[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3548-H3583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2010
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5325) to invest in
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innovation through research and development, to improve the
competitiveness of the United States, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5325
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``America
COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Subtitle A--National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. National nanotechnology program amendments.
Sec. 103. Societal dimensions of nanotechnology.
Sec. 104. Technology transfer.
Sec. 105. Research in areas of national importance.
Sec. 106. Nanomanufacturing research.
Sec. 107. Definitions.
Subtitle B--Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development
Sec. 111. Short title.
Sec. 112. Program planning and coordination.
Sec. 113. Large-scale research in areas of national importance.
Sec. 114. Cyber-physical systems and information management.
Sec. 115. National Coordination Office.
Sec. 116. Improving networking and information technology education.
Sec. 117. Conforming and technical amendments.
Subtitle C--Other OSTP Provisions
Sec. 121. Federal scientific collections.
Sec. 122. Coordination of manufacturing research and development.
Sec. 123. Interagency public access committee.
Sec. 124. Fulfilling the potential of women in academic science and
engineering.
Sec. 125. National Competitiveness and Innovation Strategy.
TITLE II--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Sec. 201. Short title.
Subtitle A--General Provisions
Sec. 211. Definitions.
Sec. 212. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 213. National Science Board administrative amendments.
Sec. 214. Broader impacts review criterion.
Sec. 215. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
Sec. 216. Collection of data on demographics of faculty.
Subtitle B--Research and Innovation
Sec. 221. Support for potentially transformative research.
Sec. 222. Facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations for national
needs.
Sec. 223. National Science Foundation manufacturing research and
education.
Sec. 224. Strengthening institutional research partnerships.
Sec. 225. National Science Board report on mid-scale instrumentation.
Sec. 226. Sense of Congress on overall support for research
infrastructure at the Foundation.
Sec. 227. Partnerships for innovation.
Sec. 228. Prize awards.
Sec. 229. Green chemistry basic research.
Sec. 230. Collaboration in planning for stewardship of large-scale
facilities.
Subtitle C--STEM Education and Workforce Training
Sec. 241. Graduate student support.
Sec. 242. Postdoctoral fellowship in STEM education research.
Sec. 243. Robert Noyce teacher scholarship program.
Sec. 244. Institutions serving persons with disabilities.
Sec. 245. Institutional integration.
Sec. 246. Postdoctoral research fellowships.
Sec. 247. Broadening participation training and outreach.
Sec. 248. Transforming undergraduate education in STEM.
Sec. 249. 21st century graduate education.
Sec. 250. Undergraduate broadening participation program.
Sec. 251. Grand challenges in education research.
Sec. 252. Research experiences for undergraduates.
Sec. 253. Laboratory science pilot program.
Sec. 254. STEM industry internship programs.
Sec. 255. Tribal colleges and universities program.
Sec. 256. Cyber-enabled learning for national challenges.
Sec. 257. Sense of Congress.
TITLE III--STEM EDUCATION
Sec. 301. Coordination of Federal STEM education.
Sec. 302. Advisory committee on STEM education.
Sec. 303. STEM education at the Department of Energy.
Sec. 304. Green energy education.
Sec. 305. National Academy of Sciences report on strengthening the
capacity of 2-year institutions of higher education to
provide STEM opportunities.
Sec. 306. Sense of Congress on engineering education.
Sec. 307. Sense of Congress on grant application consideration.
Sec. 308. Encouraging Federal scientists and engineers to participate
in STEM education.
TITLE IV--NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 403. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology.
Sec. 404. Reorganization of NIST laboratories.
Sec. 405. Federal Government standards and conformity assessment
coordination.
Sec. 406. Manufacturing extension partnership.
Sec. 407. Emergency communication and tracking technologies research
initiative.
Sec. 408. TIP Advisory Board.
Sec. 409. Underrepresented minorities.
Sec. 410. Cyber security standards and guidelines.
Sec. 411. Disaster resilient buildings and infrastructure.
Sec. 412. Definitions.
Sec. 413. Report on the use of modeling and simulation.
Sec. 414. Green manufacturing and construction.
Sec. 415. Nanomaterial initiative.
Sec. 416. Manufacturing research.
TITLE V--INNOVATION
Sec. 501. Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Sec. 502. Federal loan guarantees for innovative technologies in
manufacturing.
Sec. 503. Regional innovation program.
Sec. 504. Clean Energy Consortium.
TITLE VI--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Subtitle A--Office of Science
Sec. 601. Short title.
Sec. 602. Definitions.
Sec. 603. Mission of the Office of Science.
Sec. 604. Basic Energy Sciences Program.
Sec. 605. Biological and Environmental Research Program.
Sec. 606. Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program.
Sec. 607. Fusion energy research program.
Sec. 608. High Energy Physics Program.
Sec. 609. Nuclear Physics Program.
Sec. 610. Science Laboratories Infrastructure Program.
Sec. 611. Authorization of appropriations.
Subtitle B--Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy
Sec. 621. Short title.
Sec. 622. ARPA-E amendments.
Subtitle C--Energy Innovation Hubs
Sec. 631. Short title.
Sec. 632. Energy Innovation Hubs.
Subtitle D--Cooperative Research and Development Fund
Sec. 641. Short title.
Sec. 642. Cooperative research and development fund.
Subtitle E--Technology Transfer Database
Sec. 651. Technology transfer database.
TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 701. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 702. Persons with disabilities.
Sec. 703. Veterans and service members.
Sec. 704. Budgetary effects.
Sec. 705. Limitation on employment and receipt of funds.
Sec. 706. Prohibition on lobbying.
Sec. 707. Information requests by labor organizations.
Sec. 708. Limitation on use of funds.
Sec. 709. No salaries for viewing pornography.
TITLE I--SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Subtitle A--National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``National Nanotechnology
Initiative Amendments Act of 2010''.
SEC. 102. NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AMENDMENTS.
The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development
Act (15 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking section 2(c)(4) and inserting the following
new paragraph:
``(4) develop, within 12 months after the date of enactment
of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of
2010, and update every 3 years thereafter, a strategic plan
to guide the activities described under subsection (b) that
specifies near-term and long-term objectives for the Program,
the anticipated time frame for achieving the near-term
objectives, and the metrics to be used for assessing progress
toward the objectives, and that describes--
``(A) how the Program will move results out of the
laboratory and into applications for the benefit of society,
including through cooperation and collaborations with
nanotechnology research, development, and technology
transition initiatives supported by the States;
``(B) how the Program will encourage and support
interdisciplinary research and development in nanotechnology;
and
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``(C) proposed research in areas of national importance in
accordance with the requirements of section 105 of the
National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2010;'';
(2) in section 2--
(A) in subsection (d)--
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as
paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively; and
(ii) by inserting the following new paragraph before
paragraph (2), as so redesignated by clause (i) of this
subparagraph:
``(1) the Program budget, for the previous fiscal year, for
each agency that participates in the Program, including a
breakout of spending for the development and acquisition of
research facilities and instrumentation, for each program
component area, and for all activities pursuant to subsection
(b)(10);''; and
(B) by inserting at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Standards Setting.--The agencies participating in the
Program shall support the activities of committees involved
in the development of standards for nanotechnology and may
reimburse the travel costs of scientists and engineers who
participate in activities of such committees.'';
(3) by striking section 3(b) and inserting the following
new subsection:
``(b) Funding.--(1) The operation of the National
Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall be supported by
funds from each agency participating in the Program. The
portion of such Office's total budget provided by each agency
for each fiscal year shall be in the same proportion as the
agency's share of the total budget for the Program for the
previous fiscal year, as specified in the report required
under section 2(d)(1).
``(2) The annual report under section 2(d) shall include--
``(A) a description of the funding required by the National
Nanotechnology Coordination Office to perform the functions
specified under subsection (a) for the next fiscal year by
category of activity, including the funding required to carry
out the requirements of section 2(b)(10)(D), subsection (d)
of this section, and section 5;
``(B) a description of the funding required by such Office
to perform the functions specified under subsection (a) for
the current fiscal year by category of activity, including
the funding required to carry out the requirements of
subsection (d); and
``(C) the amount of funding provided for such Office for
the current fiscal year by each agency participating in the
Program.'';
(4) by inserting at the end of section 3 the following new
subsection:
``(d) Public Information.--(1) The National Nanotechnology
Coordination Office shall develop and maintain a database
accessible by the public of projects funded under the
Environmental, Health, and Safety, the Education and Societal
Dimensions, and the Nanomanufacturing program component
areas, or any successor program component areas, including a
description of each project, its source of funding by agency,
and its funding history. For the Environmental, Health, and
Safety program component area, or any successor program
component area, projects shall be grouped by major objective
as defined by the research plan required under section 103(b)
of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of
2010. For the Education and Societal Dimensions program
component area, or any successor program component area, the
projects shall be grouped in subcategories of--
``(A) education in formal settings;
``(B) education in informal settings;
``(C) public outreach; and
``(D) ethical, legal, and other societal issues.
``(2) The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall
develop, maintain, and publicize information on
nanotechnology facilities supported under the Program, and
may include information on nanotechnology facilities
supported by the States, that are accessible for use by
individuals from academic institutions and from industry. The
information shall include at a minimum the terms and
conditions for the use of each facility, a description of the
capabilities of the instruments and equipment available for
use at the facility, and a description of the technical
support available to assist users of the facility.'';
(5) in section 4(a)--
(A) by striking ``or designate'';
(B) by inserting ``as a distinct entity'' after ``Advisory
Panel''; and
(C) by inserting at the end ``The Advisory Panel shall form
a subpanel with membership having specific qualifications
tailored to enable it to carry out the requirements of
subsection (c)(7).'';
(6) in section 4(b)--
(A) by striking ``or designated'' and ``or designating'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following: ``At least one
member of the Advisory Panel shall be an individual employed
by and representing a minority-serving institution.'';
(7) by amending section 5 to read as follows:
``SEC. 5. TRIENNIAL EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL
NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Director of the National
Nanotechnology Coordination Office shall enter into an
arrangement with the National Research Council of the
National Academy of Sciences to conduct a triennial review of
the Program. The Director shall ensure that the arrangement
with the National Research Council is concluded in order to
allow sufficient time for the reporting requirements of
subsection (b) to be satisfied. Each triennial review shall
include an evaluation of the--
``(1) research priorities and technical content of the
Program, including whether the allocation of funding among
program component areas, as designated according to section
2(c)(2), is appropriate;
``(2) effectiveness of the Program's management and
coordination across agencies and disciplines, including an
assessment of the effectiveness of the National
Nanotechnology Coordination Office;
``(3) Program's scientific and technological
accomplishments and its success in transferring technology to
the private sector; and
``(4) adequacy of the Program's activities addressing
ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal
concerns, including human health concerns.
``(b) Evaluation To Be Transmitted to Congress.--The
National Research Council shall document the results of each
triennial review carried out in accordance with subsection
(a) in a report that includes any recommendations for ways to
improve the Program's management and coordination processes
and for changes to the Program's objectives, funding
priorities, and technical content. Each report shall be
submitted to the Director of the National Nanotechnology
Coordination Office, who shall transmit it to the Advisory
Panel, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate, and the Committee on Science and Technology of
the House of Representatives not later than September 30 of
every third year, with the first report due September 30,
2010.
``(c) Funding.--Of the amounts provided in accordance with
section 3(b)(1), the following amounts shall be available to
carry out this section:
``(1) $500,000 for fiscal year 2010.
``(2) $500,000 for fiscal year 2011.
``(3) $500,000 for fiscal year 2012.''; and
(8) in section 10--
(A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) Nanotechnology.--The term `nanotechnology' means the
science and technology that will enable one to understand,
measure, manipulate, and manufacture at the nanoscale, aimed
at creating materials, devices, and systems with
fundamentally new properties or functions.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) Nanoscale.--The term `nanoscale' means one or more
dimensions of between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers.''.
SEC. 103. SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY.
(a) Coordinator for Societal Dimensions of
Nanotechnology.--The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall designate an associate director of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy as the
Coordinator for Societal Dimensions of Nanotechnology. The
Coordinator shall be responsible for oversight of the
coordination, planning, and budget prioritization of
activities required by section 2(b)(10) of the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C.
7501(b)(10)). The Coordinator shall, with the assistance of
appropriate senior officials of the agencies funding
activities within the Environmental, Health, and Safety and
the Education and Societal Dimensions program component areas
of the Program, or any successor program component areas,
ensure that the requirements of such section 2(b)(10) are
satisfied. The responsibilities of the Coordinator shall
include--
(1) ensuring that a research plan for the environmental,
health, and safety research activities required under
subsection (b) is developed, updated, and implemented and
that the plan is responsive to the recommendations of the
subpanel of the Advisory Panel established under section 4(a)
of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development
Act (15 U.S.C. 7503(a)), as amended by this subtitle;
(2) encouraging and monitoring the efforts of the agencies
participating in the Program to allocate the level of
resources and management attention necessary to ensure that
the ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate
societal concerns related to nanotechnology, including human
health concerns, are addressed under the Program, including
the implementation of the research plan described in
subsection (b); and
(3) encouraging the agencies required to develop the
research plan under subsection (b) to identify, assess, and
implement suitable mechanisms for the establishment of
public-private partnerships for support of environmental,
health, and safety research.
(b) Research Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Coordinator for Societal Dimensions of
Nanotechnology shall convene and chair a panel comprised of
representatives from the agencies funding research activities
under the Environmental, Health, and Safety program component
area of the Program, or any successor program component area,
and from such other agencies as the Coordinator considers
necessary to develop, periodically update, and coordinate the
implementation of a research plan for this program component
area. In developing and updating the plan, the panel convened
by the Coordinator shall solicit and be responsive to
recommendations and advice from--
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(A) the subpanel of the Advisory Panel established under
section 4(a) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and
Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7503(a)), as amended by this
subtitle; and
(B) the agencies responsible for environmental, health, and
safety regulations associated with the production, use, and
disposal of nanoscale materials and products.
(2) Development of standards.--The plan required under
paragraph (1) shall include a description of how the Program
will help to ensure the development of--
(A) standards related to nomenclature associated with
engineered nanoscale materials;
(B) engineered nanoscale standard reference materials for
environmental, health, and safety testing; and
(C) standards related to methods and procedures for
detecting, measuring, monitoring, sampling, and testing
engineered nanoscale materials for environmental, health, and
safety impacts.
(3) Components of plan.--The plan required under paragraph
(1) shall, with respect to activities described in paragraphs
(1) and (2)--
(A) specify near-term research objectives and long-term
research objectives;
(B) specify milestones associated with each near-term
objective and the estimated time and resources required to
reach each milestone;
(C) with respect to subparagraphs (A) and (B), describe the
role of each agency carrying out or sponsoring research in
order to meet the objectives specified under subparagraph (A)
and to achieve the milestones specified under subparagraph
(B);
(D) specify the funding allocated to each major objective
of the plan and the source of funding by agency for the
current fiscal year; and
(E) estimate the funding required for each major objective
of the plan and the source of funding by agency for the
following 3 fiscal years.
(4) Transmittal to congress.--The plan required under
paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later than 60 days after
the date of enactment of this Act to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Science and Technology of the House of
Representatives.
(5) Updating and appending to report.--The plan required
under paragraph (1) shall be updated annually and appended to
the report required under section 2(d) of the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C.
7501(d)).
(c) Nanotechnology Partnerships.--
(1) Establishment.--As part of the program authorized by
section 9 of the National Science Foundation Authorization
Act of 2002, the Director of the National Science Foundation
shall provide 1 or more grants to establish partnerships as
defined by subsection (a)(2) of that section, except that
each such partnership shall include 1 or more businesses
engaged in the production of nanoscale materials, products,
or devices. Partnerships established in accordance with this
subsection shall be designated as ``Nanotechnology Education
Partnerships''.
(2) Purpose.--Nanotechnology Education Partnerships shall
be designed to recruit and help prepare secondary school
students to pursue postsecondary level courses of instruction
in nanotechnology. At a minimum, grants shall be used to
support--
(A) professional development activities to enable secondary
school teachers to use curricular materials incorporating
nanotechnology and to inform teachers about career
possibilities for students in nanotechnology;
(B) enrichment programs for students, including access to
nanotechnology facilities and equipment at partner
institutions, to increase their understanding of nanoscale
science and technology and to inform them about career
possibilities in nanotechnology as scientists, engineers, and
technicians; and
(C) identification of appropriate nanotechnology
educational materials and incorporation of nanotechnology
into the curriculum for secondary school students at one or
more organizations participating in a Partnership.
(3) Selection.--Grants under this subsection shall be
awarded in accordance with subsection (b) of such section 9,
except that paragraph (3)(B) of that subsection shall not
apply.
(d) Undergraduate Education Programs.--
(1) Activities supported.--As part of the activities
included under the Education and Societal Dimensions program
component area, or any successor program component area, the
Program shall support efforts to introduce nanoscale science,
engineering, and technology into undergraduate science and
engineering education through a variety of interdisciplinary
approaches. Activities supported may include--
(A) development of courses of instruction or modules to
existing courses;
(B) faculty professional development; and
(C) acquisition of equipment and instrumentation suitable
for undergraduate education and research in nanotechnology.
(2) Course, curriculum, and laboratory improvement
authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Director of the National Science Foundation to carry out
activities described in paragraph (1) through the Course,
Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement program from amounts
authorized under section 7002(c)(2)(B) of the America
COMPETES Act, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.
(3) Advanced technology education authorization.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the National
Science Foundation to carry out activities described in
paragraph (1) through the Advanced Technology Education
program from amounts authorized under section 7002(c)(2)(B)
of the America COMPETES Act, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.
(e) Interagency Working Group.--The National Science and
Technology Council shall establish under the Nanoscale
Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee an
Education Working Group to coordinate, prioritize, and plan
the educational activities supported under the Program.
(f) Societal Dimensions in Nanotechnology Education
Activities.--Activities supported under the Education and
Societal Dimensions program component area, or any successor
program component area, that involve informal, precollege, or
undergraduate nanotechnology education shall include
education regarding the environmental, health and safety, and
other societal aspects of nanotechnology.
(g) Remote Access to Nanotechnology Facilities.--(1)
Agencies supporting nanotechnology research facilities as
part of the Program shall require the entities that operate
such facilities to allow access via the Internet, and support
the costs associated with the provision of such access, by
secondary school students and teachers, to instruments and
equipment within such facilities for educational purposes.
The agencies may waive this requirement for cases when
particular facilities would be inappropriate for educational
purposes or the costs for providing such access would be
prohibitive.
(2) The agencies identified in paragraph (1) shall require
the entities that operate such nanotechnology research
facilities to establish and publish procedures, guidelines,
and conditions for the submission and approval of
applications for the use of the facilities for the purpose
identified in paragraph (1) and shall authorize personnel who
operate the facilities to provide necessary technical support
to students and teachers.
SEC. 104. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.
(a) Prototyping.--
(1) Access to facilities.--In accordance with section
2(b)(7) of 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and
Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(b)(7)), the agencies
supporting nanotechnology research facilities as part of the
Program shall provide access to such facilities to companies
for the purpose of assisting the companies in the development
of prototypes of nanoscale products, devices, or processes
(or products, devices, or processes enabled by
nanotechnology) for determining proof of concept. The
agencies shall publicize the availability of these facilities
and encourage their use by companies as provided for in this
section.
(2) Procedures.--The agencies identified in paragraph (1)--
(A) shall establish and publish procedures, guidelines, and
conditions for the submission and approval of applications
for use of nanotechnology facilities;
(B) shall publish descriptions of the capabilities of
facilities available for use under this subsection, including
the availability of technical support; and
(C) may waive recovery, require full recovery, or require
partial recovery of the costs associated with use of the
facilities for projects under this subsection.
(3) Selection and criteria.--In cases when less than full
cost recovery is required pursuant to paragraph (2)(C),
projects provided access to nanotechnology facilities in
accordance with this subsection shall be selected through a
competitive, merit-based process, and the criteria for the
selection of such projects shall include at a minimum--
(A) the readiness of the project for technology
demonstration;
(B) evidence of a commitment by the applicant for further
development of the project to full commercialization if the
proof of concept is established by the prototype; and
(C) evidence of the potential for further funding from
private sector sources following the successful demonstration
of proof of concept.
The agencies may give special consideration in selecting
projects to applications that are relevant to important
national needs or requirements.
(b) Use of Existing Technology Transfer Programs.--
(1) Participating agencies.--Each agency participating in
the Program shall--
(A) encourage the submission of applications for support of
nanotechnology related projects to the Small Business
Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology
Transfer Program administered by such agencies; and
(B) through the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
and within 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science and
Technology of the House of Representatives--
(i) the plan described in section 2(c)(7) of the 21st
Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15
U.S.C. 7501(c)(7)); and
(ii) a report specifying, if the agency administers a Small
Business Innovation Research Program and a Small Business
Technology Transfer Program--
(I) the number of proposals received for nanotechnology
related projects during the
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current fiscal year and the previous 2 fiscal years;
(II) the number of such proposals funded in each year;
(III) the total number of nanotechnology related projects
funded and the amount of funding provided for fiscal year
2004 through fiscal year 2008; and
(IV) a description of the projects identified in accordance
with subclause (III) which received private sector funding
beyond the period of phase II support.
(2) National institute of standards and technology.--The
Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology in carrying out the requirements of section 28 of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15
U.S.C. 278n) shall--
(A) in regard to subsection (d) of that section, encourage
the submission of proposals for support of nanotechnology
related projects; and
(B) in regard to subsection (g) of that section, include a
description of how the requirement of subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph is being met, the number of proposals for
nanotechnology related projects received, the number of such
proposals funded, the total number of such projects funded
since the beginning of the Technology Innovation Program, and
the outcomes of such funded projects in terms of the metrics
developed in accordance with such subsection (g).
(3) TIP advisory board.--The TIP Advisory Board established
under section 28(k) of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n(k)), in carrying out its
responsibilities under subsection (k)(3), shall provide the
Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology with--
(A) advice on how to accomplish the requirement of
paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection; and
(B) an assessment of the adequacy of the allocation of
resources for nanotechnology related projects supported under
the Technology Innovation Program.
(c) Industry Liaison Groups.--An objective of the Program
shall be to establish industry liaison groups for all
industry sectors that would benefit from applications of
nanotechnology. The Nanomanufacturing, Industry Liaison, and
Innovation Working Group of the National Science and
Technology Council shall actively pursue establishing such
liaison groups.
(d) Coordination With State Initiatives.--Section 2(b)(5)
of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development
Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(b)(5)) is amended to read as follows:
``(5) ensuring United States global leadership in the
development and application of nanotechnology, including
through coordination and leveraging Federal investments with
nanotechnology research, development, and technology
transition initiatives supported by the States;''.
SEC. 105. RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.
(a) In General.--The Program shall include support for
nanotechnology research and development activities directed
toward application areas that have the potential for
significant contributions to national economic
competitiveness and for other significant societal benefits.
The activities supported shall be designed to advance the
development of research discoveries by demonstrating
technical solutions to important problems in such areas as
nano-electronics, energy efficiency, health care, and water
remediation and purification. The Advisory Panel shall make
recommendations to the Program for candidate research and
development areas for support under this section.
(b) Characteristics.--
(1) In general.--Research and development activities under
this section shall--
(A) include projects selected on the basis of applications
for support through a competitive, merit-based process;
(B) involve collaborations among researchers in academic
institutions and industry, and may involve nonprofit research
institutions and Federal laboratories, as appropriate;
(C) when possible, leverage Federal investments through
collaboration with related State initiatives; and
(D) include a plan for fostering the transfer of research
discoveries and the results of technology demonstration
activities to industry for commercial development.
(2) Procedures.--Determination of the requirements for
applications under this subsection, review and selection of
applications for support, and subsequent funding of projects
shall be carried out by a collaboration of no fewer than 2
agencies participating in the Program. In selecting
applications for support, the agencies shall give special
consideration to projects that include cost sharing from non-
Federal sources.
(3) Interdisciplinary research centers.--Research and
development activities under this section may be supported
through interdisciplinary nanotechnology research centers, as
authorized by section 2(b)(4) of the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C.
7501(b)(4)), that are organized to investigate basic research
questions and carry out technology demonstration activities
in areas such as those identified in subsection (a).
(c) Report.--Reports required under section 2(d) of the
21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (15
U.S.C. 7501(d)) shall include a description of research and
development areas supported in accordance with this section,
including the same budget information as is required for
program component areas under paragraphs (1) and (2) of such
section 2(d).
SEC. 106. NANOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH.
(a) Research Areas.--The Nanomanufacturing program
component area, or any successor program component area,
shall include research on--
(1) development of instrumentation and tools required for
the rapid characterization of nanoscale materials and for
monitoring of nanoscale manufacturing processes; and
(2) approaches and techniques for scaling the synthesis of
new nanoscale materials to achieve industrial-level
production rates.
(b) Green Nanotechnology.--Interdisciplinary research
centers supported under the Program in accordance with
section 2(b)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research
and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(b)(4)) that are focused
on nanomanufacturing research and centers established under
the authority of section 105(b)(3) of this subtitle shall
include as part of the activities of such centers--
(1) research on methods and approaches to develop
environmentally benign nanoscale products and nanoscale
manufacturing processes, taking into consideration relevant
findings and results of research supported under the
Environmental, Health, and Safety program component area, or
any successor program component area;
(2) fostering the transfer of the results of such research
to industry; and
(3) providing for the education of scientists and engineers
through interdisciplinary studies in the principles and
techniques for the design and development of environmentally
benign nanoscale products and processes.
(c) Review of Nanomanufacturing Research and Research
Facilities.--
(1) Public meeting.--Not later than 12 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the National Nanotechnology
Coordination Office shall sponsor a public meeting, including
representation from a wide range of industries engaged in
nanoscale manufacturing, to--
(A) obtain the views of participants at the meeting on--
(i) the relevance and value of the research being carried
out under the Nanomanufacturing program component area of the
Program, or any successor program component area; and
(ii) whether the capabilities of nanotechnology research
facilities supported under the Program are adequate--
(I) to meet current and near-term requirements for the
fabrication and characterization of nanoscale devices and
systems; and
(II) to provide access to and use of instrumentation and
equipment at the facilities, by means of networking
technology, to individuals who are at locations remote from
the facilities; and
(B) receive any recommendations on ways to strengthen the
research portfolio supported under the Nanomanufacturing
program component area, or any successor program component
area, and on improving the capabilities of nanotechnology
research facilities supported under the Program.
Companies participating in industry liaison groups shall be
invited to participate in the meeting. The Coordination
Office shall prepare a report documenting the findings and
recommendations resulting from the meeting.
(2) Advisory panel review.--The Advisory Panel shall review
the Nanomanufacturing program component area of the Program,
or any successor program component area, and the capabilities
of nanotechnology research facilities supported under the
Program to assess--
(A) whether the funding for the Nanomanufacturing program
component area, or any successor program component area, is
adequate and receiving appropriate priority within the
overall resources available for the Program;
(B) the relevance of the research being supported to the
identified needs and requirements of industry;
(C) whether the capabilities of nanotechnology research
facilities supported under the Program are adequate--
(i) to meet current and near-term requirements for the
fabrication and characterization of nanoscale devices and
systems; and
(ii) to provide access to and use of instrumentation and
equipment at the facilities, by means of networking
technology, to individuals who are at locations remote from
the facilities; and
(D) the level of funding that would be needed to support--
(i) the acquisition of instrumentation, equipment, and
networking technology sufficient to provide the capabilities
at nanotechnology research facilities described in
subparagraph (C); and
(ii) the operation and maintenance of such facilities.
In carrying out its assessment, the Advisory Panel shall take
into consideration the findings and recommendations from the
report required under paragraph (1).
(3) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel 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 its assessment required
under paragraph (2), along with any
[[Page H3553]]
recommendations and a copy of the report prepared in
accordance with paragraph (1).
SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle, terms that are defined in section 10 of
the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act
(15 U.S.C. 7509) have the meaning given those terms in that
section.
Subtitle B--Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development
SEC. 111. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development Act of
2010''.
SEC. 112. PROGRAM PLANNING AND COORDINATION.
(a) Periodic Reviews.--Section 101 of the High-Performance
Computing Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Periodic Reviews.--The agencies identified in
subsection (a)(3)(B) shall--
``(1) periodically assess the contents and funding levels
of the Program Component Areas and restructure the Program
when warranted, taking into consideration any relevant
recommendations of the advisory committee established under
subsection (b); and
``(2) ensure that the Program includes large-scale, long-
term, interdisciplinary research and development activities,
including activities described in section 104.''.
(b) Development of Strategic Plan.--Section 101 of such Act
(15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended further by adding after
subsection (d), as added by subsection (a) of this section,
the following new subsection:
``(e) Strategic Plan.--
``(1) In general.--The agencies identified in subsection
(a)(3)(B), working through the National Science and
Technology Council and with the assistance of the National
Coordination Office established under section 102, shall
develop, within 12 months after the date of enactment of the
Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Act of 2010, and update every 3 years thereafter,
a 5-year strategic plan to guide the activities described
under subsection (a)(1).
``(2) Contents.--The strategic plan shall specify near-term
and long-term objectives for the Program, the anticipated
time frame for achieving the near-term objectives, the
metrics to be used for assessing progress toward the
objectives, and how the Program will--
``(A) foster the transfer of research and development
results into new technologies and applications for the
benefit of society, including through cooperation and
collaborations with networking and information technology
research, development, and technology transition initiatives
supported by the States;
``(B) encourage and support mechanisms for
interdisciplinary research and development in networking and
information technology, including through collaborations
across agencies, across Program Component Areas, with
industry, with Federal laboratories (as defined in section 4
of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3703)), and with international organizations;
``(C) address long-term challenges of national importance
for which solutions require large-scale, long-term,
interdisciplinary research and development;
``(D) place emphasis on innovative and high-risk projects
having the potential for substantial societal returns on the
research investment;
``(E) strengthen all levels of networking and information
technology education and training programs to ensure an
adequate, well-trained workforce; and
``(F) attract more women and underrepresented minorities to
pursue postsecondary degrees in networking and information
technology.
``(3) National research infrastructure.--The strategic plan
developed in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be
accompanied by milestones and roadmaps for establishing and
maintaining the national research infrastructure required to
support the Program, including the roadmap required by
subsection (a)(2)(E).
``(4) Recommendations.--The entities involved in developing
the strategic plan under paragraph (1) shall take into
consideration the recommendations--
``(A) of the advisory committee established under
subsection (b); and
``(B) of the stakeholders whose input was solicited by the
National Coordination Office, as required under section
102(b)(3).
``(5) Report to congress.--The Director of the National
Coordination Office shall transmit the strategic plan
required under paragraph (1) to the advisory committee, the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, and the Committee on Science and Technology of the
House of Representatives.''.
(c) Additional Responsibilities of Director.--Section
101(a)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F) as
subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following new
subparagraph:
``(E) encourage and monitor the efforts of the agencies
participating in the Program to allocate the level of
resources and management attention necessary to ensure that
the strategic plan under subsection (e) is developed and
executed effectively and that the objectives of the Program
are met;''.
(d) Advisory Committee.--Section 101(b)(1) of such Act (15
U.S.C. 5511(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after ``an
advisory committee on high-performance computing,'' the
following: ``in which the co-chairs shall be members of the
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and
with the remainder of the committee''.
(e) Report.--Section 101(a)(3) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5511(a)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C)--
(A) by striking ``is submitted,'' and inserting ``is
submitted, the levels for the previous fiscal year,''; and
(B) by striking ``each Program Component Area;'' and
inserting ``each Program Component Area and research area
supported in accordance with section 104;'';
(2) in subparagraph (D)--
(A) by striking ``each Program Component Area,'' and
inserting ``each Program Component Area and research area
supported in accordance with section 104,'';
(B) by striking ``is submitted,'' and inserting ``is
submitted, the levels for the previous fiscal year,''; and
(C) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon;
(3) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (G);
and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following new
subparagraphs:
``(E) include a description of how the objectives for each
Program Component Area, and the objectives for activities
that involve multiple Program Component Areas, relate to the
objectives of the Program identified in the strategic plan
required under subsection (e);
``(F) include--
``(i) a description of the funding required by the National
Coordination Office to perform the functions specified under
section 102(b) for the next fiscal year by category of
activity;
``(ii) a description of the funding required by such Office
to perform the functions specified under section 102(b) for
the current fiscal year by category of activity; and
``(iii) the amount of funding provided for such Office for
the current fiscal year by each agency participating in the
Program; and''.
(f) Definition.--Section 4 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5503) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (7) as
paragraphs (2) through (8), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated,
the following new paragraph:
``(1) `cyber-physical systems' means physical or engineered
systems whose networking and information technology functions
and physical elements are deeply integrated and are actively
connected to the physical world through sensors, actuators,
or other means to perform monitoring and control
functions;'';
(3) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``high-performance computing'' and
inserting ``networking and information technology''; and
(B) by striking ``supercomputer'' and inserting ``high-end
computing'';
(4) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking
``network referred to as'' and all that follows through the
semicolon and inserting ``network, including advanced
computer networks of Federal agencies and departments;''; and
(5) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by striking
``National High-Performance Computing Program'' and inserting
``networking and information technology research and
development program''.
SEC. 113. LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NATIONAL
IMPORTANCE.
Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 104. LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH IN AREAS OF NATIONAL
IMPORTANCE.
``(a) In General.--The Program shall encourage agencies
identified in section 101(a)(3)(B) to support large-scale,
long-term, interdisciplinary research and development
activities in networking and information technology directed
toward application areas that have the potential for
significant contributions to national economic
competitiveness and for other significant societal benefits.
Such activities, ranging from basic research to the
demonstration of technical solutions, shall be designed to
advance the development of research discoveries. The advisory
committee established under section 101(b) shall make
recommendations to the Program for candidate research and
development areas for support under this section.
``(b) Characteristics.--
``(1) In general.--Research and development activities
under this section shall--
``(A) include projects selected on the basis of
applications for support through a competitive, merit-based
process;
``(B) involve collaborations among researchers in
institutions of higher education and industry, and may
involve nonprofit research institutions and Federal
laboratories, as appropriate;
``(C) when possible, leverage Federal investments through
collaboration with related State initiatives; and
``(D) include a plan for fostering the transfer of research
discoveries and the results of technology demonstration
activities, including from institutions of higher education
and Federal laboratories, to industry for commercial
development.
``(2) Cost-sharing.--In selecting applications for support,
the agencies shall give special consideration to projects
that include cost sharing from non-Federal sources.
[[Page H3554]]
``(3) Agency collaboration.--If 2 or more agencies
identified in section 101(a)(3)(B), or other appropriate
agencies, are working on large-scale research and development
activities in the same area of national importance, then such
agencies shall strive to collaborate through joint
solicitation and selection of applications for support and
subsequent funding of projects.
``(4) Interdisciplinary research centers.--Research and
development activities under this section may be supported
through interdisciplinary research centers that are organized
to investigate basic research questions and carry out
technology demonstration activities in areas described in
subsection (a). Research may be carried out through existing
interdisciplinary centers, including those authorized under
section 7024(b)(2) of the America COMPETES Act (Public Law
110-69; 42 U.S.C. 1862o-10).''.
SEC. 114. CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT.
(a) Additional Program Characteristics.--Section 101(a)(1)
of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
``(J) provide for increased understanding of the scientific
principles of cyber-physical systems and improve the methods
available for the design, development, and operation of
cyber-physical systems that are characterized by high
reliability, safety, and security; and
``(K) provide for research and development on human-
computer interactions, visualization, and information
management.''.
(b) Task Force.--Title I of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511) is
amended further by adding after section 104, as added by
section 113 of this Act, the following new section:
``SEC. 105. UNIVERSITY/INDUSTRY TASK FORCE.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the Networking and Information
Technology Research and Development Act of 2010, the Director
of the National Coordination Office established under section
102 shall convene a task force to explore mechanisms for
carrying out collaborative research and development
activities for cyber-physical systems, including the related
technologies required to enable these systems, through a
consortium or other appropriate entity with participants from
institutions of higher education, Federal laboratories, and
industry.
``(b) Functions.--The task force shall--
``(1) develop options for a collaborative model and an
organizational structure for such entity under which the
joint research and development activities could be planned,
managed, and conducted effectively, including mechanisms for
the allocation of resources among the participants in such
entity for support of such activities;
``(2) propose a process for developing a research and
development agenda for such entity, including objectives and
milestones;
``(3) define the roles and responsibilities for the
participants from institutions of higher education, Federal
laboratories, and industry in such entity;
``(4) propose guidelines for assigning intellectual
property rights and for the transfer of research results to
the private sector; and
``(5) make recommendations for how such entity could be
funded from Federal, State, and non-governmental sources.
``(c) Composition.--In establishing the task force under
subsection (a), the Director of the National Coordination
Office shall appoint an equal number of individuals from
institutions of higher education and from industry with
knowledge and expertise in cyber-physical systems, of which 2
may be selected from Federal laboratories.
``(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Networking and Information Technology
Research and Development Act of 2010, the Director of the
National Coordination Office shall transmit 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 describing the findings and
recommendations of the task force.''.
SEC. 115. NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE.
Section 102 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5512) is amended to read
as follows:
``SEC. 102. NATIONAL COORDINATION OFFICE.
``(a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish a
National Coordination Office with a Director and full-time
staff.
``(b) Functions.--The National Coordination Office shall--
``(1) provide technical and administrative support to--
``(A) the agencies participating in planning and
implementing the Program, including such support as needed in
the development of the strategic plan under section 101(e);
and
``(B) the advisory committee established under section
101(b);
``(2) serve as the primary point of contact on Federal
networking and information technology activities for
government organizations, academia, industry, professional
societies, State computing and networking technology
programs, interested citizen groups, and others to exchange
technical and programmatic information;
``(3) solicit input and recommendations from a wide range
of stakeholders during the development of each strategic plan
required under section 101(e) through the convening of at
least 1 workshop with invitees from academia, industry,
Federal laboratories, and other relevant organizations and
institutions;
``(4) conduct public outreach, including the dissemination
of findings and recommendations of the advisory committee, as
appropriate; and
``(5) promote access to and early application of the
technologies, innovations, and expertise derived from Program
activities to agency missions and systems across the Federal
Government and to United States industry.
``(c) Source of Funding.--
``(1) In general.--The operation of the National
Coordination Office shall be supported by funds from each
agency participating in the Program.
``(2) Specifications.--The portion of the total budget of
such Office that is provided by each agency for each fiscal
year shall be in the same proportion as each such agency's
share of the total budget for the Program for the previous
fiscal year, as specified in the report required under
section 101(a)(3).''.
SEC. 116. IMPROVING NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION.
Section 201(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5521(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as
paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
``(2) the National Science Foundation shall use its
existing programs, in collaboration with other agencies, as
appropriate, to improve the teaching and learning of
networking and information technology at all levels of
education and to increase participation in networking and
information technology fields, including by women and
underrepresented minorities;''.
SEC. 117. CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) Section 3.--Section 3 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5502) is
amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``high-performance computing'' and inserting ``networking and
information technology'';
(2) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``high-performance computing'' and inserting
``networking and information technology'';
(3) in subparagraphs (A) and (F) of paragraph (1), by
striking ``high-performance computing'' each place it appears
and inserting ``networking and information technology''; and
(4) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``high-performance computing and'' and
inserting ``networking and information technology and''; and
(B) by striking ``high-performance computing network'' and
inserting ``networking and information technology''.
(b) Title I.--The heading of title I of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5511) is amended by striking ``HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING''
and inserting ``NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY''.
(c) Section 101.--Section 101 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5511)
is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``high-performance
computing'' and inserting ``networking and information
technology research and development'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``National High-
Performance Computing'' and inserting ``Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development'';
(B) in paragraph (1) of such subsection--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``National High-Performance Computing Program'' and inserting
``networking and information technology research and
development program'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``high-performance
computing, including networking'' and inserting ``networking
and information technology''; and
(iii) in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (G), by striking
``high-performance'' each place it appears and inserting
``high-end''; and
(C) in paragraph (2) of such subsection--
(i) in subparagraphs (A) and (C)--
(I) by striking ``high-performance computing'' each place
it appears and inserting ``networking and information
technology''; and
(II) by striking ``development, networking,'' each place it
appears and inserting ``development,''; and
(ii) in subparagraphs (F) and (G), as redesignated by
section 112(c)(1) of this Act, by striking ``high-
performance'' each place it appears and inserting ``high-
end'';
(3) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``high-performance computing''
both places it appears and inserting ``networking and
information technology''; and
(4) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ``high-performance
computing'' and inserting ``networking and information
technology''.
(d) Section 201.--Section 201(a)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5521(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``high-performance
computing'' and all that follows through ``networking;'' and
inserting ``networking and information research and
development;''.
(e) Section 202.--Section 202(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5522(a)) is amended by striking ``high-performance
computing'' and inserting ``networking and information
technology''.
[[Page H3555]]
(f) Section 203.--Section 203(a)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5523(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``high-performance
computing and networking'' and inserting ``networking and
information technology''.
(g) Section 204.--Section 204(a)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5524(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``high-performance
computing systems and networks'' and inserting ``networking
and information technology systems and capabilities''; and
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``high-performance
computing'' and inserting ``networking and information
technology''.
(h) Section 205.--Section 205(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5525(a)) is amended by striking ``computational'' and
inserting ``networking and information technology''.
(i) Section 206.--Section 206(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
5526(a)) is amended by striking ``computational research''
and inserting ``networking and information technology
research''.
(j) Section 208.--Section 208 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 5528)
is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``HIGH-PERFORMANCE
COMPUTING'' and inserting ``NETWORKING AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY''; and
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``High-performance
computing and associated'' and inserting ``Networking and
information'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``high-performance
computing'' and inserting ``networking and information
technologies'';
(C) in paragraph (4), by striking ``high-performance
computers and associated'' and inserting ``networking and
information''; and
(D) in paragraph (5), by striking ``high-performance
computing and associated'' and inserting ``networking and
information''.
Subtitle C--Other OSTP Provisions
SEC. 121. FEDERAL SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS.
(a) Management of Scientific Collections.--The Office of
Science and Technology Policy, in consultation with relevant
Federal agencies, shall ensure the development of formal
policies for the management and use of Federal scientific
collections to improve the quality, organization, access,
including online access, and long-term preservation of such
collections for the benefit of the scientific enterprise.
(b) Definition.--For the purposes of this section, the term
``scientific collection'' means a set of physical specimens,
living or inanimate, created for the purpose of supporting
science and serving as a long-term research asset, rather
than for their market value as collectibles or their
historical, artistic, or cultural significance.
(c) Clearinghouse.--The Office of Science and Technology
Policy, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, shall
ensure the development of an online clearinghouse for
information on the contents of and access to Federal
scientific collections.
(d) Disposal of Collections.--The policies developed under
subsection (a) shall--
(1) require that, before disposing of a scientific
collection, a Federal agency shall--
(A) conduct a review of the research value of the
collection; and
(B) consult with researchers who have used the collection,
and other potentially interested parties, concerning--
(i) the collection's value for research purposes; and
(ii) possible additional educational uses for the
collection; and
(2) include procedures for Federal agencies to transfer
scientific collections they no longer need to researchers at
institutions or other entities qualified to manage the
collections.
(e) Cost Projections.--The Office of Science and Technology
Policy, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, shall
develop a common set of methodologies to be used by Federal
agencies for the assessment and projection of costs
associated with the management and preservation of their
scientific collections.
SEC. 122. COORDINATION OF MANUFACTURING RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Interagency Committee.--The Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy shall establish or designate an
interagency committee under the National Science and
Technology Council with the responsibility for planning and
coordinating Federal programs and activities in manufacturing
research and development.
(b) Responsibilities of Committee.--The interagency
committee established or designated under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) coordinate the manufacturing research and development
programs and activities of the Federal agencies;
(2) establish goals and priorities for manufacturing
research and development that will strengthen United States
manufacturing; and
(3) develop and update every 5 years thereafter a strategic
plan to guide Federal programs and activities in support of
manufacturing research and development, which shall--
(A) specify and prioritize near-term and long-term research
and development objectives, the anticipated time frame for
achieving the objectives, and the metrics for use in
assessing progress toward the objectives;
(B) specify the role of each Federal agency in carrying out
or sponsoring research and development to meet the objectives
of the strategic plan;
(C) describe how the Federal agencies supporting
manufacturing research and development will foster the
transfer of research and development results into new
manufacturing technologies, processes, and products for the
benefit of society and the national interest; and
(D) describe how the Federal agencies supporting
manufacturing research and development will strengthen all
levels of manufacturing education and training programs to
ensure an adequate, well-trained workforce.
(c) Recommendations.--In the development of the strategic
plan required under subsection (b)(3), the Director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, working through the
interagency committee, shall take into consideration the
recommendations of a wide range of stakeholders, including
representatives from diverse manufacturing companies,
academia, and other relevant organizations and institutions.
(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy shall transmit the strategic
plan developed under subsection (b)(3) to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the
Committee on Science and Technology of the House of
Representatives, and shall transmit subsequent updates to
those committees when completed.
SEC. 123. INTERAGENCY PUBLIC ACCESS COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy shall establish a working group under
the National Science and Technology Council with the
responsibility to coordinate Federal science agency research
and policies related to the dissemination and long-term
stewardship of the results of unclassified research,
including digital data and peer-reviewed scholarly
publications, supported wholly, or in part, by funding from
the Federal science agencies.
(b) Responsibilities.--The working group established under
subsection (a) shall--
(1) coordinate the development or designation of uniform
standards for research data, the structure of full text and
metadata, navigation tools, and other applications to achieve
interoperability across Federal science agencies, across
science and engineering disciplines, and between research
data and scholarly publications, taking into account existing
consensus standards, including international standards;
(2) coordinate Federal science agency programs and
activities that support research and education on tools and
systems required to ensure preservation and stewardship of
all forms of digital research data, including scholarly
publications;
(3) work with international science and technology
counterparts to maximize interoperability between United
States based unclassified research databases and
international databases and repositories;
(4) solicit input and recommendations from, and collaborate
with, non-Federal stakeholders, including universities,
nonprofit and for-profit publishers, libraries, federally
funded research scientists, and other organizations and
institutions with a stake in long term preservation and
access to the results of federally funded research; and
(5) establish priorities for coordinating the development
of any Federal science agency policies related to public
access to the results of federally funded research to
maximize uniformity of such policies with respect to their
benefit to, and potential economic or other impact on, the
science and engineering enterprise and the stakeholders
thereof.
(c) Patent or Copyright Law.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to affect any right under the provisions of
title 17 or 35, United States Code.
(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy shall transmit a report to
Congress describing--
(1) any priorities established under subsection (b)(5);
(2) the status of any Federal science agency policies
related to public access to the results of federally funded
research; and
(3) how any policies developed or being developed by
Federal science agencies, as described in paragraph (2),
incorporate input from the non-Federal stakeholders described
in subsection (b)(4).
(e) Definition.--For the purposes of this section, the term
``Federal science agency'' means any Federal agency with an
annual extramural research expenditure of over $100,000,000.
(f) Sense of Congress Regarding Peer Review.--It is the
sense of Congress that peer review is an important part of
the process of ensuring the integrity of the record of
scientific research, and that the National Science and
Technology Council working group established under this
section should take into account the role that scientific
publishers play in the peer review process.
SEC. 124. FULFILLING THE POTENTIAL OF WOMEN IN ACADEMIC
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Federal
science agency'' means any Federal agency that is responsible
for at least 2 percent of total Federal research and
development funding to institutions of higher education,
according to the most recent data available from the National
Science Foundation.
(b) Workshops To Enhance Gender Equity in Academic Science
and Engineering.--
[[Page H3556]]
(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy shall develop a uniform policy for all
Federal science agencies to carry out a program of workshops
that educate program officers, members of grant review
panels, institution of higher education STEM department
chairs, and other federally funded researchers about methods
that minimize the effects of gender bias in evaluation of
Federal research grants and in the related academic
advancement of actual and potential recipients of these
grants, including hiring, tenure, promotion, and selection
for any honor based in part on the recipient's research
record.
(2) Interagency coordination.--The Director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy shall ensure that programs
of workshops across the Federal science agencies are
coordinated and supported jointly as appropriate. As part of
this process, the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall ensure that at least 1 workshop is
supported every 2 years among the Federal science agencies in
each of the major science and engineering disciplines
supported by those agencies.
(3) Organizations eligible to carry out workshops.--Federal
science agencies may carry out the program of workshops under
this subsection by making grants to eligible organizations.
In addition to any other organizations made eligible by the
Federal science agencies, the following organizations are
eligible for grants under this subsection:
(A) Nonprofit scientific and professional societies and
organizations that represent one or more STEM disciplines.
(B) Nonprofit organizations that have the primary mission
of advancing the participation of women in STEM.
(4) Characteristics of workshops.--The workshops shall have
the following characteristics:
(A) Invitees to workshops shall include at least--
(i) the chairs of departments in the relevant discipline
from at least the top 50 institutions of higher education, as
determined by the amount of Federal research and development
funds obligated to each institution of higher education in
the prior year based on data available from the National
Science Foundation;
(ii) members of any standing research grant review panel
appointed by the Federal science agencies in the relevant
discipline;
(iii) in the case of science and engineering disciplines
supported by the Department of Energy, the individuals from
each of the Department of Energy National Laboratories with
personnel management responsibilities comparable to those of
an institution of higher education department chair; and
(iv) Federal science agency program officers in the
relevant discipline, other than program officers that
participate in comparable workshops organized and run
specifically for that agency's program officers.
(B) Activities at the workshops shall include research
presentations and interactive discussions or other activities
that increase the awareness of the existence of gender bias
in the grant-making process and the development of the
academic record necessary to qualify as a grant recipient,
including recruitment, hiring, tenure review, promotion, and
other forms of formal recognition of individual achievement,
and provide strategies to overcome such bias.
(C) Research presentations and other workshop programs, as
appropriate, shall include a discussion of the unique
challenges faced by women who are members of historically
underrepresented groups.
(D) Workshop programs shall include information on best
practices and the value of mentoring undergraduate and
graduate women students as well as outreach to girls earlier
in their STEM education.
(5) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy shall transmit to the Committee on
Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate a report evaluating the effectiveness of the program
carried out under this subsection to reduce gender bias
towards women engaged in research funded by the Federal
Government. The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall include in this report any
recommendations for improving the evaluation process
described in subparagraph (B).
(B) Minimum criteria for evaluation.--In determining the
effectiveness of the program, the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy shall consider, at a minimum--
(i) the rates of participation by invitees in the workshops
authorized under this subsection;
(ii) the results of attitudinal surveys conducted on
workshop participants before and after the workshops;
(iii) any relevant institutional policy or practice changes
reported by participants; and
(iv) for individuals described in paragraph (4)(A)(i) or
(iii) who participated in at least 1 workshop 3 or more years
prior to the due date for the report, trends in the data for
the department represented by the chair or employee including
faculty data related to gender as described in section 216.
(C) Institutional attendance at workshops.--As part of the
report under subparagraph (A), the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy shall include a list of
institutions of higher education science and engineering
departments whose representatives attended the workshops
required under this subsection.
(6) Minimizing costs.--To the extent practicable, workshops
shall be held in conjunction with national or regional
disciplinary meetings to minimize costs associated with
participant travel.
(c) Extended Research Grant Support and Interim Technical
Support for Caregivers.--
(1) Policies for caregivers.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy shall develop a uniform
policy to--
(A) extend the period of grant support for federally funded
researchers who have caregiving responsibilities; and
(B) provide funding for interim technical staff support for
federally funded researchers who take a leave of absence for
caregiving responsibilities.
(2) Report.--Upon developing the policy required under
paragraph (1), the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall transmit a copy of the policy to the
Committee on Science and Technology of the House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate.
(d) Collection of Data on Federal Research Grants.--
(1) In general.--Each Federal science agency shall collect
standardized annual composite information on demographics,
field, award type and budget request, review score, and
funding outcome for all applications for research and
development grants to institutions of higher education
supported by that agency.
(2) Reporting of data.--
(A) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity and
standardization of data collection required under paragraph
(1).
(B) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, each Federal science
agency shall submit data collected under paragraph (1) to the
National Science Foundation.
(C) The National Science Foundation shall be responsible
for storing and publishing all of the grant data submitted
under subparagraph (B), disaggregated and cross-tabulated by
race, ethnicity, and gender, in conjunction with the biennial
report required under section 37 of the Science and
Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d).
SEC. 125. NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION STRATEGY.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Director of the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy shall submit to Congress and the
President a national competitiveness and innovation strategy
for strengthening the innovative and competitive capacity of
the Federal Government, State and local governments,
institutions of higher education, and the private sector that
includes--
(1) proposed legislative changes and action;
(2) proposed actions to be taken collectively by executive
agencies, including White House offices;
(3) proposed actions to be taken by individual executive
agencies, including White House offices; and
(4) a proposal for metrics-based monitoring and oversight
of the progress of the Federal Government with respect to
improving conditions for the innovation occurring in and the
competitiveness of the United States.
TITLE II--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``National Science
Foundation Authorization Act of 2010''.
Subtitle A--General Provisions
SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Science Foundation established under section 2
of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C.
1861).
(2) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the National
Science Foundation established under section 2 of the
National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861).
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given
such term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means one of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States.
(5) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
(6) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the
several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other
territory or possession of the United States.
[[Page H3557]]
SEC. 212. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Fiscal Year 2011.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Foundation $7,481,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
(2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under
paragraph (1)--
(A) $6,020,000,000 shall be made available for research and
related activities;
(B) $945,000,000 shall be made available for education and
human resources;
(C) $166,000,000 shall be made available for major research
equipment and facilities construction;
(D) $330,000,000 shall be made available for agency
operations and award management;
(E) $4,840,000 shall be made available for the Office of
the National Science Board; and
(F) $14,830,000 shall be made available for the Office of
Inspector General.
(b) Fiscal Year 2012.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Foundation $8,127,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.
(2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under
paragraph (1)--
(A) $6,496,000,000 shall be made available for research and
related activities;
(B) $1,020,000,000 shall be made available for education
and human resources;
(C) $235,000,000 shall be made available for major research
equipment and facilities construction;
(D) $356,000,000 shall be made available for agency
operations and award management;
(E) $5,010,000 shall be made available for the Office of
the National Science Board; and
(F) $15,350,000 shall be made available for the Office of
Inspector General.
(c) Fiscal Year 2013.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Foundation $8,764,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.
(2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under
paragraph (1)--
(A) $7,009,000,000 shall be made available for research and
related activities;
(B) $1,100,000,000 shall be made available for education
and human resources;
(C) $250,000,000 shall be made available for major research
equipment and facilities construction;
(D) $384,000,000 shall be made available for agency
operations and award management;
(E) $5,180,000 shall be made available for the Office of
the National Science Board; and
(F) $15,890,000 shall be made available for the Office of
Inspector General.
SEC. 213. NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS.
(a) Staffing at the National Science Board.--Section 4(g)
of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C.
1863(g)) is amended by striking ``not more than 5''.
(b) Science and Engineering Indicators Due Date.--Section
4(j)(1) of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42
U.S.C. 1863(j)(1)) is amended by striking ``January 15'' and
inserting ``May 31''.
(c) National Science Board Reports.--Section 4(j)(2) of the
National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C.
1863(j)(2)) is amended by inserting ``within the authority of
the Foundation (or otherwise as requested by the appropriate
Congressional committees of jurisdiction or the President)''
after ``individual policy matters''.
(d) Board Adherence to Sunshine Act.--Section 15(a) of the
National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42
U.S.C. 1862n-5(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (3) and redesignating paragraphs
(4) and (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively;
(2) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated by paragraph (1)
of this subsection--
(A) by striking ``February 15'' and inserting ``April 15'';
and
(B) by striking ``the audit required under paragraph (3)
along with'' and inserting ``any''; and
(3) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated by paragraph (1)
of this subsection, by striking ``To facilitate the audit
required under paragraph (3) of this subsection, the'' and
inserting ``The''.
SEC. 214. BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERION.
(a) Goals.--The Foundation shall apply a Broader Impacts
Review Criterion to achieve the following goals:
(1) Increased economic competitiveness of the United
States.
(2) Development of a globally competitive STEM workforce.
(3) Increased participation of women and underrepresented
minorities in STEM.
(4) Increased partnerships between academia and industry.
(5) Improved pre-K-12 STEM education and teacher
development.
(6) Improved undergraduate STEM education.
(7) Increased public scientific literacy.
(8) Increased national security.
(b) Policy.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall develop and
implement a policy for the Broader Impacts Review Criterion
that--
(1) provides for educating professional staff at the
Foundation, merit review panels, and applicants for
Foundation research grants on the policy developed under this
subsection;
(2) clarifies that the activities of grant recipients
undertaken to satisfy the Broader Impacts Review Criterion
shall--
(A) to the extent practicable employ proven strategies and
models and draw on existing programs and activities; and
(B) when novel approaches are justified, build on the most
current research results;
(3) allows for some portion of funds allocated to broader
impacts under a research grant to be used for assessment and
evaluation of the broader impacts activity;
(4) encourages institutions of higher education and other
nonprofit education or research organizations to develop and
provide, either as individual institutions or in partnerships
thereof, appropriate training and programs to assist
Foundation-funded principal investigators at their
institutions in achieving the goals of the Broader Impacts
Review Criterion as described in subsection (a); and
(5) requires principal investigators applying for
Foundation research grants to provide evidence of
institutional support for the portion of the investigator's
proposal designed to satisfy the Broader Impacts Review
Criterion, including evidence of relevant training, programs,
and other institutional resources available to the
investigator from either their home institution or
organization or another institution or organization with
relevant expertise.
SEC. 215. NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
STATISTICS.
(a) Establishment.--There is established within the
Foundation a National Center for Science and Engineering
Statistics (in this section referred to as the ``Center''),
that shall serve as a central Federal clearinghouse for the
collection, interpretation, analysis, and dissemination of
objective data on science, engineering, technology, and
research and development.
(b) Duties.--In carrying out subsection (a) of this
section, the Director, acting through the Center shall--
(1) collect, acquire, analyze, report, and disseminate
statistical data related to the science and engineering
enterprise in the United States and other nations that is
relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers,
policymakers, and the public, including statistical data on--
(A) research and development trends;
(B) the science and engineering workforce;
(C) United States competitiveness in science, engineering,
technology, and research and development; and
(D) the condition and progress of United States STEM
education;
(2) support research using the data it collects, and on
methodologies in areas related to the work of the Center; and
(3) support the education and training of researchers in
the use of large-scale, nationally representative data sets.
(c) Statistical Reports.--The Director or the National
Science Board, acting through the Center, shall issue
regular, and as necessary, special statistical reports on
topics related to the national and international science and
engineering enterprise such as the biennial report required
by section 4 (j)(1) of the National Science Foundation Act of
1950 (42 U.S.C. 1863(j)(1)) on indicators of the state of
science and engineering in the United States.
SEC. 216. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF FACULTY.
(a) Collection of Data.--The Director shall report, in
conjunction with the biennial report required under section
37 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42
U.S.C.19 1885d), statistical summary data on the demographics
of STEM discipline faculty at institutions of higher
education in the United States, disaggregated and cross-
tabulated by race, ethnicity, and gender. At a minimum, the
Director shall consider--
(1) the number and percent of faculty by gender, race, and
age;
(2) the number and percent of faculty at each rank, by
gender, race, and age;
(3) the number and percent of faculty who are in nontenure-
track positions, including teaching and research, by gender,
race, and age;
(4) the number of faculty who are reviewed for promotion,
including tenure, and the percentage of that number who are
promoted, by gender, race, and age;
(5) faculty years in rank by gender, race, and age;
(6) faculty attrition by gender, race, and age;
(7) the number and percent of faculty hired by rank,
gender, race, and age; and
(8) the number and percent of faculty in leadership
positions, including endowed or named chairs, serving on
promotion and tenure committees, by gender, race, and age.
(b) Recommendations.--The Director shall solicit input and
recommendations from relevant stakeholders, including
representatives from institutions of higher education and
nonprofit organizations, on the collection of data required
under subsection (a), including the development of standard
definitions on the terms and categories to be used in the
collection of such data.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit a
report to Congress on how the Foundation will gather the
demographic data on STEM faculty, including--
(1) a description of the data to be reported and the
sources of those data;
(2) justification for the exclusion of any data described
in paragraph (1); and
(3) a list of the definitions for the terms and categories,
such as ``faculty'' and ``leadership positions'', to be
applied in the reporting of all data described in paragraph
(1).
[[Page H3558]]
Subtitle B--Research and Innovation
SEC. 221. SUPPORT FOR POTENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH.
(a) Policy.--The Director shall establish a policy that
requires the Foundation to use at least 5 percent of its
research budget to fund high-risk, high-reward basic research
proposals. Support for facilities and infrastructure,
including preconstruction design and operations and
maintenance of major research facilities, shall not be
counted as part of the research budget for the purposes of
this section.
(b) Implementation.--In implementing such policy, the
Foundation may--
(1) develop solicitations specifically for high-risk, high-
reward basic research;
(2) establish review panels for the primary purpose of
selecting high-risk, high-reward proposals or modify
instructions to standard review panels to require
identification of high-risk, high-reward proposals; and
(3) support workshops and participate in conferences with
the primary purpose of identifying new opportunities for
high-risk, high-reward basic research, especially at
interdisciplinary interfaces.
(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``high-risk, high-reward basic research'' means research
driven by ideas that have the potential to radically change
our understanding of an important existing scientific or
engineering concept, or leading to the creation of a new
paradigm or field of science or engineering, and that is
characterized by its challenge to current understanding or
its pathway to new frontiers.
SEC. 222. FACILITATING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS FOR
NATIONAL NEEDS.
(a) In General.--The Director shall award competitive,
merit-based awards in amounts not to exceed $5,000,000 over a
period of up to 5 years to interdisciplinary research
collaborations that are likely to assist in addressing
critical challenges to national security, competitiveness,
and societal well-being and that--
(1) involve at least 2 co-equal principal investigators at
the same or different institutions;
(2) draw upon well-integrated, diverse teams of
investigators, including students or postdoctoral
researchers, from one or more disciplines; and
(3) foster creativity and pursue high-risk, high-reward
research.
(b) Priority.--In selecting grant recipients under this
section, the Director shall give priority to applicants that
propose to utilize advances in cyberinfrastructure and
simulation-based science and engineering.
SEC. 223. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION MANUFACTURING RESEARCH
AND EDUCATION.
(a) Manufacturing Research.--The Director shall carry out a
program to award merit-reviewed, competitive grants to
institutions of higher education to support fundamental
research leading to transformative advances in manufacturing
technologies, processes, and enterprises that will support
United States manufacturing through improved performance,
productivity, sustainability, and competitiveness. Research
areas may include--
(1) nanomanufacturing;
(2) manufacturing and construction machines and equipment,
including robotics, automation, and other intelligent
systems;
(3) manufacturing enterprise systems;
(4) advanced sensing and control techniques;
(5) materials processing; and
(6) information technologies for manufacturing, including
predictive and real-time models and simulations, and virtual
manufacturing.
(b) Manufacturing Education.--In order to help ensure a
well-trained manufacturing workforce, the Director shall
award grants to strengthen and expand scientific and
technical education and training in advanced manufacturing,
including through the Foundation's Advanced Technological
Education program.
SEC. 224. STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS.
(a) In General.--For any Foundation research grant, in an
amount greater than $2,000,000, to be carried out through a
partnership that includes one or more minority-serving
institutions or predominantly undergraduate institutions and
one or more institutions described in subsection (b), the
Director shall award funds directly, according to the budget
justification described in the grant proposal, to at least
two of the institutions of higher education in the
partnership, including at least one minority-serving
institution or one predominantly undergraduate institution,
to ensure a strong and equitable partnership.
(b) Institutions.--The institutions referred to in
subsection (a) are institutions of higher education that are
among the 100 institutions receiving, over the 3-year period
immediately preceding the awarding of grants, the highest
amount of research funding from the Foundation.
(c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall provide a report to
Congress on institutional research partnerships identified in
subsection (a) funded in the previous fiscal year.
SEC. 225. NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD REPORT ON MID-SCALE
INSTRUMENTATION.
(a) Mid-Scale Research Instrumentation Needs.--The National
Science Board shall evaluate the needs, across all
disciplines supported by the Foundation, for mid-scale
research instrumentation that falls between the instruments
funded by the Major Research Instrumentation program and the
very large projects funded by the Major Research Equipment
and Facilities Construction program.
(b) Report on Mid-Scale Research Instrumentation Program.--
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the National Science Board shall submit to Congress a
report on mid-scale research instrumentation at the
Foundation. At a minimum, this report shall include--
(1) the findings from the Board's evaluation of
instrumentation needs required under subsection (a),
including a description of differences across disciplines and
Foundation research directorates;
(2) a recommendation or recommendations regarding how the
Foundation should set priorities for mid-scale
instrumentation across disciplines and Foundation research
directorates;
(3) a recommendation or recommendations regarding the
appropriateness of expanding existing programs, including the
Major Research Instrumentation program or the Major Research
Equipment and Facilities Construction program, to support
more instrumentation at the mid-scale;
(4) a recommendation or recommendations regarding the need
for and appropriateness of a new, Foundation-wide program or
initiative in support of mid-scale instrumentation, including
any recommendations regarding the administration of and
budget for such a program or initiative and the appropriate
scope of instruments to be funded under such a program or
initiative; and
(5) any recommendation or recommendations regarding other
options for supporting mid-scale research instrumentation at
the Foundation.
SEC. 226. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON OVERALL SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH
INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE FOUNDATION.
It is the sense of Congress that the Foundation should
strive to keep the percentage of the Foundation budget
devoted to research infrastructure in the range of 24 to 27
percent, as recommended in the 2003 National Science Board
report entitled ``Science and Engineering Infrastructure for
the 21st Century''.
SEC. 227. PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION.
(a) In General.--The Director shall carry out a program to
award merit-reviewed, competitive grants to institutions of
higher education to establish and to expand partnerships that
promote innovation and increase the economic and social
impact of research by developing tools and resources to
connect new scientific discoveries to practical uses.
(b) Partnerships.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible for funding under this
section, an institution of higher education must propose
establishment of a partnership that--
(A) includes at least one private sector entity; and
(B) may include other institutions of higher education,
public sector institutions, private sector entities, and
social enterprise nonprofit organizations.
(2) Priority.--In selecting grant recipients under this
section, the Director shall give priority to partnerships
that include one or more institutions of higher education
that are among the 100 institutions receiving, over the 3-
year period immediately preceding the awarding of grants, the
highest amount of research funding from the Foundation and at
least one of the following:
(A) A minority serving institution.
(B) A primarily undergraduate institution.
(C) A 2-year institution of higher education.
(c) Program.--Proposals funded under this section shall
seek to--
(1) increase the economic or social impact of the most
promising research at the institution or institutions of
higher education that are members of the partnership through
knowledge transfer or commercialization;
(2) increase the engagement of faculty and students across
multiple disciplines and departments, including faculty and
students in schools of business and other appropriate non-
STEM fields and disciplines in knowledge transfer activities;
(3) enhance education and mentoring of students and faculty
in innovation and entrepreneurship through networks, courses,
and development of best practices and curricula;
(4) strengthen the culture of the institution or
institutions of higher education to undertake and participate
in activities related to innovation and leading to economic
or social impact;
(5) broaden the participation of all types of institutions
of higher education in activities to meet STEM workforce
needs and promote innovation and knowledge transfer; and
(6) build lasting partnerships with local and regional
businesses, local and State governments, and other relevant
entities.
(d) Additional Criteria.--In selecting grant recipients
under this section, the Director shall also consider the
extent to which the applicants are able to demonstrate
evidence of institutional support for, and commitment to--
(1) achieving the goals of the program as described in
subsection (c);
(2) expansion to an institution-wide program if the initial
proposal is not for an institution-wide program; and
(3) sustaining any new innovation tools and resources
generated from funding under this program.
[[Page H3559]]
(e) Limitation.--No funds provided under this section may
be used to construct or renovate a building or structure.
SEC. 228. PRIZE AWARDS.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Generating Extraordinary New Innovations in the United
States Act of 2010''.
(b) In General.--The Director shall carry out a pilot
program to award innovation inducement cash prizes in any
area of research supported by the Foundation. The Director
may carry out a program of cash prizes only in conformity
with this section.
(c) Topics.--In identifying topics for prize competitions
under this section, the Director shall--
(1) consult widely both within and outside the Federal
Government;
(2) give priority to high-risk, high-reward research
challenges and to problems whose solution could improve the
economic competitiveness of the United States; and
(3) give consideration to the extent to which the topics
have the potential to raise public awareness about federally
sponsored research.
(d) Types of Contests.--The Director shall consider all
categories of innovation inducement prizes, including--
(1) contests in which the award is to the first team or
individual who accomplishes a stated objective; and
(2) contests in which the winner is the team or individual
who comes closest to achieving an objective within a
specified time.
(e) Advertising and Announcement.--
(1) Advertising and solicitation of competitors.--The
Director shall widely advertise prize competitions to
encourage broad participation, including by individuals,
institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations,
and businesses.
(2) Announcement through federal register notice.--The
Director shall announce each prize competition by publishing
a notice in the Federal Register. This notice shall include
the subject of the competition, the duration of the
competition, the eligibility requirements for participation
in the competition, the process for participants to register
for the competition, the amount of the prize, and the
criteria for awarding the prize, including the method by
which the prize winner or winners will be selected.
(3) Time to announcement.--The Director shall announce a
prize competition within 18 months after receipt of
appropriated funds.
(f) Funding.--
(1) Funding sources.--Prizes under this section shall
consist of Federal appropriated funds and any funds raised
pursuant to donations authorized under section 11(f) of the
National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1870(f))
for specific prize competitions.
(2) Announcement of prizes.--The Director may not issue a
notice as required by subsection (e)(2) until all of the
funds needed to pay out the announced amount of the prize
have been appropriated or committed in writing by another
entity pursuant to paragraph (1).
(g) Eligibility.--To be eligible to win a prize under this
section, an individual or entity--
(1) shall have complied with all of the requirements under
this section;
(2) 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 United States
citizen or national, or an alien lawfully admitted to the
United States for permanent residence;
(3) shall not be a Federal entity, a Federal employee
acting within the scope of his or her employment, or a person
employed at a Federal laboratory acting within the scope of
his or her employment; and
(4) shall not have utilized Federal funds to engage in
research on the topic for which the prize is being awarded.
(h) Awards.--
(1) Number of competitions.--The Director may announce up
to 5 prize competitions through the end of fiscal year 2013.
(2) Size of award.--The Director may determine the amount
of each prize award based on the prize topic, but no award
shall be less than $1,000,000 or greater than $3,000,000.
(3) Selecting winners.--The Director may convene an expert
panel to select a winner of a prize competition. If the panel
is unable to select a winner, the Director shall determine
the winner of the prize.
(4) Public outreach.--The Director shall publicly award
prizes utilizing the Foundation's existing public affairs and
public outreach resources.
(i) Administering the Competition.--The Director may enter
into an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to
administer the prize competition, subject to the provisions
of this section.
(j) Intellectual Property.--The Federal Government shall
not, by virtue of offering or awarding a prize under this
section, be entitled to any intellectual property rights
derived as a consequence of, or in direct relation to, the
participation by a registered participant in a competition
authorized by this section. This subsection shall not be
construed to prevent the Federal Government from negotiating
a license for the use of intellectual property developed for
a prize competition under this section.
(k) Liability.--The Director may require a registered
participant in a prize competition under this section to
waive liability against the Federal Government for injuries
and damages that result from participation in such
competition.
(l) Nonsubstitution.--Any programs created under this
section shall not be considered a substitute for Federal
research and development programs.
(m) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 5 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, the National Science Board
shall transmit to Congress a report containing the results of
a review and assessment of the pilot program under this
section, including--
(1) a description of the nature and status of all completed
or ongoing prize competitions carried out under this section,
including any scientific achievements, publications,
intellectual property, or commercialized technology that
resulted from such competitions;
(2) any recommendations regarding changes to, the
termination of, or continuation of the pilot program;
(3) an analysis of whether the program is attracting
contestants more diverse than the Foundation's traditional
academic constituency;
(4) an analysis of whether public awareness of innovation
or of the goal of the particular prize or prizes is enhanced;
(5) an analysis of whether the Foundation's public image or
ability to increase public scientific literacy is enhanced
through the use of innovation inducement prizes; and
(6) an analysis of the extent to which private funds are
being used to support registered participants.
(n) Early Termination of Contests.--The Director shall
terminate a prize contest before any registered participant
wins if the Director determines that an unregistered entity
has produced an innovation that would otherwise have
qualified for the prize award.
(o) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Awards.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Director for the period encompassing fiscal years 2011
through 2013 $12,000,000 for carrying out this section.
(B) Administration.--Of the amounts authorized in
subparagraph (A), not more than 15 percent for each fiscal
year shall be available for the administrative costs of
carrying out this section.
(2) Carryover of funds.--Funds appropriated for prize
awards under this section shall remain available until
expended, and may be transferred, reprogrammed, or expended
for other purposes as authorized by law only after the
expiration of 7 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 of the United States Code
(commonly referred to as the Anti-Deficiency Act).
SEC. 229. GREEN CHEMISTRY BASIC RESEARCH.
The Director shall establish a Green Chemistry Basic
Research program to award competitive, merit-based grants to
support research into green and sustainable chemistry which
will lead to clean, safe, and economical alternatives to
traditional chemical products and practices. The research
program shall provide sustained support for green chemistry
research, education, and technology transfer through--
(1) merit-reviewed competitive grants to individual
investigators and teams of investigators, including, to the
extent practicable, young investigators, for research;
(2) grants to fund collaborative research partnerships
among universities, industry, and nonprofit organizations;
(3) symposia, forums, and conferences to increase outreach,
collaboration, and dissemination of green chemistry advances
and practices; and
(4) education, training, and retraining of undergraduate
and graduate students and professional chemists and chemical
engineers, including through partnerships with industry, in
green chemistry science and engineering.
SEC. 230. COLLABORATION IN PLANNING FOR STEWARDSHIP OF LARGE-
SCALE FACILITIES.
It is the sense of Congress that the Foundation should, in
its planning for construction and stewardship of large
facilities, coordinate and collaborate with other Federal
agencies, including the Department of Energy's Office of
Science, to ensure that joint investments may be made when
practicable. In particular, the Foundation should ensure that
it responds to recommendations by the National Academy of
Sciences and working groups convened by the National Science
and Technology Council regarding such facilities and
opportunities for partnership with other agencies in the
design and construction of such facilities. For facilities in
which research in multiple disciplines will be possible, the
Director should include multiple units within the Foundation
during the planning process.
Subtitle C--STEM Education and Workforce Training
SEC. 241. GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT.
(a) Finding.--The Congress finds that--
(1) the Integrative Graduate Education and Research
Traineeship program is an important program for training the
next generation of scientists and engineers in team-based
interdisciplinary research and problem solving, and for
providing them with the many additional skills, such as
communication skills, needed to thrive in diverse STEM
careers; and
[[Page H3560]]
(2) the Integrative Graduate Education and Research
Traineeship program is no less valuable to the preparation
and support of graduate students than the Foundation's
Graduate Research Fellowship program.
(b) Equal Treatment of IGERT and GRF.--Beginning in fiscal
year 2011, the Director shall increase or, if necessary,
decrease funding for the Foundation's Integrative Graduate
Education and Research Traineeship program (or any program by
which it is replaced) at least at the same rate as it
increases or decreases funding for the Graduate Research
Fellowship program.
(c) Support for Graduate Student Research From the Research
Account.--For each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2013, at
least 50 percent of the total Foundation funds allocated to
the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship
program and the Graduate Research Fellowship program shall
come from funds appropriated for Research and Related
Activities.
(d) Cost of Education Allowance for GRF Program.--Section
10 of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C.
1869) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``The Foundation is
authorized''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) The Director shall establish for each year the amount
to be awarded for scholarships and fellowships under this
section for that year. Each such scholarship and fellowship
shall include a cost of education allowance of $12,000,
subject to any restrictions on the use of cost of education
allowance as determined by the Director.''.
SEC. 242. POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--The Director shall establish postdoctoral
fellowships in STEM education research to provide recent
doctoral degree graduates in STEM fields with the necessary
skills to assume leadership roles in STEM education research,
program development, and evaluation in our Nation's diverse
educational institutions.
(b) Awards.--
(1) Duration.--Fellowships may be awarded under this
section for a period of up to 24 months in duration,
renewable for an additional 12 months. The Director shall
establish criteria for eligibility for renewal of the
fellowship.
(2) Stipend.--The Director shall determine the amount of
the award for a fellowship, which shall include a stipend and
a research allowance, and may include an educational
allowance.
(3) Location.--A fellowship shall be awarded for research
at any institution of higher education that offers degrees in
fields supported by the Foundation, or at any institution or
organization that the Director determines is eligible for
education research grants from the Foundation.
(4) Number of awards.--The Director may award up to 20 new
fellowships per year.
(c) Research.--Fellowships under this section shall be
awarded for research on STEM education at any educational
level, including grades pre-K-12, undergraduate, graduate,
and general public education, in both formal and informal
settings. Research topics may include--
(1) learning processes and progressions;
(2) knowledge transfer, including curriculum development;
(3) uses of technology as teaching and learning tools;
(4) integrating STEM fields; and
(5) assessment of student learning and program evaluation.
(d) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a fellowship under
this section, an individual must--
(1) be a United States citizen or national, or an alien
lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent
residence, at the time of application; and
(2) have received a doctoral degree in one of the STEM
fields supported by the Foundation within 3 years prior to
the fellowship application deadline.
(e) Outreach.--In carrying out the program under this
section, the Director shall conduct outreach efforts to
encourage applications from underrepresented groups.
SEC. 243. ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) Matching Requirement.--Section 10A(h)(1) of the
National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42
U.S.C. 1862n-1a(h)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under this section shall provide, from non-Federal sources,
to carry out the activities supported by the grant--
``(A) in the case of grants in an amount of less than
$1,500,000, an amount equal to at least 30 percent of the
amount of the grant, at least one half of which shall be in
cash; and
``(B) in the case of grants in an amount of $1,500,000 or
more, an amount equal to at least 50 percent of the amount of
the grant, at least one half of which shall be in cash.''.
(b) Retiring STEM Professionals.--Section 10A of the
National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42
U.S.C. 1862n-1a) is amended in subsection (a)(2)(A) by
inserting ``including retiring professionals in those
fields,'' after ``mathematics professionals,''.
SEC. 244. INSTITUTIONS SERVING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
For the purposes of the activities and programs supported
by the Foundation, institutions of higher education chartered
to serve large numbers of students with disabilities,
including Gallaudet University, Landmark College, and the
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, shall have a
designation consistent with the designation for other
institutions that serve populations underrepresented in STEM
to ensure that institutions of higher education chartered to
serve persons with disabilities can benefit from STEM bridge
programs and from research partnerships with major research
universities. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
amend or otherwise affect any of the definitions for
minority-serving institutions under title III or title V of
the Higher Education Act of 1965.
SEC. 245. INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION.
(a) Innovation Through Institutional Integration.--The
Director shall award grants for the institutional integration
of projects funded by the Foundation with a focus on
education, or on broadening participation in STEM by
underrepresented groups, for the purpose of increasing
collaboration and coordination across funded projects and
institutions and expanding the impact of such projects within
and among institutions of higher education in an innovative
and sustainable manner.
(b) Program Activities.--The program under this section
shall support integrative activities that involve the
strategic and innovative combination of Foundation-funded
projects and that provide for--
(1) additional opportunities to increase the recruitment,
retention, and degree attainment of underrepresented groups
in STEM disciplines;
(2) the inclusion of programming, practices, and policies
that encourage the integration of education and research;
(3) seamless transitions from one educational level to
another, including from a 2-year to a 4-year institution; and
(4) other activities that expand and deepen the impact of
Foundation-funded projects with a focus on education, or on
broadening participation in STEM by underrepresented groups,
and enhance their sustainability.
(c) Review Criteria.--In selecting recipients of grants
under this section, the Director shall consider at a
minimum--
(1) the extent to which the proposed project addresses the
goals of project and program integration and adds value to
the existing funded projects;
(2) the extent to which there is a proven record of success
for the existing projects on which the proposed integration
project is based; and
(3) the extent to which the proposed project addresses the
modification of programming, practices, and policies
necessary to achieve the purpose described in subsection (a).
(d) Priority.--In selecting recipients of grants under this
section, the Director shall give priority to proposals for
which a senior institutional administrator, including a dean
or other administrator of equal or higher rank, serves as the
principal investigator.
SEC. 246. POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.
(a) In General.--The Director shall establish a Foundation-
wide postdoctoral research fellowship program, to award
competitive, merit-based postdoctoral research fellowships in
any field of research supported by the Foundation.
(b) Duration and Amount.--Fellowships may be awarded under
this section for a period of up to 3 years in duration. The
Director shall determine the amount of the award for a
fellowship, which shall include a stipend and a research
allowance, and may include an educational allowance.
(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a fellowship
under this section, an individual--
(1) must be a United States citizen or national, or an
alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent
residence, at the time of application;
(2) must have received a doctoral degree in any field of
research supported by the Foundation within 3 years prior to
the fellowship application deadline, or will complete a
doctoral degree no more than 1 year after the application
deadline; and
(3) may not have previously received funding as the
principal investigator of a research grant from the
Foundation, unless such funding was received as a graduate
student.
(d) Priority.--In evaluating applications for fellowships
under this section, the Director shall give priority to
applications that include--
(1) proposals for interdisciplinary research; or
(2) proposals for high-risk, high-reward research.
(e) Additional Considerations.--
(1) In general.--In evaluating applications for fellowships
under this section, the Director shall give consideration to
the goal of promoting the participation of individuals
identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering
Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) and
veterans.
(2) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the term
``veteran'' means a person who--
(A) served on active duty (other than active duty for
training) in the Armed Forces of the United States for a
period of more than 180 consecutive days, and who was
discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than
dishonorable; or
(B) served on active duty (other than active duty for
training) in the Armed Forces of the United States and was
discharged or released from such service for a service-
connected disability before serving 180 consecutive days.
[[Page H3561]]
For purposes of subparagraph (B), the term ``service-
connected'' has the meaning given such term under section 101
of title 38, United States Code.
(f) Nonsubstitution.--The fellowship program authorized
under this section is not intended to replace or reduce
support for postdoctoral research through existing programs
at the Foundation.
(g) Outreach.--In carrying out the program under this
section, the Director shall conduct outreach efforts to
encourage applications from underrepresented groups.
SEC. 247. BROADENING PARTICIPATION TRAINING AND OUTREACH.
The Director shall provide education and training--
(1) to Foundation staff and grant proposal review panels on
effective mechanisms and tools for broadening participation
in STEM by underrepresented groups, including reviewer
selection and mitigation of implicit bias in the review
process; and
(2) to Foundation staff on related outreach approaches.
SEC. 248. TRANSFORMING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN STEM.
Section 17 of the National Science Foundation Authorization
Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n-6) is amended to read as
follows:
``SEC. 17. TRANSFORMING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN STEM.
``(a) In General.--The Director shall award grants, on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institutions of higher
education (or to consortia thereof) to reform undergraduate
STEM education for the purpose of increasing the number and
quality of students studying toward and completing
baccalaureate degrees in STEM and improving the STEM learning
outcomes for all undergraduate students, including through--
``(1) development, implementation, and assessment of
innovative, research-based approaches to transforming the
teaching and learning of disciplinary or interdisciplinary
STEM at the undergraduate level; and
``(2) expansion of successful STEM reform efforts beyond a
single course or group of courses to achieve reform within an
entire academic unit, or expansion of successful reform
efforts beyond a single academic unit to other STEM academic
units within an institution or to comparable academic units
at other institutions.
``(b) Uses of Funds.--Activities supported by grants under
this section may include--
``(1) creation of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary
courses or programs that formalize collaborations for the
purpose of improved student instruction and research in STEM;
``(2) expansion of undergraduate STEM research
opportunities to include interdisciplinary research
opportunities and research opportunities in industry, at
Federal labs, and at international research institutions or
research sites;
``(3) implementation or expansion of bridge programs,
including programs that address student transition from 2-
year to 4-year institutions, and cohort, tutoring, or
mentoring programs proven to enhance student recruitment or
persistence to degree completion in STEM, including
recruitment or persistence to degree completion of
individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and
Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or
1885b);
``(4) improvement of undergraduate STEM education for
nonmajors, including education majors;
``(5) implementation of evidence-based, technology-driven
reform efforts that directly impact undergraduate STEM
instruction or research experiences;
``(6) development and implementation of faculty and
graduate teaching assistant development programs focused on
improved instruction, mentoring, assessment of student
learning, and support of undergraduate STEM students;
``(7) support for graduate students and postdoctoral
fellows to participate in instructional or assessment
activities at primarily undergraduate institutions;
``(8) research on teaching and learning of STEM at the
undergraduate level related to the proposed reform effort,
including assessment and evaluation of the proposed reform
activities, research on scalability and sustainability of
approaches to reform, and development and implementation of
longitudinal studies of students included in the proposed
reform effort; and
``(9) support for initiatives that advance the integration
of global challenges such as sustainability into disciplinary
and interdisciplinary STEM education.
``(c) Partnership.--An institution of higher education may
partner with one or more other nonprofit education or
research organizations, including scientific and engineering
societies, for the purposes of carrying out the activities
authorized under this section.
``(d) Selection Process.--
``(1) Applications.--An institution of higher education
seeking a grant under this section shall submit an
application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director may require. The
application shall include, at a minimum--
``(A) a description of the proposed reform effort;
``(B) a description of the research findings that will
serve as the basis for the proposed reform effort or, in the
case of applications that propose an expansion of a
previously implemented reform effort, a description of the
previously implemented reform effort, including indicators of
success such as data on student recruitment, persistence to
degree completion, and academic achievement;
``(C) evidence of institutional support for, and commitment
to, the proposed reform effort, including long-term
commitment to implement successful strategies from the
current reform effort beyond the academic unit or units
included in the grant proposal or to disseminate successful
strategies to other institutions;
``(D) a description of existing or planned institutional
policies and practices regarding faculty hiring, promotion,
tenure, and teaching assignment that reward faculty
contributions to undergraduate STEM education; and
``(E) a description of the plans for assessment and
evaluation of the proposed reform activities, including
evidence of participation by individuals with experience in
assessment and evaluation of teaching and learning programs.
``(2) Review of applications.--In selecting grant
recipients under this section, the Director shall consider at
a minimum--
``(A) the likelihood of success in undertaking the proposed
effort at the institution submitting the application,
including the extent to which the faculty, staff, and
administrators of the institution are committed to making the
proposed institutional reform a priority of the participating
academic unit or units;
``(B) the degree to which the proposed reform will
contribute to change in institutional culture and policy such
that a greater value is placed on faculty engagement in
undergraduate education;
``(C) the likelihood that the institution will sustain or
expand the reform beyond the period of the grant; and
``(D) the degree to which scholarly assessment and
evaluation plans are included in the design of the reform
effort, including the degree to which such assessment and
evaluation contribute to the systematic accumulation of
knowledge on STEM education.
``(3) Priority.--For proposals that include an expansion of
existing reform efforts beyond a single academic unit, the
Director shall give priority to proposals for which a senior
institutional administrator, including a dean or other
administrator of equal or higher rank, serves as the
principal investigator or a coprincipal investigator.
``(4) Grant distribution.--The Director shall ensure, to
the extent practicable, that grants awarded under this
section are made to a variety of types of institutions of
higher education.''.
SEC. 249. 21ST CENTURY GRADUATE EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--The Director shall award grants, on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institutions of higher
education to implement or expand research-based reforms in
master's and doctoral level STEM education that emphasize
preparation for diverse careers utilizing STEM degrees,
including at diverse types of institutions of higher
education, in industry, and at government agencies and
research laboratories.
(b) Uses of Funds.--Activities supported by grants under
this section may include--
(1) creation of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary
courses or programs for the purpose of improved student
instruction and research in STEM;
(2) expansion of graduate STEM research opportunities to
include interdisciplinary research opportunities and research
opportunities in industry, at Federal laboratories, and at
international research institutions or research sites;
(3) development and implementation of future faculty
training programs focused on improved instruction, mentoring,
assessment of student learning, and support of undergraduate
STEM students;
(4) support and training for graduate students to
participate in instructional activities beyond the
traditional teaching assistantship, and especially as part of
ongoing educational reform efforts, including at pre-K-12
schools, informal science education institutions, and
primarily undergraduate institutions;
(5) creation, improvement, or expansion of innovative
graduate programs such as science master's degree programs;
(6) development and implementation of seminars, workshops,
and other professional development activities that increase
the ability of graduate students to engage in innovation,
technology transfer, and entrepreneurship;
(7) development and implementation of seminars, workshops,
and other professional development activities that increase
the ability of graduate students to effectively communicate
their research findings to technical audiences outside of
their own discipline and to nontechnical audiences;
(8) expansion of successful STEM reform efforts beyond a
single academic unit to other STEM academic units within an
institution or to comparable academic units at other
institutions; and
(9) research on teaching and learning of STEM at the
graduate level related to the proposed reform effort,
including assessment and evaluation of the proposed reform
activities and research on scalability and sustainability of
approaches to reform.
(c) Partnership.--An institution of higher education may
partner with one or more other nonprofit education or
research organizations, including scientific and engineering
societies, for the purposes of carrying out the activities
authorized under this section.
(d) Selection Process.--
[[Page H3562]]
(1) Applications.--An institution of higher education
seeking a grant under this section shall submit an
application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director may require. The
application shall include, at a minimum--
(A) a description of the proposed reform effort;
(B) in the case of applications that propose an expansion
of a previously implemented reform effort at the applicant's
institution or at other institutions, a description of the
previously implemented reform effort;
(C) evidence of institutional support for, and commitment
to, the proposed reform effort, including long-term
commitment to implement successful strategies from the
current reform effort beyond the academic unit or units
included in the grant proposal or to disseminate successful
strategies to other institutions; and
(D) a description of the plans for assessment and
evaluation of the grant proposed reform activities.
(2) Review of applications.--In selecting grant recipients
under this section, the Director shall consider at a
minimum--
(A) the likelihood of success in undertaking the proposed
effort at the institution submitting the application,
including the extent to which the faculty, staff, and
administrators of the institution are committed to making the
proposed institutional reform a priority of the participating
academic unit or units;
(B) the degree to which the proposed reform will contribute
to change in institutional culture and policy such that a
greater value is placed on preparing graduate students for
diverse careers utilizing STEM degrees;
(C) the likelihood that the institution will sustain or
expand the reform beyond the period of the grant; and
(D) the degree to which scholarly assessment and evaluation
plans are included in the design of the reform effort.
(e) Repeal.--Section 7034 of the America COMPETES Act (42
U.S.C. 1862o-13) is repealed.
SEC. 250. UNDERGRADUATE BROADENING PARTICIPATION PROGRAM.
(a) Undergraduate Broadening Participation Program.--The
Foundation shall continue to support the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, the Louis
Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program, and the
Tribal Colleges and Universities Program as separate programs
at least through September 30, 2011.
(b) Plan.--Prior to any realignment or consolidation of the
programs described in subsection (a), in addition to the
Hispanic-Serving Institutions Undergraduate Program required
by section 7033 of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 1862o-
12), the Director shall develop a plan clarifying the
objectives and rationale for such changes. The plan shall
include a description of how such changes would result in--
(1) meeting or strengthening the common goal of the
separate programs to increase the number of individuals from
underrepresented groups attaining undergraduate STEM degrees;
and
(2) addressing the unique needs of the different types of
minority serving institutions and underrepresented groups
currently provided for by the separate programs.
(c) Recommendations.--In the development of the plan
required under subsection (b), the Director shall at a
minimum--
(1) consider the recommendations and findings of the
National Academy of Sciences report required by section 7032
of the America COMPETES Act (Public Law 110-69); and
(2) solicit recommendations and feedback from a wide range
of stakeholders, including representatives from minority
serving institutions, other institutions of higher education,
and other entities with expertise on effective mechanisms to
increase the recruitment and retention of members of
underrepresented groups in STEM fields, and the attainment of
STEM degrees by underrepresented groups.
(d) Approval by Congress.--The plan developed under this
section shall be transmitted to Congress at least 3 months
prior to the implementation of any realignment or
consolidation of the programs described in subsection (a).
SEC. 251. GRAND CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--The Director and the Secretary of
Education shall collaborate, in consultation with the
Director of the National Institutes of Health, in--
(1) identifying, prioritizing, and developing strategies to
address grand challenges in research and development on the
teaching and learning of STEM at the pre-K-12 level, in
formal and informal settings, for diverse learning
populations, including individuals identified in section 33
or 34 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act
(42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b), and students in rural schools;
(2) carrying out research and development to address the
grand challenges identified in paragraph (1); and
(3) ensuring the dissemination of the results of such
research and development.
(b) Stakeholder Input.--In identifying the grand challenges
required in subsection (a), the Director and the Secretary
shall--
(1) take into consideration critical research gaps
identified in existing reports, including reports by the
National Academies, on the teaching and learning of STEM at
the pre-K-12 level in formal and informal settings; and
(2) solicit input from a wide range of stakeholders,
including local and State education officials, STEM teachers,
STEM education researchers, scientific and engineering
societies, STEM faculty at institutions of higher education,
informal STEM education providers, businesses with a large
STEM workforce, and other stakeholders in the teaching and
learning of STEM at the pre-K-12 level, and may enter into an
arrangement with the National Research Council for these
purposes.
(c) Topics To Consider.--In identifying the grand
challenges required in subsection (a), the Director and the
Secretary, in order to provide students with increased access
to rigorous courses of study in STEM, increase the number of
students who are prepared for advanced study and careers in
STEM, and increase the effective teaching of STEM subjects,
shall at a minimum consider the following topics:
(1) Research on scalability, sustainability, and
replication of successful STEM activities, programs, and
models, in formal and informal environments.
(2) Research that utilizes a systems approach to
identifying challenges and opportunities to improve the
teaching and learning of STEM, including development and
evaluation of model systems that support improved teaching
and learning of STEM across entire school districts and
States, and encompassing and integrating the teaching and
learning of STEM in formal and informal venues, and in K-12
schools and institutions of higher education.
(3) Research to understand what makes a STEM teacher
effective and pre-service and in-service STEM teacher
training and professional development effective, including
development of tools and methodologies to measure STEM
teacher effectiveness.
(4) Research and development on cyber-enabled tools and
programs and television based tools and programs for learning
and teaching STEM, including development of tools and
methodologies for assessing cyber and television enabled
teaching and learning.
(5) Research and development on STEM teaching and learning
in informal environments, including development of tools and
methodologies for assessing STEM teaching and learning in
informal environments.
(6) Research and development on how integrating engineering
with mathematics and science education may--
(A) improve student learning of mathematics and science;
(B) increase student interest and persistence in STEM; or
(C) improve student understanding of engineering design
principles and of the built world.
(7) Research to understand what makes hands-on, inquiry-
based classroom experiences effective, including development
of tools and methodologies for assessing such experiences.
(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 18 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director and the Secretary
shall report back to Congress with a description of--
(1) the grand challenges identified pursuant to this
section;
(2) the role of each agency in supporting research and
development activities to address the grand challenges;
(3) the common metrics that will be used to assess progress
toward meeting the grand challenges;
(4) plans for periodically updating the grand challenges;
(5) how the agencies will disseminate the results of
research and development activities carried out under this
section to STEM education practitioners, to other Federal
agencies that support STEM programs and activities, and to
non-Federal funders of STEM education; and
(6) how the agencies will support implementation of best
practices identified by the research and development
activities.
SEC. 252. RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES.
(a) Research Sites.--The Director shall award grants, on a
merit-reviewed, competitive basis, to institutions of higher
education, nonprofit organizations, or consortia of such
institutions and organizations, for sites designated by the
Director to provide research experiences for 6 or more
undergraduate STEM students for sites designated at primarily
undergraduate institutions of higher education and 10 or more
undergraduate STEM students for all other sites, with
consideration given to the goal of promoting the
participation of individuals identified in section 33 or 34
of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42
U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b). The Director shall ensure that--
(1) at least half of the students participating in a
program funded by a grant under this subsection at each site
shall be recruited from institutions of higher education
where research opportunities in STEM are limited, including
2-year institutions;
(2) the awards provide undergraduate research experiences
in a wide range of STEM disciplines;
(3) the awards support a variety of projects, including
independent investigator-led projects, interdisciplinary
projects, and multi-institutional projects (including virtual
projects);
(4) students participating in each program funded have
mentors, including during the
[[Page H3563]]
academic year to the extent practicable, to help connect the
students' research experiences to the overall academic course
of study and to help students achieve success in courses of
study leading to a baccalaureate degree in a STEM field;
(5) mentors and students are supported with appropriate
salary or stipends; and
(6) student participants are tracked, for employment and
continued matriculation in STEM fields, through receipt of
the undergraduate degree and for at least 3 years thereafter.
(b) Inclusion of Undergraduates in Standard Research
Grants.--The Director shall require that every recipient of a
research grant from the Foundation proposing to include 1 or
more students enrolled in certificate, associate, or
baccalaureate degree programs in carrying out the research
under the grant shall request support, including stipend
support, for such undergraduate students as part of the
research proposal itself rather than as a supplement to the
research proposal, unless such undergraduate participation
was not foreseeable at the time of the original proposal.
SEC. 253. LABORATORY SCIENCE PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 7026 of the America COMPETES Act (Public Law 110-
69) is amended by striking subsections (d) and (e).
SEC. 254. STEM INDUSTRY INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--The Director may award grants, on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institutions of higher
education, or consortia thereof, to establish or expand
partnerships with local or regional private sector entities,
for the purpose of providing undergraduate students with
integrated internship experiences that connect private sector
internship experiences with the students' STEM coursework.
Such partnerships may also include industry or professional
associations.
(b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Director shall give priority to institutions of higher
education or consortia thereof that demonstrate significant
outreach to and coordination with local or regional private
sector entities in developing academic courses designed to
provide students with the skills necessary for employment in
local or regional companies.
(c) Outreach to Rural Communities.--The Foundation shall
conduct outreach to institutions of higher education and
private sector entities in rural areas to encourage those
entities to participate in partnerships under this section.
(d) Cost-Share.--The Director shall require a 50 percent
non-Federal cost-share from partnerships established or
expanded under this section.
(e) Restriction.--No Federal funds provided under this
section may be used--
(1) for the purpose of providing stipends or compensation
to students for private sector internships; or
(2) as payment or reimbursement to private sector entities,
except for institutions of higher education.
(f) Report.--Not less than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to
Congress on the number and total value of awards made under
this section, the number of students affected by those
awards, any evidence of the effect of those awards on
workforce preparation and jobs placement for participating
students, and an economic and ethnic breakdown of the
participating students.
SEC. 255. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Director shall continue to support a
program to award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed
basis to tribal colleges and universities (as defined in
section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1059c)), including institutions described in section 317 of
such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d), to enhance the quality of
undergraduate STEM education at such institutions and to
increase the retention and graduation rates of Native
American students pursuing associate's or baccalaureate
degrees in STEM.
(b) Program Components.--Grants awarded under this section
shall support--
(1) activities to improve courses and curriculum in STEM;
(2) faculty development;
(3) stipends for undergraduate students participating in
research; and
(4) other activities consistent with subsection (a), as
determined by the Director.
(c) Instrumentation.--Funding provided under this section
may be used for instrumentation.
SEC. 256. CYBER-ENABLED LEARNING FOR NATIONAL CHALLENGES.
The Director shall, in consultation with appropriate
Federal agencies, identify ways to use cyber-enabled learning
to create an innovative STEM workforce and to help retrain
and retain our existing STEM workforce to address national
challenges, including national security and competitiveness.
SEC. 257. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that retaining graduate-level
talent trained at American universities in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is
critical to enhancing the competitiveness of American
businesses.
TITLE III--STEM EDUCATION
SEC. 301. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL STEM EDUCATION.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``STEM
Education Coordination Act of 2010''.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``STEM'' means
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
(c) Establishment.--The Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy shall establish a committee under the
National Science and Technology Council with the
responsibility to coordinate Federal programs and activities
in support of STEM education, including at the National
Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Education,
and all other Federal agencies that have programs and
activities in support of STEM education.
(d) Responsibilities of the Committee.--The committee
established under subsection (c) shall--
(1) coordinate the STEM education activities and programs
of the Federal agencies;
(2) develop, implement through the participating agencies,
and update once every 5 years a 5-year STEM education
strategic plan, which shall--
(A) specify and prioritize annual and long-term objectives;
(B) specify the common metrics that will be used to assess
progress toward achieving the objectives;
(C) describe the approaches that will be taken by each
participating agency to assess the effectiveness of its STEM
education programs and activities;
(D) with respect to subparagraph (A), describe the role of
each agency in supporting programs and activities designed to
achieve the objectives;
(E) describe the approaches that will be taken by each
agency to increase the participation of underrepresented
minority groups in STEM studies and careers both for programs
specifically designed to broaden participation and for all
programs in general, including by providing for programs and
activities that increase participation by individuals in
these groups at all institutions, and by increasing the
engagement of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
and minority-serving institutions in the STEM education and
outreach activities supported by the agencies; and
(F) describe the approaches that will be taken by each
participating agency to conduct outreach designed to promote
widespread public understanding of career opportunities in
the STEM fields specific to the workforce needs of each
agency, including outreach to women, Latinos, African-
Americans, Native Americans, and other students from groups
underrepresented in STEM;
(3) establish, periodically update, and maintain an
inventory of federally sponsored STEM education programs and
activities, including documentation of assessments of the
effectiveness of such programs and activities and rates of
participation by underrepresented minorities in such programs
and activities; and
(4) establish and maintain a publically accessible online
database of all federally sponsored STEM education programs
and activities at all levels and for all audiences, including
students, teachers, and the general public.
(e) Responsibilities of OSTP.--The Director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy shall encourage and monitor
the efforts of the participating agencies to ensure that the
strategic plan under subsection (d)(2) is developed and
executed effectively and that the objectives of the strategic
plan are met.
(f) Report.--The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall transmit a report annually to
Congress at the time of the President's budget request
describing the plan required under subsection (d)(2). The
annual report shall include--
(1) a description of the STEM education programs and
activities for the previous and current fiscal years, and the
proposed programs and activities under the President's budget
request, of each participating Federal agency;
(2) the levels of funding for each participating Federal
agency for the programs and activities described under
paragraph (1) for the previous fiscal year and under the
President's budget request;
(3) except for the initial annual report, a description of
the progress made in carrying out the implementation plan,
including a description of the outcome of any program
assessments completed in the previous year, and any changes
made to that plan since the previous annual report; and
(4) a description of how the participating Federal agencies
will disseminate information about federally supported
resources for STEM education practitioners, including teacher
professional development programs, to States and to STEM
education practitioners, including to teachers and
administrators in high-need schools, as defined in section
200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021).
SEC. 302. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STEM EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--The President shall establish or designate
an advisory committee on science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) education.
(b) Membership.--The advisory committee established or
designated by the President under subsection (a) shall be
chaired by at least 2 members of the President's Council of
Advisors on Science and Technology, with
[[Page H3564]]
the remaining advisory committee membership consisting of
non-Federal members who are specially qualified to provide
the President with advice and information on STEM education.
Membership of the advisory committee, at a minimum, shall
include individuals from the following categories of
individuals and organizations:
(1) Elementary school and secondary school administrator
associations.
(2) STEM educator professional associations.
(3) Organizations that provide informal STEM education
activities.
(4) Institutions of higher education.
(5) Scientific and engineering professional societies.
(6) Business and industry associations.
(7) Foundations that fund STEM education activities.
(c) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the advisory
committee shall include--
(1) soliciting input from teachers and administrators in
both public and private schools, local educational agencies,
States, and other public and private STEM education
stakeholder groups for the purpose of informing the Federal
agencies that support STEM education programs on the STEM
education needs of States and school districts, including the
unique needs of schools in rural areas;
(2) soliciting input from all STEM education stakeholder
groups regarding STEM education programs, including STEM
education research programs, supported by Federal agencies;
(3) providing advice to the Federal agencies, including
through the interagency committee established under section
301, that support STEM education programs on how their
programs can be better aligned with the needs of States and
school districts as identified in paragraph (1), consistent
with the mission of each agency;
(4) offering guidance to the President on current STEM
education activities, research findings, and best practices,
with the purpose of increasing connectivity between public
and private STEM education efforts;
(5) providing advice to Federal agencies on how their STEM
technical training and education programs can be better
aligned with the workforce needs of States and regions; and
(6) facilitating improved coordination between federally
supported STEM education programs and activities and State
level activities, including the efforts of P-16 and P-20
councils in the States.
(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) P-16.--The term ``P-16'' refers to a system of
education that encompasses preschool through undergraduate
level education.
(2) P-20.--The term ``P-20'' refers to a system of
education that encompasses preschool through graduate level
education.
SEC. 303. STEM EDUCATION AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.
(a) Definitions.--Section 5002 of the America COMPETES Act
(42 U.S.C. 16531) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as
paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
``(2) Energy systems science and engineering.--The term
`energy systems science and engineering' means--
``(A) nuclear science and engineering, including--
``(i) nuclear engineering;
``(ii) nuclear chemistry;
``(iii) radiochemistry; and
``(iv) health physics;
``(B) hydrocarbon system science and engineering,
including--
``(i) petroleum or reservoir engineering;
``(ii) environmental geoscience;
``(iii) petrophysics;
``(iv) geophysics;
``(v) geochemistry;
``(vi) petroleum geology;
``(vii) ocean engineering;
``(viii) environmental engineering; and
``(ix) carbon capture and sequestration science and
engineering;
``(C) energy efficiency and renewable energy technology
systems science and engineering, including with respect to--
``(i) solar technology systems;
``(ii) wind technology systems;
``(iii) buildings technology systems;
``(iv) transportation technology systems;
``(v) hydropower systems;
``(vi) marine and hydrokinetic technology systems;
``(vii) geothermal systems; and
``(viii) biomass technology systems; and
``(D) energy storage and distribution systems science and
engineering, including with respect to--
``(i) energy storage; and
``(ii) energy delivery.''.
(b) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Education Programs.--Subpart B of the Department of Energy
Science Education Enhancement Act (42 U.S.C. 7381g et seq.)
is amended--
(1) in section 3170--
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of
STEM Education appointed or designated under section
3171(c)(1).'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3);
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
``(2) Energy systems science and engineering.--The term
`energy systems science and engineering' means--
``(A) nuclear science and engineering, including--
``(i) nuclear engineering;
``(ii) nuclear chemistry;
``(iii) radiochemistry; and
``(iv) health physics;
``(B) hydrocarbon system science and engineering,
including--
``(i) petroleum or reservoir engineering;
``(ii) environmental geoscience;
``(iii) petrophysics;
``(iv) geophysics;
``(v) geochemistry;
``(vi) petroleum geology;
``(vii) ocean engineering;
``(viii) environmental engineering; and
``(ix) carbon capture and sequestration science and
engineering;
``(C) energy efficiency and renewable energy technology
systems science and engineering, including with respect to--
``(i) solar technology systems;
``(ii) wind technology systems;
``(iii) buildings technology systems;
``(iv) transportation technology systems;
``(v) hydropower systems;
``(vi) marine and hydrokinetic technology systems;
``(vii) geothermal systems; and
``(viii) biomass technology systems; and
``(D) energy storage and distribution systems science and
engineering, including with respect to--
``(i) energy storage; and
``(ii) energy delivery.''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) STEM.--The term `STEM' means science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.'';
(2) by striking chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6;
(3) by inserting after section 3170 the following new
chapter:
``CHAPTER 1--STEM EDUCATION
``SEC. 3171. STEM EDUCATION.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall develop,
conduct, support, promote, and coordinate formal and informal
educational activities that leverage the Department's unique
content expertise and facilities to contribute to improving
STEM education at all levels in the United States, and to
enhance awareness and understanding of STEM, including energy
sciences, in order to create a diverse skilled scientific and
technical workforce essential to meeting the challenges
facing the Department and the Nation in the 21st century.
``(b) Programs.--The Secretary shall carry out evidence-
based programs designed to increase student interest and
participation, including by women and underrepresented
minority students, improve public literacy and support, and
improve the teaching and learning of energy systems science
and engineering and other STEM disciplines supported by the
Department. Programs authorized under this subsection may
include--
``(1) informal educational programming designed to excite
and inspire students and the general public about energy
systems science and engineering and other STEM disciplines
supported by the Department, while strengthening their
content knowledge in these fields;
``(2) teacher training and professional development
opportunities for pre-service and in-service elementary and
secondary teachers designed to increase the content knowledge
of teachers in energy systems science and engineering and
other STEM disciplines supported by the Department, including
through hands-on research experiences;
``(3) research opportunities for secondary school students,
including internships at the National Laboratories, that
provide secondary school students with hands-on research
experiences as well as exposure to working scientists;
``(4) research opportunities at the National Laboratories
for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in
energy systems science and engineering and other STEM
disciplines supported by the Department;
``(5) competitive scholarships, fellowships, and
traineeships for undergraduate and graduate students in
energy systems science and engineering and other STEM
disciplines supported by the Department;
``(6) competitive grants for institutions of higher
education (as defined under section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), including 2-year
institutions of higher education, to establish or expand
degree programs or courses in energy systems science and
engineering; and
``(7) professional training for energy auditors, field
technicians, and building contractors, in the areas of
building energy retrofits and audits or related renewable
energy technology installations.
``(c) Organization of STEM Education Programs.--
``(1) Director of stem education.--The Secretary shall
appoint or designate a Director of STEM Education, who shall
have the principal responsibility to oversee and coordinate
all programs and activities of the Department in support of
STEM education, including energy systems science and
engineering education, across all functions of the
Department.
``(2) Qualifications.--The Director shall be an individual,
who by reason of professional background and experience, is
specially qualified to advise the Secretary on all matters
pertaining to STEM education, including energy systems
science and engineering education, at the Department.
[[Page H3565]]
``(3) Duties.--The Director shall--
``(A) oversee and coordinate all programs in support of
STEM education, including energy systems science and
engineering education, across all functions of the
Department;
``(B) represent the Department as the principal interagency
liaison for all STEM education programs, unless otherwise
represented by the Secretary, the Under Secretary for
Science, or the Under Secretary for Energy;
``(C) prepare the annual budget and advise the Under
Secretary for Science and the Under Secretary for Energy on
all budgetary issues for STEM education, including energy
systems science and engineering education, relative to the
programs of the Department;
``(D) establish, periodically update, and maintain a
publicly accessible online inventory of STEM education
programs and activities, including energy systems science and
engineering education programs and activities;
``(E) develop, implement, and update the Department of
Energy STEM education strategic plan, as required by
subsection (d);
``(F) increase, to the maximum extent practicable, the
participation and advancement of women and underrepresented
minorities at every level of STEM education, including energy
systems science and engineering education; and
``(G) perform such other matters relating to STEM education
as are required by the Secretary, the Under Secretary for
Science, or the Under Secretary for Energy.
``(d) Department of Energy Stem Education Strategic Plan.--
The Director of STEM education appointed or designated under
subsection (c)(1) shall develop, implement, and update once
every 3 years a 3-year STEM education strategic plan for the
Department, which shall--
``(1) identify and prioritize annual and long-term STEM
education goals and objectives for the Department that are
aligned with the overall goals of the National Science and
Technology Council Committee on STEM Education Strategic plan
required under section 301(d)(2) of the STEM Education
Coordination Act of 2010;
``(2) describe the role of each program or activity of the
Department in contributing to the goals and objectives
identified under paragraph (1);
``(3) specify the metrics that will be used to assess
progress toward achieving those goals and objectives; and
``(4) describe the approaches that will be taken to assess
the effectiveness of each STEM education program and activity
supported by the Department.
``(e) Outreach to Students From Underrepresented Groups.--
In carrying out a program authorized under this section, the
Secretary shall give consideration to the goal of promoting
the participation of individuals identified in section 33 or
34 of the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42
U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b).
``(f) Consultation and Partnership With Other Agencies.--In
carrying out the programs and activities authorized under
this section, the Secretary shall--
``(1) consult with the Secretary of Education and the
Director of the National Science Foundation regarding
activities designed to improve elementary and secondary STEM
education; and
``(2) consult and partner with the Director of the National
Science Foundation in carrying out programs under this
section designed to build capacity in STEM education at the
undergraduate and graduate level, including by supporting
excellent proposals in energy systems science and engineering
that are submitted for funding to the Foundation's Advanced
Technological Education Program.''; and
(4) in section 3191--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``web-based'' and inserting ``, through a
publicly available website,''; and
(ii) by inserting ``and project-based learning
opportunities'' after ``laboratory experiments'';
(B) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ``, including energy
systems science and engineering'' after ``the science of
energy''; and
(C) by striking subsection (d).
(c) Energy Applied Science Talent Expansion Program for
Institutions of Higher Education.--
(1) Amendment.--Strike sections 5004 and 5005 of the
America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16532 and 16533) and insert
the following new section:
``SEC. 5004. ENERGY APPLIED SCIENCE TALENT EXPANSION PROGRAM
FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
``(1) to address the decline in the number of and resources
available to energy systems science and engineering programs
at institutions of higher education, including community
colleges; and
``(2) to increase the number of graduates with degrees in
energy systems science and engineering, an area of strategic
importance to the economic competitiveness and energy
security of the United States.
``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall award grants, on
a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institutions of
higher education to implement or expand the energy systems
science and engineering educational and technical training
capabilities of the institution, and to provide merit-based
financial support for master's and doctoral level students
pursuing courses of study and research in energy systems
sciences and engineering.
``(c) Use of Funds.--An institution of higher education
that receives a grant under this section may use the grant
to--
``(1) provide traineeships, including stipends and cost of
education allowances, to master's and doctoral students;
``(2) develop or expand multidisciplinary or
interdisciplinary courses or programs;
``(3) recruit and retain new faculty;
``(4) develop or improve core and specialized course
content;
``(5) encourage interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
research collaborations;
``(6) support outreach efforts to recruit students,
including individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the
Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C.
1885a or 1885b); and
``(7) pursue opportunities for collaboration with industry
and National Laboratories.
``(d) Criteria.--Criteria for awarding a grant under this
section shall be based on--
``(1) the potential to attract new students to the program;
``(2) academic rigor; and
``(3) the ability to offer hands-on education and training
opportunities for graduate students in the emerging areas of
energy systems science and engineering.
``(e) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority to
proposals that involve active partnerships with a National
Laboratory or other energy systems science and engineering
related entity, as determined by the Secretary.
``(f) Duration and Amount.--
``(1) Duration.--A grant under this section may be for up
to 3 years in duration.
``(2) Amount.--An institution of higher education that
receives a grant under this section shall be eligible for up
to $1,000,000 for each year of the grant period.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out
this section--
``(1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
``(2) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and
``(3) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The table of contents for the
America COMPETES Act is amended by striking the items
relating to sections 5004 and 5005 and inserting the
following:
``Sec. 5004. Energy applied science talent expansion program for
institutions of higher education.''.
(d) Department of Energy Early Career Awards for Science,
Engineering, and Mathematics Researchers.--Section 5006 of
the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16534) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Director of the
Office'' and all that follows through ``shall carry'' and
inserting ``Secretary shall carry'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``per year'' after
``$80,000''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``$125,000'' and
inserting ``$175,000 per year'';
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``, as determined by
the Director'';
(4) in subsections (c)(2), (e), (f), and (g), by striking
``Director'' each place it appears and inserting
``Secretary'';
(5) in subsection (d), by striking ``merit-reviewed'' and
inserting ``merit-based, peer reviewed''; and
(6) in subsection (h)--
(A) by striking ``, acting through the Director,''; and
(B) by striking ``$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008
through 2010'' and inserting ``such sums as are necessary''.
(e) Protecting America's Competitive Edge (PACE) Graduate
Fellowship Program.--Section 5009 of the America COMPETES Act
(42 U.S.C. 16536) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``involving written and
oral interviews, that will result in a wide distribution of
awards throughout the United States,''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)(B)(iv), by striking ``verbal and'';
(2) in subsection (d)(1)(B)(i), by inserting ``partial or
full'' before ``graduate tuition''; and
(3) by striking subsection (f).
(f) Repeal.--Section 3164 of the Department of Energy
Science Education Enhancement Act (42 U.S.C. 7381a) is
repealed.
SEC. 304. GREEN ENERGY EDUCATION.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Green
Energy Education Act of 2010''.
(b) Definition.--For the purposes of this section:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(2) High performance building.--The term ``high performance
building'' has the meaning given that term in section 914(a)
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16194(a)).
(c) Graduate Training in Energy Research and Development.--
(1) Funding.--In carrying out research, development,
demonstration, and commercial application activities
authorized for the Department of Energy, the Secretary may
contribute funds to the National Science Foundation for the
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship
program to support projects that enable graduate education
related to such activities.
(2) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with the
Secretary when preparing solicitations and awarding grants
for projects described in paragraph (1).
[[Page H3566]]
(d) Curriculum Development for High Performance Building
Design.--
(1) Funding.--In carrying out advanced energy technology
research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application activities authorized for the Department of
Energy related to high performance buildings, the Secretary
may contribute funds to curriculum development activities at
the National Science Foundation for the purpose of improving
undergraduate or graduate interdisciplinary engineering and
architecture education related to the design and construction
of high performance buildings, including development of
curricula, of laboratory activities, of training practicums,
or of design projects. A primary goal of curriculum
development activities supported under this subsection shall
be to improve the ability of engineers, architects, landscape
architects, and planners to work together on the
incorporation of advanced energy technologies during the
design and construction of high performance buildings.
(2) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with the
Secretary when preparing solicitations and awarding grants
for projects described in paragraph (1).
(3) Priority.--In awarding grants with respect to which the
Secretary has contributed funds under this subsection, the
Director shall give priority to applications from
departments, programs, or centers of a school of engineering
that are partnered with schools, departments, or programs of
design, architecture, landscape architecture, and city,
regional, or urban planning.
SEC. 305. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT ON
STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF 2-YEAR
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO PROVIDE
STEM OPPORTUNITIES.
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall enter
into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to
carry out a study evaluating the role of 2-year institutions
of higher education as STEM educators, including in the
preparation of students for direct entry into the STEM
workforce and in preparation of students for transition into
4-year STEM degree programs, as well as the role of the
Federal Government in helping 2-year institutions of higher
education build their capacity to be effective STEM
educators. At a minimum, the report shall include--
(1) an evaluation of the current capacity of 2-year
institutions of higher education to be effective STEM
educators, including in the preparation of students for
direct entry into the STEM workforce and for transition into
4-year STEM degree programs;
(2) a description of existing challenges to expanding
opportunities for 2-year institutions of higher education to
provide and enhance STEM learning and provide STEM degrees
that prepare students well for direct entry into the STEM
workforce or for transition into 4-year degree programs;
(3) identification and description of Federal programs that
have successfully strengthened the capacity of 2-year
institutions of higher education to provide and enhance STEM
opportunities;
(4) a recommendation or recommendations regarding how
Federal agencies should set priorities for supporting STEM
education at 2-year institutions of higher education;
(5) a recommendation or recommendations regarding ways
Federal agencies can provide increased opportunities for 2-
year institutions of higher education to participate across
their portfolios of STEM education and research programs,
including--
(A) ways to engage 2-year institution of higher education
faculty and students with research experiences;
(B) strategies for improving the curriculum and teaching of
developmental mathematics given that many 2-year institutions
of higher education provide remediation in mathematics and
other STEM coursework; and
(C) enhancing the basic scientific laboratory
infrastructure; and
(6) a recommendation or recommendations regarding the need
for and appropriateness of new Federal programs in support of
STEM education at 2-year institutions of higher education.
SEC. 306. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENGINEERING EDUCATION.
It is the Sense of Congress that--
(1) in order to maintain our Nation's competitiveness, we
must improve the quality of STEM education in the Nation;
(2) the incorporation of engineering education at the
elementary and secondary levels has the potential to improve
student learning and achievement in science and mathematics,
and to increase the technological literacy of all students;
(3) formal and informal educational providers, including K-
12 schools, should integrate engineering design principles
into their curriculum; and
(4) exposing elementary and secondary students to
engineering education can expand students' understanding of
engineering and their awareness of career opportunities in
these fields.
SEC. 307. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON GRANT APPLICATION
CONSIDERATION.
For science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) education programs or activities authorized under this
Act or amendments made by this Act, it is the sense of
Congress that when more than 1 applicant is competing for the
same grant and the applications from each applicant are
considered equal in merit by the grant-awarding authority,
the grant-awarding authority shall give additional
consideration to any of the following:
(1) An applicant that has not previously received funding.
(2) An applicant that is an institution of higher education
in a rural area.
SEC. 308. ENCOURAGING FEDERAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS TO
PARTICIPATE IN STEM EDUCATION.
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy, in consultation with the Department of Education,
shall develop a policy to--
(1) increase volunteerism in STEM education activities by
encouraging scientists and engineers from Federal science
agencies conducting nonmilitary scientific research and
development, including scientists and engineers of the
federally funded research and development centers supported
by those agencies, to volunteer in STEM education activities,
and by providing administrative support for such scientists
and engineers to engage in such volunteerism; and
(2) support increased communication and partnerships
between scientists and engineers from Federal science
agencies conducting nonmilitary scientific research and
development, including scientists and engineers of the
federally funded research and development centers supported
by those agencies, and elementary and secondary schools and
teachers through volunteerism in STEM education activities.
TITLE IV--NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``National Institute of
Standards and Technology Authorization Act of 2010''.
SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Fiscal Year 2011.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of Commerce $991,100,000 for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology for fiscal year 2011.
(2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under
paragraph (1)--
(A) $620,000,000 shall be authorized for scientific and
technical research and services laboratory activities;
(B) $125,000,000 shall be authorized for the construction
and maintenance of facilities; and
(C) $246,100,000 shall be authorized for industrial
technology services activities, of which--
(i) $95,000,000 shall be authorized for the Technology
Innovation Program under section 28 of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n);
(ii) $141,100,000 shall be authorized for the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership program under sections 25 and 26 of
such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 278l); and
(iii) $10,000,000 shall be authorized for the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award program under section 17 of
the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3711a).
(b) Fiscal Year 2012.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of Commerce $992,400,000 for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology for fiscal year 2012.
(2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under
paragraph (1)--
(A) $657,200,000 shall be authorized for scientific and
technical research and services laboratory activities;
(B) $85,000,000 shall be authorized for the construction
and maintenance of facilities; and
(C) $250,200,000 shall be authorized for industrial
technology services activities, of which--
(i) $89,000,000 shall be authorized for the Technology
Innovation Program under section 28 of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n);
(ii) $150,900,000 shall be authorized for the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership program under sections 25 and 26 of
such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 278l); and
(iii) $10,300,000 shall be authorized for the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award program under section 17 of
the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3711a).
(c) Fiscal Year 2013.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of Commerce $1,079,809,000 for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology for fiscal year 2013.
(2) Specific allocations.--Of the amount authorized under
paragraph (1)--
(A) $696,700,000 shall be authorized for scientific and
technical research and services laboratory activities;
(B) $122,000,000 shall be authorized for the construction
and maintenance of facilities; and
(C) $261,109,000 shall be authorized for industrial
technology services activities, of which--
(i) $89,000,000 shall be authorized for the Technology
Innovation Program under section 28 of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n);
(ii) $161,500,000 shall be authorized for the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership program under sections 25 and 26 of
such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k and 278l); and
(iii) $10,609,000 shall be authorized for the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award program under section 17 of
the Stevenson-
[[Page H3567]]
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711a).
SEC. 403. UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR STANDARDS AND
TECHNOLOGY.
(a) Establishment.--Section 4 of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology Act is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 4. UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR STANDARDS AND
TECHNOLOGY.
``(a) Establishment.--There shall be in the Department of
Commerce an Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and
Technology (in this section referred to as the `Under
Secretary').
``(b) Appointment.--The Under Secretary shall be appointed
by the President by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate.
``(c) Compensation.--The Under Secretary shall be
compensated at the rate in effect for level III of the
Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United
States Code.
``(d) Duties.--The Under Secretary shall serve as the
Director of the Institute and shall perform such duties as
required of the Director by the Secretary under this Act or
by law.
``(e) Applicability.--The individual serving as the
Director of the Institute on the date of enactment of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology Authorization
Act of 2010 shall also serve as the Under Secretary until
such time as a successor is appointed under subsection
(b).''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Title 5, united states code.--
(A) Level iii.--Section 5314 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended by inserting before the item ``Associate
Attorney General'' the following:
``Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology,
who also serves as Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology.''.
(B) Level iv.--Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code,
is amended by striking ``Director, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce.''.
(2) National institute of standards and technology act.--
Section 5 of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 274) is amended by striking the
first, fifth, and sixth sentences.
SEC. 404. REORGANIZATION OF NIST LABORATORIES.
(a) Organization.--The Director shall reorganize the
scientific and technical research and services laboratory
program into the following operational units:
(1) The Physical Measurement Laboratory, whose mission is
to realize and disseminate the national standards for length,
mass, time and frequency, electricity, temperature, force,
and radiation by activities including fundamental research in
measurement science, the provision of measurement services
and standards, and the provision of testing facilities
resources for use by the Federal Government.
(2) The Information Technology Laboratory, whose mission is
to develop and disseminate standards, measurements, and
testing capabilities for interoperability, security,
usability, and reliability of information technologies,
including cyber security standards and guidelines for Federal
agencies, United States industry, and the public, through
fundamental and applied research in computer science,
mathematics, and statistics.
(3) The Engineering Laboratory, whose mission is to develop
and disseminate advanced manufacturing and construction
technologies to the United States manufacturing and
construction industries through activities including
measurement science research, performance metrics, tools for
engineering applications, and promotion of standards
adoption.
(4) The Material Measurement Laboratory, whose mission is
to serve as the national reference laboratory in biological,
chemical, and material sciences and engineering through
activities including fundamental research in the composition,
structure, and properties of biological and environmental
materials and processes, the development of certified
reference materials and critically evaluated data, and other
programs to assure measurement quality in materials and
biotechnology fields.
(5) The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, a
national shared-use facility for nanoscale fabrication and
measurement, whose mission is to develop innovative nanoscale
measurement and fabrication capabilities to support
researchers from industry, institutions of higher education,
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other
Federal agencies in nanoscale technology from discovery to
production.
(6) The NIST Center for Neutron Research, a national user
facility, whose mission is to provide neutron-based
measurement capabilities to researchers from industry,
institutions of higher education, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, and other Federal agencies in
support of materials research, nondestructive evaluation,
neutron imaging, chemical analysis, neutron standards,
dosimetry, and radiation metrology.
(b) Additional Duties.--The Director may assign additional
duties to the operational units listed in subsection (a) that
are consistent with the missions of such units.
(c) Revision.--
(1) In general.--Subsequent to the reorganization required
under subsection (a), the Director may revise the
organization of the scientific and technical research and
services laboratory program.
(2) Report to congress.--Any revision to the organization
of such program under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in a
report to the Committee on Science and Technology of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate at least 60 days
before the effective date of such revision.
SEC. 405. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY
ASSESSMENT COORDINATION.
(a) Coordination.--Section 2(b) of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding after paragraph (13) the following:
``(14) to promote collaboration among Federal departments
and agencies and private sector stakeholders in the
development and implementation of standards and conformity
assessment frameworks to address specific Federal Government
policy goals; and
``(15) to convene Federal departments and agencies, as
appropriate, to--
``(A) coordinate and determine Federal Government positions
on specific policy issues related to the development of
international technical standards and conformity assessment-
related activities; and
``(B) coordinate Federal department and agency engagement
in the development of international technical standards and
conformity assessment-related activities.''.
(b) Report.--The Director, in consultation with appropriate
Federal agencies, shall submit a report annually to Congress
addressing the Federal Government's technical standards and
conformity assessment-related activities. The report shall
identify--
(1) current and anticipated international standards and
conformity assessment-related issues that have the potential
to impact the competitiveness and innovation capabilities of
the United States;
(2) any action being taken by the Federal Government to
address these issues and the Federal agency taking that
action; and
(3) any action that the Director is taking or will take to
ensure effective Federal Government engagement on technical
standards and conformity assessment-related issues, as
appropriate, where the Federal Government is not effectively
engaged.
SEC. 406. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP.
(a) Community College Support.--Section 25(a) of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C.
278k(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) providing to community colleges information about the
job skills needed in small- and medium-sized manufacturing
businesses in the regions they serve.''.
(b) Innovative Services Initiative.--Section 25 of such Act
(15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(g) Innovative Services Initiative.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Director may establish, within
the Centers program under this section, an innovative
services initiative to assist small- and medium-sized
manufacturers in--
``(A) reducing their energy usage and environmental waste
to improve profitability; and
``(B) accelerating the domestic commercialization of new
product technologies, including components for renewable
energy systems.
``(2) Market demand.--The Director may not undertake any
activity to accelerate the domestic commercialization of a
new product technology under this subsection unless an
analysis of market demand for the new product technology has
been conducted.''.
(c) Reports.--Section 25 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is
further amended by adding after subsection (g), as added by
subsection (b), the following:
``(h) Reports.--
``(1) In general.--In submitting the 3-year programmatic
planning document and annual updates under section 23, the
Director shall include an assessment of the Director's
governance of the program established under this section.
``(2) Criteria.--In conducting such assessment, the
Director shall use the criteria established pursuant to the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award under section
17(d)(1)(C) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act
of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711a(d)(1)(C)).''.
(d) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program
Cost-Sharing.--Section 25(c) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(c))
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (3), and (5), for
fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2013, the Secretary may
not provide to a Center more than 50 percent of the costs
incurred by such Center and may not require that a Center's
cost share exceed 50 percent.
``(8) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Authorization Act of 2010, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report on the cost share requirements under the
program. The report shall--
``(A) discuss various cost share structures, including the
cost share structure in place prior to such date of enactment
and the cost share structure in place under paragraph (7),
[[Page H3568]]
and the effect of such cost share structures on individual
Centers and the overall program; and
``(B) include a recommendation for how best to structure
the cost share requirement after fiscal year 2013 to provide
for the long-term sustainability of the program.''.
(e) Advisory Board.--Section 25(e)(4) of such Act (15
U.S.C. 278k(e)(4)) is amended to read as follows:
``(4) Federal advisory committee act applicability.--
``(A) In general.--In discharging its duties under this
subsection, the MEP Advisory Board shall function solely in
an advisory capacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act.
``(B) Exception.--Section 14 of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act shall not apply to the MEP Advisory Board.''.
(f) Definitions.--Section 25 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k)
is further amended by adding after subsection (h), as added
by subsection (c), the following:
``(i) Definition.--In this section, the term `community
college' means an institution of higher education (as defined
under section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a))) at which the highest degree that is
predominately awarded to students is an associate's
degree.''.
(g) Evaluation of Obstacles Unique to Small
Manufacturers.--Section 25 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is
further amended by adding after subsection (i), as added by
subsection (f), the following:
``(j) Evaluation of Obstacles Unique to Small
Manufacturers.--The Director shall--
``(1) evaluate obstacles that are unique to small
manufacturers that prevent such manufacturers from
effectively competing in the global market;
``(2) implement a comprehensive plan to train the Centers
to address such obstacles; and
``(3) facilitate improved communication between the Centers
to assist such manufacturers in implementing appropriate,
targeted solutions to such obstacles.''.
SEC. 407. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
(a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish a research
initiative to support the development of emergency
communication and tracking technologies for use in locating
trapped individuals in confined spaces, such as underground
mines, and other shielded environments, such as high-rise
buildings or collapsed structures, where conventional radio
communication is limited.
(b) Activities.--In order to carry out this section, the
Director shall work with the private sector and appropriate
Federal agencies to--
(1) perform a needs assessment to identify and evaluate the
measurement, technical standards, and conformity assessment
needs required to improve the operation and reliability of
such emergency communication and tracking technologies;
(2) support the development of technical standards and
conformance architecture to improve the operation and
reliability of such emergency communication and tracking
technologies; and
(3) incorporate and build upon existing reports and studies
on improving emergency communications.
(c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Congress
and make publicly available a report describing the
assessment performed under subsection (b)(1) and making
recommendations about research priorities to address gaps in
the measurement, technical standards, and conformity
assessment needs identified by such assessment.
SEC. 408. TIP ADVISORY BOARD.
Section 28(k)(4) of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n(k)(4)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(4) Federal advisory committee act applicability.--
``(A) In general.--In discharging its duties under this
subsection, the TIP Advisory Board shall function solely in
an advisory capacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act.
``(B) Exception.--Section 14 of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act shall not apply to the TIP Advisory Board.''.
SEC. 409. UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES.
(a) Research Fellowships.--Section 18 of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g-1)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Underrepresented Minorities.--In evaluating
applications for fellowships under this section, the Director
shall give consideration to the goal of promoting the
participation of underrepresented minorities in research
areas supported by the Institute.''.
(b) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.--Section 19 of such
Act (15 U.S.C. 278g-2) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``In evaluating applications for fellowships under
this section, the Director shall give consideration to the
goal of promoting the participation of underrepresented
minorities in research areas supported by the Institute.''.
(c) Teacher Development.--Section 19A(c) of such Act (15
U.S.C. 278g-2a(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``The Director shall give special consideration to
an application from a teacher from a high-need school, as
defined in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1021).''.
SEC. 410. CYBER SECURITY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.
Cyber security standards and guidelines developed by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology for use by
United States industry and the public shall be voluntary.
SEC. 411. DISASTER RESILIENT BUILDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
(a) Establishment.--The Director shall carry out a disaster
resilient buildings and infrastructure program.
(b) Real-Scale Structures.--As part of the program, the
Director shall--
(1) develop the capability to test real-scale structures
under realistic fire and structural loading conditions; and
(2) assist in the validation of predictive models by
developing a database on the performance of large-scale
structures under realistic fire and structural loading
conditions.
(c) Database.--As part of the program, the Director shall
develop a database on the performance of the built
environment during natural and man-made hazard events.
SEC. 412. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
(2) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given such term in section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703).
SEC. 413. REPORT ON THE USE OF MODELING AND SIMULATION.
(a) In General.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Director shall submit a report to Congress
examining the use of high-performance computational modeling
and simulation by small- and medium-sized manufacturers.
(b) Specific Requirements.--Such report shall include the
following:
(1) An assessment of the current utilization of high-
performance computational modeling and simulation by small-
and medium-sized manufacturers.
(2) An examination of any barriers or challenges to the use
of high-performance computational modeling and simulation by
small- and medium-sized manufacturers, including--
(A) access to high-performance computing facilities and
resources;
(B) the availability of software and other applications
tailored to meet the needs of such manufacturers;
(C) appropriate expertise and training; and
(D) the availability of tools and other methods to
understand and manage the costs and risks associated with
transitioning to the use of computational modeling and
simulation.
(3) Recommendations for addressing any barriers or
challenges identified in paragraph (2) and, if appropriate,
suggestions for action that the Federal Government may take
to foster the development and utilization of high-performance
computing resources by small- and medium-sized manufacturers.
(c) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the
Director shall consult with the Office of Science and
Technology Policy and with other relevant Federal agencies.
SEC. 414. GREEN MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION.
The Director shall carry out a green manufacturing and
construction initiative to--
(1) develop accurate sustainability metrics and practices
for use in manufacturing;
(2) advance the development of standards and the creation
of an information infrastructure to communicate
sustainability information about suppliers; and
(3) improve energy performance, service life, and indoor
air quality of new and retrofitted buildings through
validated measurement data.
SEC. 415. NANOMATERIAL INITIATIVE.
The Director shall carry out a nanomaterial research
initiative to--
(1) develop reference materials for nanomaterials and
derived products to be used in benchmarking toxicity,
calibrating instruments, and facilitating laboratory
comparisons;
(2) assist in the development of international documentary
standards relating to nanomaterials;
(3) develop instruments and measurement methods to
determine the physical and chemical properties of
nanomaterials; and
(4) gather and develop data to support the correlation of
physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials to any
environmental, safety, or other risks.
SEC. 416. MANUFACTURING RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--The Director shall carry out a program to
support transformational manufacturing research.
(b) Activities.--As part of such program, the Director
shall--
(1) develop and disseminate measurement tools and
capabilities for new additive manufacturing and robotics
technologies and methods;
(2) establish new techniques and methods to efficiently
generate and assemble products integrating nanoscale
materials and devices; and
(3) carry out other research with significant
transformational potential for manufacturing.
TITLE V--INNOVATION
SEC. 501. OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
[[Page H3569]]
``SEC. 24. OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish an Office
of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to foster innovation and
the commercialization of new technologies, products,
processes, and services with the goal of promoting
productivity and economic growth in the United States.
``(b) Duties.--The Office of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship shall be responsible for--
``(1) developing policies to accelerate innovation and
advance the commercialization of research and development,
including federally funded research and development;
``(2) identifying existing barriers to innovation and
commercialization, including access to capital and other
resources, and ways to overcome those barriers;
``(3) providing access to relevant data, research, and
technical assistance on innovation and commercialization;
``(4) strengthening collaboration on and coordination of
policies relating to innovation and commercialization,
including those focused on the needs of small businesses and
rural communities, within the Department of Commerce and
between the Department of Commerce and other Federal
agencies, as appropriate; and
``(5) any other duties as determined by the Secretary.
``(c) Advisory Committee.--The Secretary shall establish an
Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to
provide advice to the Secretary on carrying out subsection
(b).''.
SEC. 502. FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
IN MANUFACTURING.
The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is further amended by adding after
section 24, as added by section 501 of this title, the
following new section:
``SEC. 25. FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGIES IN MANUFACTURING.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a
program to provide loan guarantees for obligations to small-
or medium-sized manufacturers for the use or production of
innovative technologies.
``(b) Eligible Projects.--A loan guarantee may be made
under such program only for a project that reequips, expands,
or establishes a manufacturing facility in the United States
to--
``(1) use an innovative technology or an innovative process
in manufacturing; or
``(2) manufacture an innovative technology product or an
integral component of such product.
``(c) Eligible Borrower.--A loan guarantee may be made
under such program only for a borrower who is a small- or
medium-sized manufacturer, as determined by the Secretary
under the criteria established pursuant to subsection (m).
``(d) Limitation on Amount.--A loan guarantee shall not
exceed an amount equal to 80 percent of the obligation, as
estimated at the time at which the loan guarantee is issued.
``(e) Limitations on Loan Guarantee.--No loan guarantee
shall be made unless the Secretary determines that--
``(1) there is a reasonable prospect of repayment of the
principal and interest on the obligation by the borrower;
``(2) the amount of the obligation (when combined with
amounts available to the borrower from other sources) is
sufficient to carry out the project;
``(3) the obligation is not subordinate to other financing;
``(4) the obligation bears interest at a rate that does not
exceed a level that the Secretary determines appropriate,
taking into account the prevailing rate of interest in the
private sector for similar loans and risks; and
``(5) the term of an obligation requires full repayment
over a period not to exceed the lesser of--
``(A) 30 years; or
``(B) 90 percent of the projected useful life, as
determined by the Secretary, of the physical asset to be
financed by the obligation.
``(f) Defaults.--
``(1) Payment by secretary.--
``(A) In general.--If a borrower defaults (as defined in
regulations promulgated by the Secretary and specified in the
loan guarantee) on the obligation, the holder of the loan
guarantee shall have the right to demand payment of the
unpaid amount from the Secretary.
``(B) Payment required.--Within such period as may be
specified in the loan guarantee or related agreements, the
Secretary shall pay to the holder of the loan guarantee the
unpaid interest on and unpaid principal of the obligation as
to which the borrower has defaulted, unless the Secretary
finds that there was no default by the borrower in the
payment of interest or principal or that the default has been
remedied.
``(C) Forbearance.--Nothing in this subsection precludes
any forbearance by the holder of the obligation for the
benefit of the borrower which may be agreed upon by the
parties to the obligation and approved by the Secretary.
``(2) Subrogation.--
``(A) In general.--If the Secretary makes a payment under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall be subrogated to the
rights, as specified in the loan guarantee, of the recipient
of the payment or related agreements including, if
appropriate, the authority (notwithstanding any other
provision of law) to--
``(i) complete, maintain, operate, lease, or otherwise
dispose of any property acquired pursuant to such loan
guarantee or related agreement; or
``(ii) permit the borrower, pursuant to an agreement with
the Secretary, to continue to pursue the purposes of the
project if the Secretary determines that such an agreement is
in the public interest.
``(B) Superiority of rights.--The rights of the Secretary,
with respect to any property acquired pursuant to a loan
guarantee or related agreements, shall be superior to the
rights of any other person with respect to the property.
``(3) Notification.--If the borrower defaults on an
obligation, the Secretary shall notify the Attorney General
of the default.
``(g) Payment of Principal and Interest by Secretary.--With
respect to any obligation guaranteed under this section, the
Secretary may enter into a contract to pay, and pay, holders
of the obligation for and on behalf of the borrower from
funds appropriated for that purpose the principal and
interest payments that become due and payable on the unpaid
balance of the obligation if the Secretary finds that--
``(1)(A) the borrower is unable to make the payments and is
not in default;
``(B) it is in the public interest to permit the borrower
to continue to pursue the project; and
``(C) the probable net benefit to the Federal Government in
paying the principal and interest will be greater than that
which would result in the event of a default;
``(2) the amount of the payment that the Secretary is
authorized to pay shall be no greater than the amount of
principal and interest that the borrower is obligated to pay
under the obligation being guaranteed; and
``(3) the borrower agrees to reimburse the Secretary for
the payment (including interest) on terms and conditions that
are satisfactory to the Secretary.
``(h) Terms and Conditions.--A loan guarantee under this
section shall include such detailed terms and conditions as
the Secretary determines appropriate to--
``(1) protect the interests of the United States in the
case of default; and
``(2) have available all the patents and technology
necessary for any person selected, including the Secretary,
to complete and operate the project.
``(i) Consultation.--In establishing the terms and
conditions of a loan guarantee under this section, the
Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Treasury.
``(j) Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall charge and collect
fees for loan guarantees in amounts the Secretary determines
are sufficient to cover applicable administrative expenses.
``(2) Availability.--Fees collected under this subsection
shall--
``(A) be deposited by the Secretary into the Treasury of
the United States; and
``(B) remain available until expended, subject to such
other conditions as are contained in annual appropriations
Acts.
``(3) Limitation.--In charging and collecting fees under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into consideration
the amount of the obligation.
``(k) Records.--
``(1) In general.--With respect to a loan guarantee under
this section, the borrower, the lender, and any other
appropriate party shall keep such records and other pertinent
documents as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation,
including such records as the Secretary may require to
facilitate an effective audit.
``(2) Access.--The Secretary and the Comptroller General of
the United States, or their duly authorized representatives,
shall have access to records and other pertinent documents
for the purpose of conducting an audit.
``(l) Full Faith and Credit.--The full faith and credit of
the United States is pledged to the payment of all loan
guarantees issued under this section with respect to
principal and interest.
``(m) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue final
regulations before making any loan guarantees under the
program. Such regulations shall include--
``(1) criteria that the Secretary shall use to determine
eligibility for loan guarantees under this section,
including--
``(A) whether a borrower is a small- or medium-sized
manufacturer; and
``(B) whether a borrower demonstrates that a market exists
for the innovative technology product, or the integral
component of such product, to be manufactured, as evidenced
by written statements of interest from potential purchasers;
``(2) criteria that the Secretary shall use to determine
the amount of any fees charged under subsection (j),
including criteria related to the amount of the obligation;
``(3) policies and procedures for selecting and monitoring
lenders and loan performance; and
``(4) any other policies, procedures, or information
necessary to implement this section.
``(n) Audit.--
``(1) Annual independent audits.--The Secretary shall enter
into an arrangement with an independent auditor for annual
evaluations of the program under this section.
``(2) Comptroller general review.--The Comptroller General
shall conduct a biennial review of the Secretary's execution
of the program under this section.
``(3) Report.--The results of the independent audit under
paragraph (1) and the
[[Page H3570]]
Comptroller General's review under paragraph (2) shall be
provided directly to the Committee on Science and Technology
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
``(o) Report to Congress.--Concurrent with the submission
to Congress of the President's annual budget request in each
year after the date of enactment of this section, the
Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Science and
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a
report containing a summary of all activities carried out
under this section.
``(p) Coordination and Nonduplication.--To the maximum
extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that the
activities carried out under this section are coordinated
with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, other loan
guarantee programs within the Federal Government.
``(q) MEP Centers.--The Secretary may use centers
established under section 25 of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) to provide
information about the program established under this section
and to conduct outreach to potential borrowers, as
appropriate.
``(r) Minimizing Risk.--The Secretary shall promulgate
regulations and policies to carry out this section in
accordance with Office of Management and Budget Circular No.
A-129, entitled `Policies for Federal Credit Programs and
Non-Tax Receivables', as in effect on the date of enactment
of this section.
``(s) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
no loan guarantee shall be made under this section unless the
borrower agrees to use a federally-approved electronic
employment eligibility verification system to verify the
employment eligibility of--
``(1) all persons hired during the contract term by the
borrower to perform employment duties within the United
States; and
``(2) all persons assigned by the borrower to perform work
within the United States on the project.
``(t) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Cost.--The term `cost' has the meaning given such
term under section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of
1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
``(2) Innovative process.--The term `innovative process'
means a process that is significantly improved as compared to
the process in general use in the commercial marketplace in
the United States at the time the loan guarantee is issued.
``(3) Innovative technology.--The term `innovative
technology' means a technology that is significantly improved
as compared to the technology in general use in the
commercial marketplace in the United States at the time the
loan guarantee is issued.
``(4) Loan guarantee.--The term `loan guarantee' has the
meaning given such term in section 502 of the Federal Credit
Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a). The term includes a loan
guarantee commitment (as defined in section 502 of such Act
(2 U.S.C. 661a)).
``(5) Obligation.--The term `obligation' means the loan or
other debt obligation that is guaranteed under this section.
``(6) Program.--The term `program' means the loan guarantee
program established in subsection (a).
``(u) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) Cost of loan guarantees.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011
through 2013 to provide the cost of loan guarantees under
this section.
``(2) Principal and interest.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out
subsection (g).''.
SEC. 503. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM.
The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is further amended by adding after
section 25, as added by section 502 of this title, the
following new section:
``SEC. 26. REGIONAL INNOVATION PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a
regional innovation program to encourage and support the
development of regional innovation strategies, including
regional innovation clusters.
``(b) Regional Innovation Cluster Grants.--
``(1) In general.--As part of the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary may award grants on a
competitive basis to eligible recipients for activities
relating to the formation and development of regional
innovation clusters.
``(2) Permissible activities.--Grants awarded under this
subsection may be used for activities determined appropriate
by the Secretary, including the following:
``(A) Feasibility studies.
``(B) Planning activities.
``(C) Technical assistance.
``(D) Developing or strengthening communication and
collaboration between and among participants of a regional
innovation cluster.
``(E) Attracting additional participants to a regional
innovation cluster.
``(F) Facilitating market development of products and
services developed by a regional innovation cluster,
including through demonstration, deployment, technology
transfer, and commercialization activities.
``(G) Developing relationships between a regional
innovation cluster and entities or clusters in other regions.
``(H) Interacting with the public and State and local
governments to meet the goals of the cluster.
``(3) Eligible recipient.--For purposes of this subsection,
the term `eligible recipient' means any of the following:
``(A) A State.
``(B) An Indian tribe.
``(C) A city or other political subdivision of a State.
``(D) An entity that--
``(i) is a nonprofit organization, an institution of higher
education, a public-private partnership, a science park, a
Federal laboratory, or an economic development organization
or similar entity; and
``(ii) has an application that is supported by a State or a
political subdivision of a State.
``(E) A consortium of any of the entities listed in
subparagraphs (A) through (D).
``(4) Application.--
``(A) In general.--An eligible recipient shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information and assurances as the
Secretary may require.
``(B) Components.--The application shall include, at a
minimum, a description of the regional innovation cluster
supported by the proposed activity, including a description
of the following:
``(i) Whether the regional innovation cluster is supported
by the private sector, State and local governments, and other
relevant stakeholders.
``(ii) How the existing participants in the regional
innovation cluster will encourage and solicit participation
by all types of entities that might benefit from
participation, including newly formed entities and those
rival to existing participants.
``(iii) The extent to which the regional innovation cluster
is likely to stimulate innovation and have a positive impact
on regional economic growth and development.
``(iv) Whether the participants in the regional innovation
cluster have access to, or contribute to, a well-trained
workforce.
``(v) Whether the participants in the regional innovation
cluster are capable of attracting additional funds from non-
Federal sources.
``(vi) The likelihood that the participants in the regional
innovation cluster will be able to sustain activities once
grant funds under this subsection have been expended.
``(5) Special consideration.--The Secretary shall give
special consideration to--
``(A) applications from regions that contain communities
negatively impacted by trade; and
``(B) an eligible recipient who agrees to collaborate with
local workforce investment area boards.
``(6) Cost share.--The Secretary may not provide more than
50 percent of the total cost of any activity funded under
this subsection.
``(7) Use and application of research and information
program.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary
shall ensure that activities funded under this subsection use
and apply any relevant research, best practices, and metrics
developed under the program established in subsection (c).
``(c) Regional Innovation Research and Information
Program.--
``(1) In general.--As part of the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish a regional
innovation research and information program to--
``(A) gather, analyze, and disseminate information on best
practices for regional innovation strategies (including
regional innovation clusters), including information relating
to how innovation, productivity, and economic development can
be maximized through such strategies;
``(B) provide technical assistance, including through the
development of technical assistance guides, for the
development and implementation of regional innovation
strategies (including regional innovation clusters);
``(C) support the development of relevant metrics and
measurement standards to evaluate regional innovation
strategies (including regional innovation clusters),
including the extent to which such strategies stimulate
innovation, productivity, and economic development; and
``(D) collect and make available data on regional
innovation cluster activity in the United States, including
data on--
``(i) the size, specialization, and competitiveness of
regional innovation clusters;
``(ii) the regional domestic product contribution, total
jobs and earnings by key occupations, establishment size,
nature of specialization, patents, Federal research and
development spending, and other relevant information for
regional innovation clusters; and
``(iii) supply chain product and service flows within and
between regional innovation clusters.
``(2) Research grants.--The Secretary may award research
grants on a competitive basis to support and further the
goals of the program established under this subsection.
``(3) Dissemination of information.--Data and analysis
compiled by the Secretary under the program established in
this subsection shall be made available to other Federal
agencies, State and local governments, and nonprofit and for-
profit entities.
``(4) Cluster grant program.--The Secretary shall
incorporate data and analysis relating to any regional
innovation cluster supported by a grant under subsection (b)
into the program established under this subsection.
``(d) Interagency Coordination.--
[[Page H3571]]
``(1) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretary shall ensure that the activities carried out under
this section are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the
efforts of, other programs at the Department of Commerce or
other Federal agencies.
``(2) Collaboration.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall explore and pursue
collaboration with other Federal agencies, including through
multiagency funding opportunities, on regional innovation
strategies.
``(B) Small businesses.--The Secretary shall ensure that
such collaboration with Federal agencies prioritizes the
needs and challenges of small businesses.
``(e) Evaluation.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall enter into a
contract with an independent entity, such as the National
Academy of Sciences, to conduct an evaluation of the program
established under subsection (a).
``(2) Requirements.--The evaluation shall include--
``(A) whether such program is achieving its goals;
``(B) any recommendations for how such program may be
improved; and
``(C) a recommendation as to whether such program should be
continued or terminated.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Regional innovation cluster.--The term `regional
innovation cluster' means a geographically bounded network of
similar, synergistic, or complementary entities that--
``(A) are engaged in or with a particular industry sector;
``(B) have active channels for business transactions and
communication;
``(C) share specialized infrastructure, labor markets, and
services; and
``(D) leverage the region's unique competitive strengths to
stimulate innovation and create jobs.
``(2) State.--The term `State' means one of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary for
each of fiscal years 2011 through 2013 to carry out this
section, including such sums as are necessary to carry out
the evaluation required under subsection (e).''.
SEC. 504. CLEAN ENERGY CONSORTIUM.
(a) Purpose.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to
establish a Clean Energy Consortium to enhance the Nation's
economic, environmental, and energy security by promoting
commercial application of clean energy technology and
ensuring that the United States maintains a technological
lead in the development and commercial application of state-
of-the-art energy technologies. To achieve these purposes the
program shall leverage the expertise and resources of the
university and private research communities, industry,
venture capital, national laboratories, and other
participants in energy innovation to support collaborative,
cross-disciplinary research and development in areas not
being served by the private sector in order to develop and
accelerate the commercial application of innovative clean
energy technologies.
(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Clean energy technology.--The term ``clean energy
technology'' means a technology that--
(A) produces energy from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass,
tidal, wave, ocean, and other renewable energy resources (as
such term is defined in section 610 of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978);
(B) more efficiently transmits, distributes, or stores
energy;
(C) enhances energy efficiency for buildings and industry,
including combined heat and power;
(D) enables the development of a Smart Grid (as described
in section 1301 of the Energy Independence and Security Act
of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17381)), including integration of
renewable energy resources and distributed generation, demand
response, demand side management, and systems analysis;
(E) produces an advanced or sustainable material with
energy or energy efficiency applications; or
(F) improves energy efficiency for transportation,
including electric vehicles.
(2) Cluster.--The term ``cluster'' means a network of
entities directly involved in the research, development,
finance, and commercial application of clean energy
technologies whose geographic proximity facilitates
utilization and sharing of skilled human resources,
infrastructure, research facilities, educational and training
institutions, venture capital, and input suppliers.
(3) Consortium.--The term ``Consortium'' means a Clean
Energy Consortium established in accordance with this
section.
(4) Project.--The term ``project'' means an activity with
respect to which a Consortium provides support under
subsection (e).
(5) Qualifying entity.--The term ``qualifying entity''
means each of the following:
(A) A research university.
(B) A State or Federal institution with a focus on the
advancement of clean energy technologies.
(C) A nongovernmental organization with research or
technology transfer expertise in clean energy technology
development.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(7) Technology development focus.--The term ``technology
development focus'' means the unique clean energy technology
or technologies in which a Consortium specializes.
(8) Translational research.--The term ``translational
research'' means coordination of basic or applied research
with technical applications to enable promising discoveries
or inventions to achieve commercial application of energy
technology.
(c) Role of the Secretary.--The Secretary shall--
(1) have ultimate responsibility for, and oversight of, all
aspects of the program under this section;
(2) select a recipient of a grant for the establishment and
operation of a Consortium through a competitive selection
process;
(3) coordinate the innovation activities of the Consortium
with those occurring through other Department of Energy
entities, including the National Laboratories, the Advanced
Research Projects Agency--Energy, Energy Innovation Hubs, and
Energy Frontier Research Collaborations, and within industry,
including by annually--
(A) issuing guidance regarding national energy research and
development priorities and strategic objectives; and
(B) convening a conference of staff of the Department of
Energy and representatives from such other entities to share
research results, program plans, and opportunities for
collaboration.
(d) Entities Eligible for Support.--A consortium shall be
eligible to receive support under this section if--
(1) it is composed of--
(A) 2 research universities with a combined annual research
budget of $500,000,000; and
(B) 1 or more additional qualifying entities;
(2) its members have established a binding agreement that
documents--
(A) the structure of the partnership agreement;
(B) a governance and management structure to enable cost-
effective implementation of the program;
(C) a conflicts of interest policy consistent with
subsection (e)(1)(B);
(D) an accounting structure that meets the requirements of
the Department of Energy and can be audited under subsection
(f)(4); and
(E) that it has an External Advisory Committee consistent
with subsection (e)(3);
(3) it receives funding from States, consortium
participants, or other non-Federal sources, to be used to
support project awards pursuant to subsection (e);
(4) it is part of an existing cluster or demonstrates high
potential to develop a new cluster; and
(5) it operates as a nonprofit organization.
(e) Clean Energy Consortium.--
(1) Role.--The Consortium shall support translational
research activities leading to commercial application of
clean energy technologies, in accordance with the purposes of
this section, through issuance of awards to projects managed
by qualifying entities and other entities meeting the
Consortium's project criteria, including national
laboratories. The Consortium shall--
(A) develop and make available to the public through the
Department of Energy's Web site proposed plans, programs,
project selection criteria, and terms for individual project
awards under this subsection;
(B) establish conflict of interest procedures, consistent
with those of the Department of Energy, to ensure that
employees and designees for Consortium activities who are in
decisionmaking capacities disclose all material conflicts of
interest, including financial, organizational, and personal
conflicts of interest;
(C) establish policies--
(i) to prevent resources provided to the Consortium from
being used to displace private sector investment otherwise
likely to occur, including investment from private sector
entities that are members of the Consortium;
(ii) to facilitate the participation of private entities
that invest in clean energy technologies to perform due
diligence on award proposals, to participate in the award
review process, and to provide guidance to projects supported
by the Consortium; and
(iii) to facilitate the participation of parties with a
demonstrated history of commercial application of clean
energy technologies in the development of Consortium
projects;
(D) oversee project solicitations, review proposed
projects, and select projects for awards; and
(E) monitor project implementation.
(2) Distribution of awards.--The Consortium, with prior
approval of the Secretary, shall distribute awards under this
subsection to support clean energy technology projects
conducting translational research, provided that at least 50
percent of such support shall be provided to projects related
to the Consortium's clean energy technology development
focus. Upon approval by the Secretary, all remaining funds
shall be available to support any clean energy technology
projects conducting translational research.
(3) External advisory committee.--
(A) In general.--The Consortium shall establish an External
Advisory Committee, the members of which shall have extensive
and relevant scientific, technical, industry, financial, or
research management expertise.
[[Page H3572]]
The External Advisory Committee shall review the Consortium's
proposed plans, programs, project selection criteria, and
projects and shall ensure that projects selected for awards
meet the conflict of interest policies of the Consortium.
External Advisory Committee members other than those
representing Consortium members shall serve for no more than
3 years. All External Advisory Committee members shall comply
with the Consortium's conflict of interest policies and
procedures.
(B) Members.--The External Advisory Committee shall consist
of--
(i) 5 members selected by the Consortium's research
universities;
(ii) 2 members selected by the Consortium's other
qualifying entities;
(iii) 2 members selected at large by other External
Advisory Committee members to represent the entrepreneur and
venture capital communities; and
(iv) 1 member appointed by the Secretary.
(4) Conflict of interest.--The Secretary may disqualify an
application or revoke funds distributed to the Consortium if
the Secretary discovers a failure to comply with conflict of
interest procedures established under paragraph (1)(B).
(f) Grant.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make a grant under
this section in accordance with section 989 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16353). The Secretary shall
award the grant, on a competitive basis, to 1 regional
Consortium, for a term of 3 years.
(2) Amount.--A grant under this subsection shall be in an
amount not greater than $10,000,000 per fiscal year over the
3 years of the term of the grant.
(3) Use.--The grant distributed under this section shall be
used exclusively to support project awards pursuant to
subsection (e)(1) and (2), provided that the Consortium may
use not more than 10 percent of the amount of such grant for
its administrative expenses related to making such awards.
The grant made under this section shall not be used for
construction of new buildings or facilities, and construction
of new buildings or facilities shall not be considered as
part of the non-Federal share of a cost sharing agreement
under this section.
(4) Audit.--The Consortium shall conduct, in accordance
with such requirements as the Secretary may prescribe, an
annual audit to determine the extent to which a grant
distributed to the Consortium under this subsection, and
awards under subsection (e), have been utilized in a manner
consistent with this section. The auditor shall transmit a
report of the results of the audit to the Secretary and to
the Government Accountability Office. The Secretary shall
include such report in an annual report to Congress, along
with a plan to remedy any deficiencies cited in the report.
The Government Accountability Office may review such audits
as appropriate and shall have full access to the books,
records, and personnel of the Consortium to ensure that the
grant distributed to the Consortium under this subsection,
and awards made under subsection (e), have been utilized in a
manner consistent with this section.
(5) Revocation of awards.--The Secretary shall have
authority to review awards made under this subsection and to
revoke such awards if the Secretary determines that the
Consortium has used the award in a manner not consistent with
the requirements of this section.
TITLE VI--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Subtitle A--Office of Science
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Department of Energy
Office of Science Authorization Act of 2010''.
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.
Except as otherwise provided, in this subtitle:
(1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Science.
(3) Office of science.--The term ``Office of Science''
means the Department of Energy Office of Science.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
SEC. 603. MISSION OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE.
(a) Mission.--The mission of the Office of Science shall be
the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, and
major scientific tools to transform the understanding of
nature and to advance the energy, economic, and national
security of the United States.
(b) Duties.--In support of this mission, the Secretary
shall carry out, through the Office of Science, programs on
basic energy sciences, biological and environmental research,
advanced scientific computing research, fusion energy
sciences, high energy physics, and nuclear physics through
activities focused on--
(1) Science for Discovery to unravel nature's mysteries
through the study of subatomic particles, atoms, and
molecules that make up the materials of our everyday world to
DNA, proteins, cells, and entire biological systems;
(2) Science for National Need by--
(A) advancing a clean energy agenda through research on
energy production, storage, transmission, efficiency, and
use; and
(B) advancing our understanding of the Earth's climate
through research in atmospheric and environmental sciences
and climate change; and
(3) National Scientific User Facilities to deliver the 21st
century tools of science, engineering, and technology and
provide the Nation's researchers with the most advanced tools
of modern science including accelerators, colliders,
supercomputers, light sources and neutron sources, and
facilities for studying the nanoworld.
(c) Supporting Activities.--The activities described in
subsection (b) shall include providing for relevant
facilities and infrastructure, analysis, coordination, and
education and outreach activities.
(d) User Facilities.--The Director shall carry out the
construction, operation, and maintenance of user facilities
to support the activities described in subsection (b). As
practicable, these facilities shall serve the needs of the
Department, industry, the academic community, and other
relevant entities for the purposes of advancing the missions
of the Department.
(e) Other Authorized Activities.--In addition to the
activities authorized under this subtitle, the Office of
Science shall carry out such other activities it is
authorized or required to carry out by law.
(f) Coordination and Joint Activities.--The Department's
Under Secretary for Science shall ensure the coordination of
activities under this subtitle with the other activities of
the Department, and shall support joint activities among the
programs of the Department.
(g) Domestically Sourced Hardware.--
(1) Plan.--The Director shall develop a plan to increase
the percentage of domestically sourced hardware for planned
and ongoing projects of the Office of Science. In developing
this plan, the Director shall--
(A) give consideration to technologies that the United
States does not currently have the capacity to manufacture
and to procurement activities that can strengthen United
States high-technology competitiveness broadly;
(B) seek opportunities to engage and partner with domestic
manufacturers; and
(C) annually assess levels of domestically available goods
relevant to planned and ongoing projects of the Office of
Science.
(2) International agreements.--This subsection shall be
applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations
under international agreements.
(3) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit
the plan developed under this subsection to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee
on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives,
and shall transmit any appropriate updates to those
committees.
(h) Merit-Reviewed Study.--As part of the President's
annual budget request, the Secretary shall include a detailed
summary of the degree to which current research activities
are competitive and merit-reviewed, including a list of
activities that would have been undertaken in the absence of
Congressionally-directed projects and an analysis of the
effects of increasing the proportion of competitive, merit-
reviewed activities on the strategic objectives of the Office
of Science.
SEC. 604. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM.
(a) Program.--As part of the activities authorized under
section 603, the Director shall carry out a program in basic
energy sciences, including materials sciences and
engineering, chemical sciences, physical biosciences, and
geosciences, for the purpose of providing the scientific
foundations for new energy technologies.
(b) Basic Energy Sciences User Facilities.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall carry out a program for
the construction, operation, and maintenance of national user
facilities to support the program under this section. As
practicable, these facilities shall serve the needs of the
Department, industry, the academic community, and other
relevant entities to create and examine new materials and
chemical processes for the purposes of advancing new energy
technologies and improving the competitiveness of the United
States. These facilities shall include--
(A) x-ray light sources;
(B) neutron sources;
(C) electron beam microcharacterization centers;
(D) nanoscale science research centers; and
(E) other facilities the Director considers appropriate,
consistent with section 603(d).
(2) Facility construction and upgrades.--Consistent with
the Office of Science's project management practices, the
Director shall support construction of--
(A) the National Synchrotron Light Source II;
(B) a Second Target Station at the Spallation Neutron
Source; and
(C) an upgrade of the Advanced Photon Source to improve
brightness and performance.
(c) Energy Frontier Research Centers.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall carry out a grant
program to provide awards, on a competitive, merit-reviewed
basis, to multi-institutional collaborations or other
appropriate entities to conduct fundamental and use-inspired
energy research to accelerate scientific breakthroughs
related to needs identified in--
[[Page H3573]]
(A) the Grand Challenges report of the Department's Basic
Energy Sciences Advisory Committee;
(B) the Basic Energy Sciences Basic Research Needs workshop
reports;
(C) energy-related Grand Challenges for Engineering, as
described by the National Academy of Engineering; or
(D) other relevant reports identified by the Director.
(2) Collaborations.--A collaboration receiving a grant
under this subsection may include multiple types of
institutions and private sector entities.
(3) Selection and duration.--
(A) In general.--A collaboration under this subsection
shall be selected for a period of 5 years.
(B) Reapplication.--After the end of the period described
in subparagraph (A), a grantee may reapply for selection for
a second period of 5 years on a competitive, merit-reviewed
basis.
(4) No funding for construction.--No funding provided
pursuant to this subsection may be used for the construction
of new buildings or facilities.
(d) Accelerator Research and Development.--The Director
shall carry out research and development on advanced
accelerator technologies relevant to the development of Basic
Energy Sciences user facilities, in consultation with the
Office of Science's High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics
programs.
SEC. 605. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--As part of the activities authorized under
section 603, and coordinated with the activities authorized
in section 604, the Director shall carry out a program of
research, development, and demonstration in the areas of
biological systems science and climate and environmental
science to support the energy and environmental missions of
the Department.
(b) Biological Systems Science Activities.--
(1) Activities.--As part of the activities authorized under
subsection (a), the Director shall carry out research,
development, and demonstration activities in fundamental,
structural, computational, and systems biology to increase
systems-level understanding of complex biological systems,
which shall include activities to--
(A) accelerate breakthroughs and new knowledge that will
enable cost-effective sustainable production of--
(i) biomass-based liquid transportation fuels, including
hydrogen;
(ii) bioenergy; and
(iii) biobased products,
that support the energy and environmental missions of the
Department;
(B) improve understanding of the global carbon cycle,
including processes for removing carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, through photosynthesis and other biological
processes, for sequestration and storage; and
(C) understand the biological mechanisms used to destroy,
immobilize, or remove contaminants from subsurface
environments.
(2) Research plan.--
(A) Requirement.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall prepare and
transmit to Congress a research plan describing how the
activities authorized under this subsection will be
undertaken.
(B) Utilization of existing plan.--In developing the plan
in subparagraph (A), the Director may utilize an existing
research plan and update such plan to incorporate the
activities identified in paragraph (1).
(C) Updates.--Not later than 3 years after the initial
report under this paragraph, and at least once every 3 years
thereafter, the Director shall update the research plan and
transmit it to Congress.
(3) Bioenergy research centers.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out the activities under
paragraph (1), the Director shall support at least 3
bioenergy research centers to accelerate basic biological
research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application of biomass-based liquid transportation fuels,
bioenergy, and biobased products that support the energy and
environmental missions of the Department and are produced
from a variety of regionally diverse feedstocks.
(B) Geographic distribution.--The Director shall ensure
that the bioenergy research centers under this paragraph are
established in geographically diverse locations.
(C) Selection and duration.--A center established under
subparagraph (A) shall be selected on a competitive, merit-
reviewed basis for a period of 5 years beginning on the date
of establishment of that center. A center already in
existence on the date of enactment of this Act may continue
to receive support for a period of 5 years beginning on the
date of establishment of that center.
(4) Enabling synthetic biology plan.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with other
relevant Federal agencies, the academic community, research-
based nonprofit entities, and the private sector, shall
develop a comprehensive plan for federally supported research
and development activities that will support the energy and
environmental missions of the Department and enable a
competitive synthetic biology industry in the United States.
(B) Plan.--The plan developed under subparagraph (A) shall
assess the need to create a database for synthetic biology
information, the need and process for developing standards
for biological parts, components and systems, and the need
for a federally funded facility that enables the discovery,
design, development, production, and systematic use of parts,
components, and systems created through synthetic biology.
The plan shall describe the role of the Federal Government in
meeting these needs.
(C) Submission to congress.--The Secretary shall transmit
the plan developed under subparagraph (A) to the Congress not
later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
(5) Computational biology and systems biology
knowledgebase.--As part of the activities described in
paragraph (1), the Director, in collaboration with the
Advanced Scientific Computing Research program described in
section 606, shall carry out research in computational
biology, acquire or otherwise ensure the availability of
hardware for biology-specific computation, and establish and
maintain an open virtual database and information management
system to centrally integrate systems biology data,
analytical software, and computational modeling tools that
will allow data sharing and free information exchange within
the scientific community.
(6) Prohibition on biomedical and human cell and human
subject research.--
(A) No biomedical research.--In carrying out activities
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall not conduct
biomedical research.
(B) Limitations.--Nothing in subsection (b) shall authorize
the Secretary to conduct any research or demonstrations--
(i) on human cells or human subjects; or
(ii) designed to have direct application with respect to
human cells or human subjects.
(C) Information sharing.--Nothing in this paragraph shall
restrict the Department from sharing information, including
research findings, research methodologies, models, or any
other information, with any Federal agency.
(7) Repeal.--Section 977 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(42 U.S.C. 16317) is repealed.
(c) Climate and Environmental Sciences Activities.--
(1) In general.--As part of the activities authorized under
subsection (a), the Director shall carry out climate and
environmental science research, which shall include
activities to--
(A) understand, observe, and model the response of the
Earth's atmosphere and biosphere, including oceans and the
Great Lakes, to increased concentrations of greenhouse gas
emissions, and any associated changes in climate;
(B) understand the processes for sequestration,
destruction, immobilization, or removal of, and understand
the movement of, contaminants and carbon in subsurface
environments, including at facilities of the Department; and
(C) inform potential mitigation and adaptation options for
increased concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions and any
associated changes in climate.
(2) Subsurface biogeochemistry research.--
(A) In general.--As part of the activities described in
paragraph (1), the Director shall carry out research to
advance a fundamental understanding of coupled physical,
chemical, and biological processes for controlling the
movement of sequestered carbon and subsurface environmental
contaminants, including field observations of subsurface
microorganisms and field-scale subsurface research.
(B) Coordination.--
(i) Director.--The Director shall carry out activities
under this paragraph in accordance with priorities
established by the Department's Under Secretary for Science
to support and accelerate the decontamination of relevant
facilities managed by the Department.
(ii) Under secretary for science.--The Department's Under
Secretary for Science shall ensure the coordination of the
activities of the Department, including activities under this
paragraph, to support and accelerate the decontamination of
relevant facilities managed by the Department.
(3) Next-generation ecosystem-climate experiment.--
(A) In general.--As part of the activities described in
paragraph (1), the Director, in collaboration with other
relevant agencies that are participants in the United States
Global Change Research Program, shall carry out the selection
and development of a next-generation ecosystem-climate change
experiment to understand the impact and feedbacks of
increased temperature and elevated carbon levels on
ecosystems.
(B) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall transmit to the
Congress a report containing--
(i) an identification of the location or locations that
have been selected for the experiment described in
subparagraph (A);
(ii) a description of the need for additional experiments;
and
(iii) an associated research plan.
(4) Ameriflux network coordination and research.--As part
of the activities described in paragraph (1), the Director
shall carry out research and coordinate the AmeriFlux Network
to directly observe and understand the exchange of greenhouse
gases, water vapor, and heat energy within terrestrial
ecosystems and the response of those systems to climate
change and other dynamic terrestrial landscape changes. The
Director, in collaboration with other relevant Federal
agencies, shall--
[[Page H3574]]
(A) identify opportunities to incorporate innovative and
emerging observation technologies and practices into the
existing Network;
(B) conduct research to determine the need for increased
greenhouse gas observation Network facilities across North
America to meet future mitigation and adaptation needs of the
United States; and
(C) examine how the technologies and practices described in
subparagraph (A), and increased coordination among scientific
communities through the Network, have the potential to help
characterize terrestrial baseline greenhouse gas emission
sources and sinks in the United States and internationally.
(5) Climate and earth modeling.--As part of the activities
described in paragraph (1), the Director, in collaboration
with the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program
described in section 606, shall carry out research to
develop, evaluate, and use high-resolution regional climate,
global climate, Earth, and predictive models to inform
decisions on reducing the impacts of changing climate.
(6) Integrated assessment research.--As part of the
activities described in paragraph (1), the Director shall
carry out research into options for mitigation of and
adaptation to climate change through multiscale models of the
entire climate system. Such modeling shall include human
processes and greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and
interaction among human and Earth systems.
(7) Coordination.--The Director shall coordinate activities
under this subsection with other Office of Science activities
and with the United States Global Change Research Program.
(d) User Facilities and Ancillary Equipment.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall carry out a program for
the construction, operation, and maintenance of user
facilities to support the program under this section. As
practicable, these facilities shall serve the needs of the
Department, industry, the academic community, and other
relevant entities.
(2) Included functions.--User facilities described in
paragraph (1) shall include facilities which carry out--
(A) genome sequencing and analysis of plants, microbes, and
microbial communities using high throughput tools,
technologies, and comparative analysis;
(B) molecular level research in biological, chemical,
environmental, and subsurface sciences, including synthesis,
dynamic properties, and interactions among natural and
engineered materials; and
(C) measurement of cloud and aerosol properties used for
examining atmospheric processes and evaluating climate model
performance, including ground stations at various locations,
mobile resources, and aerial vehicles.
SEC. 606. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--As part of the activities authorized under
section 603, the Director shall carry out a research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application
program to advance computational and networking capabilities
to analyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena
relevant to the development of new energy technologies and
the competitiveness of the United States.
(b) Coordination.--
(1) Director.--The Director shall carry out activities
under this section in accordance with priorities established
by the Department's Under Secretary for Science to determine
and meet the computational and networking research and
facility needs of the Office of Science and all other
relevant energy technology and energy efficiency programs
within the Department.
(2) Under secretary for science.--The Department's Under
Secretary for Science shall ensure the coordination of the
activities of the Department, including activities under this
section, to determine and meet the computational and
networking research and facility needs of the Office of
Science and all other relevant energy technology and energy
efficiency programs within the Department.
(c) Research To Support Energy Applications.--As part of
the activities authorized under subsection (a), the program
shall support research in high-performance computing and
networking relevant to energy applications, including both
basic and applied energy research programs carried out by the
Secretary.
(d) Reports.--
(1) Advanced computing for energy applications.--Not later
than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a plan to integrate
and leverage the expertise and capabilities of the program
described in subsection (a), as well as other relevant
computational and networking research programs and resources
supported by the Federal Government, to advance the missions
of the Department's applied energy and energy efficiency
programs, including the development of smart grid
technologies.
(2) Exascale computing.--At least 18 months prior to the
initiation of construction or installation of any exascale-
class computing facility, the Secretary shall transmit a plan
to the Congress detailing--
(A) the proposed facility's cost projections and
capabilities to significantly accelerate the development of
new energy technologies;
(B) technical risks and challenges that must be overcome to
achieve successful completion and operation of the facility;
and
(C) an assessment of the scientific and technological
advances expected from such a facility relative to those
expected from a comparable investment in expanded research
and applications at terascale-class and petascale-class
computing facilities.
(e) Applied Mathematics and Software Development for High-
End Computing Systems.--The Director shall carry out
activities to develop, test, and support mathematics, models,
and algorithms for complex systems, as well as programming
environments, tools, languages, and operating systems for
high-end computing systems (as defined in section 2 of the
Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of
2004 (15 U.S.C. 5541)).
(f) High-End Computing Facilities.--The Director shall--
(1) provide for sustained access by the public and private
research community in the United States to high-end computing
systems, including access to the National Energy Research
Scientific Computing Center and to Leadership Systems (as
defined in section 2 of the Department of Energy High-End
Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 5541));
(2) provide technical support for users of such systems;
and
(3) conduct research and development on next-generation
computing architectures and platforms to support the missions
of the Department.
(g) Outreach.--The Secretary shall conduct outreach
programs and may form partnerships to increase the use of and
access to high-performance computing modeling and simulation
capabilities by industry, including manufacturers.
SEC. 607. FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) Program.--As part of the activities authorized under
section 603, the Director shall carry out a fusion energy
sciences research and enabling technology development program
to effectively address the scientific and engineering
challenges to building a cost-competitive fusion power plant
and a competitive fusion power industry in the United States.
As part of this program, the Director shall carry out
research activities to expand the fundamental understanding
of plasmas and matter at very high temperatures and
densities.
(b) ITER.--The Director shall coordinate and carry out the
responsibilities of the United States with respect to the
ITER international fusion project pursuant to the Agreement
on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy
Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER
Project.
(c) Identification of Priorities.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
transmit to the Congress a report on the Department's
proposed research and development activities in magnetic
fusion over the 10 years following the date of enactment of
this Act under four realistic budget scenarios. The report
shall--
(1) identify specific areas of fusion energy research and
enabling technology development in which the United States
can and should establish or solidify a lead in the global
fusion energy development effort; and
(2) identify priorities for initiation of facility
construction and facility decommissioning under each of those
scenarios.
(d) Fusion Materials Research and Development.--The
Director, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for
Nuclear Energy of the Department, shall carry out research
and development activities to identify, characterize, and
create materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, and
heat fluxes expected in a commercial fusion power plant. As
part of the activities authorized under subsection (c), the
Secretary shall--
(1) provide an assessment of the need for a facility or
facilities that can examine and test potential fusion and
next generation fission materials and other enabling
technologies relevant to the development of commercial fusion
power plants; and
(2) provide an assessment of whether a single new facility
that substantially addresses magnetic fusion, inertial
fusion, and next generation fission materials research needs
is feasible, in conjunction with the expected capabilities of
facilities operational as of the date of enactment of this
Act.
(e) Enabling Technology Development.--The Secretary shall
carry out activities to develop technologies necessary to
enable the reliable, sustainable, safe, and economically
competitive operation of a commercial fusion power plant.
(f) Fusion Simulation Project.--In collaboration with the
Office of Science's Advanced Scientific Computing Research
program described in section 606, the Director shall carry
out a computational project to advance the capability of
fusion researchers to accurately simulate an entire fusion
energy system.
(g) Inertial Fusion Energy Research and Development
Program.--The Secretary shall carry out a program of research
and technology development in inertial fusion for energy
applications, including ion beam and laser fusion. Not later
than 180 days after the release of a report from the National
Academies on inertial fusion energy research, the Secretary
shall transmit to Congress a report describing the
Department's plan to incorporate any relevant recommendations
from the National Academies' report into this program.
SEC. 608. HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS PROGRAM.
(a) Program.--As part of the activities authorized under
section 603, the Director shall
[[Page H3575]]
carry out a research program on the elementary constituents
of matter and energy and the nature of space and time.
(b) Neutrino Research.--As part of the program described in
subsection (a), the Director shall carry out research
activities on rare decay processes and the nature of the
neutrino, which may--
(1) include collaborations with the National Science
Foundation on relevant projects; and
(2) utilize components of existing accelerator facilities
to produce neutrino beams of sufficient intensity to explore
research priorities identified by the High Energy Physics
Advisory Panel or the National Academy of Sciences.
(c) Dark Energy and Dark Matter Research.--As part of the
program described in subsection (a), the Director shall carry
out research activities on the nature of dark energy and dark
matter. These activities shall be consistent with research
priorities identified by the High Energy Physics Advisory
Panel or the National Academy of Sciences, and may include--
(1) the development of space-based and land-based
facilities and experiments; and
(2) collaborations with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the National Science Foundation, or
international collaborations on relevant research projects.
(d) Accelerator Research and Development.--The Director
shall carry out research and development in advanced
accelerator concepts and technologies to reduce the necessary
scope and cost for the next generation of particle
accelerators.
(e) International Collaboration.--The Director, as
practicable and in coordination with other appropriate
Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the access of
United States researchers to the most advanced accelerator
facilities and research capabilities in the world, including
the Large Hadron Collider.
SEC. 609. NUCLEAR PHYSICS PROGRAM.
(a) Program.--As part of the activities authorized under
section 603, the Director shall carry out a research program,
and support relevant facilities, to discover and understand
various forms of nuclear matter.
(b) Facility Construction and Upgrades.--Consistent with
the Office of Science's project management practices, the
Director shall carry out--
(1) an upgrade of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator
Facility to a 12 gigaelectronvolt beam of electrons; and
(2) construction of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.
(c) Isotope Development and Production for Research
Applications.--The Director shall carry out a program for the
production of isotopes, including the development of
techniques to produce isotopes, that the Secretary determines
are needed for research, excluding medical research. In
making this determination, the Secretary shall consider any
relevant recommendations made by Federal advisory committees,
the National Academies, and interagency working groups in
which the Department participates.
SEC. 610. SCIENCE LABORATORIES INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.
(a) Program.--The Director shall carry out a program to
improve the safety, efficiency, and mission readiness of
infrastructure at Office of Science laboratories. The program
shall include projects to--
(1) renovate or replace space that does not meet research
needs;
(2) replace facilities that are no longer cost effective to
renovate or operate;
(3) modernize utility systems to prevent failures and
ensure efficiency;
(4) remove excess facilities to allow safe and efficient
operations; and
(5) construct modern facilities to conduct advanced
research in controlled environmental conditions.
(b) Minor Construction Projects.--
(1) Authority.--Using operation and maintenance funds or
facilities and infrastructure funds authorized by law, the
Secretary may carry out minor construction projects with
respect to laboratories administered by the Office of
Science.
(2) Annual report.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress,
as part of the annual budget submission of the Department, a
report on each exercise of the authority under subsection (a)
during the preceding fiscal year. Each report shall include a
summary of maintenance and infrastructure needs and
associated funding requirements at each of the laboratories,
including the amount of both planned and deferred
infrastructure spending at each laboratory. Each report shall
provide a brief description of each minor construction
project covered by the report.
(3) Cost variation reports.--If, at any time during the
construction of any minor construction project, the estimated
cost of the project is revised and the revised cost of the
project exceeds the minor construction threshold, the
Secretary shall immediately submit to Congress a report
explaining the reasons for the cost variation.
(4) Definitions.--In this section--
(A) the term ``minor construction project'' means any plant
project not specifically authorized by law for which the
approved total estimated cost does not exceed the minor
construction threshold; and
(B) the term ``minor construction threshold'' means
$10,000,000, with such amount to be adjusted by the Secretary
in accordance with the Engineering News-Record Construction
Cost Index, or an appropriate alternative index as determined
by the Secretary, once every five years after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(5) Nonapplicability.--Sections 4703 and 4704 of the Atomic
Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2743 and 2744) shall not apply
to laboratories administered by the Office of Science.
SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
for the activities of the Office of Science--
(1) $5,247,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of which--
(A) $1,875,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy Sciences
activities under section 604;
(B) $667,000,000 shall be for Biological and Environmental
Research activities under section 605; and
(C) $466,000,000 shall be for Advanced Scientific Computing
Research activities under section 606;
(2) $5,614,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, of which--
(A) $2,025,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy Sciences
activities under section 604;
(B) $720,000,000 shall be for Biological and Environmental
Research activities under section 605; and
(C) $503,000,000 shall be for Advanced Scientific Computing
Research activities under section 606; and
(3) $6,007,000,000 for fiscal year 2013, of which--
(A) $2,187,000,000 shall be for Basic Energy Sciences
activities under section 604;
(B) $778,000,000 shall be for Biological and Environmental
Research activities under section 605; and
(C) $544,000,000 shall be for Advanced Scientific Computing
Research activities under section 606.
Subtitle B--Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy
SEC. 621. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``ARPA-E Reauthorization
Act of 2010''.
SEC. 622. ARPA-E AMENDMENTS.
Section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and applied'' after
``advances in fundamental'';
(B) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
(C) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C)
and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) promoting the commercial application of advanced
energy technologies.'';
(2) in subsection (e)(3), by amending subparagraph (C) to
read as follows:
``(C) research and development of advanced manufacturing
process and technologies for the domestic manufacturing of
novel energy technologies; and'';
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (3)(D);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(C)--
``(A) ensuring that applications for funding disclose the
extent of current and prior efforts, including monetary
investments as appropriate, in pursuit of the technology area
for which funding is being requested;
``(B) adopting measures to ensure that, in making awards,
program managers adhere to the objectives in subsection
(c)(2)(C); and
``(C) providing as part of the annual report required by
subsection (h)(1) a summary of the instances of and reasons
for ARPA-E funding projects in technology areas already being
undertaken by industry.'';
(4) by redesignating subsections (f) through (m) as
subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), (l), (m), (n), and (o),
respectively;
(5) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
subsection:
``(f) Awards.--In carrying out this section, the Director
may initiate and execute awards in the form of grants,
contracts, cooperative agreements, cash prizes, and other
transactions. The Director shall make awards designed to
overcome the long-term and high-risk barriers relating to the
goals and means set forth in subsection (c) and facilitate
submissions, where possible by small businesses and
entrepreneurs, pursuant to announcements published not less
frequently than annually, of funding opportunities for--
``(1) specific areas of technological innovation; and
``(2) broadly defined areas of science and technology,
to remain open for periods of one year.'';
(6) in subsection (g), as so redesignated by paragraph (4)
of this section--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively;
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated
by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the following new
paragraph:
``(1) In general.--The Director shall establish and
maintain within ARPA-E a staff with sufficient qualifications
and expertise to enable ARPA-E to carry out its
responsibilities under this section in conjunction with the
operations of the rest of the Department.'';
(C) in paragraph (2)(A), as so redesignated by subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``Program
managers'' and inserting ``Program directors'';
[[Page H3576]]
(ii) by striking ``program managers'' and inserting
``program directors''; and
(iii) by striking ``each of'';
(D) in paragraph (2)(B), as so redesignated by subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph--
(i) by striking ``program manager'' and inserting ``program
director'';
(ii) in clause (iv), by striking ``, with advice under
subsection (j) as appropriate,'';
(iii) by redesignating clauses (v) and (vi) as clauses (vi)
and (viii), respectively;
(iv) by inserting after clause (iv) the following new
clause:
``(v) identifying innovative cost-sharing arrangements for
ARPA-E projects, including through use of the authority under
section 988(b)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16352(b)(3));'';
(v) in clause (vi), as so redesignated by clause (iii) of
this subparagraph, by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon; and
(vi) by inserting after clause (vi), as so redesignated by
clause (iii) of this subparagraph, the following new clause:
``(vii) identifying mechanisms for commercial application
of successful energy technology development projects,
including through establishment of partnerships between
awardees and commercial entities; and'';
(E) in paragraph (2)(C), as so redesignated by subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph, by inserting ``up to'' after ``shall
be'';
(F) in paragraph (3)(B), as so redesignated by subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph, by striking ``not less than 70, and
not more than 120,'' and inserting ``not more than 120''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Fellowships.--The Director is authorized to select
exceptional early-career and senior scientific, legal,
business, and technical personnel to serve as fellows to work
at ARPA-E for terms not to exceed two years. Responsibilities
of fellows may include--
``(A) supporting program directors in program creation,
design, implementation, and management;
``(B) exploring technical fields for future ARPA-E program
areas;
``(C) assisting the Director in the creation of the
strategic vision for ARPA-E referred to in subsection (h)(2);
``(D) preparing energy technology and economic analyses;
and
``(E) any other appropriate responsibilities identified by
the Director.'';
(7) in subsection (h)(2), as so redesignated by paragraph
(4) of this section--
(A) by striking ``2008'' and inserting ``2010''; and
(B) by striking ``2011'' and inserting ``2013'';
(8) by amending subsection (j), as so redesignated by
paragraph (4) of this section, to read as follows:
``(j) Federal Demonstration of Technologies.--The Director
shall seek opportunities to partner with purchasing and
procurement programs of Federal agencies to demonstrate
energy technologies resulting from activities funded through
ARPA-E.'';
(9) by inserting after such subsection (j) the following
new subsection:
``(k) Events.--
``(1) The Director is authorized to convene, organize, and
sponsor events that further the objectives of ARPA-E,
including events that assemble awardees, the most promising
applicants for ARPA-E funding, and a broad range of ARPA-E
stakeholders (which may include members of relevant
scientific research and academic communities, government
officials, financial institutions, private investors,
entrepreneurs, and other private entities), for the purposes
of--
``(A) demonstrating projects of ARPA-E awardees;
``(B) demonstrating projects of finalists for ARPA-E awards
and other energy technology projects;
``(C) facilitating discussion of the commercial application
of energy technologies developed under ARPA-E and other
government-sponsored research and development programs; or
``(D) such other purposes as the Director considers
appropriate.
``(2) Funding for activities described in paragraph (1)
shall be provided as part of the technology transfer and
outreach activities authorized under subsection (o)(4)(B).'';
(10) in subsection (m)(1), as so redesignated by paragraph
(4) of this section, by striking ``4 years'' and inserting
``6 years'';
(11) in subsection (m)(2)(B), as so redesignated by
paragraph (4) of this section, by inserting ``, and how those
lessons may apply to the operation of other programs within
the Department of Energy'' after ``ARPA-E'';
(12) by amending subsection (o)(2), as so redesignated by
paragraph (4) of this section, to read as follows:
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--Subject to
paragraph (4), there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Director for deposit in the Fund, without fiscal year
limitation--
``(A) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
``(B) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and
``(C) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.'';
(13) in subsection (o), as so redesignated by paragraph (4)
of this section, by--
(A) striking paragraph (4); and
(B) redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4); and
(14) in subsection (o)(4)(B), as so redesignated by
paragraphs (4) and (13)(B) of this subsection--
(A) by striking ``2.5 percent'' and inserting ``5
percent''; and
(B) by inserting ``, consistent with the goal described in
subsection (c)(2)(D) and within the responsibilities of
program directors as specified in subsection (g)(2)(B)(vii)''
after ``outreach activities''.
Subtitle C--Energy Innovation Hubs
SEC. 631. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Energy Innovation Hubs
Authorization Act of 2010''.
SEC. 632. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS.
(a) Establishment of Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out a
program to enhance the Nation's economic, environmental, and
energy security by making grants to consortia for
establishing and operating Energy Innovation Hubs to conduct
and support, whenever practicable at one centralized
location, multidisciplinary, collaborative research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application of
advanced energy technologies in areas not being served by the
private sector.
(2) Technology development focus.--The Secretary shall
designate for each Hub a unique advanced energy technology
development focus.
(3) Coordination.--The Secretary shall ensure the
coordination of, and avoid unnecessary duplication of, the
activities of Hubs with those of other Department of Energy
research entities, including the National Laboratories, the
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy, and Energy
Frontier Research Centers, and within industry. Such
coordination shall include convening and consulting with
representatives of staff of the Department of Energy,
representatives from Hubs and the qualifying entities that
are members of the consortia operating the Hubs, and
representatives of such other entities as the Secretary
considers appropriate, to share research results, program
plans, and opportunities for collaboration.
(4) Administration.--The Secretary shall administer this
section with respect to each Hub through the Department
program office appropriate to administer the subject matter
of the technology development focus assigned under paragraph
(2) for the Hub.
(b) Consortia.--
(1) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section for the establishment and operation of a Hub, a
consortium shall--
(A) be composed of no fewer than 2 qualifying entities;
(B) operate subject to a binding agreement entered into by
its members that documents--
(i) the proposed partnership agreement, including the
governance and management structure of the Hub;
(ii) measures to enable cost-effective implementation of
the program under this section;
(iii) a proposed budget, including financial contributions
from non-Federal sources;
(iv) conflict of interest procedures consistent with
subsection (d)(3), all known material conflicts of interest,
and corresponding mitigation plans;
(v) an accounting structure that enables the Secretary to
ensure that the consortium has complied with the requirements
of this section; and
(vi) an external advisory committee consistent with
subsection (d)(2); and
(C) operate as a nonprofit organization.
(2) Application.--A consortium seeking to establish and
operate a Hub under this section, acting through a prime
applicant, shall transmit to the Secretary an application at
such time, in such form, and accompanied by such information
as the Secretary shall require, including a detailed
description of the elements of the consortium agreement
required under paragraph (1)(B). If the consortium members
will not be located at one centralized location, such
application shall include a communications plan that ensures
close coordination and integration of the Hub's activities.
(c) Selection and Schedule.--The Secretary shall select
consortia for grants for the establishment and operation of
Hubs through competitive selection processes. In selecting
consortia, the Secretary shall consider the information a
consortium must disclose according to subsection (b), as well
as any existing facilities a consortium will provide for Hub
activities. Grants made to a Hub shall be for a period not to
exceed 5 years, after which the grant may be renewed, subject
to a competitive selection process.
(d) Hub Operations.--
(1) In general.--Hubs shall conduct or provide for
multidisciplinary, collaborative research, development,
demonstration, and commercial application of advanced energy
technologies within the technology development focus
designated for the Hub by the Secretary under subsection
(a)(2). Each Hub shall--
(A) encourage collaboration and communication among the
member qualifying entities of the consortium and awardees by
conducting activities whenever practicable at one centralized
location;
(B) develop and publish on the Department of Energy's
website proposed plans and programs;
(C) submit an annual report to the Secretary summarizing
the Hub's activities, including detailing organizational
expenditures, listing external advisory committee members,
and describing each project undertaken by the Hub; and
(D) monitor project implementation and coordination.
(2) External advisory committee.--Each Hub shall establish
an external advisory
[[Page H3577]]
committee, the membership of which shall have sufficient
expertise to advise and provide guidance on scientific,
technical, industry, financial, and research management
matters.
(3) Conflicts of interest.--
(A) Procedures.--Hubs shall establish conflict of interest
procedures, consistent with those of the Department of
Energy, to ensure that employees and consortia designees for
Hub activities who are in decisionmaking capacities disclose
all material conflicts of interest, including financial,
organizational, and personal conflicts of interest.
(B) Disqualification and revocation.--The Secretary may
disqualify an application or revoke funds distributed to a
Hub if the Secretary discovers a failure to comply with
conflict of interest procedures established under
subparagraph (A).
(e) Prohibition on Construction.--
(1) In general.--No funds provided pursuant to this section
may be used for construction of new buildings or facilities
for Hubs. Construction of new buildings or facilities shall
not be considered as part of the non-Federal share of a Hub
cost-sharing agreement.
(2) Test bed and renovation exception.--Nothing in this
subsection shall prohibit the use of funds provided pursuant
to this section, or non-Federal cost share funds, for the
construction of a test bed or renovations to existing
buildings or facilities for the purposes of research if the
Oversight Board determines that the test bed or renovations
are limited to a scope and scale necessary for the research
to be conducted.
(f) Oversight Board.--The Secretary shall establish and
maintain within the Department an Oversight Board to oversee
the progress of Hubs.
(g) Priority Consideration.--The Secretary shall give
priority consideration to applications in which 1 or more of
the institutions under subsection (b)(1)(A) are 1890 Land
Grant Institutions (as defined in section 2 of the
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of
1998 (7 U.S.C. 7061)), Predominantly Black Institutions (as
defined in section 318 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1059e)), Tribal Colleges or Universities (as
defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)), or Hispanic Serving Institutions (as
defined in section 318 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1059e)).
(h) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Advanced energy technology.--The term ``advanced energy
technology'' means an innovative technology--
(A) that produces energy from solar, wind, geothermal,
biomass, tidal, wave, ocean, or other renewable energy
resources;
(B) that produces nuclear energy;
(C) for carbon capture and sequestration;
(D) that enables advanced vehicles, vehicle components, and
related technologies that result in significant energy
savings;
(E) that generates, transmits, distributes, utilizes, or
stores energy more efficiently than conventional
technologies, including through Smart Grid technologies; or
(F) that enhances the energy independence and security of
the United States by enabling improved or expanded supply and
production of domestic energy resources, including coal, oil,
and natural gas.
(2) Hub.--The term ``Hub'' means an Energy Innovation Hub
established in accordance with this section.
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given
that term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(4) Qualifying entity.--The term ``qualifying entity''
means--
(A) an institution of higher education;
(B) an appropriate State or Federal entity, including the
Department of Energy Federally Funded Research and
Development Centers;
(C) a nongovernmental organization with expertise in
advanced energy technology research, development,
demonstration, or commercial application; or
(D) any other relevant entity the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this
section--
(1) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
(2) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and
(3) $195,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.
Subtitle D--Cooperative Research and Development Fund
SEC. 641. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Cooperative Research
and Development Fund Authorization Act of 2010''.
SEC. 642. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUND.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall make funds
available to Department of Energy National Laboratories for
the Federal share of cooperative research and development
agreements. The Secretary of Energy shall determine the
apportionment of such funds to each Department of Energy
National Laboratory and shall ensure that special
consideration is given to small business firms and consortia
involving small business firms in the selection process for
which cooperative research and development agreements will
receive such funds.
(b) Reporting.--Each year the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report that describes how funds were expended
under this subtitle.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are
necessary to carry out this section each fiscal year. No
funds allocated for this section shall come from funds
allocated for the Office of Science.
Subtitle E--Technology Transfer Database
SEC. 651. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER DATABASE.
To support the commercial application of new energy
technologies development by the Department of Energy, the
Secretary of Energy may establish an online database of
technologies, capabilities, and resources available to the
public at the National Laboratories.
TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 701. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that, among the programs and
activities authorized in this Act, those that correspond to
the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences' 2005
report entitled ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm'' remain
critical to maintaining long-term United States economic
competitiveness, and accordingly shall receive funding
priority.
SEC. 702. PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
For the purposes of the activities and programs supported
by this Act and the amendments made by this Act--
(1) institutions of higher education chartered to serve
large numbers of students with disabilities, including
Gallaudet University, Landmark College, and the National
Technical Institute for the Deaf, and institutions of higher
education offering science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics research and education activities and programs
that serve veterans with disabilities, shall receive special
consideration in the review of any proposals by these
institutions for funding under the research and education
programs authorized in this Act to ensure that institutions
of higher education chartered to or serving persons with
disabilities benefit from such research and education
activities and programs; and
(2) agencies with respect to which appropriations are
authorized under this Act shall also conduct outreach to
veterans with disabilities pursuing studies in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics to ensure that such
veterans are aware of and benefit from the research and
education activities and programs authorized by this Act.
SEC. 703. VETERANS AND SERVICE MEMBERS.
In awarding scholarships and fellowships under this Act, an
institution of higher education shall give preference to
applications from veterans and service members, including
those who have received or will receive the Afghanistan
Campaign Medal or the Iraq Campaign Medal as authorized by
Public Law 108-234 (10 U.S.C. 1121 note; 118 Stat. 655) and
Executive Order No. 13363.
SEC. 704. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
SEC. 705. LIMITATION ON EMPLOYMENT AND RECEIPT OF FUNDS.
No funds authorized under this Act shall be used for the
employment of, or shall be received by, any individual who
has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, a crime of child
molestation, rape, or any other form of sexual assault.
SEC. 706. PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supercede section
1913 of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 707. INFORMATION REQUESTS BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Eligibility for Funds.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, an institution of higher education
that employs employees who are represented by a labor
organization shall be eligible to receive funding for
facilities and administrative costs for an activity or
program supported by this Act or the amendments made by this
Act only if the institution maintains a policy that meets the
requirements set forth in subsection (b).
(b) Requirements.--A policy described under subsection (a)
shall require that the institution provide, within 15 days of
receipt of a request by a labor organization representing
employees of the institution, any information which the labor
organization has a lawful right to obtain under applicable
labor laws. Such a policy shall provide that, on a case-by-
case basis, such 15 days may be extended to a longer time
period by mutual agreement of the labor organization and the
institution.
(c) Failure To Comply With Policy.--
(1) Complaint of noncompliance.--In the case of an
institution of higher education that does not provide
information requested by a labor organization in compliance
with the requirements of a policy described in subsections
(a) and (b), the labor organization may file a complaint of
noncompliance with the head of the agency overseeing any
activity or program supported by this Act or the amendments
made by this Act for which the institution is receiving
funds.
[[Page H3578]]
(2) Notification to institution.--Upon receiving such a
complaint, the head of such agency shall notify the
institution of the complaint and provide the institution an
additional 30 days to provide the requested information to
the labor organization or otherwise explain why the complaint
of non-compliance is not valid.
(3) Agency action.--If the information has not been
provided by the institution at the conclusion of such 30 day
period and the head of such agency determines the complaint
to be valid, the head of such agency shall suspend payment of
any funds for facilities and administrative costs that would
otherwise be available to such institution for all activities
and programs supported by this Act and the amendments made by
this Act until such time as the requested information has
been provided by the institution.
(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) the term ``institution of higher education'' has the
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); and
(2) the term ``facilities and administrative costs'' means
facilities and administrative (F&A) costs as defined in the
Office of Management and Budget Revised Circular A-21 (Cost
Principles for Educational Institutions, published in the
Federal Register on May 10, 2004).
(e) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on
January 1, 2011.
SEC. 708. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.
No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or the
amendments made by this Act may be used to purchase gift
items, knickknacks, souvenirs, trinkets, or other items
without direct educational value.
SEC. 709. NO SALARIES FOR VIEWING PORNOGRAPHY.
None of the funds authorized under this Act may be used to
pay the salary of any individual who has been officially
disciplined for violations of subpart G of the Standards of
Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch for
viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography, including
child pornography, on a Federal Government computer or while
performing official Federal Government duties.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 5325, the bill now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
The bill before us today, H.R. 5325, is similar to the bill the House
considered last week, H.R. 5116, including all 52 amendments adopted
during floor consideration last week. However, the bill differs in two
respects. One, it includes language from the motion to recommit barring
money from going to agency employees who were disciplined for viewing
pornography at work, and two, the authorization period for all programs
in the bill has been changed from 5 years to 3 years.
I understand the concerns of many of my colleagues about the overall
size of a 5-year authorization, and this reduction is my sincere
attempt to compromise on an issue that is very important to me and our
country. The bill before us today includes an overall funding reduction
of 50 percent from H.R. 5116, as introduced.
I spoke at length about the background and need for this bill last
week, so I'm only going to give the highlights today.
On October 12, 2005, in response to a bipartisan, bicameral request
of the Science Committee and our colleagues in the Senate, the National
Academies announced the report, ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.''
The distinguished panel, led by Norm Augustine, painted a very scary
picture and told us that, without action, the future was bleak for our
children and grandchildren. This report was, without question, a call
to arms.
Congress responded by turning the Gathering Storm recommendation into
legislative language. The final result was enactment of the America
COMPETES Act of 2007, with the bipartisan support of 365 Members.
Moreover, with the leadership of Senators Alexander and Bingaman and
69 Senate cosponsors, the Senate approved the conference report by
unanimous consent. Now, after 3 years, we're back to work on
reauthorizing COMPETES.
Since enactment of COMPETES, the Science and Technology Committee has
held 48 hearings on areas addressed in the bill before us today. What
we've heard from those hearings is that if we are to reverse the trend
of the last 20 years where our country's technological edge in the
world has diminished, we must make the necessary investments today.
The statistics speak for themselves. More than 50 percent of our
economic growth since World War II can be directly attributed to
investments in research. The path is simple. Research leads to
innovation. Innovation leads to economic development and good paying
jobs, and ultimately, creating good jobs is the goal of this bill.
During our committee's four markups, we accepted 25 amendments
offered by the minority and, in addition, many additional changes have
been made at the suggestion of the minority. I believe this is a good
bill, both on substance and on inclusive procedure, and it is a better
bill because of the contributions of our Members.
I specifically want to thank my friend Ralph Hall for the cooperation
and the spirit with which this bill has been brought before us and the
way it was handled within our committee.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise today to speak on H.R. 5325, a bill reauthorizing the America
COMPETES Act. I believe long-term investment in science and technology,
coupled with policies that reduce tax burdens, streamline Federal
regulations, and balance the Federal budget are very vital for our
Nation to remain competitive in the global marketplace. However, we
must also put our fiscal house in order to ensure that we're not
leveraging the future of our children and our grandchildren.
While I remain committed to the underlying goals of the America
COMPETES Act, the bill before us today continues to take us in a much
more costly direction and authorizes a number of new programs which
have little to do with prioritizing investments in basic science,
technology, engineering, and math research and development.
On May 12 and 13, this bill was considered by the full House of
Representatives. Republican attempts to offer amendments to reduce the
spending level in the bill and reduce the length of the authorization
from 5 years to 3 years were denied. Our attempt to ensure schools
serving the disabled and disabled veterans was also denied.
Because Republicans were denied the opportunity to even offer these
amendments on the House floor, have a meaningful dialogue about them,
we sought to ensure that these ideas were considered by all of the
Members of the House of Representatives through our motion to recommit.
Our motion, as you well know, included the proposed compromise language
to encourage education opportunities for the disabled and disabled
veterans, language to reduce the authorization levels to fiscal year
2010 levels, and to authorize these programs for 3 years rather than 5.
The motion also included provisions to eliminate a number of new
spending programs in favor of supporting the core COMPETES programs.
Overall spending levels were reduced by around $47 billion in the
motion to recommit, but still remained well above the $24 billion in
the House-passed 2007 version of COMPETES. In addition to the
reductions in spending, the motion addressed concerns about Federal
employees' misuse of time and government property.
When given the opportunity to consider these issues, the House of
Representatives supported them overwhelmingly by a vote of 292-126.
While I would have preferred to use the regular amendment process, I
believe these changes made the bill better. The spending levels
supported by the motion showed that we could be fiscally responsible
while still supporting important investments in science and technology.
It was disappointing when the majority made the decision to pull this
improved bill from consideration by the whole House of Representatives.
I'm pleased that the bill before us today includes a couple of
provisions from the successful motion to recommit, such as the
reduction in the authorized length from 5 years to 3 years,
[[Page H3579]]
as well as the prohibition on paying the salaries of workers who misuse
government time and property. These are sensible, good government
provisions.
Unfortunately, the bill before us today continues to contain new and
duplicative programs, including some that were added during floor
consideration last week. For example, the bill includes language
establishing energy innovation hubs at DOE which are duplicative of a
number of programs already in existence at DOE. There is also a new
program to pursue commercialization of clean energy technology which is
duplicative of the hubs program. Several of these programs fund
activities beyond basic science research and development and will
divert money away from priority basic research. At a time when the
Federal Government spending is out of control, we need to be
streamlining and prioritizing programs to protect taxpayers, not
duplicating them.
I'm also opposed to a provision that was added on the floor last week
that dictates that any public university receiving funds under this
bill would be required to maintain an information policy wherein
failure to respond within 15 days to any union request for information
would result in the threat of losing Federal funding. This provision
places Federal agencies awarding funding in the role of administering
State labor laws. This is an inappropriate provision that will place
added burdens on our university system and certainly does nothing to
advance the main goals of the COMPETES legislation.
I also remain concerned with the overall funding levels in this bill.
At almost $48 billion, the bill represents $9.5 billion above the
fiscal year 2010 baseline extended out 3 years. It's also important to
note that the core agencies in this bill received an additional $5
billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act already. Given
the current state of our national economy and the fact that our
Nation's budget deficit has increased 50 percent since the last
authorization 3 years ago, we must be mindful of our spending if
America is to continue to compete globally.
Finally, I'm disappointed that the compromise language for disabled
veterans that was included in the motion to recommit is not contained
in this bill. This is the second time disabled veterans language has
been overwhelmingly accepted by both sides of the aisle, and this is
the second time that it has been stripped out of the bill. Every one of
us will run into these fine young men and women back in our districts
in about 10 days when we speak to them on Memorial Day. I think we
ought to be telling these wounded warriors who are returning to
civilian life after making life-altering sacrifices in defense of our
freedom that we just ensured that the colleges and universities they
attend will get the same special consideration as other schools
afforded special consideration so that they, too, can take advantage of
STEM opportunities and contribute to the competitiveness of this great
Nation that they so ably defended.
Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. In my opinion, this is
really shameful if we were denied this small opportunity to show our
appreciation not only to them but to the schools that are reaching out
to them.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly rise today to urge us not to approve the
present bill, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation until
the language that they all agreed to and agreed to include by a vote of
292-126 is put back in this bill. The will of the House and its Members
should be followed.
And I, as a veteran of World War II, would hate to go back 10 days
from now and look into the faces of those that we're addressing on
Memorial Day, at a time when we should be remembering them, that we do
stop here and pray for them and drop our heads for a minute, and I
think that's a wonderful thing for the Speaker to do. But I think
today's the day for us to raise our head, lift up our thoughts,
remember these men and include them. If we can spend this kind of money
and ignore the needs of a very dedicated few, I think we'll be making a
dreadful mistake.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I will take time a little bit later to try to respond to some of Mr.
Hall's concerns, but I want to get to the veterans right now. I want to
assure Mr. Hall that when he goes home for Memorial Day, he can look at
those veterans and say, I fought for you. I fought for you.
And I want to read the language so there'll be no misunderstanding
about this issue. We don't need to have red herrings here. This is an
important bill. So I'm going to read the language of the bill.
``For the purposes of the activities and programs supported by this
Act and the amendments made by this Act . . . institutions of higher
education offering STEM research and education activities and programs
that serve veterans with disabilities shall receive special
consideration in the review of any proposals by these institutions for
funding under research and education programs authorized in this Act .
. . ''
So let's be sure that we know that has been addressed.
Now, let me also point out that there's 435 Members of Congress, and
if we each wrote a bill, we would probably write it a little bit
differently. This is a matter of trying to bring folks together,
develop consensus, and that's what we did with 49 different hearings, a
bipartisan vote through four different markups, so I think that we have
addressed that.
I will address other issues later, but I would like to now yield 2
minutes to my friend from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind).
{time} 1045
Mr. KIND. I thank my good friend and colleague from Tennessee for
recognizing me.
Mr. Speaker, as one of the co-chairs in the New Democrat Coalition,
and as a co-chair with Representative Rush Holt of our Innovation Task
Force, I rise in proud support of the reauthorization of the America
COMPETES Act. And I commend our Chairman Bart Gordon on the Science
Committee for the work that he has put into producing this bipartisan
bill. We may be losing him to retirement, but he is leaving one of the
most important legacies that we can do around here, and that is to
ensure strong and robust job growth in the short term, the midterm, and
the long term. That is what this bill is all about.
This bill is about making crucial investments to make sure that our
Nation remains the most innovative and creative Nation in the world, on
the cutting edge of scientific, medical, and technological discoveries
and breakthroughs. We do that by investing in the STEM fields of
study--science, technology, engineering, math--where the job growth is
going to be occurring; by investing in basic and applied research in
both the private and public sector; by creating innovation centers
around the Nation so that we can partner with the private sector to
create the jobs of the future, and ensuring that all Americans are full
participants in the 21st century global economy. That is what the
America COMPETES Act is all about.
I would encourage my colleagues on the other side who may be playing
this political gotcha game yet again today to stop. Stop playing this
game and do the right thing and support this bill.
If you think that we ought to be prohibiting Federal dollars to be
used for lobbying purposes, that's in the bill. So support it. If you
believe that veterans should be full participants in all the programs
being offered in the bill, including the STEM education programs,
that's in the bill. If you believe that we should prohibit Federal
funds from being used to pay the salaries of child molesters and
rapists, that's already in the bill. And if you think we should fire
any Federal employee who has been looking at pornography on their
government computer, that's in this bill. So let's end the political
gotcha games that delayed passage of this bill last week and do the
right thing today.
I hope it's not something that's going to come up again on the floor
today, because this is the right thing to do for the future of our
economy. It's the right thing to do for the American people. Let's make
sure that we remain the most innovative Nation in the world. That's
what the America COMPETES Act does.
This should pass with wide bipartisan majorities, as the first
authorization of this bill did a couple of years ago, with roughly 360
Members supporting it. We should support it again today. I urge its
passage.
[[Page H3580]]
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I recognize that we all write language differently. However, once the
House has voted on and passed that language, I think it ought to be
included in the bill that the House is considering. And that's happened
not once, but a couple of times. Regretfully, I disagree with the
chairman. There is no assurance in the underlying bill that a single
institution helping disabled veterans would benefit.
Further, let me say this. I don't say that the gentleman from
Tennessee doesn't support disabled veterans, or anybody on this floor.
I think we are all mindful of the debt we owe to those people. It's a
matter of trying to get together on something that really gives them
that that we are intending, that we indicate that we are giving them.
And they just don't receive that under the language that's proposed in
this bill, but it can be fixed.
I have worked with the chairman. He is an honorable, decent, very
good chairman, a good friend, and has worked hard and has improved this
bill. He knocked it down from 5 years to 3. And that knocked it down to
almost $47 billion, the cost of this bill. Still, $11 billion at least
too excessive, but he has made an effort.
And we are so close that the language that he just read to you, if we
can change two words in it. Instead of on the sixth sentence of what
the current bill is that we are looking at today, they put that they
serve veterans, change that just ``available to veterans.'' We are that
close to settling this, and probably at least giving the veterans
something, not giving them everything they need.
I just think that while it gives some special consideration to
schools that are chartered for disabled students and those serving
disabled veterans, it's not a consideration that's consistent with
other schools in the bill or in schools with unrepresented populations
today. And I say based on that, creating yet another tier or class of
institutions versus playing them on the same and putting them on the
same equal playing field is just not quite enough.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
We have all heard the story of two people seeing the same accident,
and with their best intentions viewing it differently. You know, I
think this is what we have here today. This really has become something
of a red herring on a much bigger bill. But let me once again address
this veterans issue.
Mr. Hall says he wants to make these programs available to the
veterans. I want to require it. We require it. So let me read the
language again. ``For the purposes of the activities and programs
supported by this Act and the amendments made by this Act . . .
institutions of higher education offering STEM research and education
activities and programs that serve veterans with disabilities shall
receive''--not made available--``shall receive special consideration in
the review of any proposals by these institutions for funding under the
research and education programs authorized in this Act . . . '' Shall
receive. Not made available; shall receive.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan,
Dr. Ehlers.
Mr. EHLERS. I want to thank Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall
for all their hard work on this legislation. It is a complex bill. It
has been from the start, beginning in 2006, when President George W.
Bush developed the idea of the American Competitiveness Initiative,
which launched a three-pronged approach by strengthening research at
the NSF, the DOE, and NIST. We must continue that effort.
We heard a speech this morning during the 1-minute segment by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Johnson) about his concern about our debt to
the Chinese. It's going to get worse and worse unless we generate more
wealth in this country. And any economist will tell you that one of the
best ways to generate wealth in this Nation is through manufacturing.
We must restore our manufacturing operations in this Nation. We must
work together to put our country on a more stable fiscal basis. We must
stop overspending. And we have to restore manufacturing and other
wealth-building mechanisms such as mining and farming.
This bill goes a long way to do that, and I support this bill. It's
not everything I wanted. None of us ever get everything we want. But at
least we can move this bill over to the Senate. And at the very least,
we can go into conference with the Senate and try to resolve the issues
such as the veterans issue. I believe that we are in total agreement on
what we want to achieve. I just encourage us to pass this bill, and get
it into conference, where all the viewpoints can be heard and debated.
I hope my colleagues from both sides of the aisle will support the
bill before us today. The National Association of Manufacturers
supports it. All others who are involved in wealth generation through
manufacturing support it. We absolutely have to restore our
manufacturing sector. And the President we have now is trying to do
that through the Department of Commerce and through the Manufacturing
Council that he has appointed.
We have our work cut out for us, but I think we can come together and
continue the work with the Senate and finally develop a really good
bill we can all vote for.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of
H.R. 5325, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act for 2010. It was
once said, ``When the world says, Give up, Hope whispers, Try it one
more time.'' America cannot afford to give up on science, innovation,
and education.
I want to applaud my colleagues, the leadership, as well as the
entire Committee on Science and Technology for their hard work on this
legislation. Our Nation is being outpaced by competitors in graduating
scientists and engineers. It is so important to invest wisely in
programs that truly make a difference in the achievement of our young
people.
America COMPETES is about our future. It's about ensuring that we are
taking the right steps toward increasing American competitiveness and
innovation. It is also about strengthening diversity in our Nation's
scientific enterprise so that all Americans can compete in the 21st
century. We have an obligation to the future of our Nation to ensure
every segment of our population has equal access and opportunity to
pursue these careers in STEM.
The bill was put together in a bipartisan fashion and represents a
concerted effort to create a more competitive science and engineering
workforce. This is the goal of America COMPETES, and I am pleased that
the provisions are in this bill for all Americans. I will fight for
innovation, justice, parity, and equality for all Americans as long as
I can.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I thank Professor Ehlers for his good explanation of his position on
the bill. That's been his position from the word ``go.'' And there were
others on the Republican side in committee who differed with those of
us that were addressing the bill. And we all have a right to disagree.
And I respect that.
This bill got better. It didn't get better out of Rules because it
didn't give us a rule that gave us a shot at it. But it got better as
they had the vote yesterday. It's a little bit better as the chairman
has brought it to us today. And I must say this, that the chairman has
improved the ability for the veterans to benefit. And we are very
close.
And the chairman has said that he wants to continue to work on this.
And when we are just along three or four paragraphs, we are just two
words away from it, I certainly take Bart Gordon at his word and will
work with him. I think that we should have the words ``available to''
instead of ``that serve'' those to veterans. What's available to them
is very important. And we would like to have that in the bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. As my friend from Texas says, we have worked
together long and hard on many issues. And certainly, again, we are
going to continue to try to work to
[[Page H3581]]
get this language exactly where both parties that are seeing it in good
faith can agree. To me it seems ``shall receive'' is better than ``make
available,'' but we are going to work to get that together.
I yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the Research and Science
Education Subcommittee, the gentleman from Illinois, Dr. Lipinski.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this
bill. As chairman of the Research and Science Education Subcommittee, I
want to thank Dr. Ehlers not only for his support of the COMPETES Act,
but also all the work that he has done as the ranking Republican on the
subcommittee and all the years he has put in on these issues in
Congress.
I firmly believe that this bill is critical to maintaining America's
global competitiveness. I thank Chairman Gordon for all his hard work
on this bill and also his work through the years on these issues.
Passage of this bill will help produce a brighter future for our
Nation and our Nation's workers. Simply put, this bill creates jobs. As
a former college professor and engineer and unceasing advocate for
American manufacturing, I want to focus on the National Science
Foundation title. This act keeps funding for the NSF on a doubling
path, and it significantly increases support for basic research,
graduate education, STEM education, and turning research into jobs.
America is at risk of falling behind in all these areas. We cannot
stand still while our competitors move forward. If we do, we will see
the jobs created on their soil, not here in America.
{time} 1100
This bill also contains a number of critical programs that support
innovation and manufacturing. These provisions can help reverse the
outsourcing of American jobs. In addition, the COMPETES Act also
includes provisions that address serious deteriorations in the state of
our research infrastructure which threatens America's competitiveness.
Our competitors, especially China, are stealing scientists from our
country, and I hear this all the time because they are offering better
opportunities, better research infrastructure for their scientists.
This means they will create the innovations, they will create the jobs
over in their countries.
The COMPETES Reauthorization Act takes a proactive bipartisan
approach to securing America's position in the 21st century global
economy and putting Americans to work.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield 30 additional seconds to Dr.
Lipinski.
Mr. LIPINSKI. With no investment, we have no gains. It's as simple as
that. We cannot lose the race of competition to other nations.
America's future depends on that. We must have the jobs. People are
asking every day where are the jobs going to come from. They are going
to come from the innovations that come from Americans, and this bill
will help create the environment that will allow that to be done and
provide a better future for our Nation.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Michigan, Dr. Ehlers.
Mr. EHLERS. I thank the gentleman from Texas, the ranking member of
the committee, for being generous with his time again.
I want to point out two additional items in the bill that are going
to be of great importance to our country. I've already mentioned that
we must become more competitive and that we have to develop a better
approach to competing with other countries, if we are going to regain
or retain the leadership that we have had for several centuries.
But there is something else as well that's very important, and that
is innovation. America has not only led through manufacturing but also
through innovation in the products made. We have begun to slip in that
category, and that is why it is so important to continue our research
efforts at the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy.
I am pleased this measure before us today focuses on the challenges
faced by our Nation's manufacturers, and it will broaden and strengthen
manufacturing extension services which will help corporations be more
productive and innovative. This will revive manufacturing innovation
through research and development.
I hope my colleagues will be able to support this bill, which will be
wonderful for our Nation and our financial status if we become more
innovative and creative. This bill provides an opportunity to do that.
So I, once again, say let's resolve the difficulties we have with
this bill. Let's get them resolved as quickly as possible so we can
pass this bill and begin breathing new life into manufacturing in this
Nation.
Mr. HALL of Texas. We are concerned with other parts of this program.
We're concerned about the duplicative programs in the bill that are a
waste of government resources and a waste of taxpayer dollars. In a
time where we have scarce resources, we should be thinking about
spending money on other things like research and not spending them on
the same things that are in several different programs.
One example of this in H.R. 5325 is the energy innovation hubs
program which duplicates a number of programs that are already
available at the Department of Energy.
So let me say to the chairman and this Congress and anybody who would
hear us, this bill has been improved; the chairman has been amenable to
working together and making suggestions. He has listened to us. He
hasn't always minded me, but he has listened; and I think that's
unusual and kind of my friend from Tennessee.
He's changed this bill from an $86 billion bill to a $47 billion from
5 years to 3 years. So we feel like we've made considerable progress;
and I think any bill, $86 billion to $47 billion, with that type of
money, that ought to spawn money for the little disabled veterans that
just want a small piece of it.
I think as we go along, and I hope that we can work this out, I hope
that we will oppose this bill. We have a vote today. It's going to take
two-thirds to pass it. Perhaps the chairman has the votes. But if not,
I think in the next 48 hours we can improve it substantially, and once
again be more proud of a bill that we've been for from the word ``go.''
We've been for the thrust of the bill. We just objected to the cost and
to the failure to include little people and to duplicate so many of
these processes.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have left?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Tennessee has 7\1/2\
minutes. The gentleman from Texas has 3 minutes.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I would first say to my friend from Texas that I think I probably
minded him more than his kids minded him, but probably less than his
grandkids have minded him. We have tried to cooperate in a lot of ways.
Let me address a couple of things.
As I said earlier, Mr. Hall has said, and rightfully so, that
everyone here is supportive of our veterans and our disabled veterans.
So what I would suggest is that we use a suspenders and a belt. Let's
make sure. And so, Mr. Hall, I want to assure you that we're going to
include your language, but we can also keep our strong language as
``shall.''
So this is what we would have: institutions of higher education
offering STEM research education activities and programs, rather than
that ``serve,'' we'll use your language that are available to veterans
with disabilities, and then we'll continue to say ``shall'' receive
special consideration. So I think this can be a suspenders and belt to
do what we all want, and that is to make sure that our disabled
veterans are taken care of.
Let me also mention that there is a discussion about duplicate
programs. I guess sometimes that could happen. In that last bill that
365 Members of the Congress voted for, we found that there were nine
programs that didn't serve well and so those programs were taken out of
this bill, and I think we can have disagreements as to whether a
program is duplicative or not, but the funding
[[Page H3582]]
doesn't go up. And so that is the good news there.
Let me also point out that on page 195, section 502, ``Coordination
and Nonduplication. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary
shall ensure that the activities carried out under this section are
coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, other loan
guarantee programs within the Federal Government.'' So there is an
effort to be sure that we do not have this kind of duplication.
Once again, this is a bill that authorization has been cut by 50
percent from what 365 Members of this House voted for just 3 years ago
and that was unanimously approved by the other body.
And I yield 2 minutes to my friend from New Jersey, Dr. Rush Holt.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for yielding, and I rise in
strong support of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act. Our
investments in scientific research and education underwrite our
national prosperity and success. Yet for decades, we have underinvested
in our Nation's tools for advancing innovation and competitiveness.
The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act will build on the successes
of the original America COMPETES Act and the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act by authorizing funding levels that will continue to
double the budgets of our basic research agencies: NIST, NSF, DOE's
Office of Science.
I would have preferred the stability of a 5-year reauthorization, and
some of my colleagues on the other side decided to play politics with
science and have made that impossible. Still, the 3 years of
investments authorized by this bill will pay big dividends as
discoveries and innovations lead to new industries that will keep our
Nation competitive.
I am pleased that despite objections by some in the minority, the
bill also provides assistance for small businesses and manufacturers,
strengthens STEM education, enhances the participation of
underrepresented groups in technical fields, and supports research in
pursuit of clean energy in the United States.
I am pleased that the bill includes a provision that I wrote to
require the administration to develop national competitiveness and
innovation strategy.
I commend Chairman Gordon and the S&T Committee for their hard work
on this important piece of legislation, and I urge my colleagues to
support it.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate that
Republican motion to recommit eliminated the new programs in the bill.
New programs in the bill shift an emphasis away from basic research
towards technology commercialization activities that could potentially
divert money away from basic research and could lead to inappropriate
market innovation.
Keeping the language in the bill would reduce authorization levels in
the bill by $1.3 billion. The Republican motion to recommit kept all
existing programs at fiscal year 2010 appropriated levels. Given that
our Nation's debt is currently $13 trillion and our Nation's budget
deficit has increased 50 percent in 3 years, it's prudent to put the
brakes on significant increases in spending for years to come.
This bill is better than the bill was when it was introduced. It's
not as good as the bill was when it left the committee that first
considered it. It's not as good a bill as it was when they accepted and
voted ``yes''--Republicans and Democrats alike--on the motion to
recommit.
So we've made some improvements. I'm not discouraged. I still like
the thrust of the bill, and I look forward to working with the chairman
from this day forward.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Let me make this suggestion: if you want to wait for the absolutely
perfect bill that you agree with every word, then you shouldn't vote
for this bill because this bill is a bipartisan compromise that was a
result of 49 hearings, four bipartisan markups, and so we had to work
together. So if you want the perfect bill that is just exactly what you
want regardless of what anybody else might want, then this may not be
your bill.
But if you want a bill that is going to take America forward, if you
want a bill that is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, by the
National Association of Manufacturers, by the Information Technology
Industry Association, by the Aerospace Industry Association, by the
Business Roundtable, by the Council on Competitiveness, by the National
Venture Capitalists Association, by TechAmerica, by TechNet, by
Technological CEO Council, by the Telecommunication Industry
Association, by the Energy Sciences Coalition, by the Biotech Industry
Organization, by the American Council of Education, by the Association
of American Colleges and Universities, by the Association of American
Universities, by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities,
and on, and on, and on, and on, then this is the bill for you.
Now, do they agree with every word in it? No, I'm sure they don't.
But do they understand that 50 percent of the growth in our GDP in this
country since World War II is a direct result of the R&D investment
that we made and the benefit from that R&D investment? Yes, they
understand that.
And so today we have a chance to cast a vote for our kids, for our
grandkids. We have a chance to cast a vote for energy independence in
this country. And when I say energy independence, I don't mean just
independence from foreign oil; I mean energy independence from foreign
technology, also.
This is a good bill. I request everyone to take a look at it, see it,
and I think they'll see that on the merits that this a good bill that
serves our country. I think they'll see that this is a good bill that
helps our disabled veterans. It was very specific in that.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the amount of time
that I may consume subject to my limitations.
Yes, Mr. Chairman, I would like a perfect bill. All of us would like
a perfect bill, and I don't wish to pit the National Taxpayers Union
who oppose this bill against the Chamber of Commerce who supports this
bill. But I do seek perfection. I don't think we have a perfect bill. I
doubt that we could ever get a perfect bill, but we can have a better
bill. We've got a better bill than we had when it was introduced. We've
got a better bill than we had when it came out of committee.
{time} 1115
We can reach perfection if we work long enough. I don't seek
perfection, but I would like as good a bill as we can get, treating
veterans the way they ought to be treated and not spending money that
is needed for other matters, certainly. I urge a ``no'' vote.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have left?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Tennessee has 1 minute.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself that final
minute.
Let me point out to my friend from Texas that the National Taxpayers
Union did oppose the previous bill, but they have not taken a position
on this bill. We just checked their Web site. If you have something
different, we would be glad to see it, because this bill is different
than the last bill. This bill cuts the authorization by 50 percent. So
we have a different bill here today.
So again, as I have said before, Mr. Speaker, there are 6.5 billion
people in the world. Half of those working make less than $2 a day.
That is not the kind of way we want to compete in this country. We have
to work at a higher technological level to be more productive. This
bill will help us get there.
I thank, once again, the Republican and Democratic Members that have
worked together to bring this bipartisan bill. I thank the staff of the
minority and majority for working together to bring us this good bill,
and I urge passage.
Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the America
COMPETES reauthorization, and I am particularly proud of the
contribution my subcommittee--the Technology and Innovation
Subcommittee--has made to this legislation. Innovation is critical to
our nation's long-term global competitiveness, and we have a
responsibility to support the kind of economic environment that
empowers our nation's private sector to innovate and create jobs.
[[Page H3583]]
The bipartisan legislation we are considering today will strengthen
our nation's economic competitiveness by helping to create an
environment that encourages innovation and facilitates growth. Among
other things, the bill makes critical investments in, and improvements
to, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which will help this vital
program better address the needs of our nation's small- and medium-
sized manufacturers. The bill will also help ensure that students have
the training necessary to secure a good-paying job in their community
by requiring MEP centers to inform local and regional community
colleges of the skills needed by area manufacturers. America COMPETES
also focuses the National Institute of Standards and Technology on
creating jobs, supporting competitiveness, and meeting the needs of our
nation's private sector.
America COMPETES is the cornerstone of our nation's global
competitiveness, and today's reauthorization bill represents another
critical step in implementing the innovation agenda. I ask my
colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5325.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________