Innovate America Act

Bill: 114-s-894
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2015-03-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Executive agency funding and structure
Free trade and trade barriers
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Manufacturing
Performance measurement
Public contracts and procurement
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Science and engineering education
Small business
Student aid and college costs
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-26
text: 

Innovate America Act

 
 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED), in coordination with the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), to award grants, on a competitive basis, to state educational agencies to establish or expand the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science (STEM) secondary schools in the United States from approximately 100 to approximately 200.
 
In coordination with the NSF, ED shall:
 
 
 develop a database identifying existing STEM secondary schools, and
 
study how to improve retention rates of students in STEM programs at institutions of higher education.
 
 
The President must ensure that at least 15% of all federal funds available each fiscal year for undergraduate research opportunities at 2-year and 4-year degree-granting institutions of higher education are used to fund research opportunities for postsecondary students.
 
The NSF Partnerships for Innovation Program shall administer a Technology Commercialization Awards Pilot Program through which promising technology advances derived from NSF research grants must be eligible for funding.
 
The National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended to extend the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to cover specifically informatics and computer science.
 
The Department of Commerce must establish a manufacturing assistance program for small and medium-sized domestic manufacturers to promote the manufacturing of goods in the United States and enable them to be competitive in global markets.
 
The Under Secretary for International Trade of Commerce shall report to Congress on the global competitiveness of 20 U.S. industries that export the most goods or services and the domestic and foreign regulatory and policy barriers to increasing their exports.
 
This bill also requires:
 
 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over a 10-year period,
 
 each federal department and agency to issue guidance on the appropriate use of award and incentive fees in their programs, and
 
return to the Treasury of any funds intended to be awarded as incentive fees to contractors that are not paid owing to contractor inability to meet established criteria in this Act.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-03-26
text: Introduced in Senate