IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5049 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 15, 2016 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions 
AN ACT 
To provide for improved management and oversight of major 
multi-user research facilities funded by the National 
Science Foundation, to ensure transparency and account-
ability of construction and management costs, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NSF Major Research 
Facility Reform Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Foundation. 
(2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 
means the National Science Foundation established 
under section 2 of the National Science Foundation 
Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861). 
(3) MAJOR MULTI-USER RESEARCH FACILITY.— 
The term ‘‘major multi-user research facility’’ means 
a science and engineering infrastructure construction 
project that exceeds the lesser of 10 percent of a Di-
rectorate’s annual budget or $100,000,000 in total 
project cost that is funded in the major research 
equipment and facilities construction account, or any 
successor thereto. 
SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FACILI-
TIES. 
(a) LARGE FACILITIES OFFICE.—The Director shall 
maintain a Large Facilities Office. The functions of the 
Large Facilities Office shall be to support the research 
directorates in the development, implementation, and as-
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sessment of major multi-user research facilities, including 
by— 
(1) serving as the Foundation’s primary re-
source for all policy or process issues related to the 
development and implementation of major multi-user 
research facilities; 
(2) serving as a Foundation-wide resource on 
project management, including providing expert as-
sistance on nonscientific and nontechnical aspects of 
project planning, budgeting, implementation, man-
agement, and oversight; 
(3) coordinating and collaborating with research 
directorates to share best management practices and 
lessons learned from prior projects; and 
(4) assessing projects during preconstruction 
and construction phases for cost and schedule risk. 
(b) OVERSIGHT OF LARGE FACILITIES.—The Direc-
tor shall appoint a senior agency official as head of the 
Large Facilities Office whose responsibility is oversight of 
the development, construction, and transfer to operations 
of major multi-user research facilities across the Founda-
tion. 
(c) POLICIES FOR LARGE FACILITY COSTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ensure 
that the Foundation’s polices for developing and 
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maintaining major multi-user research facility con-
struction costs are consistent with the best practices 
described in the March 2009 Government Account-
ability Office Report GAO–09–3SP, or any successor 
report thereto, the Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR part 
200, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation as ap-
propriate. 
(2) COST PROPOSAL ANALYSIS.— 
(A) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—The Direc-
tor shall ensure that an external cost proposal 
analysis is conducted for any major multi-user 
research facility. 
(B) RESOLUTION OF ISSUES FOUND.—The 
Director, or a senior agency official within the 
Office of the Director designated by the Direc-
tor, shall certify in writing that all issues identi-
fied during the cost analysis, including any 
findings of unjustified or questionable cost 
items, are resolved before the Foundation may 
execute a construction agreement with respect 
to the project. 
(C) TRANSMITTAL
TO
CONGRESS.—The 
Director shall transmit each certification made 
under subparagraph (B) to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
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Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 
Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives, and the Committee on Appro-
priations of the Senate. 
(3) INCURRED
COST
AUDITS.—The Director 
shall ensure that an incurred cost audit is conducted 
at least biennially on any major multi-user research 
facility, in accordance with Government Auditing 
Standards as established in Government Account-
ability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or any suc-
cessor report thereto, with the first incurred cost 
audit to commence no later than 12 months after 
execution of the construction agreement. 
(4) CONTINGENCIES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided for 
in subparagraph (C)(ii), the Foundation shall— 
(i) provide oversight for contingency 
in accordance with Cost Principles Uni-
form Guidance in 2 CFR part 200.433, or 
any successor thereto, and the Federal Ac-
quisition Regulation as appropriate, except 
as provided in this paragraph; and 
(ii) not make any award which pro-
vides for contributions to a contingency re-
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serve held or managed by the awardee, as 
defined in 2 CFR part 200.433(c). 
(B) UPDATING
POLICY
MANUAL.—The 
Foundation shall update its Large Facilities 
Manual and any other applicable guidance for 
contingencies on major multi-user research fa-
cilities with regard to estimating, monitoring, 
and accounting for contingency. 
(C) FOUNDATION
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
policy updated under subparagraph (B) shall 
require that the Foundation— 
(i) may only include contingency 
amounts in an award in accordance with 
Cost Principles Uniform Guidance in 2 
CFR part 200.433, or any successor there-
to, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
as appropriate; and 
(ii) shall retain control over funds 
budgeted for contingency, but may dis-
burse budgeted contingency funds incre-
mentally to the awardee to ensure project 
stability and continuity. 
(D) AWARDEE REQUIREMENTS.—The pol-
icy updated under subparagraph (B) shall re-
quire that an awardee shall— 
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(i) provide verifiable documentation to 
support any amounts proposed for contin-
gencies; and 
(ii) support requests for the release of 
contingency funds with evidence of a bona 
fide need and that the amounts allocated 
to the performance baseline are reasonable 
and allowable. 
(E) CURRENT AWARDEES.—The Founda-
tion shall work with awardees for whom awards 
with contingency provisions have been made be-
fore the date of enactment of this Act— 
(i) to determine if any of their use of 
contingency funds represents out-of-scope 
changes for which Foundation’s prior writ-
ten approval was not obtained; and 
(ii) if out-of-scope changes are found, 
to identify any financial action that may be 
appropriate. 
(5) MANAGEMENT FEES.— 
(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘‘management fee’’ means a portion of an 
award made by the Foundation for the purpose 
of covering ordinary and legitimate business ex-
penses necessary to maintain operational sta-
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bility which are not otherwise allowable under 
Cost Principles Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR 
part 200, Subpart E, or any successor regula-
tion thereto. 
(B) LIMITATION.—The Foundation may 
provide a management fee under an award only 
if the awardee provides justification as to the 
need for such funds. In such cases, the Founda-
tion shall take into account the awardee’s over-
all financial circumstances when determining 
the amount of the fee if justified. 
(C) 
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION.—The 
Foundation shall require award applicants to 
provide income and financial information cov-
ering a period of no less than 3 prior years (or 
in the case of an entity established less than 3 
years prior to the entity’s application date, the 
period beginning on the date of establishment 
and ending on the application date), including 
cash on hand and net asset information, in sup-
port of a request for management fees. The 
Foundation shall also require awardees to re-
port to the Foundation annually any sources of 
non-Federal funds received in excess of $50,000 
during the award period. 
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(D) EXPENSE REPORTING.—The Founda-
tion shall require awardees to track and report 
to the Foundation annually all expenses reim-
bursed or otherwise paid for with management 
fee funds, in accordance with Federal account-
ing practices as established in Government Ac-
countability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or 
any successor report thereto. 
(E) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of 
the Foundation may audit any Foundation 
award for compliance with this paragraph. 
(F) PROHIBITED USES.—An awardee may 
not use management fees for— 
(i) costs allowable under Cost Prin-
ciples Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR part 
200, Subpart E, or any successor regula-
tion thereto; 
(ii) alcoholic beverages; 
(iii) tickets to concerts, sporting, or 
other entertainment events; 
(iv) vacation or other travel for non-
business purposes; 
(v) charitable contributions, except for 
a charitable contribution of direct benefit 
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to the project or activity supported by the 
management fee; 
(vi) social or sporting club member-
ships; 
(vii) meals or entertainment for non-
business purposes; 
(viii) luxury or personal items; 
(ix) lobbying, as described in the Uni-
form Guidance at 2 CFR 200.450; or 
(x) any other purpose the Foundation 
determines is inappropriate. 
(G) REVIEW.—The Foundation shall re-
view management fee usage for each Founda-
tion award on at least an annual basis for com-
pliance with this paragraph and the Founda-
tion’s Large Facilities Manual. 
(6) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 
submit to Congress a report describing the Founda-
tion’s policies for developing and managing major 
multi-user research facility construction costs, in-
cluding a description of any aspects of the policies 
that diverge from the best practices recommended in 
Government Accountability Office Report GAO–09– 
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3SP, or any successor report thereto, and the Uni-
form Guidance in 2 CFR part 200. 
(7) NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Director shall en-
sure that the Foundation shall take the enforcement 
actions specified in 45 CFR 92.43 for noncompli-
ance with this section. 
SEC. 4. WHISTLEBLOWER EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall be subject 
to section 4712 of title 41, United States Code. 
(b) EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—The Foundation 
shall provide education and training for Foundation man-
agers and staff on the requirements of such section 4712, 
and provide information on such section to all awardees, 
contractors, and employees of such awardees and contrac-
tors. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 14, 2016. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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