘‘technology-related business con11 cern’’ means a for-profit corporation, company, asso12 ciation, firm, partnership, or small business concern

13 that—

14 (A) conducts scientific or engineering re15 search,

16 (B) develops new technologies,

17 (C) manufacturers products based on new

18 technologies, or

19 (D) performs technological services;

20 (10) the term ‘‘technology cluster’’ means a con21 centration of—

22 (A) technology-related business concerns;

23 (B) institution of higher education; or

24 (C) other nonprofit institutions,
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1 that reinforce each other’s performance through for2 mal or informal relationships;

3 (11) the term ‘‘socially and economically dis4 advantaged small business concerns’’ has the meaning

5 given such term in section 8(a)(4) of the Small Busi6 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(4)); and

7 (12) the term ‘‘NNSA’’ means the National Nu8 clear Security Administration established by Title

9 XXXII of National Defense Authorization Act for Fis10 cal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65).

11 SEC. 3. TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE PILOT PROGRAM.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, through the ap13 propriate officials of the Department, shall establish a Tech14 nology Infrastructure Pilot Program in accordance with

15 this section.

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program shall be

17 to improve the ability of National Laboratories or facilities

18 to support departmental missions by—

19 (1) stimulating the development of technology

20 clusters that can support the missions of the National

21 Laboratories or facilities;

22 (2) improving the ability of National Labora23 tories or facilities to leverage and benefit from com24 mercial research, technology, products, processes, and

25 services; and
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1 (3) encouraging the exchange of scientific and

2 technological expertise between National Laboratories

3 or facilities and—

4 (A) institutions of higher education,

5 (B) technology-related business concerns,

6 (C) nonprofit institutions, and

7 (D) agencies of State, tribal, or local gov8 ernments,

9 that can support the missions of the National Labora10 tories and facilities.

11 (c) PILOT PROGRAM.—In each of the first three fiscal

12 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec13 retary may provide no more than $10,000,000, divided

14 equally, among no more than ten National Laboratories or

15 facilities selected by the Secretary to conduct Technology In16 frastructure Program Pilot Programs.

17 (d) PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall authorize the Di18 rector of each National Laboratory or facility designated

19 under subsection (c) to implement the Technology Infra20 structure Pilot Program at such National Laboratory or fa21 cility through projects that meet the requirements of sub22 sections (e) and (f).

23 (e) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Each project funded

24 under this section shall meet the following requirements:
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1 (1) MINIMUM PARTICIPANTS.—Each project shall

2 at a minimum include—

3 (A) a National Laboratory of facility; and

4 (B) one of the following entities—

5 (i) a business,

6 (ii) an institution of higher education,

7 (iii) a nonprofit institution, or

8 (iv) an agency of a State, local, or

9 tribal government.

10 (2) COST SHARING.—

11 (A) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Not less than 50

12 percent of the costs of each project funded under

13 this section shall be provided from non-Federal

14 sources.

15 (B) QUALIFIED FUNDING AND RE16 SOURCES.—

17 (i) The calculation of costs paid by the

18 non-Federal sources to a project shall in19 clude cash, personnel, services, equipment,

20 and other resources expended on the project.

21 (ii) Independent research and develop22 ment expenses of government contractors

23 that qualify for reimbursement under sec24 tion 31–205–18(e) of the Federal Acquisi25 tion Regulations issued pursuant to section
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1 25(c)(1) of the Office of Federal Procure2 ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421(c)(1)) may

3 be credited towards costs paid by non-Fed4 eral sources to a project, if the expenses

5 meet the other requirements of this section.

6 (iii) No funds or other resources ex7 pended either before the start of a project

8 under this section or outside the project’s

9 scope of work shall be credited toward the

10 costs paid by the non-Federal sources to the

11 project.

12 (3) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—All projects

13 where a party other than the Department or a Na14 tional Laboratory or facility receives funding under

15 this section shall, to the extent practicable, be com16 petitively selected by the National Laboratory or fa17 cility using procedures determined to be appropriate

18 by the Secretary or his designee.

19 (4) ACCOUNTING STANDARDS.—Any participant

20 receiving funding under this section, other than a Na21 tional Laboratory or facility, may use generally ac22 cepted accounting principles for maintaining ac23 counts, books, and records relating to the project.

24 (5) LIMITATIONS.—No Federal funds shall be

25 made available under this section for—
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1 (A) construction; or

2 (B) any project for more than five years.

3 (f) SELECTION CRITERIA.—

4 (1) THRESHOLD FUNDING CRITERIA.—The Sec5 retary shall authorize the provision of Federal funds

6 for projects under this section only when the Director

7 of the National Laboratory or facility managing such

8 a project determines that the project is likely to im9 prove the participating National Laboratory or facili10 ty’s ability to achieve technical success in meeting de11 partmental missions.

12 (2) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall

13 also require the Director of the National Laboratory

14 or facility managing a project under this section to

15 consider the following criteria in selecting a project to

16 receive federal funds—

17 (A) the potential of the project to succeed,

18 based on its technical merit, team members,

19 management approach, resources, and project

20 plan;

21 (B) to potential of the project to promote

22 the development of a commercially sustainable

23 technology cluster, one that will derive most of

24 the demand for its products or services from the

25 private sector, that can support the missions of
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1 the participating National Laboratory or facil2 ity;

3 (C) the potential of the project to promote

4 the use of commercial research, technology, prod5 ucts, processes, and services by the participating

6 National Laboratory or facility to achieve its de7 partmental mission or the commercial develop8 ment of technological innovations made at the

9 participating National Laboratory or facility;

10 (D) the commitment shown by non-Federal

11 organizations to the project, based primarily on

12 the nature and amount of the financial and

13 other resources they will risk on the project;

14 (E) the extent to which the project involves

15 a wide variety and number of institutions of

16 higher education, nonprofit institutions, and

17 technology-related business concerns that can

18 support the missions of the participating Na19 tional Laboratory or facility and that will make

20 substantive contributions to achieving the goals

21 of the project;

22 (F) the extent of participation in the project

23 by agencies of State, tribal, or local governments

24 that will make substantive contributions to

25 achieving the goals of the project; and
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1 (G) the extent to which the project focuses

2 on promoting the development of technology-re3 lated business concerns that are small business

4 concerns or involves such small business concerns

5 substantively in the project.

6 (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub7 section shall limit the Secretary from requiring the

8 consideration of other criteria, as appropriate, in de9 termining whether projects should be funded under

10 this section.

11 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FULL IMPLEMENTA12 TION.—Not later than 120 days after the start of the third

13 fiscal year after the date of enactment of this section, the

14 Secretary shall report to Congress on whether the Tech15 nology Infrastructure Program should be continued beyond

16 the pilot stage, and, if so, how the fully implemented pro17 gram should be managed. This report shall take into consid18 eration the results of the pilot program to date the views

19 of the relevant Directors of the National laboratories and

20 facilities. The report shall include any proposals for legisla21 tion considered necessary by the Secretary to fully imple22 ment the program.

23 SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY AND ASSISTANCE.

24 (a) ADVOCACY FUNCTION.—The Secretary shall direct

25 the Director of each National Laboratory, and may direct
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1 the Director of each facility the Secretary determines to be

2 appropriate, to establish a small business advocacy function

3 that is organizationally independent of the procurement

4 function at the National Laboratory or facility. The person

5 or office vested with the small business advocacy function

6 shall—

7 (1) work to increase the participation of small

8 business concerns, including socially and economi9 cally disadvantaged small business concerns, in pro10 curements, collaborative research, technology licens11 ing, and technology transfer activities conducted by

12 the National Laboratory or facility;

13 (2) report to the Director of the National Lab14 oratory or facility on the actual participation of

15 small business concerns in procurements and collabo16 rative research along with recommendations, if appro17 priate, on how to improve participation;

18 (3) make available to small business concerns

19 training, mentoring, and clear, up-to-date informa20 tion on how to participate in the procurements and

21 collaborative research, including how to submit effec22 tive proposals;

23 (4) increase the awareness inside the National

24 Laboratory or facility of the capabilities and opportu25 nities presented by small business concerns, and
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1 (5) establish guidelines for the program under

2 subsection (b) and report on the effectiveness of such

3 program to the Director of the National Laboratory

4 or facility.

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS ASSIST6 ANCE PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall direct the Director

7 of each National Laboratory, and may direct the Director

8 of each facility the Secretary determines to be appropriate,

9 to establish a program to provide small business concerns—

10 (1) assistance directed at making them more ef11 fective and efficient subcontractors or suppliers to the

12 National Laboratory or facility; or

13 (2) general technical assistance, the cost of which

14 shall not exceed $10,000 per instance of assistance, to

15 improve the small business concern’s products or serv16 ices.

17 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—None of the funds expended

18 under subsection (b) may be used for direct grants to the

19 small business concerns.

20 SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS OMBUDSMAN.

21 (a) APPOINTMENT OF OMBUDSMAN.—The Secretary

22 shall direct the Director of each National Laboratory, and

23 may direct the Director of each facility the Secretary deter24 mines to be appropriate, to appoint a technology partner25 ship ombudsman to hear and help resolve complaints from
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1 outside organizations regarding each laboratory’s policies

2 and actions with respect to technology partnerships (includ3 ing cooperative research and development agreements), pat4 ents, and technology licensing. Each ombudsman shall—

5 (1) be a senior official of the National Labora6 tory or facility who is not involved in day-to-day

7 technology partnerships, patents, or technology licens8 ing, or, if appointed from outside the laboratory,

9 function as such a senior official; and

10 (2) have direct access to the Director of the Na11 tional Laboratory or facility.

12 (b) DUTIES.—Each ombudsman shall—

13 (1) serve as the focal point for assisting the pub14 lic and industry in resolving complaints and disputes

15 with the laboratory regarding technology partner16 ships, patents, and technology licensing;

17 (2) promote the use of collaborative alternative

18 dispute resolution techniques such as mediation to fa19 cilitate the speedy and low-cost resolution of com20 plaints and disputes, when appropriate; and

21 (3) report, through the Director of the National

22 Laboratory or facility, to the Department annually

23 on the number and nature of complaints and disputes

24 raised, along with ombudsman’s assessment of their
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1 resolution, consistent with the protection of confiden2 tial and sensitive information.

3 (c) DUAL APPOINTMENT.—A person vested with the

4 small business advocacy function of section 4 may also serve

5 as the technology partnership ombudsman.

6 SEC. 6. STUDIES RELATED TO IMPROVING MISSION EFFEC7 TIVENESS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND TECH8 NOLOGY TRANSFER AT NATIONAL LABORA9 TORIES.

10 (a) STUDIES.—The Secretary shall direct the Labora11 tory Operations Board to study and report to him, not later

12 than one year after the date of enactment of this section,

13 on the following topics.

14 (1) the possible benefits from the need for policies

15 and procedures to facilitate the transfer of scientific,

16 technical, and professional personnel among National

17 Laboratories and facilities; and

18 (2) the possible benefits from and need for

19 changes in—

20 (A) the indemnification requirements for

21 patents or other intellectual property licensed

22 from a National Laboratory or facility;

23 (B) the royalty and fee schedules and types

24 of compensation that may be used for patents or

25 other intellectual property licensed to a small
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1 business concern from a National Laboratory or

2 facility;

3 (C) the licensing procedures and require4 ments for patents and other intellectual property;

5 (D) the rights given to small business con6 cern that has licensed a patent or other intellec7 tual property from a National Laboratory or fa8 cility to bring suit against third parties infring9 ing such intellectual property;

10 (E) the advance funding requirements for

11 small business concern funding a project at a

12 National Laboratory or facility through a

13 Funds-In-Agreement;

14 (F) the intellectual property rights allocated

15 to a business when it is funding a project at a

16 National Laboratory or facility through a

17 Funds-In-Agreement; and

18 (G) policies on royalty payments to inven19 tors employed by a contractor-operated National

20 Laboratory or facility, including those for inven21 tions made under a Funds-In-Agreement.

22 (b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, the

23 term ‘‘Funds-In-Agreement’’ means a contract between the

24 Department and a non-Federal organization where that or-
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1 ganization pays the Department to provide a service or ma2 terial not otherwise available in the domestic private sector.

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one month

4 after receiving the report under subsection (a), the Secretary

5 transmit the report, along with this recommendations for

6 action and proposals for legislation to implement the rec7 ommendations, to Congress.

8 SEC. 7. OTHER TRANSACTIONS AUTHORITY.

9 (a) NEW AUTHORITY.—Section 646 of the Department

10 of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7256) is amended

11 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(g) OTHER TRANSACTIONS AUTHORITY.—(1) In ad13 dition to other authorities granted to the Secretary to enter

14 into procurement contracts, leases, cooperative agreements,

15 grants, and other similar arrangements, the Secretary may

16 enter into other transactions with public agencies, private

17 organizations, or persons on such terms as the Secretary

18 may deem appropriate in furtherance of basic, applied, and

19 advanced research functions now or hereafter vested in the

20 Secretary. Such other transactions shall not be subject to

21 the provisions of section 9 of the Federal Nonnuclear En22 ergy Research and Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

23 5908).

24 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that—
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1 ‘‘(i) to the maximum extent practicable, no

2 transaction entered into under paragraph (1) pro3 vides for research that duplicates research being con4 ducted under existing programs carried out by the

5 Department of Energy; and

6 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that the Secretary determines

7 practicable, the funds provided by the Government

8 under a transaction authorized by paragraph (1) do

9 not exceed the total amount provided by other parties

10 to the transaction.

11 ‘‘(B) A transaction authorized by paragraph (1) may

12 be used for a research project when the use of a standard

13 contract, grant, or cooperative agreement for such project

14 is not feasible or appropriate.

15 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall not disclose any trade se16 cret or commercial or financial information submitted by

17 a non-Federal entity under paragraph (1) that is privileged

18 and confidential.

19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not disclose, for five years

20 after the date the information is received, any other infor21 mation submitted by a non-Federal entity under paragraph

22 (1), including any proposal, proposal abstract, document

23 supporting a proposal, business plan, or technical informa24 tion that is privileged and confidential.
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1 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may protect from disclosure, for

2 up to five years, any information developed pursuant to

3 a transaction under paragraph (1) that would be protected

4 from disclosure under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United

5 States Code, if obtained from a person other than a Federal

6 agency.’’.

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than six months

8 after the date of enactment of this section, the Department

9 shall establish guidelines for the use of other transactions.

10 Other transactions shall be made available, if needed, in

11 order to implement projects funded under section 3.

12 SEC. 8. CONFORMANCE WITH NNSA ORGANIZATIONAL

13 STRUCTURE.

14 All actions taken by the Secretary in carrying out this

15 Act with respect to National Laboratories and facilities that

16 are part of the NNSA shall be through the Administrator

17 for Nuclear Security in accordance with the requirements

18 of Title XXXII of National Defense Authorization Act of

19 Fiscal Year 2000.

20 SEC. 9. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

21 AGREEMENTS FOR GOVERNMENT-OWNED,

22 CONTRACTOR-OPERATED LABORATORIES.

23 (a) STRATEGIC PLANS.—Subsection (a) of section 12

24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980

25 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) is amended by striking ‘‘joint work state-
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1 ment,’’ and inserting ‘‘joint work statement or, if permitted

2 by the agency, in an agency-approved annual strategic

3 plan,’’.

4 (b) EXPERIMENTAL FEDERAL WAIVERS.—Subsection

5 (b) of that section is amended by adding at the end the

6 following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(6)(A) In the case of a Department of Energy

8 laboratory, a designated official of the Department of

9 Energy may waive any license retained by the Gov10 ernment under paragraph (1)(A), (2), or (3)(D), in

11 whole or in part and according to negotiated terms

12 and conditions, if the designated official finds that

13 the retention of the license by the Department of En14 ergy would substantially inhibit the commercializa15 tion of an invention that would otherwise serve an

16 important federal mission.

17 ‘‘(B) The authority to grant a waiver under sub18 paragraph (A) shall expire on the date that is 5 years

19 after the date of the enactment of the National Defense

20 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001.

21 ‘‘(C) The expiration under subparagraph (B) of

22 authority to grant a waiver under subparagraph (A)

23 shall not effect any waiver granted under subpara24 graph (A) before the expiration of such authority.’’.
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1 (c) TIME REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL.—Subsection

2 (c)(5) of that section is amended—

3 (1) by striking subparagraph (C);

4 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub5 paragraph (C); and

6 (3) in subparagraph (C) as so redesignated—

7 (A) in clause (i)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘with a small business

9 firm’’; and

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘if’’ after ‘‘state11 ment’’; and

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

13 clauses:

14 ‘‘(iv) Any agency that has contracted

15 with a non-Federal entity to operate a lab16 oratory may develop and provide to such

17 laboratory one or more model cooperative

18 research and development agreements, for

19 the purposes of standardizing practices and

20 procedures, resolving common legal issues,

21 and enabling review of cooperative research

22 and development agreements to be carried

23 out in a routine and prompt manner.

24 ‘‘(v) A Federal agency may waive the

25 requirements of clause (i) or (ii) under such
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1 circumstances as the agency considers ap2 propriate. However, the agency may not

3 take longer than 30 days to review and ap4 prove, request modifications to, or dis5 approve any proposed agreement or joint

6 work statement that it elects to receive.’’.

7 SEC. 10. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF

8 THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINIS9 TRATION.

10 (a) OBJECTIVE FOR OBLIGATION OF FUNDS.—It shall

11 be an objective of the Administrator of the National Nuclear

12 Security Administration to obligate funds for cooperative

13 research and development agreements (as that term is de14 fined in section 12(d)(1) of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech15 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(d)(1))),

16 or similar cooperative, cost-shared research partnerships

17 with non-Federal organizations, in a fiscal year covered by

18 subsection (b) in an amount at least equal to the percentage

19 of the total amount appropriated for the Administration

20 for such fiscal year that is specified for such fiscal year

21 under subsection (b).

22 (b) FISCAL YEAR PERCENTAGES.—The percentages of

23 funds appropriated for the National Nuclear Security Ad24 ministration that are obligated in accordance with the ob25 jective under subsection (a) are as follows:
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1 (1) In each of fiscal years 2001 and 2002, 0.5

2 percent.

3 (2) In any fiscal year after fiscal year 2002, the

4 percentage recommend by the Administrator for each

5 such fiscal year in the report under subsection (c).

6 (c) RECOMMENDTIONS FOR PERCENTAGES IN LATER

7 FISCAL YEARS.—Not later than one year after the date of

8 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit

9 to the congressional defense committees a report setting

10 forth the Administrator’s recommendations for appropriate

11 percentages of funds appropriated for the National Nuclear

12 Security Administration to be obligated for agreements de13 scribed in subsection (a) during each fiscal year covered by

14 the report.

15 (d) CONSISTENCY OF AGREEMENTS.—Any agreement

16 entered into under this section shall be consistent with and

17 in support of the mission of the National Nuclear Security

18 Administration.

19 (e) REPORTS ON ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVE.—(1)

20 Not later than March 30, 2002, and each year thereafter,

21 the Administrator shall submit to the congressional defense

22 committees a report on whether funds of the National Nu23 clear Security Administration were obligated in the fiscal

24 year ending in the preceding year in accordance with the

25 objective for such fiscal year under this section.
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1 (2) If funds were not obligated in a fiscal year in ac2 cordance with the objective under this section for such fiscal

3 year, the report under paragraph (1) shall—

4 (A) describe the actions the Administrator pro5 poses to take to ensure that the objective under this

6 section for the current fiscal year and future fiscal

7 years will be met; and

8 (B) include any recommendations for legislation

9 required to achieve such actions.
Calendar No. 936

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1756

[Report No. 106–487]

A BILL

To enhance the ability of the National Laboratories

to meet Department of Energy missions, and forother purposes.

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported with an amendment