I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2582 
To direct the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
to establish the Foundation for Standards and Metrology, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2025 
Ms. STEVENS (for herself and Mr. OBERNOLTE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To direct the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology to establish the Foundation for Stand-
ards and Metrology, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Expanding Partner-
ships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FOUNDATION FOR STANDARDS AND METROLOGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of the Re-
search and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act 
(42 U.S.C. 18931 et seq.; relating to measurement re-
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search of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology for the future; enacted as part of division B of Pub-
lic Law 117–167) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 10236. FOUNDATION FOR STANDARDS AND METROL-
OGY. 
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Director, shall establish a nonprofit corpora-
tion to be known as the ‘Foundation for Standards and 
Metrology’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Founda-
tion’). 
‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Foundation shall 
be to— 
‘‘(1) support the Institute in carrying out its 
activities and mission to advance measurement 
science, technical standards, and technology in ways 
that enhance the economic security and prosperity of 
the United States; and 
‘‘(2) advance collaboration with researchers, in-
stitutions of higher education, industry, and non-
profit and philanthropic organizations to accelerate 
the development of technical standards, measure-
ment science, and the commercialization of emerging 
technologies in the United States. 
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‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out its mission under 
subsection (b), the Foundation may carry out the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) Support international metrology and tech-
nical standards engagement activities. 
‘‘(2) Support studies, projects, and research on 
metrology and the development of benchmarks and 
technical standards infrastructure across the Insti-
tute’s mission areas. 
‘‘(3) Advance collaboration between the Insti-
tute and researchers, industry, nonprofit and philan-
thropic organizations, institutions of higher edu-
cation, federally funded research and development 
centers, and State, Tribal, and local governments. 
‘‘(4) Support the expansion and improvement of 
research facilities and infrastructure at the Institute 
to advance the development of emerging tech-
nologies. 
‘‘(5) Support the commercialization of federally 
funded research. 
‘‘(6) Conduct education and outreach activities. 
‘‘(7) Offer direct support to NIST associates, 
including through the provision of fellowships, 
grants, stipends, travel, health insurance, profes-
sional development training, housing, technical and 
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administrative assistance, recognition awards for 
outstanding performance, and occupational safety 
and awareness training and support, and other ap-
propriate expenditures. 
‘‘(8) Conduct such other activities as deter-
mined necessary by the Foundation to carry out its 
mission. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORITY OF THE FOUNDATION.—The Foun-
dation shall be the sole entity responsible for carrying out 
the activities described in subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—The Founda-
tion shall convene, and may consult with, representatives 
from the Institute, institutions of higher education, the 
private sector, non-profit organizations, and commer-
cialization organizations to develop activities for the mis-
sion of the Foundation under subsection (b) and to ad-
vance the activities of the Foundation under subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—The Foundation shall not be an 
agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government. 
‘‘(g) SUPPORT.—The Foundation may receive, ad-
minister, solicit, accept, and use funds, gifts, devises, or 
bequests, either absolutely or in trust of real or personal 
property or any income therefrom or other interest therein 
to support activities under subsection (c). 
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‘‘(h) TAX EXEMPT STATUS.—The Board shall take 
all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure the Founda-
tion is an organization described in section 501(c) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 
under section 501(a) of such Code. 
‘‘(i) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Foundation shall 
be governed by a Board of Directors (in this section 
referred to as the ‘Board’). 
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be 
composed of the following: 
‘‘(i) Eleven appointed voting members 
described in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(ii) Ex officio nonvoting members de-
scribed in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(B) APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(i) INITIAL
MEMBERS.—The Sec-
retary, acting through the Director, shall— 
‘‘(I) seek to enter into an agree-
ment with the National Academies of 
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 
to develop a list of individuals to serve 
as members of the Board who are well 
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qualified and will meet the require-
ments of clauses (ii) and (iii); and 
‘‘(II) appoint the initial members 
of the Board from such list, if appli-
cable, in consultation with the Na-
tional Academies of Sciences, Engi-
neering, and Medicine. 
‘‘(ii) 
REPRESENTATION.—The 
ap-
pointed members of the Board shall reflect 
a broad cross-section of stakeholders 
across diverse sectors, regions and commu-
nities, including from academia, private 
sector entities, technical standards bodies, 
the investment community, the philan-
thropic community, and other nonprofit or-
ganizations. 
‘‘(iii) EXPERIENCE.—The Secretary, 
acting through the Director, shall ensure 
the appointed members of the Board have 
the experience and are qualified to provide 
advice and information to advance the 
Foundation’s mission, including in science 
and technology research and development, 
technical standards, education, technology 
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transfer, commercialization, or other as-
pects of the Foundation’s mission. 
‘‘(C) NONVOTING MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(i) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Di-
rector (or Director’s designee) shall be an 
ex officio member of the Board. 
‘‘(ii) NO VOTING POWER.—The Direc-
tor (or Director’s designee), as an ex offi-
cio member in accordance with clause (i), 
shall not have voting power on the Board. 
‘‘(3) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall des-
ignate, from among its voting members— 
‘‘(i) an individual to serve as the chair 
of the Board; and 
‘‘(ii) an individual to serve as the vice 
chair of the Board. 
‘‘(B) TERMS.—The term of service of the 
Chair and Vice Chair of the Board shall end on 
the earlier of— 
‘‘(i) the date that is three years after 
the date on which the Chair or Vice Chair 
of the Board, as applicable, is designated 
for the respective position; and 
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‘‘(ii) the last day of the term of serv-
ice of the member, as determined under 
paragraph (4)(A), who is designated to be 
Chair or Vice Chair of the Board, as appli-
cable. 
‘‘(C) REPRESENTATION.—The Chair and 
Vice Chair of the Board— 
‘‘(i) may not be representatives of the 
same area of subject matter expertise, or 
entity, as applicable; and 
‘‘(ii) may not be representatives of 
any area of subject matter expertise, or en-
tity, as applicable, represented by the im-
mediately preceding Chair and Vice Chair 
of the Board. 
‘‘(4) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 
‘‘(A) TERM LIMITS.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term of office of each member 
of the Board shall be not more than five years, 
except that a member of the Board may con-
tinue to serve after the expiration of the term 
of such member until the expiration of the 180- 
day period beginning on the date on which the 
term of such member expires, if no new member 
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‘‘(6) DUTIES.—The Board shall carry out the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Establish bylaws for the Foundation 
in accordance with paragraph (7). 
‘‘(B) Provide overall direction for the ac-
tivities of the Foundation and establish priority 
activities. 
‘‘(C) Coordinate with the Institute the ac-
tivities of the Foundation to ensure consistency 
with the programs and policies of the Institute. 
‘‘(D) Evaluate the performance of the Ex-
ecutive Director of the Foundation. 
‘‘(E) Actively solicit and accept funds, 
gifts, grants, devises, or bequests of real or per-
sonal property to the Foundation, including 
from private entities. 
‘‘(F) Carry out any other necessary activi-
ties of the Foundation. 
‘‘(7) BYLAWS.—The Board shall establish by-
laws for the Foundation. In establishing such by-
laws, the Board shall ensure the following: 
‘‘(A) The bylaws of the Foundation include 
the following: 
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‘‘(i) Policies for the selection of the 
Board 
members, 
officers, 
employees, 
agents, and contractors of the Foundation. 
‘‘(ii) Policies, including ethical and 
disclosure standards, for the following: 
‘‘(I) The acceptance, solicitation, 
and disposition of donations and 
grants to the Foundation, including 
appropriate limits on the ability of do-
nors to designate, by stipulation or re-
striction, the use or recipient of do-
nated funds. 
‘‘(II) The disposition of assets of 
the Foundation. 
‘‘(iii) Policies that subject all employ-
ees, fellows, trainees, and other agents of 
the Foundation (including appointed voting 
members and ex officio members of the 
Board) to conflict of interest standards. 
‘‘(iv) The specific duties of the Execu-
tive Director of the Foundation. 
‘‘(B) The bylaws of the Foundation and 
activities carried out under such bylaws do 
not— 
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‘‘(i) reflect unfavorably upon the abil-
ity of the Foundation to carry out its re-
sponsibilities or official duties in a fair and 
objective manner; or 
‘‘(ii) compromise, or appear to com-
promise, the integrity of any governmental 
agency or program, or any officer or em-
ployee employed by, or involved in a gov-
ernmental agency or program. 
‘‘(8) RESTRICTION ON MEMBERSHIP.—No em-
ployee of the Department of Commerce may be ap-
pointed as a voting member of the Board of Direc-
tors. 
‘‘(9) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Board 
may not receive compensation for serving on 
the Board. 
‘‘(B) CERTAIN EXPENSES.—In accordance 
with the bylaws of the Foundation, members of 
the Board may be reimbursed for travel ex-
penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist-
ence, and other necessary expenses incurred in 
carrying out the duties of the Board. 
‘‘(10) LIAISON
REPRESENTATIVES.—The Sec-
retary, acting through the Director, shall designate 
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representatives from across the Institute to serve as 
the liaisons to the Board and the Foundation. 
‘‘(11) PERSONAL
LIABILITY
OF
BOARD
MEM-
BERS.—The members of the Board shall not be per-
sonally liable, except in the case of malfeasance. 
‘‘(j) ADMINISTRATION.— 
‘‘(1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 
have an Executive Director who shall be ap-
pointed by the Board, and who shall serve at 
the pleasure of the Board, and for whom the 
Board shall establish the rate of compensation. 
Subject to the bylaws established under sub-
section (i)(7), the Executive Director shall be 
responsible for the daily operations of the 
Foundation in carrying out the activities of the 
Foundation under subsection (c). 
‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out 
the daily operations of the Foundation, the Ex-
ecutive Director of the Foundation shall carry 
out the following: 
‘‘(i) Hire, promote, compensate, and 
discharge officers and employees of the 
Foundation, and define the duties of such 
officers and employees. 
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‘‘(ii) Accept and administer donations 
to the Foundation, and administer the as-
sets of the Foundation. 
‘‘(iii) Enter into such contracts and 
execute legal instruments as are appro-
priate in carrying out the activities of the 
Foundation. 
‘‘(iv) Perform such other functions as 
necessary to operate the Foundation. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL.—No member 
of the Board, officer or employee of the Foundation 
or of any program established by the Foundation, or 
participant in a program established by the Founda-
tion, may exercise administrative control over any 
Federal employee. 
‘‘(3) TRANSFER
OF
FUNDS
TO
INSTITUTE.— 
The Foundation may transfer funds and property to 
the Institute, which the Institute may accept and 
use and which shall be subject to all applicable Fed-
eral limitations relating to federally funded research. 
‘‘(4) STRATEGIC
PLAN.—Not later than one 
year after the establishment of the Foundation, the 
Foundation shall submit to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
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Science, and Transportation of the Senate a stra-
tegic plan that contains the following: 
‘‘(A) A plan for the Foundation to become 
financially self-sustaining in the next five years. 
‘‘(B) Short- and long-term objectives of the 
Foundation, as identified by the Board. 
‘‘(C) A description of the efforts the Foun-
dation will take to be transparent in the proc-
esses of the Foundation, including processes re-
lating to the following: 
‘‘(i) Grant awards, including selection, 
review, and notification. 
‘‘(ii) Communication of past, current, 
and future research priorities. 
‘‘(iii) Solicitation of and response to 
public input on the priorities identified by 
the Foundation. 
‘‘(D) A description of the financial goals 
and benchmarks of the Foundation for the fol-
lowing ten years. 
‘‘(E) A description of the efforts under-
taken by the Foundation to ensure maximum 
complementarity and minimum redundancy 
with investments made by the Institute. 
‘‘(5) REPORT.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 18 
months after the establishment of the Founda-
tion and not later than February 1 of each year 
thereafter, the Foundation shall publish a re-
port describing the activities of the Foundation 
during the immediately preceding fiscal year. 
Each such report shall include with respect to 
such fiscal year a comprehensive statement of 
the operations, activities, financial condition, 
progress, and accomplishments of the Founda-
tion. 
‘‘(B) FINANCIAL
CONDITION.—With re-
spect to the financial condition of the Founda-
tion, each report under subparagraph (A) shall 
include the source, and a description of, all sup-
port under subsection (g) provided to the Foun-
dation. Each such report shall identify the per-
sons or entities from which such support is re-
ceived, and include a specification of any re-
strictions on the purposes for which such sup-
port may be used. 
‘‘(C) 
PUBLICATION.—The 
Foundation 
shall make copies of each report submitted 
under subparagraph (A) available— 
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