1286 
(ii) to address longstanding bureau-
cratic hurdles while improving security pro-
tocols; 
(J) a description of the degree to which the 
Secretary of State implemented recommendations 
made by the Department of State Office of In-
spector General in its June 2020 reports on Re-
view of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Pro-
gram (AUD-MERO-20-35) and Management As-
sistance Report: Quarterly Reporting on Afghan 
Special Immigrant Visa Program Needs Im-
provement (AUD-MERO-20-34); 
(K) an assessment of the extent to which 
challenges in verifying applicants’ employment 
with the Department of Defense contributed to 
delays in the processing of such special immi-
grant visas, and an accounting of the specific 
steps taken since February 29, 2020, to address 
issues surrounding employment verification; and 
(L) recommendations to strengthen and 
streamline such special immigrant visa process 
going forward. 
(c) INTERIM REPORTING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector 
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General of the Department of Homeland Security and 
the Inspector General of the Department of State shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
not fewer than one interim report on the review con-
ducted under this section. 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional 
committees’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 12 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by this subtitle. 
(B) 
SCREEN; 
SCREENING.—The 
terms 
‘‘screen’’ and ‘‘screening’’, with respect to an 
evacuee, mean the process by which a Federal of-
ficial determines— 
(i) the identity of the evacuee; 
(ii) whether the evacuee has a valid 
identification documentation; and 
(iii) whether any database of the 
United States Government contains deroga-
tory information about the evacuee. 
(C) VET; VETTING.—The term ‘‘vet’’ and 
‘‘vetting’’, with respect to an evacuee, means the 
process by which a Federal official interviews the 
evacuee to determine whether the evacuee is who 
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they purport to be, including whether the evacuee 
poses a national security risk. 
(d) DISCHARGE OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Inspec-
tor General of the Department of Homeland Security and 
the Inspector General of the Department of State shall dis-
charge the responsibilities under this section in a manner 
consistent with the authorities and requirements of the In-
spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) and the au-
thorities and requirements applicable to the Inspector Gen-
eral of the Department of Homeland Security and the In-
spector General of the Department of State under that Act. 
(e) COORDINATION.—Upon request of an Inspector 
General for information or assistance under subsection (a), 
the head of any Federal agency involved shall, insofar as 
is practicable and not in contravention of any existing stat-
utory restriction or regulation of the Federal agency from 
which the information is requested, furnish to such Inspec-
tor General, or to an authorized designee, such information 
or assistance. 
(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to limit the ability of the Inspector Gen-
eral of the Department of Homeland Security or the Inspec-
tor General of the Department of State to enter into agree-
ments to conduct joint audits, inspections, or investigations 
in the exercise of the oversight responsibilities of the Inspec-
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tor General of the Department of Homeland Security and 
the Inspector General of the Department of State, in accord-
ance with the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App.), with respect to oversight of the evacuation from Af-
ghanistan, the selection, vetting, and processing of appli-
cants for special immigrant visas and asylum, and any re-
settlement in the United States of such evacuees. 
TITLE LVII—FEDERAL 
EMPLOYEE MATTERS 
SEC. 5701. APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION 
BOARD RELATING TO FBI REPRISAL ALLEGA-
TIONS; SALARY OF SPECIAL COUNSEL. 
(a) APPEALS TO MSPB.—Section 2303 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(d)(1) An employee of the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation who makes an allegation of a reprisal under regu-
lations promulgated under this section may appeal a final 
determination or corrective action order by the Bureau 
under those regulations to the Merit Systems Protection 
Board pursuant to section 1221. 
‘‘(2) If no final determination or corrective action 
order has been made or issued for an allegation described 
in paragraph (1) before the expiration of the 180-day period 
beginning on the date on which the allegation is received 
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by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the employee de-
scribed in that paragraph may seek corrective action di-
rectly from the Merit Systems Protection Board pursuant 
to section 1221.’’. 
(b) SPECIAL COUNSEL SALARY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 53 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in section 5314, by adding at the end 
the following new item :‘‘Special Counsel of the 
Office of Special Counsel.’’; and 
(B) in section 5315, by striking ‘‘Special 
Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board.’’ 
(2) APPLICATION.—The rate of pay applied 
under the amendments made by paragraph (1) shall 
begin to apply on the first day of the first pay period 
beginning after date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5702. MINIMUM WAGE FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS. 
Executive Order 14026 and its implementing regula-
tions in part 23 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, 
are hereby enacted into law, except that nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to prohibit any Federal department 
or agency from requiring any Federal contract entered into 
on or after the date of enactment of this section to include 
a clause requiring that workers employed in the perform-
ance of such contract or any covered subcontract (as defined 
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in such regulations) be paid at a minimum wage that ex-
ceeds the minimum wage in effect pursuant to such execu-
tive order and regulations. 
SEC. 5703. FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER RECRUIT-
MENT AND RETENTION. 
(a) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION BONUS.—In order 
to promote the recruitment and retention of Federal 
wildland firefighters, the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management, in coordination with the Secretary of Agri-
culture and the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish a 
program under which a recruitment or retention bonus of 
not less than $1,000 may be paid to a Federal wildland 
firefighter in an amount as determined appropriate by the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior. The 
minimum amount of such bonus in the previous sentence 
shall be increased each year by the Consumer Price Index 
in the manner prescribed under subsection (b)(2). Any 
bonus under this subsection— 
(1) shall be paid to any primary or secondary 
Federal wildland firefighter upon the date that such 
firefighter successfully completes a work capacity test; 
and 
(2) may not be paid to any such firefighter more 
than once per calendar year. 
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(b) FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ means any 
temporary, seasonal, or permanent position at the Depart-
ment of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior that 
maintains group, emergency incident management, or fire 
qualifications, as established annually by the Standards for 
Wildland Fire Position Qualifications published by the Na-
tional Wildfire Coordinating Group, and primarily engages 
in or supports wildland fire management activities, includ-
ing forestry and rangeland technicians and positions con-
cerning aviation, engineering heavy equipment operations, 
or fire and fuels management. 
TITLE LVIII—OTHER MATTERS 
SEC. 5801. AFGHAN ALLIES PROTECTION. 
Clause (ii) of section 602(b)(2)(A) of the Afghan Allies 
Protection Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 
note) is amended in the matter preceding subclause (I), by 
striking ‘‘year—’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘year, or in 
the case of an alien who was wounded or seriously injured 
in connection with employment described in this subpara-
graph, for the period until such wound or injury occurred, 
if the wound or injury prevented the alien from continuing 
employment—’’. 
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SEC. 5802. ADVANCING MUTUAL INTERESTS AND GROWING 
OUR SUCCESS. 
(a) NONIMMIGRANT TRADERS AND INVESTORS.—For 
purposes of clauses (i) and (ii) of section 101(a)(15)(E) of 
the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(E)), Portugal shall be considered to be a for-
eign state described in such section if the Government of 
Portugal provides similar nonimmigrant status to nation-
als of the United States. 
(b) MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR E 
VISAS.— 
Section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of an alien who 
acquired the relevant nationality through a financial 
investment and who has not previously been granted 
status under this subparagraph, the foreign state of 
which the alien is a national and in which the alien 
has been domiciled for a continuous period of not less 
than 3 years at any point before applying for a non-
immigrant visa under this subparagraph)’’ before ‘‘, 
and the spouse’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘such 
alien’’; and 
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(3) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place such term ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘the alien’’. 
SEC. 5803. EXPANSION OF STUDY OF PFAS CONTAMINA-
TION. 
(a) CDC STUDY ON HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF PER- 
AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES CONTAMINATION IN 
DRINKING WATER.—The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention and the Director of the Agency 
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and, as appro-
priate, the Director of the National Institute of Environ-
mental Health Sciences, and in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Defense, shall— 
(1) expand (by including more military installa-
tions, communities, or other sites) the study author-
ized by section 316 of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91) 
on the human health implications of per- and 
polyfluoroalkyl substances (in this section referred to 
as ‘‘PFAS’’) contamination in drinking water, 
ground water, and any other sources of water and rel-
evant exposure pathways, including the cumulative 
human health implications of multiple types of PFAS 
contamination at levels above and below health advi-
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sory levels to assess health effects at additional mili-
tary installations; 
(2) not later than 1 year after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, and annually thereafter until 
submission of the report under paragraph (3)(B), sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees a re-
port on the progress of such expanded study; and 
(3) not later than 5 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act (or 7 years after such date of enact-
ment after providing notice to the appropriate con-
gressional committees of the need for the delay)— 
(A) complete the expanded study and make 
any appropriate recommendations; and 
(B) submit a report to the appropriate con-
gressional committees on the results of such ex-
panded study. 
(b) EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, acting through the Director of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 
Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis-
ease Registry, and, as appropriate, the Director of the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 
and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, 
shall conduct an exposure assessment of not less than 
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10 current or former domestic military installations 
which were not included in the study authorized by 
section 316(a) of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91) and 
which are known to have PFAS contamination in 
drinking water, ground water, and any other sources 
of water and relevant exposure pathways. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The exposure assessment re-
quired under this subsection shall— 
(A) include— 
(i) for each military installation cov-
ered under the exposure assessment, a statis-
tical sample to be determined by the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services in 
consultation with the relevant State health 
departments; and 
(ii) biomonitoring for assessing the 
contamination described in paragraph (1); 
and 
(B) produce findings, which shall be— 
(i) used to help design the study de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1); and 
(ii) not later than 1 year after the con-
clusion of such exposure assessment, released 
to the appropriate congressional committees. 
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(3) TIMING.—The exposure assessment required 
under this subsection shall— 
(A) begin not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act; and 
(B) conclude not later than 2 years after 
such date of enactment. 
(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The Di-
rector of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg-
istry may, as necessary, use staff and other resources from 
other Federal agencies in carrying out the study under sub-
section (a) and the assessment under subsection (b). 
(d) NO EFFECT
ON REGULATORY PROCESS.—The 
study under subsection (a) and assessment under subsection 
(b) shall not interfere with any regulatory processes of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, including determina-
tions of maximum contaminant levels. 
(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro-
priate congressional committees’’ means— 
(1) the congressional defense committees; 
(2) the Committee on Heath, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions, the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
of the Senate; and 
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(3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 
Representatives. 
(f) FUNDING.— 
(1) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—The study under sub-
section (a) and assessment under subsection (b) may 
be paid for using funds authorized to be appropriated 
to the Department of Defense under the heading ‘‘Op-
eration and Maintenance, Defense-Wide’’. 
(2) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—Without regard to 
section 2215 of title 10, United States Code, the Sec-
retary of Defense may transfer not more than 
$20,000,000 a year during each of fiscal years 2023 
and 2024 to the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to pay for the study under subsection (a) and 
assessment under subsection (b). 
(3) EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.—Amounts trans-
ferred to the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall be used to carry out the study under subsection 
(a) and assessment under subsection (b) through con-
tracts, cooperative agreements, or grants. In addition, 
such funds may be transferred by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to other accounts of the 
Department of Health and Human Services for the 
purposes of carrying out this section. 
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(4) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
TRANSFER
AU-
THORITIES.—The transfer authority provided under 
this subsection is in addition to any other transfer 
authority available to the Department of Defense or 
the Department of Health and Human Services. 
SEC. 
5804. 
NATIONAL 
RESEARCH 
AND 
DEVELOPMENT 
STRATEGY FOR DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECH-
NOLOGY. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—Except as otherwise expressly 
provided, the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 
the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 
(2) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER.—The term ‘‘distrib-
uted ledger’’ means a ledger that— 
(A) is shared across a set of distributed 
nodes, which are devices or processes, that par-
ticipate in a network and store a complete or 
partial replica of the ledger; 
(B) is synchronized between the nodes; 
(C) has data appended to it by following 
the ledger’s specified consensus mechanism; 
(D) may be accessible to anyone (public) or 
restricted to a subset of participants (private); 
and 
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(E) may require participants to have au-
thorization 
to 
perform 
certain 
actions 
(permissioned) or require no authorization 
(permissionless). 
(3) DISTRIBUTED
LEDGER
TECHNOLOGY.—The 
term ‘‘distributed ledger technology’’ means technology 
that enables the operation and use of distributed ledg-
ers. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 101 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(5) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
The 
term 
‘‘relevant 
congressional 
committees’’ 
means— 
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives. 
(6) SMART CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘smart con-
tract’’ means a computer program stored in a distrib-
uted ledger system that is executed when certain 
predefined conditions are satisfied and wherein the 
outcome of any execution of the program may be re-
corded on the distributed ledger. 
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(b) NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY 
R&D STRATEGY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, or a designee of 
the Director, shall, in coordination with the National 
Science and Technology Council, and the heads of 
such other relevant Federal agencies and entities as 
the Director considers appropriate, which may in-
clude the National Academies, and in consultation 
with such nongovernmental entities as the Director 
considers appropriate, develop a national strategy for 
the research and development of distributed ledger 
technologies and their applications, including appli-
cations of public and permissionless distributed ledg-
ers. In developing the national strategy, the Director 
shall consider the following: 
(A) Current efforts and coordination by 
Federal agencies to invest in the research and de-
velopment of distributed ledger technologies and 
their applications, including through programs 
like the Small Business Innovation Research 
program, the Small Business Technology Trans-
fer program, and the National Science Founda-
tion’s Innovation Corps programs. 
(B)(i) The potential benefits and risks of 
applications of distributed ledger technologies 
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across different industry sectors, including their 
potential to— 
(I) lower transactions costs and facili-
tate new types of commercial transactions; 
(II) protect privacy and increase indi-
viduals’ data sovereignty; 
(III) reduce friction to the interoper-
ability of digital systems; 
(IV) 
increase 
the 
accessibility, 
auditability, security, efficiency, and trans-
parency of digital services; 
(V) increase market competition in the 
provision of digital services; 
(VI) enable dynamic contracting and 
contract execution through smart contracts; 
(VII) enable participants to collaborate 
in trustless and disintermediated environ-
ments; 
(VIII) enable the operations and gov-
ernance of distributed organizations; 
(IX) create new ownership models for 
digital items; and 
(X) increase participation of popu-
lations historically underrepresented in the 
technology, business, and financial sectors. 
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(ii) In consideration of the potential risks of 
applications of distributed ledger technologies 
under clause (i), the Director shall take into ac-
count, where applicable— 
(I) additional risks that may emerge 
from distributed ledger technologies, as 
identified in reports submitted to the Presi-
dent pursuant to Executive Order 14067, 
that may be addressed by research and de-
velopment; 
(II) software vulnerabilities in distrib-
uted ledger technologies and smart con-
tracts; 
(III) limited consumer literacy on en-
gaging with applications of distributed 
ledger technologies in a secure way; 
(IV) the use of distributed ledger tech-
nologies in illicit finance and their use in 
combating illicit finance; 
(V) 
manipulative, 
deceptive, 
and 
fraudulent practices that harm consumers 
engaging with applications of distributed 
ledger technologies; 
(VI) the implications of different con-
sensus mechanisms for digital ledgers and 
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governance and accountability mechanisms 
for applications of distributed ledger tech-
nologies, which may include decentralized 
networks; 
(VII) foreign activities in the develop-
ment and deployment of distributed ledger 
technologies and their associated tools and 
infrastructure; and 
(VIII) environmental, sustainability, 
and economic impacts of the computational 
resources required for distributed ledger 
technologies. 
(C) Potential uses for distributed ledger 
technologies that could improve the operations 
and delivery of services by Federal agencies, tak-
ing into account the potential of digital ledger 
technologies to— 
(i) improve the efficiency and effective-
ness of privacy-preserving data sharing 
among Federal agencies and with State, 
local, territorial, and Tribal governments; 
(ii) promote government transparency 
by improving data sharing with the public; 
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(iii) introduce or mitigate risks that 
may threaten individuals’ rights or broad 
access to Federal services; 
(iv) automate and modernize processes 
for assessing and ensuring regulatory com-
pliance; and 
(v) facilitate broad access to financial 
services for underserved and underbanked 
populations. 
(D) Ways to support public and private sec-
tor dialogue on areas of research that could en-
hance the efficiency, scalability, interoperability, 
security, and privacy of applications using dis-
tributed ledger technologies. 
(E) The need for increased coordination of 
the public and private sectors on the development 
of voluntary standards in order to promote re-
search and development, including standards re-
garding security, smart contracts, cryptographic 
protocols, virtual routing and forwarding, inter-
operability, zero-knowledge proofs, and privacy, 
for distributed ledger technologies and their ap-
plications. 
(F) Applications of distributed ledger tech-
nologies that could positively benefit society but 
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that receive relatively little private sector invest-
ment. 
(G) The United States position in global 
leadership and competitiveness across research, 
development, and deployment of distributed ledg-
er technologies. 
(2) CONSULTATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Di-
rector’s duties under this subsection, the Director 
shall consult with the following: 
(i) Private industry. 
(ii) Institutions of higher education, 
including minority-serving institutions. 
(iii) Nonprofit organizations, includ-
ing foundations dedicated to supporting dis-
tributed ledger technologies and their appli-
cations. 
(iv) State governments. 
(v) Such other persons as the Director 
considers appropriate. 
(B) REPRESENTATION.—The Director shall 
ensure consultations with the following: 
(i) Rural and urban stakeholders from 
across the Nation. 
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(ii) Small, medium, and large busi-
nesses. 
(iii) 
Subject 
matter 
experts 
rep-
resenting multiple industrial sectors. 
(iv) A demographically diverse set of 
stakeholders. 
(3) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Director shall, for purposes of avoiding 
duplication of activities, consult, cooperate, and co-
ordinate with the programs and policies of other rel-
evant Federal agencies, including the interagency 
process outlined in section 3 of Executive Order 
14067 (87 Fed. Reg. 14143; relating ensuring respon-
sible development of digital assets). 
(4) NATIONAL STRATEGY.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 
shall submit to the relevant congressional committees 
and the President a national strategy that includes 
the following: 
(A) Priorities for the research and develop-
ment of distributed ledger technologies and their 
applications. 
(B) Plans to support public and private 
sector investment and partnerships in research 
and technology development for societally bene-
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ficial applications of distributed ledger tech-
nologies. 
(C) Plans to mitigate the risks of distrib-
uted ledger technologies and their applications. 
(D) An identification of additional re-
sources, administrative action, or legislative ac-
tion recommended to assist with the implementa-
tion of such strategy. 
(5) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING.— 
The Director shall, as the Director considers nec-
essary, consult with the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget and with the heads of such other 
elements of the Executive Office of the President as 
the Director considers appropriate, to ensure that the 
recommendations and priorities with respect to re-
search and development funding, as expressed in the 
national strategy developed under this subsection, are 
incorporated in the development of annual budget re-
quests for Federal research agencies. 
(c) 
DISTRIBUTED
LEDGER
TECHNOLOGY
RE-
SEARCH.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall make awards, on a competi-
tive basis, to institutions of higher education, includ-
ing minority-serving institutions, or nonprofit orga-
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nizations (or consortia of such institutions or organi-
zations) to support research, including interdiscipli-
nary research, on distributed ledger technologies, their 
applications, and other issues that impact or are 
caused by distributed ledger technologies, which may 
include research on— 
(A) the implications on trust, transparency, 
privacy, accessibility, accountability, and energy 
consumption of different consensus mechanisms 
and hardware choices, and approaches for ad-
dressing these implications; 
(B) approaches for improving the security, 
privacy, resiliency, interoperability, perform-
ance, and scalability of distributed ledger tech-
nologies and their applications, which may in-
clude decentralized networks; 
(C) approaches for identifying and address-
ing vulnerabilities and improving the perform-
ance and expressive power of smart contracts; 
(D) the implications of quantum computing 
on applications of distributed ledger technologies, 
including long-term protection of sensitive infor-
mation (such as medical or digital property), 
and techniques to address them; 
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(E) game theory, mechanism design, and ec-
onomics underpinning and facilitating the oper-
ations and governance of decentralized networks 
enabled by distributed ledger technologies; 
(F) the social behaviors of participants in 
decentralized networks enabled by distributed 
ledger technologies; 
(G) human-centric design approaches to 
make distributed ledger technologies and their 
applications more usable and accessible; 
(H) use cases for distributed ledger tech-
nologies across various industry sectors and gov-
ernment, including applications pertaining to— 
(i) digital identity, including trusted 
identity and identity management; 
(ii) digital property rights; 
(iii) delivery of public services; 
(iv) supply chain transparency; 
(v) medical information management; 
(vi) inclusive financial services; 
(vii) community governance; 
(viii) charitable giving; 
(ix) public goods funding; 
(x) digital credentials; 
(xi) regulatory compliance; 
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(xii) infrastructure resilience, includ-
ing against natural disasters; and 
(xiii) peer-to-peer transactions; and 
(I) the social, behavioral, and economic im-
plications associated with the growth of applica-
tions of distributed ledger technologies, including 
decentralization in business, financial, and eco-
nomic systems. 
(2) ACCELERATING
INNOVATION.—The Director 
of the National Science Foundation shall consider 
continuing to support startups that are in need of 
funding, would develop in and contribute to the econ-
omy of the United States, leverage distributed ledger 
technologies, have the potential to positively benefit 
society, and have the potential for commercial viabil-
ity, through programs like the Small Business Inno-
vation Research program, the Small Business Tech-
nology Transfer program, and, as appropriate, other 
programs that promote broad and diverse participa-
tion. 
(3) CONSIDERATION OF NATIONAL DISTRIBUTED 
LEDGER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
STRATEGY.—In making awards under paragraph (1), 
the Director of the National Science Foundation shall 
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take into account the national strategy, as described 
in subsection (b)(4). 
(4) FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.—The Director of 
the National Science Foundation shall consider con-
tinuing to make awards supporting fundamental re-
search in areas related to distributed ledger tech-
nologies and their applications, such as applied cryp-
tography and distributed systems. 
(d) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY APPLIED RE-
SEARCH PROJECT.— 
(1) APPLIED
RESEARCH
PROJECT.—Subject to 
the availability of appropriations, the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, may 
carry out an applied research project to study and 
demonstrate the potential benefits and unique capa-
bilities of distributed ledger technologies. 
(2) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the applied re-
search project, the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology shall— 
(A) identify potential applications of dis-
tributed ledger technologies, including those that 
could benefit activities at the Department of 
Commerce or at other Federal agencies, consid-
ering applications that could— 
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(i) improve the privacy and interoper-
ability of digital identity and access man-
agement solutions; 
(ii) increase the integrity and trans-
parency of supply chains through the secure 
and limited sharing of relevant supplier in-
formation; 
(iii) facilitate increased interoper-
ability across healthcare information sys-
tems and consumer control over the move-
ment of their medical data; 
(iv) facilitate broader participation in 
distributed ledger technologies of popu-
lations historically underrepresented in 
technology, business, and financial sectors; 
or 
(v) be of benefit to the public or private 
sectors, as determined by the Director in 
consultation with relevant stakeholders; 
(B) solicit and provide the opportunity for 
public comment relevant to potential projects; 
(C) consider, in the selection of a project, 
whether the project addresses a pressing need not 
already addressed by another organization or 
Federal agency; 
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(D) establish plans to mitigate potential 
risks, including those outlined in subsection 
(b)(1)(B)(ii), if applicable, of potential projects; 
(E) produce an example solution leveraging 
distributed ledger technologies for 1 of the appli-
cations identified in subparagraph (A); 
(F) hold a competitive process to select pri-
vate sector partners, if they are engaged, to sup-
port the implementation of the example solution; 
(G) consider hosting the project at the Na-
tional Cybersecurity Center of Excellence; and 
(H) ensure that cybersecurity best practices 
consistent with the Cybersecurity Framework of 
the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology are demonstrated in the project. 
(3) BRIEFINGS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc-
tor of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology shall offer a briefing to the relevant congres-
sional committees on the progress and current find-
ings from the project under this subsection. 
(4) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than 12 months 
after the completion of the project under this sub-
section, the Director of the National Institute of 
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Standards and Technology shall make public a report 
on the results and findings from the project. 
SEC. 5805. COMMERCIAL AIR WAIVER FOR NEXT OF KIN RE-
GARDING TRANSPORTATION OF REMAINS OF 
CASUALTIES. 
Section 580A of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED MILITARY MEM-
BER.—In the event of a death that requires the Secretary 
concerned to provide a death benefit under subchapter II 
of chapter 75 of title 10, United States Code, such Secretary 
shall provide the next of kin or other appropriate person 
a commercial air travel use waiver for the transportation 
of deceased remains of military member who dies outside 
of the United States.’’. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, 
and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal 
year, and for other purposes.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 305 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7900 
[Report No. 117–397] 
A BILL 
To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense 
and for military construction, to prescribe mili-
tary personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and 
for other purposes. 
JULY 1, 2022 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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