[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4904 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4904

  To establish the National Fab Lab Network, a nonprofit organization 
     consisting of a national network of local digital fabrication 
 facilities providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools 
   for workforce development, STEM education, developing inventions, 
creating businesses, producing personalized products, mitigating risks, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2024

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish the National Fab Lab Network, a nonprofit organization 
     consisting of a national network of local digital fabrication 
 facilities providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools 
   for workforce development, STEM education, developing inventions, 
creating businesses, producing personalized products, mitigating risks, 
                        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 ``National Fab Lab Network Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Scientific discoveries and technical innovations are 
        critical to the economic and national security of the United 
        States.
            (2) Maintaining the leadership of the United States in 
        science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will require 
        a diverse population with the skills, interest, and access to 
        tools required to advance these fields.
            (3) Just as earlier digital revolutions in communications 
        and computation provided individuals with the internet and 
        personal computers, a digital revolution in fabrication will 
        allow anyone to make almost anything, anywhere.
            (4) These creations include elements of a typical household 
        basket of goods (furnishings, apparel, food production 
        equipment, shelter, transportation, education and 
        communication, recreation, and other goods and services), 
        personal technology, means for personal expression, the 
        production of digital fabrication machinery, community design, 
        and manufacturing capability.
            (5) The Center for Bits and Atoms of the Massachusetts 
        Institute of Technology (CBA) has contributed significantly to 
        the advancement of these goals through its work in creating and 
        advancing digital fabrication facilities, or ``fab labs'' in 
        the United States and abroad.
            (6) Such digital fabrication facilities may include 
        MakerSpaces, Hackerspaces, and other creative spaces that use 
        digital fabrication as a platform for education, innovation, 
        entrepreneurship, personal expression, public access, and 
        social impact.
            (7) Such digital fabrication facilities provide a model for 
        a new kind of national laboratory that operates as a network, 
        linking local facilities for advanced manufacturing, providing 
        universal access, cultivating new literacies, and empowering 
        communities.
            (8) The nonprofit Fab Foundation was established to support 
        the growth of the international network of digital fabrication 
        facilities, to amplify the educational, entrepreneurial, and 
        social impacts of digital fabrication facilities, and to 
        support the development of regional capacity building 
        organizations to broaden impact as well as address local, 
        regional, and global challenges through the use of digital 
        fabrication technologies.
            (9) A coordinated array of national public-private 
        partnerships will be the most effective way to accelerate the 
        provision of universal access to this infrastructure for 
        workforce development, science, technology, engineering, and 
        mathematics education, developing inventions, creating 
        businesses, producing personalized products, and mitigating 
        risks.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL FAB LAB NETWORK.

    (a) Definition.--In this Act, the term ``fab lab'' means a facility 
that--
            (1) contains the range of capabilities required to create 
        form and function from digital designs, including--
                    (A) computer-controlled machines for additive and 
                subtractive fabrication processes;
                    (B) tools and components for manufacturing and 
                programming electronic circuits;
                    (C) materials and methods for short-run production; 
                and
                    (D) workflows for three-dimensional design and 
                digitization; and
            (2) is committed to supporting education, innovation, 
        entrepreneurship, personal expression, self-sufficiency, and 
        social impact for its community through digital fabrication.
    (b) Establishment.--There is hereby established a nonprofit 
corporation to be known as the ``National Fab Lab Network'' (in this 
Act referred to as the ``corporation''), which shall not be an agency 
or establishment of the United States Government. The corporation shall 
be subject to the provisions of this Act, and, to the extent consistent 
with this Act, to the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act 
(D.C. Code, section 29-501 et seq.).
    (c) Goals and Activities.--
            (1) Goals.--The goals of the corporation are as follows:
                    (A) To provide universal access to digital 
                fabrication.
                    (B) To foster current and future fab labs.
                    (C) To create a national network of connected local 
                fab labs to empower individuals and communities in the 
                United States.
                    (D) To foster the use of distributed digital 
                fabrication tools--
                            (i) to promote science, technology, 
                        engineering and math skills;
                            (ii) to increase invention and innovation;
                            (iii) to create businesses and jobs;
                            (iv) to fulfill personal, professional, and 
                        community needs;
                            (v) to create value and mitigate harm;
                            (vi) to increase self-sufficiency for 
                        individuals, households, and communities; and
                            (vii) to align workforce development with 
                        new and emerging jobs.
                    (E) To provide a platform for education and 
                research, to catalyze new methods in science, 
                technology, engineering, and mathematics education, and 
                to introduce digital fabrication as an essential new 
                literacy.
                    (F) To create new ways of educating the workforce 
                that will enable workers to compete in a 21st century 
                global marketplace.
            (2) Activities.--To attain the goals described in paragraph 
        (1), the corporation shall carry out activities, including the 
        following:
                    (A) Seeking to establish a minimum of one fab lab 
                in each Congressional District, prioritizing 
                underserved communities.
                    (B) Seeking to establish additional fab labs within 
                the network created under paragraph (1)(C), in response 
                to local demand, and to provide guidelines for their 
                sustainable operation.
                    (C) Linking fab labs into a national network, and 
                promoting further expansion of fab labs across the 
                United States.
                    (D) Serving as a resource to assist diverse public 
                and private stakeholders with the effective operation 
                of fab labs, and the training of fab lab leaders and 
                mentors.
                    (E) Maintaining a national registry of fab labs.
                    (F) Providing standards and protocols for 
                connecting fab labs regionally, nationally, and 
                globally.
                    (G) Assisting existing fab labs in producing 
                additional fab labs.
    (d) Membership and Organization.--Except as provided in this Act, 
eligibility for membership in the corporation and the rights and 
privileges of members shall be in accordance with the laws governing 
tax exempt organizations in the District of Columbia.
    (e) Governing Body.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        directors, officers, and other staff of the corporation, and 
        their powers and duties, shall be in accordance with the laws 
        governing tax exempt organizations in the District of Columbia.
            (2) Board membership.--
                    (A) Composition.--The board of the corporation 
                shall be composed of not fewer than 7 members and not 
                more than 15 members.
                    (B) Representation.--
                            (i) In general.--The membership of the 
                        board of the corporation shall collectively 
                        represent the diversity of fab labs.
                            (ii) Requirement.--At a minimum, the board 
                        of the corporation shall be composed of members 
                        from geographic regions across the United 
                        States, Tribal communities, educational and 
                        research institutions, libraries, nonprofit and 
                        commercial organizations, diverse demographic 
                        groups, and the Fab Foundation.
                            (iii) Individual representation.--An 
                        individual member of the board of the 
                        corporation may represent more than one board 
                        role and additional roles may be added to 
                        reflect the diversity of the fab lab ecosystem.
                    (C) Selection.--The initial board of the 
                corporation shall be chosen, in consultation with the 
                Fab Foundation and in accordance with subparagraph 
                (B)(i), as follows:
                            (i) Two shall be appointed by the majority 
                        leader of the Senate.
                            (ii) Two shall be appointed by the minority 
                        leader of the Senate.
                            (iii) Two shall be appointed by the Speaker 
                        of the House of Representatives.
                            (iv) Two shall be appointed by the minority 
                        leader of the House of Representatives.
    (f) Powers.--The corporation may--
            (1) coordinate the creation of a national network of local 
        fab labs in the United States;
            (2) issue guidelines for the sustainable operation of fab 
        labs;
            (3) issue standards and guidelines for fab labs;
            (4) serve as a resource for organizations and communities 
        seeking to create fab labs by providing information, assessing 
        suitability, advising on the lab lifecycle, and maintaining 
        descriptions of prospective and operating sites;
            (5) accept funds from private individuals, organizations, 
        government agencies, or other organizations;
            (6) distribute funds to other organizations to establish 
        and operate fab labs as members of the corporation;
            (7) facilitate communication between other organizations 
        seeking to join the corporation with operational entities that 
        can source and install fab labs, provide training, assist with 
        operations, account for spending, and assess impact;
            (8) communicate the benefits available through membership 
        in the corporation to communities and the public;
            (9) facilitate and participate in synergistic programs, 
        including workforce training, job creation, researching the 
        enabling technology and broader impacts of such programs, and 
        the production of civic infrastructure;
            (10) develop processes and methods to mitigate risks 
        associated with digital fabrication;
            (11) amend a constitution and bylaws for the management of 
        its property and the regulation of its affairs;
            (12) choose directors, officers, trustees, managers, 
        employees, and agents as the activities of the corporation 
        require;
            (13) make contracts;
            (14) acquire, own, lease, encumber, and transfer property 
        as necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of the 
        corporation;
            (15) borrow money, issue instruments of indebtedness, and 
        secure its obligations by granting security interests in its 
        property;
            (16) charge and collect membership dues and subscription 
        fees; and
            (17) sue and be sued.
    (g) Exclusive Right to Name, Term, Seals, Emblems, and Badges.--The 
corporation and its participating digital fabrication labs have the 
exclusive right to use--
            (1) the name ``National Fab Lab Network''; and
            (2) any seals, emblems, and badges the corporation adopts.
    (h) Restrictions.--
            (1) Stock and dividends.--The corporation may not issue 
        securities of any kind or declare or pay a dividend.
            (2) Distribution of income or assets.--The income or assets 
        of the corporation may not inure to the benefit of, or be 
        distributed to, a director, officer, or member during the life 
        of the corporation under this Act. This paragraph does not 
        prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to an officer or 
        reimbursement for actual necessary expenses in amounts approved 
        by the board of directors.
            (3) Loans.--The corporation may not make a loan to a 
        director, officer, or employee.
            (4) Claim of governmental approval or authority.--The 
        corporation may not claim congressional approval or the 
        authority of the United States Government for any of its 
        activities, but may recognize establishment of the corporation 
        pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
    (i) Records and Inspection.--
            (1) Records.--The corporation shall keep--
                    (A) correct and complete records of account;
                    (B) minutes of the proceedings of its members, 
                board of directors, and committees having any of the 
                authority of its board of directors; and
                    (C) at its principal office, a record of the names 
                and addresses of its members entitled to vote.
            (2) Inspections.--A member entitled to vote, or an agent or 
        attorney of the member, may inspect the records of the 
        corporation for any proper purpose, at any reasonable time.
    (j) Annual Report.--Not less frequently than once each year, the 
corporation shall submit to Congress, including specifically to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives, a report on the activities of the corporation during 
the prior fiscal year.
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