IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 554 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2009 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation 
AN ACT 
To authorize activities for support of nanotechnology 
research and development, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Nanotechnol-
ogy Initiative Amendments Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AMEND-
MENTS. 
The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De-
velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by striking section 2(c)(4) and inserting the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) develop, within 12 months after the date 
of enactment of the National Nanotechnology Initia-
tive Amendments Act of 2009, and update every 3 
years thereafter, a strategic plan to guide the activi-
ties described under subsection (b) that specifies 
near-term and long-term objectives for the Program, 
the anticipated time frame for achieving the near- 
term objectives, and the metrics to be used for as-
sessing progress toward the objectives, and that de-
scribes— 
‘‘(A) how the Program will move results 
out of the laboratory and into applications for 
the benefit of society, including through co-
operation and collaborations with nanotechnol-
ogy research, development, and technology tran-
sition initiatives supported by the States; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
‘‘(B) how the Program will encourage and 
support interdisciplinary research and develop-
ment in nanotechnology; and 
‘‘(C) proposed research in areas of national 
importance in accordance with the requirements 
of section 5 of the National Nanotechnology 
Initiative Amendments Act of 2009;’’; 
(2) in section 2— 
(A) in subsection (d)— 
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 
through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6), 
respectively; and 
(ii) by inserting the following new 
paragraph before paragraph (2), as so re-
designated by clause (i) of this subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(1) the Program budget, for the previous fiscal 
year, for each agency that participates in the Pro-
gram, including a breakout of spending for the de-
velopment and acquisition of research facilities and 
instrumentation, for each program component area, 
and for all activities pursuant to subsection 
(b)(10);’’; and 
(B) by inserting at the end the following 
new subsection: 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
‘‘(e) STANDARDS SETTING.—The agencies partici-
pating in the Program shall support the activities of com-
mittees involved in the development of standards for nano-
technology and may reimburse the travel costs of scientists 
and engineers who participate in activities of such commit-
tees.’’; 
(3) by striking section 3(b) and inserting the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(b) FUNDING.—(1) The operation of the National 
Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall be supported by 
funds from each agency participating in the Program. The 
portion of such Office’s total budget provided by each 
agency for each fiscal year shall be in the same proportion 
as the agency’s share of the total budget for the Program 
for the previous fiscal year, as specified in the report re-
quired under section 2(d)(1). 
‘‘(2) The annual report under section 2(d) shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) a description of the funding required by 
the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office to 
perform the functions specified under subsection (a) 
for the next fiscal year by category of activity, in-
cluding the funding required to carry out the re-
quirements of section 2(b)(10)(D), subsection (d) of 
this section, and section 5; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
‘‘(B) a description of the funding required by 
such Office to perform the functions specified under 
subsection (a) for the current fiscal year by category 
of activity, including the funding required to carry 
out the requirements of subsection (d); and 
‘‘(C) the amount of funding provided for such 
Office for the current fiscal year by each agency par-
ticipating in the Program.’’; 
(4) by inserting at the end of section 3 the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) PUBLIC
INFORMATION.—(1) The National 
Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall develop and 
maintain a database accessible by the public of projects 
funded under the Environmental, Health, and Safety, the 
Education and Societal Dimensions, and the Nanomanu-
facturing program component areas, or any successor pro-
gram component areas, including a description of each 
project, its source of funding by agency, and its funding 
history. For the Environmental, Health, and Safety pro-
gram component area, or any successor program compo-
nent area, projects shall be grouped by major objective as 
defined by the research plan required under section 3(b) 
of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments 
Act of 2009. For the Education and Societal Dimensions 
program component area, or any successor program com-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
ponent area, the projects shall be grouped in subcategories 
of— 
‘‘(A) education in formal settings; 
‘‘(B) education in informal settings; 
‘‘(C) public outreach; and 
‘‘(D) ethical, legal, and other societal issues. 
‘‘(2) The National Nanotechnology Coordination Of-
fice shall develop, maintain, and publicize information on 
nanotechnology facilities supported under the Program, 
and may include information on nanotechnology facilities 
supported by the States, that are accessible for use by in-
dividuals from academic institutions and from industry. 
The information shall include at a minimum the terms and 
conditions for the use of each facility, a description of the 
capabilities of the instruments and equipment available for 
use at the facility, and a description of the technical sup-
port available to assist users of the facility.’’; 
(5) in section 4(a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or designate’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘as a distinct entity’’ 
after ‘‘Advisory Panel’’; and 
(C) by inserting at the end ‘‘The Advisory 
Panel shall form a subpanel with membership 
having specific qualifications tailored to enable 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
it to carry out the requirements of subsection 
(c)(7).’’; 
(6) in section 4(b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or designated’’ and ‘‘or 
designating’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘At least one member of the Advisory Panel 
shall be an individual employed by and rep-
resenting a minority-serving institution.’’; 
(7) by amending section 5 to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5. TRIENNIAL EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL 
NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall enter into an ar-
rangement with the National Research Council of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences to conduct a triennial review 
of the Program. The Director shall ensure that the ar-
rangement with the National Research Council is con-
cluded in order to allow sufficient time for the reporting 
requirements of subsection (b) to be satisfied. Each tri-
ennial review shall include an evaluation of the— 
‘‘(1) research priorities and technical content of 
the Program, including whether the allocation of 
funding among program component areas, as des-
ignated according to section 2(c)(2), is appropriate; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
‘‘(2) effectiveness of the Program’s manage-
ment and coordination across agencies and dis-
ciplines, including an assessment of the effectiveness 
of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office; 
‘‘(3) Program’s scientific and technological ac-
complishments and its success in transferring tech-
nology to the private sector; and 
‘‘(4) adequacy of the Program’s activities ad-
dressing ethical, legal, environmental, and other ap-
propriate societal concerns, including human health 
concerns. 
‘‘(b) EVALUATION TO BE TRANSMITTED TO CON-
GRESS.—The National Research Council shall document 
the results of each triennial review carried out in accord-
ance with subsection (a) in a report that includes any rec-
ommendations for ways to improve the Program’s man-
agement and coordination processes and for changes to 
the Program’s objectives, funding priorities, and technical 
content. Each report shall be submitted to the Director 
of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, who 
shall transmit it to the Advisory Panel, the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 
and the Committee on Science and Technology of the 
House of Representatives not later than September 30 of 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
every third year, with the first report due September 30, 
2010. 
‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Of the amounts provided in accord-
ance with section 3(b)(1), the following amounts shall be 
available to carry out this section: 
‘‘(1) $500,000 for fiscal year 2010. 
‘‘(2) $500,000 for fiscal year 2011. 
‘‘(3) $500,000 for fiscal year 2012.’’; and 
(8) in section 10— 
(A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) NANOTECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘nanotech-
nology’ means the science and technology that will 
enable one to understand, measure, manipulate, and 
manufacture at the nanoscale, aimed at creating ma-
terials, devices, and systems with fundamentally new 
properties or functions.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(7) NANOSCALE.—The term ‘nanoscale’ means 
one or more dimensions of between approximately 1 
and 100 nanometers.’’. 
SEC. 3. SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. 
(a) COORDINATOR FOR SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS OF 
NANOTECHNOLOGY.—The Director of the Office of 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
Science and Technology Policy shall designate an associate 
director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
as the Coordinator for Societal Dimensions of Nanotech-
nology. The Coordinator shall be responsible for oversight 
of the coordination, planning, and budget prioritization of 
activities required by section 2(b)(10) of the 21st Century 
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 
U.S.C. 7501(b)(10)). The Coordinator shall, with the as-
sistance of appropriate senior officials of the agencies 
funding activities within the Environmental, Health, and 
Safety and the Education and Societal Dimensions pro-
gram component areas of the Program, or any successor 
program component areas, ensure that the requirements 
of such section 2(b)(10) are satisfied. The responsibilities 
of the Coordinator shall include— 
(1) ensuring that a research plan for the envi-
ronmental, health, and safety research activities re-
quired under subsection (b) is developed, updated, 
and implemented and that the plan is responsive to 
the recommendations of the subpanel of the Advi-
sory Panel established under section 4(a) of the 21st 
Century Nanotechnology Research and Development 
Act (15 U.S.C. 7503(a)), as amended by this Act; 
(2) encouraging and monitoring the efforts of 
the agencies participating in the Program to allocate 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
HR 554 RFS 
the level of resources and management attention 
necessary to ensure that the ethical, legal, environ-
mental, and other appropriate societal concerns re-
lated to nanotechnology, including human health 
concerns, are addressed under the Program, includ-
ing the implementation of the research plan de-
scribed in subsection (b); and 
(3) encouraging the agencies required to de-
velop the research plan under subsection (b) to iden-
tify, assess, and implement suitable mechanisms for 
the establishment of public-private partnerships for 
support of environmental, health, and safety re-
search. 
(b) RESEARCH PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Coordinator for Societal 
Dimensions of Nanotechnology shall convene and 
chair a panel comprised of representatives from the 
agencies funding research activities under the Envi-
ronmental, Health, and Safety program component 
area of the Program, or any successor program com-
ponent area, and from such other agencies as the 
Coordinator considers necessary to develop, periodi-
cally update, and coordinate the implementation of 
a research plan for this program component area. In 
developing and updating the plan, the panel con-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
02:35 Feb 13, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H554.RFS
H554
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS