II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3530 

To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to provide for prize competitions to stimulate innovations that advance the 

missions of Federal agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2010 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act 

of 1980 to provide for prize competitions to stimulate 

innovations that advance the missions of Federal agencies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reward Innovation in 

5 America Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

2 The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

3 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 24. PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ means a 

8 Federal agency. 

9 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal 

10 agency’ has the meaning given under section 4, ex11 cept that term shall not include any agency of the 

12 legislative branch of the Federal Government. 

13 ‘‘(3) HEAD OF AN AGENCY.—The term ‘head of 

14 an agency’ means the head of a Federal agency. 

15 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Each head of an agency may 

16 carry out a program to award prizes competitively to stim17 ulate innovation that has the potential to advance the mis18 sion of the respective agency. 

19 ‘‘(c) PRIZES.—For purposes of this section, a prize 

20 may be one or more of the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) A point solution prize that rewards and 

22 spurs the development of solutions for a particular, 

23 well-defined problem. 

24 ‘‘(2) An exposition prize that helps identify and 

25 promote a broad range of ideas and practices that 

26 may not otherwise attract attention, facilitating furVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3530.IS S3530

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1 ther development of the idea or practice by third 

2 parties. 

3 ‘‘(3) Participation prizes that create value dur4 ing and after the competition by encouraging con5 testants to change their behavior or develop new 

6 skills that may have beneficial effects during and 

7 after the competition. 

8 ‘‘(4) Such other types of prizes as each head of 

9 an agency considers appropriate to stimulate innova10 tion that has the potential to advance the mission of 

11 the respective agency. 

12 ‘‘(d) TOPICS.—In selecting topics for prize competi13 tions, the head of an agency shall consult widely both with14 in and outside the Federal Government, and may empanel 

15 advisory committees. 

16 ‘‘(e) ADVERTISING.—The head of an agency shall 

17 widely advertise each prize competition to encourage broad 

18 participation. 

19 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS AND REGISTRATION.—For each 

20 prize competition, the head of an agency shall publish a 

21 notice in the Federal Register announcing— 

22 ‘‘(1) the subject of the competition; 

23 ‘‘(2) the rules for being eligible to participate in 

24 the competition; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the process for participants to register for 

2 the competition; 

3 ‘‘(4) the amount of the prize; and 

4 ‘‘(5) the basis on which a winner will be se5 lected. 

6 ‘‘(g) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to win a prize 

7 under this section, an individual or entity— 

8 ‘‘(1) shall have registered to participate in the 

9 competition under any rules promulgated by the 

10 head of an agency under subsection (f); 

11 ‘‘(2) shall have complied with all the require12 ments under this section; 

13 ‘‘(3) in the case of a private entity, shall be in14 corporated in and maintain a primary place of busi15 ness in the United States, and in the case of an in16 dividual, whether participating singly or in a group, 

17 shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the 

18 United States; and 

19 ‘‘(4) may not be a Federal entity or Federal 

20 employee acting within the scope of their employ21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(h) CONSULTATION WITH FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

23 An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible 

24 under subsection (g) because such individual or entity 

25 used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3530.IS S3530

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1 ees during a competition if such facilities and employees 

2 are made available to all individuals and entities partici3 pating in the competition on an equitable basis. 

4 ‘‘(i) LIABILITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

7 term ‘related entity’ means a contractor or sub8 contractor at any tier, and a supplier, user, cus9 tomer, cooperating party, grantee, investigator, 

10 or detailee. 

11 ‘‘(B) LIABILITY.—Registered participants 

12 shall be required to agree to assume any and all 

13 risks and waive claims against the Federal Gov14 ernment and its related entities, except in the 

15 case of willful misconduct, for any injury, 

16 death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or 

17 profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequen18 tial, arising from their participation in a com19 petition, whether such injury, death, damage, or 

20 loss arises through negligence or otherwise. 

21 ‘‘(2) INSURANCE.—Participants shall be re22 quired to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate 

23 financial responsibility, in amounts determined by 

24 the head of an agency, for claims by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a third party for death, bodily injury, 

2 or property damage, or loss resulting from an 

3 activity carried out in connection with participa4 tion in a competition, with the Federal Govern5 ment named as an additional insured under the 

6 registered participant’s insurance policy and 

7 registered participants agreeing to indemnify 

8 the Federal Government against third-party 

9 claims for damages arising from or related to 

10 competition activities; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Federal Government for damage 

12 or loss to Government property resulting from 

13 such an activity. 

14 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The head of an agency may 

15 not require a participant to waive claims against the 

16 administering entity arising out of the unauthorized 

17 use or disclosure by the agency of the intellectual 

18 property, trade secrets, or confidential business in19 formation of the participant. 

20 ‘‘(j) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON THE GOVERNMENT AC22 QUIRING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.—The 

23 Federal Government may not gain an interest in in24 tellectual property developed by a participant in a 


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1 competition without the written consent of the par2 ticipant. 

3 ‘‘(2) LICENSES.—The Federal Government may 

4 negotiate a license for the use of intellectual prop5 erty developed by a participant for a competition. 

6 ‘‘(k) JUDGES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each competition, the 

8 head of an agency, either directly or through an 

9 agreement under subsection (l), shall appoint one or 

10 more qualified judges to select the winner or winners 

11 of the prize competition on the basis described under 

12 subsection (f). Judges for each competition may in13 clude individuals from outside the agency, including 

14 from the private sector. 

15 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—A judge may not— 

16 ‘‘(A) have personal or financial interests 

17 in, or be an employee, officer, director, or agent 

18 of any entity that is a registered participant in 

19 a competition; or 

20 ‘‘(B) have a familial or financial relation21 ship with an individual who is a registered par22 ticipant. 

23 ‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—The heads of agencies who 

24 carry out competitions under this section shall de25 velop guidelines to ensure that the judges appointed 


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1 for such competitions are fairly balanced and oper2 ate in a transparent manner. 

3 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FROM FACA.—The Federal 

4 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

5 apply to any committee, board, commission, panel, 

6 task force, or similar entity, created solely for the 

7 purpose of judging prize competitions under this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(l) ADMINISTERING THE COMPETITION.—The head 

10 of an agency may enter into an agreement with a private, 

11 nonprofit entity to administer a prize competition, subject 

12 to the provisions of this section. 

13 ‘‘(m) FUNDING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Support for a prize com15 petition under this section, including financial sup16 port for the design and administration of a prize or 

17 funds for a monetary prize purse, may consist of 

18 Federal appropriated funds and funds provided by 

19 the private sector for such cash prizes. The head of 

20 an agency may accept funds from other Federal 

21 agencies to support such competitions. The head of 

22 an agency may not give any special consideration to 

23 any private sector entity in return for a donation. 

24 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of law, funds approVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3530.IS S3530

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1 priated for prize awards under this section shall re2 main available until expended, and may be trans3 ferred, reprogrammed, or expended for other pur4 poses only after the expiration of 10 fiscal years 

5 after the fiscal year for which the funds were origi6 nally appropriated. No provision in this section per7 mits obligation or payment of funds in violation of 

8 section 1341 of title 31, United States Code. 

9 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF PRIZE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) ANNOUNCEMENT.—No prize may be 

11 announced under subsection (f) until all the 

12 funds needed to pay out the announced amount 

13 of the prize have been appropriated or com14 mitted in writing by a private source. 

15 ‘‘(B) INCREASE IN AMOUNT.—The head of 

16 an agency may increase the amount of a prize 

17 after an initial announcement is made under 

18 subsection (f) only if— 

19 ‘‘(i) notice of the increase is provided 

20 in the same manner as the initial notice of 

21 the prize; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the funds needed to pay out the 

23 announced amount of the increase have 

24 been appropriated or committed in writing 

25 by a private source. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—No prize 

3 competition under this section may offer a prize 

4 in an amount greater than $50,000,000 unless 

5 30 days have elapsed after written notice has 

6 been transmitted to the Committee on Com7 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen8 ate and the Committee on Science and Tech9 nology of the House of Representatives. 

10 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF HEAD OF AGENCY.— 

11 No prize competition under this section may re12 sult in the award of more than $1,000,000 in 

13 cash prizes without the approval of the head of 

14 an agency. 

15 ‘‘(n) GENERAL SERVICE ADMINISTRATION ASSIST16 ANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the en17 actment of this Act, the General Services Administration 

18 shall provide Government-wide services to share best prac19 tices and assist agencies in developing guidelines for 

20 issuing prize competitions. The General Services Adminis21 tration shall develop a contract vehicle to provide agencies 

22 access to relevant products and services, including tech23 nical assistance in structuring and conducting prize com24 petitions to take maximum benefit of the marketplace as 


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1 they identify and pursue prize competitions to further the 

2 policy objectives of the Federal Government. 

3 ‘‘(o) COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING LAW.—The Fed4 eral Government shall not, by virtue of offering or pro5 viding a prize under this section, be responsible for compli6 ance by registered participants in a prize competition with 

7 Federal law, including licensing, export control, and non8 proliferation laws, and related regulations. 

9 ‘‘(p) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1 of 

11 each year, the Director of the Office of Science and 

12 Technology Policy shall submit to the Committee on 

13 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen14 ate and the Committee on Science and Technology 

15 of the House of Representatives a report on the ac16 tivities carried out during the preceding fiscal year 

17 under the authority in subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION INCLUDED.—The report for 

19 a fiscal year under this subsection shall include, for 

20 each prize competition under subsection (b), the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(A) PROPOSED GOALS.—A description of 

23 the proposed goals of each prize competition. 

24 ‘‘(B) PREFERABLE METHOD.—An analysis 

25 of why the utilization of the authority in subVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Jun 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3530.IS S3530

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1 section (b) was the preferable method of achiev2 ing the goals described in subparagraph (A) as 

3 opposed to other authorities available to the 

4 agency, such as contracts, grants, and coopera5 tive agreements. 

6 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF CASH PRIZES.—The total 

7 amount of cash prizes awarded for each prize 

8 competition, including a description of amount 

9 of private funds contributed to the program, the 

10 sources of such funds, and the manner in which 

11 the amounts of cash prizes awarded and 

12 claimed were allocated among the accounts of 

13 the agency for recording as obligations and ex14 penditures. 

15 ‘‘(D) SOLICITATIONS AND EVALUATION OF

16 SUBMISSIONS.—The methods used for the solic17 itation and evaluation of submissions under 

18 each prize competition, together with an assess19 ment of the effectiveness of such methods and 

20 lessons learned for future prize competitions. 

21 ‘‘(E) RESOURCES.—A description of the 

22 resources, including personnel and funding, 

23 used in the execution of each prize competition 

24 together with a detailed description of the ac25 tivities for which such resources were used and 


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1 an accounting of how funding for execution was 

2 allocated among the accounts of the agency for 

3 recording as obligations and expenditures. 

4 ‘‘(F) RESULTS.—A description of how each 

5 prize competition advanced the mission of the 

6 agency concerned.’’. 

Æ 


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