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(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. 203. 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 
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. 
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‘‘(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- 
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. 
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‘‘(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).’’. 
(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 
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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 
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-
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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. 
‘‘(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; 
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