Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-3598
Sponsor: Rep. Ehlers, Vernon J. [R-MI-3]
Introduced: 2003-11-21 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Advice and consent of the Senate
Antitrust law
Auditing
Authorization
Awards, medals, prizes
Building construction
Building materials
Commemorations
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Curricula
Department of Commerce
Economic research
Economics and Public Finance
Economists
Education
Electrical engineering
Electronics
Employee training
Engineering
Engineers
Executive reorganization
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to education
Federal aid to research
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign investments
Government Operations and Politics
Government and business
Government publicity
Graduate education
Higher education
Industrial engineering
Industrial production
Industrial research
Industrial standards
Infrastructure
Intellectual property
International competitiveness
Labor and Employment
Laboratories
Manufacturing industries
Materials
Performance measurement
Physics
Policy sciences
Presidential appointments
Presidential commissions
Public-private partnerships
Quality control
Research and development
Research and development facilities
Research centers
Research grants
Scholarships
Science, Technology, Communications
Scientific education
Scientists
Scientists in government
Small business
Standards
Strategic planning
Technical education
Technological innovations
Technology transfer
Wages

Summary:
action_date: 2003-11-21
text: 
Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2003 - Directs the President to establish: (1) an Interagency Committee (IC) to plan and coordinate Federal efforts in manufacturing research and development; and (2) an Advisory Committee to provide advice and information to the IC from the non-Federal manufacturing research and development community. 
 
Requires Federal agencies that are the IC members to coordinate their manufacturing grant activities with a collaborative manufacturing research grants program established by this Act's amendment to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act).
 
Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to refer to Manufacturing in renaming the following Department of Commerce entities: (1) Manufacturing and Technology Administration; (2) Office of Manufacturing and Technology Policy; and (3) Under Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Technology. Establishes the post of Assistant Secretary of Manufacturing to serve as one of the policy analysts for the Under Secretary. Directs the Under Secretary to: (1) serve as a point of contact on Federal manufacturing research and development, as well as broader policy issues related to manufacturing, for discussions among industry, academic, labor, and other groups; and (2) report on foreign governments' efforts to attract and develop technology-based manufacturing.
 
Amends the NIST Act to require the NIST Director to establish the following programs: (1) collaborative manufacturing research grants to partnerships among firms, educational institutions, research institutions, State agencies, and nonprofit organizations to encourage development of innovative, multidisciplinary manufacturing technologies; and (2) manufacturing sciences research fellowships, at specified postdoctoral and senior levels.
 
Reauthorizes and revises the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. Establishes, within the MEP program, a manufacturing extension center competitive grant program to develop projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems.

action_date: 2004-07-01
text: 
Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2004 - (Sec. 2) Directs the President to establish or designate: (1) an Interagency Committee (IC) to plan and coordinate Federal efforts in manufacturing research and development; and (2) an Advisory Committee to provide advice and information to the IC from the non-Federal manufacturing research and development community. 
 
(Sec. 3) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act) to require the NIST Director to establish a pilot program of collaborative manufacturing research grants to partnerships among firms, educational institutions, research institutions, State agencies, and nonprofit organizations to encourage development of innovative, multidisciplinary manufacturing technologies.
 
(Sec. 4) Amends the NIST Act to require the NIST Director to establish manufacturing sciences research fellowships at specified postdoctoral and senior levels.
 
(Sec. 5) Revises the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program under the NIST Act to require the evaluation panel to notify any MEP center of the center's performance deficiencies if it has not received a positive evaluation. Authorizes the panel to place such a center on probation for one year and then reevaluate it. Authorizes the NIST Director, if a center has not addressed the deficiencies or shown significant improvement in performance, either to conduct a new competition to select an operator for the center or to close the center.
 
Establishes, within the MEP program, a manufacturing extension center competitive grant program to develop projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems.
 
(Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through 2008 to the Secretary of Commerce for: (1) scientific and technical research and services laboratory activities of NIST in specified categories; (2) the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980; and (3) construction and maintenance of NIST facilities.
 
(Sec. 7) Requires the NIST Director, as part of the Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute Program, to carry out a Standards Education program to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education to support their efforts to develop curricula on the role of standards in the fields of engineering, business, science, and economics. 
 
 Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through 2008 to the Secretary of Commerce for the Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute Program of NIST.
 
(Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through 2008 to the Secretary of Commerce for the following NIST programs: (1) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (in this case, such funding may go through the Secretary or other appropriate Federal agencies); (2) Collaborative Manufacturing Research Pilot Grants; and (3) Manufacturing Fellowships.

action_date: 2004-07-09
text: 
Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2004 - (Sec. 2) Directs the President to establish or designate: (1) an Interagency Committee (IC) to plan and coordinate Federal efforts in manufacturing research and development; and (2) an Advisory Committee to provide advice and information to the IC from the non-Federal manufacturing research and development community. 
 
(Sec. 3) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act) to require the NIST Director to establish a pilot program of collaborative manufacturing research grants to partnerships among firms, educational institutions, research institutions, State agencies, and nonprofit organizations to encourage development of innovative, multidisciplinary manufacturing technologies.
 
(Sec. 4) Amends the NIST Act to require the NIST Director to establish manufacturing sciences research fellowships at specified postdoctoral and senior levels.
 
(Sec. 5) Revises the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program under the NIST Act to require the evaluation panel to notify any MEP center of the center's performance deficiencies if it has not received a positive evaluation. Authorizes the panel to place such a center on probation for one year and then reevaluate it. Authorizes the NIST Director, if a center has not addressed the deficiencies or shown significant improvement in performance, either to conduct a new competition to select an operator for the center or to close the center.
 
Establishes, within the MEP program, a manufacturing extension center competitive grant program to develop projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems.
 
Requires all MEP centers to submit annual audits to the Secretary and make such audits available to the public on request.
 
(Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through 2008 to the Secretary of Commerce for: (1) scientific and technical research and services laboratory activities of NIST in specified categories; (2) the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980; and (3) construction and maintenance of NIST facilities.
 
(Sec. 7) Requires the NIST Director, as part of the Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute Program, to carry out a Standards Education program to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education to support their efforts to develop curricula on the role of standards in the fields of engineering, business, science, and economics.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through 2008 to the Secretary of Commerce for the Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute Program of NIST.
 
(Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through 2008 to the Secretary of Commerce for the following NIST programs: (1) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (in this case, such funding may go through the Secretary or other appropriate Federal agencies); (2) Collaborative Manufacturing Research Pilot Grants; and (3) Manufacturing Fellowships.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-12
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: On passage Passed by voice vote.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by voice vote.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 171 - 193 (Roll no. 358). (consideration: CR H5460-5462; text: CR H5460)
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Costello motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained within the motion seek to report the bill back to the House forthwith with the following amendment: Redesignate section 8 as section 9, and insert after section 7 the following new section: Sec. 8. Manufacturing and Professional Employment Study.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Mr. Costello moved to recommit with instructions to the Committee on Science.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 3598.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 706, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 20 minutes of debate on the Gordon amendment.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 706, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Peterson (PA) amendment.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Larson (CT) amendment the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Ehlers demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until later in the legislative day.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 706, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Larson (CT) amendment.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Jackson-Lee (TX) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Ms. Jackson-Lee (TX) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until later in the legislative day.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 706, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Jackson-Lee (TX) amendment.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 3598.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 706 and Rule XVIII.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: The Speaker designated the Honorable Lee Terry to act as Chairman of the Committee.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3598 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
action_date: 2004-07-09
text: Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 706. (consideration:  CR H5440-5462; text of measure as reported in House: CR H5449-5451)
action_date: 2004-07-08
text: Rule H. Res. 706 passed House.
action_date: 2004-07-07
text: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 706 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3598 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
action_date: 2004-07-01
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 345.
action_date: 2004-07-01
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Science. H. Rept. 108-581.
action_date: 2004-07-01
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Science. H. Rept. 108-581.
action_date: 2004-06-25
text: Mr. Boehlert asked unanimous consent that the Committee on Science, Space and Technology have until 4:00 p.m. on July 2 to file a report on H.R. 3598. Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2004-06-16
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2004-06-16
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2004-03-25
text: Subcommittee on Energy Discharged.
action_date: 2004-03-25
text: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2004-03-25
text: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2003-12-03
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Research.
action_date: 2003-12-03
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
action_date: 2003-12-03
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards.
action_date: 2003-11-23
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2444)
action_date: 2003-11-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Science.
action_date: 2003-11-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-11-21
text: Introduced in House