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‘‘(b) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award 
research fellowships and other forms of financial and 
logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards, 
to— 
‘‘(A) students at institutions of higher edu-
cation within the United States who show 
promise as present or future contributors to the 
mission of the Institute; and 
‘‘(B) United States citizens for research 
and technical activities of the Institute. 
‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Director shall select 
persons to receive such fellowships and assistance on 
the basis of ability and of the relevance of the pro-
posed work to the mission and programs of the In-
stitute. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 
subsection, financial and logistical assistance in-
cludes, notwithstanding section 1345 of title 31, 
United States Code, or any contrary provision of 
law, temporary housing and local transportation to 
and from the Institute facilities. 
‘‘(c) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—The 
Director shall establish and conduct a post-doctoral fellow-
ship program, subject to the availability of appropriations, 
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that shall include not fewer than 20 fellows per fiscal year. 
In evaluating applications for fellowships under this sub-
section, the Director shall give consideration to the goal 
of promoting the participation of underrepresented stu-
dents in research areas supported by the Institute.’’. 
SEC. 6. PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING REPORT. 
Section 23(d) of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278i(d)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 3-year pro-
grammatic planning document shall also describe how the 
Director is addressing recommendations from the Visiting 
Committee on Advanced Technology established under 
section 10.’’. 
SEC. 7. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN-
CIL. 
(a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REVIEW.— 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology shall enter into a contract with the 
National Academy of Sciences to conduct a single, com-
prehensive review of the Institute’s laboratory programs. 
The review shall— 
(1) assess the technical merits and scientific 
caliber of the research conducted at the laboratories; 
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(2) examine the strengths and weaknesses of 
the 2010 laboratory reorganization on the Institute’s 
ability to fulfill its mission; 
(3) evaluate how crosscutting research and de-
velopment activities are planned, coordinated, and 
executed across the laboratories; and 
(4) assess how the laboratories are engaging in-
dustry, including the incorporation of industry need, 
into the research goals and objectives of the Insti-
tute. 
(b) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—Section 24 of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 
U.S.C. 278j) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 24. ASSESSMENTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH 
COUNCIL. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall contract with 
the National Research Council to perform and report on 
assessments of the technical quality and impact of the 
work conducted at Institute laboratories. 
‘‘(b) SCHEDULE.—Two laboratories shall be assessed 
under subsection (a) each year, and each laboratory shall 
be assessed at least once every 3 years. 
‘‘(c) SUMMARY REPORT.—Beginning in the year 
after the first assessment is conducted under subsection 
(a), and once every 2 years thereafter, the Institute shall 
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contract with the National Research Council to prepare 
a report that summarizes the findings common across the 
individual assessment reports. 
‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS.—The Institute, at 
the discretion of the Director, also may contract with the 
National Research Council to conduct additional assess-
ments of Institute programs and projects that involve col-
laboration across the Institute laboratories and centers 
and assessments of selected scientific and technical topics. 
‘‘(e) CONSULTATION WITH VISITING COMMITTEE ON 
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The National Research Coun-
cil may consult with the Visiting Committee on Advanced 
Technology established under section 10 in performing the 
assessments under this section. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after the 
completion of each assessment, the Institute shall transmit 
the report on such assessment to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 
SEC. 8. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNER-
SHIP. 
Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended to read as 
follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 25. HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PART-
NERSHIP. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 
Director and, if appropriate, through other officials, 
shall provide assistance for the creation and support 
of manufacturing extension centers, to be known as 
the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers’, for 
the transfer of manufacturing technology and best 
business practices (in this Act referred to as the 
‘Centers’). The program under this section shall be 
known as the ‘Hollings Manufacturing Extension 
Partnership’. 
‘‘(2) AFFILIATIONS.—Such Centers shall be af-
filiated with any United States-based public or non-
profit institution or organization, or group thereof, 
that applies for and is awarded financial assistance 
under this section. 
‘‘(3) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the Centers 
is to enhance competitiveness, productivity, and 
technological performance in United States manufac-
turing through— 
‘‘(A) the transfer of manufacturing tech-
nology and techniques developed at the Insti-
tute to Centers and, through them, to manufac-
turing companies throughout the United States; 
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‘‘(B) the participation of individuals from 
industry, institutions of higher education, State 
governments, other Federal agencies, and, when 
appropriate, the Institute in cooperative tech-
nology transfer activities; 
‘‘(C) efforts to make new manufacturing 
technology and processes usable by United 
States-based small- and medium-sized compa-
nies; 
‘‘(D) the active dissemination of scientific, 
engineering, technical, and management infor-
mation about manufacturing to industrial firms, 
including small- and medium-sized manufac-
turing companies; 
‘‘(E) the utilization, when appropriate, of 
the expertise and capability that exists in Fed-
eral laboratories other than the Institute; 
‘‘(F) the provision to community colleges 
and area career and technical education schools 
of information about the job skills needed in 
small- and medium-sized manufacturing busi-
nesses in the regions they serve; and 
‘‘(G) promoting and expanding certifi-
cation systems offered through industry, asso-
ciations, and local colleges, when appropriate. 
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‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Centers shall 
include— 
‘‘(1) the establishment of automated manufac-
turing systems and other advanced production tech-
nologies, based on Institute-supported research, for 
the purpose of demonstrations and technology trans-
fer; 
‘‘(2) the active transfer and dissemination of re-
search findings and Center expertise to a wide range 
of companies and enterprises, particularly small- and 
medium-sized manufacturers; and 
‘‘(3) the facilitation of collaborations and part-
nerships between small- and medium-sized manufac-
turing companies and community colleges and area 
career and technical education schools to help such 
colleges and schools better understand the specific 
needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers 
better understand the skill sets that students learn 
in the programs offered by such colleges and schools. 
‘‘(c) OPERATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary may 
provide financial support to any Center created 
under subsection (a). The Secretary may not provide 
to a Center more than 50 percent of the capital and 
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annual operating and maintenance funds required to 
create and maintain such Center. 
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall im-
plement, review, and update the sections of the Code 
of Federal Regulations related to this section at 
least once every 3 years. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any nonprofit institu-
tion, or consortium thereof, or State or local 
government, may submit to the Secretary an 
application for financial support under this sec-
tion, in accordance with the procedures estab-
lished by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) COST SHARING.—In order to receive 
assistance under this section, an applicant for 
financial assistance under subparagraph (A) 
shall provide adequate assurances that non- 
Federal assets obtained from the applicant and 
the applicant’s partnering organizations will be 
used as a funding source to meet not less than 
50 percent of the costs incurred. For purposes 
of the preceding sentence, the costs incurred 
means the costs incurred in connection with the 
activities undertaken to improve the competi-
tiveness, management, productivity, and techno-
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logical performance of small- and medium-sized 
manufacturing companies. 
‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS
WITH
OTHER
ENTI-
TIES.—In meeting the 50 percent requirement, 
it is anticipated that a Center will enter into 
agreements with other entities such as private 
industry, institutions of higher education, and 
State governments to accomplish programmatic 
objectives and access new and existing resources 
that will further the impact of the Federal in-
vestment made on behalf of small- and medium- 
sized manufacturing companies. 
‘‘(D) LEGAL
RIGHTS.—Each applicant 
under subparagraph (A) shall also submit a 
proposal for the allocation of the legal rights as-
sociated with any invention which may result 
from the proposed Center’s activities. 
‘‘(4) MERIT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall sub-
ject each such application to merit review. In mak-
ing a decision whether to approve such application 
and provide financial support under this section, the 
Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) The merits of the application, par-
ticularly those portions of the application re-
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garding technology transfer, training and edu-
cation, and adaptation of manufacturing tech-
nologies to the needs of particular industrial 
sectors. 
‘‘(B) The quality of service to be provided. 
‘‘(C) Geographical diversity and extent of 
service area. 
‘‘(D) The percentage of funding and 
amount of in-kind commitment from other 
sources. 
‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center that re-
ceives financial assistance under this section 
shall be evaluated during its third year of oper-
ation by an evaluation panel appointed by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—Each such evalua-
tion panel shall be composed of private experts, 
none of whom shall be connected with the in-
volved Center, and Federal officials. 
‘‘(C) CHAIR.—An official of the Institute 
shall chair the panel. 
‘‘(D) 
PERFORMANCE
MEASUREMENT.— 
Each evaluation panel shall measure the in-
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volved Center’s performance against the objec-
tives specified in this section. 
‘‘(E) POSITIVE EVALUATION.—If the eval-
uation is positive, the Secretary may provide 
continued funding through the sixth year. 
‘‘(F) PROBATION.—The Secretary shall 
not provide funding unless the Center has re-
ceived a positive evaluation. A Center that has 
not received a positive evaluation by the evalua-
tion panel shall be notified by the panel of the 
deficiencies in its performance and shall be 
placed on probation for 1 year, after which time 
the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If the 
Center has not addressed the deficiencies iden-
tified by the panel, or shown a significant im-
provement in its performance, the Director shall 
conduct a new competition to select an operator 
for the Center or may close the Center. 
‘‘(G) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT.— 
After the sixth year, a Center may receive addi-
tional financial support under this section if it 
has received a positive evaluation through an 
independent review, under procedures estab-
lished by the Institute. 
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ards and Technology Improvement Act of 
2016, the Director shall transmit to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report 
providing information on the first and sec-
ond years of operations for centers oper-
ating from new competitions or recompeti-
tion as compared to longstanding centers. 
The report shall provide detail on the en-
gagement in services provided by Centers 
and the characteristics of services pro-
vided, including volume and type of serv-
ices, so that the Committees can evaluate 
whether the cost-sharing ratio has an ef-
fect on the services provided at Centers. 
‘‘(6) PATENT RIGHTS.—The provisions of chap-
ter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, 
to the extent not inconsistent with this section, to 
the promotion of technology from research by Cen-
ters under this section except for contracts for such 
specific technology extension or transfer services as 
may be specified by statute or by the Director. 
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‘‘(7) PROTECTION
OF
CENTER
CLIENT
CON-
FIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Section 552 of title 5, 
United States Code, shall apply to the following in-
formation obtained by the Federal Government on a 
confidential basis in connection with the activities of 
any participant involved in the Hollings Manufac-
turing Extension Partnership: 
‘‘(A) Information on the business operation 
of any participant in a Hollings Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership program or of a client of 
a Center. 
‘‘(B) Trade secrets possessed by any client 
of a Center. 
‘‘(8) ADVISORY BOARDS.—Each Center’s advi-
sory boards shall institute a conflict of interest pol-
icy, approved by the Director, that ensures the 
Board represents local small- and medium-sized 
manufacturers in the Center’s region. Board Mem-
bers may not serve as a vendor or provide services 
to the Center, nor may they serve on more than one 
Center’s oversight board simultaneously. 
‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such sums 
as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Direc-
tor to operate the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 
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Partnership, the Secretary and Director also may 
accept funds from other Federal departments and 
agencies and, under section 2(c)(7), from the private 
sector, to be available to the extent provided by ap-
propriations Acts, for the purpose of strengthening 
United States manufacturing. 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM OTHER FED-
ERAL DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—The Di-
rector shall determine whether funds accepted 
from other Federal departments or agencies 
shall be counted in the calculation of the Fed-
eral share of capital and annual operating and 
maintenance costs under subsection (c). 
‘‘(B) FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM THE PRI-
VATE SECTOR.—Funds accepted from the pri-
vate sector under section 2(c)(7), if allocated to 
a Center, may not be considered in the calcula-
tion of the Federal share under subsection (c) 
of this section. 
‘‘(e) MEP ADVISORY BOARD.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 
within the Institute a Manufacturing Extension 
Partnership Advisory Board (in this subsection re-
ferred to as the ‘MEP Advisory Board’). 
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‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The MEP Advisory 
Board shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem-
bers broadly representative of stakeholders, to 
be appointed by the Director. At least two 
members shall be employed by or on an advi-
sory board for the Centers, at least one member 
shall represent a community college, and at 
least five other members shall be from United 
States small businesses in the manufacturing 
sector. No member shall be an employee of the 
Federal Government. 
‘‘(B) TERM.—Except as provided in sub-
paragraph (C) or (D), the term of office of each 
member of the MEP Advisory Board shall be 3 
years. 
‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 
to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expira-
tion of the term for which his predecessor was 
appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 
of such term. 
‘‘(D) SERVING
CONSECUTIVE
TERMS.— 
Any person who has completed two consecutive 
full terms of service on the MEP Advisory 
Board shall thereafter be ineligible for appoint-
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ment during the 1-year period following the ex-
piration of the second such term. 
‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The MEP Advisory Board 
shall meet not less than two times annually and 
shall provide to the Director— 
‘‘(A) advice on Hollings Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership programs, plans, and 
policies; 
‘‘(B) assessments of the soundness of Hol-
lings Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
plans and strategies; and 
‘‘(C) assessments of current performance 
against 
Hollings 
Manufacturing 
Extension 
Partnership program plans. 
‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AP-
PLICABILITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In discharging its du-
ties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory 
Board shall function solely in an advisory ca-
pacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Section 14 of the Fed-
eral Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to 
the MEP Advisory Board. 
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