IIB
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4429
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation
AN ACT
To require the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology to assist small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses to successfully
integrate and utilize electronic commerce technologies
and business practices, and to authorize the National
Institute of Standards and Technology to assess critical
enterprise integration standards and implementation
HR 4429 RFS
activities for major manufacturing industries and to de-
velop a plan for enterprise integration for each major
manufacturing 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 ‘‘Electronic Commerce
Enhancement Act of 2000’’.
TITLE I—ELECTRONIC
COMMERCE
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Commercial transactions on the Internet,
whether retail business-to-customer or business-to-
business, are commonly called electronic commerce.
(2) In the United States, business-to-business
transactions between small and medium-sized manu-
facturers and other such businesses and their sup-
pliers is rapidly growing, as many of these busi-
nesses begin to use Internet connections for supply-
chain management, after-sales support, and pay-
ments.
(3) Small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses play a critical role in the
United States economy.
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(4) Electronic commerce can help small and
medium-sized manufacturers and other such busi-
nesses develop new products and markets, interact
more quickly and efficiently with suppliers and cus-
tomers, and improve productivity by increasing effi-
ciency and reducing transaction costs and paper-
work. Small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses who fully exploit the potential
of electronic commerce activities can use it to inter-
act with customers, suppliers, and the public, and
for external support functions such as personnel
services and employee training.
(5) The National Institute of Standards and
Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership
program has a successful record of assisting small
and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses. In addition, the Manufacturing Exten-
sion Partnership program, working with the Small
Business 
Administration, 
successfully 
assisted
United States small enterprises in remediating their
Y2K computer problems.
(6) A critical element of electronic commerce is
the ability of different electronic commerce systems
to exchange information. The continued growth of
electronic commerce will be enhanced by the develop-
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ment of private voluntary interoperability standards
and testbeds to ensure the compatibility of different
systems.
SEC. 102. REPORT ON THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC
COMMERCE.
(a) ADVISORY PANEL.—The Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (in this title re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall establish an Advisory
Panel to report on the challenges facing small and me-
dium-sized manufacturers and other such businesses in in-
tegrating and utilizing electronic commerce technologies
and business practices. The Advisory Panel shall be com-
prised of representatives of the Technology Administra-
tion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program estab-
lished under sections 25 and 26 of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and
278l), the Small Business Administration, and other rel-
evant parties as identified by the Director.
(b) INITIAL REPORT.—Within 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall
report to the Director and to the Committee on Science
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on
the immediate requirements of small and medium-sized
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manufacturers and other such businesses to integrate and
utilize electronic commerce technologies and business
practices. The report shall—
(1) describe the current utilization of electronic
commerce practices by small and medium-sized man-
ufacturers and other such businesses, detailing the
different levels between business-to-retail customer
and business-to-business transactions;
(2) describe and assess the utilization and need
for encryption and electronic authentication compo-
nents and electronically stored data security in elec-
tronic commerce for small and medium-sized manu-
facturers and other such businesses;
(3) identify the impact and problems of inter-
operability to electronic commerce, and include an
economic assessment; and
(4) include a preliminary assessment of the ap-
propriate role of, and recommendations for, the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to
assist small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses to integrate and utilize elec-
tronic commerce technologies and business practices.
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Within 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall
report to the Director and to the Committee on Science
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of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a
3-year assessment of the needs of small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses to integrate and
utilize electronic commerce technologies and business
practices. The report shall include—
(1) a 3-year planning document for the Manu-
facturing Extension Partnership program in the
field of electronic commerce; and
(2) recommendations, if necessary, for the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology to ad-
dress interoperability issues in the field of electronic
commerce.
SEC. 103. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE PILOT PROGRAM.
The National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership program,
in consultation with the Small Business Administration,
shall establish a pilot program to assist small and me-
dium-sized manufacturers and other such businesses in in-
tegrating and utilizing electronic commerce technologies
and business practices. The goal of the pilot program shall
be to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses with the information they need to
make informed decisions in utilizing electronic commerce-
related goods and services. Such program shall be imple-