[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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