[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2733 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 2733


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 12 (legislative day, July 10), 2002

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to work 
   with major manufacturing industries on an initiative of standards 
 development and implementation for electronic enterprise integration.

    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 ``Enterprise Integration Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Over 90 percent of United States companies engaged in 
        manufacturing are small and medium-sized businesses.
            (2) Most of these manufacturers produce goods for 
        assemblage into products of large companies.
            (3) The emergence of the World Wide Web and the 
        promulgation of international standards for product data 
        exchange greatly accelerated the movement toward electronically 
        integrated supply chains during the last half of the 1990's.
            (4) European and Asian countries are investing heavily in 
        electronic enterprise standards development, and in preparing 
        their smaller manufacturers to do business in the new 
        environment. European efforts are well advanced in the 
        aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries and are 
        beginning in other industries including home building, 
        furniture manufacturing, textiles, and apparel. This investment 
        could give overseas companies a major competitive advantage.
            (5) The National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
        because of the electronic commerce expertise in its 
        laboratories and quality program, its long history of working 
        cooperatively with manufacturers, and the nationwide reach of 
        its manufacturing extension program, is in a unique position to 
        help United States large and smaller manufacturers alike in 
        their responses to this challenge.
            (6) It is, therefore, in the national interest for the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology to accelerate 
        its efforts in helping industry develop standards and 
        enterprise integration processes that are necessary to increase 
        efficiency and lower costs.

SEC. 3. ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION INITIATIVE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish an initiative for 
advancing enterprise integration within the United States. In carrying 
out this section, the Director shall involve, as appropriate, the 
various units of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
including the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
laboratories (including the Building and Fire Research Laboratory), the 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program established under sections 
25 and 26 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 
U.S.C. 278k and 278l), and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Program. This initiative shall build upon ongoing efforts of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology and of the private 
sector, shall involve consortia that include government and industry, 
and shall address the enterprise integration needs of each United 
States major manufacturing industry at the earliest possible date.
    (b) Assessment.--For each major manufacturing industry, the 
Director may work with industry, trade associations, professional 
societies, and others as appropriate, to identify enterprise 
integration standardization and implementation activities underway in 
the United States and abroad that affect that industry and to assess 
the current state of enterprise integration within that industry. The 
Director may assist in the development of roadmaps to permit supply 
chains within the industry to operate as an integrated electronic 
enterprise. The roadmaps shall be based on voluntary consensus 
standards.
    (c) Reports.--Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director shall submit to the 
Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology's activities under 
subsection (b).
    (d) Authorized Activities.--In order to carry out this Act, the 
Director may work with industry, trade associations, professional 
societies, and others as appropriate--
            (1) to raise awareness in the United States, including 
        awareness by businesses that are majority owned by women, 
        minorities, or both, of enterprise integration activities in 
        the United States and abroad, including by the convening of 
        conferences;
            (2) on the development of enterprise integration roadmaps;
            (3) to support the development, testing, promulgation, 
        integration, adoption, and upgrading of standards related to 
        enterprise integration including application protocols; and
            (4) to provide technical assistance and, if necessary, 
        financial support to small and medium-sized businesses that set 
        up pilot projects in enterprise integration.
    (e) Manufacturing Extension Program.--The Director shall ensure 
that the Manufacturing Extension Program is prepared to advise small 
and medium-sized businesses on how to acquire the expertise, equipment, 
and training necessary to participate fully in supply chains using 
enterprise integration.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``automotive'' means land-based engine-powered 
        vehicles including automobiles, trucks, busses, trains, defense 
        vehicles, farm equipment, and motorcycles;
            (2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology;
            (3) the term ``enterprise integration'' means the 
        electronic linkage of manufacturers, assemblers, suppliers, and 
        customers to enable the electronic exchange of product, 
        manufacturing, and other business data among all partners in a 
        product supply chain, and such term includes related 
        application protocols and other related standards;
            (4) the term ``major manufacturing industry'' includes the 
        aerospace, automotive, electronics, shipbuilding, construction, 
        home building, furniture, textile, and apparel industries and 
        such other industries as the Director designates; and
            (5) the term ``roadmap'' means an assessment of 
        manufacturing interoperability requirements developed by an 
        industry describing that industry's goals related to enterprise 
        integration, the knowledge and standards including application 
        protocols necessary to achieve those goals, and the necessary 
        steps, timetable, and assignment of responsibilities for 
        acquiring the knowledge and developing the standards and 
        protocols.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director to carry 
out functions under this Act--
            (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
            (2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;
            (3) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and
            (4) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 11, 2002.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.