[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 77 (Tuesday, May 19, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H3365-H3366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFICIENCY ACT

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 1119) to improve the efficiency of Federal research and 
development, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1119

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Research and Development 
     Efficiency Act''.

     SEC. 2. REGULATORY EFFICIENCY.

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

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. 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. 1119, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock), the Science 
Committee's Research and Technology Subcommittee chairwoman and the 
sponsor of this legislation.
  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 
1119, the Research and Development Efficiency Act, which I introduced 
with the chairman and ranking member of the House Science, Space, and 
Technology Committee, as well as the ranking member of the Research and 
Technology Subcommittee earlier this year.
  H.R. 1119 requires the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy to establish a working group under the National 
Science and Technology Council to review Federal regulations that 
affect research and research universities.
  The working group is tasked with making recommendations on how to 
harmonize, streamline, and eliminate duplicative Federal regulations 
and reporting requirements and make recommendations on how to minimize 
the regulatory burden on research institutions.

                              {time}  1800

  Mr. Speaker, there is a long history to support the need for this 
legislation. In 2012, the National Academies issued a report that 
included a key recommendation to ``reduce or eliminate regulations that 
increase administrative costs, impede research productivity, and 
deflect creative energy without substantially improving the research 
environment.''
  Last year, the National Science Board referenced the results of two 
Federal Demonstration Partnership surveys on faculty workload--one in 
2005 and one in 2012--that, on average, researchers spend 42 percent of 
their time on meeting administrative requirements. This drain on 
researchers' time and resources to answer Federal regulatory and 
reporting requirements leaves less time for researchers to spend on 
actual scientific work.
  To be clear, H.R. 1119 does not eliminate reporting requirements, 
because there is a need for such information for the purposes of 
oversight and transparency. Instead, the bill would initiate the 
process that should ultimately help researchers and research 
universities by reducing redundant regulations. This is accomplished by 
promoting efficiencies and getting the most out of our research 
investments.
  The National Academies is currently conducting a study of Federal 
regulations and reporting requirements, paying particular attention to 
those directed at research universities. H.R. 1119 would ensure that 
more of our Federal research dollars are spent on research and not on 
regulatory requirements. I encourage my colleagues to support this 
bill.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 1119, the Research and Development 
Efficiency Act.
  I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I want to thank 
Congresswoman Comstock and Ranking Member Johnson for their leadership 
in introducing the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, we all agree that administrative requirements serve an 
important purpose. They ensure transparency, the protection of human 
and animal subjects, and the wise use of Federal resources. But 
sometimes they

[[Page H3366]]

go too far, so we need to find a much better balance than we currently 
have.
  The statistic often cited is that federally funded researchers spend 
an average of 42 percent of their time on administrative tasks. That is 
time and money spent not doing science. It is not an efficient use of 
some of our Nation's greatest scientific brain power, nor is it an 
efficient use of Federal research funds, especially as Federal spending 
for R&D continues to decline as a share of the overall budget.
  Back in the 112th Congress, the Research Subcommittee, which I served 
on as ranking member and which was led by then-Chairman Mo Brooks, held 
an important hearing on this matter to help get the ball rolling, which 
eventually led to this bill.
  H.R. 1119 requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy to 
convene an interagency working group to review the requirements 
governing the conduct of federally funded R&D at our Nation's research 
institutions. The working group is further charged with making 
recommendations on how to best streamline and harmonize such 
requirements across the government in order to minimize the 
administrative burden on universities while maintaining full 
accountability for Federal funds.
  This administration has long recognized the problems that this bill 
addresses. An interagency working group will not be starting from 
scratch. The Office of Management and Budget took some small steps in 
the right direction in their recent rewrite of the Federal regulations 
governing research grants. Agencies have also taken steps to harmonize 
the grant proposal process and are exploring additional ways to reduce 
the paperwork burden associated with grant proposals.
  I applaud these efforts. Last Congress, I helped further them by 
writing a letter to OMB, urging them to make some of the reforms they 
had agreed to. However, there is still room to go. The National 
Academies have begun a detailed review of administrative burdens on 
federally funded research. I hope that this review will yield specific 
recommendations for the agencies on how to proceed. While it may be 
preferable to wait for this report to be published before the 
interagency committee begins its own work, the Academies' review does 
not preclude the need for an interagency group.
  I understand that there may be bureaucratic hurdles to overcome. This 
will take some time. However, we cannot afford to delay action any 
longer. The vitality of our Nation's research universities and of our 
overall competitiveness will suffer if we do not reduce the 
administrative workload on our Nation's scientific talent. H.R. 1119 is 
an important step in that direction.
  Once again, I want to thank Chairwoman Comstock and Ranking Member 
Johnson of the Research and Technology Subcommittee for introducing 
this legislation, and I thank Chairman Smith for bringing it to the 
floor. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Again, I want to thank Chairwoman Comstock, Chairman Smith, and 
Ranking Member Johnson for moving this bill.
  I used to be a university researcher. I know of the heavy burdens in 
terms of administrative tasks that need to be done. I would say some of 
these are absolutely necessary, but we now know that we can reduce the 
burden without reducing the protections that they provide. I am very 
happy to support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, really quickly, I want to thank Mrs. 
Comstock for introducing this bill and Mr. Lipinski for cosponsoring 
it. As well, it is a great bipartisan piece of legislation, and I urge 
my colleagues to support it.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hultgren). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1119, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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