I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4413 
To provide grants and loan guarantees for the development and construction 
of science parks to promote the clustering of innovation through high 
technology activities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 12, 2010 
Ms. GIFFORDS (for herself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To provide grants and loan guarantees for the development 
and construction of science parks to promote the clus-
tering of innovation through high technology activities. 
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 ‘‘Science Parks Re-
search and Innovative New Technologies Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE PARKS. 
(a) FINDING.—Section 2 of the Stevenson-Wydler 
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(12) It is in the best interests of the Nation 
to encourage the formation of science parks to pro-
mote the clustering of innovation through high tech-
nology activities.’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
3703) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) ‘Brownfield’ means abandoned, idled, or 
underused industrial or commercial real property on 
which expansion or redevelopment is complicated by 
real or perceived environmental contamination. 
‘‘(13) ‘Business or industrial park’ means a pri-
marily for-profit real estate venture of businesses or 
industries which do not necessarily reinforce each 
other through supply chain or technology transfer 
mechanisms. 
‘‘(14) ‘Cluster’ means a group of competing, 
collaborating, and interdependent businesses that— 
‘‘(A) work in a common industry; 
‘‘(B) are concentrated in a geographic re-
gion; 
‘‘(C) draw on shared infrastructure and a 
pool of skilled workers; and 
‘‘(D) represent the specialization and com-
parative advantage of the region. 
‘‘(15) ‘Science park’— 
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‘‘(A) means a centralized or regionally dis-
tributed group of interrelated companies and 
institutions, including suppliers, service pro-
viders, institutions of higher education, Federal 
or State laboratories, start-up incubators, clus-
ters, and trade associations that— 
‘‘(i) foster knowledge flow and con-
tribute to regional economic growth and 
development; 
‘‘(ii) cooperate and compete with each 
other through physical connectivity or 
networked virtual parks where technologies 
cluster, including companies, researchers, 
and community college workforce training 
activities; and 
‘‘(iii) are located in a specific area or 
region that promotes real estate develop-
ment or knowledge-based enterprises, tech-
nology transfer, and partnerships between 
such companies and institutions; 
‘‘(B) includes a science park, research 
park, technology park, research and develop-
ment park, research and technology park, and 
science and technology park; and 
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‘‘(C) does not include a business or indus-
trial park. 
‘‘(16) ‘Science park infrastructure’ means facili-
ties that support the daily economic activity of a 
science park.’’. 
(c) SCIENCE PARKS.—The Stevenson-Wydler Tech-
nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 24. SCIENCE PARKS. 
‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLANS FOR CONSTRUCTION 
OF SCIENCE PARKS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 
grants for the development of feasibility studies and 
plans for the construction of new science parks or 
the expansion, including renovation and moderniza-
tion, of existing science parks. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 
The amount of a grant awarded under this sub-
section may not exceed $750,000. 
‘‘(3) AWARD.— 
‘‘(A) COMPETITION REQUIRED.—The Sec-
retary shall award grants under this subsection 
pursuant to a full and open competition. 
‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSION.—The Sec-
retary is encouraged to divide the grants award-
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ed under this subsection among low-, medium- 
, and high-population density States. 
‘‘(C) ADVERTISING.—The Secretary shall 
advertise any competition under this paragraph 
in the Commerce Business Daily. 
‘‘(D) SELECTION
CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary shall publish the criteria to be utilized in 
any competition under this paragraph for the 
selection of recipients of grants under this sub-
section, which shall include requirements relat-
ing to— 
‘‘(i) the effect the science park will 
have on regional economic growth and de-
velopment; 
‘‘(ii) the number of jobs to be created 
at the science park and in the surrounding 
regional community each year during its 
first 5 years; 
‘‘(iii) the funding to be required to 
construct or expand, including renovating 
or modernizing, the science park during its 
first 5 years; 
‘‘(iv) the amount and type of financ-
ing and access to capital available to the 
applicant; 
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‘‘(v) the types of businesses and re-
search entities expected in the science park 
and in the surrounding regional commu-
nity; 
‘‘(vi) letters of intent by businesses 
and research entities to locate in the 
science park; 
‘‘(vii) the quality of life for employees 
at the science park; 
‘‘(viii) the capability to attract a well 
trained workforce to the science park; 
‘‘(ix) the management of the science 
park; 
‘‘(x) expected financial risks in the 
construction and operation of the science 
park and the risk mitigation strategy; 
‘‘(xi) physical infrastructure available 
to the science park, including roads, utili-
ties, and telecommunications; 
‘‘(xii) the utilization of energy effi-
cient building technology, including nation-
ally recognized green building design prac-
tices, renewable energy, cogeneration, and 
other methods that increase energy effi-
ciency and conservation; 
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‘‘(xiii) consideration of the trans-
formation of military bases affected by the 
base realignment and closure process 
(BRAC) or the redevelopment of existing 
buildings, structures, or brownfield sites 
that are abandoned, idled, or underused 
into single or multiple building facilities for 
science and technology companies and in-
stitutions; 
‘‘(xiv) the ability to collaborate with 
other science parks throughout the world; 
and 
‘‘(xv) other criteria prescribed by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated $7,500,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to 
carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(b) LOAN GUARANTEES FOR SCIENCE PARK INFRA-
STRUCTURE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Secretary may guarantee up to 80 percent of the 
loan amount for projects for the construction or ex-
pansion, including renovation and modernization, of 
science park infrastructure. 
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‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON GUARANTEE AMOUNTS.— 
The maximum amount of loan principal guaranteed 
under this subsection may not exceed— 
‘‘(A) $50,000,000 with respect to any sin-
gle project; and 
‘‘(B) $500,000,000 with respect to all 
projects. 
‘‘(3) 
SELECTION
OF
GUARANTEE
RECIPI-
ENTS.—The Secretary shall select recipients of loan 
guarantees under this subsection based upon the 
ability of the recipient to collateralize the loan 
amount through bonds, equity, property, and other 
such criteria as the Secretary shall prescribe. Enti-
ties receiving a grant under subsection (a) are not 
eligible for a loan guarantee during the period of 
such grant. 
‘‘(4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR LOAN GUAR-
ANTEES.—The loans guaranteed under this sub-
section shall be subject to such terms and conditions 
as the Secretary may prescribe, except that— 
‘‘(A) the final maturity of such loans made 
or guaranteed may not exceed the lesser of— 
‘‘(i) 30 years and 32 days; or 
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‘‘(ii) 90 percent of the useful life of 
any physical asset to be financed by such 
loan; 
‘‘(B) a loan made or guaranteed under this 
subsection may not be subordinated to another 
debt contracted by the borrower or to any other 
claims against the borrowers in the case of de-
fault; 
‘‘(C) a loan may not be guaranteed under 
this subsection unless the Secretary determines 
that the lender is responsible and that adequate 
provision is made for servicing the loan on rea-
sonable terms and protecting the financial in-
terest of the United States; 
‘‘(D) a loan may not be guaranteed under 
this subsection if— 
‘‘(i) the income from such loan is ex-
cluded from gross income for purposes of 
chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986; or 
‘‘(ii) the guarantee provides signifi-
cant collateral or security, as determined 
by the Secretary, for other obligations the 
income from which is so excluded; 
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‘‘(E) any guarantee provided under this 
subsection shall be conclusive evidence that— 
‘‘(i) the guarantee has been properly 
obtained; 
‘‘(ii) the underlying loan qualified for 
such guarantee; and 
‘‘(iii) absent fraud or material mis-
representation by the holder, the guarantee 
is presumed to be valid, legal, and enforce-
able; 
‘‘(F) the Secretary shall prescribe explicit 
standards for use in periodically assessing the 
credit risk of new and existing direct loans or 
guaranteed loans; 
‘‘(G) the Secretary may not extend credit 
assistance unless the Secretary has determined 
that there is a reasonable assurance of repay-
ment; and 
‘‘(H) new loan guarantees may not be com-
mitted except to the extent that appropriations 
of budget authority to cover their costs are 
made in advance, as required under section 504 
of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 
U.S.C. 661c). 
‘‘(5) PAYMENT OF LOSSES.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, as a result of a de-
fault by a borrower under a loan guaranteed 
under this subsection, after the holder has 
made such further collection efforts and insti-
tuted such enforcement proceedings as the Sec-
retary may require, the Secretary determines 
that the holder has suffered a loss, the Sec-
retary shall pay to such holder the percentage 
of such loss specified in the guarantee contract. 
Upon making any such payment, the Secretary 
shall be subrogated to all the rights of the re-
cipient of the payment. The Secretary shall be 
entitled to recover from the borrower the 
amount of any payments made pursuant to any 
guarantee entered into under this section. 
‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS.—The At-
torney General shall take such action as may be 
appropriate to enforce any right accruing to the 
United States as a result of the issuance of any 
guarantee under this section. 
‘‘(C) FORBEARANCE.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to preclude any forbear-
ance for the benefit of the borrower which may 
be agreed upon by the parties to the guaranteed 
loan and approved by the Secretary, if budget 
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authority for any resulting subsidy costs (as de-
fined in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit 
Reform Act of 1990) is available. 
‘‘(D) MANAGEMENT OF PROPERTY.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law relating 
to the acquisition, handling, or disposal of prop-
erty by the United States, the Secretary may 
complete, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, re-
pair, maintain, operate, or sell any property ac-
quired by the Secretary pursuant to this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(6) REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall— 
‘‘(A) conduct a review of the subsidy esti-
mates for the loan guarantees under this sub-
section; and 
‘‘(B) submit to Congress a report on the 
review conducted under this paragraph. 
‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—A loan may not be guar-
anteed under this subsection after September 30, 
2015. 
‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated— 
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‘‘(A) $35,000,000 for the cost (as defined 
in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform 
Act of 1990) of guaranteeing $500,000,000 in 
loans under this subsection; and 
‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 
administrative expenses in fiscal year 2011 and 
thereafter. 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES EVALUA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall enter into an agreement with the Board 
on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy of the 
National Academy of Sciences under which the 
Board shall— 
‘‘(A) conduct an evaluation of the activities 
under this section; and 
‘‘(B) review and recommend best practices 
for the development of United States science 
parks, including metrics for their success. 
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Under the agreement described 
in paragraph (1), the Board shall submit a report to 
the Secretary that— 
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‘‘(A) includes the Board’s evaluation of 
science park development under this section; 
and 
‘‘(B) may include such recommendations 
as the Board considers appropriate for addi-
tional activities to promote and facilitate the de-
velopment of science parks in the United 
States. 
‘‘(d) TRI-ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 
31, 2014, and every third year thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit a report to Congress that— 
‘‘(1) describes the activities under this section 
during the preceding 3 years; 
‘‘(2) includes any recommendations made by 
the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic 
Policy under subsection (c)(2)(B) during such pe-
riod; and 
‘‘(3) may include such recommendations for leg-
islative or administrative action as the Secretary 
considers appropriate to further promote and facili-
tate the development of science parks in the United 
States. 
‘‘(e) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
promulgate regulations to carry out this section in accord-
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ance with Office of Management and Budget Circular A– 
129, entitled ‘Policies for Federal Credit Programs and 
Non-Tax Receivables’.’’. 
Æ 
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