In the Senate of the United States,
February 7, 1996.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 2196) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 with respect to
inventions made under cooperative research and development
agreements, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the fol-
lowing
AMENDMENTS:
Ω1æPage 3, line 24, before ‘‘field’’ insert: pre-negotiated
Ω2æPage 5, line 4, strike out all after ‘‘only’’ down to and
including ‘‘finds’’ in line 5 and insert: in exceptional cir-
cumstances and only if the Government determines
Ω3æPage 5, after line 15 insert:
This determination is subject to administrative ap-
peal and judicial review under section 203(2) of title
35, United States Code.
Ω4æPage 13, strike out lines 10 through 17 and insert:
HR 2196 EAS
Section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In-
novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(i)) is amended by
inserting ‘‘loan, lease, or’’ before ‘‘give’’.
Ω5æPage 21, strike out all after line 22 over to and includ-
ing line 3 on page 22 and insert:
‘‘(13) to coordinate Federal, State, and local
technical standards activities and conformity assess-
ment activities, with private sector technical stand-
ards activities and conformity assessment activities,
with the goal of eliminating unnecessary duplication
and complexity in the development and promulgation
of conformity assessment requirements and meas-
ures.’’.
Ω6æPage 22, lines 5 and 6, strike out øby January 1,
1996,¿ and insert: within 90 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act,
Ω7æPage 22, strike out all after line 7, over to and includ-
ing line 5 on page 23 and insert:
(d) UTILIZATION OF CONSENSUS TECHNICAL STAND-
ARDS BY FEDERAL AGENCIES; REPORTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3) of this subsection, all Federal agencies and
departments shall use technical standards that are de-
veloped or adopted by voluntary consensus standards
HR 2196 EAS
bodies, using such technical standards as a means to
carry out policy objectives or activities determined by
the agencies and departments.
(2) CONSULTATION; PARTICIPATION.—In carry-
ing out paragraph (1) of this subsection, Federal
agencies and departments shall consult with vol-
untary, private sector, consensus standards bodies
and shall, when such participation is in the public
interest and is compatible with agency and depart-
mental missions, authorities, priorities, and budget
resources, participate with such bodies in the develop-
ment of technical standards.
(3) EXCEPTION.—If compliance with paragraph
(1) of this subsection is inconsistent with applicable
law or otherwise impractical, a Federal agency or de-
partment may elect to use technical standards that
are not developed or adopted by voluntary consensus
standards bodies if the head of each such agency or
department transmits to the Office of Management
and Budget an explanation of the reasons for using
such standards. Each year, beginning with fiscal year
1997, the Office of Management and Budget shall
transmit to Congress and its committees a report
summarizing all explanations received in the preced-
ing year under this paragraph.
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(4) DEFINITION OF TECHNICAL STANDARDS.—As
used in this subsection, the term ‘‘technical stand-
ards’’ means performance-based or design-specific
technical specifications and related management sys-
tems practices.
Attest:
Secretary.