I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7308 
To authorize appropriations for offsetting the costs related to reductions 
in research productivity resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2020 
Ms. DEGETTE (for herself, Mr. UPTON, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LUCAS, 
Ms. ESHOO, and Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 
and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Armed Services, Edu-
cation and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Natural Resources, for a 
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize appropriations for offsetting the costs related 
to reductions in research productivity resulting from the 
coronavirus pandemic. 
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 ‘‘Research Investment 
to Spark the Economy Act’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(1) Agencies provided Federal research grantees 
flexibility during the pandemic to support graduate 
students, postdocs, principal investigators, and tech-
nical support staff. 
(2) Agencies will need to provide current Fed-
eral research grants extensions to cover time lost in 
research labs and in the field that will impact the 
completion of that agency’s research missions and 
priorities. Additionally, agencies allowed federally 
funded labs to donate necessary equipment, like per-
sonal protective equipment among others, to support 
hospitals and first responders, which will need to be 
re-purchased and will create additional expenses to 
Federal contracts. 
(3) The need to ensure the United States sus-
tains the critical human infrastructure that under-
girds the United States research enterprise, which 
has created a longstanding government-university 
partnership which has made America the global 
leader in innovation, strengthening the health of our 
Nation’s citizens, economy, and national security. 
(4) While the Federal Government has made 
significant investments in new research to address 
COVID–19, existing research has been slowed down 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
or stopped due to COVID–19 modified operations of 
campuses and laboratories. 
(5) Given the modified operations of many uni-
versity-based and national laboratories due to the 
pandemic, Congress is concerned that the people 
who comprise the research workforce—graduate stu-
dents, postdocs, principal investigators, and tech-
nical support staff—and the future health and 
strength of the United States research enterprise 
and manufacturing and technology economies, 
among others, are at risk. 
(6) While our Nation’s research capacity has 
demonstrated it can absorb shocks and pivot to ad-
dress immediate national threats, the scale of this 
pandemic is still growing and unprecedented in du-
ration and impact. 
(7) Without funding, future innovations in 
areas such as quantum, artificial intelligence, robot-
ics, computing, 5G, space exploration, digital agri-
culture, cancer, and aging will be forestalled while 
the agencies are forced to use future appropriations 
for new research, meant to create new knowledge 
leading to the next generation of discoveries, to 
cover existing grants. The Nation must innovate to 
launch the next 50 years of unparalleled economic 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
leadership and be prepared for any future pandem-
ics. 
(8) Therefore, Congress believes it is vital that 
the Federal Government take measures to help re-
lieve the strain agencies will be forced to face and 
sustain the strength of our Nation’s ability to re-
main a global leader in an increasingly competitive 
global research environment, as other countries con-
tinue to make disproportionately large investments 
in key research areas. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) FEDERAL
SCIENCE
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any agency (as de-
fined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) 
with at least $50,000,000 in basic and applied re-
search obligations in fiscal year 2020. 
(2) RESEARCH
INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘re-
search institution’’ means an institution of higher 
education (as defined in section 101(a) of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) or 
a nonprofit entity that conducts federally funded re-
search. 
(3) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na-
tional laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 15801). 
SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) ALLOWABLE USES.—A Federal science agency 
may use funds authorized under this Act to— 
(1) provide supplemental funding to extend the 
duration of a grant to a research institution or Na-
tional laboratory that was awarded prior to the date 
of enactment of this Act, or to expand the purposes 
of such a grant in order to— 
(A) enable a graduate student or post-doc-
toral researcher to complete work that was dis-
rupted by COVID–19; 
(B) enable a principal investigator to com-
plete work that was disrupted by COVID–19; 
(C) extend the training of a graduate stu-
dent or the employment of a post-doctoral re-
searcher on an ongoing research project for up 
to two years because of the disruption of the 
job market due to COVID–19; 
(D) allow for the use of laboratory ani-
mals, reagents, equipment, or other items re-
quired for research funded by a grant that was 
awarded prior to the date of enactment of this 
Act, but need to be replaced, refurbished, or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
otherwise made usable after disruption because 
of COVID–19; 
(E) reconfigure laboratories, restart equip-
ment and disrupted research, and other activi-
ties necessary to safely resume on-site research 
activities in laboratories that were temporarily 
closed or redirected to COVID–19 response; 
and 
(F) facilitate other competitively awarded 
research and training activities that have been 
disrupted by COVID–19; 
(2) provide supplemental funding through exist-
ing competitively awarded cooperative agreements 
and contracts to cover the increased costs of con-
struction of scientific facilities and equipment that 
have been delayed because of COVID–19; and 
(3) award grants and cooperative agreements to 
institutions of higher education to conduct research 
on the behavioral, social, or economic effects of 
COVID–19 and the responses to the disease, or on 
the effectiveness of such responses. 
(b) AWARDS.—Each Federal science agency author-
ized to receive funds under this Act shall develop proce-
dures to award such funds and shall award such funds 
as rapidly as possible. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(c) TIMING.—Funds authorized under this Act shall 
be awarded during fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and funds 
so awarded shall remain available for expenditure for up 
to two years. 
SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 
Until such time as a research institution has deter-
mined it can safely reopen a research laboratory funded 
by a Federal science agency, such agency shall continue 
to interpret regulations in a manner consistent with— 
(1) the memorandum issued by the Office of 
Management and Budget on March 19, 2020, enti-
tled ‘‘Administrative Relief for Recipients and Appli-
cants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Im-
pacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID–19) due 
to Loss of Operations’’; and 
(2) the memorandum issued by the Office of 
Management and Budget on March 19, 2020, enti-
tled ‘‘Managing Federal Contract Performance 
Issues Associated with the Novel Coronavirus 
(COVID–19)’’. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—There is au-
thorized to be appropriated to the Department of Agri-
culture for fiscal year 2020— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:38 Jul 11, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7308.IH
H7308
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS