IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5035 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2014 

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

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology, 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 ‘‘NIST Reauthorization 

3 Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2014.— 

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

7 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

8 $850,000,000 for the National Institute of Stand9 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2014. 

10 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

11 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) $651,000,000 shall be for scientific 

13 and technical research and services laboratory 

14 activities; 

15 (B) $56,000,000 shall be for the construc16 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

17 (C) $143,000,000 shall be for industrial 

18 technology services activities, of which 

19 $128,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

20 Extension Partnership program under sections 

21 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Stand22 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

23 278l). 

24 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2015.— 

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

26 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 


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1 $855,800,000 for the National Institute of Stand2 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2015. 

3 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

4 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) $670,500,000 shall be for scientific 

6 and technical research and services laboratory 

7 activities; 

8 (B) $55,300,000 shall be for the construc9 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

10 (C) $130,000,000 shall be for industrial 

11 technology services activities, of which 

12 $130,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

13 Extension Partnership program under sections 

14 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Stand15 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

16 278l). 

17 SEC. 3. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

18 Section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and 

19 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

22 by striking ‘‘authorized to take’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘authorized to serve as the President’s principal 

24 adviser on standards policy pertaining to the 


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1 Nation’s technological competitiveness and in2 novation ability and to take’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘compare 

4 standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Fed5 eral Government’’ and inserting ‘‘facilitate 

6 standards-related information sharing and co7 operation between Federal agencies’’; and 

8 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘Fed9 eral, State, and local’’ and all that follows 

10 through ‘‘private sector’’ and inserting ‘‘tech11 nical standards activities and conformity assess12 ment activities of Federal, State, and local gov13 ernments with private sector’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

16 after the semicolon; 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraph (22) as 

18 paragraph (24); and 

19 (C) by inserting after paragraph (21) the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(22) participate in and support scientific and 

22 technical conferences; 

23 ‘‘(23) perform pre-competitive measurement 

24 science and technology research in partnership with 


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1 institutions of higher education and industry to pro2 mote United States industrial competitiveness; and’’. 

3 SEC. 4. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. 

4 Section 10 of the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘not fewer than 11 members’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘at least 10’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘at least two-thirds’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘The Committee may consult with the National 

13 Research Council in making recommendations 

14 regarding general policy for the Institute.’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘, including 

16 the Program established under section 28,’’. 

17 SEC. 5. POLICE AND SECURITY AUTHORITY. 

18 Section 15 of the National Institute of Standards and 

19 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278e) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Government; and’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘of the Government;’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘United States Code.’’ and in23 serting ‘‘United States Code; and (i) for the protec24 tion of Institute buildings and other plant facilities, 

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1 ates, visitors, or other persons located therein or as2 sociated therewith, notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

5 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by striking sec7 tions 18, 19, and 19A and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may support, pro10 mote, and coordinate activities and efforts to enhance pub11 lic awareness and understanding of measurement sciences, 

12 standards, and technology by the general public, industry, 

13 and academia in support of the Institute’s mission. 

14 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award 

16 research fellowships and other forms of financial and 

17 logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 

18 to— 

19 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu20 cation within the United States who show 

21 promise as present or future contributors to the 

22 mission of the Institute; and 

23 ‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 

24 and technical activities of the Institute. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Director shall select 

2 persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 

3 the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro4 posed work to the mission and programs of the In5 stitute. 

6 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

7 subsection, financial and logistical assistance in8 cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

9 United States Code, or any contrary provision of 

10 law, temporary housing and local transportation to 

11 and from the Institute facilities. 

12 ‘‘(c) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—The 

13 Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow14 ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

15 that shall include not fewer than 20 fellows per fiscal year. 

16 In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub17 section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 

18 of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu19 dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 

21 Section 23(d) of the National Institute of Standards 

22 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278i(d)) is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro24 grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 

25 Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 


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1 Committee on Advanced Technology established under 

2 section 10.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN4 CIL. 

5 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 

6 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

7 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand8 ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 

9 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com10 prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 

11 The review shall— 

12 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

13 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 

14 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

15 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

16 ability to fulfill its mission; 

17 (3) evaluate how cross-cutting research and de18 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

19 executed across the laboratories; and 

20 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in21 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

22 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti23 tute. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—Section 24 of the 

2 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 278j) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 24. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH 

5 COUNCIL. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall contract with 

7 the National Research Council to perform and report on 

8 assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 

9 work conducted at Institute laboratories. 

10 ‘‘(b) SCHEDULE.—Two laboratories shall be assessed 

11 under subsection (a) each year, and each laboratory shall 

12 be assessed at least once every 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(c) SUMMARY REPORT.—Beginning in the year 

14 after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 

15 (a), and once every two years thereafter, the Institute shall 

16 contract with the National Research Council to prepare 

17 a report that summarizes the findings common across the 

18 individual assessment reports. 

19 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—The Institute, at 

20 the discretion of the Director, also may contract with the 

21 National Research Council to conduct additional assess22 ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col23 laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 

24 and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 


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1 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON

2 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun3 cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 

4 Technology established under section 10 in performing the 

5 assessments under this section. 

6 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

7 completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 

8 the report on such assessment to the Committee on 

9 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNER13 SHIP. 

14 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

15 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART18 NERSHIP. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

21 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

22 shall provide assistance for the creation and support 

23 of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 

24 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 

25 the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 


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1 business practices (in this Act referred to as the 

2 ‘Centers’). The program under this section shall be 

3 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

4 Partnership’. 

5 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af6 filiated with any United States-based public or non7 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

8 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

9 under this section. 

10 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Centers 

11 is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 

12 technological performance in United States manufac13 turing through— 

14 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech15 nology and techniques developed at the Insti16 tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac17 turing companies throughout the United States; 

18 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

19 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

20 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

21 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech22 nology transfer activities; 

23 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

24 technology and processes usable by United 


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1 States-based small and medium-sized compa2 nies; 

3 ‘‘(D) the active dissemination of scientific, 

4 engineering, technical, and management infor5 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

6 including small and medium-sized manufac7 turing companies; 

8 ‘‘(E) the utilization, when appropriate, of 

9 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed10 eral laboratories other than the Institute; 

11 ‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 

12 and area career and technical education schools 

13 of information about the job skills needed in 

14 small and medium-sized manufacturing busi15 nesses in the regions they serve; and 

16 ‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi17 cation systems offered through industry, asso18 ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Centers shall 

20 include— 

21 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac22 turing systems and other advanced production tech23 nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 

24 the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans25 fer; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re2 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

3 of companies and enterprises, particularly small and 

4 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

5 ‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part6 nerships between small and medium-sized manufac7 turing companies and community colleges and area 

8 career and technical education schools to help such 

9 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

10 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

11 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

12 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

13 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary may 

15 provide financial support to any Center created 

16 under subsection (a). The Secretary may not provide 

17 to a Center more than 50 percent of the capital and 

18 annual operating and maintenance funds required to 

19 create and maintain such Center. 

20 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im21 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

22 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

23 least once every 3 years. 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu2 tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 

3 government, may submit to the Secretary an 

4 application for financial support under this sec5 tion, in accordance with the procedures estab6 lished by the 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 competi18 tiveness, management, productivity, 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 also submit a 

8 proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as9 sociated with any invention which may result 

10 from the 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 private experts, 

12 none of whom shall be connected with the in13 volved 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 sixth year. 

23 ‘‘(F) PROBATION.—The Secretary shall 

24 not provide funding unless the Center has re25 ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 


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1 not received a positive evaluation by the evalua2 tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 

3 deficiencies in its performance and shall be 

4 placed on probation for one year, after which 

5 time the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If 

6 the Center has not addressed the deficiencies 

7 identified by the panel, or shown a significant 

8 improvement in its performance, the Director 

9 shall conduct a new competition to select an op10 erator for the Center or may close the Center. 

11 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

12 After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi13 tional financial support under this section if it 

14 has received a positive evaluation through an 

15 independent review, under procedures estab16 lished by the Institute. 

17 ‘‘(H) EIGHT-YEAR REVIEW.—A Center 

18 shall undergo an independent review in the 8th 

19 year of operation. Each evaluation panel shall 

20 measure the Center’s performance against the 

21 objectives specified in this section. A Center 

22 that has not received a positive evaluation as a 

23 result of an independent review shall be notified 

24 by the Program of the deficiencies in its per25 formance and shall be placed on probation for 


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1 one year, after which time the Program shall 

2 reevaluate the Center. If the Center has not ad3 dressed the deficiencies identified by the review, 

4 or shown a significant improvement in its per5 formance, the Director shall conduct a new 

6 competition to select an operator for the Center 

7 or may close the Center. 

8 ‘‘(I) RECOMPETITION.—If a recipient of a 

9 Center award has received financial assistance 

10 for 10 consecutive years, the Director shall con11 duct a new competition to select an operator for 

12 the Center consistent with the plan required in 

13 this Act. Incumbent Center operators in good 

14 standing shall be eligible to compete for the new 

15 award. 

16 ‘‘(J) REPORTS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of the NIST 

19 Reauthorization Act of 2014, the Director 

20 shall transmit to the Committee on 

21 Science, Space, and Technology of the 

22 House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans24 portation of the Senate a plan as to how 

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1 ments, and reapplication competitions 

2 under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.— 

4 The Director shall contract with an inde5 pendent organization to perform an assess6 ment of the implementation of the re7 application competition process under this 

8 paragraph within 3 years after the trans9 mittal of the report under clause (i). The 

10 organization conducting the assessment 

11 under this clause may consult with the 

12 MEP Advisory Board. 

13 ‘‘(iii) COMPARISON OF CENTERS.— 

14 Not later than 2 years after the date of en15 actment of the NIST Reauthorization Act 

16 of 2014, the Director shall transmit to the 

17 Committee on Science, Space, and Tech18 nology of the House of Representatives 

19 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

20 and Transportation of the Senate a report 

21 providing information on the first and sec22 ond years of operations for centers oper23 ating from new competitions or recompeti24 tion as compared to longstanding centers. 

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1 gagement in services provided by Centers 

2 and the characteristics of services pro3 vided, including volume and type of serv4 ices, so that the Committees can evaluate 

5 whether the cost-sharing ratio has an ef6 fect on the services provided at Centers. 

7 ‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap8 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

9 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

10 the promotion of technology from research by Cen11 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

12 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

13 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 

14 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CENTER CLIENT CON15 FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 

16 United States Code, shall apply to the following in17 formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 

18 confidential basis in connection with the activities of 

19 any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac20 turing Extension Partnership: 

21 ‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 

22 of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 

23 Extension Partnership program or of a client of 

24 a Center. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Trade secrets possessed by any client 

2 of a Center. 

3 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi4 sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol5 icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 

6 Board represents local small and medium-sized man7 ufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Members 

8 may not serve as a vendor or provide services to the 

9 Center, nor may they serve on more than one Cen10 ter’s oversight board simultaneously. 

11 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such sums 

13 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc14 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

15 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

16 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

17 agencies and, under section 2(c)(7), from the private 

18 sector for the purpose of strengthening United 

19 States manufacturing. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED22 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di23 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

24 from other Federal departments or agencies 

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1 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

2 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI4 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri5 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

6 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula7 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

8 of this section. 

9 ‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

11 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

12 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re13 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

14 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The MEP Advisory 

16 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem17 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

18 be appointed by the Director. At least 2 mem19 bers shall be employed by or on an advisory 

20 board for the Centers, at least 1 member shall 

21 represent a community college, and at least 5 

22 other members shall be from United States 

23 small businesses in the manufacturing sector. 

24 No member shall be an employee of the Federal 

25 Government. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub2 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

3 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

4 years. 

5 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

6 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira7 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

8 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

9 of such term. 

10 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

11 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

12 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

13 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint14 ment during the one-year period following the 

15 expiration of the second such term. 

16 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The MEP Advisory Board 

17 shall meet not less than 2 times annually and shall 

18 provide to the Director— 

19 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

20 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

21 policies; 

22 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol23 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

24 plans and strategies; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

2 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

3 Partnership program plans. 

4 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP5 PLICABILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du7 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

8 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca9 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

10 Committee Act. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed12 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

13 the MEP Advisory Board. 

14 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—The MEP Advisory Board shall 

15 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

16 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 

17 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

18 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad19 dress the status of the program established pursuant 

20 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

21 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

22 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

23 under subsections (c) and (d) of section 23. 

24 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es2 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten3 sion Partnership, under this section and section 26, 

4 a program of competitive awards among participants 

5 described in paragraph (2) for the purposes de6 scribed in paragraph (3). 

7 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

8 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

9 a consortium of such Centers. 

10 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 

11 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

12 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in13 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

14 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 

15 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

16 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership pro17 gram, the MEP Advisory Board, and small and me18 dium-sized manufacturers. One or more themes for 

19 the competition may be identified, which may vary 

20 from year to year, depending on the needs of manu21 facturers and the success of previous competitions. 

22 Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred under 

23 the program. 

24 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 

25 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 


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1 manner, at such time, and containing such informa2 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

3 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

4 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub5 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

6 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

7 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 

8 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

9 will— 

10 ‘‘(A) improve the competitiveness of indus11 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen12 ters are located; 

13 ‘‘(B) create jobs or train newly hired em14 ployees; and 

15 ‘‘(C) promote the transfer and commer16 cialization of research and technology from in17 stitutions of higher education, national labora18 tories, and nonprofit research institutes. 

19 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 

20 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

21 to provide a matching contribution. 

22 ‘‘(7) GLOBAL MARKETPLACE PROJECTS.—In 

23 making awards under this subsection, the Director, 

24 in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board and 

25 the Secretary, may take into consideration whether 


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1 an application has significant potential for enhanc2 ing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized 

3 United States manufacturers in the global market4 place. 

5 ‘‘(8) DURATION.—Awards under this subsection 

6 shall last no longer than 3 years. 

7 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION OF OBSTACLES UNIQUE TO SMALL

8 MANUFACTURERS.—The Director shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) evaluate obstacles that are unique to small 

10 manufacturers that prevent such manufacturers 

11 from effectively competing in the global market; 

12 ‘‘(2) implement a comprehensive plan to train 

13 the Centers to address such obstacles; and 

14 ‘‘(3) facilitate improved communication between 

15 the Centers to assist such manufacturers in imple16 menting appropriate, targeted solutions to such ob17 stacles. 

18 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘area career and technical edu20 cation school’ has the meaning given such term in 

21 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech22 nical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 

23 U.S.C. 2302); and 

24 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community college’ means an in25 stitution of higher education (as defined under secVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:45 Jul 24, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5035.RFS H5035

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1 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at which the highest degree 

3 that is predominately awarded to students is an as4 sociate’s degree.’’. 

5 SEC. 10. ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REPORTS. 

6 (a) ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION STANDARDIZATION

7 AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES REPORT.—Section 3 

8 of the Enterprise Integration Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 

9 278g–5) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (c); and 

11 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

12 subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

13 (b) TIP REPORTS.—Section 28 of the National Insti14 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by striking subsection (g); and 

17 (2) in subsection (k), by striking paragraph (5). 

18 SEC. 11. MODIFICATIONS TO GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 

19 AGREEMENTS. 

20 Section 8(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In21 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706(a)) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘The total amount of any such grant or coopera23 tive agreement may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

24 of the program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 12. INFORMATION SYSTEMS STANDARDS CONSULTA2 TION. 

3 Section 20(c)(1) of the National Institute of Stand4 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–3(c)(1)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘the National Security Agency,’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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