[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5781-H5782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1500
NATIONAL INNOVATION MODERNIZATION BY LABORATORY EMPOWERMENT ACT
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5907) to provide directors of the National Laboratories
signature authority for certain agreements, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5907
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Innovation
Modernization by Laboratory Empowerment Act'' or the ``NIMBLE
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(2) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory''
means a Department of Energy nonmilitary national laboratory,
including--
(A) Ames Laboratory;
(B) Argonne National Laboratory;
(C) Brookhaven National Laboratory;
(D) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory;
(E) Idaho National Laboratory;
(F) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory;
(G) National Energy Technology Laboratory;
(H) National Renewable Energy Laboratory;
(I) Oak Ridge National Laboratory;
(J) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory;
(K) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory;
(L) Savannah River National Laboratory;
(M) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center;
(N) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility; and
(O) any laboratory operated by the National Nuclear
Security Administration, but only with respect to the
civilian energy activities thereof.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR COMMERCIALIZATION.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the
Secretary shall delegate to directors of the National
Laboratories signature authority with respect to any
agreement described in subsection (b) the total cost of which
(including the National Laboratory contributions and project
recipient cost share) is less than $1,000,000, if such an
agreement falls within the scope of--
(1) a strategic plan for the National Laboratory that has
been approved by the Department; or
(2) the most recent congressionally approved budget for
Department activities to be carried out by the National
Laboratory.
(b) Agreements.--Subsection (a) applies to--
(1) a cooperative research and development agreement;
(2) a non-Federal work-for-others agreement; and
(3) any other agreement determined to be appropriate by the
Secretary, in collaboration with the directors of the
National Laboratories.
(c) Administration.--
(1) Accountability.--The director of the affected National
Laboratory and the affected contractor shall carry out an
agreement under this section in accordance with applicable
policies of the Department, including by ensuring that the
agreement does not compromise any national security,
economic, or environmental interest of the United States.
(2) Certification.--The director of the affected National
Laboratory and the affected contractor shall certify that
each activity carried out under a project for which an
agreement is entered into under this section does not
present, or minimizes, any apparent conflict of interest, and
avoids or neutralizes any actual conflict of interest, as a
result of the agreement under this section.
(3) Availability of records.--Within 30 days of entering an
agreement under this section, the director of a National
Laboratory shall submit to the Secretary for monitoring and
review all records of the National Laboratory relating to the
agreement.
(4) Rates.--The director of a National Laboratory may
charge higher rates for services performed under a
partnership agreement entered into pursuant to this section,
regardless of the full cost of recovery, if such funds are
used exclusively to support further research and development
activities at the respective National Laboratory.
(d) Exception.--This section does not apply to any
agreement with a majority foreign-owned company.
(e) Conforming Amendment.--Section 12 of the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting the
subparagraphs appropriately;
(B) by striking ``Each Federal agency'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
each Federal agency''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in
accordance with section 3(a) of the NIMBLE Act, approval by
the Secretary of Energy shall not be required for any
technology transfer agreement proposed to be entered into by
a National Laboratory of the Department of Energy, the total
cost of which (including the National Laboratory
contributions and project recipient cost share) is less than
$1,000,000.''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ``subsection (a)(1)''
each place it appears and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)(A)''.
SEC. 4. SAVINGS CLAUSE.
Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act
abrogates or otherwise affects the primary responsibilities
of any National Laboratory to the Department.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren) and the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Veasey) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of bipartisan legislation I
introduced with my good friend from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter) to give
our national labs the tools they need to better work with outside
entities, develop new technologies, and let new business ideas come out
of our world-leading research facilities.
As you have heard today with the prior bills passed on the floor, the
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee has done tremendous
bipartisan work to support our national laboratories and research
infrastructure.
I thank Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Johnson--both from Texas--
for their bipartisan work on this package, and I was pleased to see my
prior past research infrastructure legislation dealing with upgrades at
Fermilab, Argonne National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National
Laboratory included in that package.
Our national labs are often referred to as the crown jewels in our
research ecosystem here in the United States. Secretary Perry has
referred to them as national treasures. These labs house some of the
largest, most complicated research equipment in the world, which no one
business or research university would ever be able to support.
Our national labs also maintain a number of user facilities where
university researchers, other Federal agencies, and the private sector
can work with these tools, so long as this work does not interfere with
the mission of the department or the lab.
[[Page H5782]]
The problem we have with many agreements is simply the time that it
takes to negotiate and finalize an agreement. Currently, after a lab
makes a determination on an agreement, that agreement must then go
through a separate review by the department. While I wholeheartedly
agree in our need for thorough oversight, what we are attempting to do
is to set a threshold so that smaller agreements do not need to go
through this additional review process.
All national labs, except one, have been set up under a government-
owned, contractor-operated model. What my bill would do is strengthen
this arrangement by giving the labs the necessary trust they need to
remain nimble, being able to react to the needs of the private sector
and with other researchers being able to come in.
When many researchers need to use a facility for just a few hours,
they, obviously, will not wait around 90 days for the government. The
private sector does not move at the pace of government, nor should we
expect it to. This legislation would cut out some of the red tape of
working with the lab, so that the private sector could take good ideas
and do what they do best: innovate and react to the market.
With the increased reporting requirements for these agreements, I
believe this strikes the proper balance for oversight with the
department and the intentions of Congress in creating the government-
owned, contractor-operated model for the labs.
I am grateful for the Secretary at our recent hearing signaling his
willingness to work with this idea. I believe it fits with the
administration's priorities in removing red tape where it is not needed
and freeing the private sector up to innovate and bring new ideas to
the marketplace.
So I thank my colleagues for their work on this legislation. I also
thank the chairman for his cosponsorship of this bill, as well as his
leadership on the package of bills authorizing the Office of Science
and other DOE activities.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support passage of
this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5907, the National
Innovation Modernization by Laboratory Empowerment Act.
This bill would provide our national laboratories with the authority
to directly enter into certain research agreements with the private
sector, as long as those activities align with the laboratories'
strategic plans approved by the Department of Energy. This bill also
includes appropriate safeguards to prevent waste, fraud, or abuse of
this provision.
This language previously passed the House as part of bipartisan
legislation that we considered in the last Congress. I am happy to see
this important policy change is moving forward once again.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. I encourage my colleagues to do the
same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to yield 5
minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), the very effective and
helpful chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and
also cosponsor of this legislation.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Hultgren for yielding me
time on his bill, H.R. 5907, the National Innovation Modernization by
Laboratory Empowerment Act, or NIMBLE Act.
This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide
signature authority to the directors of the national laboratories,
allowing these lab directors to make funding decisions on cooperative
agreements with industry where the total cost is less than $1 million.
This commonsense reform provides the labs with more flexibility and
eliminates the red tape and bureaucratic process that makes it
difficult for businesses to partner with the labs.
DOE national labs can provide the private sector with access to
critical research infrastructure as they develop new technologies. But
a burdensome approval process can smother an industry's interest and
constrict the pace of technology development. This bill gives the labs
freedom to pursue agreements that will increase U.S. competitiveness
and maintain our innovation and productivity leadership.
I thank Representative Randy Hultgren again and this bill's 10
Science, Space, and Technology Committee's cosponsors, including
Representative Ed Perlmutter, Vice Chairman Frank Lucas, Energy
Subcommittee Chairman Randy Weber, and Energy Subcommittee Vice
Chairman Steve Knight for their ongoing support of DOE's world-leading
national laboratories.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say about Mr. Hultgren that his leadership on
the committee has been appreciated for years. He has never failed to be
an effective advocate and leader for the national labs. This is a good
example of his interests being put into legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my good friend from Texas (Mr. Veasey)
for his support on this bill. I especially want to thank my really good
friend from Texas (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Science, Space, and
Technology Committee, for his important support on this bill. It really
is a commonsense bill. It is one that has passed previous Congresses
with strong, bipartisan support.
Our labs are a treasure, but they are also a great benefit for
innovation. This allows that innovation to continue working, again, on
smaller agreements, for those to be able to move more quickly, when,
oftentimes, business need to move that quickly. The labs can do this,
but if they had to go through the whole cumbersome process of coming
through Washington, they wouldn't be able to.
So, again, this is commonsense and bipartisan, and I thank all of the
cosponsors.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5907.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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