172 
Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (20 
U.S.C. 2302). 
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com-
munity college’ means an institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined under section 101(a) of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) at 
which the highest degree that is predominately 
awarded to students is an associate’s degree.’’. 
SEC. 
406. 
BIOSCIENCE 
MEASUREMENT 
SCIENCE 
AND 
STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 34, as added by section 
404 of this Act, the following: 
‘‘SEC. 
35. 
BIOSCIENCE 
MEASUREMENT 
SCIENCE 
AND 
STANDARDS. 
‘‘The Director shall— 
‘‘(1) establish a bioscience research program to 
support the development of standards and measure-
ments and to create new data, tools, techniques, and 
processes necessary to promote new research and in-
dustries at the intersection of the biological, phys-
ical, and information sciences and engineering; 
‘‘(2) provide access to user facilities with ad-
vanced or unique equipment, services, materials, and 
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173 
other resources to industry, institutions of higher 
education, nonprofit organizations, and government 
agencies to perform research and testing related to 
the biosciences program established under this sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(3) provide technical expertise to inform the 
development of guidelines and safeguards for new 
products, processes, and systems that may result 
from advancements at the intersection of the biologi-
cal, physical, and information sciences and engineer-
ing.’’. 
SEC. 407. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology shall enter into a contract with 
the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, 
comprehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory pro-
grams. The review shall— 
(1) assess the technical merits and scientific 
caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 
(2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 
the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 
ability to fulfill its mission; 
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(3) evaluate how cross-cutting research and de-
velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 
executed across the laboratories; and 
(4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in-
dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 
into the research goals and objectives of the Insti-
tute. 
SEC. 408. IMPROVING NIST COLLABORATION WITH OTHER 
AGENCIES. 
Section 8 of the National Bureau of Standards Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983 (15 U.S.C. 275b) 
is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND 
WITH’’ after ‘‘PERFORMED FOR’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 
Secretary may accept, apply for, use, and spend 
Federal, State, and non-governmental acquisition 
and assistance funds to further the mission of the 
Institute without regard to the source or the period 
of availability of these funds as well as share per-
sonnel, associates, facilities, and property with these 
partner organizations, with or without reimburse-
ment, upon mutual agreement.’’. 
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175 
SEC. 409. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
(a) FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES.—Section 15 of the 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act 
(15 U.S.C. 278e) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘of the Government; and’’ and 
inserting ‘‘of the Government;’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘transportation services for em-
ployees of the Institute’’ and inserting ‘‘transpor-
tation services for employees, associates, or fellows 
of the Institute’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘Code.’’ and inserting ‘‘Code; 
and (i) the protection of Institute buildings and 
other plant facilities, equipment, and property, and 
of employees, associates, visitors, or other persons 
located therein or associated therewith, notwith-
standing any other provision of law.’’. 
(b) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—Sec-
tion 19 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–2) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘SEC. 19. POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 
‘‘The Director, in conjunction with the National 
Academy of Sciences, shall establish and conduct a post- 
doctoral fellowship program that shall include not less 
than 20 new fellows per fiscal year. In evaluating applica-
tions for fellowships under this section, the Director shall 
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give consideration to the goal of promoting the participa-
tion of underrepresented minorities in research areas sup-
ported by the Institute.’’. 
TITLE V—INNOVATION 
SEC. 501. OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEUR-
SHIP. 
Section 25 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno-
vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3720) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘with a Direc-
tor and full-time staff’’ after ‘‘Office of Innovation 
and Entrepreneurship’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(3) providing access to relevant data, research, 
and technical assistance on innovation and commer-
cialization, including best practices for university- 
based incubators and accelerators;’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 
(5) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; and 
(C) by inserting the following after para-
graph (3): 
‘‘(4) overseeing the implementation of the loan 
guarantee programs and the Regional Innovation 
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177 
Program established under sections 26 and 27, re-
spectively; 
‘‘(5) developing, within 180 days after the date 
of enactment of the America Competes Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2014, and updating at least every 5 
years, a strategic plan to guide the activities of the 
Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship that 
shall— 
‘‘(A) specify and prioritize near-term and 
long-term goals, objectives, and policies to ac-
celerate innovation and advance the commer-
cialization of research and development, includ-
ing federally funded research and development, 
set forth the anticipated time for achieving the 
objectives, and identify metrics for use in as-
sessing progress toward such objectives; 
‘‘(B) describe how the Department of 
Commerce is working in conjunction with other 
Federal agencies to foster innovation and com-
mercialization across the United States; and 
‘‘(C) provide a summary of the activities, 
including the development of metrics to evalu-
ate regional innovation strategies undertaken 
through the Regional Innovation Research and 
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178 
Information Program established under section 
27(e);’’; 
(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish or designate an advisory committee, which 
shall meet at least twice each fiscal year, to provide 
advice to the Secretary on carrying out the duties 
and responsibilities of the Office of Innovation and 
Entrepreneurship. 
‘‘(2) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—The advisory 
committee shall prepare a report, to be submitted to 
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate every 3 years. The first report shall be submitted 
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014 
and shall include— 
‘‘(A) an assessment of the strategic plan 
developed under subsection (b)(5) and the 
progress made in implementing the plan and 
the duties of the Office of Innovation and En-
trepreneurship; 
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‘‘(B) an assessment of how the Office of 
Innovation and Entrepreneurship is working 
with other Federal agencies to meet the goals 
and duties of the office; and 
‘‘(C) any recommendations for how the Of-
fice of Innovation and Entrepreneurship could 
be improved.’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019 
to carry out this section.’’. 
SEC. 502. FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR INNOVATIVE 
TECHNOLOGIES IN MANUFACTURING. 
Section 26(t) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 
Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3721(t)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 2013’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘fiscal years 2014 through 2018’’. 
SEC. 503. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM. 
Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno-
vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(8) OUTREACH
TO
RURAL
COMMUNITIES.— 
The Secretary shall conduct outreach to public and 
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private sector entities in rural communities to en-
courage those entities to participate in regional inno-
vation cluster activities under this subsection. 
‘‘(9) FUNDING.—The Secretary may accept 
funds from other Federal agencies to support grants 
and activities under this subsection.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 
2011 through 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 
2015 through 2019’’. 
SEC. 504. INNOVATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM. 
Section 25 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno-
vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3720) as amended by sec-
tion 501 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(e) INNOVATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneur-
ship and in conjunction with the States, shall estab-
lish an innovation voucher pilot program to accel-
erate innovative activities and enhance the competi-
tiveness of small and medium-sized manufacturers in 
the United States. The pilot program shall— 
‘‘(A) foster collaborations between small 
and medium-sized manufacturers and research 
institutions; and 
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‘‘(B) enable small and medium-sized man-
ufacturers to access technical expertise and ca-
pabilities that will lead to the development of 
innovative products or manufacturing processes, 
including through— 
‘‘(i) research and development, includ-
ing proof of concept, technical develop-
ment, and compliance testing activities; 
‘‘(ii) early-stage product development, 
including engineering design services; and 
‘‘(iii) technology transfer and related 
activities. 
‘‘(2) AWARD SIZE.—The Secretary shall com-
petitively award vouchers worth up to $20,000 to 
small and medium-sized manufacturers for use at el-
igible research institutions to acquire the services de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(B). 
‘‘(3) STREAMLINED
PROCEDURES.—The Sec-
retary shall streamline and simplify the application, 
administrative, and reporting procedures for vouch-
ers administered under the program. 
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Prior to awarding any 
vouchers under the program, the Secretary shall pro-
mulgate regulations— 
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‘‘(A) establishing criteria for the selection 
of recipients of awards under this subsection; 
‘‘(B) establishing procedures regarding fi-
nancial reporting and auditing— 
‘‘(i) to ensure that awards are used 
for the purposes of the program; and 
‘‘(ii) that are in accordance with 
sound accounting practices; and 
‘‘(C) describing any other policies, proce-
dures, or information necessary to implement 
this subsection, including those intended to 
streamline and simplify the program in accord-
ance with paragraph (3). 
‘‘(5) TRANSFER
AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 
may transfer funds appropriated to the Department 
of Commerce to other Federal agencies for the per-
formance of services authorized under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS.—All of the 
amounts appropriated to carry out this subsection 
for a fiscal year shall be used for vouchers awarded 
under this subsection, except that the Secretary may 
set aside a percentage of such amounts for eligible 
research institutions performing the services de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(B) to defray administrative 
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