[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3530 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3530

  To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to 
 provide for prize competitions to stimulate innovations that advance 
       the missions of Federal agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2010

 Mr. Pryor (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to 
 provide for prize competitions to stimulate innovations that advance 
       the missions of Federal agencies, 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 ``Reward Innovation in America Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. PRIZE COMPETITIONS.

    The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 
3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 24. PRIZE COMPETITIONS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' means a Federal agency.
            ``(2) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the 
        meaning given under section 4, except that term shall not 
        include any agency of the legislative branch of the Federal 
        Government.
            ``(3) Head of an agency.--The term `head of an agency' 
        means the head of a Federal agency.
    ``(b) In General.--Each head of an agency may carry out a program 
to award prizes competitively to stimulate innovation that has the 
potential to advance the mission of the respective agency.
    ``(c) Prizes.--For purposes of this section, a prize may be one or 
more of the following:
            ``(1) A point solution prize that rewards and spurs the 
        development of solutions for a particular, well-defined 
        problem.
            ``(2) An exposition prize that helps identify and promote a 
        broad range of ideas and practices that may not otherwise 
        attract attention, facilitating further development of the idea 
        or practice by third parties.
            ``(3) Participation prizes that create value during and 
        after the competition by encouraging contestants to change 
        their behavior or develop new skills that may have beneficial 
        effects during and after the competition.
            ``(4) Such other types of prizes as each head of an agency 
        considers appropriate to stimulate innovation that has the 
        potential to advance the mission of the respective agency.
    ``(d) Topics.--In selecting topics for prize competitions, the head 
of an agency shall consult widely both within and outside the Federal 
Government, and may empanel advisory committees.
    ``(e) Advertising.--The head of an agency shall widely advertise 
each prize competition to encourage broad participation.
    ``(f) Requirements and Registration.--For each prize competition, 
the head of an agency shall publish a notice in the Federal Register 
announcing--
            ``(1) the subject of the competition;
            ``(2) the rules for being eligible to participate in the 
        competition;
            ``(3) the process for participants to register for the 
        competition;
            ``(4) the amount of the prize; and
            ``(5) the basis on which a winner will be selected.
    ``(g) Eligibility.--To be eligible to win a prize under this 
section, an individual or entity--
            ``(1) shall have registered to participate in the 
        competition under any rules promulgated by the head of an 
        agency under subsection (f);
            ``(2) shall have complied with all the requirements under 
        this section;
            ``(3) in the case of a private entity, shall be 
        incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the 
        United States, and in the case of an individual, whether 
        participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen or 
        permanent resident of the United States; and
            ``(4) may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee 
        acting within the scope of their employment.
    ``(h) Consultation With Federal Employees.--An individual or entity 
shall not be deemed ineligible under subsection (g) because such 
individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal 
employees during a competition if such facilities and employees are 
made available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.
    ``(i) Liability.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `related entity' means a contractor or subcontractor at 
                any tier, and a supplier, user, customer, cooperating 
                party, grantee, investigator, or detailee.
                    ``(B) Liability.--Registered participants shall be 
                required to agree to assume any and all risks and waive 
                claims against the Federal Government and its related 
                entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for 
                any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, 
                revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or 
                consequential, arising from their participation in a 
                competition, whether such injury, death, damage, or 
                loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
            ``(2) Insurance.--Participants shall be required to obtain 
        liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in 
        amounts determined by the head of an agency, for claims by--
                    ``(A) a third party for death, bodily injury, or 
                property damage, or loss resulting from an activity 
                carried out in connection with participation in a 
                competition, with the Federal Government named as an 
                additional insured under the registered participant's 
                insurance policy and registered participants agreeing 
                to indemnify the Federal Government against third-party 
                claims for damages arising from or related to 
                competition activities; and
                    ``(B) the Federal Government for damage or loss to 
                Government property resulting from such an activity.
            ``(3) Exception.--The head of an agency may not require a 
        participant to waive claims against the administering entity 
        arising out of the unauthorized use or disclosure by the agency 
        of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential 
        business information of the participant.
    ``(j) Intellectual Property.--
            ``(1) Prohibition on the government acquiring intellectual 
        property rights.--The Federal Government may not gain an 
        interest in intellectual property developed by a participant in 
        a competition without the written consent of the participant.
            ``(2) Licenses.--The Federal Government may negotiate a 
        license for the use of intellectual property developed by a 
        participant for a competition.
    ``(k) Judges.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each competition, the head of an 
        agency, either directly or through an agreement under 
        subsection (l), shall appoint one or more qualified judges to 
        select the winner or winners of the prize competition on the 
        basis described under subsection (f). Judges for each 
        competition may include individuals from outside the agency, 
        including from the private sector.
            ``(2) Restrictions.--A judge may not--
                    ``(A) have personal or financial interests in, or 
                be an employee, officer, director, or agent of any 
                entity that is a registered participant in a 
                competition; or
                    ``(B) have a familial or financial relationship 
                with an individual who is a registered participant.
            ``(3) Guidelines.--The heads of agencies who carry out 
        competitions under this section shall develop guidelines to 
        ensure that the judges appointed for such competitions are 
        fairly balanced and operate in a transparent manner.
            ``(4) Exemption from faca.--The Federal Advisory Committee 
        Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any committee, board, 
        commission, panel, task force, or similar entity, created 
        solely for the purpose of judging prize competitions under this 
        section.
    ``(l) Administering the Competition.--The head of an agency may 
enter into an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to administer 
a prize competition, subject to the provisions of this section.
    ``(m) Funding.--
            ``(1) In general.--Support for a prize competition under 
        this section, including financial support for the design and 
        administration of a prize or funds for a monetary prize purse, 
        may consist of Federal appropriated funds and funds provided by 
        the private sector for such cash prizes. The head of an agency 
        may accept funds from other Federal agencies to support such 
        competitions. The head of an agency may not give any special 
        consideration to any private sector entity in return for a 
        donation.
            ``(2) Availability of funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, funds appropriated for prize awards under 
        this section shall remain available until expended, and may be 
        transferred, reprogrammed, or expended for other purposes only 
        after the expiration of 10 fiscal years after the fiscal year 
        for which the funds were originally appropriated. No provision 
        in this section permits obligation or payment of funds in 
        violation of section 1341 of title 31, United States Code.
            ``(3) Amount of prize.--
                    ``(A) Announcement.--No prize may be announced 
                under subsection (f) until all the funds needed to pay 
                out the announced amount of the prize have been 
                appropriated or committed in writing by a private 
                source.
                    ``(B) Increase in amount.--The head of an agency 
                may increase the amount of a prize after an initial 
                announcement is made under subsection (f) only if--
                            ``(i) notice of the increase is provided in 
                        the same manner as the initial notice of the 
                        prize; and
                            ``(ii) the funds needed to pay out the 
                        announced amount of the increase have been 
                        appropriated or committed in writing by a 
                        private source.
            ``(4) Limitation on amount.--
                    ``(A) Notice to congress.--No prize competition 
                under this section may offer a prize in an amount 
                greater than $50,000,000 unless 30 days have elapsed 
                after written notice has been transmitted to the 
                Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
                the Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology 
                of the House of Representatives.
                    ``(B) Approval of head of agency.--No prize 
                competition under this section may result in the award 
                of more than $1,000,000 in cash prizes without the 
                approval of the head of an agency.
    ``(n) General Service Administration Assistance.--Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the General 
Services Administration shall provide Government-wide services to share 
best practices and assist agencies in developing guidelines for issuing 
prize competitions. The General Services Administration shall develop a 
contract vehicle to provide agencies access to relevant products and 
services, including technical assistance in structuring and conducting 
prize competitions to take maximum benefit of the marketplace as they 
identify and pursue prize competitions to further the policy objectives 
of the Federal Government.
    ``(o) Compliance With Existing Law.--The Federal Government shall 
not, by virtue of offering or providing a prize under this section, be 
responsible for compliance by registered participants in a prize 
competition with Federal law, including licensing, export control, and 
nonproliferation laws, and related regulations.
    ``(p) Annual Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the 
        Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 
        submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science and 
        Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the 
        activities carried out during the preceding fiscal year under 
        the authority in subsection (b).
            ``(2) Information included.--The report for a fiscal year 
        under this subsection shall include, for each prize competition 
        under subsection (b), the following:
                    ``(A) Proposed goals.--A description of the 
                proposed goals of each prize competition.
                    ``(B) Preferable method.--An analysis of why the 
                utilization of the authority in subsection (b) was the 
                preferable method of achieving the goals described in 
                subparagraph (A) as opposed to other authorities 
                available to the agency, such as contracts, grants, and 
                cooperative agreements.
                    ``(C) Amount of cash prizes.--The total amount of 
                cash prizes awarded for each prize competition, 
                including a description of amount of private funds 
                contributed to the program, the sources of such funds, 
                and the manner in which the amounts of cash prizes 
                awarded and claimed were allocated among the accounts 
                of the agency for recording as obligations and 
                expenditures.
                    ``(D) Solicitations and evaluation of 
                submissions.--The methods used for the solicitation and 
                evaluation of submissions under each prize competition, 
                together with an assessment of the effectiveness of 
                such methods and lessons learned for future prize 
                competitions.
                    ``(E) Resources.--A description of the resources, 
                including personnel and funding, used in the execution 
                of each prize competition together with a detailed 
                description of the activities for which such resources 
                were used and an accounting of how funding for 
                execution was allocated among the accounts of the 
                agency for recording as obligations and expenditures.
                    ``(F) Results.--A description of how each prize 
                competition advanced the mission of the agency 
                concerned.''.
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