Title: National Science Foundation for the Future Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
National Science Foundation for the Future Act
This bill reauthorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) through FY2026 and authorizes programs and activities at the NSF.
The bill establishes requirements for the NSF, including to
The bill also establishes within the NSF a Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions to advance research and development solutions to address societal and national challenges.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2225 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2225

 To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 
 and 2026 for the National Science Foundation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2021

  Ms. Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mr. Lucas, Ms. Stevens, and Mr. 
    Waltz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 
 and 2026 for the National Science Foundation, 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 ``National Science Foundation for the 
Future Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over the past seven decades, the National Science 
        Foundation has played a critical role in advancing the United 
        States academic research enterprise by supporting fundamental 
        research and education across science and engineering 
        disciplines.
            (2) Discoveries enabled by sustained investment in 
        fundamental research and the education of the United States 
        science and engineering workforce have led to transformational 
        innovations and spawned new industries.
            (3) While the traditional approach to investment in 
        research has delivered myriad benefits to society, a concerted 
        effort is needed to ensure the benefits of federally funded 
        science and engineering are enjoyed by all Americans.
            (4) As countries around the world increase investments in 
        research and STEM education, United States global leadership in 
        science and engineering is eroding, posing significant risks to 
        economic competitiveness, national security, and public well-
        being.
            (5) To address major societal challenges and sustain United 
        States leadership in innovation, the Federal Government must 
        increase investments in research, broaden participation in the 
        STEM workforce, and bolster collaborations among universities, 
        National Laboratories, companies, non-profit funders of 
        research, local policymakers, civil societies and stakeholder 
        communities, and international partners.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Academies.--The term ``Academies'' means the National 
        Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
            (2) Awardee.--The term ``awardee'' means the legal entity 
        to which Federal assistance is awarded and that is accountable 
        to the Federal Government for the use of the funds provided.
            (3) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the National Science 
        Board.
            (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the National Science Foundation.
            (5) Emerging research institution.--The term ``emerging 
        research institution'' means an institution of higher education 
        with an established undergraduate student program that has, on 
        average for 3 years prior to the time of application for an 
        award, received less than $35,000,000 in Federal research 
        funding.
            (6) Federal science agency.--The term ``Federal science 
        agency'' means any Federal agency with an annual extramural 
        research expenditure of over $100,000,000.
            (7) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the National 
        Science Foundation.
            (8) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (9) Non-profit organization.--The term ``non-profit 
        organization'' means an organization which is described in 
        section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
        exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such code.
            (10) NSF includes.--The term ``NSF includes'' means the 
        initiative carried out under section 6(c).
            (11) PreK-12.--The term ``preK-12'' means pre-kindergarten 
        through grade 12.
            (12) Skilled technical work.--The term ``skilled technical 
        work'' means an occupation that requires a high level of 
        knowledge in a technical domain and does not require a 
        bachelor's degree for entry.
            (13) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 2 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act 
        of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621 note).

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Fiscal Year 2022.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Foundation $11,469,200,000 for fiscal year 2022.
            (2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) $9,444,100,000 shall be made available to carry 
                out research and related activities, of which--
                            (i) $208,150,000 shall be for the Graduate 
                        Research Fellowship Program;
                            (ii) $55,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale 
                        Research Infrastructure Program; and
                            (iii) $1,000,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Directorate for Science and Engineering 
                        Solutions;
                    (B) $1,333,860,000 shall be made available for 
                education and human resources, of which--
                            (i) $73,700,000 shall be for the Robert 
                        Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program;
                            (ii) $59,500,000 shall be for the NSF 
                        Research Traineeship Program;
                            (iii) $208,150,000 shall be for the 
                        Graduate Research Fellowship Program; and
                            (iv) $66,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program;
                    (C) $190,000,000 shall be made available for major 
                research equipment and facilities construction, of 
                which $65,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale Research 
                Infrastructure Program;
                    (D) $473,500,000 shall be made available for agency 
                operations and award management;
                    (E) $4,620,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the National Science Board; and
                    (F) $23,120,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the Inspector General.
    (b) Fiscal Year 2023.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Foundation $12,668,000,000 for fiscal year 2023.
            (2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) $10,367,460,000 shall be made available to 
                carry out research and related activities, of which--
                            (i) $227,070,000 shall be for the Graduate 
                        Research Fellowship Program;
                            (ii) $60,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale 
                        Research Infrastructure Program; and
                            (iii) $1,500,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Directorate for Science and Engineering 
                        Solutions;
                    (B) $1,391,320,000 shall be made available for 
                education and human resources, of which--
                            (i) $80,400,000 shall be for the Robert 
                        Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program;
                            (ii) $64,910,000 shall be for the NSF 
                        Research Traineeship Program;
                            (iii) $227,070,000 shall be for the 
                        Graduate Research Fellowship Program; and
                            (iv) $72,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program;
                    (C) $355,000,000 shall be made available for major 
                research equipment and facilities construction, of 
                which $75,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale Research 
                Infrastructure Program;
                    (D) $522,940,000 shall be made available for agency 
                operations and award management;
                    (E) $4,660,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the National Science Board; and
                    (F) $26,610,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the Inspector General.
    (c) Fiscal Year 2024.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Foundation $14,148,200,000 for fiscal year 2024.
            (2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) $11,702,420,000 shall be made available to 
                carry out research and related activities, of which--
                            (i) $245,990,000 shall be for the Graduate 
                        Research Fellowship Program;
                            (ii) $70,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale 
                        Research Infrastructure Program; and
                            (iii) $2,250,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Directorate for Science and Engineering 
                        Solutions;
                    (B) $1,457,590,000 shall be made available for 
                education and human resources, of which--
                            (i) $87,100,000 shall be for the Robert 
                        Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program;
                            (ii) $70,320,000 shall be for the NSF 
                        Research Traineeship Program;
                            (iii) $245,990,000 shall be for the 
                        Graduate Research Fellowship Program; and
                            (iv) $78,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program;
                    (C) $370,000,000 shall be made available for major 
                research equipment and facilities construction, of 
                which $85,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale Research 
                Infrastructure Program;
                    (D) $582,380,000 shall be made available for agency 
                operations and award management;
                    (E) $4,700,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the National Science Board; and
                    (F) $31,110,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the Inspector General.
    (d) Fiscal Year 2025.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Foundation $16,036,900,000 for fiscal year 2025.
            (2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) $13,440,840,000 shall be made available to 
                carry out research and related activities, of which--
                            (i) $264,920,000 shall be for the Graduate 
                        Research Fellowship Program;
                            (ii) $75,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale 
                        Research Infrastructure Program; and
                            (iii) $3,375,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Directorate for Science and Engineering 
                        Solutions;
                    (B) $1,522,890,000 shall be made available for 
                education and human resources, of which--
                            (i) $93,800,000 shall be for the Robert 
                        Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program;
                            (ii) $75,730,000 shall be for the NSF 
                        Research Traineeship Program;
                            (iii) $264,920,000 shall be for the 
                        Graduate Research Fellowship Program; and
                            (iv) $84,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program;
                    (C) $372,000,000 shall be made available for major 
                research equipment and facilities construction, of 
                which $90,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale Research 
                Infrastructure Program;
                    (D) $661,830,000 shall be made available for agency 
                operations and award management;
                    (E) $4,740,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the National Science Board; and
                    (F) $34,610,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the Inspector General.
    (e) Fiscal Year 2026.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Foundation $18,325,020,000 for fiscal year 2026.
            (2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) $15,549,390,000 shall be made available to 
                carry out research and related activities, of which--
                            (i) $283,840,000 shall be for the Graduate 
                        Research Fellowship Program;
                            (ii) $80,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale 
                        Research Infrastructure Program; and
                            (iii) $5,062,500,000 shall be for the 
                        Directorate for Science and Engineering 
                        Solutions;
                    (B) $1,601,470,000 shall be made available for 
                education and human resources, of which--
                            (i) $100,500,000 shall be for the Robert 
                        Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program;
                            (ii) $81,140,000 shall be for the NSF 
                        Research Traineeship Program;
                            (iii) $283,840,000 shall be for the 
                        Graduate Research Fellowship Program; and
                            (iv) $90,000,000 shall be for the 
                        Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program;
                    (C) $375,000,000 shall be made available for major 
                research equipment and facilities construction, of 
                which $100,000,000 shall be for the Mid-Scale Research 
                Infrastructure Program;
                    (D) $756,270,000 shall be made available for agency 
                operations and award management;
                    (E) $4,780,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the National Science Board; and
                    (F) $38,110,000 shall be made available for the 
                Office of the Inspector General.

SEC. 5. STEM EDUCATION.

    (a) PreK-12 STEM Education.--
            (1) Decadal survey of stem education research.--Not later 
        than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Director shall enter into a contract with the Academies to 
        review and assess the status and opportunities for PreK-12 STEM 
        education research and make recommendations for research 
        priorities over the next decade.
            (2) Scaling innovations in prek-12 stem education.--
                    (A) In general.--The Director shall establish a 
                program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
                institutions of higher education or non-profit 
                organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
                organizations) to establish no fewer than 3 
                multidisciplinary Centers for Tranformative Education 
                Research and Translation (in this section referred to 
                as ``Centers'') to support research and development on 
                widespread and sustained implementation of STEM 
                education innovations.
                    (B) Application.--An institution of higher 
                education or non-profit organization (or a consortium 
                of such institutions or organizations) seeking funding 
                under subparagraph (A) shall submit an application to 
                the Director at such time, in such manner, and 
                containing such information as the Director may 
                require. The application shall include, at a minimum, a 
                description of how the proposed Center will--
                            (i) establish partnerships among academic 
                        institutions, local or State education 
                        agencies, and other relevant stakeholders in 
                        supporting programs and activities to 
                        facilitate the widespread and sustained 
                        implementation of promising, evidence-based 
                        STEM education practices, models, programs, and 
                        technologies;
                            (ii) support enhanced STEM education 
                        infrastructure, including cyberlearning 
                        technologies, to facilitate the widespread 
                        adoption of promising, evidence-based 
                        practices;
                            (iii) support research and development on 
                        scaling practices, partnerships, and 
                        alternative models to current approaches, 
                        including approaches sensitive to the unique 
                        combinations of capabilities, resources, and 
                        needs of varying localities, educators, and 
                        learners;
                            (iv) include a focus on the learning needs 
                        of under resourced schools and learners in low-
                        resource or underachieving local education 
                        agencies in urban and rural communities; and
                            (v) support research and development on 
                        scaling practices and models to support and 
                        sustain highly-qualified STEM educators in 
                        urban and rural communities.
                    (C) Additional considerations.--In awarding a grant 
                under this paragraph, the Director may also consider 
                the extent to which the proposed Center will--
                            (i) leverage existing collaborations, 
                        tools, and strategies supported by the 
                        Foundation, including NSF INCLUDES and the 
                        Convergence Accelerators;
                            (ii) support research on and the 
                        development and scaling of innovative 
                        approaches to distance learning and education 
                        for various student populations;
                            (iii) support education innovations that 
                        leverage new technologies or deepen 
                        understanding of the impact of technology on 
                        educational systems; and
                            (iv) include a commitment from local or 
                        State education administrators to making the 
                        proposed reforms and activities a priority.
                    (D) Partnership.--In carrying out the program under 
                subparagraph (A), the Director shall explore 
                opportunities to partner with the Department of 
                Education, including through jointly funding activities 
                under this paragraph.
                    (E) Annual meeting.--The Director shall encourage 
                and facilitate an annual meeting of the Centers to 
                foster collaboration among the Centers and to further 
                disseminate the results of the Centers' activities.
                    (F) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to 
                Congress a report describing the activities carried out 
                pursuant to this paragraph that includes--
                            (i) a description of the focus and proposed 
                        goals of each Center; and
                            (ii) an assessment of the program's success 
                        in helping to promote scalable solutions in 
                        PreK-12 STEM education.
            (3) National academies study.--Not later than 45 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter 
        into an agreement with the Academies to conduct a study to--
                    (A) review the research literature and identify 
                research gaps regarding the interconnected factors that 
                foster and hinder successful implementation of 
                promising, evidence-based PreK-12 STEM education 
                innovations at the local, regional, and national level;
                    (B) present a compendium of promising, evidence-
                based PreK-12 STEM education practices, models, 
                programs, and technologies;
                    (C) identify barriers to widespread and sustained 
                implementation of such innovations; and
                    (D) make recommendations to the Foundation, the 
                Department of Education, the National Science and 
                Technology Council's Committee on Science, Technology, 
                Engineering, and Mathematics Education, State and local 
                educational agencies, and other relevant stakeholders 
                on measures to address such barriers.
    (b) Undergraduate Stem Education.--
            (1) Research on stem education and workforce needs.--The 
        Director shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to four-
        year institutions of higher education or non-profit 
        organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
        organizations) to support research and development activities 
        to--
                    (A) encourage greater collaboration and 
                coordination between institutions of higher education 
                and industry to enhance education and improve alignment 
                with workforce needs;
                    (B) understand the current composition of the STEM 
                workforce and the factors that influence growth, 
                retention, and development of that workforce; and
                    (C) increase the size, diversity, capability, and 
                flexibility of the STEM workforce.
            (2) Advanced technological education program update.--
        Section 3(b) of the Scientific and Advanced Technology Act of 
        1992 (42 U.S.C. 1862i(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) National Coordination Network for Science and Technical 
Education.--The Director shall award grants to institutions of higher 
education, non-profit organizations, and associate-degree granting 
colleges (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to 
establish a network of centers for science and technical education. The 
centers shall--
            ``(1) coordinate research, training, and education 
        activities funded by awards under subsection (a) and share 
        information and best practices across the network of awardees;
            ``(2) serve as a national and regional clearinghouse and 
        resource to communicate and coordinate research, training, and 
        educational activities across disciplinary, organizational, 
        geographic, and international boundaries and disseminate best 
        practices; and
            ``(3) develop national and regional partnerships between 
        PreK-12 schools, two-year colleges, institutions of higher 
        education, workforce development programs, and industry to meet 
        workforce needs.''.
    (c) Graduate STEM Education.--
            (1) Mentoring and professional development.--
                    (A) Mentoring plans.--
                            (i) Update.--Section 7008 of the America 
                        Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 
                        Excellence in Technology, Education, and 
                        Science Act (42 U.S.C. 1862o) is amended by--
                                    (I) inserting ``and graduate 
                                student'' after ``postdoctoral''; and
                                    (II) inserting ``The requirement 
                                may be satisfied by providing such 
                                individuals with access to mentors, 
                                including individuals not listed on the 
                                grant.'' after ``review criterion.''.
                            (ii) Evaluation.--Not later than 45 days 
                        after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
                        Director shall enter into an agreement with a 
                        qualified independent organization to evaluate 
                        the effectiveness of the postdoctoral mentoring 
                        plan requirement for improving mentoring for 
                        Foundation-supported postdoctoral researchers.
                    (B) Career exploration.--
                            (i) In general.--The Director shall award 
                        grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions 
                        of higher education and non-profit 
                        organizations (or consortia of such 
                        institutions or organizations) to develop 
                        innovative approaches for facilitating career 
                        exploration of academic and non-academic career 
                        options and for providing opportunity-
                        broadening experiences for graduate students 
                        and postdoctoral scholars that can then be 
                        considered, adopted, or adapted by other 
                        institutions and to carry out research on the 
                        impact and outcomes of such activities.
                            (ii) Review of proposals.--In selecting 
                        grant recipients under this subparagraph, the 
                        Director shall consider, at a minimum--
                                    (I) the extent to which the 
                                administrators of the institution are 
                                committed to making the proposed 
                                activity a priority; and
                                    (II) the likelihood that the 
                                institution or organization will 
                                sustain or expand the proposed activity 
                                effort beyond the period of the grant.
                    (C) Development plans.--The Director shall require 
                that annual project reports for awards that support 
                graduate students and postdoctoral scholars include 
                certification by the principal investigator that each 
                graduate student and postdoctoral scholar receiving 
                substantial support from such award, as determined by 
                the Director, in consultation with faculty advisors, 
                has developed and annually updated an individual 
                development plan to map educational goals, career 
                exploration, and professional development.
                    (D) Professional development supplement.--The 
                Director shall carry out a five-year pilot initiative 
                to award up to 2,500 administrative supplements of up 
                to $2,000 to existing research grants annually, on a 
                competitive basis, to support graduate student 
                professional development experiences for graduate 
                students who receive a substantial portion of their 
                support under such grants, as determined by the 
                Director.
                    (E) Graduate education research.--The Director 
                shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
                institutions of higher education or non-profit 
                organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
                organizations) to support research on the graduate 
                education system and outcomes of various interventions 
                and policies, including--
                            (i) the effects of traineeships, 
                        fellowships, internships, and teaching and 
                        research assistantships on outcomes for 
                        graduate students;
                            (ii) the effects of graduate education and 
                        mentoring policies and procedures on degree 
                        completion, including differences across 
                        gender, race and ethnicity, and citizenship; 
                        and
                            (iii) the development and assessment of new 
                        or adapted interventions, including approaches 
                        that improve mentoring relationships, develop 
                        conflict management skills, and promote healthy 
                        research teams.
            (2) Graduate research fellowship program update.--
                    (A) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress 
                that the Foundation should increase the number of new 
                graduate research fellows supported annually over the 
                next 5 years to no fewer than 3,000 fellows.
                    (B) Program update.--Section 10 of the National 
                Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1869) is 
                amended--
                            (i) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and 
                        as will address national workforce demand in 
                        critical STEM fields'' after ``throughout the 
                        United States'';
                            (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ``of 
                        $12,000'' and inserting ``up to $16,000''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Outreach.--The Director shall ensure program outreach to 
recruit fellowship applicants from fields of study that are in areas of 
critical national need, from all regions of the country, and from 
historically underrepresented populations in STEM.''.
            (3) Study on graduate student funding.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter 
                into an agreement with a qualified independent 
                organization to evaluate--
                            (i) the role of the Foundation in 
                        supporting graduate student education and 
                        training through fellowships, traineeships, and 
                        other funding models; and
                            (ii) the impact of different funding 
                        mechanisms on graduate student experiences and 
                        outcomes, including whether such mechanisms 
                        have differential impacts on subsets of the 
                        student population.
                    (B) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the organization charged with 
                carrying out the study under subparagraph (A) shall 
                publish the results of its evaluation, including a 
                recommendation for the appropriate balance between 
                fellowships, traineeships, and other funding models.
    (d) Stem Workforce Data.--
            (1) Skilled technical workforce portfolio review.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 
                conduct a full portfolio analysis of the Foundation's 
                skilled technical workforce investments across all 
                Directorates in the areas of education, research, 
                infrastructure, data collection, and analysis.
                    (B) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
                of the review under subparagraph (A) is complete, the 
                Director shall submit to Congress and make widely 
                available to the public a summary report of the 
                portfolio review.
            (2) Survey data.--
                    (A) Rotating topic modules.--To meet evolving needs 
                for data on the state of the science and engineering 
                workforce, the Director shall assess, through 
                coordination with other Federal statistical agencies 
                and drawing on input from relevant stakeholders, the 
                feasibility and benefits of incorporating questions or 
                topic modules to existing National Center for Science 
                and Engineering Statistics surveys that would vary from 
                cycle to cycle.
                    (B) New data.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to 
                Congress and the Board the results of an assessment, 
                carried out in coordination with other Federal agencies 
                and with input from relevant stakeholders, of the 
                feasibility and benefits of incorporating new questions 
                or topic modules to existing National Center for 
                Science and Engineering Statistics surveys on--
                            (i) the skilled technical workforce;
                            (ii) working conditions and work-life 
                        balance;
                            (iii) harassment and discrimination;
                            (iv) sexual orientation and gender 
                        identity;
                            (v) immigration and emigration; and
                            (vi) any other topics at the discretion of 
                        the Director.
                    (C) Longitudinal design.--The Director shall 
                continue and accelerate efforts to enhance the 
                usefulness of National Center for Science and 
                Engineering Statistics survey data for longitudinal 
                research and analysis.
                    (D) Government accountability office review.--Not 
                later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
                Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
                submit a report to Congress that--
                            (i) evaluates Foundation processes for 
                        ensuring the data and analysis produced by the 
                        National Center for Science and Engineering 
                        Statistics meets current and future needs; and
                            (ii) includes such recommendations as the 
                        Comptroller General determines are appropriate 
                        to improve such processes.

SEC. 6. BROADENING PARTICIPATION.

    (a) Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science 
Teaching.--
            (1) In general.--Section 117(a) of the National Science 
        Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C.1881b(a)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) by striking ``108'' and inserting 
                        ``110'';
                            (ii) by striking clause (iv);
                            (iii) in clause (v), by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting ``; and'';
                            (iv) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), 
                        (iii), and (v) as subclauses (I), (II), (III), 
                        and (IV), respectively, and moving the margins 
                        of such subclauses (as so redesignated) two ems 
                        to the right; and
                            (v) by striking ``In selecting teachers'' 
                        and all that follows through ``two teachers--'' 
                        and inserting the following:
                    ``(C) In selecting teachers for an award authorized 
                by this subsection, the President shall select--
                            ``(i) at least two teachers--''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), as designated by paragraph 
                (1)(A)(v), by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) at least one teacher--
                                    ``(I) from the Commonwealth of the 
                                Northern Mariana Islands;
                                    ``(II) from American Samoa;
                                    ``(III) from the Virgin Islands of 
                                the United States; and
                                    ``(IV) from Guam.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to awards made on or after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Update.--
            (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        over the next five years the Foundation should increase the 
        number of scholarships awarded under the Robert Noyce Teacher 
        Scholarship program established under section 10 of the 
        National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 
        U.S.C. 1862n-1) by 50 percent.
            (2) Outreach.--To increase the diversity of participants, 
        the Director shall support symposia, forums, conferences, and 
        other activities to expand and enhance outreach to--
                    (A) historically Black colleges and universities 
                that are part B institutions, as defined in section 
                322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1061(2));
                    (B) minority institutions, as defined in section 
                365(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1067k(3));
                    (C) institutions of higher education that are 
                located near or serve rural communities;
                    (D) emerging research institutions; and
                    (E) higher education programs that serve or support 
                veterans.
    (c) NSF INCLUDES Initiative.--The Director shall award grants and 
cooperative agreements, on a competitive basis, to institutions of 
higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of such 
institutions or organizations) to carry out a comprehensive national 
initiative to facilitate the development of networks and partnerships 
to build on and scale up effective practices in broadening 
participation in STEM studies and careers of groups historically 
underrepresented in such studies and careers.
    (d) Broadening Participation on Major Facilities Awards.--The 
Director shall require organizations seeking a cooperative agreement 
for the management of the operations and maintenance of a Foundation 
project to demonstrate prior experience and current capabilities in 
employing best practices in broadening participation in science and 
engineering and ensure implementation of such practices is considered 
in oversight of the award.
    (e) Partnerships With Emerging Research Institutions.--The Director 
shall establish a five-year pilot program to enhance partnerships 
between emerging research institutions and institutions classified as 
very high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of 
Institutions of Higher Education at the time of application. In 
carrying out this program, the Director shall--
            (1) require that each proposal submitted by a multi-
        institution collaboration for an award, including those under 
        section 9, that exceeds $1,000,000, as appropriate, specify how 
        the applicants will support substantive, meaningful, and 
        mutually-beneficial partnerships with one or more emerging 
        research institutions;
            (2) require awardees funded under paragraph (1) to direct 
        no less than 25 percent of the total award to one or more 
        emerging research institutions to build research capacity, 
        including through support for faculty salaries and training, 
        research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, 
        and maintenance and repair of research equipment and 
        instrumentation;
            (3) require awardees funded under paragraph (1) to report 
        on the partnership activities as part of the annual reporting 
        requirements of the Foundation;
            (4) solicit feedback on the partnership directly from 
        partner emerging research institutions, in such form as the 
        Director deems appropriate; and
            (5) submit a report to Congress after the third year of the 
        pilot program that includes--
                    (A) an assessment, drawing on feedback from the 
                research community and other sources of information, of 
                the effectiveness of the pilot program for improving 
                the quality of partnerships with emerging research 
                institutions; and
                    (B) if deemed effective, a plan for permanent 
                implementation of the pilot program.
    (f) Tribal Colleges and Universities Program Update.--
            (1) In general.--Section 525 of the America COMPETES 
        Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p-13) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a) by--
                            (i) striking ``Native American'' and 
                        inserting ``American Indian, Alaska Native, and 
                        Native Hawaiian'';
                            (ii) inserting ``post-secondary credentials 
                        and'' before ``associate's''; and
                            (iii) striking ``or baccalaureate degrees'' 
                        and inserting ``, baccalaureate, and graduate 
                        degrees'';
                    (B) in subsection (b) by striking 
                ``undergraduate''; and
                    (C) in subsection (c) by inserting ``and STEM'' 
                after ``laboratory''.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Director to carry out this program 
        $107,250,000 for fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2026.
    (g) Diversity in Tech Research.--The Director shall award grants, 
on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-
profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
organizations) to support basic and applied research that yields a 
scientific evidence base for improving the design and emergence, 
development and deployment, and management and ultimate effectiveness 
of organizations of all kinds, including research related to diversity, 
equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.

SEC. 7. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.

    (a) Broader Impacts.--
            (1) Assessment.--Not later than 45 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into an 
        agreement with a qualified independent organization to assess 
        how the Broader Impacts review criterion is applied across the 
        Foundation and make recommendations for improving the 
        effectiveness for meeting the goals established in section 526 
        of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 
        Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science 
        Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p-14).
            (2) Activities.--The Director shall award grants on a 
        competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-
        profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
        organizations) to support activities to increase the 
        efficiency, effectiveness, and availability of resources for 
        implementing the Broader Impacts review criterion, including--
                    (A) training and workshops for program officers, 
                merit review panelists, grant office administrators, 
                faculty, and students to improve understanding of the 
                goals and the full range of potential broader impacts 
                available to researchers to satisfy this criterion;
                    (B) repositories and clearinghouses for sharing 
                best practices and facilitating collaboration; and
                    (C) tools for evaluating and documenting societal 
                impacts of research.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Director should continue to identify opportunities to reduce the 
administrative burden on researchers.
    (c) Research Integrity and Security.--
            (1) Office of research security and policy.--The Director 
        shall maintain a Research Security and Policy office within the 
        Office of the Director with no fewer than 4 full time 
        equivalent positions. The functions of the Research Security 
        and Policy office shall be to coordinate all research security 
        policy issues across the Foundation, including by--
                    (A) consulting and coordinating with the Foundation 
                Office of Inspector General and with other Federal 
                science agencies and intelligence and law enforcement 
                agencies, as appropriate, through the National Science 
                and Technology Council in accordance with the authority 
                provided under section 1746 of the National Defense 
                Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-
                92; 42 U.S.C. 6601 note), to identify and address 
                potential security risks that threaten research 
                integrity and other risks to the research enterprise;
                    (B) serving as the Foundation's primary resource 
                for all issues related to the security and integrity of 
                the conduct of Foundation-supported research;
                    (C) conducting outreach and education activities 
                for awardees on research policies and potential 
                security risks;
                    (D) educating Foundation program managers and other 
                directorate staff on evaluating Foundation awards and 
                awardees for potential security risks; and
                    (E) communicating reporting and disclosure 
                requirements to awardees and applicants for funding.
            (2) Chief of research security.--The Director shall appoint 
        a senior agency official within the Office of the Director as a 
        Chief of Research Security, whose primary responsibility is to 
        manage the office established under paragraph (1).
            (3) Report to congress.--No later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide a 
        report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
        the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the 
        Committee on Appropriations of the Senate on the resources and 
        the number of full time employees needed to carry out the 
        functions of the Office established in paragraph (1).
            (4) Online resource.--The Director shall develop an online 
        resource hosted on the Foundation's website containing up-to-
        date information, tailored for institutions and individual 
        researchers, including--
                    (A) an explanation of Foundation research security 
                policies;
                    (B) unclassified guidance on potential security 
                risks that threaten scientific integrity and other 
                risks to the research enterprise;
                    (C) examples of beneficial international 
                collaborations and how such collaborations differ from 
                foreign government interference efforts that threaten 
                research integrity;
                    (D) promising practices for mitigating security 
                risks that threaten research integrity; and
                    (E) additional reference materials, including tools 
                that assist organizations seeking Foundation funding 
                and awardees in information disclosure to the 
                Foundation.
            (5) Risk assessment center.--The Director shall enter into 
        an agreement with a qualified independent organization to 
        create a new risk assessment center to--
                    (A) help the Foundation develop the online 
                resources under paragraph (4); and
                    (B) help awardees in assessing and identifying 
                issues related to nondisclosure of current and pending 
                research funding, risks to the Foundation merit review 
                process, and other issues that may negatively affect 
                the Foundation proposal and award process due to undue 
                foreign interference.
            (6) Research grants.--The Director shall continue to award 
        grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher 
        education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of such 
        institutions or organizations) to support research on the 
        conduct of research and the research environment, including 
        research on research misconduct or breaches of research 
        integrity and detrimental research practices.
            (7) Responsible conduct in research training.--Section 7009 
        of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 
        Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1862o-1) is amended by--
                    (A) striking ``and postdoctoral researchers'' and 
                inserting ``postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and 
                other senior personnel''; and
                    (B) inserting the following at the end: ``, 
                including mentor training, and training to raise 
                awareness of potential security threats and Federal 
                export control, disclosure, and reporting 
                requirements''.
            (8) National academies guide to responsible conduct in 
        research.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter 
                into an agreement with the Academies to update the 
                report entitled ``On Being a Scientist: A Guide to 
                Responsible Conduct in Research'' issued by the 
                Academies. The report, as so updated, shall include--
                            (i) updated professional standards of 
                        conduct in research;
                            (ii) promising practices for preventing, 
                        addressing, and mitigating the negative impact 
                        of harassment, including sexual harassment and 
                        gender harassment as defined in the 2018 
                        Academies report entitled ``Sexual Harassment 
                        of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in 
                        Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine''; 
                        and
                            (iii) promising practices for mitigating 
                        potential security risks that threaten research 
                        integrity.
                    (B) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the 
                effective date of the agreement under subparagraph (A), 
                the Academies, as part of such agreement, shall submit 
                to the Director and the Committee on Science, Space, 
                and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
                the Senate the report referred to in such subparagraph, 
                as updated pursuant to such subparagraph.
    (d) Research Ethics.--
            (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) a number of emerging areas of research have 
                potential ethical, social, safety, and security 
                implications that might be apparent as early as the 
                basic research stage;
                    (B) the incorporation of ethical, social, safety, 
                and security considerations into the research design 
                and review process for Federal awards, may help 
                mitigate potential harms before they happen;
                    (C) the Foundation's agreement with the Academies 
                to conduct a study and make recommendations with 
                respect to governance of research in emerging 
                technologies is a positive step toward accomplishing 
                this goal; and
                    (D) the Foundation should continue to work with 
                stakeholders to understand and adopt policies that 
                promote best practices for governance of research in 
                emerging technologies at every stage of research.
            (2) Ethics statements.--Drawing on stakeholder input, not 
        later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the Director shall amend award proposal instructions to include 
        a requirement for an ethics statement to be included as part of 
        any proposal for funding prior to making the award. Such 
        statement shall be considered by the Director in the review of 
        proposals, taking into consideration any relevant input from 
        the peer-reviewers for the proposal, and shall factor into 
        award decisions as deemed necessary by the Director. Such 
        statements may include, as appropriate--
                    (A) any foreseeable or quantifiable risks to 
                society, including how the research could enable 
                products, technologies, or other outcomes that could 
                intentionally or unintentionally cause significant 
                societal harm;
                    (B) how technical or social solutions can mitigate 
                such risks and, as appropriate, a plan to implement 
                such mitigation measures; and
                    (C) how partnerships and collaborations in the 
                research can help mitigate potential harm and amplify 
                potential societal benefits.
            (3) Guidance.--The Director shall solicit stakeholder input 
        to develop clear guidance on what constitutes a foreseeable or 
        quantifiable risk as described in paragraph (2)(A), and to the 
        extent practicable harmonize this policy with existing ethical 
        policies or related requirements for human subjects.
            (4) Research.--The Director shall award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-
        profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
        organizations) to support--
                    (A) research to assess the potential ethical and 
                societal implications of Foundation-supported research 
                and products or technologies enabled by such research, 
                including the benefits and risks identified pursuant to 
                paragraph (2)(A); and
                    (B) the development and verification of approaches 
                to proactively mitigate foreseeable risks to society, 
                including the technical and social solutions identified 
                pursuant to paragraph (2)(B).
            (5) Annual report.--The Director shall encourage awardees 
        to update their ethics statements as appropriate as part of the 
        annual reports required by all awardees under the award terms 
        and conditions.
    (e) Research Reproducibility and Replicability.--Consistent with 
existing Federal law for privacy, intellectual property, and security, 
the Director shall facilitate the public access to research products, 
including data, software, and code, developed as part of Foundation-
supported projects.
            (1) Data management plans.--
                    (A) The Director shall require that every proposal 
                for funding for research include a machine-readable 
                data management plan that includes a description of how 
                the awardee will archive and preserve public access to 
                data, software, and code developed as part of the 
                proposed project.
                    (B) In carrying out the requirement in subparagraph 
                (A), the Director shall--
                            (i) provide necessary resources, including 
                        trainings and workshops, to educate researchers 
                        and students on how to develop and review high 
                        quality data management plans;
                            (ii) ensure program officers and merit 
                        review panels are equipped with the resources 
                        and training necessary to review the quality of 
                        data management plans; and
                            (iii) ensure program officers and merit 
                        review panels treat data management plans as 
                        essential elements of grant proposals, where 
                        appropriate.
            (2) Open repositories.--The Director shall--
                    (A) coordinate with the heads of other Federal 
                science agencies, and solicit input from the scientific 
                community, to develop and widely disseminate a set of 
                criteria for trusted open repositories, accounting for 
                discipline-specific needs and necessary protections for 
                sensitive information, to be used by Federally funded 
                researchers for the sharing of data, software, and 
                code;
                    (B) work with stakeholders to identify significant 
                gaps in available repositories meeting the criteria 
                developed under subparagraph (A) and options for 
                supporting the development of additional or enhanced 
                repositories;
                    (C) award grants on a competitive basis to 
                institutions of higher education or non-profit 
                organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
                organizations) for the development, upgrades, and 
                maintenance of open data repositories that meet the 
                criteria developed under subparagraph (A);
                    (D) work with stakeholders and build on existing 
                models, where appropriate, to establish a single, 
                public, web-based point of access to help users locate 
                repositories storing data, software, and code resulting 
                from or used in Foundation-supported projects;
                    (E) work with stakeholders to establish the 
                necessary policies and procedures and allocate the 
                necessary resources to ensure, as practicable, data 
                underlying published findings resulting from 
                Foundation-supported projects are deposited in 
                repositories meeting the criteria developed under 
                subparagraph (A) at the time of publication;
                    (F) incentivize the deposition of data, software, 
                and code into repositories that meet the criteria 
                developed under subparagraph (A); and
                    (G) coordinate with the scientific publishing 
                community to develop uniform consensus standards around 
                data archiving and sharing.
            (3) Research, development, and education.--The Director 
        shall award grants, on a competitive basis to institutions of 
        higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of 
        such institutions or organizations) to--
                    (A) support research and development of open 
                source, sustainable, usable tools and infrastructure 
                that support reproducibility for a broad range of 
                studies across different disciplines;
                    (B) support research on computational 
                reproducibility, including the limits of 
                reproducibility and the consistency of computational 
                results in the development of new computation hardware, 
                tools, and methods; and
                    (C) support the education and training of students, 
                faculty, and researchers on computational methods, 
                tools, and techniques to improve the quality and 
                sharing of data, code, and supporting metadata to 
                produce reproducible research.
    (f) Climate Change Research.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-
        profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
        organizations) to support research to improve our understanding 
        of the climate system and related human and environmental 
        systems.
            (2) Use of funds.--Activities funded by a grant under this 
        subsection may include--
                    (A) fundamental research on climate forcings, 
                feedbacks, responses, and thresholds in the earth 
                system;
                    (B) research on climate-related human behaviors and 
                institutions;
                    (C) research on climate-related risk, 
                vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity of 
                coupled human-environment systems, including risks to 
                ecosystem stability and risks to vulnerable 
                populations;
                    (D) research to support the development and 
                implementation of effective social strategies and tools 
                for mitigating and adapting to climate change, 
                including at the local level;
                    (E) improved modeling, projections, analyses, and 
                assessments of climate and other Earth system changes;
                    (F) the development of effective strategies for 
                educating and training future climate change 
                researchers, and climate change response and mitigation 
                professionals, in both research and development 
                methods, as well as community engagement and science 
                communication; and
                    (G) the development of effective strategies for 
                public and community engagement in the all stages of 
                the research and development process.
    (g) Violence Research.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-
        profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
        organizations) to support research to improve our understanding 
        of the nature, scope, causes, consequences, prevention, and 
        response to all forms of violence.
            (2) Use of funds.--Activities funded by a grant under this 
        subsection may include--
                    (A) research on the magnitude and distribution of 
                fatal and nonfatal violence;
                    (B) research on risk and protective factors;
                    (C) research on the design, development, 
                implementation, and evaluation of interventions for 
                preventing and responding to violence;
                    (D) research on scaling up effective interventions; 
                and
                    (E) one or more interdisciplinary research centers 
                to conduct violence research, foster new and expanded 
                collaborations, and support capacity building 
                activities to increase the number and diversity of new 
                researchers trained in cross-disciplinary violence 
                research.
    (h) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.--The Director 
shall--
            (1) actively communicate opportunities and solicit 
        proposals for social, behavioral, and economic science 
        researchers to participate in cross-cutting and 
        interdisciplinary programs, including the Convergence 
        Accelerator and Big Ideas activities, and the Mid-Scale 
        Research Infrastructure program; and
            (2) ensure social, behavioral, and economic science 
        researchers are represented on relevant merit review panels for 
        such activities.
    (i) Food-Energy-Water Research.--The Director shall award grants on 
a competitive basis to institutions of higher education or non-profit 
organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to--
            (1) support research to significantly advance our 
        understanding of the food-energy-water system through 
        quantitative and computational modeling, including support for 
        relevant cyberinfrastructure;
            (2) develop real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces that 
        improve understanding of the behavior of food-energy-water 
        systems and increase decision support capability;
            (3) support research that will lead to innovative solutions 
        to critical food-energy-water system problems; and
            (4) grow the scientific workforce capable of studying and 
        managing the food-energy-water system, through education and 
        other professional development.
    (j) Sustainable Chemistry Research and Education.--In accordance 
with section 263 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2021, the Director shall carry out activities in support of 
sustainable chemistry, including--
            (1) establishing a program to award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-
        profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
        organizations) to support--
                    (A) individual investigators and teams of 
                investigators, including to the extent practicable, 
                early career investigators for research and 
                development;
                    (B) collaborative research and development 
                partnerships among universities, industry, and non-
                profit organizations; and
                    (C) integrating sustainable chemistry principles 
                into elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate 
                chemistry and chemical engineering curriculum and 
                research training, as appropriate to that level of 
                education and training; and
            (2) incorporating sustainable chemistry into existing 
        Foundation research and development programs.
    (k) Risk and Resilience Research.--The Director shall award grants 
on a competitive basis to institutions of higher education or non-
profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
organizations) to advance knowledge of risk assessment and 
predictability and to support the creation of tools and technologies 
for increased resilience through--
            (1) improvements in our ability to understand, model, and 
        predict extreme events and natural hazards, including 
        pandemics;
            (2) the creation of novel engineered systems solutions for 
        resilient infrastructures, particularly those that leverage the 
        growing infusion of cyber-physical-social components into the 
        infrastructures; and
            (3) research on the behaviors individuals and communities 
        engage in to detect, predict, assess, mitigate, and prevent 
        risks and to improve and increase resilience.
    (l) Leveraging International Expertise in Research.--The Director 
shall explore and advance opportunities for leveraging international 
capabilities and resources that align with the Foundation and United 
States research community priorities and have the potential to benefit 
United States prosperity, security, health, and well-being, including 
by sending teams of Foundation scientific staff for site visits of 
scientific facilities and agencies in other countries.
    (m) Biological Research Collections.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall continue to support 
        databases, tools, methods, and other activities that secure and 
        improve existing physical and digital biological research 
        collections, improve the accessibility of collections and 
        collection-related data for research and educational purposes, 
        develop capacity for curation and collection management, and to 
        transfer ownership of collections that are significant to the 
        biological research community, including to museums and 
        universities.
            (2) Specimen management plan.--The Director shall require 
        that every proposal for funding for research that involves 
        collecting or generating specimens include a specimen 
        management plan that includes a description of how the 
        specimens and associated data will be accessioned into and 
        permanently maintained in an established biological collection.
            (3) Action center for biological collections.--The Director 
        shall award grants on a competitive basis to institutions of 
        higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of 
        such institutions or organizations) to establish an Action 
        Center for Biological Collections to facilitate coordination 
        and data sharing among communities of practice for research, 
        education, workforce training, evaluation, and business model 
        development.

SEC. 8. RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE.

    (a) Facility Operation and Maintenance.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall continue the Facility 
        Operation Transition pilot program for a total of five years.
            (2) Cost sharing.--The Facility Operation Transition 
        program shall provide funding for 10-50 percent of the 
        operations and maintenance costs for major research facilities 
        that are within the first five years of operation, where the 
        share is determined based on--
                    (A) the operations and maintenance costs of the 
                major research facility; and
                    (B) the capacity of the managing directorate or 
                division to absorb such costs.
            (3) Report.--After the fifth year of the pilot program, the 
        Director shall transmit a report to Congress that includes--
                    (A) an assessment, that includes feedback from the 
                research community, of the effectiveness of the pilot 
                program for--
                            (i) supporting research directorates and 
                        divisions in balancing investments in research 
                        grants and funding for the initial operation 
                        and maintenance of major facilities;
                            (ii) incentivizing the development of new 
                        world-class facilities;
                            (iii) facilitating interagency and 
                        international partnerships;
                            (iv) funding core elements of multi-
                        disciplinary facilities; and
                            (v) supporting facility divestment costs; 
                        and
                    (B) if deemed effective, a plan for permanent 
                implementation of the pilot program.
    (b) Reviews.--The Director shall periodically carry out reviews 
within each of the directorates and divisions to assess the cost and 
benefits of extending the operations of research facilities that have 
exceeded their planned operational lifespan.
    (c) Helium Conservation.--
            (1) Major research instrumentation support.--
                    (A) In general.--The Director shall support, 
                through the Major Research Instrumentation program, 
                proposal requests that include the purchase, 
                installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment 
                and instrumentation to reduce consumption of helium.
                    (B) Cost sharing.--The Director may waive the cost-
                sharing requirement for helium conservation measures 
                for non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education 
                and Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education 
                that are not ranked among the top 100 institutions 
                receiving Federal research and development funding, as 
                documented by the National Center for Science and 
                Engineering Statistics.
            (2) Annual report.--No later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act and annually for the subsequent two 
        years, the Director shall submit an annual report to Congress 
        on the use of funding awarded by the Foundation for the 
        purchase and conservation of helium. The report should 
        include--
                    (A) the volume and price of helium purchased;
                    (B) changes in pricing and availability of helium; 
                and
                    (C) any supply disruptions impacting a substantial 
                number of institutions.
    (d) Advanced Computing.--
            (1) Computing needs.--To gather information about the 
        computational needs of grant proposals submitted to the 
        Foundation, the Director shall encourage and provide access to 
        tools to facilitate the inclusion of relevant measures of 
        computational performance needs in proposals for projects that 
        require advanced computing, including the measures identified 
        in the 2016 Academies report entitled ``Future Directions for 
        NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure to Support U.S. Science 
        and Engineering in 2017-2020''.
            (2) Reports.--The Director shall document and publish on a 
        regular basis a summary of the amount and types of advanced 
        computing capabilities that are needed to respond to Foundation 
        research opportunities as identified under paragraph (1).
            (3) Roadmap.--To set priorities and guide strategic 
        decisions regarding investments in advanced computing 
        capabilities, the Director shall develop, publish, and 
        regularly update a 5-year advanced computing roadmap that--
                    (A) draws on community input, information contained 
                in research proposals, allocation requests, and 
                Foundation-wide information gathering regarding 
                community needs;
                    (B) reflects anticipated technology trends;
                    (C) informs users and potential partners about 
                future facilities and services; and
                    (D) addresses the needs of groups historically 
                underrepresented in STEM and geographic regions with 
                low availability and high demand for advanced computing 
                resources.

SEC. 9. DIRECTORATE FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS.

    (a) Establishment.--Subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds, there is established within the Foundation the Directorate for 
Science and Engineering Solutions to advance research and development 
solutions to address societal and national challenges for the benefit 
of all Americans.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Directorate established under 
subsection (a) is to accelerate the translation of Foundation-supported 
fundamental research and to advance technologies, support use-inspired 
research, facilitate commercialization and use of Federally funded 
research, and expand the pipeline of United States students and 
researchers in areas of societal and national importance.
    (c) Activities.--The Director shall achieve the purposes described 
in subsection (a) by awarding financial assistance through the 
Directorate to--
            (1) support transformational advances in use-inspired and 
        translational research through diverse funding mechanisms and 
        models, including convergence accelerators;
            (2) translate research into science and engineering 
        innovations, including through developing innovative approaches 
        to connect research with societal outcomes, education and 
        training for students and researchers on engaging with end 
        users and the public, partnerships that facilitate research 
        uptake, application, and scaling, prototype development, 
        entrepreneurial education, developing tech-to-market 
        strategies, and partnerships that connect research products to 
        businesses, accelerators, and incubators;
            (3) develop and expand sustainable and mutually-beneficial 
        use-inspired and translational research and development 
        partnerships and collaborations among institutions of higher 
        education, including minority serving institutions and emerging 
        research institutions, non-profit organizations, businesses and 
        other for-profit entities, Federal or State agencies, community 
        organizations, other Foundation directorates, national labs, 
        international entities as appropriate, and other organizations;
            (4) build capacity for use-inspired and translational 
        research at institutions of higher education, including 
        necessary administrative support;
            (5) expand opportunities for researchers to contribute to 
        use-inspired and translational research including through 
        support for workshops and conferences, targeted incentives and 
        training, and multidisciplinary research centers;
            (6) support the education, mentoring, and training of 
        undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral 
        researchers in use-inspired and translational approaches to 
        research in key focus areas identified under subsection (g) 
        through scholarships, fellowships, and traineeships;
            (7) support translational research infrastructure, 
        including platforms and testbeds, data management and software 
        tools, and networks and communication platforms for interactive 
        and collective learning and information sharing; and
            (8) identify social, behavioral, and economic drivers and 
        consequences of technological innovations.
    (d) Assistant Director.--
            (1) In general.--The Director shall appoint an Assistant 
        Director responsible for the management of the Directorate 
        established under this section.
            (2) Term limit.--The Assistant Director appointed under 
        paragraph (1) shall serve a term lasting no longer than 4 
        years.
            (3) Qualifications.--The Assistant Director shall be an 
        individual, who by reason of professional background and 
        experience, is specially qualified to--
                    (A) advise the Director on all matters pertaining 
                to use-inspired and translational research, 
                development, and commercialization at the Foundation, 
                including partnership with the private sector and other 
                users of Foundation funded research; and
                    (B) develop and implement the necessary policies 
                and procedures to promote a culture of use-inspired and 
                translational research within the Directorate and 
                across the Foundation and carry out the 
                responsibilities under paragraph (4).
            (4) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the 
        Assistant Director shall include--
                    (A) advising the Director on all matters pertaining 
                to use-inspired and translational research and 
                development activities at the Foundation, including 
                effective practices for convergence research;
                    (B) identifying opportunities for and facilitating 
                coordination and collaboration, where appropriate, on 
                use-inspired and translational research, development, 
                commercialization, and societal application 
                activities--
                            (i) among the offices, directorates, and 
                        divisions within the Foundation; and
                            (ii) between the Foundation and 
                        stakeholders in academia, the private sector, 
                        including non-profit entities, labor 
                        organizations, Federal or State agencies, and 
                        international entities, as appropriate;
                    (C) ensuring that the activities carried out under 
                this section are not duplicative of activities 
                supported by other parts of the Foundation or other 
                relevant Federal agencies;
                    (D) approving all new programs within the 
                Directorate;
                    (E) developing and testing diverse merit-review 
                models and mechanisms for selecting and providing 
                awards for use-inspired and translational research and 
                development at different scales, from individual 
                investigator awards to large multi-institution 
                collaborations;
                    (F) assessing the success of programs;
                    (G) administering awards to achieve the purposes 
                described in subsection (b); and
                    (H) performing other such duties pertaining to the 
                purposes in subsection (b) as are required by the 
                Director.
            (5) Relationship to the director.--The Assistant Director 
        shall report to the Director.
            (6) Relationship to other programs.--No other directorate 
        within the Foundation shall report to the Assistant Director.
    (e) Advisory Committee.--
            (1) In general.--In accordance with the Federal Advisory 
        Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) the Director shall establish an 
        advisory committee to assess, and make recommendations 
        regarding, the activities carried out under this section.
            (2) Membership.--The advisory committee members shall--
                    (A) be individuals with relevant experience or 
                expertise, including individuals from industry and 
                national labs, educators, academic subject matter 
                experts, technology transfer experts, and 
                representatives of civil society and other 
                nongovernmental organizations; and
                    (B) consist of at least 10 members broadly 
                representative of stakeholders, including no less than 
                3 members from the private sector, none of whom shall 
                be an employee of the Federal Government.
            (3) Responsibilities.--The Committee shall be responsible 
        for--
                    (A) reviewing and evaluating activities carried out 
                under this section; and
                    (B) assessing the success of the Directorate in and 
                proposing new strategies for fulfilling the purposes in 
                subsection (b).
    (f) Existing Programs.--The Convergence Accelerator, the Growing 
Convergence Research Big Idea, and any other program, at the discretion 
of the Director, may be managed by the Directorate.
    (g) Focus Areas.--In consultation with the Assistant Director, the 
Board, and other Federal agencies and taking into account advice under 
subsection (e), the Director shall identify, and regularly update, up 
to 5 focus areas to guide activities under this section. In selecting 
such focus areas, the Director shall consider the following societal 
challenges:
            (1) Climate change and environmental sustainability.
            (2) Global competitiveness in critical technologies.
            (3) Cybersecurity.
            (4) National security.
            (5) STEM education and workforce.
            (6) Social and economic inequality.
    (h) Transfer of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Funds made available to carry out this 
        section shall be available for transfer to other offices, 
        directorates, or divisions within the Foundation for such use 
        as is consistent with the purposes for which such funds are 
        provided.
            (2) Prohibition on transfer from other offices.--No funds 
        shall be available for transfer to the Directorate established 
        under this section from other offices, directorates, or 
        divisions within the Foundation.
    (i) Authorities.--In addition to existing authorities available to 
the Foundation, the Director may exercise the following authorities in 
carrying out the activities under this section:
            (1) Awards.--In carrying out this section, the Director may 
        provide awards in the form of grants, contracts, cooperative 
        agreements, cash prizes, and other transactions.
            (2) Appointments.--The Director shall have the authority 
        to--
                    (A) make appointments of scientific, engineering, 
                and professional personnel without regard to the civil 
                service laws as the Director determines necessary for 
                carrying out research and development functions which 
                require the services of specially qualified personnel 
                relating to the focus areas identified under subsection 
                (g) and such other areas of national research 
                priorities as the Director may determine; and
                    (B) fix the basic pay of such personnel at rates 
                not in excess of the basic rate of pay of the Vice 
                President under section 104 of title 3, United States 
                Code, without regard to the civil service laws.
    (j) Ethical, Legal, and Societal Considerations.--The Director 
shall establish policies and set up formal avenues for public input, as 
appropriate, to ensure that ethical, legal, and societal considerations 
are explicitly integrated into the priorities for the Directorate, 
including the selection of focus areas under subsection (g), the award-
making process, and throughout all stages of supported projects.
    (k) Reports and Roadmaps.--
            (1) Annual report.--The Director shall provide to the 
        relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of Congress 
        an annual report describing projects supported by the 
        Directorate during the previous year.
            (2) Roadmap.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide to the 
        relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of Congress 
        a roadmap describing the strategic vision that the Directorate 
        will use to guide investment decisions over the following 3 
        years.
    (l) Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--After the Directorate has been in 
        operation for 6 years, the National Science Board shall 
        evaluate how well the Directorate is achieving the purposes 
        identified in subsection (b), including an assessment of the 
        impact of Directorate activities on the Foundation's primary 
        science mission.
            (2) Inclusions.--The evaluation shall include--
                    (A) a recommendation on whether the Directorate 
                should be continued or terminated; and
                    (B) a description of lessons learned from operation 
                of the Directorate.
            (3) Availability.--On completion of the evaluation, the 
        evaluation shall be made available to Congress and the public.
    (m) Limitation.--No amounts may be appropriated for the Directorate 
for each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026 unless--
            (1) a specific appropriation is made for the Directorate; 
        and
            (2) the amount appropriated for the activities of the 
        Foundation, other than the activities authorized under this 
        section, for each such fiscal year exceeds the amount 
        appropriated for the Foundation for fiscal year 2021, as 
        adjusted for inflation in accordance with the Consumer Price 
        Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
        Department of Labor.

SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Supporting Veterans in Stem Careers.--Section 3(c) of the 
Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act is amended by striking 
``annual'' and inserting ``biennial''.
    (b) Sunshine Act Compliance.--Section 15 of the National Science 
Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended--
            (1) so that paragraph (3) reads as follows:
            ``(3) Compliance review.--The Inspector General of the 
        Foundation shall conduct a review of the compliance by the 
        Board with the requirements described in paragraph (2) as 
        necessary based on a triennial risk assessment. Any review 
        deemed necessary shall examine the proposed and actual content 
        of closed meetings and determine whether the closure of the 
        meetings was consistent with section 552b of title 5, United 
        States Code.''; and
            (2) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(4) Materials relating to closed portions of meeting.--To 
        facilitate the risk assessment required under paragraph (3) of 
        this subsection, and any subsequent review conducted by the 
        Inspector General, the Office of the National Science Board 
        shall maintain the General Counsel's certificate, the presiding 
        officer's statement, and a transcript or recording of any 
        closed meeting, for at least 3 years after such meeting.''.
    (c) Science and Engineering Indicators Report Submission.--Section 
4(j)(1) of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 
1863(j)(1)) is amended by striking ``January 15'' and inserting ``March 
15''.
                                 <all>