[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1119 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1119


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2015

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To improve the efficiency of Federal research and development, 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 ``Research and Development Efficiency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REGULATORY EFFICIENCY.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) high and increasing administrative burdens and costs in 
        Federal research administration, particularly in the higher 
        education sector where most federally sponsored research is 
        performed, are eroding funds available to carry out basic 
        scientific research;
            (2) progress has been made over the last decade in 
        streamlining the pre-award grant application process through 
        Grants.gov, the Federal Government's website portal;
            (3) post-award administrative costs have grown as Federal 
        research agencies have continued to impose agency-unique 
        compliance and reporting requirements on researchers and 
        research institutions;
            (4) facilities and administration costs at research 
        universities can exceed 50 percent of the total value of 
        Federal research grants, and it is estimated that nearly 30 
        percent of the funds invested annually in federally funded 
        research is consumed by paperwork and other administrative 
        processes required by Federal agencies; and
            (5) it is a matter of critical importance to American 
        competitiveness that administrative costs of federally funded 
        research be streamlined so that a higher proportion of taxpayer 
        dollars flow into direct research activities.
    (b) In General.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy shall establish a working group under the authority 
of the National Science and Technology Council, to include the Office 
of Management and Budget. The working group shall be responsible for 
reviewing Federal regulations affecting research and research 
universities and making recommendations on how to--
            (1) harmonize, streamline, and eliminate duplicative 
        Federal regulations and reporting requirements;
            (2) minimize the regulatory burden on United States 
        institutions of higher education performing federally funded 
        research while maintaining accountability for Federal tax 
        dollars; and
            (3) identify and update specific regulations to refocus on 
        performance-based goals rather than on process while still 
        meeting the desired outcome.
    (c) Stakeholder Input.--In carrying out the responsibilities under 
subsection (b), the working group shall take into account input and 
recommendations from non-Federal stakeholders, including federally 
funded and nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 
education, scientific disciplinary societies and associations, 
nonprofit research institutions, industry, including small businesses, 
federally funded research and development centers, and others with a 
stake in ensuring effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability in the 
performance of scientific research.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Director shall 
report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate on what steps have been taken to carry out 
the recommendations of the working group established under subsection 
(b).

            Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2015.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.