Title: A bill to amend the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979, relating to the conduct of knowledge diplomacy.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This bill modifies U.S. policy and establishes requirements with respect to knowledge diplomacy (i.e., the role of international science and technology agreements in foreign relations).
Specifically, the bill declares it to be U.S. policy that federally supported international science and technology agreements should serve U.S. national security and economic interests.
Further, it requires the Department of State to (1) identify vulnerabilities in international cooperation that may place federally funded research at risk, (2) strengthen the security and integrity of U.S. scientific and research collaborations with foreign partners, and (3) encourage the international scientific community to adopt and adhere to U.S. scientific values.
The bill also requires the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to submit a biennial report on compliance with U.S. policy across such science and technology agreements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3996 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3996

  To amend the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979, 
            relating to the conduct of knowledge diplomacy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2020

Mr. Portman (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Barrasso, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
    Braun, Mr. Coons, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hawley, Mr. 
Manchin, Mr. Risch, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mrs. Shaheen, and 
  Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979, 
            relating to the conduct of knowledge diplomacy.

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

SECTION 1. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENTS.

    The Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979 (Public 
Law 95-426) is amended--
            (1) in section 502 (22 U.S.C. 2656b), by amending paragraph 
        (5) to read as follows:
            ``(5) Federally supported international science and 
        technology agreements should serve United States national 
        security and economic interests by--
                    ``(A) properly protecting intellectual property 
                rights;
                    ``(B) providing United States researchers with 
                access to research and development opportunities and 
                facilities;
                    ``(C) ensuring that the flow of scientific and 
                technological information between the United States and 
                foreign countries, international organizations, and 
                commissions of which the United States and 1 or more 
                foreign countries are members is equitable and 
                reciprocal, to the maximum extent practicable;
                    ``(D) requiring foreign countries, international 
                organizations, and commissions of which the United 
                States and 1 or more foreign countries are members to 
                adhere to United States scientific values, including 
                openness, transparency, reciprocity, integrity, and 
                merit-based competition; and
                    ``(E) ensuring that the exchange of scientific and 
                technological information between the United States and 
                foreign countries, international organizations, and 
                commissions of which the United States and 1 or more 
                foreign countries are members is not contrary to United 
                States foreign policy interests.''; and
            (2) in section 504(a) (22 U.S.C. 2656d(a))--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) In coordinating and overseeing agreements described 
        in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider--
                    ``(A) scientific merit;
                    ``(B) equity of access (as described in section 
                502(5));
                    ``(C) possible commercial or trade linkages with 
                the United States that may flow from the agreement or 
                activity;
                    ``(D) national security concerns; and
                    ``(E) any other factors that the Secretary deems 
                appropriate.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) In furtherance of sections 501(3) and 502, the 
        Secretary shall provide Federal science agencies, Federal law 
        enforcement agencies, the Office of Science and Technology 
        Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Director 
        of National Intelligence with access to a digital repository of 
        United States Government bilateral and multilateral science and 
        technology agreements, subagreements, and other unclassified or 
        sensitive information provided by Federal agencies, in 
        accordance with section 503(a)(1).
            ``(5) The Secretary, in coordination with the Office of 
        Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Defense, the 
        Department of Homeland Security, the Director of National 
        Intelligence, Federal science agencies, Federal law enforcement 
        agencies, and other appropriate Federal agencies, shall--
                    ``(A) identify United States vulnerabilities in 
                international cooperation that may place research 
                funded by the United States Government at risk;
                    ``(B) strengthen the security and integrity of 
                United States scientific and research collaborations 
                with key foreign partners; and
                    ``(C) encourage the international scientific 
                community to adopt and adhere to United States 
                scientific values, including openness, transparency, 
                reciprocity, integrity, and merit-based competition.
            ``(6) As used in this subsection, the term `Federal science 
        agency' means any Federal department or agency to which more 
        than $100,000,000 in research and development funds were 
        appropriated for fiscal year 2020.''.

SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
              PARTNERSHIPS BIENNIAL REPORT.

    Subsection (e) of the International Science and Technology 
Cooperation Act of 2016 (42 U.S.C. 6625) is amended by striking the 
period at the end and inserting the following: ``, which shall 
include--
            ``(1) an assessment of whether United States science and 
        technology agreements are in compliance with section 502(5) of 
        the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979 (22 
        U.S.C. 2656b(5));
            ``(2) a summary of science and technology agreements that 
        are not in compliance with such section 502(5), and actions the 
        United States Government has taken to bring such agreements 
        into compliance; and
            ``(3) a description of the measures that have been taken by 
        the United States Government, in accordance with section 
        504(a)(5) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 
        Year 1979 (22 U.S.C. 2656d(a)(5)).''.
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