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Manufacturing Stimulation Act of 2007, the Director shall 
transmit to the Congress an update to the 3-year pro-
grammatic planning document transmitted under sub-
section (c), revised to cover the first 3 fiscal years after 
the date of that update.’’. 
SEC. 422. REPORT BY VISITING COMMITTEE. 
Section 10(h)(1) of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278(h)(1)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘on or before January 31 in 
each year’’ and inserting ‘‘within 30 days after the 
submission to Congress of the President’s annual 
budget request in each year’’; and 
(2) by adding to the end the following: ‘‘Such 
report also shall comment on the programmatic 
planning document and updates thereto transmitted 
to the Congress by the Director under section 23(c) 
and (d).’’. 
SEC. 423. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP. 
(a) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.—Section 25 of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 
U.S.C. 278k) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.—(1) There is estab-
lished within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 
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Partnership Advisory Board (in this Act referred to as the 
‘MEP Advisory Board’). The MEP Advisory Board shall 
consist of 10 members broadly representative of stake-
holders, to be appointed by the Director. At least 2 mem-
bers shall be employed by or on an advisory board for the 
Centers, and at least 5 other members shall be from 
United States small businesses in the manufacturing sec-
tor. No member shall be an employee of the Federal Gov-
ernment. 
‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) or 
(C), the term of office of each member of the MEP Advi-
sory Board shall be 3 years. 
‘‘(B) The original members of the MEP Advisory 
Board shall be appointed to 3 classes. One class of 3 mem-
bers shall have an initial term of 1 year, one class of 3 
members shall have an initial term of 2 years, and one 
class of 4 members shall have an initial term of 3 years. 
‘‘(C) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occur-
ring prior to the expiration of the term for which his pred-
ecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remain-
der of such term. 
‘‘(D) Any person who has completed two consecutive 
full terms of service on the MEP Advisory Board shall 
thereafter be ineligible for appointment during the one- 
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year period following the expiration of the second such 
term. 
‘‘(3) The MEP Advisory Board shall meet no less 
than 2 times annually, and provide to the Director— 
‘‘(A) advice on Manufacturing Extension Part-
nership programs, plans, and policies; 
‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Manufac-
turing Extension Partnership plans and strategies; 
and 
‘‘(C) 
assessments 
of 
current 
performance 
against Manufacturing Extension Partnership pro-
gram plans. 
‘‘(4) In discharging its duties under this subsection, 
the MEP Advisory Board shall function solely in an advi-
sory capacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act. 
‘‘(5) The MEP Advisory Board shall transmit an an-
nual report to the Secretary for transmittal to the Con-
gress within 30 days after the submission to the Congress 
of the President’s annual budget request in each year. 
Such report shall address the status of the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership program and comment on the rel-
evant sections of the programmatic planning document 
and updates thereto transmitted to the Congress by the 
Director under section 23(c) and (d).’’. 
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(b) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—Section 25(d) of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 
U.S.C. 278k(d)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to such 
sums as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc-
tor to operate the Centers program, the Secretary and Di-
rector also may accept funds from other Federal depart-
ments and agencies and under section 2(c)(7) from the 
private sector for the purpose of strengthening United 
States manufacturing. Such funds, if allocated to a Center 
or Centers, shall not be considered in the calculation of 
the Federal share of capital and annual operating and 
maintenance costs under subsection (c).’’. 
(c) MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER COMPETI-
TIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 25 of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k), 
as amended by subsection (a) of this section, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall es-
tablish, within the Manufacturing Extension Part-
nership program under this section and section 26 
of this Act, a program of competitive awards among 
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participants described in paragraph (2) for the pur-
poses described in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) 
PARTICIPANTS.—Participants 
receiving 
awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 
a consortium of such Centers. 
‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 
under this subsection is to develop projects to solve 
new or emerging manufacturing problems as deter-
mined by the Director, in consultation with the Di-
rector of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
Advisory Board, and small and medium-sized manu-
facturers. One or more themes for the competition 
may be identified, which may vary from year to year, 
depending on the needs of manufacturers and the 
success of previous competitions. These themes shall 
be related to projects associated with manufacturing 
extension activities, including supply chain integra-
tion and quality management, and including the 
transfer of technology based on the technological 
needs of manufacturers and available technologies 
from institutions of higher education, laboratories, 
and other technology producing entities, or extend 
beyond these traditional areas. 
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‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 
under this subsection shall be submitted in such 
manner, at such time, and containing such informa-
tion as the Director shall require, in consultation 
with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Advi-
sory Board. 
‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this sub-
section shall be peer reviewed and competitively 
awarded. The Director shall select proposals to re-
ceive awards— 
‘‘(A) that utilize innovative or collaborative 
approaches to solving the problem described in 
the competition; 
‘‘(B) that will improve the competitiveness 
of industries in the region in which the Center 
or Centers are located; and 
‘‘(C) that will contribute to the long-term 
economic stability of that region. 
‘‘(6) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Recipients of 
awards under this subsection shall not be required 
to provide a matching contribution.’’. 
SEC. 424. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PROGRAM. 
Section 28 of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n) is amended to read as 
follows: 
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‘‘TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PROGRAM 
‘‘SEC. 28. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished in the Institute a Technology Innovation Program 
for the purpose of assisting United States businesses and 
institutions of higher education or other organizations, 
such as national laboratories and nonprofit research insti-
tutes, to accelerate the research and development and ap-
plication of challenging, high-risk, high-reward tech-
nologies in areas of critical national need that promise 
widespread economic benefits for the Nation. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall make 
grants under this section for research and develop-
ment on high-risk, high-reward emerging and ena-
bling technologies (including any technological appli-
cation that uses biological systems, living organisms, 
or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or 
processes for specific use) that address critical na-
tional needs and have a wide breadth of potential 
application, and form an important technical basis 
for future innovations. Such grants shall be made 
to— 
‘‘(A) eligible companies that are small- or 
medium-sized businesses that are substantially 
involved in the research and development, in-
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cluding having a leadership role in program-
matically steering the project and defining the 
research agenda; or 
‘‘(B) joint ventures. 
‘‘(2) SINGLE
COMPANY
GRANTS.—No grant 
made 
under 
paragraph 
(1)(A) 
shall 
exceed 
$3,000,000 over 3 years. The Federal share of a 
project funded by such a grant shall not be more 
than 50 percent of total project costs. An award 
under paragraph (1)(A) may be extended beyond 3 
years only if the Director transmits to the Com-
mittee on Science and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a full and 
complete explanation of such award, including rea-
sons for exceeding 3 years. Federal funds granted 
under paragraph (1)(A) may be used only for direct 
costs and not for indirect costs, profits, or manage-
ment fees of a contractor. 
‘‘(3) JOINT VENTURE GRANTS.—No grant made 
under paragraph (1)(B) shall exceed $9,000,000 
over 5 years. The Federal share of a project funded 
by such a grant shall not be more than 50 percent 
of total project costs. 
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‘‘(c) AWARD CRITERIA.—The Director shall award 
grants under this section only to an eligible company— 
‘‘(1) whose proposal has scientific and techno-
logical merit; 
‘‘(2) whose application establishes that the pro-
posed technology has strong potential to generate 
substantial benefits to the Nation that extend sig-
nificantly beyond the direct return to the applicant; 
‘‘(3) whose application establishes that the re-
search has strong potential for advancing the state- 
of-the-art and contributing significantly to the 
United States scientific and technical knowledge 
base; 
‘‘(4) whose application establishes that the re-
search is aimed at overcoming a scientific or techno-
logical barrier; 
‘‘(5) who has provided a technical plan that 
clearly identifies the core innovation, the technical 
approach, major technical hurdles, and the attend-
ant risks, and that clearly establishes the feasibility 
of the technology through adequately detailed plans 
linked to major technical barriers; 
‘‘(6) whose application establishes that the 
team proposed to carry out the work has a high level 
of scientific and technical expertise to conduct re-
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search and development, has a high level of commit-
ment to the project, and has access to appropriate 
research facilities; 
‘‘(7) whose proposal explains why Technology 
Innovation Program support is necessary; 
‘‘(8) whose application includes a plan for ad-
vancing the technology into commercial use; and 
‘‘(9) whose application assesses the project’s or-
ganizational structure and management plan. 
‘‘(d) EXTERNAL REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—In order 
to analyze the need for or the value of any proposal made 
by a joint venture or company requesting the Director’s 
assistance under this section, or to monitor the progress 
of any project which receives funds under this section, the 
Director shall consult with industry or other expert 
sources that do not have a proprietary or financial interest 
in the proposal or project. 
‘‘(e) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OWNER-
SHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Title to any intellectual 
property developed by a joint venture from assist-
ance provided under this section may vest in any 
participant in the joint venture, as agreed by the 
members of the joint venture, notwithstanding sec-
tion 202(a) and (b) of title 35, United States Code. 
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The United States may reserve a nonexclusive, non-
transferable, irrevocable paid-up license, to have 
practiced for or on behalf of the United States in 
connection with any such intellectual property, but 
shall not in the exercise of such license publicly dis-
close proprietary information related to the license. 
Title to any such intellectual property shall not be 
transferred or passed, except to a participant in the 
joint venture, until the expiration of the first patent 
obtained in connection with such intellectual prop-
erty. 
‘‘(2) LICENSING.—Nothing in this subsection 
shall be construed to prohibit the licensing to any 
company of intellectual property rights arising from 
assistance provided under this section. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘intellectual property’ means an in-
vention patentable under title 35, United States 
Code, or any patent on such an invention, or any 
work for which copyright protection is available 
under title 17, United States Code. 
‘‘(f) PROGRAM
OPERATION.—Not later than 9 
months after the date of enactment of the Technology In-
novation and Manufacturing Stimulation Act of 2007, the 
Director shall issue regulations— 
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