National Innovation Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-2109
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2005-12-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Accounting
Administrative procedure
Alien labor
Armed Forces and National Security
Catastrophic health insurance
College costs
Communication in medicine
Computer software
Congress
Congress and military policy
Congressional reporting requirements
Data banks
Defense budgets
Defense contracts
Defense industries
Department of Defense
Department of the Treasury
Economic development
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Engineering
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to education
Federal aid to research
Finance and Financial Sector
Financial disclosure
Financial statements
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foundations
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Governmental investigations
Graduate education
Grants-in-aid
Health
Health information systems
High technology
Higher education
Immigration
Income tax
Industrial engineering
Industry-university relations
Infrastructure
Intellectual property
International competitiveness
Labor and Employment
Law
Legislation
Logistics
Manufacturing industries
Mathematics
Medical economics
Military research
Nanotechnology
National Science Foundation
Patents
Performance measurement
Presidential commissions
Public-private partnerships
Quality of care
Regional economic development
Research and development
Research and development tax credit
Research grants
Scholarships
Science, Technology, Communications
Scientific education
Scientists
Small business
Social Welfare
Standards
Tax exemption
Tax-deferred compensation plans
Taxation
Technological innovations
Trade associations
Visas

Summary:
action_date: 2005-12-15
text: National Innovation Act of 2005 - Directs the President to establish the: (1) President's Council on Innovation; and (2) Innovation Acceleration Grants Program to support and promote innovation in the United States. 
Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to: (1) submit a multiyear plan that describes how the funds authorized by this Act for doubling research funding shall be used; (2) study how the federal government should support the new discipline of service science; (3) expand the Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program; (4) establish a clearinghouse for sharing program elements used in successful professional science master's degree programs; (5) award grants for pilot programs to four-year institutions of higher education to facilitate the creation or improvement of such programs; and (6) award grants to local educational agencies to enable implementation of innovation-based experiential learning.
 
Requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy to submit recommendations for an increase in funding for research and development in physical sciences and engineering. 
 
Requires the Department of Commerce to: (1) review federal programs that support local economic development and implement a strategy to fund initiatives that improve the ability of communities to participate successfully in the modern economy through innovation; (2) promote economic development opportunities for serving local communities as specified; and (3) coordinate activities focused on promoting innovation through development of regional innovation hot spots. 
 
Requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support research and development for advanced manufacturing systems designed to increase productivity and efficiency and to create competitive advantages for U.S. businesses.
 
Make permanent the research credit for qualified research expenses and provides for an alternative simplified credit for such expenses. 
 
Requires studies: (1) to explore methods for managing costs associated with catastrophic healthcare events and with chronic disease; and (2) for establishing lifelong learning accounts for educational or training purposes; and (3) of methods to mitigate new forms of risk for businesses that affect innovation.
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) issue regulations relating to private foundation support of innovations in economic development; and (2) establish an advisory group to examine best practices for valuation of intangibles. 
 
Makes it the goal of the Department of Defense (DOD) to allocate: (1) at least 3% of the total DOD budget to science and technology; and (2) of such amount, at least 20% to basic research. 
 
Extends and expands the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Scholarship Pilot Program. 
 
Expands the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship program. 
 
Requires DOD to: (1) award institution-based traineeships in areas of importance to DOD in mathematics, science, or engineering; and (2) undertake specified actions with respect to defense manufacturing research and development.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-12-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S13664-13670)
action_date: 2005-12-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S13663-13664, S13673-13677)
action_date: 2005-12-15
text: Introduced in Senate