IB 

Union Calendar No. 48

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 766

[Report No. 108–89] 

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 

MAY 6, 2003

Additional sponsors: Mr. ETHERIDGE, Ms. HART, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. BELL, Mr. WATT, Mr. FILNER, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Ms. 

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. 

LATHAM, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. WU, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. HOLT

MAY 6, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 13, 2003] 

A BILL

To provide for a National Nanotechnology Research and 

Development Program, and for other purposes.
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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 facility’’ 

9 means a nanotechnology research and development fa10 cility supported, in whole or in part, by Federal 

11 funds that is open to all United States researchers on 

12 a competitive, merit-reviewed basis; 

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

14 advisory committee established or designated under 

15 section 5; 

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

17 Office of Science and Technology Policy; 

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

19 interagency committee established under section 3(c); 

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

21 and engineering aimed at creating materials, devices, 

22 and systems at the atomic and molecular level; 

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

24 Nanotechnology Research and Development Program 

25 described in section 3; and 
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1 (7) the term ‘‘program component area’’ means 

2 a major subject area established under section 3(c)(2) 

3 under which is grouped related individual projects 

4 and activities carried out under the Program. 

5 SEC. 3. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DE6 VELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

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

8 National Nanotechnology Research and Development Pro9 gram to promote Federal nanotechnology research, develop10 ment, demonstration, education, technology transfer, and 

11 commercial application activities as necessary to ensure 

12 continued United States leadership in nanotechnology re13 search and development and to ensure effective coordination 

14 of nanotechnology research and development across Federal 

15 agencies. 

16 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro17 gram shall be designed to—

18 (1) provide sustained support for nanotechnology 

19 research and development through—

20 (A) grants to individual investigators and 

21 interdisciplinary teams of investigators; 

22 (B) establishment of advanced technology 

23 user facilities; and 

24 (C) establishment of interdisciplinary re25 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 nation9 ally; 

10 (iv) make use of ongoing research and 

11 development at the micrometer scale to sup12 port 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, in25 cluding environmental concerns and the potential im-
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1 plications of human performance enhancement and 

2 the possible development of nonhuman intelligence, 

3 will be addressed as the technology is developed by—

4 (A) establishing a research program to iden5 tify societal and ethical concerns related to 

6 nanotechnology, and ensuring that the results of 

7 such research are widely disseminated; 

8 (B) insofar as possible, integrating research 

9 on societal and ethical concerns with 

10 nanotechnology research and development, and 

11 ensuring that advances in nanotechnology bring 

12 about improvements in quality of life for all 

13 Americans; and 

14 (C) requiring that interdisciplinary re15 search centers under paragraph (1)(C) include 

16 activities that address societal and ethical con17 cerns; and 

18 (6) include to the maximum extent practicable 

19 diverse institutions, including Historically Black Col20 leges and Universities and those serving large propor21 tions of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific 

22 Americans, or other underrepresented populations. 

23 (c) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The President shall 

24 establish or designate an interagency committee on 

25 nanotechnology research and development, which shall in-
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1 clude representatives from the Office of Science and Tech2 nology Policy, the National Science Foundation, the De3 partment of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space 

4 Administration, the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency, and any 

6 other agency that the President may designate. The Director 

7 shall select a chairperson from among the members of the 

8 Interagency Committee. The Interagency Committee, which 

9 shall also include a representative from the Office of Man10 agement and Budget, shall oversee the planning, manage11 ment, and coordination of the Program. The Interagency 

12 Committee shall—

13 (1) establish goals and priorities for the Pro14 gram; 

15 (2) establish program component areas, with spe16 cific priorities and technical goals, that reflect the 

17 goals and priorities established for the Program; 

18 (3) develop, within 6 months after the date of en19 actment of this Act, and update annually, a strategic 

20 plan to meet the goals and priorities established 

21 under paragraph (1) and to guide the activities of the 

22 program component areas established under para23 graph (2); 

24 (4) propose a coordinated interagency budget for 

25 the Program that will ensure the maintenance of a 
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1 balanced nanotechnology research portfolio and ensure 

2 that each agency and each program component area 

3 is allocated the level of funding required to meet the 

4 goals and priorities established for the Program; 

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

6 such as the Small Business Innovation Research Pro7 gram and the Small Business Technology Transfer 

8 Research Program, in support of the goal stated in 

9 subsection (b)(4); and 

10 (6) in carrying out its responsibilities under 

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

12 the recommendations of the Advisory Committee and 

13 the views of academic, State, industry, and other ap14 propriate groups conducting research on and using 

15 nanotechnology. 

16 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT. 

17 The chairperson of the Interagency Committee shall 

18 prepare an annual report, to be submitted to the Committee 

19 on Science of the House of Representatives and the Com20 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

21 Senate at the time of the President’s budget request to Con22 gress, that includes—

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

24 year, for each agency that participates in the Pro25 gram, including a breakout of spending for the devel-
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1 opment and acquisition of research facilities and in2 strumentation, for each program component area, and 

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

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

5 fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the 

6 Program, including a breakout of spending for the de7 velopment and acquisition of research facilities and 

8 instrumentation, for each program component area, 

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

10 (3) an analysis of the progress made toward 

11 achieving the goals and priorities established for the 

12 Program; 

13 (4) an analysis of the extent to which the Pro14 gram has incorporated the recommendations of the 

15 Advisory Committee; and 

16 (5) an assessment of how Federal agencies are 

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

18 and a description of the amount of Small Business 

19 Innovative Research and Small Business Technology 

20 Transfer Research funds supporting the plan. 

21 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish or des23 ignate an advisory committee on nanotechnology consisting 

24 of non-Federal members, including representatives of re25 search and academic institutions and industry, who are
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1 qualified to provide advice and information on 

2 nanotechnology research, development, demonstration, edu3 cation, technology transfer, commercial application, and so4 cietal and ethical concerns. The recommendations of the Ad5 visory Committee shall be considered by Federal agencies 

6 in implementing the Program. 

7 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall as8 sess—

9 (1) trends and developments in nanotechnology 

10 science and engineering; 

11 (2) progress made in implementing the Program; 

12 (3) the need to revise the Program; 

13 (4) the balance among the components of the 

14 Program, including funding levels for the program 

15 component areas; 

16 (5) whether the program component areas, prior17 ities, and technical goals developed by the Interagency 

18 Committee are helping to maintain United States 

19 leadership in nanotechnology; 

20 (6) the management, coordination, implementa21 tion, and activities of the Program; and 

22 (7) whether societal and ethical concerns are ade23 quately addressed by the Program. 

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

25 not less frequently than once every 2 fiscal years to the 
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1 President on its findings of the assessment carried out 

2 under subsection (b), its recommendations for ways to im3 prove the Program, and the concerns assessed under sub4 section (b)(7). The first report shall be due within 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment 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 Com16 mittee; 

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 infor21 mation; and 

22 (3) conduct public outreach, including dissemi23 nation of findings and recommendations of the Inter24 agency Committee and the Advisory Committee, as 

25 appropriate. 
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There are au3 thorized to be appropriated to the National Science Foun4 dation 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 authorized 

9 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for carrying 

10 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 ADMINISTRA15 TION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na16 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration for carrying 

17 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 TECH22 NOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

23 National Institute of Standards and Technology for car24 rying 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 in17 clude—

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 research 

5 and development; and 

6 (6) an evaluation of the extent to which the Pro7 gram has adequately considered societal and ethical 

8 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 com3 mercial scale; and 

4 (B) recommendations for a research agenda 

5 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 review 

8 shall be conducted in accordance with subsection (a) that 

9 includes a study to assess the need for standards, guidelines, 

10 or strategies for ensuring the development of safe 

11 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 arti23 ficial 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 Scholar7 ship Program to award scholarships to individuals 

8 that is designed to recruit and prepare students for 

9 careers in the Federal Government that require engi10 neering, 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 para22 graph (2) under which the individuals agree to serve 

23 as full-time employees of the Federal Government, for 

24 the period described in subsection (f)(1), in positions 

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

2 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 education 

7 in an academic field or discipline described in a list 

8 made available under subsection (d); 

9 (2) be a United States citizen or permanent resi10 dent; and 

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

12 not be a Federal employee as defined in section 2105 

13 of title 5 of the United States Code. 

14 (c) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—An individual seeking 

15 a scholarship under this section shall submit an application 

16 to an agency head at such time, in such manner, and con17 taining such information, agreements, or assurances as the 

18 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 agency 

5 head, as part of the application required under sub6 section (c), a proposed academic program leading to 

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

8 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 amount 

14 of a scholarship under this section for an academic 

15 year shall be determined under regulations issued by 

16 the agency heads, but shall in no case exceed the cost 

17 of attendance. 

18 (4) AUTHORIZED USES.—A scholarship provided 

19 under this section may be expended for tuition, fees, 

20 and other authorized expenses as established by the 

21 agency heads by regulation. 

22 (5) CONTRACTS REGARDING DIRECT PAYMENTS

23 TO INSTITUTIONS.—Each agency head may enter into 

24 a contractual agreement with an institution of higher 

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

2 other authorized expenses are paid directly to the in3 stitution with respect to which the scholarship is pro4 vided. 

5 (f) PERIOD OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.—

6 (1) DURATION OF SERVICE.—The period of serv7 ice for which an individual shall be obligated to serve 

8 as an employee of the Federal Government is, except 

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

10 academic year for which a scholarship under this sec11 tion 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 shall 

21 prescribe the terms and conditions under which a 

22 service obligation may be deferred through regulation. 

23 (g) PENALTIES FOR BREACH OF SCHOLARSHIP

24 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 ap4 propriate 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 agree10 ment and, in lieu of any service obligation arising 

11 under such agreement, shall be liable to the United 

12 States for repayment within 1 year after the date of 

13 default of all scholarship funds paid to them and to 

14 the institution of higher education on their behalf 

15 under the agreement, except as provided in subsection 

16 (h)(2). The repayment period may be extended by the 

17 agency head when determined to be necessary, as es18 tablished by regulation. 

19 (2) FAILURE TO BEGIN OR COMPLETE THE SERV20 ICE OBLIGATION OR MEET THE TERMS AND CONDI21 TIONS OF DEFERMENT.—Scholarship recipients who, 

22 for any reason, fail to begin or complete their service 

23 obligation after completion of academic training, or 

24 fail to comply with the terms and conditions of 

25 deferment established by the appropriate agency head 
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1 pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(B), shall be in breach of 

2 their contractual agreement. When recipients breach 

3 their agreements for the reasons stated in the pre4 ceding sentence, the recipient shall be liable to the 

5 United States for an amount equal to—

6 (A) the total amount of scholarships re7 ceived by such individual under this section; 

8 plus 

9 (B) the interest on the amounts of such 

10 awards which would be payable if at the time 

11 the awards were received they were loans bearing 

12 interest at the maximum legal prevailing rate, 

13 as determined by the Treasurer of the United 

14 States, 

15 multiplied by 3. 

16 (h) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATION.—

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

18 an individual incurred under a Program (or a con19 tractual agreement thereunder) for service or payment 

20 shall be canceled upon the death of the individual. 

21 (2) IMPOSSIBILITY OR EXTREME HARDSHIP.—

22 The agency heads shall by regulation provide for the 

23 partial or total waiver or suspension of any obliga24 tion of service or payment incurred by an individual 

25 under their department’s or agency’s Program (or a 
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1 contractual agreement thereunder) whenever compli2 ance by the individual is impossible or would involve 

3 extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement 

4 of such obligation with respect to the individual 

5 would be contrary to the best interests of the Govern6 ment. 

7 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defini8 tions apply: 

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

10 means the Director of the National Science Founda11 tion, the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of 

12 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

13 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

14 and Technology, or the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency. 

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

17 attendance’’ has the meaning given that term in sec18 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1087ll). 

20 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean22 ing given that term in section 101(a) of the Higher 

23 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.

Union Calendar No. 48

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 766

[Report No. 108–89] 

A BILL

To provide for a National Nanotechnology Research 

and Development Program, and for other purposes. 

MAY 6, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed