I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5035 

To reauthorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2014 

Mr. BUCSHON (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, and Mr. COLLINS of New 

York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NIST Reauthorization 

5 Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2014.— 

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

9 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

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1 $850,000,000 for the National Institute of Stand2 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2014. 

3 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

4 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

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

6 and technical research and services laboratory 

7 activities; 

8 (B) $56,000,000 shall be for the construc9 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

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

11 technology services activities, of which 

12 $128,000,000 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 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2015.— 

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

19 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

20 $855,800,000 for the National Institute of Stand21 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2015. 

22 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

23 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

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

2 and technical research and services laboratory 

3 activities; 

4 (B) $55,300,000 shall be for the construc5 tion and maintenance of facilities; and 

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

7 technology services activities, of which 

8 $130,000,000 shall be for the Manufacturing 

9 Extension Partnership program under sections 

10 25 and 26 of the National Institute of Stand11 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 

12 278l). 

13 SEC. 3. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

14 Section 2 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

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

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

20 adviser on standards policy pertaining to the 

21 Nation’s technological competitiveness and in22 novation ability and to take’’; 

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

24 standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Fed25 eral Government’’ and inserting ‘‘facilitate 

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1 standards-related information sharing and co2 operation between Federal agencies’’; and 

3 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘Fed4 eral, State, and local’’ and all that follows 

5 through ‘‘private sector’’ and inserting ‘‘tech6 nical standards activities and conformity assess7 ment activities of Federal, State, and local gov8 ernments with private sector’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (c)— 

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

11 after the semicolon; 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (22) as 

13 paragraph (24); and 

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

15 following: 

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

17 technical conferences; 

18 ‘‘(23) perform pre-competitive measurement 

19 science and technology research in partnership with 

20 institutions of higher education and industry to pro21 mote United States industrial competitiveness; and’’. 

22 SEC. 4. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. 

23 Section 10 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘not fewer than 11 members’’; 

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

4 ‘‘at least two-thirds’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘The Committee may consult with the National 

7 Research Council in making recommendations 

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

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

10 the Program established under section 28,’’. 

11 SEC. 5. POLICE AND SECURITY AUTHORITY. 

12 Section 15 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

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

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

16 (2) by striking ‘‘United States Code.’’ and in17 serting ‘‘United States Code; and (i) for the protec18 tion of Institute buildings and other plant facilities, 

19 equipment, and property, and of employees, associ20 ates, visitors, or other persons located therein or as21 sociated therewith, notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law.’’. 

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1 SEC. 6. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

2 The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by striking sec4 tions 18, 19, and 19A and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may support, pro7 mote, and coordinate activities and efforts to enhance pub8 lic awareness and understanding of measurement sciences, 

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

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

11 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 

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

13 research fellowships and other forms of financial and 

14 logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 

15 to— 

16 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu17 cation within the United States who show 

18 promise as present or future contributors to the 

19 mission of the Institute; and 

20 ‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 

21 and technical activities of the Institute. 

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

23 persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 

24 the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro25 posed work to the mission and programs of the In26 stitute. 

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

2 subsection, financial and logistical assistance in3 cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

4 United States Code, or any contrary provision of 

5 law, temporary housing and local transportation to 

6 and from the Institute facilities. 

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

8 Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow9 ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

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

11 In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub12 section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 

13 of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu14 dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 

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

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

18 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro19 grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 

20 Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 

21 Committee on Advanced Technology established under 

22 section 10.’’. 

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1 SEC. 8. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN2 CIL. 

3 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 

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

5 this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand6 ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 

7 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com8 prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 

9 The review shall— 

10 (1) assess the technical merits and scientific 

11 caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 

12 (2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 

13 the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 

14 ability to fulfill its mission; 

15 (3) evaluate how cross-cutting research and de16 velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 

17 executed across the laboratories; and 

18 (4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in19 dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 

20 into the research goals and objectives of the Insti21 tute. 

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

23 National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

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

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

2 COUNCIL. 

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

4 the National Research Council to perform and report on 

5 assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 

6 work conducted at Institute laboratories. 

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

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

9 be assessed at least once every 3 years. 

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

11 after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 

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

13 contract with the National Research Council to prepare 

14 a report that summarizes the findings common across the 

15 individual assessment reports. 

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

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

18 National Research Council to conduct additional assess19 ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col20 laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 

21 and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 

22 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON

23 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun24 cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 

25 Technology established under section 10 in performing the 

26 assessments under this section. 

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

2 completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 

3 the report on such assessment to the Committee on 

4 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

7 SEC. 9. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNER8 SHIP. 

9 Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 

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

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART13 NERSHIP. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

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

16 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

17 shall provide assistance for the creation and support 

18 of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 

19 the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 

20 the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 

21 business practices (in this Act referred to as the 

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

23 known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

24 Partnership’. 

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1 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af2 filiated with any United States-based public or non3 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

4 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

5 under this section. 

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

7 is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 

8 technological performance in United States manufac9 turing through— 

10 ‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech11 nology and techniques developed at the Insti12 tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac13 turing companies throughout the United States; 

14 ‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 

15 industry, institutions of higher education, State 

16 governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 

17 appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech18 nology transfer activities; 

19 ‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 

20 technology and processes usable by United 

21 States-based small and medium-sized compa22 nies; 

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

24 engineering, technical, and management infor25 mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 

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1 including small and medium-sized manufac2 turing companies; 

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

4 the expertise and capability that exists in Fed5 eral laboratories other than the Institute; 

6 ‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 

7 and area career and technical education schools 

8 of information about the job skills needed in 

9 small and medium-sized manufacturing busi10 nesses in the regions they serve; and 

11 ‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi12 cation systems offered through industry, asso13 ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 

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

15 include— 

16 ‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac17 turing systems and other advanced production tech18 nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 

19 the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans20 fer; 

21 ‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re22 search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 

23 of companies and enterprises, particularly small and 

24 medium-sized manufacturers; and 

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1 ‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part2 nerships between small and medium-sized manufac3 turing companies and community colleges and area 

4 career and technical education schools to help such 

5 colleges and schools better understand the specific 

6 needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 

7 better understand the skill sets that students learn 

8 in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 

9 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 

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

11 provide financial support to any Center created 

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

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

14 annual operating and maintenance funds required to 

15 create and maintain such Center. 

16 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im17 plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 

18 of Federal Regulations related to this section at 

19 least once every 3 years. 

20 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu22 tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 

23 government, may submit to the Secretary an 

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1 tion, in accordance with the procedures estab2 lished by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(B) COST SHARING.—In order to receive 

4 assistance under this section, an applicant for 

5 financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

6 shall provide adequate assurances that non7 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

8 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

9 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

10 50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 

11 of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 

12 means the costs incurred in connection with the 

13 activities undertaken to improve the competi14 tiveness, management, productivity, and techno15 logical performance of small and medium-sized 

16 manufacturing companies. 

17 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTI18 TIES.—In meeting the 50 percent requirement, 

19 it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 

20 agreements with other entities such as private 

21 industry, institutions of higher education, and 

22 State governments to accomplish programmatic 

23 objectives and access new and existing resources 

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1 vestment made on behalf of small and medium2 sized manufacturing companies. 

3 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—Each applicant 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall also submit a 

5 proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as6 sociated with any invention which may result 

7 from the proposed Center’s activities. 

8 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub9 ject each such application to merit review. In mak10 ing a decision whether to approve such application 

11 and provide financial support under this section, the 

12 Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par15 ticularly those portions of the application re16 garding technology transfer, training and edu17 cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech18 nologies to the needs of particular industrial 

19 sectors. 

20 ‘‘(B) The quality of service to be provided. 

21 ‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 

22 service area. 

23 ‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 

24 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

25 sources. 

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1 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re3 ceives financial assistance under this section 

4 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper5 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

6 Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua8 tion panel shall be composed of private experts, 

9 none of whom shall be connected with the in10 volved Center, and Federal officials. 

11 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—An official of the Institute 

12 shall chair the panel. 

13 ‘‘(D) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

14 Each evaluation panel shall measure the in15 volved Center’s performance against the objec16 tives specified in this section. 

17 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval18 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 

19 continued funding through the sixth year. 

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

21 not provide funding unless the Center has re22 ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 

23 not received a positive evaluation by the evalua24 tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 

25 deficiencies in its performance and shall be 

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1 placed on probation for one year, after which 

2 time the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If 

3 the Center has not addressed the deficiencies 

4 identified by the panel, or shown a significant 

5 improvement in its performance, the Director 

6 shall conduct a new competition to select an op7 erator for the Center or may close the Center. 

8 ‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 

9 After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi10 tional financial support under this section if it 

11 has received a positive evaluation through an 

12 independent review, under procedures estab13 lished by the Institute. 

14 ‘‘(H) EIGHT-YEAR REVIEW.—A Center 

15 shall undergo an independent review in the 8th 

16 year of operation. Each evaluation panel shall 

17 measure the Center’s performance against the 

18 objectives specified in this section. A Center 

19 that has not received a positive evaluation as a 

20 result of an independent review shall be notified 

21 by the Program of the deficiencies in its per22 formance and shall be placed on probation for 

23 one year, after which time the Program shall 

24 reevaluate the Center. If the Center has not ad25 dressed the deficiencies identified by the review, 

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1 or shown a significant improvement in its per2 formance, the Director shall conduct a new 

3 competition to select an operator for the Center 

4 or may close the Center. 

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

6 Center award has received financial assistance 

7 for 10 consecutive years, the Director shall con8 duct a new competition to select an operator for 

9 the Center consistent with the plan required in 

10 this Act. Incumbent Center operators in good 

11 standing shall be eligible to compete for the new 

12 award. 

13 ‘‘(J) REPORTS.— 

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

15 after the date of enactment of the NIST 

16 Reauthorization Act of 2014, the Director 

17 shall transmit to the Committee on 

18 Science, Space, and Technology of the 

19 House of Representatives and the Com20 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans21 portation of the Senate a plan as to how 

22 the Institute will conduct reviews, assess23 ments, and reapplication competitions 

24 under this paragraph. 

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1 ‘‘(ii) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.— 

2 The Director shall contract with an inde3 pendent organization to perform an assess4 ment of the implementation of the re5 application competition process under this 

6 paragraph within 3 years after the trans7 mittal of the report under clause (i). The 

8 organization conducting the assessment 

9 under this clause may consult with the 

10 MEP Advisory Board. 

11 ‘‘(iii) COMPARISON OF CENTERS.— 

12 Not later than 2 years after the date of en13 actment of the NIST Reauthorization Act 

14 of 2014, the Director shall transmit to the 

15 Committee on Science, Space, and Tech16 nology of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

18 and Transportation of the Senate a report 

19 providing information on the first and sec20 ond years of operations for centers oper21 ating from new competitions or recompeti22 tion as compared to longstanding centers. 

23 The report shall provide detail on the en24 gagement in services provided by Centers 

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1 vided, including volume and type of serv2 ices, so that the Committees can evaluate 

3 whether the cost-sharing ratio has an ef4 fect on the services provided at Centers. 

5 ‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap6 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

7 to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 

8 the promotion of technology from research by Cen9 ters under this section except for contracts for such 

10 specific technology extension or transfer services as 

11 may be specified by statute or by the Director. 

12 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CENTER CLIENT CON13 FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, shall apply to the following in15 formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 

16 confidential basis in connection with the activities of 

17 any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac18 turing Extension Partnership: 

19 ‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 

20 of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 

21 Extension Partnership program or of a client of 

22 a Center. 

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

24 of a Center. 

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1 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi2 sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol3 icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 

4 Board represents local small and medium-sized man5 ufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Members 

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

7 Center, nor may they serve on more than one Cen8 ter’s oversight board simultaneously. 

9 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

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

11 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc12 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

13 Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 

14 accept funds from other Federal departments and 

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

16 sector for the purpose of strengthening United 

17 States manufacturing. 

18 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED20 ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di21 rector shall determine whether funds accepted 

22 from other Federal departments or agencies 

23 shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed24 eral share of capital and annual operating and 

25 maintenance costs under subsection (c). 

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1 ‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI2 VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri3 vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 

4 a Center, may not be considered in the calcula5 tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 

6 of this section. 

7 ‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

9 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

10 Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re11 ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 

12 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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

14 Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem15 bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 

16 be appointed by the Director. At least 2 mem17 bers shall be employed by or on an advisory 

18 board for the Centers, at least 1 member shall 

19 represent a community college, and at least 5 

20 other members shall be from United States 

21 small businesses in the manufacturing sector. 

22 No member shall be an employee of the Federal 

23 Government. 

24 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub25 paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 

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1 member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 

2 years. 

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

4 to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira5 tion of the term for which his predecessor was 

6 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 

7 of such term. 

8 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

9 Any person who has completed two consecutive 

10 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

11 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint12 ment during the one-year period following the 

13 expiration of the second such term. 

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

15 shall meet not less than 2 times annually and shall 

16 provide to the Director— 

17 ‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

18 Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 

19 policies; 

20 ‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol21 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

22 plans and strategies; and 

23 ‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 

24 against Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

25 Partnership program plans. 

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1 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP2 PLICABILITY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du4 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

5 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca6 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

7 Committee Act. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed9 eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 

10 the MEP Advisory Board. 

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

12 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

13 transmittal to Congress within 30 days after the 

14 submission to Congress of the President’s annual 

15 budget request in each year. Such report shall ad16 dress the status of the program established pursuant 

17 to this section and comment on the relevant sections 

18 of the programmatic planning document and updates 

19 thereto transmitted to Congress by the Director 

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

21 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es23 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten24 sion Partnership, under this section and section 26, 

25 a program of competitive awards among participants 

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1 described in paragraph (2) for the purposes de2 scribed in paragraph (3). 

3 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

4 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

5 a consortium of such Centers. 

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

7 under this subsection is to add capabilities to the 

8 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, in9 cluding the development of projects to solve new or 

10 emerging manufacturing problems as determined by 

11 the Director, in consultation with the Director of the 

12 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership pro13 gram, the MEP Advisory Board, and small and me14 dium-sized manufacturers. One or more themes for 

15 the competition may be identified, which may vary 

16 from year to year, depending on the needs of manu17 facturers and the success of previous competitions. 

18 Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred under 

19 the program. 

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

21 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

22 manner, at such time, and containing such informa23 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

24 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

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1 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub2 section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 

3 awarded. The Director shall endeavor to have broad 

4 geographic diversity among selected proposals. The 

5 Director shall select proposals to receive awards that 

6 will— 

7 ‘‘(A) improve the competitiveness of indus8 tries in the region in which the Center or Cen9 ters are located; 

10 ‘‘(B) create jobs or train newly hired em11 ployees; and 

12 ‘‘(C) promote the transfer and commer13 cialization of research and technology from in14 stitutions of higher education, national labora15 tories, and nonprofit research institutes. 

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

17 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

18 to provide a matching contribution. 

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

20 making awards under this subsection, the Director, 

21 in consultation with the MEP Advisory Board and 

22 the Secretary, may take into consideration whether 

23 an application has significant potential for enhanc24 ing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized 

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1 United States manufacturers in the global market2 place. 

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

4 shall last no longer than 3 years. 

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

6 MANUFACTURERS.—The Director shall— 

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

8 manufacturers that prevent such manufacturers 

9 from effectively competing in the global market; 

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

11 the Centers to address such obstacles; and 

12 ‘‘(3) facilitate improved communication between 

13 the Centers to assist such manufacturers in imple14 menting appropriate, targeted solutions to such ob15 stacles. 

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

17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘area career and technical edu18 cation school’ has the meaning given such term in 

19 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech20 nical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 

21 U.S.C. 2302); and 

22 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community college’ means an in23 stitution of higher education (as defined under sec24 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at which the highest degree 

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1 that is predominately awarded to students is an as2 sociate’s degree.’’. 

3 SEC. 10. ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REPORTS. 

4 (a) ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION STANDARDIZATION

5 AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES REPORT.—Section 3 

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

7 278g–5) is amended— 

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

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

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

11 (b) TIP REPORTS.—Section 28 of the National Insti12 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n) 

13 is amended— 

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

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

16 SEC. 11. MODIFICATIONS TO GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 

17 AGREEMENTS. 

18 Section 8(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In19 novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706(a)) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘The total amount of any such grant or coopera21 tive agreement may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

22 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,’’. 

Æ 

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