IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5056 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 15, 2014 

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

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To improve the efficiency of Federal research and 

development, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Research and Develop3 ment Efficiency Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REGULATORY EFFICIENCY. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) high and increasing administrative burdens 

8 and costs in Federal research administration, par9 ticularly in the higher education sector where most 

10 federally sponsored research is performed, are erod11 ing funds available to carry out basic scientific re12 search; 

13 (2) progress has been made over the last decade 

14 in streamlining the pre-award grant application 

15 process through Grants.gov, the Federal Govern16 ment’s website portal; 

17 (3) post-award administrative costs have grown 

18 as Federal research agencies have continued to im19 pose agency-unique compliance and reporting re20 quirements on researchers and research institutions; 

21 (4) facilities and administration costs at re22 search universities can exceed 50 percent of the total 

23 value of Federal research grants, and it is estimated 

24 that nearly 30 percent of the funds invested annu25 ally in federally funded research is consumed by pamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 perwork and other administrative processes required 

2 by Federal agencies; and 

3 (5) it is a matter of critical importance to 

4 American competitiveness that administrative costs 

5 of federally funded research be streamlined so that 

6 a higher proportion of taxpayer dollars flow into di7 rect research activities. 

8 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

9 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a working 

10 group under the authority of the National Science and 

11 Technology Council, to include the Office of Management 

12 and Budget. The working group shall be responsible for 

13 reviewing Federal regulations affecting research and re14 search universities and making recommendations on how 

15 to— 

16 (1) harmonize, streamline, and eliminate dupli17 cative Federal regulations and reporting require18 ments; and 

19 (2) minimize the regulatory burden on United 

20 States institutions of higher education performing 

21 federally funded research while maintaining account22 ability for Federal tax dollars. 

23 (c) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In carrying out the re24 sponsibilities under subsection (b), the working group 

25 shall take into account input and recommendations from 

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1 non-Federal stakeholders, including federally funded and 

2 nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 

3 education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, 

4 nonprofit research institutions, industry, including small 

5 businesses, federally funded research and development 

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

7 efficiency, and accountability in the performance of sci8 entific research. 

9 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 

11 years, the Director shall report to the Committee on 

12 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

14 and Transportation of the Senate on what steps have been 

15 taken to carry out the recommendations of the working 

16 group established under subsection (b). 

Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 

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