I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 766

To provide for a National Nanotechnology Research and Development 

Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mr. BOEHLERT (for himself, Mr. HONDA, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. HALL, Mr. 

SMITH of Michigan, Mr. GORDON, Mrs. BIGGERT, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 

GUTKNECHT, and Mr. BISHOP of New York) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science 

A BILL

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nanotechnology Re5 search and Development Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act—

8 (1) the term ‘‘advanced technology user facil9 ity’’ means a nanotechnology research and develop-
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1 ment facility supported, in whole or in part, by Fed2 eral funds that is open to all United States research3 ers on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis; 

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

5 advisory committee established under section 5; 

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

7 the Office of Science and Technology Policy; 

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

9 the interagency committee established under section 

10 3(c); 

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

12 and engineering aimed at creating materials, devices, 

13 and systems at the atomic and molecular level; 

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

15 Nanotechnology Research and Development Pro16 gram described in section 3; and 

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

18 a major subject area established under section 

19 3(c)(2) under which is grouped related individual 

20 projects and activities carried out under the Pro21 gram. 

22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DE23 VELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

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

25 National Nanotechnology Research and Development Pro-
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1 gram to promote Federal nanotechnology research, devel2 opment, demonstration, education, technology transfer, 

3 and commercial application activities as necessary to en4 sure continued United States leadership in nanotechnology 

5 research and development and to ensure effective coordi6 nation of nanotechnology research and development across 

7 Federal agencies and across scientific and engineering dis8 ciplines. 

9 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro10 gram shall be designed to—

11 (1) provide sustained support for 

12 nanotechnology research and development through—

13 (A) grants to individual investigators and 

14 interdisciplinary teams of investigators; and 

15 (B) establishment of interdisciplinary re16 search centers and advanced technology user fa17 cilities; 

18 (2) ensure that solicitation and evaluation of 

19 proposals under the Program encourage interdiscipli20 nary research; 

21 (3) expand education and training of under22 graduate and graduate students in interdisciplinary 

23 nanotechnology science and engineering; 
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1 (4) accelerate the commercial application of 

2 nanotechnology innovations in the private sector; 

3 and 

4 (5) ensure that societal and ethical concerns 

5 will be addressed as the technology is developed by—

6 (A) establishing a research program to 

7 identify societal and ethical concerns related to 

8 nanotechnology, and ensuring that the results 

9 of such research are widely disseminated; and 

10 (B) integrating, insofar as possible, re11 search on societal and ethical concerns with 

12 nanotechnology research and development. 

13 (c) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President shall 

14 establish or designate an interagency committee on 

15 nanotechnology research and development, chaired by the 

16 Director, which shall include representatives from the Na17 tional Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the 

18 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Na19 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, the Envi20 ronmental Protection Agency, and any other agency that 

21 the President may designate. The Interagency Committee, 

22 which shall also include a representative from the Office 

23 of Management and Budget, shall oversee the planning, 

24 management, and coordination of the Program. The Inter25 agency Committee shall—
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1 (1) establish goals and priorities for the Pro2 gram; 

3 (2) establish program component areas, with 

4 specific priorities and technical goals, that reflect the 

5 goals and priorities established for the Program; 

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

7 enactment of this Act, and update annually, a stra8 tegic plan to meet the goals and priorities estab9 lished under paragraph (1) and to guide the activi10 ties of the program component areas established 

11 under paragraph (2); 

12 (4) consult with academic, State, industry, and 

13 other appropriate groups conducting research on and 

14 using nanotechnology, and the Advisory Committee; 

15 and 

16 (5) propose a coordinated interagency budget 

17 for the Program that will ensure the maintenance of 

18 a balanced nanotechnology research portfolio and en19 sure that each agency and each program component 

20 area is allocated the level of funding required to 

21 meet the goals and priorities established for the Pro22 gram. 

23 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT. 

24 The Director shall prepare an annual report, to be 

25 submitted to the Committee on Science of the House of 
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1 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate at the time of 

3 the President’s budget request to Congress, that in4 cludes—

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

6 year, for each agency that participates in the Pro7 gram and for each program component area; 

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

9 fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the 

10 Program and for each program component area; 

11 (3) an analysis of the progress made toward 

12 achieving the goals and priorities established for the 

13 Program; and 

14 (4) an analysis of the extent to which the Pro15 gram has incorporated the recommendations of the 

16 Advisory Committee. 

17 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish an 

19 advisory committee on nanotechnology consisting of non20 Federal members, including representatives of research 

21 and academic institutions and industry, who are qualified 

22 to provide advice and information on nanotechnology re23 search, development, demonstration, education, technology 

24 transfer, commercial application, and societal and ethical 

25 concerns. The recommendations of the Advisory Com-
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1 mittee shall be considered by Federal agencies in imple2 menting the Program. 

3 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as4 sess—

5 (1) trends and developments in nanotechnology 

6 science and engineering; 

7 (2) progress made in implementing the Pro8 gram; 

9 (3) the need to revise the Program; 

10 (4) the balance among the components of the 

11 Program, including funding levels for the program 

12 component areas; 

13 (5) whether the program component areas, pri14 orities, and technical goals developed by the Inter15 agency Committee are helping to maintain United 

16 States leadership in nanotechnology; 

17 (6) the management, coordination, implementa18 tion, and activities of the Program; and 

19 (7) whether societal and ethical concerns are 

20 adequately addressed by the Program. 

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

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

23 President and to the Committee on Science of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate on its findings 
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1 of the assessment carried out under subsection (b), its rec2 ommendations for ways to improve the Program, and the 

3 concerns assessed under subsection (b)(7). The first re4 port shall be due within 1 year after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act. 

6 (d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA7 TION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

8 shall not apply to the Advisory Committee. 

9 SEC. 6. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY COORDINATION OF10 FICE. 

11 The President shall establish a National 

12 Nanotechnology Coordination Office, with full-time staff, 

13 which shall—

14 (1) provide technical and administrative support 

15 to the Interagency Committee and the Advisory 

16 Committee; 

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

18 nanotechnology activities for government organiza19 tions, academia, industry, professional societies, and 

20 others to exchange technical and programmatic in21 formation; and 

22 (3) conduct public outreach, including dissemi23 nation of findings and recommendations of the 

24 Interagency Committee and the Advisory Committee, 

25 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) $197,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

12 (2) $217,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

13 (3) $239,000,000 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 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Director shall enter into an agreement 

13 with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct periodic 

14 reviews of the Program. The reviews shall be conducted 

15 once every 3 years during the 10-year period following the 

16 enactment of this Act. The reviews shall include—

17 (1) an evaluation of the technical achievements 

18 of the Program; 

19 (2) recommendations for changes in the Pro20 gram; 

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

22 United States with respect to other nations in 

23 nanotechnology research and development; 

24 (4) an evaluation of the Program’s success in 

25 transferring technology to the private sector; 
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1 (5) an evaluation of whether the Program has 

2 been successful in fostering interdisciplinary re3 search and development; and 

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

5 Program has adequately considered societal and eth6 ical concerns.

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