In the Senate of the United States,
October 9 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1274) entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize appropria-
tions for the National Institute of Standards and Technology
for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, and for other purposes.’’, do
pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Technology Administra-
tion Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP PRO-
GRAM CENTER EXTENSION.
Section 25(c)(5) of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(c)(5)) is amended by
striking ‘‘, which are designed’’ and all that follows through
‘‘operation of a Center.’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘.
After the sixth year, a Center may receive additional finan-
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cial support under this section if it has received a positive
evaluation through an independent review, under proce-
dures established by the Institute. Such an independent re-
view shall be required at least every two years after the sixth
year of operation. Funding received for a fiscal year under
this section after the sixth year of operation shall not exceed
one third of the capital and annual operating and mainte-
nance costs of the Center under the program.’’.
SEC. 3. MALCOLM BALDRIGE QUALITY AWARD.
(a) ADDITIONAL AWARDS.—Section 17(c)(3) of the
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3711a(c)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, unless the
Secretary determines that a third award is merited and can
be given at no additional cost to the Federal Government’’
after ‘‘in any year’’.
(b) CATEGORIES.—Section 17(c)(1) of the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3711a(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(D) Health care providers.
‘‘(E) Education providers.’’.
SEC. 4. NOTICE.
(a) REDESIGNATION.—Section 31 of the National In-
stitute of Standards and Technology Act is redesignated as
section 32.
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(b) NOTICE.—The National Institute of Standards and
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by in-
serting after section 30 the following new section:
‘‘NOTICE
‘‘SEC. 31. (a) NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.—If any
funds authorized for carrying out this Act are subject to
a reprogramming action that requires notice to be provided
to the Appropriations Committees of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate, notice of such action shall con-
currently be provided to the Committee on Science of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
‘‘(b) NOTICE OF REORGANIZATION.—
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide notice to the Committees on Science and Appro-
priations of the House of Representatives, and the
Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation and Appropriations of the Senate, not later
than 15 days before any major reorganization of any
program, project, or activity of the Institute.
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘‘major reorganization’’ means any
reorganization of the Institute that involves the reas-
signment of more than 25 percent of the employees of
the Institute.’’.
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SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM.
With the year 2000 fast approaching, it is the sense
of Congress that the National Institute of Standards and
Technology should—
(1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit
date-related problems in its computer systems to en-
sure that those systems continue to operate effectively
in the year 2000 and beyond; and
(2) develop contingency plans for those systems
that the Institute is unable to correct in time.
SEC. 6. ENHANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
PROGRAMS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
(1) EDUCATIONALLY
USEFUL
FEDERAL
EQUIP-
MENT.—The term ‘‘educationally useful Federal
equipment’’ means computers and related peripheral
tools and research equipment that is appropriate for
use in schools.
(2) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means a public
or private educational institution that serves any of
the grades of kindergarten through grade 12.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress
that the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology should, to the greatest extent
practicable and in a manner consistent with applica-
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ble Federal law (including Executive Order No.
12999), donate educationally useful Federal equip-
ment to schools in order to enhance the science and
mathematics programs of those schools.
(2) REPORTS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act, and annually there-
after, the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology shall prepare and submit to the
President a report. The President shall submit the re-
port to Congress at the same time as the President
submits a budget request to Congress under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.
(B) CONTENTS
OF
REPORT.—The report pre-
pared by the Director under this paragraph shall de-
scribe any donations of educationally useful Federal
equipment to schools made during the period covered
by the report.
SEC. 7. TEACHER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ENHANCE-
MENT INSTITUTE PROGRAM.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology
Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended by inserting after
section 19 the following:
‘‘SEC. 19A. (a) The Director shall establish within the
Institute a teacher science and technology enhancement pro-
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gram to provide for professional development of mathe-
matics and science teachers of elementary, middle, and sec-
ondary schools (as those terms are defined by the Director),
including providing for the improvement of those teachers
with respect to the understanding of science and the impacts
of science on commerce.
‘‘(b) In carrying out the program under this section,
the Director shall focus on the areas of—
‘‘(1) scientific measurements;
‘‘(2) tests and standards development;
‘‘(3) industrial competitiveness and quality;
‘‘(4) manufacturing;
‘‘(5) technology transfer; and
‘‘(6) any other area of expertise of the Institute
that the Director determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(c) The Director shall develop and issue procedures
and selection criteria for participants in the program.
‘‘(d) The program under this section shall be conducted
on an annual basis during the summer months, during the
period of time when a majority of elementary, middle, and
secondary schools have not commenced a school year.
‘‘(e) The program shall provide for teachers’ participa-
tion in activities at the laboratory facilities of the Institute,
or shall utilize other means of accomplishing the goals of
the program as determined by the Director, which may in-
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clude the Internet, video conferencing and recording, and
workshops and conferences.’’.
SEC. 8. OFFICE OF SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within the
Department of Commerce an Office of Space Commer-
cialization (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’).
(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by a Direc-
tor, who shall be a senior executive and shall be com-
pensated at a level in the Senior Executive Service under
section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, as determined
by the Secretary of Commerce.
(c) FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE; DUTIES OF THE DI-
RECTOR.—The Office shall be the principal unit for the co-
ordination of space-related issues, programs, and initiatives
within the Department of Commerce. The primary respon-
sibilities of the Director, in carrying out the functions of
the Office, shall include—
(1) promoting commercial provider investment
in space activities by collecting, analyzing, and dis-
seminating information on space markets, and con-
ducting workshops and seminars to increase aware-
ness of commercial space opportunities;
(2) assisting United States commercial providers
in the efforts of those providers to conduct business
with the United States Government;
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(3) acting as an industry advocate within the
executive branch of the Federal Government to ensure
that the Federal Government meets the space-related
requirements of the Federal Government, to the fullest
extent feasible, using commercially available space
goods and services;
(4) ensuring that the United States Government
does not compete with United States commercial pro-
viders in the provision of space hardware and services
otherwise available from United States commercial
providers;
(5) promoting the export of space-related goods
and services;
(6) representing the Department of Commerce in
the development of United States policies and in ne-
gotiations with foreign countries to ensure free and
fair trade internationally in the area of space com-
merce; and
(7) seeking the removal of legal, policy, and in-
stitutional impediments to space commerce.
SEC. 9. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETI-
TIVE TECHNOLOGY.
Section 5 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innova-
tion Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3704) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
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‘‘(f) EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM-
PETITIVE TECHNOLOGY.—
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary, 
acting
through the Under Secretary, shall establish for fiscal
year 1999 a program to be known as the Experi-
mental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology
(referred to in this subsection as the ‘program’). The
purpose of the program shall be to strengthen the tech-
nological competitiveness of those States that have his-
torically received less Federal research and develop-
ment funds than those received by a majority of the
States.
‘‘(2) ARRANGEMENTS.—In carrying out the pro-
gram, the Secretary, acting through the Under Sec-
retary, shall—
‘‘(A) enter into such arrangements as may
be necessary to provide for the coordination of
the program through the State committees estab-
lished under the Experimental Program to Stim-
ulate Competitive Research of the National
Science Foundation; and
‘‘(B) cooperate with—
‘‘(i) any State science and technology
council established under the program
under subparagraph (A); and
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‘‘(ii) representatives of small business
firms and other appropriate technology-
based businesses.
‘‘(3) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—
In carrying out the program, the Secretary, acting
through the Under Secretary, may make grants or
enter into cooperative agreements to provide for—
‘‘(A) technology research and development;
‘‘(B) technology transfer from university re-
search;
‘‘(C) technology deployment and diffusion;
and
‘‘(D) the strengthening of technological ca-
pabilities through consortia comprised of—
‘‘(i) technology-based small business
firms;
‘‘(ii) industries and emerging compa-
nies;
‘‘(iii) universities; and
‘‘(iv) State and local development
agencies and entities.
‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR MAKING AWARDS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In making awards
under this subsection, the Secretary, acting
through the Under Secretary, shall ensure that
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the awards are awarded on a competitive basis
that includes a review of the merits of the activi-
ties that are the subject of the award.
‘‘(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The non-
Federal share of the activities (other than plan-
ning activities) carried out under an award
under this subsection shall be not less than 25
percent of the cost of those activities.
‘‘(5) CRITERIA
FOR
STATES.—The Secretary,
acting through the Under Secretary, shall establish
criteria for achievement by each State that partici-
pates in the program. Upon the achievement of all
such criteria, a State shall cease to be eligible to par-
ticipate in the program.
‘‘(6) COORDINATION.—To the extent practicable,
in carrying out this subsection, the Secretary, acting
through the Under Secretary, shall coordinate the pro-
gram with other programs of the Department of Com-
merce.
‘‘(7) REPORT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of the Technology Ad-
ministration Act of 1998, the Under Secretary
shall prepare and submit a report that meets the
requirements of this paragraph to the Secretary.
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Upon receipt of the report, the Secretary shall
transmit a copy of the report to the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
the Senate and the Committee on Science of the
House of Representatives.
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
REPORT.—The
report prepared under this paragraph shall con-
tain with respect to the program—
‘‘(i) a description of the structure and
procedures of the program;
‘‘(ii) a management plan for the pro-
gram;
‘‘(iii) a description of the merit-based
review process to be used in the program;
‘‘(iv) milestones for the evaluation of
activities to be assisted under the program
in fiscal year 1999;
‘‘(v) an assessment of the eligibility of
each State that participates in the Experi-
mental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research of the National Science Founda-
tion to participate in the program under
this subsection; and
‘‘(vi) the evaluation criteria with re-
spect to which the overall management and
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effectiveness of the program will be evalu-
ated.’’.
SEC. 10. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY MEDAL FOR ENVIRON-
MENTAL TECHNOLOGY.
In the administration of section 16 of the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3711), Environmental Technology shall be established as a
separate nomination category with appropriate unique cri-
teria for that category.
SEC. 11. INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC RESEARCH CENTER.
The Congress finds that the International Arctic Re-
search Center is an internationally-supported effort to con-
duct important weather and climate studies, and other re-
search projects of benefit to the United States. It is, there-
fore, the sense of the Congress that, as with similar research
conducted in the Antarctic, the United States should pro-
vide similar support for this important effort.
Attest:
Secretary.