II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1371 

To establish a program to award innovation prizes to individuals and entities 

for researching and developing innovative technologies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2007 

Mr. PRYOR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a program to award innovation prizes to individuals and entities for researching and developing innovative technologies, 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 ‘‘Reward Innovation in 

5 America Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ad9 ministering entity’’ means an entity with which the 

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1 Secretary enters into an agreement under section 

2 4(e). 

3 (2) COMPETITION.—The term ‘‘competition’’ 

4 means a competition for an innovation prize under 

5 the program described in section 4(a). 

6 (3) INNOVATION PRIZE.—The term ‘‘innovation 

7 prize’’ means a prize awarded to a participant who 

8 wins a competition. 

9 (4) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ 

10 means an individual or entity that participates in a 

11 competition. 

12 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of Commerce. 

14 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INNOVATION PRIZES BOARD. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

16 Department of Commerce a National Innovation Prizes 

17 Board (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Board’’). 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Board are as 

19 follows: 

20 (1) To develop and administer the program de21 scribed in section 4(a). 

22 (2) To select the research topics for competi23 tions. 

24 (3) To establish the rules of the competitions 

25 and the criteria for winning innovation prizes. 

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1 (4) To determine the amount of the innovation 

2 prize for each competition. 

3 (5) To certify the winners of the competitions. 

4 (6) To determine the annual funding require5 ment for each competition. 

6 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 (1) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

8 shall determine the number of members of the 

9 Board. 

10 (2) CHAIR.—The Secretary, or a designee of 

11 the Secretary, shall serve as Chair of the Board. 

12 (3) MEMBERS.— 

13 (A) FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Sec14 retary may appoint the heads of Federal agen15 cies to serve as full members of the Board on 

16 a permanent basis. 

17 (B) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—The Sec18 retary may appoint to the Board individuals 

19 who are not officers or employees of the Fed20 eral Government and who have national reputa21 tions in the private sector, policy sector, or aca22 demic institutions. 

23 (4) TERMS.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), a member of the Board shall 

3 serve for a term of 3 years. 

4 (B) INITIAL TERMS.—The initial terms of 

5 members described in paragraph (3)(B) shall be 

6 staggered. 

7 (5) VACANCIES.—A member of the Board de8 scribed in paragraph (3)(B) appointed to fill a va9 cancy occurring other than by the expiration of a 

10 term shall be appointed for the remainder of the 

11 term of the former member. 

12 (6) STATUS.—Except as provided in paragraph 

13 (7), a member described in paragraph (3)(B) shall 

14 not be deemed to be an officer or employee of the 

15 United States for purposes of the laws or regulations 

16 of the United States. 

17 (7) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member described 

18 in paragraph (3)(B) shall be allowed travel expenses, 

19 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 

20 authorized for employees of the Federal Government 

21 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. 

23 SEC. 4. INNOVATION PRIZES PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The program described in this 

25 subsection means a program of competitions to award inmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 novation prizes to eligible individuals and entities to ad2 vance the research, development, and commercial applica3 tion of innovative technologies. 

4 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible individual 

6 or entity’’ includes an individual, university, or small 

7 or large business that complies with the require8 ments of paragraph (2). 

9 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible individual or 

10 entity— 

11 (A) shall have complied with such eligi12 bility requirements for participation in a com13 petition as the Board may establish and publish 

14 in the Federal Register under subsection (d)(2); 

15 (B) in the case of a private entity, shall be 

16 incorporated in and maintain a primary place of 

17 business in the United States; 

18 (C) in the case of an individual, whether 

19 participating in the program singly or in a 

20 group, shall be a citizen of, or an alien lawfully 

21 admitted for permanent residence in, the 

22 United States; and 

23 (D) may not be— 

24 (i) a Federal entity, such as a feder25 ally funded research and development cenmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ter or a government-owned, contractor-op2 erated laboratory; 

3 (ii) a Federal employee acting within 

4 the scope of employment; or 

5 (iii) an employee of a national labora6 tory acting within the scope of employ7 ment. 

8 (3) CONSULTATION WITH FEDERAL EMPLOY9 EES.—An individual or entity shall not be deemed 

10 ineligible under this subsection because such indi11 vidual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted 

12 with Federal employees during a competition if such 

13 facilities and employees are made available to all in14 dividuals and entities participating in the competi15 tion on an equitable basis. 

16 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

17 (1) PLAN.—Not later than 120 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

21 and the Committee on Science and Technology of 

22 the House of Representatives a plan for imple23 menting the program described in subsection (a) 

24 that includes— 

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1 (A) a description of how the research top2 ics for competitions and the criteria for award3 ing the innovation prizes will be determined; 

4 (B) the terms and conditions of the com5 petitions; 

6 (C) the time frame for the award of inno7 vation prizes; and 

8 (D) a description of the plans of the Sec9 retary to partner with nonprofit organizations 

10 or Federal agencies to sponsor competitions or 

11 to outsource administration of competitions to 

12 nonprofit organizations under subsection (e). 

13 (2) INNOVATION PRIZES.—In developing the 

14 plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall in15 clude the following requirements: 

16 (A) CATEGORIES.—There shall be 2 cat17 egories of innovation prizes as follows: 

18 (i) 21ST CENTURY INNOVATION

19 PRIZES.—21st Century Innovation Prizes 

20 shall be awarded in multiple competitions 

21 in different research areas. The amount of 

22 each 21st Century Innovation Prize award 

23 may not exceed $2,000,000. 

24 (ii) INNOVATE AMERICA GRAND CHAL25 LENGE PRIZES.— 

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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—Innovate 

2 America Grand Challenge Prizes shall 

3 be awarded in large, highly complex, 

4 and expensive competitions that— 

5 (aa) are held every 2 to 4 

6 years; and 

7 (bb) address research objec8 tives well beyond the current 

9 state of the art and that are in10 tended to become integral to 

11 major changes in complex socio12 technological systems. 

13 (II) AMOUNT OF AWARD.—The 

14 amount of each Innovate America 

15 Grand Challenge Prize award shall be 

16 $5,000,000 or more, but not more 

17 than $30,000,000. 

18 (B) AWARDS.—The Board shall determine 

19 the amount of each innovation prize for each 

20 competition and may elect to award only a first 

21 place prize or to award first, second, and third 

22 place prizes. 

23 (d) ADVERTISING AND NOTICE TO PARTICIPANTS.— 

24 (1) ADVERTISING.—The Board shall advertise 

25 each competition widely to encourage broad particimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 pation in each competition, including by individuals, 

2 universities (including historically Black colleges and 

3 universities and other institutions serving minori4 ties), and large and small businesses (including busi5 nesses owned or controlled by socially and economi6 cally disadvantaged persons). 

7 (2) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.—The Board 

8 shall announce each competition by publishing in the 

9 Federal Register a notice that includes the subject 

10 of the competition, the duration of the competition, 

11 the eligibility requirements for participation in the 

12 competition, the process for participants to register 

13 for the competition, the amount of the innovation 

14 prize, and the criteria for awarding the innovation 

15 prize. 

16 (e) ADMINISTERING COMPETITIONS.—The Board 

17 may enter into an agreement with a private, nonprofit or18 ganization to administer competitions. The duties of the 

19 administering entity under the agreement shall include— 

20 (1) advertising competitions and the results of 

21 competitions; 

22 (2) raising funds from private entities and indi23 viduals to pay for administrative costs of competi24 tions and to contribute to cash innovation prizes; 

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1 (3) working with the Board to develop the cri2 teria for selecting winners in competitions, based on 

3 goals provided by the Secretary; 

4 (4) determining, in consultation with the Board, 

5 the appropriate amount of each innovation prize to 

6 be awarded; 

7 (5) selecting judges for competitions using cri8 teria developed in consultation with the Board; and 

9 (6) preventing the unauthorized use or disclo10 sure of the intellectual property, trade secrets, and 

11 confidential business information of participants. 

12 (f) FUNDING.— 

13 (1) FUNDING SOURCES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Innovation prizes 

15 awarded under the program described in sub16 section (a) shall consist of— 

17 (i) funds authorized to be appro18 priated under section 6; and 

19 (ii) any funds raised by the admin20 istering entity under subsection (e)(2). 

21 (B) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Secretary 

22 may accept funds from other Federal agencies 

23 for innovation prizes. 

24 (2) FUNDING FROM OTHER ENTITIES.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board is author2 ized to enter into agreements with other enti3 ties, including corporations, nonprofit organiza4 tions, and other government agencies, to offer 

5 joint innovation prizes if— 

6 (i) the joint innovation prize supports 

7 the purposes of this Act; 

8 (ii) the entity offering additional 

9 funds agrees to deposit the funds into a 

10 designated escrow account; and 

11 (iii) the Board retains full authority 

12 over the competition and the awarding of 

13 the cash innovation prizes. 

14 (B) PROHIBITION ON SPECIAL CONSIDER15 ATION IN RETURN FOR DONATIONS.—The Sec16 retary may not give any special consideration to 

17 any private sector entity or individual in return 

18 for a donation to the administering entity to 

19 fund a competition. 

20 (3) ANNOUNCEMENT OF INNOVATION PRIZES

21 CONTINGENT ON FUNDING.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

23 publish the notice in the Federal Register re24 quired by subsection (d)(2) until all the funds 

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1 necessary to pay the innovation prize have been 

2 appropriated or committed in writing. 

3 (B) INCREASES IN AMOUNT OF INNOVA4 TION PRIZE.—The Secretary may increase the 

5 amount of an innovation prize after an initial 

6 announcement is made under subsection (d)(2) 

7 if— 

8 (i) notice of the increase is published 

9 in the Federal Register; and 

10 (ii) the funds needed to pay the 

11 amount of the increase have been appro12 priated or committed in writing. 

13 (g) LIABILITY.— 

14 (1) WAIVER OF LIABILITY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re16 quire participants to waive claims against the 

17 Federal Government and the administering en18 tity (except claims for willful misconduct) for 

19 any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, 

20 revenue, or profits arising from participation in 

21 a competition. 

22 (B) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall give no23 tice of any waiver required under subparagraph 

24 (A) in the notice published in the Federal Reg25 ister under subsection (d)(2). 

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1 (C) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may not 

2 require a participant to waive claims against 

3 the administering entity arising out of the un4 authorized use or disclosure by the admin5 istering entity of the intellectual property, trade 

6 secrets, or confidential business information of 

7 the participant. 

8 (2) LIABILITY INSURANCE.— 

9 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—A participant shall 

10 be required to obtain liability insurance or dem11 onstrate financial responsibility, in amounts de12 termined by the Secretary, for claims by— 

13 (i) a third party for death, bodily in14 jury, or property damage or loss resulting 

15 from an activity carried out in connection 

16 with participation in a competition; and 

17 (ii) the Federal Government for dam18 age or loss to Government property result19 ing from participation in a competition. 

20 (B) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INSURED.— 

21 The Federal Government shall be named as an 

22 additional insured under an insurance policy re23 quired under subparagraph (A). A registered 

24 participant shall be required to agree to indem25 nify the Federal Government against third 

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1 party claims for damages arising from or re2 lated to participation in a competition. 

3 (h) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.— 

4 (1) PROHIBITION ON THE GOVERNMENT AC5 QUIRING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.—The 

6 Federal Government may not gain an interest in in7 tellectual property developed by a participant for a 

8 competition. 

9 (2) LICENSES.—The Federal Government may 

10 negotiate a license for the use of intellectual prop11 erty developed by a participant for a competition. 

12 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

13 Not later than one year after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

15 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

17 Science and Technology of the House of Representatives 

18 a report describing the activities of the program described 

19 in section 4(a), including— 

20 (1) a description of the methods used to select 

21 the research topics of competitions and the amounts 

22 of the innovation prizes; 

23 (2) a discussion of the features of competitions 

24 that contribute to the success or lack of success of 

25 the competitions; 

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1 (3) the number of participants involved in the 

2 competitions; 

3 (4) the amount of private funds contributed to 

4 the program and the sources of such funds; 

5 (5) the effect of the program on public aware6 ness of innovation; and 

7 (6) the effect of the program on the public 

8 image of the Department of Commerce. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) AWARDS.—There are authorized to be ap12 propriated to the Secretary to carry out the provi13 sions of this Act— 

14 (A) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

15 2012, $5,000,000 for awards described in sec16 tion 4(c)(2)(A)(i); and 

17 (B) for fiscal year 2008, $30,000,000 for 

18 awards described in section 4(c)(2)(A)(ii). 

19 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—In addition to the 

20 amounts authorized to be appropriated under para21 graph (1), there are authorized to be appropriated to 

22 the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

23 2012 $750,000 for the administrative costs of car24 rying out this Act. 

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1 (b) CARRYOVER OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated to 

2 carry out the provisions of this Act shall remain available 

3 until expended. 

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