[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4925-S4926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Pryor, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 1199. A bill to strengthen the capacity of eligible institutions 
to provide instruction in nanotechnology; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Wyden to 
introduce the Nanotechnology in the Schools Act.
  Nanotechnology will revolutionize manufacturing, energy, healthcare, 
national defense and many other sectors by improving the way things are 
designed and made. The potential benefits of nanotechnology are 
tremendous, especially for the nation that leads the world in 
nanotechnology research and development. Studies project that by 2014 
nanotechnology will be incorporated into more than $2 trillion worth of 
manufactured goods. China, Japan, the European Union, India and other 
nations are fighting for global leadership, and the competition is 
getting stiffer all the time.
  For the United States to maintain and expand its leadership in the 
field of nanotechnology, we must train and educate more scientists and 
engineers who are capable of conducting research and development in 
this emerging technology. To reach this objective, students need to be 
taught the necessary skills beginning at the high school and college 
levels.
  According to the National Science Foundation, foreign students on 
temporary visas earned approximately one-third of all science and 
engineering doctorates awarded in the United States. By providing high 
school and college students with the tools to learn nanotechnology, a 
higher number of American students will enter this crucial field.
  The Nanotechnology in the Schools Act provides grants to American 
colleges and high-performing high schools to purchase the tools that 
will enable their students to learn nano-tech-nology. The Act also 
provides training for teachers and professors to use these tools in the 
classroom and the laboratory. The Nanotechnology in the Schools Act is 
an investment in America's greatest asset, its students, and a key 
element of the nation's strategy to maintain nanotechnology leadership 
worldwide.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1199

       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 ``Nanotechnology in the 
     Schools Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The rapidly growing field of nanotechnology is 
     generating scientific and technological breakthroughs that 
     will benefit society by improving the way many things are 
     designed and made.
       (2) Nanotechnology is likely to have a significant, 
     positive impact on the security, economic well-being, and 
     health of Americans as fields related to nanotechnology 
     expand.
       (3) In order to maximize the benefits of nanotechnology to 
     individuals in the United States, the United States must 
     maintain world leadership in the field of nanotechnology, 
     including nanoscience and microtechnology, in the face of 
     determined competition from other nations.
       (4) According to the National Science Foundation, foreign 
     students on temporary visas earned 32 percent of all science 
     and engineering doctorates awarded in the United States in 
     2003, the last year for which data is available. Foreign 
     students earned 55 percent of the engineering doctorates. 
     Many of these students expressed an intent to return to their 
     country of origin after completing their study.
       (5) To maintain world leadership in nanotechnology, the 
     United States must make a long-term investment in educating 
     United States students in secondary schools and institutions 
     of higher education, so that the students are able to conduct 
     nanoscience research and develop and commercialize 
     nanotechnology applications.
       (6) Preparing United States students for careers in 
     nanotechnology, including nanoscience, requires that the 
     students have access to the necessary scientific tools, 
     including scanning electron microscopes designed for 
     teaching, and requires training to enable teachers and 
     professors to use those tools in the classroom and the 
     laboratory.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to strengthen the 
     capacity of United States secondary schools and institutions 
     of higher education to prepare students for careers in 
     nanotechnology by providing grants to those schools and 
     institutions to provide the tools necessary for such 
     preparation.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible 
     institution'' means an institution that is--
       (A) a public or charter secondary school that offers 1 or 
     more advanced placement science courses or international 
     baccalaureate science courses;
       (B) a community college, as defined in section 3301 of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7011); or
       (C) a 4-year institution of higher education or a branch, 
     within the meaning of section 498 of the Higher Education Act 
     of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099c), of such an institution.
       (2) Institution of higher education; secondary school; 
     secretary.--The terms ``institution of higher education'', 
     ``secondary school'', and ``Secretary'' have the meanings 
     given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
       (3) Qualified nanotechnology equipment.--The term 
     ``qualified nanotechnology equipment'' means equipment, 
     instrumentation, or hardware that is--

[[Page S4926]]

       (A) used for teaching nanotechnology in the classroom; and
       (B) manufactured in the United States at least 50 percent 
     from articles, materials, or supplies that are mined, 
     produced, or manufactured, as the case may be, in the United 
     States.

     SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       (a) In General.--The Director of the National Science 
     Foundation (referred to in this Act as the ``Director'') 
     shall establish a nanotechnology in the schools program to 
     strengthen the capacity of eligible institutions to provide 
     instruction in nanotechnology. In carrying out the program, 
     the Director shall award grants of not more than $150,000 to 
     eligible institutions to provide such instruction.
       (b) Activities Supported.--
       (1) In general.--An eligible institution shall use a grant 
     awarded under this Act--
       (A) to acquire qualified nanotechnology equipment and 
     software designed for teaching students about nanotechnology 
     in the classroom;
       (B) to develop and provide educational services, including 
     carrying out faculty development, to prepare students or 
     faculty seeking a degree or certificate that is approved by 
     the State, or a regional accrediting body recognized by the 
     Secretary of Education; and
       (C) to provide teacher education and certification to 
     individuals who seek to acquire or enhance technology skills 
     in order to use nanotechnology in the classroom or 
     instructional process.
       (2) Limitation.--
       (A) Uses.--Not more than \1/4\ of the amount of the funds 
     made available through a grant awarded under this Act may be 
     used for software, educational services, or teacher education 
     and certification as described in this subsection.
       (B) Programs.--In the case of a grant awarded under this 
     Act to a community college or institution of higher 
     education, the funds made available through the grant may be 
     used only in undergraduate programs.
       (c) Applications and Selection.--
       (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this Act, an eligible institution shall submit an application 
     to the Director at such time, in such manner, and accompanied 
     by such information as the Director may reasonably require.
       (2) Procedure.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a 
     procedure for accepting such applications and publish an 
     announcement of such procedure, including a statement 
     regarding the availability of funds, in the Federal Register.
       (3) Selection.--In selecting eligible institutions to 
     receive grants under this Act, and encouraging eligible 
     institutions to apply for such grants, the Director shall, to 
     the greatest extent practicable--
       (A) select eligible entities in geographically diverse 
     locations;
       (B) encourage the application of historically Black 
     colleges and universities (meaning part B institutions, as 
     defined in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1061)) and minority institutions (as defined in 
     section 365 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1067k)); and
       (C) select eligible institutions that include institutions 
     located in States participating in the Experimental Program 
     to Stimulate Competitive Research (commonly known as 
     ``EPSCoR'').
       (d) Matching Requirement and Limitation.--
       (1) In general.--
       (A) Requirement.--The Director may not award a grant to an 
     eligible institution under this Act unless such institution 
     agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the 
     institution in carrying out the program for which the grant 
     was awarded, such institution will make available (directly 
     or through donations from public or private entities) non-
     Federal contributions in an amount equal to \1/4\ of the 
     amount of the grant.
       (B) Waiver.--The Director shall waive the matching 
     requirement described in subparagraph (A) for any institution 
     with no endowment, or an endowment that has a dollar value 
     lower than $5,000,000, as of the date of the waiver.
       (2) Limitation.--
       (A) Branches.--If a branch described in section 3(1)(C) 
     receives a grant under this Act that exceeds $100,000, that 
     branch shall not be eligible, until 2 years after the date of 
     receipt of the grant, to receive another grant under this 
     Act.
       (B) Other eligible institutions.--If an eligible 
     institution other than a branch referred to in subparagraph 
     (A) receives a grant under this Act that exceeds $100,000, 
     that institution shall not be eligible, until 2 years after 
     the date of receipt of the grant, to receive another grant 
     under this Act.

     SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT AND EVALUATION.

       (a) Report by Institutions.--Each institution that receives 
     a grant under this Act shall prepare and submit a report to 
     the Director, not later than 1 year after the date of receipt 
     of the grant, on its use of the grant funds.
       (b) Review and Evaluation.--
       (1) Review.--The Director shall annually review the reports 
     submitted under subsection (a).
       (2) Evaluation.--At the end of every third year, the 
     Director shall evaluate the program authorized by this Act on 
     the basis of those reports. The Director, in the evaluation, 
     shall describe the activities carried out by the institutions 
     receiving grants under this Act and shall assess the short-
     range and long-range impact of the activities carried out 
     under the grants on the students, faculty, and staff of the 
     institutions.
       (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 6 months after 
     conducting an evaluation under subsection (b), the Director 
     shall prepare and submit a report to Congress based on the 
     evaluation. In the report, the Director shall include such 
     recommendations, including recommendations concerning the 
     continuing need for Federal support of the program carried 
     out under this Act, as may be appropriate.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director to 
     carry out this Act $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such 
     sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2009 through 2011.
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