107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 524
AN ACT
To require the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology to assist small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses to successfully
integrate and utilize electronic commerce technologies
and business practices, and to authorize the National
Institute of Standards and Technology to assess critical
enterprise integration standards and implementation ac-
tivities for major manufacturing industries and to de-
velop a plan for enterprise integration for each major
manufacturing industry.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Commerce
Enhancement Act of 2001’’.
TITLE I—ELECTRONIC
COMMERCE
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Commercial transactions on the Internet,
whether retail business-to-customer or business-to-
business, are commonly called electronic commerce.
(2) In the United States, business-to-business
transactions between small and medium-sized manu-
facturers and other such businesses and their sup-
pliers is rapidly growing, as many of these busi-
nesses begin to use Internet connections for supply-
chain management, after-sales support, and pay-
ments.
(3) Small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses play a critical role in the
United States economy.
(4) Electronic commerce can help small and
medium-sized manufacturers and other such busi-
nesses develop new products and markets, interact
more quickly and efficiently with suppliers and cus-
tomers, and improve productivity by increasing effi-
ciency and reducing transaction costs and paper-
work. Small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses who fully exploit the potential
of electronic commerce activities can use it to inter-
act with customers, suppliers, and the public, and
for external support functions such as personnel
services and employee training.
(5) The National Institute of Standards and
Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership
program has a successful record of assisting small
and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses. In addition, the Manufacturing Exten-
sion Partnership program, working with the Small
Business 
Administration, 
successfully 
assisted
United States small enterprises in remediating their
Y2K computer problems.
(6) A critical element of electronic commerce is
the ability of different electronic commerce systems
to exchange information. The continued growth of
electronic commerce will be enhanced by the develop-
ment of private voluntary interoperability standards
and testbeds to ensure the compatibility of different
systems.
SEC. 102. REPORT ON THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC
COMMERCE.
(a) ADVISORY PANEL.—The Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (in this title re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall establish an Advisory
Panel to report on the challenges facing small and me-
dium-sized manufacturers and other such businesses in in-
tegrating and utilizing electronic commerce technologies
and business practices. The Advisory Panel shall be com-
prised of representatives of the Technology Administra-
tion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program estab-
lished under sections 25 and 26 of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and
278l), the Small Business Administration, and other rel-
evant parties as identified by the Director.
(b) INITIAL REPORT.—Within 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall
report to the Director and to the Committee on Science
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on
the immediate requirements of small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses to integrate and
utilize electronic commerce technologies and business
practices. The report shall—
(1) describe the current utilization of electronic
commerce practices by small and medium-sized man-
ufacturers and other such businesses, detailing the
different levels between business-to-retail customer
and business-to-business transactions;
(2) describe and assess the utilization and need
for encryption and electronic authentication compo-
nents and electronically stored data security in elec-
tronic commerce for small and medium-sized manu-
facturers and other such businesses;
(3) identify the impact and problems of inter-
operability to electronic commerce, and include an
economic assessment; and
(4) include a preliminary assessment of the ap-
propriate role of, and recommendations for, the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to
assist small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses to integrate and utilize elec-
tronic commerce technologies and business practices.
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Within 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall
report to the Director and to the Committee on Science
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a
3-year assessment of the needs of small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses to integrate and
utilize electronic commerce technologies and business
practices. The report shall include—
(1) a 3-year planning document for the Manu-
facturing Extension Partnership program in the
field of electronic commerce; and
(2) recommendations, if necessary, for the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology to ad-
dress interoperability issues in the field of electronic
commerce.
SEC. 103. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE PILOT PROGRAM.
The National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership program,
in consultation with the Small Business Administration,
shall establish a pilot program to assist small and me-
dium-sized manufacturers and other such businesses in in-
tegrating and utilizing electronic commerce technologies
and business practices. The goal of the pilot program shall
be to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses with the information they need to
make informed decisions in utilizing electronic commerce-
related goods and services. Such program shall be imple-
mented through a competitive grants program for existing
Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Tech-
nology established under section 25 of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k).
In carrying out this section, the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership program shall consult with the Advisory
Panel and utilize the Advisory Panel’s reports.
TITLE II—ENTERPRISE
INTEGRATION
SEC. 201. ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION ASSESSMENT AND
PLAN.
(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Director shall work to iden-
tify critical enterprise integration standards and imple-
mentation activities for major manufacturing industries
underway in the United States. For each major manufac-
turing industry, the Director shall work with industry rep-
resentatives and organizations currently engaged in enter-
prise integration activities and other appropriate rep-
resentatives as necessary. They shall assess the current
state of enterprise integration within the industry, identify
the remaining steps in achieving enterprise integration,
and work toward agreement on the roles of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and of the private
sector in that process. Within 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director shall report to the
Congress on these matters and on anticipated related Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology activities for
the then current fiscal year.
(b) PLANS AND REPORTS.—Within 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall
submit to the Congress a plan for enterprise integration
for each major manufacturing industry, including mile-
stones for the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology portion of the plan, the dates of likely achievement
of those milestones, and anticipated costs to the Govern-
ment and industry by fiscal year. Updates of the plans
and a progress report for the past year shall be submitted
annually until for a given industry, in the opinion of the
Director, enterprise integration has been achieved.
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
(2) the term ‘‘enterprise integration’’ means the
electronic linkage of manufacturers, assemblers, and
suppliers to enable the electronic exchange of prod-
uct, manufacturing, and other business data among
all businesses in a product supply chain, and such
term includes related application protocols and other
related standards; and
(3) the term ‘‘major manufacturing industry’’
includes the aerospace, automotive, electronics, ship-
building, construction, home building, furniture, tex-
tile, and apparel industries and such other industries
as the Director designates.
Passed the House of Representatives February 14,
2001.
Attest:
Clerk.