[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S3168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1690. Mr. LEE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to 
establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the 
National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub 
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, 
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to 
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       Section 2104(a) is amended by striking subparagraph (D) of 
     paragraph (3) and all that follows through subparagraph 
     (C)(ii) of paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
     and
       (4) Selection process.--In selecting recipients under this 
     subsection, the Director shall consider, in addition to the 
     scientific and technical merit of the proposal--
       (A) maximizing regional and geographic diversity of the 
     university technology centers, including by considering 
     rural-serving institutions of higher education (as defined in 
     section 861(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1161a(b));
       (B) the extent to which the applicant's proposal would 
     broaden participation by populations underrepresented in 
     STEM;
       (C) the capacity of the applicant to engage industry, 
     labor, and other appropriate organizations and, where 
     applicable, contribute to growth in domestic manufacturing 
     capacity and job creation;
       (D) in the case of a consortium, the extent to which the 
     proposal includes institutions listed in paragraph 
     (7)(C)(ii);
       (E) the amount of funds from industry organizations 
     described in paragraph (5)(A)(ii) the applicant would use 
     towards establishing the university technology center;
       (F) the plan and capability of the applicant to take 
     measures to prevent the inappropriate use of the research and 
     technology of the center, including research results, data, 
     and intellectual property, as appropriate and consistent with 
     the requirements of the relevant award; and
       (G) the plan and capability of the applicant to support 
     proof-of-concept development and prototyping as well as 
     technology transfer and commercialization activities.
       (5) Requirements.--
       (A) In general.--The Director shall ensure that any 
     eligible entity receiving an award under this subsection 
     has--
       (i) the capacity or the ability to acquire the capacity to 
     advance the purposes described in section 2102(b);
       (ii) secured contributions for establishing the university 
     technology center under this subsection from industry or 
     other non-Federal organizations in an amount not less than 10 
     percent of the total amount of the award the eligible entity 
     would receive under this subsection;
       (iii) been certified by the Director as carrying out a 
     proposal that is not duplicative, fraudulent, or wasteful; 
     and
       (iv) agreed to be subject to annual audits for compliance 
     with this section.
       (B) Consortium eligibility.--To be eligible to receive an 
     award for the establishment and operation of a university 
     technology center, a consortium shall be composed of not 
     fewer than 2 entities as described in paragraph (7)(C) and 
     operate subject to a binding agreement, entered into by each 
     member of the consortium, that documents--
       (i) the proposed partnership agreement, including the 
     governance and management structure of the university 
     technology center;
       (ii) measures the consortium will undertake to enable cost-
     effective implementation of activities under paragraph (3);
       (iii) a proposed budget, including financial contributions 
     from non-Federal sources; and
       (iv) the plan for ownership and use of any intellectual 
     property developed by the center.
       (6) Support of regional technology hubs.--Each university 
     technology center established under this subsection may 
     support and participate in, as appropriate, the activities of 
     any regional technology hub designated under section 28 of 
     the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 
     U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), as added by section 2401 of this 
     division.
       (7) Eligible entity.--In this subsection, the term 
     ``eligible entity'' means--
       (A) an individual institution of higher education;
       (B) a nonprofit entity; or
       (C) a consortium that--
       (i) shall include and be led by an institution of higher 
     education or by a nonprofit entity, designed to support 
     technology development;
       (ii) may include 1 or more institution that is--

       (I) a historically Black college or university;
       (II) a Tribal College or University;
       (III) a minority-serving institution (or an institution of 
     higher education with an established STEM capacity building 
     program focused on traditionally underrepresented populations 
     in STEM, including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and 
     Indians);
       (IV) an institution that participates in the Established 
     Program to Stimulate Competitive Research under section 113 
     of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 
     (42 U.S.C. 1862g);
       (V) an emerging research institution; or
       (VI) a community college that is a research institution; 
     and

                                 ______