Title: Harnessing Opportunity to Maximize Expansion, Capture, and Organization of Minority Innovation in the Next Generation of Research Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Harnessing Opportunity to Maximize Expansion, Capture, and Organization of Minority Innovation in the Next Generation of Research Act of 2019
This bill establishes a commission to review the state of defense research at certain minority institutions of higher education. Such institutions are historically black colleges and universities and other higher education institutions at which at least 50% of the total student enrollment consists of students from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. The commission shall consider how to advance research capacity at these institutions to address U.S. national security and defense needs.
The bill also directs the Department of Defense to require that the system that monitors or records contractor past performance for a grant or contract awarded to an institution includes incentives for the award of a subgrant or subcontract to such minority institutions.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3175 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3175

  To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
    Defense to expand the research capability of historically Black 
       colleges and universities and other minority institutions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 10, 2019

   Mr. Brown of Maryland (for himself, Mr. Turner, Mr. Cisneros, Ms. 
   Adams, and Ms. Haaland) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
    Defense to expand the research capability of historically Black 
       colleges and universities and other minority institutions.

    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 ``Harnessing Opportunity to Maximize 
Expansion, Capture, and Organization of Minority Innovation in the Next 
Generation of Research Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON DEFENSE RESEARCH AT 
              HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER 
              MINORITY INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--There is established in the executive 
        branch an independent Commission to review the state of defense 
        research at covered institutions.
            (2) Treatment.--The Commission shall be considered an 
        independent establishment of the Federal Government as defined 
        by section 104 of title 5, United States Code, and a temporary 
        organization under section 3161 of such title.
            (3) Designation.--The Commission established under 
        paragraph (1) shall be known as the ``National Security 
        Commission on Defense Research At Historically Black Colleges 
        and Universities and Other Minority Institutions''.
            (4) Membership.--
                    (A) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed 
                of 11 members appointed as follows:
                            (i) The Secretary of Defense shall appoint 
                        2 members.
                            (ii) The Secretary of Education shall 
                        appoint 1 member.
                            (iii) The Chairman of the Committee on 
                        Armed Services of the Senate shall appoint 1 
                        member.
                            (iv) The Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                        Armed Services of the Senate shall appoint 1 
                        member.
                            (v) The Chairman of the Committee on Armed 
                        Services of the House of Representatives shall 
                        appoint 1 member.
                            (vi) The Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                        Armed Services of the House of Representatives 
                        shall appoint 1 member.
                            (vii) The Chairman of the Committee on 
                        Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
                        Senate shall appoint 1 member.
                            (viii) The Ranking Member of the Committee 
                        on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
                        the Senate shall appoint 1 member.
                            (ix) The Chairman of the Committee on 
                        Education and Labor of the House of 
                        Representatives shall appoint 1 member.
                            (x) The Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                        Education and Labor of the House of 
                        Representatives shall appoint 1 member.
                    (B) Deadline for appointment.--Members shall be 
                appointed to the Commission under subparagraph (A) not 
                later than 90 days after the date on which the 
                commission is established.
                    (C) Effect of lack of appointment by appointment 
                date.--If one or more appointments under subparagraph 
                (A) is not made by the appointment date specified in 
                subparagraph (B), or if a position described in 
                subparagraph (A) is vacant for more than 90 days, the 
                authority to make such appointment shall transfer to 
                the Chair of the Commission.
            (5) Chair and vice chair.--The Commission shall elect a 
        Chair and Vice Chair from among its members.
            (6) Terms.--Members shall be appointed for the life of the 
        Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its 
        powers and shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
        appointment was made.
            (7) Status as federal employees.--Notwithstanding the 
        requirements of section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, 
        including the required supervision under subsection (a)(3) of 
        such section, the members of the Commission shall be deemed to 
        be Federal employees.
    (b) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall carry out the review 
        described in paragraph (2). In carrying out such review, the 
        Commission shall consider the methods and means necessary to 
        advance research capacity at covered institutions to 
        comprehensively address the national security and defense needs 
        of the United States.
            (2) Scope of the review.--In conducting the review under 
        paragraph (1), the Commission shall consider the following:
                    (A) The competitiveness of covered institutions in 
                developing, pursuing, capturing, and executing defense 
                research with the Department of Defense through 
                contracts and grants.
                    (B) Means and methods for advancing the capacity of 
                covered institutions to conduct research related to 
                national security and defense.
                    (C) The advancements and investments necessary to 
                elevate 25 covered institutions to R2 status on the 
                Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher 
                Education, 15 covered institutions to R1 status on the 
                Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher 
                Education, and one covered institution or a consortium 
                of multiple covered institutions to the capability of a 
                University Affiliated Research Center.
                    (D) The facilities and infrastructure for defense-
                related research at covered institutions as compared to 
                the facilities and infrastructure at universities 
                classified as R1 status on the Carnegie Classification 
                of Institutions of Higher Education.
                    (E) Incentives to attract, recruit, and retain 
                leading research faculty to covered institutions.
                    (F) The legal and organizational structure of the 
                contracting entity of covered institutions as compared 
                to the legal and organizational structure of the 
                contracting entity of covered institutions at 
                universities classified as R1 status on the Carnegie 
                Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
                    (G) The ability of covered institutions to develop, 
                protect, and commercialize intellectual property 
                created through defense-related research.
                    (H) The amount of defense research funding awarded 
                to all colleges and universities through contracts and 
                grants for the fiscal years of 2010 through 2019, 
                including--
                            (i) the legal mechanism under which the 
                        organization was formed;
                            (ii) the total value of contracts and 
                        grants awarded to the organization during 
                        fiscal years 2010 to 2019;
                            (iii) the overhead rate of the organization 
                        for fiscal year 2019;
                            (iv) the Carnegie Classification of 
                        Institutions of Higher Education of the 
                        associated university or college; and
                            (v) if the associated university or college 
                        qualifies as a historically Black college or 
                        university, a minority institution, or a 
                        minority institution.
                    (I) Areas for improvement in the programs executed 
                under section 2362 of title 10, United States Code, the 
                existing authorization to enhance defense-related 
                research and education at covered institutions.
                    (J) Previous executive or legislative actions by 
                the Federal Government to address the imbalance in 
                federal research funding, such as the Established 
                Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (commonly 
                known as ``EPSCoR'').
                    (K) Any other matters the Commission deems relevant 
                to the advancing the defense research capacity of 
                covered institutions.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Initial report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to 
        the President and Congress an initial report on the findings of 
        the Commission and such recommendations that the Commission may 
        have for action by the executive branch and Congress related to 
        the covered institutions participating in Department of Defense 
        research and actions necessary to expand their research 
        capacity.
            (2) Final report.--Prior to the date on which the 
        commission terminates under subsection (e), the Commission 
        shall submit to the President and Congress a comprehensive 
        report on the results of the review required under subsection 
        (b).
            (3) Form of reports.--Reports submitted under this 
        subsection shall be made publicly available.
    (d) Funding.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated by this 
Act for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 for the Department of Defense, not 
more than $5,000,000 each year shall be made available to the 
Commission to carry out its duties under this Act. Funds made available 
to the Commission under the preceding sentence shall remain available 
until expended.
    (e) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on December 31, 
2021.
    (f) Covered Institution Defined.--In this section, the term 
``covered institution'' means--
            (1) a part B institution (as that term is defined in 
        section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1061(2)); or
            (2) any other institution of higher education (as that term 
        is defined in section 101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)) at 
        which not less than 50 percent of the total student enrollment 
        consists of students from ethnic groups that are 
        underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering.

SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF SUBCONTRACTING TO MINORITY INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 141 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 2410t. Consideration of subcontracting to minority institutions
    ``(a) Consideration of Subcontracting to Minority Institutions.--
The Secretary of Defense shall revise the Department of Defense 
Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require that the 
system used by the Federal Government to monitor or record contractor 
past performance for a grant or contract awarded to an institution of 
higher education includes incentives for the award of a subgrant or 
subcontract to minority institutions.
    ``(b) Minority Institution Defined.--In this section, the term 
`minority institution' means--
            ``(1) a part B institution (as that term is defined in 
        section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1061(2)); or
            ``(2) any other institution of higher education (as that 
        term is defined in section 101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)) at 
        which not less than 50 percent of the total student enrollment 
        consists of students from ethnic groups that are 
        underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``2410t. Consideration of subcontracting to minority institutions.''.
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