retary), or the Secretary, shall periodically make the 
award to companies and other organizations that in 
the judgment of the President or the Secretary sig-
nificantly enhance the security of critical infrastruc-
ture through implementing innovative solutions, im-
provements, or practices, creating a competitive at-
mosphere for industry to adopt the most comprehen-
sive homeland security solutions and systems, and 
that as a consequence are deserving of special rec-
ognition. 
‘‘(2) PRESENTATION.—The presentation of the 
award shall be made by the President or the Sec-
retary with such ceremonies as the President or the 
Secretary may consider proper. 
‘‘(3) PUBLICATION AND USE OF AWARD.—An 
organization to which an award is made under this 
section may publicize its receipt of such award and 
use the award in its advertising. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—An organi-
zation to which an award is made under this section 
shall be ineligible to receive another such award in 
the same category for a period of 5 years. 
‘‘(c) CATEGORIES OF AWARDS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2), 
(3), and (4), separate awards shall be made to quali-
fying organizations in each of the following cat-
egories: 
‘‘(A) Cyber infrastructure. 
‘‘(B) Physical infrastructure. 
‘‘(C) Human capital. 
‘‘(D) Innovative approaches to infrastruc-
ture independency. 
‘‘(2) MODIFICATION
OF
CATEGORIES.—The 
Secretary may at any time expand, subdivide, or 
otherwise modify the list of categories under para-
graph (1), and may establish separate awards for 
small businesses, units of government, or other orga-
nizations upon a determination that the objectives of 
this section would be better served thereby. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF AWARDS IN 
CATEGORY.—Not more than two awards may be 
made within any category in any year, unless the 
Secretary determines that a third award is merited 
due to extraordinary circumstances. 
‘‘(d) CRITERIA FOR QUALIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An organization may qual-
ify for an award under this section only if it—
‘‘(A) applies to the Secretary, in writing, 
for the award;
‘‘(B) permits a rigorous evaluation of the 
way in which its business and other operations 
have implemented innovative solutions, improve-
ments, or practices to secure critical infrastruc-
ture; 
‘‘(C) agrees to share its experience to as-
sist other American organizations improve their 
implementation of solutions, improvements, or 
practices to secure critical infrastructure; and 
‘‘(D) meets such requirements and speci-
fications as the Secretary, after receiving rec-
ommendations from the board of examiners es-
tablished under paragraph (5), determines to be 
appropriate to achieve the objectives of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) EVALUATION BY BOARD OF EXAMINERS.—
In applying subparagraph (1)(B) with respect to any 
organization, the Secretary shall rely upon an inten-
sive evaluation by a competent board of examiners 
that reviews the evidence submitted by the organiza-
tion and, through a site visit, verifies the effective-
ness of and the accuracy of claims regarding the in-
novative solutions, improvements, or practices to se-
cure critical infrastructure. 
‘‘(3) USE OF NONPROFIT ENTITIES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may, 
under appropriate contractual arrangements, 
carry out the responsibilities under subpara-
graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) through 
one or more broad-based nonprofit entities that 
are leaders in the field of critical infrastructure 
and that have a history of public or government 
service. 
‘‘(B) BOARD
OF
EXAMINERS.—The Sec-
retary shall appoint a board of examiners for 
the award, consisting of at least 5 persons se-
lected for their preeminence in the field of in-
frastructure protection. 
‘‘(e) INFORMATION
AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 
PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall ensure that all program 
participants receive the complete results of their audits as 
well as detailed explanations of all suggestions for im-
provements. The Secretary also shall provide information 
about the awards and the successful infrastructure protec-
tion strategies and programs of the award-winning partici-
pants to all participants and other appropriate groups. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—The Secretary may seek and accept 
gifts from public and private sources to carry out the pro-
gram under this section. If additional sums are needed 
to cover the full cost of the program, the Secretary shall