I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 937 
To support innovation and research in the United States textile and fiber 
products industry. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2013 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. COBLE) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and 
Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To support innovation and research in the United States 
textile and fiber products industry. 
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 ‘‘American Textile 
Technology Innovation and Research for Exportation (AT-
TIRE) Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
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(1) the United States textile industry continues 
to thrive and evolve despite changing economic and 
labor conditions; 
(2) the United States textile industry employs 
over 500,000 workers nationwide and contributes 
nearly $60,000,000,000 to the gross domestic prod-
uct annually; 
(3) the United States textile industry is a pri-
mary supplier of domestic jobs to women and mi-
norities, with many of these jobs located in economi-
cally depressed rural and urban areas; 
(4) research and innovation are essential to the 
United States textile industry’s ability to maintain 
its competitive advantage and expand its export on 
an international scale; and 
(5) by working closely with the textile industry 
to improve existing technologies and to identify new 
market opportunities, university-based textile re-
search programs and not-for-profit textile research 
centers play a critical role in promoting innovation 
and growth in the textile industry and in the United 
States economy as a whole. 
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SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT TEXTILE RESEARCH 
AND 
INNOVATION 
THROUGH 
UNIVERSITY 
AND INDUSTRY-BASED RESEARCH. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Com-
merce shall establish a competitive grant program (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘grant program’’) to fund textile 
research and innovation and to promote increased textile 
exports. 
(b) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—The eligible recipi-
ents of grants under the grant program shall be lim-
ited to institutions of higher education and not-for- 
profit research institutions, including not-for-profit 
industry associations whose core mission is to sup-
port textile research and innovation. 
(2) PREFERENCE.—Preference in awarding 
such grants shall be given to collaborative research 
organizations that emphasize peer-reviewed research 
by leading academic and industry experts. 
(3) APPLICATION
PROCEDURE.—Applications 
for such a grant shall be submitted at such time and 
in such manner as determined by the Secretary of 
Commerce. 
(4) REVIEW
PROCEDURE.—All such applica-
tions shall be subject to a rigorous and competitive 
peer review procedure. 
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(c) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—The funds author-
ized to be appropriated for the grant program shall be 
used for research and development activities that achieve 
at least one of the following goals: 
(1) To build and sustain innovation, competi-
tiveness, and best practices in the United States tex-
tile industry. 
(2) To contribute to transforming the United 
States textile and apparel industry into a highly 
flexible supply chain, capable of responding to rap-
idly changing market demands including shifts to 
technologically advanced textile production. 
(3) To discover, design, and develop new mate-
rials, and innovative and improved manufacturing 
and integrated systems, essential to the success of a 
modern United States textile industry. 
(4) To train personnel, establish industrial 
partnerships, and create transfer mechanisms to en-
sure the utilization of technologies developed. 
(5) To strengthen the Nation’s textile research 
and educational efforts by uniting diverse experts 
and resources in unique collaborative projects. 
(6) To facilitate the creation of domestic jobs in 
the textile industry. 
(d) RESTRICTION ON FUNDS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), no 
more than 75 percent of total funding made avail-
able under the grant program in a fiscal year may 
be disbursed to institutions of higher education. 
(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—If the Secretary of 
Commerce determines that the limitation of para-
graph (1) would result in the failure to disburse all 
appropriated funds for a fiscal year, the Secretary 
may waive such limitation for such fiscal year. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary of Commerce $5,000,000 for fis-
cal year 2014 to carry out section 3. Amounts appro-
priated under this subsection shall be available until ex-
pended. 
(b) OFFSETTING REDUCTION OF AUTHORIZATION OF 
APPROPRIATIONS.—The amount authorized to be appro-
priated for operations and administration of the Inter-
national Trade Administration in the Department of Com-
merce for fiscal year 2014 is reduced by $5,000,000. 
Æ 
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