[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 102 (Tuesday, June 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3706-S3707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 695. Ms. WARREN (for herself and Mr. Brown) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1790, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following:
SEC. ___. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON DEFENSE RESEARCH AT
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
AND OTHER MINORITY INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--There is established in the executive
branch an independent Commission to review the state of
defense research at covered institutions.
(2) Treatment.--The Commission shall be considered an
independent establishment of the Federal Government as
defined by section 104 of title 5, United States Code, and a
temporary organization under section 3161 of such title.
(3) Designation.--The Commission established under
paragraph (1) shall be known as the ``National Security
Commission on Defense Research At Historically Black Colleges
and Universities and Other Minority Institutions''.
(4) Membership.--
(A) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 11
members appointed as follows:
(i) The Secretary of Defense shall appoint 2 members.
[[Page S3707]]
(ii) The Secretary of Education shall appoint 1 member.
(iii) The Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of
the Senate shall appoint 1 member.
(iv) The Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services
of the Senate shall appoint 1 member.
(v) The Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives shall appoint 1 member.
(vi) The Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services
of the House of Representatives shall appoint 1 member.
(vii) The Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate shall appoint 1 member.
(viii) The Ranking Member of the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate shall appoint 1
member.
(ix) The Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor
of the House of Representatives shall appoint 1 member.
(x) The Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and
Labor of the House of Representatives shall appoint 1 member.
(B) Deadline for appointment.--Members shall be appointed
to the Commission under subparagraph (A) not later than 90
days after the date on which the commission is established.
(C) Effect of lack of appointment by appointment date.--If
one or more appointments under subparagraph (A) is not made
by the appointment date specified in subparagraph (B), or if
a position described in subparagraph (A) is vacant for more
than 90 days, the authority to make such appointment shall
transfer to the Chair of the Commission.
(5) Chair and vice chair.--The Commission shall elect a
Chair and Vice Chair from among its members.
(6) Terms.--Members shall be appointed for the life of the
Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its
powers and shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment was made.
(7) Status as federal employees.--Notwithstanding the
requirements of section 2105 of title 5, United States Code,
including the required supervision under subsection (a)(3) of
such section, the members of the Commission shall be deemed
to be Federal employees.
(b) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall carry out the review
described in paragraph (2). In carrying out such review, the
Commission shall consider the methods and means necessary to
advance research capacity at covered institutions to
comprehensively address the national security and defense
needs of the United States.
(2) Scope of the review.--In conducting the review under
paragraph (1), the Commission shall consider the following:
(A) The competitiveness of covered institutions in
developing, pursuing, capturing, and executing defense
research with the Department of Defense through contracts and
grants.
(B) Means and methods for advancing the capacity of covered
institutions to conduct research related to national security
and defense.
(C) The advancements and investments necessary to elevate
25 covered institutions to R2 status on the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 15
covered institutions to R1 status on the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and one
covered institution or a consortium of multiple covered
institutions to the capability of a University Affiliated
Research Center.
(D) The facilities and infrastructure for defense-related
research at covered institutions as compared to the
facilities and infrastructure at universities classified as
R1 status on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education.
(E) Incentives to attract, recruit, and retain leading
research faculty to covered institutions.
(F) The legal and organizational structure of the
contracting entity of covered institutions as compared to the
legal and organizational structure of the contracting entity
of covered institutions at universities classified as R1
status on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education.
(G) The ability of covered institutions to develop,
protect, and commercialize intellectual property created
through defense-related research.
(H) The amount of defense research funding awarded to all
colleges and universities through contracts and grants for
the fiscal years of 2010 through 2019, including--
(i) the legal mechanism under which the organization was
formed;
(ii) the total value of contracts and grants awarded to the
organization during fiscal years 2010 to 2019;
(iii) the overhead rate of the organization for fiscal year
2019;
(iv) the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher
Education of the associated university or college;
(v) if the associated university or college qualifies as a
historically Black college or university, a minority
institution, or a minority institution.
(I) Areas for improvement in the programs executed under
section 2362 of title 10, United States Code, the existing
authorization to enhance defense-related research and
education at covered institutions.
(J) Previous executive or legislative actions by the
Federal Government to address the imbalance in federal
research funding, such as the Established Program to
Stimulate Competitive Research (commonly known as
``EPSCoR'').
(K) Any other matters the Commission deems relevant to the
advancing the defense research capacity of covered
institutions.
(c) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to
the President and Congress an initial report on the findings
of the Commission and such recommendations that the
Commission may have for action by the executive branch and
Congress related to the covered institutions participating in
Department of Defense research and actions necessary to
expand their research capacity.
(2) Final report.--Prior to the date on which the
commission terminates under subsection (e), the Commission
shall submit to the President and Congress a comprehensive
report on the results of the review required under subsection
(b).
(3) Form of reports.--Reports submitted under this
subsection shall be made publically available.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriate to carry this section $5,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Funds made available to the
under the preceding sentence shall remain available until
expended.
(e) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on
December 31, 2021.
(f) Covered Institution Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered institution'' means--
(1) a part B institution (as that term is defined in
section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1061(2)); or
(2) any other institution of higher education (as that term
is defined in section 101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)) at
which not less than 50 percent of the total student
enrollment consists of students from ethnic groups that are
underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering.
SEC. ___. CONSIDERATION OF SUBCONTRACTING TO MINORITY
INSTITUTIONS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 141 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``Sec. 2410t. Consideration of subcontracting to minority
institutions
``(a) Consideration of Subcontracting to Minority
Institutions.--The Secretary of Defense shall revise the
Department of Defense Supplement to the Federal Acquisition
Regulation to require that the system used by the Federal
Government to monitor or record contractor past performance
for a grant or contract awarded to an institution of higher
education includes incentives for the award of a sub-grant or
subcontract to minority institutions.
``(b) Minority Institution Defined.--In this section, the
term `minority institution' means--
``(1) a part B institution (as that term is defined in
section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1061(2)); or
``(2) any other institution of higher education (as that
term is defined in section 101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001))
at which not less than 50 percent of the total student
enrollment consists of students from ethnic groups that are
underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``2410t. Consideration of subcontracting to minority institutions.''.
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