II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2757 

To invest in innovation through research and development, to improve the 

competitiveness of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2014 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. NELSON, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. 

COONS, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To invest in innovation through research and development, 

to improve the competitiveness of the United States, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014’’ or 

6 ‘‘America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Pro7 mote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science 

8 Reauthorization Act of 2014’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

Sec. 101. Federal research and development funding. 

Sec. 102. Federal 5-year STEM education strategic plan. 

Sec. 103. Administrative burdens in federally sponsored research. 

Sec. 104. Prize competitions. 

Sec. 105. Repeal of Space Act limitation on prize competitions. 

Sec. 106. Coordinated Federal science agency policy for family caregivers. 

Sec. 107. Scientific and technical conferences. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. NASA education programs. 

Sec. 203. Experimental program to stimulate competitive research. 

Sec. 204. Foundational engineering. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 301. NOAA education programs. 

TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND 

TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 402. Manufacturing extension partnership. 

Sec. 403. Education and outreach. 

Sec. 404. National Institute of Standards and Technology Foundation. 

Sec. 405. Implementation activities. 

Sec. 406. Standards and conformity assessment. 

Sec. 407. Visiting committee on advanced technology. 

Sec. 408. Grants and cooperative agreements. 

Sec. 409. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

TITLE V—SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 

MATHEMATICS SUPPORT PROGRAMS 

Subtitle A—National Science Foundation 

Sec. 501. Definitions. 

Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 503. Sense of Congress on National Science Foundation basic research investments. 

Sec. 504. National Science Foundation merit review. 

Sec. 505. National Science Foundation STEM education program contribution 

and research dissemination. 

Sec. 506. STEM teacher training. 

Sec. 507. Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. 

Sec. 508. Early undergraduate research opportunities. 


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Sec. 509. Informal STEM education. 

Sec. 510. Broadening participation. 

Sec. 511. Prizes and challenges for broadening participation. 

Sec. 512. Commercialization grants. 

Sec. 513. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. 

Sec. 514. Graduate traineeship grant program. 

Sec. 515. The experimental program to stimulate competitive research. 

Sec. 516. Assessing national K–12 science and engineering proficiency. 

Sec. 517. Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program. 

Sec. 518. STEM education partnerships. 

Subtitle B—STEM Secondary Schools 

Sec. 521. Report on STEM secondary schools. 

Sec. 522. Funding for STEM secondary schools. 

TITLE VI—INNOVATION 

Subtitle A—Innovation Ecosystems 

Sec. 611. Regional innovation program. 

Sec. 612. Workforce studies. 

Sec. 613. National strategic plan for advanced manufacturing. 

Sec. 614. Sense of Congress; optics and photonics innovations. 

Subtitle B—National Nanotechnology Initiative 

Sec. 621. Short title. 

Sec. 622. Findings. 

Sec. 623. Enhancement of management of National Nanotechnology Initiative. 

Sec. 624. Quadrennial reports by National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel. 

Sec. 625. Quadrennial external review of National Nanotechnology Initiative. 

Sec. 626. Nanotechnology transfer, commercialization, and roadmaps. 

Sec. 627. Publication of data concerning nanotechnology. 

Sec. 628. National Science Foundation evaluation of investments of National 

Nanotechnology Initiative in education and workforce training. 

Sec. 629. Sharing of best practices of centers, networks, and user facilities. 

Sec. 630. Sense of Congress regarding environment, health, and safety matters 

concerning nanotechnology. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPLIED RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘applied 

4 research’’ means a systematic study to gain knowl5 edge or understanding necessary to determine the 

6 means by which a recognized and specific need may 

7 be met. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

4 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com5 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (3) BASIC RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘basic re8 search’’ means a systematic study directed toward 

9 fuller knowledge or understanding of the funda10 mental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts 

11 without specific applications toward processes or 

12 products in mind. 

13 (4) EVIDENCE OR EVIDENCE-BASED.—With re14 spect to STEM education programs or activities au15 thorized under this Act, the term ‘‘evidence’’ or ‘‘evi16 dence-based’’ means the systematic collection and 

17 analysis of information about the characteristics and 

18 outcomes of Federal STEM education programs and 

19 activities to improve effectiveness, efficiency, quality, 

20 or other desired characteristics and to inform deci21 sions about current and future programming, includ22 ing collection and analysis through a variety of re23 search methods or combination of methods, as ap24 propriate to the research question. 


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1 (5) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ has the meaning given the 

3 term in section 103 of the America COMPETES 

4 Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6623). 

5 (6) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 2 of the America COM7 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

8 6621 note). 

9 TITLE I—OFFICE OF SCIENCE 

10 AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY 

11 SEC. 101. FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUND12 ING. 

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that— 

15 (1) investments in research and development 

16 activities have historically delivered significant bene17 fits, including contributing to economic growth, 

18 workforce development, national security, and other 

19 priorities; 

20 (2) maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness 

21 requires a robust research foundation, the promotion 

22 of a scientifically literate workforce, and the effective 

23 commercialization of research products; 

24 (3) many research and development initiatives, 

25 due to the long time periods required to achieve 


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1 completion, can benefit from stable and predictable 

2 investments and from multi-year financial planning; 

3 (4) the Federal science agencies should receive 

4 sustained and steady growth in funding for research 

5 and development activities, including basic research, 

6 across a wide range of disciplines, including physical, 

7 geological, and life sciences, mathematics, engineer8 ing, and social, behavioral, and economic sciences; 

9 and 

10 (5) to enhance and maintain the quality and 

11 credibility of Federal research and development 

12 funding decisions, the Federal science agencies 

13 should continue— 

14 (A) to utilize competitive, merit-review 

15 processes in evaluating external proposals for 

16 research and development funding; and 

17 (B) to solicit advice from independent sci18 entific advisory boards and committees rep19 resenting the nation’s geographic diversity. 

20 (b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—Since research and 

21 development activities constitute a national need, it is the 

22 policy of the United States that— 

23 (1) in developing and implementing their re24 search and development strategies, Federal science 

25 agencies should encourage collaboration among inVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 dustry, the Federal Government, academia, and 

2 other public and nonprofit entities; and 

3 (2) research and development funding priorities 

4 of Federal science agencies should be informed by 

5 the independent, expert advice of Federal scientific 

6 advisory committees and boards, within the broader 

7 context of agency mission requirements. 

8 SEC. 102. FEDERAL 5-YEAR STEM EDUCATION STRATEGIC 

9 PLAN. 

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find11 ings: 

12 (1) STEM knowledge and skills are more im13 portant than ever before to jobs throughout the 

14 economy and STEM education is critical to impart15 ing those skills to future workers. 

16 (2) Increasing the number and diversity of stu17 dents trained in STEM fields and retaining STEM 

18 professionals is critical to supporting U.S. competi19 tiveness within a global economy. 

20 (3) STEM literacy, a basic understanding of 

21 STEM concepts and principles, is critical to U.S. 

22 consumers’ evaluation of scientific information and 

23 to informing national, local, and personal decisions 

24 in a range of areas, including healthcare and crimi25 nal justice. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that updates to the Federal 5-year STEM education 

3 strategic plan required by section 101 of the America 

4 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

5 6621), actions to implement the plan and its updates, and 

6 the Federal STEM education investments should— 

7 (1) support the development of a STEM work8 force that is responsive to the needs of industry, 

9 academia, and Federal, State, and local govern10 ments; 

11 (2) leverage and incorporate the expertise of a 

12 broad range of STEM educators and beneficiaries, 

13 including— 

14 (A) public and private sector employers 

15 that rely on an educated STEM workforce; 

16 (B) institutions of higher education; 

17 (C) non-profit STEM education groups 

18 and informal STEM education providers; and 

19 (D) Federal, State, and local agencies in20 volved in STEM education; 

21 (3) seek to optimize Federal STEM education 

22 initiatives and decisions related to the expansion, 

23 consolidation, or reorganization of STEM programs, 

24 and be supported both by program evaluations and 


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1 by careful consideration of each affected program’s 

2 contribution to STEM education; 

3 (4) encourage student exposure to scientists 

4 and engineers by maintaining the role of Federal 

5 science agencies, such as the National Aeronautics 

6 and Space Administration, and STEM professionals 

7 in education and outreach activities; and 

8 (5) support active, collaborative, and inquiry9 based STEM learning approaches that develop cre10 ative thinking and critical analysis skills rather than 

11 solely emphasizing memorization. 

12 (c) COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION AMEND13 MENTS.—Section 101 of the America COMPETES Reau14 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—The Chair17 person of the National Science and Technology Council 

18 Committee on STEM Education shall publish in the Fed19 eral Register notice of any pending draft updates to the 

20 5-year STEM education strategic plan and provide an op21 portunity for public comment on the draft updated plan. 

22 To encourage alignment between the strategic plan and 

23 national STEM needs, the Chairperson shall encourage 

24 comment, in particular, from State and local educational 

25 agencies, informal STEM education groups, nonprofit 


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1 STEM education organizations, STEM-related industries, 

2 and institutions of higher education, including community 

3 colleges. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘com4 munity college’ means an institution of higher education 

5 (as defined under section 101 of the Higher Education 

6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) at which the highest degree 

7 that is predominately awarded to students is an associate’s 

8 degree. 

9 ‘‘(e) INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION.—In updating 

10 and implementing the 5-year STEM education strategic 

11 plan, the National Science and Technology Council Com12 mittee on STEM Education shall develop guidance and 

13 best practices for Federal agencies on incorporating and 

14 encouraging informal STEM education efforts to support 

15 youth and public engagement in STEM fields. 

16 ‘‘(f) STEM CAREER AWARENESS.—In updating and 

17 implementing the 5-year STEM education strategic plan, 

18 the National Science and Technology Council Committee 

19 on STEM Education shall consider Federal cross-agency 

20 efforts to improve awareness of STEM careers among K– 

21 12 students, including among underrepresented and rural 

22 populations.’’. 

23 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS; STEM REORGANIZA24 TION.—It is the sense of Congress that Federal STEM 

25 education programs benefit from the participation and 


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1 leadership of the Federal science agencies and from the 

2 involvement of scientists and engineers in the development 

3 and implementation of STEM curricula. Any reorganiza4 tion of Federal STEM education programs that dimin5 ishes the participation of Federal science agency scientists 

6 or engineers, including in the awarding of STEM-related 

7 education grants, should be avoided. 

8 SEC. 103. ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS IN FEDERALLY SPON9 SORED RESEARCH. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

11 Science and Technology Policy shall convene a sub12 committee on research productivity under the Committee 

13 on Science of the National Science and Technology Coun14 cil, consistent with the Committee’s charter obligation to 

15 increase the productivity of federally sponsored research 

16 efforts. 

17 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The subcommittee shall 

18 consist, at a minimum, of representatives from the 

19 Department of Health and Human Services, the Na20 tional Science Foundation, the Department of De21 fense, the Department of Energy, and the Office of 

22 Management and Budget. 

23 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The subcommittee 

24 shall develop and propose for adoption by the Fed25 eral science agencies, recommendations for reducing 


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1 the costs and administrative burdens associated with 

2 competing for, completing, and reporting on Federal 

3 research grants. The recommendations may include 

4 changes to the requirements, procedures, and docu5 mentation for— 

6 (A) grant proposal submission, such as col7 lecting information only if necessary for merit 

8 review; 

9 (B) conflict of interest reporting; 

10 (C) budget reports, such as by making the 

11 requirements commensurate to the size of the 

12 Federal grant awarded; 

13 (D) annual progress reports, such as by 

14 making the requirements commensurate to the 

15 size of the Federal grant awarded and to the 

16 level of risk; and 

17 (E) meeting the regulations established by 

18 the major Federal research agencies and the 

19 Office of Management and Budget, including 

20 those regulations relating to training, Institu21 tional Review Boards, payroll certification, and 

22 budget auditing. 

23 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The subcommittee shall— 

24 (1) compile and periodically update a list of all 

25 Federal regulations and requirements that apply to 


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1 federally sponsored research and development activi2 ties research grants; 

3 (2) evaluate the Federal regulations and re4 quirements based on criteria such as the severity 

5 and likelihood of the risks addressed and the bene6 fits to safety and research integrity relative to the 

7 costs imposed; 

8 (3) based on the evaluation under paragraph 

9 (2), make recommendations for reducing any costs 

10 or administrative burden imposed by Federal regula11 tions and requirements, including if appropriate— 

12 (A) modifying, repealing, or creating spe13 cific exemptions to the Federal regulations or 

14 requirements; and 

15 (B) harmonizing overlapping or redundant 

16 research regulations or requirements across 

17 Federal science agencies; and 

18 (4) make recommendations for modifying, as 

19 appropriate, Federal regulations and requirements 

20 to improve technology transfer between academia 

21 and industry and to minimize potential regulatory 

22 roadblocks to research commercialization. 

23 (c) CONSULTATION AND STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In 

24 meeting the responsibilities under subsection (b), the sub25 committee shall consult with the National Science Board 


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1 and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and 

2 Technology. The subcommittee shall consider any com3 ments or recommendations from federally funded and non4 federally funded research organizations, including institu5 tions of higher education. 

6 (d) SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the subcommittee 

8 shall report to the appropriate committees of Congress its 

9 recommendations under this section. The report shall in10 clude— 

11 (1) a list of any regulations, requirements, pro12 cedures, or documentation proposed to be har13 monized, streamlined, updated, added, or eliminated; 

14 (2) a proposed plan, including a timeline, for 

15 implementing the recommended changes described in 

16 paragraph (1); and 

17 (3) if necessary, any recommendations for legis18 lative action. 

19 SEC. 104. PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

20 Section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno21 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘may be one’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘may consist of 1’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘com2 petition’’ each place it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘prize competition’’; and 

4 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘prizes’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘prize competitions’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (f)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘publish a notice in the 

8 Federal Register’’ and inserting ‘‘publish a no9 tice on a publicly accessible Federal Govern10 ment website’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘the competition’’ each 

12 place it appears and inserting ‘‘the prize com13 petition’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘prize’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘cash prize purse or non-cash 

16 prize award’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (g)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘win a prize’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘win a cash prize purse or non-cash prize 

20 award’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘com22 petition’’ and inserting ‘‘prize competition’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘competition’’ 

24 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘prize competi25 tion’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (i)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘competition’’ each place it 

3 appears and inserting ‘‘prize competition’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘in amounts determined by 

5 the head of an agency’’ and inserting ‘‘in that 

6 amount’’; and 

7 (C) by inserting ‘‘The head of an agency 

8 administering a prize competition shall deter9 mine the amount of liability insurance, which 

10 may be none or insignificant, required by par11 ticipants in the prize competition.’’ before ‘‘Par12 ticipants shall’’; 

13 (6) in subsection (j)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘competi15 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘prize competition’’; 

16 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(2) LICENSES.—To further the goals of a 

19 prize competition, the Federal Government may— 

20 ‘‘(A) negotiate a license for the use of in21 tellectual property developed by a registered 

22 participant in the prize competition; or 

23 ‘‘(B) require a registered participant in the 

24 prize competition to provide an open source liVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 cense to the public for the use of the registered 

2 participant’s intellectual property.’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(3) CONSENT DURING REGISTRATION.—The 

5 Federal Government may obtain consent to the intel6 lectual property and licensing terms of a prize com7 petition from participants during the registration for 

8 the prize competition.’’; 

9 (7) in subsection (k)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘each 

11 competition’’ each place it appears and insert12 ing ‘‘each prize competition’’; 

13 (B) by striking paragraph (3); 

14 (C) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

15 paragraph (3); 

16 (D) by amending paragraph (3), as redes17 ignated, to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—A judge— 

19 ‘‘(A) may not have personal or financial in20 terests in, or be an employee, an officer, a di21 rector, or an agent of any entity that is a reg22 istered participant in a prize competition; 

23 ‘‘(B) may not have a familial or financial 

24 relationship with an individual who is a reg25 istered participant; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) consistent with the guidelines estab2 lished under paragraph (2), may— 

3 ‘‘(i) be required to abide by a code of 

4 conduct or judging agreement; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) be required to provide financial 

6 disclosures as are relevant to avoiding con7 flicts of interest.’’; and 

8 (E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.—A head of an agency that 

11 carries out a prize competition under this section 

12 shall develop guidelines to ensure that the panel of 

13 judges appointed for the prize competition operates 

14 in a transparent manner, is free of potential con15 flicts of interest, and is fairly balanced as appro16 priate to the task. The guidelines are not required 

17 to necessitate each judge to be a special Government 

18 employee (as defined in section 202 of title 18, 

19 United States Code).’’; 

20 (8) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘an agreement 

21 with a private, nonprofit entity’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

22 contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other 

23 agreement with a private sector for-profit, nonprofit, 

24 or State or local government entity’’; 

25 (9) in subsection (m)— 


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1 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a prize 

4 competition under this section, including providing 

5 financial support for the design and administration 

6 of a prize competition or for funding a cash prize 

7 purse or non-cash prize award, the head of an agen8 cy— 

9 ‘‘(A) may use funds appropriated by Con10 gress; 

11 ‘‘(B) may request and accept funds from 

12 other Federal agencies or from private sector 

13 for-profit or nonprofit entities or State or local 

14 government agencies for such purposes; and 

15 ‘‘(C) may not give special consideration to 

16 any agency or entity in return for such a dona17 tion.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘prize 

19 awards’’ and inserting ‘‘cash prize purses or 

20 non-cash prize awards’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘No prize’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘No prize competition’’; 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘the prize’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘the cash prize purse or 

3 non-cash prize award’’; and 

4 (III) by striking ‘‘private source’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘non-Federal source’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (I) by striking ‘‘a prize’’ and in9 serting ‘‘a cash prize purse or non10 cash prize award’’; 

11 (II) by striking ‘‘the prize’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘the prize competition’’; and 

13 (III) by striking ‘‘private source’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘non-Federal source’’; 

15 and 

16 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

18 ‘‘a prize’’ and inserting ‘‘a cash prize purse 

19 or non-cash prize award’’; and 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

21 ‘‘the award of more than $1,000,000 in 

22 cash prizes’’ and inserting ‘‘the award of 

23 more than $1,000,000 in cash prize 

24 purses’’; 


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1 (10) in subsection (o), by striking ‘‘a prize 

2 under this section’’ and inserting ‘‘a prize competi3 tion under this section’’; and 

4 (11) in subsection (p)— 

5 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘ANNUAL’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘Not later than March 

9 1 of each year,’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later 

10 than 2 years after the date of enactment 

11 of the America COMPETES Reauthoriza12 tion Act of 2014, and biennially there13 after,’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘the preceding fiscal 

15 year’’ and inserting ‘‘the preceding 2 fiscal 

16 years’’; and 

17 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘for a fiscal year’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

20 (I) in the heading, by striking 

21 ‘‘CASH PRIZES’’ and inserting ‘‘CASH

22 PRIZE PURSES’’; and 

23 (II) by striking ‘‘cash prizes’’ 

24 each place it appears and inserting 


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1 ‘‘cash prize purses and non-cash prize 

2 awards’’; 

3 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

4 (F) as subparagraph (G); and 

5 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

6 (E) the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) LIABILITY.—The amount of liability 

8 insurance required by registered participants in 

9 each prize competition and, if the amount is ei10 ther none or insignificant, an explanation for 

11 that determination.’’. 

12 SEC. 105. REPEAL OF SPACE ACT LIMITATION ON PRIZE 

13 COMPETITIONS. 

14 Section 20144(a) of title 51, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘The Administration may carry out 

16 a program to award prizes only in conformity with this 

17 section.’’. 

18 SEC. 106. COORDINATED FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POL19 ICY FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find21 ings: 

22 (1) Family responsibilities have been identified 

23 as a driver in reducing the number of students, in24 cluding minorities, who complete postsecondary de25 grees. 


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1 (2) In particular, starting a family has been 

2 identified as a prominent factor in reducing the 

3 number of women advancing in academic careers in 

4 the sciences. 

5 (3) According to the Council of Economic Advi6 sors, workplace policies that permit greater flexi7 bility, including for activities related to family care, 

8 can improve worker retention and increase produc9 tivity. 

10 (4) To support family caregivers, several Fed11 eral agencies have adopted family-responsive policies, 

12 including through programs such as the National 

13 Science Foundation’s Career-Life Balance Initiative. 

14 (5) Improved coordination among Federal 

15 science agencies and those entities that receive Fed16 eral funding can ensure the consistency of family-re17 sponsive policies. 

18 (b) POLICY EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

20 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall evaluate 

21 ongoing Federal science agency programs and policies re22 garding career-life balance, workplace flexibility, and fam23 ily-responsive initiatives. 

24 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 


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1 Science and Technology Policy shall provide guidance to 

2 Federal science agencies to establish policies that— 

3 (1) as appropriate, consider the needs of sci4 entific, engineering, and technical personnel, includ5 ing postdoctoral fellows, who— 

6 (A) receive Federal funding through intra7 mural or extramural research awards; and 

8 (B) have family caregiving responsibilities; 

9 and 

10 (2) based on the evaluation in subsection (b), 

11 build on proven best practices, taking into consider12 ation— 

13 (A) flexibility in the initiation of approved 

14 research awards; 

15 (B) no-cost extensions or suspensions of 

16 research grants to permit for family caregiving 

17 activities; 

18 (C) grant supplements to sustain research 

19 activities during absences related to family 

20 caregiving; 

21 (D) communications and training efforts 

22 related to family-responsive initiatives; and 

23 (E) evaluating programs and policies with 

24 respect to the recruitment and retention of 

25 STEM professionals. 


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1 (d) EXTERNAL INPUT.—The Director of the Office 

2 of Science and Technology Policy, in developing guidance 

3 under this section, shall consider input from entities re4 ceiving Federal research and development funding as well 

5 as from professional societies and other organizations in6 volved in supporting women and underrepresented groups 

7 in the sciences, as appropriate. 

8 (e) CONSISTENCY IN POLICY.—The Director of the 

9 Office of Science and Technology Policy, in developing 

10 guidance under this section, shall encourage the Federal 

11 science agencies and entities receiving Federal research 

12 and development funding to adopt proven, consistent, and 

13 complementary policies, programs, and best practices re14 garding career-life balance, workplace flexibility, and fam15 ily-responsive initiatives. 

16 SEC. 107. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CONFERENCES. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find18 ings: 

19 (1) Cooperative research and development ac20 tivities, including collaboration between domestic and 

21 international government, industry, and academic 

22 science and engineering organizations, are important 

23 to promoting innovation and knowledge creation. 

24 (2) Scientific and technical conferences and 

25 trade events support the sharing of information, 


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1 processes, and data within the scientific and engi2 neering communities. 

3 (3) In hosting and attending scientific and tech4 nical conferences and trade events, Federal agen5 cies— 

6 (A) gain greater access to top researchers 

7 and to new and potentially transformative 

8 ideas; 

9 (B) keep abreast of developments relevant 

10 to their respective missions, as is relevant for 

11 future program planning; 

12 (C) help disseminate Federal research re13 sults; 

14 (D) provide opportunities both for em15 ployee professional development and for recruit16 ing new employees; 

17 (E) participate in scientific peer review; 

18 and 

19 (F) support the reputation, visibility, and 

20 leadership both of the specific agency and of 

21 the United States. 

22 (4) For those Federal agencies that provide fi23 nancial support for external research and develop24 ment activities, participation in scientific and tech25 nical conferences can help ensure that funds are diVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 rected toward the most promising ideas, thereby 

2 maximizing the Federal investment. 

3 (b) POLICY.—To the extent practicable given budget, 

4 security, and other constraints, each Federal science agen5 cy under this Act should support Federal employee and 

6 contractor attendance at scientific and technical con7 ferences and trade events as relevant both to employee and 

8 contractor duties and to the agency’s mission. 

9 (c) OVERSIGHT.—Consistent with other relevant law, 

10 the Federal agencies, through appropriate oversight, shall 

11 aim to minimize the costs to the Federal Government re12 lated to conference and trade event attendance, through 

13 methods such as— 

14 (1) ensuring that related fees collected by the 

15 Federal agency help offset total costs to the Govern16 ment; 

17 (2) developing or maintaining procedures for in18 vestigating unexpected increases in related costs; 

19 and 

20 (3) strengthening policies and training relevant 

21 to conference and trade event planning and partici22 pation. 


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1 TITLE II—NATIONAL AERO2 NAUTICS AND SPACE ADMIN3 ISTRATION 

4 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

8 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

9 (2) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na10 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

11 SEC. 202. NASA EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that— 

14 (1) NASA is well-positioned to leverage its 

15 workforce and facilities, together with the excitement 

16 induced by space exploration, in providing students 

17 and educators with authentic STEM experiences; 

18 (2) whereas the Nation’s STEM programs have 

19 traditionally focused on mathematics and the 

20 sciences, NASA’s aeronautics and space exploration 

21 mission allows it a unique ability to engage students 

22 in engineering and technology development; and 

23 (3) NASA’s education and outreach programs 

24 have made a significant contribution to the Nation’s 

25 K–12 education efforts. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall continue 

2 to provide education and outreach activities, including op3 portunities for experiential learning, designed to improve 

4 interest and proficiency among students and educators in 

5 mathematics and the sciences, as well as in engineering 

6 and technology development. Before finalizing any reorga7 nization of NASA education programs, the Administrator 

8 shall consider the long-term research and workforce needs 

9 of each mission directorate. 

10 (c) METRICS.—The Administrator shall ensure that 

11 NASA education programs have measurable objectives 

12 and milestones, as well as clear, documented metrics for 

13 evaluating programs. The Administrator, for each NASA 

14 education program or portfolio of similar programs, 

15 shall— 

16 (1) encourage the collection of evidence as rel17 evant to the measurable objectives and milestones; 

18 and 

19 (2) ensure that program or portfolio evaluations 

20 focus on educational outcomes and not just inputs, 

21 activities completed, or the number of participants. 

22 (d) BEST PRACTICES.—The Administrator or the Ad23 ministrator’s designee shall ensure— 


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1 (1) through participation in the National 

2 Science and Technology Council Committee on 

3 STEM Education, that— 

4 (A) best practices developed through 

5 NASA education programs, including proven 

6 methods in areas such as engineering education 

7 and outreach to underrepresented groups, are 

8 considered in the development, updating, and 

9 implementation of the Federal 5-year STEM 

10 education strategic plan; and 

11 (B) NASA education programs reflect best 

12 practices and educational research developed 

13 within other Federal agencies; and 

14 (2) NASA leverages its limited education re15 sources by collaborating with external organizations 

16 in adapting or replicating successful NASA STEM 

17 education efforts. 

18 SEC. 203. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM19 PETITIVE RESEARCH. 

20 The Administrator shall continue to conduct the Ex21 perimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research 

22 (EPSCoR) in order to enhance research competitiveness 

23 of States and jurisdictions historically underserved by 

24 Federal research and development funding. 


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1 SEC. 204. FOUNDATIONAL ENGINEERING. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The Nation’s basic research and 

5 foundational engineering activities support innova6 tion and can provide novel and transformative solu7 tions to complex problems. 

8 (2) NASA investments in basic research, 

9 foundational engineering, and technology develop10 ment have advanced the NASA mission, including 

11 through supporting materials design, modeling, and 

12 manufacturing. 

13 (3) NASA investments in basic research, 

14 foundational engineering, and the development of 

15 early-stage technologies remain critical to NASA’s 

16 long-term mission. 

17 (b) REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.—Congress reaf18 firms its support, as articulated in section 20102 of title 

19 51, United States Code, for NASA’s efforts to expand un20 derstanding in the aeronautical and space sciences and to 

21 identify long-term opportunities relevant to operating in 

22 the atmosphere and in space. Congress further affirms the 

23 importance of technology development in supporting na24 tional leadership in these areas. 

25 (c) FOUNDATIONAL ENGINEERING CAPABILITY.— 

26 The Administrator shall ensure that NASA maintains a 


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1 core capability to identify and support activities related 

2 to foundational engineering. The purpose of this capability 

3 shall be— 

4 (1) to forecast NASA’s future capability needs, 

5 including those needs not directly related to current 

6 missions; 

7 (2) to develop or identify potentially trans8 formative technology concepts relevant to achieving 

9 the needs under paragraph (1); 

10 (3) to determine and implement an agency-wide 

11 strategy, that may include increasing research ca12 pacity and coordinating with external partners, for 

13 supporting research in foundational engineering; and 

14 (4) to support translating basic scientific re15 search into new technology development. 

16 TITLE III—NATIONAL OCEANIC 

17 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS18 TRATION 

19 SEC. 301. NOAA EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

20 Section 4002 of the America COMPETES Act (33 

21 U.S.C. 893a) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

23 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

24 (2) by adding after section (c) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) METRICS.—In executing the NOAA science edu2 cation plan under subsection (c), the Administrator shall 

3 maintain a comprehensive system for evaluating the agen4 cy’s educational programs and activities. In so doing, the 

5 Administrator shall ensure that NOAA education pro6 grams have measurable objectives and milestones as well 

7 clear, documented metrics for evaluating programs. For 

8 each NOAA education program or portfolio of similar pro9 grams, the Administrator shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) encourage the collection of evidence as rel11 evant to the measurable objectives and milestones; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) ensure that program or portfolio evalua14 tions focus on educational outcomes and not just in15 puts, activities completed, or the number of partici16 pants.’’. 

17 TITLE IV—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

18 OF STANDARDS AND TECH19 NOLOGY 

20 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2015.— 

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

23 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

24 $912,672,000 for the National Institute of Stand25 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2015. 


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1 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

2 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) $697,872,000 shall be authorized for 

4 scientific and technical research and services 

5 laboratory activities; 

6 (B) $58,800,000 shall be authorized for 

7 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

8 and 

9 (C) $156,000,000 shall be authorized for 

10 industrial technology services activities, of 

11 which $141,000,000 shall be authorized for the 

12 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

13 program under sections 25 and 26 of the Na14 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k, 278l). 

16 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

18 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

19 $973,659,000 for the National Institute of Stand20 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2016. 

21 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

22 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) $748,119,000 shall be authorized for 

24 scientific and technical research and services 

25 laboratory activities; 


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1 (B) $61,740,000 shall be authorized for 

2 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

3 and 

4 (C) $163,800,000 shall be authorized for 

5 industrial technology services activities, of 

6 which $148,050,000 shall be authorized for the 

7 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

8 program under sections 25 and 26 of the Na9 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

10 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k, 278l). 

11 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

13 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

14 $1,038,800,000 for the National Institute of Stand15 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2017. 

16 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

17 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) $801,983,000 shall be authorized for 

19 scientific and technical research and services 

20 laboratory activities; 

21 (B) $64,827,000 shall be authorized for 

22 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

23 and 

24 (C) $171,990,000 shall be authorized for 

25 industrial technology services activities, of 


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1 which $155,453,000 shall be authorized for the 

2 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

3 program under sections 25 and 26 of the Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

5 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k, 278l). 

6 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2018.— 

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

8 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

9 $1,108,384,000 for the National Institute of Stand10 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2018. 

11 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

12 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) $859,726,000 shall be authorized for 

14 scientific and technical research and services 

15 laboratory activities; 

16 (B) $68,068,000 shall be authorized for 

17 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

18 and 

19 (C) $180,590,000 shall be authorized for 

20 industrial technology services activities, of 

21 which $163,225,000 shall be authorized for the 

22 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

23 program under sections 25 and 26 of the Na24 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

25 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k, 278l). 


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1 (e) FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

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

3 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 

4 $1,182,717,000 for the National Institute of Stand5 ards and Technology for fiscal year 2019. 

6 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

7 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) $921,626,000 shall be authorized for 

9 scientific and technical research and services 

10 laboratory activities; 

11 (B) $71,472,000 shall be authorized for 

12 the construction and maintenance of facilities; 

13 and 

14 (C) $189,619,000 shall be authorized for 

15 industrial technology services activities, of 

16 which $171,386,000 shall be authorized for the 

17 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

18 program under sections 25 and 26 of the Na19 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

20 Act (15 U.S.C. 278k, 278l). 

21 SEC. 402. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 25 of the National Insti23 tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART2 NERSHIP. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

5 Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 

6 shall assist in creating and supporting manufac7 turing extension centers for the transfer of manufac8 turing technology and the dissemination of best busi9 ness practices. 

10 ‘‘(2) AFFILIATION.—The Centers may be affili11 ated with any United States-based public or non12 profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 

13 that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 

14 under this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Hollings 

16 Manufacturing Extension Partnership is to enhance 

17 productivity, competitiveness, and technological per18 formance in U.S. manufacturing through— 

19 ‘‘(A) the demonstration of manufacturing 

20 technologies and techniques, including auto21 mated manufacturing systems and other ad22 vanced production technologies, based on re23 search or development efforts at the Institute; 

24 ‘‘(B) the transfer of technologies and tech25 niques under subparagraph (A) to manufac26 turing companies throughout the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the participation of individuals from 

2 industry, universities, State governments, other 

3 Federal agencies, and, when appropriate, the 

4 Institute in cooperative technology transfer ac5 tivities; 

6 ‘‘(D) efforts to make new manufacturing 

7 technologies and processes usable by United 

8 States-based small- and medium-sized manufac9 turing companies; 

10 ‘‘(E) the active dissemination to industrial 

11 firms, including small- and medium-sized manu12 facturing companies, of scientific, engineering, 

13 technical, and management information about 

14 manufacturing; 

15 ‘‘(F) the use, if appropriate, of the exper16 tise and capabilities of Federal laboratories; 

17 ‘‘(G) the provision to community colleges 

18 of information regarding the job skills needed 

19 in United States-based small- and medium-sized 

20 manufacturing companies in the regions the 

21 community colleges serve; and 

22 ‘‘(H) assisting Federal agencies in achiev23 ing their domestic preference requirements 

24 under chapter 83 of title 41, United States 

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1 and medium-sized manufacturing companies 

2 throughout the United States and providing 

3 those companies with technical assistance in 

4 meeting Federal procurement and acquisition 

5 requirements. 

6 ‘‘(b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

8 financial assistance to any Center, except that the 

9 Secretary may not provide to a Center more than 50 

10 percent of the capital and annual operating and 

11 maintenance funds required to create and maintain 

12 the Center. 

13 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro14 mulgate or revise regulations, as necessary, to imple15 ment this section and review and update the regula16 tions at least once every 5 years to comply with any 

17 applicable change in law that affects the policy or 

18 program goals under this section. The Secretary 

19 may publish in the Federal Register an updated de20 scription of the program establishing the Centers, as 

21 the Secretary considers necessary. 

22 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIRE23 MENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any public or non25 profit institution, including State and local govVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 ernment, or group thereof, or consortia of pub2 lic or nonprofit institutions, may submit to the 

3 Secretary an application for financial assistance 

4 under this subsection, in accordance with the 

5 procedures established by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(B) COST SHARING.—Each applicant 

7 shall provide adequate assurances that non8 Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 

9 the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 

10 used as a funding source to meet not less than 

11 50 percent of the costs incurred. In this sub12 paragraph, the term ‘costs incurred’ means the 

13 costs incurred in connection with the activities 

14 undertaken to improve the management, pro15 ductivity, competitiveness, and technological 

16 performance of small- and medium-sized manu17 facturing companies. 

18 ‘‘(C) PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS.—In 

19 meeting the 50 percent requirement under sub20 paragraph (B), a Center may enter into 1 or 

21 more agreements with 1 or more partnering or22 ganizations, such as private industry, univer23 sities, and State governments, to accomplish 

24 programmatic objectives and access new and ex25 isting resources that will further the impact of 


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1 the Federal investment made on behalf of 

2 small- and medium-sized manufacturing compa3 nies. All non-Federal costs contributed by such 

4 partnering organizations and determined by a 

5 Center as programmatically reasonable and al6 locable under Hollings Manufacturing Exten7 sion Partnership program procedures are in8 cludable as a portion of the Center’s contribu9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(D) LEGAL RIGHTS.—An applicant shall 

11 also submit a proposal for the allocation of the 

12 legal rights associated with any invention which 

13 may result from the proposed Center’s activi14 ties. 

15 ‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The 

16 Secretary shall subject each application under this 

17 subsection to merit review. In making a decision 

18 whether to approve an application and provide finan19 cial assistance under this subsection, the Secretary 

20 shall consider, at a minimum— 

21 ‘‘(A) the merits of the application, particu22 larly those portions of the application regarding 

23 technology transfer, training and education, and 

24 adaptation of manufacturing technologies to the 

25 needs of particular industrial sectors; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the quality of service to be provided; 

2 ‘‘(C) the geographical diversity and extent 

3 of service area; and 

4 ‘‘(D) the percentage of funding and 

5 amount of in-kind commitment from other 

6 sources. 

7 ‘‘(5) CENTER EVALUATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re9 ceives financial assistance under this subsection 

10 shall be evaluated during its third year of oper11 ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 

12 Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each evaluation 

14 panel shall be composed of independent experts, 

15 none of whom shall be connected with the in16 volved Center, and Federal officials. 

17 ‘‘(C) CHAIRPERSON.—An official of the In18 stitute shall chair the evaluation panel. 

19 ‘‘(D) EVALUATION PROCEDURE.—Each 

20 evaluation panel shall measure the involved 

21 Center’s performance against the objective spec22 ified in subsection (a)(3). 

23 ‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval24 uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 


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1 continued funding for Center operation and 

2 maintenance. 

3 ‘‘(F) NEGATIVE EVALUATION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) PROBATION.—The Secretary shall 

5 not provide funding for a Center’s oper6 ation or maintenance beyond its third year 

7 unless the evaluation is positive. If a Cen8 ter does not receive a positive evaluation, 

9 the evaluation panel shall notify the Center 

10 of deficiencies in its performance and the 

11 Center shall be placed on probation for 1 

12 year. 

13 ‘‘(ii) REEVALUATION.—The evaluation 

14 panel shall reevaluate a Center’s perform15 ance following its probationary period. If 

16 the Center has not addressed the defi17 ciencies identified by the evaluation panel 

18 or shown a significant improvement in its 

19 performance, the Director may either con20 duct a competition to select a new operator 

21 for the Center or close the Center. 

22 ‘‘(G) CONTINUATION OF FINANCIAL AS23 SISTANCE.—After the sixth year, a Center may 

24 receive continued financial assistance under this 

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1 tion through an independent review, under pro2 cedures established by the Institute. Such an 

3 independent review shall be required at least 

4 every 2 years after the sixth year of operation. 

5 ‘‘(H) RECOMPETITION.—If a Center has 

6 received financial assistance for 10 years, the 

7 Director shall conduct a new competition to se8 lect an operator for the Center. Current center 

9 operators in good standing with the Institute 

10 shall be eligible to compete. 

11 ‘‘(6) CENTER OVERSIGHT BOARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re13 ceives financial assistance under this subsection 

14 shall establish an oversight board that is broad15 ly representative of regional stakeholders with a 

16 majority of board members drawn from local 

17 small- and medium-sized manufacturing compa18 nies. 

19 ‘‘(B) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.—Each 

20 oversight board under subparagraph (A) shall 

21 establish responsibility for the Center’s finan22 cial management and designate a chief financial 

23 officer. External entities may advise on, but not 

24 exclusively manage, Center finances. 


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1 ‘‘(C) BYLAWS AND CONFLICT OF INTER2 EST.—Each oversight board under subpara3 graph (A) shall adopt and submit to the Direc4 tor bylaws to govern the operation of the board, 

5 including a conflict of interest policy to ensure 

6 relevant relationships are disclosed and proper 

7 recusal procedures are in place. 

8 ‘‘(D) LIMITATIONS.—Board members may 

9 not— 

10 ‘‘(i) serve as a vendor or provide serv11 ices to the Center; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) serve on more than 1 Center’s 

13 oversight board simultaneously. 

14 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMA15 TION.—The Secretary shall ensure that the following 

16 are not publically disclosed: 

17 ‘‘(A) Confidential information on the busi18 ness operations of— 

19 ‘‘(i) any participant in a program 

20 under the Hollings Manufacturing Exten21 sion Partnership; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) any client of a Center. 

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

24 of a Center. 


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1 ‘‘(8) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap2 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 

3 unless inconsistent with this section, to the pro4 motion of technology from research by Centers 

5 under this section except for contracts for such spe6 cific technology extension or transfer services as may 

7 be specified by statute or by the Director. 

8 ‘‘(c) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 

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

10 as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc11 tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

12 Partnership program, the Secretary and Director 

13 may accept, for the purpose of strengthening U.S. 

14 manufacturing, funds from other Federal depart15 ments and agencies, and under section 2(c)(7) of 

16 this Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)(7)) from the private sec17 tor. 

18 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGEN20 CIES.—The Director shall determine whether 

21 funds accepted from other Federal departments 

22 or agencies shall be counted in the calculation 

23 of the Federal share of capital and annual oper24 ating and maintenance costs under subsection 

25 (b). 


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1 ‘‘(B) PRIVATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted 

2 from the private sector under section 2(c)(7) of 

3 this Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)(7)), if allocated to 

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

6 of this section. 

7 ‘‘(d) MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP

8 ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

10 within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 

11 Partnership 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 be on a Center ad18 visory board, and at least 5 other members 

19 shall be from United States-based small busi20 nesses in the manufacturing sector. No member 

21 shall be an employee of the Federal Govern22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub24 paragraph (C), the term of office of each memVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 ber 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 the member’s prede6 cessor was appointed shall be appointed for the 

7 remainder of such term. 

8 ‘‘(D) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.— 

9 Any individual who has completed 2 consecutive 

10 full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 

11 Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint12 ment during the 1-year period following the ex13 piration of the second such term. 

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

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) meet not less than biannually; and 

17 ‘‘(B) provide to the Director— 

18 ‘‘(i) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 

19 Extension Partnership programs, plans, 

20 and policies; 

21 ‘‘(ii) assessments of the soundness of 

22 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Part23 nership plans and strategies; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) assessments of current perform2 ance against Hollings Manufacturing Ex3 tension Partnership program plans. 

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

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du6 ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 

7 Board shall function solely in an advisory ca8 pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

9 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed11 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 

12 14) shall not apply to the MEP Advisory 

13 Board. 

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

15 transmit an annual report to the Secretary for 

16 transmittal to Congress not later than 30 days after 

17 the submission to Congress of the President’s an18 nual budget request in each year. In the annual re19 port, the MEP Advisory Board shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) address the status of the Hollings 

21 Manufacturing Extension Partnership program; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) comment on the relevant sections of 

24 the programmatic planning document and up25 dates thereto transmitted to Congress by the 


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1 Director under subsections (c) and (d) of sec2 tion 23 of this Act (15 U.S.C. 278i). 

3 ‘‘(e) COMPETITIVE AWARDS PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es5 tablish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Exten6 sion Partnership program under this section and 

7 under section 26 of this Act (15 U.S.C. 278l), a pro8 gram of competitive awards among participants de9 scribed in paragraph (2) of this subsection for the 

10 purpose described in paragraph (3) of this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS.—Participants receiving 

13 awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 

14 a consortium of such Centers. 

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

16 under this subsection shall be to add capabilities to 

17 the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

18 program, including the development of projects to 

19 solve new or emerging manufacturing problems as 

20 determined by the Director, in consultation with the 

21 Director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

22 Partnership program, the MEP Advisory Board, and 

23 representatives of small- and medium-sized manufac24 turing companies. 


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1 ‘‘(4) COMPETITIVE AWARDS THEMES.—The Di2 rector may identify 1 or more themes for the com3 petitive awards under this subsection. The themes 

4 may— 

5 ‘‘(A) be related to projects designed to in6 crease the viability both of traditional manufac7 turing sectors and other sectors, such as con8 struction, that increasingly rely on manufac9 turing through the use of manufactured compo10 nents and manufacturing techniques, including 

11 supply chain integration and quality manage12 ment; 

13 ‘‘(B) be related to projects related to the 

14 transfer of technology based on the techno15 logical needs of manufacturers and available 

16 technologies from institutions of higher edu17 cation, laboratories, and other technology pro18 ducing entities; 

19 ‘‘(C) extend beyond these traditional areas 

20 to include projects related to construction in21 dustry modernization; and 

22 ‘‘(D) vary from year to year, depending on 

23 the needs of manufacturers and the success of 

24 previous competitions. 


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1 ‘‘(5) REIMBURSEMENTS.—The Centers may be 

2 reimbursed for costs incurred under the program 

3 under this subsection. 

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

5 under this subsection shall be submitted in such 

6 manner and at such time, and contain such informa7 tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 

8 with the MEP Advisory Board. 

9 ‘‘(7) SELECTION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Awards under this 

11 subsection shall be peer reviewed and competi12 tively awarded. The Director shall endeavor to 

13 have broad geographic diversity among selected 

14 proposals. The Director may select proposals to 

15 receive awards to— 

16 ‘‘(i) create jobs or train newly hired 

17 employees; 

18 ‘‘(ii) promote technology transfer and 

19 commercialization of environmentally fo20 cused materials, products, and processes; 

21 ‘‘(iii) increase energy efficiency; or 

22 ‘‘(iv) improve the competitiveness of 

23 industries in the region in which the Cen24 ter or Centers are located. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

2 The Director may select proposals to receive 

3 awards that— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the region in which the Center 

5 or Centers are located, will encourage 

6 greater cooperation and foster partnerships 

7 with similar Federal, State, and locally 

8 funded programs to encourage energy effi9 ciency and building technology; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) will collect data and analyze the 

11 increasing connection between manufac12 tured products and manufacturing tech13 niques, the future of construction prac14 tices, and the emerging application of 

15 products from the green energy industries. 

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

17 awards under this subsection shall not be required 

18 to provide a matching contribution. 

19 ‘‘(9) GLOBAL MARKETPLACE PROJECTS.—In se20 lecting proposals to receive awards under this sub21 section, the Director, in consultation with the Sec22 retary and the MEP Advisory Board, may— 

23 ‘‘(A) take into consideration whether an 

24 application has significant potential for enhanc25 ing the competitiveness of United States-based 


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1 small- and medium-sized manufacturing compa2 nies in the global marketplace; and 

3 ‘‘(B) give a preference to any application 

4 described under subparagraph (A) to the extent 

5 the Director considers appropriate, taking into 

6 account the purpose under paragraph (3). 

7 ‘‘(10) DURATION.—Awards under this sub8 section shall last no longer than 3 years. 

9 ‘‘(11) PERMISSIBLE USES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A participant under 

11 paragraph (2) may use an award under this 

12 subsection to assist— 

13 ‘‘(i) United States-based small- or me14 dium-sized construction companies; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) United States-based manufac16 turing companies eligible to participate in 

17 the Centers program under subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENTS.—A participant 

19 under paragraph (2) may be reimbursed under 

20 the program under this subsection for the costs 

21 incurred in working with the companies de22 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(12) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 In addition to any amounts otherwise authorized or 

25 appropriated to carry out this section, there are auVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com2 merce $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years au3 thorized in this Act. 

4 ‘‘(f) INNOVATIVE SERVICES INITIATIVE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall estab6 lish, within the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 

7 Partnership program under this section, an innova8 tive services initiative to assist United States-based 

9 small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies 

10 in— 

11 ‘‘(A) reducing their energy usage, green12 house gas emissions, and environmental waste 

13 to improve profitability; 

14 ‘‘(B) accelerating the domestic commer15 cialization of new product technologies, includ16 ing components for renewable energy and en17 ergy efficiency systems; and 

18 ‘‘(C) identifying and diversifying to new 

19 markets, including support for transitioning to 

20 the production of components for renewable en21 ergy and energy efficiency systems. 

22 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM UNDER THIS SECTION.—The 

24 term ‘program under this section’ means the HolVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program 

2 established by this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ means a 

4 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Center estab5 lished under subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘(3) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘MEP 

7 Advisory Board’ means the Manufacturing Exten8 sion Partnership Advisory Board established under 

9 subsection (d). 

10 ‘‘(4) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com11 munity college’ means an institution of higher edu12 cation (as defined under section 101 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) at which 

14 the highest degree that is predominately awarded to 

15 students is an associate’s degree. 

16 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION OF OBSTACLES UNIQUE TO

17 UNITED STATES-BASED SMALL-SIZED MANUFACTURING

18 COMPANIES.—The Director shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) identify and evaluate obstacles that are 

20 unique to United States-based small-sized manufac21 turing companies and that prevent the companies 

22 from effectively competing in the global market; 

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

24 the Centers to address the obstacles under para25 graph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(3) facilitate improved communication between 

2 the Centers to assist the companies described in 

3 paragraph (1) in implementing appropriate, targeted 

4 solutions to the obstacles under paragraph (1).’’. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) ARMED FORCES; SUPPORT OF SCIENCE, 

7 MATHEMATICS, AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION.— 

8 Section 2199 of title 10, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘means a regional center for 

10 the transfer of manufacturing technology referred to 

11 in section 25(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘means a center for 

12 the transfer of manufacturing technology and the 

13 dissemination of best business practices referred to 

14 in section 25’’. 

15 (2) ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION INITIATIVE.— 

16 Section 3(a) of the Enterprise Integration Act of 

17 2002 (15 U.S.C. 278g–5(a)) is amended by inserting 

18 ‘‘Hollings’’ before ‘‘Manufacturing Extension Part19 nership program’’. 

20 SEC. 403. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

21 The National Institutes of Standards and Technology 

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking section 18 (15 U.S.C. 278g–1); 

24 (2) by striking section 19 (15 U.S.C. 278g–2); 


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1 (3) by striking section 19A (15 U.S.C. 278g– 

2 2a); and 

3 (4) by inserting after section 17 (15 U.S.C. 

4 278g) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 18. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in furthering the 

7 Institute’s mission, is authorized to expend appropriated 

8 funds to support, promote, and coordinate education and 

9 outreach efforts to enhance the awareness and under10 standing of measurement sciences, standards, and tech11 nology among the general public, industry, and academia. 

12 ‘‘(b) BROADENING PARTICIPATION.—In evaluating 

13 an application for any fellowship under this section, the 

14 Director shall consider the goal of promoting the partici15 pation of underrepresented minorities in research areas 

16 supported by the Institute. 

17 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS AND OTHER ASSIST18 ANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director is authorized 

20 to expend funds appropriated for activities of the In21 stitute in any fiscal year, as the Director considers 

22 necessary, for awards of research fellowships and 

23 other financial and logistical assistance to— 

24 ‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu25 cation within the United States who show 


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1 promise as present or future contributors to the 

2 mission of the Institute; and 

3 ‘‘(B) U.S. citizens for research and tech4 nical activities of the Institute, including pro5 grams. 

6 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Director shall select re7 cipients for fellowships and assistance based on the 

8 potential recipient’s ability to complete the proposed 

9 work and on the relevance of the proposed work to 

10 the mission and programs of the Institute. 

11 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU13 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu14 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec15 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

16 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

17 ‘‘(B) OTHER FINANCIAL AND LOGISTICAL

18 ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘other financial and 

19 logistical assistance’ includes— 

20 ‘‘(i) direct stipend awards; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding section 1345 of 

22 title 31, United States Code or any other 

23 contrary provision of law, temporary hous24 ing and transportation to and from the In25 stitute facilities. 


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1 ‘‘(d) MANUFACTURING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To promote the devel3 opment of a robust research community working at 

4 the leading edge of manufacturing sciences, the Di5 rector shall establish a program to award— 

6 ‘‘(A) postdoctoral research fellowships at 

7 the Institute for research activities related to 

8 manufacturing sciences; and 

9 ‘‘(B) senior research fellowships to estab10 lished researchers in industry or at institutions 

11 of higher education who wish to pursue studies 

12 related to the manufacturing sciences at the In13 stitute. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for an 

15 award under this subsection, an individual shall sub16 mit an application to the Director at such time, in 

17 such manner, and containing such information as 

18 the Director may require. 

19 ‘‘(3) STIPEND LEVELS.—The Director shall 

20 provide stipends for postdoctoral research fellow21 ships at a level consistent with the postdoctoral re22 search fellowship program under subsection (e), and 

23 senior research fellowships at levels consistent with 

24 support for a faculty member in a sabbatical posi25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(e) POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—The 

2 Director, in consultation with the National Academy of 

3 Sciences, shall establish and conduct a postdoctoral fellow4 ship program. The postdoctoral fellowship program shall 

5 include not less than 20 new fellows per fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(f) TEACHER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EN7 HANCEMENT INSTITUTE PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

9 within the Institute a teacher science and technology 

10 enhancement program to provide for professional de11 velopment of STEM teachers at elementary, middle, 

12 and secondary schools (as those terms are defined by 

13 the Director), including helping to increase the 

14 teachers’ understanding of STEM and the impacts 

15 of STEM on commerce. 

16 ‘‘(2) FOCUS.—In carrying out the program 

17 under this subsection, the Director shall focus on the 

18 following areas: 

19 ‘‘(A) Scientific measurements. 

20 ‘‘(B) Tests and standards development. 

21 ‘‘(C) Industrial competitiveness and qual22 ity. 

23 ‘‘(D) Manufacturing. 

24 ‘‘(E) Engineering design. 

25 ‘‘(F) Technology transfer. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Any other area of expertise of the In2 stitute that the Director considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) SELECTION.—The Director shall develop 

4 and issue procedures and selection criteria for par5 ticipants in the program under this subsection. The 

6 Director shall give special consideration to an appli7 cation from a teacher from a high-need school (as 

8 defined in section 200 of the Higher Education Act 

9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021)). 

10 ‘‘(4) TIMING.—The program under this sub11 section shall be conducted on an annual basis during 

12 the period of time when a majority of elementary, 

13 middle, and secondary schools have not commenced 

14 a school year, such as the months of June, July, or 

15 August. 

16 ‘‘(5) EQUIPMENT.—The program under this 

17 subsection shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) provide for teachers’ participation in 

19 activities at the laboratory facilities of the Insti20 tute; or 

21 ‘‘(B) utilize other means of accomplishing 

22 the goals of the program, as the Director con23 siders appropriate, such as the Internet, video 

24 conferencing and recording, and workshops and 

25 conferences.’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH2 NOLOGY FOUNDATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, act4 ing through the Director, may establish or enter into an 

5 agreement with a nonprofit organization to establish a Na6 tional Institute of Standards and Technology Foundation. 

7 The Foundation shall not be an agency or instrumentality 

8 of the United States Government. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Foundation shall 

10 be to support the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology in its mission. 

12 (c) ACTIVITIES.—Activities of the Foundation may 

13 include the solicitation and acceptance of funds— 

14 (1) to support international metrology and 

15 standards engagement activities; 

16 (2) to conduct education and outreach activi17 ties; and 

18 (3) to offer direct support to NIST associates, 

19 including through activities such as the provision of 

20 fellowships, grants, and occupational safety and 

21 awareness training. 

22 (d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director may au23 thorize, under the agreement under subsection (a), the 

24 transfer of funds from the National Institute of Standards 

25 and Technology to the nonprofit organization to offset any 

26 administrative costs of the Foundation. 


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1 (e) LIABILITY.—The United States shall not be liable 

2 for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the Founda3 tion. The full faith and credit of the United States shall 

4 not extend to any obligations of the Foundation. 

5 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

7 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards 

8 and Technology. 

9 (2) NIST ASSOCIATE.—The term ‘‘NIST asso10 ciate’’ means any guest researcher, research asso11 ciate, facility user, or volunteer who conducts re12 search at a National Institute of Standards and 

13 Technology facility, but is not an employee of the 

14 National Institute of Standards and Technology or 

15 of another Federal department or agency. 

16 SEC. 405. IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES. 

17 Subsection 2(c) of the National Institute of Stand18 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (18) through 

20 (22) as paragraphs (19) through (23), respectively; 

21 and 

22 (2) by adding after paragraph (17) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(18) host, participate in, and support scientific 

25 and technical conferences, and collect and retain 


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1 conference fees for the payment of related expenses, 

2 including, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 

3 United States Code, subsistence expenses;’’. 

4 SEC. 406. STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT. 

5 Subsection 2(b) of the National Institute of Stand6 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(b)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘is authorized to serve as the President’s principal 

10 advisor on standards pertaining to the Nation’s in11 novation and technological competitiveness and to’’; 

12 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(3) to compare standards used in scientific in15 vestigation, engineering, manufacturing, commerce, 

16 industry, and education with the standards adopted 

17 or recognized by the Federal Government;’’; 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(3A) to facilitate standards-related informa21 tion sharing and cooperation between Federal agen22 cies and to coordinate the use by Federal agencies 

23 of private sector standards, emphasizing if possible 

24 the use of standards developed by private, consensus 

25 organizations;’’; 


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1 (4) by amending paragraph (13) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(13) to coordinate the technical standards and 

4 conformity assessment activities of Federal, State, 

5 and local governments with those of the private sec6 tor, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary dupli7 cation and complexity in the development and pro8 mulgation of conformity assessment requirements 

9 and measures;’’; and 

10 (5) by renumbering paragraphs (3A) through 

11 (13) as paragraphs (4) through (14), respectively. 

12 SEC. 407. VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECH13 NOLOGY. 

14 Section 10(a) of the National Institute of Standards 

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

16 (1) by striking ‘‘15’’ and inserting ‘‘not fewer 

17 than 9’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘at least 10’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

19 majority’’. 

20 SEC. 408. GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

21 Section 8 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno22 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706) is amended by 

23 amending subsection (a) to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

25 and enter into cooperative agreements according to the 


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1 provisions of this section in order to assist any activity 

2 consistent with this Act, including activities performed by 

3 individuals.’’. 

4 SEC. 409. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION. 

5 Section 4 of the Federal Emergency Management Im6 provement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 5001) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Commerce’’ each 

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Consumer Product 

9 Safety Commission’’; and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it ap11 pears and inserting ‘‘Consumer Product Safety 

12 Commission’’. 

13 TITLE V—SCIENCE, TECH14 NOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 

15 MATHEMATICS SUPPORT 

16 PROGRAMS 

17 Subtitle A—National Science 

18 Foundation 

19 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this subtitle: 

21 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

22 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

23 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

24 means the National Science Foundation. 


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1 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

5 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means 1 of the 

6 several States, the District of Columbia, the Com7 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

8 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

9 Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or 

10 possession of the United States. 

11 SEC. 502. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2015.— 

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

14 appropriated to the Foundation $7,649,310,000 for 

15 fiscal year 2015. 

16 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

17 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) $6,227,160,000 shall be authorized for 

19 research and related activities; 

20 (B) $888,825,000 shall be authorized for 

21 education and human resources; 

22 (C) $201,000,000 shall be authorized for 

23 major research equipment and facilities con24 struction; 


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1 (D) $312,900,000 shall be authorized for 

2 agency operations and award management; 

3 (E) $4,515,000 shall be authorized for the 

4 Office of the National Science Board; and 

5 (F) $14,910,000 shall be authorized for 

6 the Office of Inspector General. 

7 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2016.— 

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

9 appropriated to the Foundation $8,157,724,000 for 

10 fiscal year 2016. 

11 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

12 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) $6,675,516,000 shall be authorized for 

14 research and related activities; 

15 (B) $933,266,000 shall be authorized for 

16 education and human resources; 

17 (C) $200,000,000 shall be authorized for 

18 major research equipment and facilities con19 struction; 

20 (D) $328,545,000 shall be authorized for 

21 agency operations and award management; 

22 (E) $4,741,000 shall be authorized for the 

23 Office of the National Science Board; and 

24 (F) $15,656,000 shall be authorized for 

25 the Office of Inspector General. 


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1 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2017.— 

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

3 appropriated to the Foundation $8,702,471,000 for 

4 fiscal year 2017. 

5 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

6 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) $7,156,153,000 shall be authorized for 

8 research and related activities; 

9 (B) $979,930,000 shall be authorized for 

10 education and human resources; 

11 (C) $200,000,000 shall be authorized for 

12 major research equipment and facilities con13 struction; 

14 (D) $344,972,000 shall be authorized for 

15 agency operations and award management; 

16 (E) $4,978,000 shall be authorized for the 

17 Office of the National Science Board; and 

18 (F) $16,438,000 shall be authorized for 

19 the Office of Inspector General. 

20 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2018.— 

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

22 appropriated to the Foundation $9,285,030,000 for 

23 fiscal year 2018. 

24 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

25 authorized by paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) $7,671,396,000 shall be authorized for 

2 research and related activities; 

3 (B) $1,028,926,000 shall be authorized for 

4 education and human resources; 

5 (C) $200,000,000 shall be authorized for 

6 major research equipment and facilities con7 struction; 

8 (D) $362,221,000 shall be authorized for 

9 agency operations and award management; 

10 (E) $5,227,000 shall be authorized for the 

11 Office of the National Science Board; and 

12 (F) $17,260,000 shall be authorized for 

13 the Office of Inspector General. 

14 (e) FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 

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

16 appropriated to the Foundation $9,908,051,000 for 

17 fiscal year 2019. 

18 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 

19 authorized by paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) $8,223,736,000 shall be authorized for 

21 research and related activities; 

22 (B) $1,080,372,000 shall be authorized for 

23 education and human resources; 


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1 (C) $200,000,000 shall be authorized for 

2 major research equipment and facilities con3 struction; 

4 (D) $380,332,000 shall be authorized for 

5 agency operations and award management; 

6 (E) $5,488,000 shall be authorized for the 

7 Office of the National Science Board; and 

8 (F) $18,123,000 shall be authorized for 

9 the Office of Inspector General. 

10 SEC. 503. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NATIONAL SCIENCE 

11 FOUNDATION BASIC RESEARCH INVEST12 MENTS. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

14 (1) basic research investments support eco15 nomic development and national security by— 

16 (A) creating a base of scientific knowledge 

17 and understanding critical to innovation and to 

18 the creation of new industries and jobs; 

19 (B) training and attracting a community 

20 of scientific and engineering experts; and 

21 (C) enabling technological advances that 

22 can respond to intractable or unexpected soci23 etal or security challenges; 

24 (2) established by Congress in 1950, the Foun25 dation supports basic research activities in a wide 


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1 range of fields, including the mathematical, physical, 

2 biological, geological, and social sciences, as well as 

3 in fundamental engineering; 

4 (3) the Foundation’s basic research investments 

5 have provided novel solutions to societal challenges 

6 and created the scientific and engineering knowledge 

7 important to commercial successes in areas such as 

8 fiber optics, DNA fingerprinting, barcode readers, 

9 and Internet browsers; 

10 (4) the Foundation’s investments in social, be11 havioral, and economic research have addressed chal12 lenges, including— 

13 (A) in medicine, matching organ donors to 

14 patients, leading to a dramatic growth in paired 

15 kidney transplants; 

16 (B) in policing, implementing predictive 

17 models that help to yield significant reductions 

18 in crime; 

19 (C) in resource allocation, developing the 

20 theories underlying the Federal Communica21 tions Commission spectrum auction, which has 

22 generated over $60,000,000,000 in revenue; 

23 (D) in disaster preparation and recovery, 

24 identifying barriers to effective disaster evacu25 ation strategies; 


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1 (E) in national defense, assisting U.S. 

2 troops in cross-cultural communication and in 

3 identifying threats; and 

4 (F) in areas such as economics, education, 

5 cybersecurity, transportation, and the national 

6 defense, supporting informed decisionmaking in 

7 foreign and domestic policy; 

8 (5) through its research support, the Founda9 tion has proven critical to the development of the 

10 Nation’s scientific and engineering workforce; 

11 (6) having recognized the benefits of research 

12 investments to their economies and workforce, the 

13 Nation’s economic competitors have vastly increased 

14 their research efforts; and 

15 (7) the economic benefits related to basic re16 search investments tend to accrue within the region 

17 where the research is conducted. 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that— 

20 (1) basic research investments across a wide 

21 range of disciplines are crucial to the Foundation’s 

22 mission and essential to the scientific progress of the 

23 Nation; 

24 (2) the Foundation’s basic research investments 

25 continue to support long-term national economic 


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1 competitiveness by expanding the potential for prac2 tical innovations in science and technology and by 

3 attracting and training a knowledgeable workforce; 

4 (3) the private sector’s emphasis on investments 

5 in late applied research and product development 

6 relative to international competitors highlights the 

7 Foundation’s critical role in funding for basic and 

8 early applied research; and 

9 (4) if the United States is to remain innovative 

10 and globally competitive, the Foundation must con11 tinue to meet its legislative mandate through— 

12 (A) robust support for basic research 

13 across a wide range of science and engineering 

14 fields, including the social, behavioral, and eco15 nomic sciences; 

16 (B) continued support for engagement be17 tween scientists, particularly through scientific 

18 conferences; and 

19 (C) funding for the education and training 

20 of the U.S. scientific and technical workforce. 

21 SEC. 504. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION MERIT REVIEW. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) the Foundation’s Intellectual Merit and 

25 Broader Impacts criteria remain appropriate for 


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1 evaluating grant proposals, as concluded by the 

2 2011 National Science Board Task Force on Merit 

3 Review; 

4 (2) evaluating proposals on the basis of the 

5 Foundation’s Intellectual Merit and Broader Im6 pacts criteria assures that— 

7 (A) proposals funded by the Foundation 

8 are of high quality and advance scientific 

9 knowledge; and 

10 (B) the Foundation’s overall funding port11 folio addresses societal needs through research 

12 findings or through related activities; and 

13 (3) as evidenced by the Foundation’s contribu14 tions to scientific advancement, economic develop15 ment, human health, and national security, its peer 

16 review and merit review processes have successfully 

17 identified and funded scientifically and societally rel18 evant research and must be preserved. 

19 (b) CRITERIA.—The Foundation shall maintain the 

20 Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts criteria as the 

21 basis for evaluating grant proposals in the merit review 

22 process. 

23 (c) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 


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1 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con2 gress a report detailing— 

3 (A) steps taken to improve the merit-re4 view process, the justification for any changes, 

5 and the effect of these steps on funding recipi6 ents; 

7 (B) recent efforts by the Foundation to 

8 improve transparency and accountability in the 

9 merit-review process; and 

10 (C) efforts to better understand and ad11 dress implicit bias in the merit-review process. 

12 (2) CHANGES.—The Director shall update and 

13 resubmit the report under paragraph (1) if there are 

14 any changes to the merit-review criteria. 

15 SEC. 505. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION STEM EDU16 CATION PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION AND RE17 SEARCH DISSEMINATION. 

18 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find19 ings: 

20 (1) The Foundation’s Directorate for Education 

21 and Human Resources, in collaboration, where ap22 propriate, with other Foundation directorates, sup23 ports STEM education by— 

24 (A) funding research into student learning, 

25 to include learning in informal environments; 


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1 (B) supporting programs to improve peda2 gogy and to increase the participation of under3 represented groups in the STEM workforce; 

4 (C) providing financial support for stu5 dents pursuing STEM degrees and encouraging 

6 students to become STEM educators; and 

7 (D) promoting the adoption of validated 

8 teaching practices and encouraging broad 

9 STEM literacy. 

10 (2) External evaluations of the Foundation’s 

11 education programs demonstrate that the education 

12 programs produce more highly qualified teachers, in13 crease interest in STEM careers and in higher edu14 cation, broaden the participation of underrep15 resented minorities in STEM fields, and support the 

16 development of the STEM workforce. 

17 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

18 that— 

19 (1) the Foundation should maintain robust in20 vestments in STEM education at all levels, in teach21 er education, and in identifying and adapting prom22 ising STEM learning projects for broader use; and 

23 (2) the Foundation’s educational initiatives 

24 should— 


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1 (A) develop, evaluate, and promote new or 

2 transformative approaches to STEM education 

3 both inside and outside of the classroom; 

4 (B) balance support for research into edu5 cation, with transforming promising research 

6 into innovative educational approaches, tools, 

7 and programs, and with disseminating peda8 gogical best practices; and 

9 (C) consider the needs of the educational 

10 community, including academia, informal edu11 cational providers, and non-profit, industry, and 

12 local, State, and Federal education agencies. 

13 (c) EVALUATION.—The Director shall ensure that the 

14 Foundation’s education programs have measurable objec15 tives and clear, documented metrics for evaluating pro16 grams. The Director, for each education program or port17 folio of similar programs, shall— 

18 (1) include measurable objectives and mile19 stones within program solicitations; 

20 (2) encourage the collection of evidence as rel21 evant to the measurable objectives and milestones in 

22 paragraph (1); 

23 (3) engage external evaluators, which may in24 clude Foundation-funded researchers, in evaluating 

25 the program or portfolio against the objectives and 


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1 milestones in paragraph (1) and not just the inputs 

2 or activities completed; and 

3 (4) wherever relevant, conduct longitudinal or 

4 comparison group studies. 

5 (d) BEST PRACTICES.—The Director shall support 

6 activities to disseminate and catalyze the adoption of evi7 dence-based best practices in STEM education content 

8 and pedagogy. In conducting these activities, the Director, 

9 at a minimum, shall— 

10 (1) identify those best practices that have been 

11 validated through peer-reviewed research efforts; 

12 (2) establish collaborations with organizations 

13 involved in teacher training, to include other Federal 

14 science agencies, professional associations, institu15 tions of higher education, and private sector entities, 

16 including informal education providers, as appro17 priate; and 

18 (3) through collaboration with organizations in19 volved in teacher training, transmit best practice in20 formation to educators. 

21 (e) PROGRAM SCALING GRANTS.—The Director shall 

22 incentivize and support the widespread adoption of evi23 dence-based education practices and initiatives. 

24 (1) AWARDS.—Grants under this subsection 

25 shall be competitively awarded to propagate and imVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 plement practices that improve student learning and 

2 increase participation and retention in STEM fields. 

3 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—The following organizations 

4 may be eligible for grants under this subsection: 

5 (A) Institutions of higher education. 

6 (B) State, local, and nonprofit educational 

7 organizations. 

8 (C) Other educational groups as identified 

9 by the Director. 

10 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities supported by 

11 grants under this subsection may include— 

12 (A) expanding promising education 

13 projects and initiatives; and 

14 (B) supporting professional development or 

15 community outreach efforts, as required to en16 courage a commitment to educational reforms. 

17 SEC. 506. STEM TEACHER TRAINING. 

18 (a) REAFFIRMATION.—Congress reaffirms its sup19 port, as expressed in the America COMPETES Act (Pub20 lic Law 110–69; 121 Stat. 572) and the America COM21 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 

22 358; 124 Stat. 3982), for developing, implementing, and 

23 replicating programs at institutions of higher education to 

24 recruit and prepare STEM educators. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to fur2 ther encourage the development, implementation, and 

3 adoption of projects to recruit, prepare, and provide for 

4 the training and professional development of STEM edu5 cators. The projects may be established, administered, or 

6 conducted in cooperation with institutions of higher edu7 cation, public, nonprofit, or professional groups, and Fed8 eral, State, or local entities involved in education. 

9 (c) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide grants 

10 to fund projects, including workshops, in order to provide 

11 teacher training and professional development for current 

12 and potential K–12 STEM educators. 

13 (d) AREAS OF FOCUS.—In carrying out this section, 

14 the Director shall focus on— 

15 (1) synthesizing the results of the Foundation’s 

16 efforts in the training and professional development 

17 of STEM educators; 

18 (2) disseminating evidence-based content, peda19 gogy, tools, and best practices, as supported by 

20 Foundation-sponsored education research, in areas 

21 including active STEM education; 

22 (3) assisting teachers in integrating evidence23 based content, pedagogy, tools, and best practices 

24 into student instruction; and 


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1 (4) increasing teacher comfort with teaching 

2 scientific concepts and engineering practices, as well 

3 as with inquiry-based learning methods. 

4 (e) FEDERAL COORDINATION.—The Director, 

5 through collaboration with the National Science and Tech6 nology Council Committee on Science, Technology, Engi7 neering, and Math Education, shall ensure that Federal 

8 support for teacher training and professional development 

9 activities under this section are coordinated across Federal 

10 science agencies and jointly supported, as appropriate. 

11 (f) COLLABORATION.—Funded workshops and teach12 er training activities may occur in collaboration with in13 dustry, professional associations, nonprofit organizations, 

14 and institutions of higher education, including community 

15 colleges. Potential collaborations may include— 

16 (1) professional development activities that fa17 cilitate teacher access to academic, government, and 

18 industry STEM professionals; 

19 (2) establishing or expanding projects designed 

20 to recruit and train STEM educators; and 

21 (3) industry, organization, or State or local 

22 agency co-funding for teacher professional develop23 ment activities. 

24 (g) REPORT.—The Director shall include, in the 

25 Foundation annual budget report to Congress, a summary 


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1 of teacher training projects funded by the Foundation dur2 ing the previous fiscal year and the needs addressed by 

3 each funded project. 

4 SEC. 507. ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

7 (1) the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Pro8 gram supports the development and dissemination of 

9 evidence-based teacher preparation models and the 

10 recruitment, preparation, and retention of STEM 

11 educators; 

12 (2) as a result of awards granted between fiscal 

13 years 2002 and 2013, the Robert Noyce Teacher 

14 Scholarship Program will support over 12,000 new 

15 math and science teachers, including in high-need 

16 districts; and 

17 (3) independent evaluation suggests that the 

18 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program im19 proves recruitment of underrepresented and STEM20 trained students into teaching, encourages teachers 

21 to work in high-need areas, and can improve rela22 tionships between teacher preparation programs and 

23 industry. 

24 (b) RETENTION.—Section 10 of the National Science 

25 Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n– 


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1 1) is amended by amending subsection (k) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(k) STEM TEACHER SERVICE AND RETENTION.— 

4 The Director shall develop and implement practices for in5 creasing the retention of STEM teachers funded under 

6 this section in high-need districts, including rural areas. 

7 Potential actions may include— 

8 ‘‘(1) conducting research to better understand 

9 factors relevant to teacher retention; 

10 ‘‘(2) increasing the recruitment from high-need 

11 districts; 

12 ‘‘(3) partnering with nonprofit or professional 

13 associations to provide teachers funded under this 

14 section with more opportunities for professional de15 velopment and mentorship; 

16 ‘‘(4) establishing a system to better collect, 

17 track, and respond to data on the career decisions 

18 of teachers funded under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(5) conducting pilot programs to improve 

20 teacher retention.’’. 

21 (c) EXPANSION.—Section 10 of the National Science 

22 Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n– 

23 1) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(m) EXPANSION.—The Director shall encourage the 

2 expansion of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Pro3 gram by— 

4 ‘‘(1) actively recruiting participation among and 

5 providing proposal drafting assistance to institutions 

6 of higher education that do not grant doctoral de7 grees, including associate-degree granting institu8 tions and community colleges; 

9 ‘‘(2) encouraging a broad geographic distribu10 tion of funding recipients under this section through 

11 increased outreach to geographic regions that have 

12 been traditionally underfunded by the Robert Noyce 

13 Teacher Scholarship Program, relative to other re14 gions; and 

15 ‘‘(3) soliciting grant proposals that incorporate 

16 technology into teacher training, including the devel17 opment of distance learning techniques to support 

18 teacher training in rural areas.’’. 

19 SEC. 508. EARLY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTU20 NITIES. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

22 (1) fewer than 40 percent of students who enter 

23 college intending to pursue a STEM degree complete 

24 a STEM degree; 


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1 (2) evaluations of the Foundation’s Research 

2 Experiences for Undergraduates Program, which en3 gages undergraduate students in research activities, 

4 suggest that research experiences increase partici5 pant awareness, confidence, and interest in research 

6 fields; and 

7 (3) providing research experiences, particularly 

8 during the first 2 years of undergraduate education, 

9 improves both persistence and performance in 

10 STEM fields. 

11 (b) GRANT AWARDS.—The Director shall support in12 novation in early undergraduate education, with a focus 

13 on students in the first 2 years of undergraduate STEM 

14 education. Potential awards may include grants to institu15 tions— 

16 (1) to facilitate the expanded participation of 

17 first or second year undergraduate students at re18 search sites designated by the Director to provide re19 search experiences for undergraduate students under 

20 section 514 of the America COMPETES Reauthor21 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–6) if the re22 quirements under paragraphs (1) through (6) of 

23 subsection (a) of that section are met; and 

24 (2) to implement innovative research and engi25 neering design courses, including those focusing on 


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1 mentorship or discovery-based learning, for first or 

2 second year undergraduate students. 

3 SEC. 509. INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (h) and (j), 

5 the Director shall maintain a grant program to support 

6 STEM learning activities in informal educational settings. 

7 The purpose of the grant program shall be to improve 

8 STEM engagement and outcomes, including among stu9 dents in kindergarten through twelfth grade. 

10 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section may 

11 support— 

12 (1) research to identify best practices in infor13 mal STEM learning; 

14 (2) designing, developing, implementing, evalu15 ating, or expanding innovative or promising informal 

16 STEM learning activities, tools, or models; 

17 (3) implementing, expanding, or evaluating evi18 dence-based informal STEM learning activities that 

19 promote STEM education; 

20 (4) developing communities of practice in infor21 mal STEM learning; 

22 (5) improving the STEM and educational ex23 pertise of informal STEM educators; and 

24 (6) creating a national network of institutions 

25 involved in informal STEM learning. 


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1 (c) NATIONAL NETWORK.—The Director shall award, 

2 in supporting the national network under subsection (b), 

3 grants to foster partnerships between institutions involved 

4 in informal science learning, institutions of higher edu5 cation, and education research centers. Funded activities 

6 may include developing, adapting, and making available 

7 informal STEM education activities and educational mate8 rials for broad implementation. 

9 (d) KINDERGARTEN THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE INI10 TIATIVE FOR UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.—Within the 

11 grant program established under subsection (a), the Direc12 tor shall support an initiative to engage underrepresented 

13 students in kindergarten through the eighth grade in in14 formal STEM education activities. Activities funded 

15 through the initiative may include— 

16 (1) exposing underrepresented students to role 

17 models and near-peer mentors in the STEM fields; 

18 (2) providing for underrepresented students to 

19 attend STEM-related events, competitions, and pro20 grams; 

21 (3) providing information regarding STEM ca22 reer opportunities to underrepresented students and 

23 their parents; 


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1 (4) training informal educators in the use of 

2 evidence-based methods for engaging underrep3 resented students in STEM; 

4 (5) engaging girls in STEM, including through 

5 single-gender learning environments and hands-on, 

6 inquiry-based learning programs; and 

7 (6) any other activities described under sub8 section (b) that the Director considers relevant to 

9 underrepresented students. 

10 (e) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants under this section shall be 

11 competitively awarded to organizations that provide infor12 mal STEM education activities to students in kinder13 garten through the twelfth grade, such as— 

14 (1) State, local, and nonprofit or nongovern15 mental educational organizations; 

16 (2) institutions of higher education; 

17 (3) other education-oriented organizations, as 

18 identified by the Director; and 

19 (4) consortia of any institutions or organiza20 tions listed in paragraphs (1) through (3). 

21 (f) APPLICATIONS.—An application for funding 

22 under this section shall be submitted at such time and 

23 in such manner and contain such information as the Di24 rector considers necessary. An application shall include, 

25 at a minimum— 


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1 (1) a description of the student population to be 

2 served by the activity; 

3 (2) a description of the process for attracting, 

4 recruiting, or selecting student participants; 

5 (3) a description of how funded activities would 

6 support research into engaging students, including 

7 underrepresented students, in STEM and into pro8 moting their academic achievement; 

9 (4) an evaluation plan consistent with the re10 quirements under subsection (g); 

11 (5) a description of the applicant’s experience 

12 and expertise in providing informal education activi13 ties; and 

14 (6) if an application is relevant to the initiative 

15 in subsection (d), a description of the applicant’s ex16 perience and expertise in increasing the participation 

17 of underrepresented students in STEM. 

18 (g) EVALUATIONS.—The Director shall require each 

19 grant recipient under this section to submit an evaluation 

20 at the conclusion of each fiscal year during which funds 

21 are received under this section. The evaluation shall— 

22 (1) include both formative and summative eval23 uations of the funded activity, using methods appro24 priate to the programs; 

25 (2) be in a form prescribed by the Director; and 


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1 (3) be submitted to the Director. 

2 (h) RESEARCH IMPACTS.—Each grant under this sec3 tion shall be relevant to research on student engagement 

4 in STEM fields. In ensuring that grants help identify, de5 velop, implement, or propagate best practices in informal 

6 STEM education, the Director may establish, as nec7 essary, additional reporting requirements for a grant re8 cipient under this section. 

9 (i) BROADER IMPACTS.—The Director may encour10 age all Foundation research grant recipients, in satisfying 

11 the Foundation’s Broader Impacts criterion, to dedicate 

12 a portion of awarded funds to public engagement activities 

13 conducted through sustained collaboration with an infor14 mal STEM education organization or initiative. 

15 (j) LIMITATIONS.—A grant under this section may 

16 not be used for construction of infrastructure. 

17 (k) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

18 Director shall consult with other relevant Federal agen19 cies, and cooperate and coordinate with those Federal 

20 agencies, as necessary, to avoid duplication with the pro21 grams and policies of those Federal agencies. 

22 (l) ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISSEMINATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

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1 tent practicable, identify any research outputs, best 

2 practices, and materials developed or demonstrated. 

3 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the date the evaluation is complete, the Director 

5 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con6 gress and make widely available to the public a re7 port that includes— 

8 (A) the results of the evaluation; and 

9 (B) any recommendations for improving 

10 informal STEM education, STEM engagement, 

11 and STEM education outcomes among students 

12 in kindergarten through twelfth grade. 

13 SEC. 510. BROADENING PARTICIPATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall invest in 

15 broadening the participation of underrepresented groups, 

16 including minorities, women, and students from rural 

17 areas, in STEM fields. Investments shall include competi18 tively awarded grants— 

19 (1) to support institutions of higher education 

20 in providing academic and social support for under21 represented groups; 

22 (2) to facilitate student research activities; 

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1 try, and minority-serving institutions (as described 

2 in section 371 of title III of the Higher Education 

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))), including com4 munity colleges; 

5 (4) to promote activities to improve, among 

6 parents and students in underrepresented groups, 

7 awareness of educational and career opportunities in 

8 STEM fields; 

9 (5) to conduct data collection and research ac10 tivities relevant to recruitment, retention, instruc11 tion, and curriculum development in STEM fields; 

12 and 

13 (6) to expand those projects that broaden the 

14 participation of underrepresented groups in STEM 

15 fields. 

16 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants to broaden the partici17 pation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields shall 

18 support activities such as— 

19 (1) mentoring programs that partner STEM 

20 professionals with students; 

21 (2) internships for undergraduate and graduate 

22 students in STEM; 

23 (3) outreach programs that provide elementary 

24 and secondary school students with exposure to 

25 STEM fields; and 


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1 (4) additional programs as the Director may 

2 determine. 

3 (c) EVALUATION.—The Director, for each broadening 

4 participation program or portfolio of programs, shall— 

5 (1) identify and include measurable objectives 

6 and milestones in each program’s solicitation; 

7 (2) encourage the collection of quantitative data 

8 as relevant to the measurable objectives and mile9 stones under paragraph (1); 

10 (3) engage external analysts in evaluating the 

11 program or portfolio against the objectives and mile12 stones under paragraph (1); 

13 (4) ensure that program or portfolio evaluations 

14 focus on the educational outcomes and not just the 

15 inputs, activities completed, or number of partici16 pants; and 

17 (5) whenever relevant, conduct longitudinal or 

18 comparison group studies. 

19 SEC. 511. PRIZES AND CHALLENGES FOR BROADENING 

20 PARTICIPATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to encourage the partici22 pation of underrepresented students in STEM fields, the 

23 Director may establish a prize or challenge under the 

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1 lic Law 111–358; 124 Stat. 3982) or under any other pro2 vision of law, as appropriate. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of a prize or challenge 

4 under this section, among other possible purposes, may 

5 be— 

6 (1) to recognize institutions of higher education 

7 that have achieved sustained improvements in the 

8 recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of 

9 underrepresented students in STEM fields; 

10 (2) to encourage innovation by institutions of 

11 higher education in improving the recruitment, re12 tention, and graduation rates of underrepresented 

13 students in STEM fields; 

14 (3) to develop, identify, and broadly distribute 

15 best practices in the recruitment, retention, and 

16 graduation rates of underrepresented students in 

17 STEM fields; or 

18 (4) to address other issues related to the par19 ticipation of underrepresented groups in the STEM 

20 fields, as the Director considers necessary. 

21 (c) SELECTION.—Each prize award made under this 

22 section shall be determined based on proven outcomes for 

23 underrepresented students in STEM fields, as dem24 onstrated through rigorous, data-driven evaluation. 


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1 SEC. 512. COMMERCIALIZATION GRANTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall continue to 

3 award grants to promote the translation of Foundation4 sponsored research discoveries into the marketplace. 

5 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Commercialization grants 

6 awarded under this section may be used to fund activities 

7 such as— 

8 (1) identifying Foundation-sponsored research 

9 and technologies that have the potential for acceler10 ated commercialization; 

11 (2) supporting prior or current Foundation12 sponsored investigators in developing early-stage 

13 proofs-of-concept and prototypes of technologies that 

14 are derived from Foundation-sponsored research and 

15 have potential market value; 

16 (3) promoting sustainable partnerships between 

17 Foundation-funded institutions, industry, and other 

18 organizations within academia and the private sector 

19 with the purpose of accelerating technology transfer; 

20 (4) developing multi-disciplinary innovation eco21 systems which involve and are responsive to specific 

22 needs of academia and industry; and 

23 (5) providing professional development, men24 toring, and advice in entrepreneurship, project man25 agement, and technology and business development 

26 to innovators. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following organizations 

3 may be eligible for grants under this section: 

4 (A) Institutions of higher education. 

5 (B) Public technology transfer organiza6 tions. 

7 (C) Nonprofit technology transfer organi8 zations. 

9 (D) A consortia of 2 or more of the organi10 zations described under subparagraphs (A) 

11 through (C). 

12 (2) LEAD ORGANIZATIONS.—Any eligible orga13 nization under paragraph (1) may apply as a lead 

14 organization. 

15 (d) APPLICATIONS.—An organization seeking a grant 

16 under this section shall be required to meet such require17 ments and to submit an application to the Director at such 

18 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

19 the Director may require. The Director shall— 

20 (1) solicit applications from Foundation grants 

21 recipients who have developed technologies with the 

22 potential for commercialization; and 

23 (2) seek from Foundation offices and divisions 

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1 sored research with clear potential for commer2 cialization within a 3- to 10-year period. 

3 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall— 

5 (1) report to the appropriate committees of 

6 Congress on the impact of commercialization grants 

7 described under subsections (a) and (b); and 

8 (2) make recommendations on whether and how 

9 a technology commercialization mechanism could be 

10 adopted by other Federal science agencies. 

11 SEC. 513. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INNOVATION 

12 CORPS. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find14 ings: 

15 (1) The National Science Foundation Innova16 tion Corps (referred to in this section as the ‘‘I17 Corps’’) was established to foster a national innova18 tion ecosystem by encouraging institutions, sci19 entists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to identify and 

20 explore the potential of Foundation-funded research 

21 well beyond the laboratory. 

22 (2) Through I-Corps, the Foundation invests in 

23 entrepreneurship and commercialization education, 

24 training, and mentoring that can ultimately lead to 

25 the practical deployment of technologies, products, 


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1 processes, and services that improve the Nation’s 

2 competitiveness and benefit society. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that, in order to promote a strong, lasting founda5 tion for the American innovation ecosystem, I-Corps 

6 should continue to build a network of entrepreneurs, edu7 cators, mentors, and institutions and support specialized 

8 education and training. 

9 (c) EXPANSION OF I-CORPS AND SIMILAR PRO10 GRAMS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall encour12 age the development and expansion of I-Corps and 

13 of other training programs that focus on graduate 

14 student professional development, including edu15 cation in product commercialization and entrepre16 neurship. To facilitate this development and expan17 sion, the Director may establish agreements with 

18 other Federal agencies that fund scientific research 

19 and development to allow researchers funded by 

20 those agencies to participate in the I-Corps program. 

21 (2) TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRADUATE EDU22 CATION.—Sections 527(b) of the America COM23 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

24 1862p–15(b)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking paragraphs (6) and (7); 

2 and 

3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(6) development and implementation of semi6 nars, workshops, and other professional development 

7 activities that increase the ability of graduate stu8 dents to engage in innovation, technology transfer, 

9 research commercialization, and entrepreneurship; 

10 ‘‘(7) development and implementation of semi11 nars, workshops, and other professional development 

12 activities that increase the ability of graduate stu13 dents to effectively communicate their research find14 ings to technical audiences outside of their own dis15 cipline and to nontechnical audiences, including po16 tential commercial partners and investors;’’. 

17 SEC. 514. GRADUATE TRAINEESHIP GRANT PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall estab20 lish a grant program to incentivize the establishment, im21 provement, or expansion of qualifying traineeship pro22 grams for graduate students. 

23 (b) AWARDS TO ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award a 

25 grant under this section, in an amount determined 


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1 by the Director, to an eligible institution for the es2 tablishment, improvement, or expansion of a quali3 fying traineeship program. 

4 (2) PARTNERSHIP.—An eligible institution may 

5 partner with 1 or more nonprofit education or re6 search organizations, including scientific and engi7 neering societies, for the purposes of carrying out 

8 the activities authorized under this section. 

9 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant to an eligible in10 stitution may be used— 

11 (A) to provide up to 5 years of student 

12 support to trainees, including stipends, tuition 

13 and fees, education allowances, and support for 

14 ancillary needs; and 

15 (B) to fund permissible activities. 

16 (4) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Activities sup17 ported by grants to eligible institutions under this 

18 section may include— 

19 (A) designing curricula that combine edu20 cational content with professional skill develop21 ment relevant to a diversity of career pathways; 

22 (B) advancing a multi-disciplinary focus 

23 that applies advanced knowledge to problem 

24 solving in multiple areas; 


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1 (C) providing opportunities for graduate 

2 students to gain teamwork, oral communication, 

3 planning and project management, writing, 

4 presentation, and entrepreneurial skills; 

5 (D) creating advisory committees of em6 ployers to provide input and expertise in design7 ing or modifying graduate education programs; 

8 (E) providing graduate students with re9 sources and guidance for a variety of career 

10 pathways; and 

11 (F) implementing an accountability and re12 porting system which tracks enrollment, com13 pletion rates, and job placement information for 

14 the trainees supported under the traineeship 

15 program. 

16 (5) NON-FEDERAL MATCHING.—An eligible in17 stitution receiving funding under this section for the 

18 establishment, improvement, or expansion of a quali19 fying traineeship program may be required to con20 tribute non-Federal funds to the effort in an amount 

21 that is significant and specified by the Director. 

22 (c) AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS.—The Director may 

23 award a grant under this section to a Foundation-sup24 ported principal investigator, graduate student, or post25 doctoral fellow, in an amount determined by the Director, 


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1 to support professional skills development through partici2 pation in a qualifying traineeship program. 

3 (d) MERIT REVIEW.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each grant awarded under 

5 this section shall be provided on a competitive, 

6 merit-reviewed basis. 

7 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting an eligible 

8 institution to receive a grant under subsection (b), 

9 the Director shall consider at a minimum— 

10 (A) the likelihood of success in under11 taking the proposed effort at the eligible insti12 tution submitting the application; 

13 (B) the evidence of long-term organiza14 tional support for the existing or proposed 

15 traineeship program; and 

16 (C) the inclusion of plans for the assess17 ment of the existing or proposed traineeship 

18 program and for the dissemination of best prac19 tices. 

20 (e) EVALUATION.—The Director shall evaluate the 

21 traineeship grant program established under this section 

22 not later than 6 years after the date the program is estab23 lished. At a minimum, the Director shall evaluate the ex24 tent to which the program has achieved the objective of 

25 supporting career development among graduate students. 


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1 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi3 ble institution’’ means an institution of higher edu4 cation. 

5 (2) QUALIFYING TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM.—The 

6 term ‘‘qualifying traineeship program’’ means a 

7 traineeship program designed— 

8 (A) to provide graduate students with ca9 reer experience related to the graduate stu10 dents’ fields of study; 

11 (B) to increase the relevance of academic 

12 preparation to national workforce needs, includ13 ing the needs of industry or Federal, State, or 

14 local government; 

15 (C) to support education and experience in 

16 entrepreneurship and commercialization; and 

17 (D) to provide for tuition and fees and 

18 such stipends and allowances, including travel 

19 and subsistence expenses and dependency allow20 ances, for the trainees as the Director considers 

21 necessary. 


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1 SEC. 515. THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE 

2 COMPETITIVE RESEARCH. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 517(a) of the America COM4 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p– 

5 9(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘The National’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘the National’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘education,’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘education’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘with 27 

12 States and 2 jurisdictions, taken together, receiving 

13 only about 10 percent of all NSF research funding’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘with 28 States and 3 jurisdictions, 

15 taken together, receiving only about 12 percent of all 

16 National Science Foundation research funding’’; 

17 (3) by striking paragraph (3); and 

18 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(3) first established at the National Science 

21 Foundation in 1979, the Experimental Program to 

22 Stimulate Competitive Research (referred to in this 

23 section as ‘EPSCoR’) assists States and jurisdic24 tions historically underserved by Federal research 

25 and development funding in strengthening their re26 search and innovation capabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the EPSCoR structure requires each par2 ticipating State to develop a science and technology 

3 plan suited to State and local research, education, 

4 and economic interests and objectives; 

5 ‘‘(5) EPSCoR has been credited with advancing 

6 the research competitiveness of participating States, 

7 improving awareness of science, promoting policies 

8 that link scientific investment and economic growth, 

9 and encouraging partnerships between government, 

10 industry, and academia; 

11 ‘‘(6) EPSCoR proposals are evaluated through 

12 rigorous and competitive merit-review processes to 

13 ensure that awarded research and development ef14 forts meet high scientific standards; and 

15 ‘‘(7) according to the National Academy of 

16 Sciences, EPSCoR has strengthened the national re17 search infrastructure and enhanced the educational 

18 opportunities needed to develop the science and engi19 neering workforce.’’. 

20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress 

22 that— 

23 (A) since maintaining the Nation’s sci24 entific and economic leadership requires the 

25 participation of talented individuals nationwide, 


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1 EPSCoR investments into State research and 

2 education capacities are in the Federal interest 

3 and should be sustained; and 

4 (B) EPSCoR should maintain its experi5 mental component by supporting innovative 

6 methods for improving research capacity and 

7 competitiveness. 

8 (2) DEFINITION OF EPSCOR.—In this sub9 section, the term ‘‘EPSCoR’’ has the meaning given 

10 the term in section 502 of the America COMPETES 

11 Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p 

12 note). 

13 (c) CONTINUATION OF EPSCOR.—Section 517(b) of 

14 the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–9(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(b) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.—The Director 

17 shall continue to carry out EPSCoR, with the objective 

18 of helping the eligible States to develop the research infra19 structure that will make them more competitive for Foun20 dation research funding. The program shall continue to 

21 increase at least as the National Science Foundation fund22 ing increases.’’. 

23 (d) AWARD STRUCTURE STUDY.—Section 517 of the 

24 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 1862p–9) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(g) AWARD STRUCTURE PLAN.—In implementing 

4 its mandate to maximize the impact of Federal EPSCoR 

5 support on building competitive research infrastructure, 

6 and based on the inputs and recommendations of previous 

7 EPSCoR reviews, the EPSCoR Interagency Coordinating 

8 Committee shall develop a plan that, at a minimum— 

9 ‘‘(1) considers modifications to EPSCoR pro10 posal solicitation, award type, and project evalua11 tion— 

12 ‘‘(A) to better reflect current agency prior13 ities; 

14 ‘‘(B) to focus EPSCoR funding on achiev15 ing critical scientific, infrastructure, and edu16 cational needs of participating agencies and ju17 risdictions; 

18 ‘‘(C) to encourage collaboration between 

19 EPSCoR-eligible institutions and researchers, 

20 including with institutions and researchers in 

21 other States and jurisdictions; 

22 ‘‘(D) to improve communication between 

23 State and Federal agency proposal reviewers; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(E) to continue to reduce administrative 

2 burdens associated with EPSCoR; 

3 ‘‘(2) considers modifications to EPSCoR award 

4 structures— 

5 ‘‘(A) to emphasize long-term investments 

6 in building research capacity, potentially 

7 through the use of larger, renewable funding 

8 opportunities; and 

9 ‘‘(B) to allow participating agencies, 

10 States, and jurisdictions to experiment with 

11 new research and development funding models; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(3) considers modifications to the mechanisms 

14 used to monitor and evaluate EPSCoR awards— 

15 ‘‘(A) to increase collaboration between 

16 EPSCoR-funded researchers and agency staff, 

17 including by providing opportunities for men18 toring young researchers and for the use of 

19 Federal facilities; 

20 ‘‘(B) to identify and disseminate best prac21 tices; and 

22 ‘‘(C) to harmonize metrics across partici23 pating agencies, as appropriate.’’. 

24 (e) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS.—Section 517 of 

2 the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

3 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–9), as amended, is further 

4 amended— 

5 (A) by striking subsection (c); 

6 (B) by redesignating subsections (d) 

7 through (g) as subsections (c) through (f), re8 spectively; and 

9 (C) by amending subsection (d), as redes10 ignated, to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL AGENCY REPORTS.—Each Federal 

12 agency that administers an EPSCoR program, as part of 

13 its Federal budget submission, shall submit to the appro14 priate committees of Congress— 

15 ‘‘(1) a description of the program strategy and 

16 objectives; 

17 ‘‘(2) a description of the awards made in the 

18 previous fiscal year, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) the total amount made available, by 

20 State, under EPSCoR; 

21 ‘‘(B) if applicable, the amount of co-fund22 ing made available to each EPSCoR State; 

23 ‘‘(C) the total amount of agency funding 

24 made available to all institutions and entities 

25 within each EPSCoR State; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the efforts and accomplishments to 

2 more fully integrate the EPSCoR States in 

3 major agency activities and initiatives; 

4 ‘‘(E) the percentage of reviewers and num5 ber of new reviewers from EPSCoR States; 

6 ‘‘(F) the percentage of new investigators 

7 from EPSCoR States; and 

8 ‘‘(G) the number of programs or large col9 laborator awards involving a partnership of or10 ganizations and institutions from EPSCoR and 

11 non-EPSCoR States; and 

12 ‘‘(3) an analysis of the gains in academic re13 search quality and competitiveness, and in science 

14 and technology human resource development, 

15 achieved by the program over the last 5 fiscal 

16 years.’’. 

17 (2) RESULTS OF AWARD STRUCTURE PLAN.—In 

18 its first annual report after the date of enactment of 

19 this Act, the EPSCoR Interagency Coordinating 

20 Committee shall submit to the appropriate commit21 tees of Congress the results of the plan under 517(f) 

22 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

23 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–9(f)). 

24 (f) DEFINITION OF EPSCOR.—Section 502 of the 

25 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 1862p note) is amended by amending paragraph 

2 (2) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(2) EPSCOR.—The term ‘EPSCoR’ means— 

4 ‘‘(A) the Experimental Program to Stimu5 late Competitive Research; or 

6 ‘‘(B) a program similar to the Experi7 mental Program to Stimulate Competitive Re8 search at another Federal agency.’’. 

9 SEC. 516. ASSESSING NATIONAL K–12 SCIENCE AND ENGI10 NEERING PROFICIENCY. 

11 (a) METRICS.—The National Science Board shall as12 sess, for inclusion in the biennial report to the President 

13 and Congress under section 4(j) of the National Science 

14 Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863(j)), potential 

15 metrics for evaluating science and engineering comprehen16 sion for grades K–12. In conducting its assessment, the 

17 National Science Board shall consider including metrics 

18 that— 

19 (1) assess student understanding of science and 

20 engineering practices and their application to real21 world situations; 

22 (2) address student comprehension of core 

23 science and engineering principles; 

24 (3) emphasize student engagement in and expo25 sure to science and engineering practices; and 


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1 (4) measure student ability to develop and use 

2 science and engineering knowledge. 

3 (b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting its assessment, 

4 the National Science Board shall consult Federal, State, 

5 local, and private sector experts and draw upon available 

6 studies relevant to science and engineering education and 

7 assessment. 

8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the National Science Board shall 

10 transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re11 port detailing potential methodologies for assessing trends 

12 in national science and engineering proficiency for grades 

13 K–12. At a minimum, the report shall include— 

14 (1) a detailed list of recommended metrics for 

15 evaluating science and engineering proficiency; 

16 (2) an assessment of any potential costs and 

17 challenges in assessing science and engineering pro18 ficiency nationally; and 

19 (3) a recommendation on how best, if at all, to 

20 integrate the science and engineering proficiency 

21 metrics into the report required under section 4(j) of 

22 the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 

23 U.S.C. 1863(j)). 


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1 SEC. 517. INTEGRATIVE GRADUATE EDUCATION AND RE2 SEARCH TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM. 

3 Section 510(b) of the America COMPETES Reau4 thorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1869 note) is amended 

5 to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b) EQUAL TREATMENT OF IGERT AND GRF.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RATE OF FUNDING INCREASE.—Beginning 

8 in the first fiscal year after the date of enactment 

9 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

10 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Director 

11 may only increase funding for the Foundation’s 

12 Graduate Research Fellowship program (or any suc13 cessor thereto), relative to the previous fiscal year’s 

14 funding level, at the same rate as a corresponding 

15 funding increase to the Foundation’s Integrative 

16 Graduate Education and Research Traineeship pro17 gram (or any successor thereto). 

18 ‘‘(2) ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF IGERT.—The 

19 essential elements of the Foundation’s Integrative 

20 Graduate Education and Research Traineeship pro21 gram (or any successor thereto) shall be maintained, 

22 including— 

23 ‘‘(A) collaborative research that transcends 

24 traditional disciplinary boundaries to solve large 

25 and complex research problems of significant 

26 scientific and societal importance; 


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1 ‘‘(B) providing students the opportunity to 

2 become leaders in the science and engineering 

3 of the future; and 

4 ‘‘(C) that U.S. academic institutions in the 

5 United States, its territories, or possessions 

6 that grant a Ph.D. degree in science, tech7 nology, engineering, or mathematics are eligible 

8 to be lead institutions.’’. 

9 SEC. 518. STEM EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS. 

10 Section 9 of the National Science Foundation Au11 thorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n) is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MATH13 EMATICS AND SCIENCE’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘mathematics and science’’ 

16 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘mathematics or science’’ 

18 each place it appears in and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘mathematics, science, and 

20 technology’’ each place it appears and inserting 

21 ‘‘STEM’’; 

22 (D) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking 

23 ‘‘mathematics, science, or engineering’’ and in24 serting ‘‘STEM’’; 

25 (E) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

2 ‘‘professional mathematicians, scientists, 

3 and engineers’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM pro4 fessionals’’; 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (J), by striking 

6 ‘‘mathematicians, scientists, and engi7 neers’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM profes8 sionals’’; 

9 (iii) in subparagraph (K), by striking 

10 ‘‘science, technology, engineering, and 

11 mathematics’’ each place it appears and in12 serting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

13 (iv) in subparagraph (M), by striking 

14 ‘‘mathematicians, scientists, and engi15 neers’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM profes16 sionals’’; 

17 (F) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘SCIENCE’’ in the 

19 heading and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘science, mathematics, 

21 engineering, and technology’’ each place it 

22 appears and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

23 (iii) by striking ‘‘science, mathe24 matics, engineering, or technology’’ and in25 serting ‘‘STEM’’; 


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1 (G) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘sci2 entists, technologists, engineers, or mathemati3 cians’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM professionals’’; 

4 and 

5 (H) in paragraph (10)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘science, technology, 

7 engineering, and mathematics’’ each place 

8 it appears and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), by 

10 striking ‘‘science, technology, engineering, 

11 or mathematics’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘mathematics and science’’ 

14 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; 

15 (B) in paragraphs (1)(B)(iv), by striking 

16 ‘‘mathematics, science, engineering, and tech17 nology’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

18 (C) in paragraph (2)(G), by striking 

19 ‘‘mathematics, science, engineering, and tech20 nology’’ and inserting ‘‘STEM’’; and 

21 (4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) STEM.—The term ‘STEM’ means science, 

2 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

3 computing and computer science. 

4 ‘‘(2) STEM TEACHER.—The term ‘STEM 

5 teacher’ means a science, technology, engineering, 

6 mathematics, or computing teacher at the elemen7 tary school or secondary school level. 

8 ‘‘(3) SCIENCE.—In the context of elementary 

9 and secondary education, the term ‘science’ includes 

10 technology and pre-engineering.’’. 

11 Subtitle B—STEM Secondary 

12 Schools 

13 SEC. 521. REPORT ON STEM SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

14 (a) DATABASE.—The Secretary of Education, in co15 ordination with the Director of the National Science Foun16 dation, shall develop a database to identify existing STEM 

17 secondary schools. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in 

20 coordination with the Director of the National Science 

21 Foundation, shall submit a report to Congress with rec22 ommendations on how to replicate existing successful 

23 STEM secondary schools. 


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1 SEC. 522. FUNDING FOR STEM SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

2 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to in3 crease the number of STEM secondary schools in the 

4 United States. 

5 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, 

7 in coordination with the Director of the National 

8 Science Foundation, shall award grants, on a com9 petitive basis, to State educational agencies to en10 able the State educational agencies to carry out the 

11 purpose of this section by establishing or expanding 

12 STEM secondary schools. 

13 (2) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec14 retary of Education shall award grants under this 

15 section in a manner that ensures geographic diver16 sity, including awarding grants to State educational 

17 agencies serving rural areas. 

18 (c) APPLICATION.—A State educational agency desir19 ing to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

20 application to the Secretary of Education at such time, 

21 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

22 Secretary may require. 

23 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A State educational agency re24 ceiving funds under this section shall use such funds to 

25 award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to local edu26 cational agencies in the State to enable the local eduVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00121 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2757.IS S2757

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1 cational agencies to establish and maintain new STEM 

2 secondary schools, which may include repurposing an ex3 isting secondary school to become a STEM secondary 

4 school. 

5 TITLE VI—INNOVATION 

6 Subtitle A—Innovation Ecosystems 

7 SEC. 611. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

8 (a) LOAN GUARANTEES FOR SCIENCE PARK INFRA9 STRUCTURE.—Section 27(d) of the Stevenson-Wydler 

10 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722(d)) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

15 the Secretary may guarantee 1 or more loans for 

16 projects for the construction or expansion, including 

17 renovation and modernization, of science park infra18 structure. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) TYPE.—In guaranteeing a loan under 

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary may only guar22 antee 1 of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) Payment of up to 80 percent of 

24 the loan principal. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Not more than 3 years of debt 

2 service payments on the loan. 

3 ‘‘(B) SIZE.—The maximum amount of 

4 loan principal guaranteed under this subsection 

5 may not exceed— 

6 ‘‘(i) $50,000,000 with respect to any 

7 single project; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) $300,000,000 with respect to all 

9 projects.’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (A) by striking subparagraph (D); and 

12 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

13 through (G) as subparagraphs (D) through (F), 

14 respectively; 

15 (3) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(7) TAX TREATMENT.—Section 149(b) of the 

18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall not apply to 

19 bonds guaranteed under this subsection.’’; and 

20 (4) by amending paragraph (8) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

24 be appropriated for the cost (as defined in sec25 tion 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 


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1 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) of guaranteeing loans 

2 under this section, $7,000,000 for each of fiscal 

3 years 2015 through 2019. 

4 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appro5 priated or otherwise made available under sub6 paragraph (A) shall remain available for guar7 anteeing loans as described in such subpara8 graph until expended.’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR RE10 GIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEARS 2015 

11 THROUGH 2019.—Section 27(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler 

12 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722(i)) 

13 is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Except 

15 as provided in subsection (d)(8), there is authorized to be 

16 appropriated to carry out this section, other than for loan 

17 guarantees under subsection (d), $25,000,000 for each of 

18 fiscal years 2015 through 2019.’’. 

19 (c) REPORT ON REGIONAL INNOVATION CLUS20 TERS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor23 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

24 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report de25 scribing— 


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1 (1) the achievements of the regional innovation 

2 clusters formed or developed with the support of 

3 grants awarded under section 27(i) of the Steven4 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

5 U.S.C. 3722(i)); and 

6 (2) the economic benefits and job creation at7 tributable to such regional innovation clusters with, 

8 to the extent practical, quantifiable data. 

9 SEC. 612. WORKFORCE STUDIES. 

10 (a) REPORT ON THE STEM WORKFORCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Commerce, in consultation with the Chair of the Na14 tional Science and Technology Council Committee on 

15 STEM Education, shall conduct a study of the cur16 rent and projected state of the Nation’s available 

17 STEM workforce. 

18 (2) CONTENT.—The study shall include— 

19 (A) an assessment of demands for and the 

20 availability of STEM professionals within the 

21 U.S. workforce, currently and as projected over 

22 the next decade, with data categorized by indus23 try or industry sector, as practicable; 

24 (B) an assessment of the availability of 

25 STEM professionals within the U.S. workforce, 


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1 currently and as projected over the next decade, 

2 as required to meet the demand for STEM pro3 fessionals within industry, academia, and the 

4 Federal Government; 

5 (C) an assessment of the most common 

6 STEM-skill requirements within industry, aca7 demia, and the Federal Government, currently 

8 and as projected over the next decade; 

9 (D) an identification of— 

10 (i) the STEM skills that are most 

11 needed in the current and projected avail12 able STEM workforce; and 

13 (ii) the industries or industry sectors 

14 most likely to be affected, over the next 

15 decade, by the needs identified under 

16 clause (i); and 

17 (E) priorities for STEM training, as in18 formed by the assessments and identifications 

19 under this section. 

20 (3) INPUT.—The study shall draw on previous 

21 data collection and reports related to STEM work22 force needs in the United States, as appropriate. 

23 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 540 days after 

24 the date enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

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1 tees of Congress the findings of the study, including 

2 any recommendations to update the Federal 5-year 

3 STEM education strategic plan to develop the avail4 able STEM workforce based on the assessment 

5 under this subsection. 

6 (b) REPEAL.—Section 303 of the America COM7 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (33 U.S.C. 893c) 

8 is repealed. 

9 SEC. 613. NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ADVANCED 

10 MANUFACTURING. 

11 Section 102 of the America COMPETES Reauthor12 ization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6622) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

14 following: ‘‘In furtherance of the Committee’s work, 

15 the Committee shall consult with the National Eco16 nomic Council.’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (7) 

18 and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(7) develop and update a national strategic 

20 plan for advanced manufacturing in accordance with 

21 subsection (c).’’; and 

22 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ADVANCED

25 MANUFACTURING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall submit 

2 to Congress, and publish on an Internet website that 

3 is accessible to the public, the strategic plan devel4 oped under paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT.—The Committee shall de6 velop and update as required under paragraph (4), 

7 in coordination with the National Economic Council, 

8 a strategic plan to improve Government coordination 

9 and provide long-term guidance for Federal pro10 grams and activities in support of United States 

11 manufacturing competitiveness, including advanced 

12 manufacturing research and development. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan described 

14 in paragraph (2) shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) specify and prioritize near-term and 

16 long-term objectives, including research and de17 velopment objectives, the anticipated timeframe 

18 for achieving the objectives, and the metrics for 

19 use in assessing progress toward the objectives; 

20 ‘‘(B) describe the progress made in achiev21 ing the objectives from prior strategic plans, in22 cluding a discussion of why specific objectives 

23 were not met; 

24 ‘‘(C) specify the role, including the pro25 grams and activities, of each relevant Federal 


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1 agency in meeting the objectives of the strategic 

2 plan; 

3 ‘‘(D) describe how the Federal agencies 

4 and federally funded research and development 

5 centers supporting advanced manufacturing re6 search and development will foster the transfer 

7 of research and development results into new 

8 manufacturing technologies and United States 

9 based manufacturing of new products and proc10 esses for the benefit of society to ensure na11 tional, energy, and economic security; 

12 ‘‘(E) describe how such Federal agencies 

13 and centers will strengthen all levels of manu14 facturing education and training programs to 

15 ensure an adequate, well-trained workforce; 

16 ‘‘(F) describe how such Federal agencies 

17 and centers will assist small- and medium-sized 

18 manufacturers in developing and implementing 

19 new products and processes; 

20 ‘‘(G) analyze factors that impact innova21 tion and competitiveness for United States ad22 vanced manufacturing, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) technology transfer and commer24 cialization activities; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the adequacy of the national se2 curity industrial base; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the capabilities of the domestic 

4 manufacturing workforce; 

5 ‘‘(iv) export opportunities and trade 

6 policies; 

7 ‘‘(v) financing, investment, and tax8 ation policies and practices; 

9 ‘‘(vi) emerging technologies and mar10 kets; and 

11 ‘‘(vii) advanced manufacturing re12 search and development undertaken by 

13 competing nations; and 

14 ‘‘(H) elicit and consider the recommenda15 tions of a wide range of stakeholders, including 

16 representatives from diverse manufacturing 

17 companies, academia, and other relevant orga18 nizations and institutions. 

19 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.—Not later than May 1, 2018, 

20 and not less frequently than once every 4 years 

21 thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress, 

22 and publish on an Internet website that is accessible 

23 to the public, an update of the strategic plan sub24 mitted under paragraph (1). Such updates shall be 


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1 developed in accordance with the procedures set 

2 forth under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENT TO CONSIDER STRATEGY IN

4 THE BUDGET.—In preparing the budget for a fiscal 

5 year under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

6 Code, the President shall include information re7 garding the consistency of the budget with the goals 

8 and recommendations included in the strategic plan 

9 developed under this subsection applying to that fis10 cal year. 

11 ‘‘(6) AMP STEERING COMMITTEE INPUT.—The 

12 Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Com13 mittee of the President’s Council of Advisors on 

14 Science and Technology shall provide input, perspec15 tive, and recommendations to assist in the develop16 ment and updates of the strategic plan under this 

17 subsection.’’. 

18 SEC. 614. SENSE OF CONGRESS; OPTICS AND PHOTONICS 

19 INNOVATIONS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that— 

21 (1) optics and photonics research and tech22 nologies promote U.S. global competitiveness in in23 dustry sectors, including telecommunications and in24 formation technology, energy, healthcare and medi25 cine, manufacturing, and defense; 


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1 (2) Federal science agencies, industry, and aca2 demia should seek partnerships to develop basic re3 search in optics and photonics into more mature 

4 technologies and capabilities; and 

5 (3) Federal science agencies, as appropriate, 

6 should— 

7 (A) identify optics and photonics-related 

8 programs within their agencies; and 

9 (B) partner with the private sector and 

10 academia to leverage knowledge and resources 

11 and to promote innovation in optics and 

12 photonics. 

13 Subtitle B—National 

14 Nanotechnology Initiative 

15 SEC. 621. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘National Nano17 technology Initiative Amendments Act of 2014’’. 

18 SEC. 622. FINDINGS. 

19 Congress makes the following findings: 

20 (1) The National Nanotechnology Initiative is a 

21 multiagency Federal Government research and devel22 opment program established in 2001. 

23 (2) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, 

24 more than $18,000,000,000 has been invested in 


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1 nanoscience and nanotechnology through the Na2 tional Nanotechnology Initiative. 

3 (3) Of the 20 agencies participating in the Na4 tional Nanotechnology Initiative, 11 have budgets 

5 for nanotechnology-related research and develop6 ment. 

7 (4) Research supported by the National Nano8 technology Initiative is advancing our fundamental 

9 understanding and techniques to enable the meas10 urement, manipulation, and control of matter at the 

11 nanoscale. 

12 (5) In order for U.S. companies and society to 

13 benefit from this research, the National Nanotech14 nology Initiative needs to support the engineering, 

15 scale-up, and commercialization of nanotechnology16 enabled materials, devices, systems, and products. 

17 (6) An important achievement of the National 

18 Nanotechnology Initiative is the development of an 

19 extensive infrastructure of interdisciplinary research, 

20 development, and education centers, networks, and 

21 user facilities that should be continued, supported, 

22 and expanded. 

23 (7) The field of nanotechnology is expanding 

24 rapidly and is projected to develop closely with other 

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1 nologies, creating new science and engineering do2 mains and manufacturing paradigms. 

3 (8) The United States is the world leader in 

4 nanoscience and nanotechnology and the creation of 

5 nanotechnology knowledge as measured by the num6 ber and quality of scientific papers and patents. 

7 However, international indicators, such as foreign 

8 government and corporate funding and publications 

9 and patent applications, suggest that the United 

10 States is facing increasing global competition in 

11 nanotechnology. 

12 (9) The National Nanotechnology Initiative is 

13 making important contributions to research, respon14 sible development, and infrastructure relating to 

15 nanotechnology and in the commercialization of 

16 nanotechnology. 

17 SEC. 623. ENHANCEMENT OF MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL 

18 NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NANOTECHNOLOGY SIGNA20 TURE INITIATIVES; QUADRENNIAL STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

21 Section 2 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research 

22 and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

2 through (10) as paragraphs (4) through (11), 

3 respectively; 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(3) establish nanotechnology signature initia7 tives in focused areas of national importance (as de8 scribed in subsection (d));’’; and 

9 (C) by amending paragraph (5), as redes10 ignated, to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(5) develop, not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of the enactment of the National Nanotechnol13 ogy Initiative Amendments Act of 2014, and update 

14 not less frequently than once every 4 years there15 after, a strategic plan to guide the Program activi16 ties described under subsection (b) that— 

17 ‘‘(A) specifies— 

18 ‘‘(i) the overarching goals for the Pro19 gram; 

20 ‘‘(ii) near-term and long-term objec21 tives for the Program; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the metrics to be used for as23 sessing progress toward such objectives; 

24 ‘‘(B) describes how the Program will— 


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1 ‘‘(i) allocate funding for interagency 

2 nanotechnology projects; 

3 ‘‘(ii) encourage and support inter4 disciplinary research and development in 

5 nanotechnology; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) support the engineering, scale7 up, and commercialization of nanotechnol8 ogy necessary to move results out of the 

9 laboratory and into applications for the 

10 benefit of society, including through co11 operation and collaboration with nanotech12 nology research, development, and tech13 nology transition initiatives supported by 

14 the States; 

15 ‘‘(C) includes— 

16 ‘‘(i) recommendations for research 

17 and technology development that could be 

18 met through joint industry and government 

19 partnership; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) plans of participating agencies 

21 for categorizing and tracking investments 

22 in nanotechnology; and 

23 ‘‘(D) addresses recommendations of the 

24 Advisory Panel and the National Academy of 

25 Sciences concerning the Program;’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (e); 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) NANOTECHNOLOGY SIGNATURE INITIATIVES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) TEAMS.—The Council shall establish 

7 multiagency teams to carry out the nanotechnology 

8 signature initiatives established under subsection 

9 (c)(3). 

10 ‘‘(2) JOINT SOLICITATIONS AND COLLABO11 RATIVE NETWORKS.—Each team established under 

12 paragraph (1) shall encourage joint agency solicita13 tions and the establishment of collaborative nano14 technology research and development, user facilities, 

15 and education networks.’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (e), as redesignated by sub17 paragraph (B)— 

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

19 by striking ‘‘Senate Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation and the House of 

21 Representatives Committee on Science’’ and in22 serting ‘‘Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

23 Transportation of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

25 the House of Representatives’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

2 through (5) as paragraphs (4) through (6), re3 spectively; 

4 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(3) the Program budget for the current fiscal 

7 year and the proposed Program budget for the next 

8 fiscal year for each nanotechnology signature initia9 tive, including a description of each initiative’s re10 search goals, strategic plan, expected outcomes for 

11 the next fiscal year, and accomplishments;’’; and 

12 (D) in paragraph (6), as redesignated, by 

13 striking ‘‘the plan described in subsection 

14 (c)(7),’’ and inserting ‘‘the plan described in 

15 subsection (c)(8),’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(f) DESIGNATION AS NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY

18 INITIATIVE.—The Program shall also be known as the 

19 ‘National Nanotechnology Initiative’.’’. 

20 (b) APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL

21 NANOTECHNOLOGY COORDINATION OFFICE AS COCHAIR

22 OF SUBCOMMITTEE ON NANOSCALE SCIENCE, ENGINEER23 ING, AND TECHNOLOGY OF NATIONAL SCIENCE AND

24 TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL.—Section 3 of the 21st Century 

25 Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 


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1 U.S.C. 7502) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(d) COCHAIR OF SUBCOMMITTEE ON NANOSCALE

4 SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY.—The Direc5 tor of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 

6 appoint the Director of the National Nanotechnology Co7 ordination Office as a cochair of the Subcommittee on 

8 Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology of the 

9 Council.’’. 

10 (c) NANOTECHNOLOGY SIGNATURE INITIATIVE DE11 FINED.—Section 10 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology 

12 Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7509) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

15 (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (2), (4), (6), (3), 

16 (1), and (7), respectively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4), as redesig18 nated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) NANOTECHNOLOGY SIGNATURE INITIA20 TIVE.—The term ‘nanotechnology signature initia21 tive’ means a Program initiative established under 

22 section 2(c)(3).’’. 

23 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON WORKING GROUPS OF

24 THE NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL.— 


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1 It is the sense of Congress that the National Science and 

2 Technology Council should— 

3 (1) regularly assess the working groups of the 

4 National Science and Technology Council to ensure 

5 that each working group is serving a useful manage6 ment and coordination role related to the goals and 

7 objectives of the strategic plan of the National 

8 Nanotechnology Initiative required under section 

9 2(c)(5) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Re10 search and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 7501(c)(5)), as amended by subsection (a)(1)(C); 

12 (2) redefine or eliminate working groups that 

13 are no longer useful and form new working groups 

14 as needed; 

15 (3) consider creating new working groups in the 

16 areas of user facility oversight and coordination and 

17 education and workforce development; and 

18 (4) consider expanding the charters of the 

19 Nanomanufacturing, Industry Liaison and Innova20 tion Working Group and the Nanotechnology Envi21 ronment and Health Implications Working Group to 

22 enable the groups to address more broadly cross23 agency nanotechnology-related areas, such as 

24 informatics, modeling and simulation, regulatory 

25 science, and instrument development. 


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1 SEC. 624. QUADRENNIAL REPORTS BY NATIONAL NANO2 TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY PANEL. 

3 Section 4(d) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Re4 search and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7503(d)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(d) QUADRENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 

7 year after the date on which the National Science and 

8 Technology Council develops the strategic plan required 

9 under section 2(c)(5) and not less frequently than once 

10 every 4 years thereafter, the Advisory Panel shall submit 

11 a report to the President and Congress that includes— 

12 ‘‘(1) the assessments of the Advisory Panel 

13 under subsection (c); and 

14 ‘‘(2) the recommendations of the Advisory 

15 Panel for ways to improve the Program.’’. 

16 SEC. 625. QUADRENNIAL EXTERNAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL 

17 NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE. 

18 Section 5 of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Re19 search and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7504) is amended 

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5. QUADRENNIAL EXTERNAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL 

22 NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

24 Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall seek to enter 

25 into an arrangement with the National Academy of 

26 Sciences to conduct a quadrennial review of the Program. 


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1 The Director shall ensure that the arrangement with the 

2 National Research Council is concluded in order to allow 

3 sufficient time to comply with the reporting requirements 

4 under subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(b) SCOPE OF WORK.—The Director shall negotiate 

6 with the National Academy of Sciences regarding the 

7 scope of work to be performed, which shall include— 

8 ‘‘(1) a review of the research priorities of the 

9 Program, including whether the amount and alloca10 tion of funding among program component areas 

11 and nanotechnology signature initiatives is appro12 priate to accomplish the Program’s goals and objec13 tives; 

14 ‘‘(2) an evaluation of the Program’s manage15 ment and coordination across agencies and dis16 ciplines, including the effectiveness of the National 

17 Nanotechnology Coordination Office in providing 

18 technical and administrative support to the Pro19 gram; and 

20 ‘‘(3) an assessment of the Program’s success in 

21 transferring technology to the private sector and rec22 ommendations for improving technology demonstra23 tion, transfer, and commercialization. 

24 ‘‘(c) QUADRENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than 913 

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1 tegic plan required under section 2(c)(5) is completed and 

2 not less frequently than once every 4 years thereafter, the 

3 Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Of4 fice shall submit a report to the Advisory Panel and Con5 gress that describes the results of the most recent quad6 rennial review carried out under subsection (a).’’. 

7 SEC. 626. NANOTECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, COMMERCIALIZA8 TION, AND ROADMAPS. 

9 (a) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND COMMERCIALIZA10 TION.—The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and 

11 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating section 10 as section 13; 

13 and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 9 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 10. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND COMMERCIALIZA16 TION. 

17 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) BY PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—The Coun19 cil shall encourage agencies participating in the Pro20 gram to inform the public about— 

21 ‘‘(A) the science, technology, and benefits 

22 of nanotechnology; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the commercial products enabled by 

24 nanotechnology. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY COORDINA2 TION OFFICE.—The Director of the National Nano3 technology Coordination Office shall inform the pub4 lic about the matters described in paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO FACILITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall encour7 age the head of each agency that participates in the 

8 Program and supports a federally owned or operated 

9 nanotechnology research center or designated user 

10 facility as part of the Program to provide access to 

11 such center or facility to a representative of indus12 try, academia, or other potential user of such center 

13 or facility for the purpose of— 

14 ‘‘(A) transferring research results; 

15 ‘‘(B) demonstrating models of nanoscale16 or nanotechnology-enabled products or devices; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(C) demonstrative processes for deter19 mining proof of concept. 

20 ‘‘(2) POLICY.—The head of each agency de21 scribed in paragraph (1) shall develop a policy on 

22 providing access to the centers and facilities de23 scribed in such paragraph, which shall include 

24 whether such access necessitates imposing a user 

25 fee. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SUPPORT OF STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency par3 ticipating in the Program shall support the develop4 ment of domestic and international standards for 

5 nanotechnology. 

6 ‘‘(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The head of an 

7 agency participating in the Program may reimburse 

8 the travel expenses of an employee of the agency 

9 who participates in activities relating to development 

10 under paragraph (1).’’. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that— 

13 (1) the National Science and Technology Coun14 cil should encourage groups in nanotechnology-en15 abled industries to participate in developing tech16 nology roadmaps and in partnering to address long17 term research and development needs; 

18 (2) when appropriate, agencies participating in 

19 the National Nanotechnology Initiative should use 

20 the prize authority granted under section 24 of the 

21 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

22 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) to conduct prize competi23 tions in order to spur innovation, solve difficult 

24 problems, and advance their core mission; and 


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1 (3) to the greatest extent practical, agencies 

2 participating in the National Nanotechnology Initia3 tive that conduct a Small Business Innovation Re4 search program or a Small Business Technology 

5 Transfer program should— 

6 (A) encourage the submission of applica7 tions for nanoscience- and nanotechnology-re8 lated projects to such programs; and 

9 (B) utilize authorities under subsections 

10 (cc) and (gg) of section 9 of the Small Business 

11 Act (15 U.S.C. 638) to accelerate the commer12 cialization of Small Business Innovation Re13 search program and Small Business Technology 

14 Transfer program nanoscience and nanotechnol15 ogy research. 

16 SEC. 627. PUBLICATION OF DATA CONCERNING NANOTECH17 NOLOGY. 

18 The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De19 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended by 

20 inserting after section 10, as added by section 626(a)(2), 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 11. PUBLICATION OF DATA. 

23 ‘‘The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office 

24 shall serve as a central repository to collect, track, analyze, 

25 and report data regarding— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the impact of nanotechnology on the U.S. 

2 economy; 

3 ‘‘(2) publications concerning nanotechnology; 

4 ‘‘(3) patents relating to nanotechnology; 

5 ‘‘(4) educational activities relating to nanotech6 nology; and 

7 ‘‘(5) matters concerning the U.S. workforce and 

8 nanotechnology.’’. 

9 SEC. 628. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION EVALUATION 

10 OF INVESTMENTS OF NATIONAL NANOTECH11 NOLOGY INITIATIVE IN EDUCATION AND 

12 WORKFORCE TRAINING. 

13 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the National Science Foundation, in co15 operation with the Secretary of Education and the Sec16 retary of Labor and working with the Director of the Na17 tional Nanotechnology Coordination Office, shall— 

18 (1) evaluate the investments of the National 

19 Nanotechnology Initiative in education and work20 force training; and 

21 (2) submit to Congress a report on the findings 

22 of the National Science Foundation with respect to 

23 the evaluation carried out under paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 629. SHARING OF BEST PRACTICES OF CENTERS, NET2 WORKS, AND USER FACILITIES. 

3 The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De4 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended by 

5 inserting after section 11, as added by section 627, the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 12. SHARING OF BEST PRACTICES OF CENTERS, NET8 WORKS, AND USER FACILITIES. 

9 ‘‘The Council, working with the Director of the Na10 tional Nanotechnology Coordinating Office, shall periodi11 cally convene meetings for nanotechnology related centers, 

12 networks, and user facilities to share best practices re13 garding— 

14 ‘‘(1) strategic planning; 

15 ‘‘(2) intellectual property management; 

16 ‘‘(3) outreach to industry; and 

17 ‘‘(4) technology demonstration, transfer, and 

18 commercialization.’’. 

19 SEC. 630. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ENVIRON20 MENT, HEALTH, AND SAFETY MATTERS CON21 CERNING NANOTECHNOLOGY. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COORDINATION RE23 GARDING ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, AND SAFETY RE24 SEARCH RELATING TO NANOTECHNOLOGY.—It is the 

25 sense of Congress that the National Science and Tech26 nology Council should— 


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1 (1) coordinate the development by the agencies 

2 participating in the National Nanotechnology Initia3 tive of performance measures, targets, timeframes, 

4 cost estimates and available resources for nanotech5 nology environment, health, and safety research that 

6 align with the research needs of the Initiative, con7 sistent with the agencies’ respective statutory au8 thorities; and 

9 (2) include the information described in para10 graph (1) in publicly available reports. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON FUNDING CROSS-AGEN12 CY ACTIVITIES.—It is the sense of Congress that the head 

13 of each agency participating in the National Nanotechnol14 ogy Initiative should consider funding cross-agency activi15 ties of the environment, health, and safety program com16 ponent area, such as partnerships, informatics, regulatory 

17 science, nanotoxicology, models, and instrument develop18 ment. 

Æ 


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