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SEC. 316. ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS. 
(a) TRIANNUAL AUDIT OF THE OFFICE OF THE NA-
TIONAL SCIENCE BOARD.—Section 15(a) of the National 
Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
4862n–5) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an annual 
audit’’ and inserting ‘‘an audit every three years’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘each year’’ 
and inserting ‘‘every third year’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) MATERIALS RELATING TO CLOSED POR-
TIONS
OF
MEETINGS.—To facilitate the audit re-
quired under paragraph (3) of this subsection, the 
Office of the National Science Board shall maintain 
the General Counsel’s certificate, the presiding offi-
cer’s statement, and a transcript or recording of any 
closed meeting, for at least 3 years after such meet-
ing.’’. 
(b) LIMITED TERM PERSONNEL FOR THE NATIONAL 
SCIENCE BOARD.—Subsection (g) of section 4 of the Na-
tional Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 
1863(g)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(g) The Board may, with the concurrence of a ma-
jority of its members, permit the appointment of a staff 
consisting of not more than 5 professional staff members, 
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technical and professional personnel on leave of absence 
from academic, industrial, or research institutions for a 
limited term and such operations and support staff mem-
bers as may be necessary. Such staff shall be appointed 
by the Chairman and assigned at the direction of the 
Board. The professional members and limited term tech-
nical and professional personnel of such staff may be ap-
pointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
service, and the provisions of chapter 51 of such title relat-
ing to classification, and shall be compensated at a rate 
not exceeding the maximum rate payable under section 
5376 of such title, as may be necessary to provide for the 
performance of such duties as may be prescribed by the 
Board in connection with the exercise of its powers and 
functions under this Act. Section 14(a)(3) shall apply to 
each limited term appointment of technical and profes-
sional personnel under this subsection. Each appointment 
under this subsection shall be subject to the same security 
requirements as those required for personnel of the Foun-
dation appointed under section 14(a).’’. 
(c) INCREASE IN NUMBER OF WATERMAN AWARDS 
TO THREE.—Section 6(c) of the National Science Founda-
tion Authorization Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 1881a) is 
amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(c) Up to three awards may be made under this sec-
tion in any one fiscal year.’’. 
SEC. 317. NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD REPORTS. 
Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 4(j) of the National 
Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863(j)(1) 
and (2)) are amended by striking ‘‘, for submission to’’ 
and ‘‘for submission to’’, respectively, and inserting 
‘‘and’’. 
SEC. 318. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE REPORT ON DI-
VERSITY IN STEM FIELDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall enter into 
an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences 
for a report, to be transmitted to the Congress not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, about 
barriers to increasing the number of underrepresented mi-
norities in science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics fields and to identify strategies for bringing more 
underrepresented minorities into the science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics workforce. 
(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The Director shall 
ensure that the study described in subsection (a) address-
es— 
(1) social and institutional factors that shape 
the decisions of minority students to commit to edu-
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cation and careers in the science, technology, engi-
neering, and mathematics fields; 
(2) specific barriers preventing greater minority 
student participation in the science, technology, en-
gineering, and mathematics fields; 
(3) primary focus points for policy intervention 
to increase the recruitment and retention of under-
represented minorities in America’s future work-
force; 
(4) programs already underway to increase di-
versity in the science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics fields, and their level of effectiveness; 
(5) factors that make such programs effective, 
and how to expand and improve upon existing pro-
grams; 
(6) the role of minority-serving institutions in 
the diversification of America’s workforce in these 
fields and how that role can be supported and 
strengthened; and 
(7) how the public and private sectors can bet-
ter assist minority students in their efforts to join 
America’s workforce in these fields. 
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SEC. 319. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE 
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP 
PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDU-
CATION AND THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUN-
DATION. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) although the mathematics and science edu-
cation partnership program at the National Science 
Foundation and the mathematics and science part-
nership program at the Department of Education 
practically share the same name, the 2 programs are 
intended to be complementary, not duplicative; 
(2) the National Science Foundation partner-
ship programs are innovative, model reform initia-
tives that move promising ideas in education from 
research into practice to improve teacher quality, de-
velop challenging curricula, and increase student 
achievement in mathematics and science, and Con-
gress intends that the National Science Foundation 
peer-reviewed partnership programs found to be ef-
fective should be put into wider practice by dissemi-
nation through the Department of Education part-
nership programs; and 
(3) the Director of the National Science Foun-
dation and the Secretary of Education should have 
ongoing collaboration to ensure that the 2 compo-
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