SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Scientific discoveries and technical innova-
tions are critical to the economic and national secu-
rity of the United States. 
(2) Maintaining the leadership of the United 
States in science, technology, engineering, and math-
ematics will require a diverse population with the 
skills, interest, and access to tools required to ad-
vance these fields. 
(3) Just as earlier digital revolutions in commu-
nications and computation provided individuals with 
the Internet and personal computers, a digital revo-
lution in fabrication will allow anyone to make al-
most anything, anywhere. 
(4) These creations include communications de-
vices, solar powered housing, consumer products, 
and new kinds of machines and tools for advanced 
manufacturing. 
(5) The Center for Bits and Atoms of the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology (CBA) has con-
tributed significantly to the advancement of these 
goals through its work in creating and advancing 
digital fabrication facilities, or ‘‘fab labs’’ in the 
United States and abroad. 
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(6) MakerSpaces, TechShops, and other cre-
ative platforms also facilitate access to digital fab-
rication capabilities. 
(7) CBA’s fab labs provide a model for a new 
kind of national laboratory that links local facilities 
for advanced manufacturing to expand access and 
empower communities. 
(8) A coordinated national public-private part-
nership will be the most effective way to accelerate 
the provision of this infrastructure for learning 
skills, developing inventions, creating businesses, and 
producing personalized products. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL CHARTER FOR NATIONAL FAB LAB NET-
WORK. 
Title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new chapter: 
‘‘CHAPTER 3011—NATIONAL FAB LAB 
NETWORK 
‘‘§ 301101. Organization 
‘‘(a) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The Fab Foundation is 
hereby granted a Federal charter as the National Fab Lab 
Network (in this chapter referred to as the ‘NFLN’). Ex-
cept as otherwise provided, the NFLN shall have per-
petual succession. 
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‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF FAB LAB.—In this chapter, the 
term ‘fab lab’ refers to a facility that is— 
‘‘(1) equipped with a standard integrated suite 
of fabrication tools that can convert digital designs 
into functional physical things; 
‘‘(2) equipped with scanning tools to convert 
physical things into digital designs; and 
‘‘(3) made freely accessible to the general pub-
lic, allowing for necessary fees. 
‘‘§ 301102. Purposes and goals 
‘‘The purposes and goals of the NFLN are— 
‘‘(1) to create a national network of connected 
local fab labs to empower individuals and commu-
nities in the United States; 
‘‘(2) to foster the use of distributed digital fab-
rication tools to promote science, technology, engi-
neering and math skills, increase invention and inno-
vation, create businesses and jobs, and fulfill per-
sonal, professional, and community needs; 
‘‘(3) to serve as a resource to assist stake-
holders with the effective operation of fab labs; 
‘‘(4) to provide a platform for education, re-
search, and for catalyzing new methods in STEM 
education; 
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‘‘(5) to create new ways of educating the work-
force that will enable workers to compete in a 21st 
Century global marketplace; and 
‘‘(6) to seek to establish at least one fab lab per 
every 700,000 individuals in the United States in 
the first ten years of its operation, corresponding to 
availability in all 435 Congressional districts and to 
provide guidelines for their sustainable operation. 
‘‘§ 301103. Membership and organization 
‘‘Except as provided in this Act, eligibility for mem-
bership in the NFLN and the rights and privileges of 
members are as provided in the constitution and bylaws 
of the NFLN. 
‘‘§ 301104. Governing body 
‘‘Directors, officers, and other staff of the NFLN, 
and their powers and duties are as provided in the bylaws 
of the NFLN. 
‘‘§ 301105. Powers 
‘‘The NFLN may— 
‘‘(1) coordinate the creation of a national net-
work of local fab labs in the United States; 
‘‘(2) issue guidelines for the sustainable oper-
ation of fab labs; 
‘‘(3) serve as a resource for organizations and 
communities seeking to create fab labs by providing 
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information, assessing suitability, advising on the lab 
lifecycle, and maintaining descriptions of prospective 
and operating sites; 
‘‘(4) accept funds from private individuals, cor-
porations, government agencies, or other organiza-
tions; 
‘‘(5) distribute funds to other non-profit organi-
zations to establish and operate fab labs as members 
of the NFLN; 
‘‘(6) facilitate communication between other 
non-profit organizations seeking to join the NFLN 
with operational entities that can source and install 
fab labs, provide training, assist with operations, ac-
count for spending, and assess impact; 
‘‘(7) 
communicate 
the 
benefits 
available 
through membership in the NFLN to communities 
and the public; 
‘‘(8) facilitate and participate in synergistic 
programs, including workforce training, job creation, 
research broader impacts, and the production of 
civic infrastructure; 
‘‘(9) amend a constitution and bylaws for the 
management of its property and the regulation of its 
affairs; 
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