(A) PROCESS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 
shall establish a process for technical peer re-
view to provide feedback on a draft of a stand-
ard or guideline to a relevant subcommittee of 
a scientific area committee before such stand-
ard or guideline is submitted to a nongovern-
mental standards development organization or 
submitted for inclusion in a registry of forensic 
standards or guidelines. 
(B) PARTICIPANTS.—The process estab-
lished under subparagraph (A)— 
(i) may include members of the Orga-
nization; and 
(ii) shall include additional volunteer 
experts from the forensic science commu-
nity and the academic research community. 
(3) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
provide for public comment on draft standards 
prior to inclusion in the registry of forensic 
science standards and guidelines established 
under subsection (a)(4)(B). 
(B) COMMENTS
FROM
RESEARCH
TASK 
GROUPS.—The Secretary shall ensure that— 
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(i) each resource task group estab-
lished under subsection (d) may submit, as 
a group, comments on draft standards de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); and 
(ii) any comments submitted under 
clause (i), and any adjudication of such 
comments by the Organization, are made 
available to the public. 
(4) SUBMISSION TO STANDARDS DEVELOPING 
ORGANIZATION.—The Secretary shall ensure that 
standards proposed by the Organization and ap-
proved for the registry of forensic science standards 
and 
guidelines 
established 
under 
subsection 
(a)(4)(B) are submitted to a nongovernmental 
standards development organization for review and 
formal adoption as standards. 
(5) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director, shall award grants through a competi-
tive process— 
(A) to support activities under paragraph 
(3); and 
(B) to ensure that the standards approved 
for inclusion in the registry of forensic science 
standards and guidelines required by subsection 
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(a)(4)(B) are submitted to a nongovernmental 
standards development organization. 
(f) FORENSIC STANDARDS
FOR AUTHENTICATING 
DIGITAL EVIDENCE.— 
(1) FURTHERING
DEVELOPMENT
OF
STAND-
ARDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The subcommittee ad-
dressing digital and multimedia, or any suc-
cessor thereto, shall develop standards for vali-
dating or assessing the authenticity of digital 
content, including content created by tech-
nologies that synthesize or manipulate digital 
content such as deepfakes. 
(B) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out 
subparagraph (A), the subcommittee described 
in such subparagraph shall collaborate with the 
forensic science community and experts who 
study advanced techniques for digital content 
manipulation, including those in academia and 
government entities such as the Defense Ad-
vanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 
(2) RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT.—The Organiza-
tion shall develop and compile resources and mate-
rials for use by the forensic science community in 
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developing standards to authenticate digital mate-
rials. 
(3) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall 
provide the appropriate committees of Congress a 
briefing on the status of efforts undertaken pursuant 
to this subsection. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026, 
of which $1,000,000 shall be available in each of fiscal 
years 2021 through 2026 to carry out subsection (e)(4). 
SEC. 6. FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH. 
The Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology shall conduct foundational studies to— 
(1) identify and document the technical merit 
and validity of select forensic science methods, prac-
tices, and disciplines, including their capabilities, 
limitations, and knowledge gaps; and 
(2) identify opportunities for advancements in 
forensic methods, practices, and disciplines through 
additional research and improvements to practice. 
Æ 
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