(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 
once every 3 fiscal years, the Advisory Committee 
shall submit to the President and the Council a re-
port on its assessment under subsection (c) and its 
recommendations for ways to improve the Initiative. 
(2) INITIAL DEADLINE.—The first report under 
this subsection shall be submitted not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Direc-
tor of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
shall transmit a copy of each report under this sub-
section to Congress. 
(e) TRAVEL EXPENSES
OF NON-FEDERAL MEM-
BERS.—Non-Federal members of the Advisory Committee, 
while attending meetings of the Advisory Committee or 
while otherwise serving at the request of the head of the 
Advisory Committee away from their homes or regular 
places of business, may be allowed travel expenses, includ-
ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by sec-
tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for individuals 
in the Government serving without pay. Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to prohibit members of the 
Advisory Committee who are officers or employees of the 
United States from being allowed travel expenses, includ-
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ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with ex-
isting law. 
(f) EXEMPTION FROM SUNSET.—Section 14 of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the 
Advisory Committee. 
SEC. 5. NATIONAL WATER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
STRATEGIC PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Council, with the assistance 
of the Coordination Office, shall develop, within 12 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and update every 
3 years thereafter, a 5-year National Water Research and 
Development Strategic Plan to guide the activities of the 
Initiative described under section 2(b). 
(b) GOALS.—The Strategic Plan shall specify near- 
term and long-term goals for the Initiative, the anticipated 
timeframe for achieving the near-term goals, and the 
metrics to be used for assessing progress toward the goals. 
(c) PRIORITIES.—The Strategic Plan shall prioritize 
the research and development activities in section 2(b) re-
lated to the enhancement of reliable and clean water sup-
ply systems. 
(d) CONTENT.—The Strategic Plan shall describe 
how the Initiative will— 
(1) coordinate and reduce nonbeneficial duplica-
tion of multiagency activities of the Initiative; 
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(2) foster the transfer of research and develop-
ment results into new technologies and applications 
for the benefit of society, including through coopera-
tion and collaborations with regional, State, local, 
and tribal governments conducting water-related re-
search and development and other water-related ac-
tivities; 
(3) encourage and support mechanisms for 
interdisciplinary research and development in water 
availability and water quality technology; 
(4) address long-term challenges of regional im-
portance for which solutions require large-scale, 
long-term, interdisciplinary research and develop-
ment; 
(5) place emphasis on innovative projects hav-
ing the potential for substantial societal and ecologi-
cal returns on the research investment; 
(6) strengthen all levels of water research, de-
velopment, demonstration, technology transfer, and 
education and training programs to ensure an ade-
quate, well-trained workforce; and 
(7) attract more women and underrepresented 
minorities to pursue postsecondary degrees in water- 
related research and development. 
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(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the Strategic 
Plan, the Council shall take into consideration the rec-
ommendations of the— 
(1) Advisory Committee; and 
(2) stakeholders whose input was solicited by 
the Coordination Office through the public comment 
period and the workshop convened for that purpose. 
(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the Of-
fice of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit to 
the Advisory Committee and Congress the Strategic Plan. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi-
sory Committee’’ means the National Water Re-
search Initiative Advisory Committee established by 
section 4(a). 
(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re-
port’’ means the Annual National Water Research 
Report established by section 2(d). 
(3) COORDINATION
OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Co-
ordination Office’’ means the National Water Re-
search Coordination Office established by section 
3(a). 
(4) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 
National Science and Technology Council, or an ap-
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propriate subgroup designated by the National 
Science and Technology Council under section 2(c). 
(5) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 
the National Water Research and Development Ini-
tiative established by section 2. 
(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(7) MINORITY
SERVING
INSTITUTIONS.—The 
term ‘‘minority serving institutions’’ means institu-
tions that are eligible institutions under section 
371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 
(8) STRATEGIC
PLAN.—The term ‘‘Strategic 
Plan’’ means the National Water Research and De-
velopment Strategic Plan established by section 5. 
Æ 
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