porated and maintains a primary place of business 
in the United States. 
(5) SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERN.—The term 
‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
establish a program to support participation by covered 
entities in meetings and proceedings of standards develop-
ment organizations in the development of voluntary tech-
nical standards. 
(c) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the program estab-
lished under subsection (a), the Administrator shall award 
competitive, merit-reviewed grants to covered entities to 
cover the reasonable costs, up to a specified ceiling, of par-
ticipation of employees of those covered entities in meet-
ings and proceedings of standards development organiza-
tions, including— 
(1) regularly attending meetings; 
(2) contributing expertise and research; 
(3) proposing new work items; and 
(4) volunteering for leadership roles such as a 
convener or editor. 
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(d) AWARD CRITERIA.—The Administrator may only 
provide a grant under this section to a covered entity 
that— 
(1) demonstrates deep technical expertise in key 
emerging technologies and technical standards, in-
cluding artificial intelligence and related tech-
nologies; 
(2) commits personnel with such expertise to 
regular participation in global bodies responsible for 
developing standards for such technologies over the 
period of the grant; 
(3) agrees to participate in efforts to coordinate 
between the Federal Government and industry to en-
sure protection of national security interests in the 
setting of global standards so long as such standards 
are not dictated by the Federal Government; and 
(4) provides a plan to the Administrator that 
details the relationship between the activities de-
scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and the pro-
posed standards to be adopted. 
(e) NO MATCHING CONTRIBUTION.—A recipient of 
an award under this section shall not be required to pro-
vide a matching contribution. 
(f) EVALUATION.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—In making awards under 
this section, the Administrator shall coordinate with 
the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, who shall provide support in the as-
sessment of technical expertise in emerging tech-
nologies and standards setting needs. 
(2) PANEL RANKING.—In carrying out the re-
quirements under paragraph (1), the Administrator 
and the Director shall jointly establish a panel of ex-
perts to rank the proposed standards, based on 
merit and relevance, to be composed of experts 
from— 
(A) private industry; 
(B) non-profit institutions; 
(C) non-profit standards development orga-
nizations; 
(D) academia; and 
(E) the Federal Government. 
(g) REPORT.—Not less than annually, the Adminis-
trator shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report on— 
(1) the efficacy of the program; 
(2) an explanation of any standard adopted as 
a result of the program; 
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(3) any challenges faced in carrying out the 
program; and 
(4) proposed solutions to the challenges identi-
fied in paragraph (3). 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2022 and 
each fiscal year thereafter $1,000,000 to carry out the 
program established under this section. 
Æ 
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