108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 766

AN ACT

To provide for a National Nanotechnology Research

and Development Program, and for other purposes.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 766

AN ACT

To provide for a National Nanotechnology Research and

Development Program, and for other purposes.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nanotechnology Re3 search and Development Act of 2003’’.

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act—

6 (1) the term ‘‘advanced technology user facil7 ity’’ means a nanotechnology research and develop8 ment facility supported, in whole or in part, by Fed9 eral funds that is open to all United States research10 ers on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis;

11 (2) the term ‘‘Advisory Committee’’ means the

12 advisory committee established or designated under

13 section 5;

14 (3) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of

15 the Office of Science and Technology Policy;

16 (4) the term ‘‘Interagency Committee’’ means

17 the interagency committee established under section

18 3(c);

19 (5) the term ‘‘nanotechnology’’ means science

20 and engineering aimed at creating materials, devices,

21 and systems at the atomic and molecular level;

22 (6) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the National

23 Nanotechnology Research and Development Pro24 gram described in section 3; and

25 (7) the term ‘‘program component area’’ means

26 a major subject area established under section
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1 3(c)(2) under which is grouped related individual

2 projects and activities carried out under the Pro3 gram.

4 SEC. 3. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DE5 VELOPMENT PROGRAM.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall implement a

7 National Nanotechnology Research and Development Pro8 gram to promote Federal nanotechnology research, devel9 opment, demonstration, education, technology transfer,

10 and commercial application activities as necessary to en11 sure continued United States leadership in nanotechnology

12 research and development and to ensure effective coordi13 nation of nanotechnology research and development across

14 Federal agencies.

15 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro16 gram shall be designed to—

17 (1) provide sustained support for

18 nanotechnology research and development through—

19 (A) grants to individual investigators and

20 interdisciplinary teams of investigators;

21 (B) establishment of advanced technology

22 user facilities; and

23 (C) establishment of interdisciplinary re24 search centers, which shall—
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1 (i) network with each other to foster

2 the exchange of technical information and

3 best practices;

4 (ii) involve academic institutions or

5 national laboratories and other partners,

6 which may include States and industry;

7 (iii) make use of existing expertise in

8 nanotechnology in their regions and na9 tionally;

10 (iv) make use of ongoing research and

11 development at the micrometer scale to

12 support their work in nanotechnology; and

13 (v) be capable of accelerating the com14 mercial application of nanotechnology inno15 vations in the private sector;

16 (2) ensure that solicitation and evaluation of

17 proposals under the Program encourage interdiscipli18 nary research;

19 (3) expand education and training of under20 graduate and graduate students in interdisciplinary

21 nanotechnology science and engineering;

22 (4) accelerate the commercial application of

23 nanotechnology innovations in the private sector;

24 (5) ensure that societal and ethical concerns,

25 including environmental concerns and the potential
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1 implications of human performance enhancement

2 and the possible development of nonhuman intel3 ligence, will be addressed as the technology is devel4 oped by—

5 (A) establishing a research program to

6 identify societal and ethical concerns related to

7 nanotechnology, and ensuring that the results

8 of such research are widely disseminated;

9 (B) insofar as possible, integrating re10 search on societal and ethical concerns with

11 nanotechnology research and development, and

12 ensuring that advances in nanotechnology bring

13 about improvements in quality of life for all

14 Americans;

15 (C) requiring that interdisciplinary re16 search centers under paragraph (1)(C) include

17 activities that address societal and ethical con18 cerns; and

19 (D) ensure through the National

20 Nanotechnology Coordination Office established

21 under section 6 and through the agencies and

22 departments that participate in the Program,

23 that public input and outreach to the public are

24 both integrated into nanotechnology research

25 and development and research on societal and
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1 ethical concerns by the convening of regular

2 and ongoing public discussions, through mecha3 nisms such as citizens panels, consensus con4 ferences, and educational events, as appro5 priate; and

6 (6) include to the maximum extent practicable

7 diverse institutions, including Historically Black Col8 leges and Universities and those serving large pro9 portions of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pa10 cific Americans, or other underrepresented popu11 lations.

12 (c) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President shall

13 establish or designate an interagency committee on

14 nanotechnology research and development, which shall in15 clude representatives from the Office of Science and Tech16 nology Policy, the National Science Foundation, the De17 partment of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space

18 Administration, the National Institute of Standards and

19 Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency, and

20 any other agency that the President may designate. The

21 Director shall select a chairperson from among the mem22 bers of the Interagency Committee. The Interagency Com23 mittee, which shall also include a representative from the

24 Office of Management and Budget, shall oversee the plan-
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1 ning, management, and coordination of the Program. The

2 Interagency Committee shall—

3 (1) establish goals and priorities for the Pro4 gram;

5 (2) establish program component areas, with

6 specific priorities and technical goals, that reflect the

7 goals and priorities established for the Program;

8 (3) develop, within 6 months after the date of

9 enactment of this Act, and update annually, a stra10 tegic plan to meet the goals and priorities estab11 lished under paragraph (1) and to guide the activi12 ties of the program component areas established

13 under paragraph (2);

14 (4) propose a coordinated interagency budget

15 for the Program that will ensure the maintenance of

16 a balanced nanotechnology research portfolio and en17 sure that each agency and each program component

18 area is allocated the level of funding required to

19 meet the goals and priorities established for the Pro20 gram;

21 (5) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs,

22 such as the Small Business Innovation Research

23 Program and the Small Business Technology Trans24 fer Research Program, in support of the goal stated

25 in subsection (b)(4); and
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1 (6) in carrying out its responsibilities under

2 paragraphs (1) through (5), take into consideration

3 the recommendations of the Advisory Committee,

4 suggestions or recommendations developed pursuant

5 to section 3(b)(5)(D), and the views of academic,

6 State, industry, and other appropriate groups con7 ducting research on and using nanotechnology.

8 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT.

9 The chairperson of the Interagency Committee shall

10 prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the Com11 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives and the

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

13 the Senate at the time of the President’s budget request

14 to Congress, that includes—

15 (1) the Program budget, for the current fiscal

16 year, for each agency that participates in the Pro17 gram, including a breakout of spending for the de18 velopment and acquisition of research facilities and

19 instrumentation, for each program component area,

20 and for all activities pursuant to section 3(b)(5);

21 (2) the proposed Program budget, for the next

22 fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the

23 Program, including a breakout of spending for the

24 development and acquisition of research facilities

25 and instrumentation, for each program component
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1 area, and for all activities pursuant to section

2 3(b)(5);

3 (3) an analysis of the progress made toward

4 achieving the goals and priorities established for the

5 Program;

6 (4) an analysis of the extent to which the Pro7 gram has incorporated the recommendations of the

8 Advisory Committee; and

9 (5) an assessment of how Federal agencies are

10 implementing the plan described in section 3(c)(5),

11 and a description of the amount of Small Business

12 Innovative Research and Small Business Technology

13 Transfer Research funds supporting the plan.

14 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish or

16 designate an advisory committee on nanotechnology con17 sisting of non-Federal members, including representatives

18 of research and academic institutions and industry, who

19 are qualified to provide advice and information on

20 nanotechnology research, development, demonstration,

21 education, technology transfer, commercial application,

22 and societal and ethical concerns. The recommendations

23 of the Advisory Committee shall be considered by Federal

24 agencies in implementing the Program.
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1 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall

2 assess—

3 (1) trends and developments in nanotechnology

4 science and engineering;

5 (2) progress made in implementing the Pro6 gram;

7 (3) the need to revise the Program;

8 (4) the balance among the components of the

9 Program, including funding levels for the program

10 component areas;

11 (5) whether the program component areas, pri12 orities, and technical goals developed by the Inter13 agency Committee are helping to maintain United

14 States leadership in nanotechnology;

15 (6) the management, coordination, implementa16 tion, and activities of the Program; and

17 (7) whether societal and ethical concerns, in18 cluding concerns identified pursuant to section

19 3(b)(5)(D), are adequately addressed by the Pro20 gram.

21 (c) REPORTS.—The Advisory Committee shall report

22 not less frequently than once every 2 fiscal years to the

23 President on its findings of the assessment carried out

24 under subsection (b), its recommendations for ways to im25 prove the Program, and the concerns assessed under sub-
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1 section (b)(7). The first report shall be due within 1 year

2 after the date of enactment of this Act.

3 (d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA4 TION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act

5 shall not apply to the Advisory Committee.

6 SEC. 6. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY COORDINATION OF7 FICE.

8 The President shall establish a National

9 Nanotechnology Coordination Office, with full-time staff,

10 which shall—

11 (1) provide technical and administrative support

12 to the Interagency Committee and the Advisory

13 Committee;

14 (2) serve as a point of contact on Federal

15 nanotechnology activities for government organiza16 tions, academia, industry, professional societies, and

17 others to exchange technical and programmatic in18 formation; and

19 (3) conduct public outreach, including dissemi20 nation of findings and recommendations of the

21 Interagency Committee and the Advisory Committee,

22 as appropriate.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There are

3 authorized to be appropriated to the National Science

4 Foundation for carrying out this Act—

5 (1) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

6 (2) $385,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and

7 (3) $424,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

8 (b) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—There are author9 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for car10 rying out this Act—

11 (1) $265,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

12 (2) $292,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and

13 (3) $322,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

14 (c) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS15 TRATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the

16 National Aeronautics and Space Administration for car17 rying out this Act—

18 (1) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

19 (2) $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and

20 (3) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

21 (d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

22 TECHNOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated

23 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for

24 carrying out this Act—

25 (1) $62,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

26 (2) $68,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and
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1 (3) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

2 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—There

3 are authorized to be appropriated to the Environmental

4 Protection Agency for carrying out this Act—

5 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

6 (2) $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2005; and

7 (3) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

8 SEC. 8. EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL

9 NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVEL10 OPMENT PROGRAM.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into

13 an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to

14 conduct periodic reviews of the Program. The reviews shall

15 be conducted once every 3 years during the 10-year period

16 following the enactment of this Act. The reviews shall

17 include—

18 (1) an evaluation of the technical achievements

19 of the Program;

20 (2) recommendations for changes in the Pro21 gram;

22 (3) an evaluation of the relative position of the

23 United States with respect to other nations in

24 nanotechnology research and development;
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1 (4) an evaluation of the Program’s success in

2 transferring technology to the private sector;

3 (5) an evaluation of whether the Program has

4 been successful in fostering interdisciplinary re5 search and development; and

6 (6) an evaluation of the extent to which the

7 Program has adequately considered societal and eth8 ical concerns.

9 (b) STUDY ON MOLECULAR MANUFACTURING.—Not

10 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act

11 a review shall be conducted in accordance with subsection

12 (a) that includes a study to determine the technical feasi13 bility of the manufacture of materials and devices at the

14 molecular scale. The study shall—

15 (1) examine the current state of the technology

16 for enabling molecular manufacturing;

17 (2) determine the key scientific and technical

18 barriers to achieving molecular manufacturing;

19 (3) review current and planned research activi20 ties that are relevant to advancing the prospects for

21 molecular manufacturing; and

22 (4) develop, insofar as possible, a consensus on

23 whether molecular manufacturing is technically fea24 sible, and if found to be feasible—
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1 (A) the estimated timeframe in which mo2 lecular manufacturing may be possible on a

3 commercial scale; and

4 (B) recommendations for a research agen5 da necessary to achieve this result.

6 (c) STUDY ON SAFE NANOTECHNOLOGY.—Not later

7 than 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act a

8 review shall be conducted in accordance with subsection

9 (a) that includes a study to assess the need for standards,

10 guidelines, or strategies for ensuring the development of

11 safe nanotechnology, including those applicable to—

12 (1) self-replicating nanoscale machines or de13 vices;

14 (2) the release of such machines or devices in

15 natural environments;

16 (3) distribution of molecular manufacturing de17 velopment;

18 (4) encryption;

19 (5) the development of defensive technologies;

20 (6) the use of nanotechnology as human brain

21 extenders; and

22 (7) the use of nanotechnology in developing ar23 tificial intelligence.
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1 SEC. 9. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY GRADUATE SCHOLAR2 SHIP PROGRAMS.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAMS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The agency heads shall each

5 establish within their respective departments and

6 agencies a Science and Technology Graduate Schol7 arship Program to award scholarships to individuals

8 that is designed to recruit and prepare students for

9 careers in the Federal Government that require en10 gineering, scientific, and technical training.

11 (2) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—Individuals shall

12 be selected to receive scholarships under this section

13 through a competitive process primarily on the basis

14 of academic merit, with consideration given to finan15 cial need and the goal of promoting the participation

16 of individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the

17 Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act

18 (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b).

19 (3) SERVICE AGREEMENTS.—To carry out the

20 Programs the agency heads shall enter into contrac21 tual agreements with individuals selected under

22 paragraph (2) under which the individuals agree to

23 serve as full-time employees of the Federal Govern24 ment, for the period described in subsection (f)(1),

25 in positions needed by the Federal Government and
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1 for which the individuals are qualified, in exchange

2 for receiving a scholarship.

3 (b) SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligi4 ble to participate in a Program, an individual must—

5 (1) be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a

6 full-time student at an institution of higher edu7 cation in an academic field or discipline described in

8 a list made available under subsection (d);

9 (2) be a United States citizen or permanent

10 resident; and

11 (3) at the time of the initial scholarship award,

12 not be a Federal employee as defined in section

13 2105 of title 5 of the United States Code.

14 (c) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—An individual seeking

15 a scholarship under this section shall submit an applica16 tion to an agency head at such time, in such manner, and

17 containing such information, agreements, or assurances as

18 the agency head may require.

19 (d) ELIGIBLE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS.—The agency

20 heads shall each make publicly available a list of academic

21 programs and fields of study for which scholarships under

22 their department’s or agency’s Program may be utilized,

23 and shall update the list as necessary.

24 (e) SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Agency heads may provide

2 scholarships under their department’s or agency’s

3 Program for an academic year if the individual ap4 plying for the scholarship has submitted to the agen5 cy head, as part of the application required under

6 subsection (c), a proposed academic program leading

7 to a degree in a program or field of study on a list

8 made available under subsection (d).

9 (2) DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—An individual

10 may not receive a scholarship under this section for

11 more than 4 academic years, unless an agency head

12 grants a waiver.

13 (3) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT.—The dollar

14 amount of a scholarship under this section for an

15 academic year shall be determined under regulations

16 issued by the agency heads, but shall in no case ex17 ceed the cost of attendance.

18 (4) AUTHORIZED USES.—A scholarship pro19 vided under this section may be expended for tuition,

20 fees, and other authorized expenses as established by

21 the agency heads by regulation.

22 (5) CONTRACTS REGARDING DIRECT PAYMENTS

23 TO INSTITUTIONS.—Each agency head may enter

24 into a contractual agreement with an institution of

25 higher education under which the amounts provided
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1 for a scholarship under this section for tuition, fees,

2 and other authorized expenses are paid directly to

3 the institution with respect to which the scholarship

4 is provided.

5 (f) PERIOD OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.—

6 (1) DURATION OF SERVICE.—The period of

7 service for which an individual shall be obligated to

8 serve as an employee of the Federal Government is,

9 except as provided in subsection (h)(2), 24 months

10 for each academic year for which a scholarship

11 under this section is provided.

12 (2) SCHEDULE FOR SERVICE.—(A) Except as

13 provided in subparagraph (B), obligated service

14 under paragraph (1) shall begin not later than 60

15 days after the individual obtains the educational de16 gree for which the scholarship was provided.

17 (B) An agency head may defer the obligation of

18 an individual to provide a period of service under

19 paragraph (1) if the agency head determines that

20 such a deferral is appropriate. The agency head

21 shall prescribe the terms and conditions under which

22 a service obligation may be deferred through regula23 tion.

24 (g) PENALTIES FOR BREACH OF SCHOLARSHIP

25 AGREEMENT.—
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1 (1) FAILURE TO COMPLETE ACADEMIC TRAIN2 ING.—Scholarship recipients who fail to maintain a

3 high level of academic standing, as defined by the

4 appropriate agency head by regulation, who are dis5 missed from their educational institutions for dis6 ciplinary reasons, or who voluntarily terminate aca7 demic training before graduation from the edu8 cational program for which the scholarship was

9 awarded, shall be in breach of their contractual

10 agreement and, in lieu of any service obligation aris11 ing under such agreement, shall be liable to the

12 United States for repayment within 1 year after the

13 date of default of all scholarship funds paid to them

14 and to the institution of higher education on their

15 behalf under the agreement, except as provided in

16 subsection (h)(2). The repayment period may be ex17 tended by the agency head when determined to be

18 necessary, as established by regulation.

19 (2) FAILURE TO BEGIN OR COMPLETE THE

20 SERVICE OBLIGATION OR MEET THE TERMS AND

21 CONDITIONS OF DEFERMENT.—Scholarship recipi22 ents who, for any reason, fail to begin or complete

23 their service obligation after completion of academic

24 training, or fail to comply with the terms and condi25 tions of deferment established by the appropriate
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1 agency head pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(B), shall

2 be in breach of their contractual agreement. When

3 recipients breach their agreements for the reasons

4 stated in the preceding sentence, the recipient shall

5 be liable to the United States for an amount equal

6 to—

7 (A) the total amount of scholarships re8 ceived by such individual under this section;

9 plus

10 (B) the interest on the amounts of such

11 awards which would be payable if at the time

12 the awards were received they were loans bear13 ing interest at the maximum legal prevailing

14 rate, as determined by the Treasurer of the

15 United States,

16 multiplied by 3.

17 (h) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATION.—

18 (1) DEATH OF INDIVIDUAL.—Any obligation of

19 an individual incurred under a Program (or a con20 tractual agreement thereunder) for service or pay21 ment shall be canceled upon the death of the indi22 vidual.

23 (2) IMPOSSIBILITY OR EXTREME HARDSHIP.—

24 The agency heads shall by regulation provide for the

25 partial or total waiver or suspension of any obliga-
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1 tion of service or payment incurred by an individual

2 under their department’s or agency’s Program (or a

3 contractual agreement thereunder) whenever compli4 ance by the individual is impossible or would involve

5 extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement

6 of such obligation with respect to the individual

7 would be contrary to the best interests of the Gov8 ernment.

9 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi10 nitions apply:

11 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’

12 means the Director of the National Science Founda13 tion, the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of

14 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,

15 the Director of the National Institute of Standards

16 and Technology, or the Administrator of the Envi17 ronmental Protection Agency.

18 (2) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of

19 attendance’’ has the meaning given that term in sec20 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20

21 U.S.C. 1087ll).

22 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

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

24 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the

25 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
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1 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means a

2 Science and Technology Graduate Scholarship Pro3 gram established under this section.

Passed the House of Representatives May 7, 2003.

Attest:

Clerk.