Title: Small Businesses Partnering with National Labs Act of 2019
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Small Businesses Partnering with National Labs Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish a program to provide qualified small business concerns with vouchers that may be used at National Laboratories and single-purpose research facilities for activities such as research and development.
In addition, the bill authorizes the Department of the Treasury to locate and recover unclaimed U.S. government assets on behalf of any agency and to retain a portion thereof to cover administrative and operational costs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2009 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2009

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the establishment of 
       a small business voucher program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2019

    Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Gardner, and Ms. Smith) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the establishment of 
       a small business voucher program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Businesses Partnering with 
National Labs Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY AND ASSISTANCE.

    Section 1003 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16393) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``, and may require the Director of a single-
                purpose research facility,'' and inserting ``(as 
                defined in section 2) and the Director of each single-
                purpose research facility'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``increase'' and inserting 
                        ``encourage''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``collaborative 
                        research,'' and inserting ``research, 
                        development, demonstration, and commercial 
                        application activities, including product 
                        development,'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``procurement and 
                collaborative research'' and inserting ``the activities 
                described in paragraph (1)'';
                    (D) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by inserting ``facilities,'' before 
                        ``training''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``procurement and 
                        collaborative research activities'' and 
                        inserting ``the activities described in 
                        paragraph (1)''; and
                    (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ``for the program 
                under subsection (b)'' and inserting ``and metrics for 
                the programs under subsections (b) and (c)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Small Business Voucher Program.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Director.--The term `Director' means--
                            ``(i) the Director of each National 
                        Laboratory; and
                            ``(ii) the Director of each single-purpose 
                        research facility.
                    ``(B) National laboratory.--The term `National 
                Laboratory' has the meaning given the term in section 
                2.
                    ``(C) Program.--The term `program' means the 
                program established under paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Establishment.--The Secretary, working with the 
        Office of Technology Transitions and the Technology Transfer 
        Coordinator appointed under section 1001(a), and in 
        consultation with the Directors, shall establish a program to 
        provide small business concerns with vouchers under paragraph 
        (3)--
                    ``(A) to achieve the goal described in subsection 
                (a)(1); and
                    ``(B) to improve the products, services, and 
                capabilities of small business concerns in the mission 
                space of the Department.
            ``(3) Vouchers.--Under the program, the Directors are 
        authorized to provide to small business concerns vouchers to be 
        used at National Laboratories and single-purpose research 
        facilities for--
                    ``(A) research, development, demonstration, 
                technology transfer, or commercial application 
                activities; or
                    ``(B) any other activities that the applicable 
                Director determines appropriate.
            ``(4) Expedited contracting.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary, working with the 
                Directors, shall establish a streamlined approval 
                process for expedited contracting between--
                            ``(i) small business concerns selected to 
                        receive a voucher under the program; and
                            ``(ii) the National Laboratories and 
                        single-purpose research facilities.
                    ``(B) Decisionmaking authority.--The Secretary 
                shall determine the appropriate decisionmaking 
                authority at the National Laboratories and single-
                purpose research facilities with respect to the 
                expedited contracting described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(5) Cost-sharing requirement.--In carrying out the 
        program, the Secretary shall require cost-sharing in accordance 
        with section 988.''; and
            (4) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        ``$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008'' and 
        inserting ``$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal 
        year thereafter''.

SEC. 3. INCREASE AND STREAMLINE RECOVERY OF UNCLAIMED ASSETS OWED TO 
              THE UNITED STATES.

    Section 3711 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(j)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this 
subsection as the `Secretary') may locate and recover unclaimed assets 
of the United States Government on behalf of any executive, judicial, 
or legislative agency in accordance with such procedures as the 
Secretary considers appropriate.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law concerning the 
depositing or collection of Federal payments, including section 
3302(b), the Secretary may retain a portion of the amounts recovered 
under this subsection to cover the administrative and operational costs 
of the Secretary associated with locating and recovering assets of the 
United States Government.''.
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