[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 90 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3374-S3375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1971. Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him 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:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

                   TITLE __--NATIONAL FAB LAB NETWORK

     SEC. ___1. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``National Fab Lab Network 
     Act of 2021''.

     SEC. ___2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Scientific discoveries and technical innovations are 
     critical to the economic and national security of the United 
     States.
       (2) Maintaining the leadership of the United States in 
     science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will 
     require a diverse population with the skills, interest, and 
     access to tools required to advance these fields.
       (3) Just as earlier digital revolutions in communications 
     and computation provided individuals with the internet and 
     personal computers, a digital revolution in fabrication will 
     allow anyone to make almost anything, anywhere.
       (4) These creations include elements of a typical household 
     basket of goods (furnishings, apparel, food production 
     equipment, shelter, transportation, education and 
     communication, recreation, and other goods and services), 
     personal technology, means for personal expression, the 
     production of digital fabrication machinery, community 
     design, and manufacturing capability.
       (5) The Center for Bits and Atoms of the Massachusetts 
     Institute of Technology (CBA) has contributed significantly 
     to the advancement of these goals through its work in 
     creating and advancing digital fabrication facilities, or 
     ``fab labs'' in the United States and abroad.
       (6) Such digital fabrication facilities may include 
     MakerSpaces, Hackerspaces, and other creative spaces that use 
     digital fabrication as a platform for education, innovation, 
     entrepreneurship, personal expression, public access, and 
     social impact.
       (7) Such digital fabrication facilities provide a model for 
     a new kind of national laboratory that operates as a network, 
     linking local facilities for advanced manufacturing, 
     providing universal access, cultivating new literacies, and 
     empowering communities.
       (8) The nonprofit Fab Foundation was established to support 
     the growth of the international network of digital 
     fabrication facilities, to amplify the educational, 
     entrepreneurial, and social impacts of digital fabrication 
     facilities, and to support the development of regional 
     capacity building organizations to broaden impact as well as 
     address local, regional, and global challenges through the 
     use of digital fabrication technologies.
       (9) A coordinated array of national public-private 
     partnerships will be the most effective way to accelerate the 
     provision of universal access to this infrastructure for 
     workforce development, science, technology, engineering, and 
     mathematics education, developing inventions, creating 
     businesses, producing personalized products, and mitigating 
     risks.

     SEC. ___3. DEFINITION OF FAB LAB.

       In this title, the term ``fab lab'' means a facility that--
       (1) contains the range of capabilities required to create 
     form and function from digital designs, including--
       (A) computer-controlled machines for additive and 
     subtractive fabrication processes;
       (B) tools and components for manufacturing and programming 
     electronic circuits;
       (C) materials and methods for short-run production; and
       (D) workflows for three-dimensional design and 
     digitization; and
       (2) is committed to supporting education, innovation, 
     entrepreneurship, personal expression, self-sufficiency, and 
     social impact for its community through digital fabrication.

     SEC. ___4. ESTABLISHMENT.

       There is hereby established a nonprofit corporation to be 
     known as the ``National Fab Lab Network'' (in this title 
     referred to as the ``corporation''), which shall not be an 
     agency or establishment of the United States Government. The 
     corporation shall be subject to the provisions of this title, 
     and, to the extent consistent with this title, to the 
     District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, 
     section 29-501 et seq.).

     SEC. ___5. GOALS AND ACTIVITIES.

       (a) Goals.--The goals of the corporation are as follows:
       (1) To provide universal access to digital fabrication.
       (2) To foster current and future fab labs.
       (3) To create a national network of connected local fab 
     labs to empower individuals and communities in the United 
     States.
       (4) To foster the use of distributed digital fabrication 
     tools--
       (A) to promote science, technology, engineering and math 
     skills;
       (B) to increase invention and innovation;
       (C) to create businesses and jobs;
       (D) to fulfill personal, professional, and community needs;
       (E) to create value and mitigate harm;
       (F) to increase self-sufficiency for individuals, 
     households, and communities; and
       (G) to align workforce development with new and emerging 
     jobs.
       (5) To provide a platform for education, research, and for 
     catalyzing new methods in science, technology, engineering, 
     and mathematics education, and introducing digital 
     fabrication as an essential new literacy.
       (6) To create new ways of educating the workforce that will 
     enable workers to compete in a 21st century global 
     marketplace.
       (b) Activities.--To attain the goals described in 
     subsection (a), the corporation shall carry out activities, 
     including the following:
       (1) Seeking to establish a minimum of one fab lab in each 
     Congressional District, prioritizing underserved communities.
       (2) Seeking to establish additional labs within the network 
     created under subsection (a)(3), in response to local demand, 
     and to provide guidelines for their sustainable operation.
       (3) Linking fab labs into a national network, and promoting 
     further expansion of fab labs across the United States.
       (4) Serving as a resource to assist diverse public and 
     private stakeholders with the effective operation of fab 
     labs, and the training of fab lab leaders and mentors.
       (5) Maintaining a national registry of fab labs.
       (6) Providing standards and protocols for connecting fab 
     labs regionally, nationally, and globally.
       (7) Assisting existing fab labs in producing additional fab 
     labs.

     SEC. ___6. MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION.

       Except as provided in this title, eligibility for 
     membership in the corporation and the rights and privileges 
     of members shall be in accordance with the laws governing tax 
     exempt organizations in the District of Columbia.

     SEC. ___7. GOVERNING BODY.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
     directors, officers, and other staff of the corporation, and 
     their powers and duties, shall be in accordance with the laws 
     governing tax exempt organizations in the District of 
     Columbia.
       (b) Board Membership.--
       (1) Composition.--The board of the corporation shall be 
     composed of not fewer than 7 members and not more than 15 
     members.
       (2) Representation.--
       (A) In general.--The membership of the board of the 
     corporation shall collectively represent the diversity of fab 
     labs.
       (B) Requirement.--At a minimum, the board of the 
     corporation shall be composed of members from geographic 
     regions across the United States, Tribal communities, 
     educational and research institutions, libraries, nonprofit 
     and commercial organizations, diverse demographic groups, and 
     the Fab Foundation.
       (C) Individual representation.--An individual member of the 
     board of the corporation may represent more than one board 
     role and additional roles may be added to reflect the 
     diversity of the fab lab ecosystem.
       (3) Selection.--The initial board of the corporation shall 
     be chosen, in consultation with the Fab Foundation and in 
     accordance with paragraph (2)(A), as follows:
       (A) Two shall be appointed by the majority leader of the 
     Senate.
       (B) Two shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 
     Senate.
       (C) Two shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (D) Two shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 
     House of Representatives.

     SEC. ___8. POWERS.

       The corporation may--
       (1) coordinate the creation of a national network of local 
     fab labs in the United States;
       (2) issue guidelines for the sustainable operation of fab 
     labs;
       (3) issue standards and guidelines for fab labs;
       (4) serve as a resource for organizations and communities 
     seeking to create fab labs by providing information, 
     assessing suitability, advising on the lab lifecycle, and 
     maintaining descriptions of prospective and operating sites;
       (5) accept funds from private individuals, organizations, 
     government agencies, or other organizations;
       (6) distribute funds to other organizations to establish 
     and operate fab labs as members of the corporation;
       (7) facilitate communication between other organizations 
     seeking to join the corporation with operational entities 
     that can source and install fab labs, provide training, 
     assist with operations, account for spending, and assess 
     impact;
       (8) communicate the benefits available through membership 
     in the corporation to communities and the public;
       (9) facilitate and participate in synergistic programs, 
     including workforce training, job creation, researching the 
     enabling technology and broader impacts of such programs, and 
     the production of civic infrastructure;
       (10) develop processes and methods to mitigate risks 
     associated with digital fabrication;

[[Page S3375]]

       (11) amend a constitution and bylaws for the management of 
     its property and the regulation of its affairs;
       (12) choose directors, officers, trustees, managers, 
     employees, and agents as the activities of the corporation 
     require;
       (13) make contracts;
       (14) acquire, own, lease, encumber, and transfer property 
     as necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of the 
     corporation;
       (15) borrow money, issue instruments of indebtedness, and 
     secure its obligations by granting security interests in its 
     property;
       (16) charge and collect membership dues and subscription 
     fees; and
       (17) sue and be sued.

     SEC. ___9. EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO NAME, TERM, SEALS, EMBLEMS, AND 
                   BADGES.

       The corporation and its participating digital fabrication 
     labs have the exclusive right to use--
       (1) the name ``National Fab Lab Network''; and
       (2) any seals, emblems, and badges the corporation adopts.

     SEC. __10. RESTRICTIONS.

       (a) Stock and Dividends.--The corporation may not issue 
     securities of any kind or declare or pay a dividend.
       (b) Distribution of Income or Assets.--The income or assets 
     of the corporation may not inure to the benefit of, or be 
     distributed to, a director, officer, or member during the 
     life of the corporation under this title. This subsection 
     does not prevent the payment of reasonable compensation to an 
     officer or reimbursement for actual necessary expenses in 
     amounts approved by the board of directors.
       (c) Loans.--The corporation may not make a loan to a 
     director, officer, or employee.
       (d) Claim of Governmental Approval or Authority.--The 
     corporation may not claim congressional approval or the 
     authority of the United States Government for any of its 
     activities, but may recognize establishment of the 
     corporation pursuant to section ___4 of this title.

     SEC. __11. RECORDS AND INSPECTION.

       (a) Records.--The corporation shall keep--
       (1) correct and complete records of account;
       (2) minutes of the proceedings of its members, board of 
     directors, and committees having any of the authority of its 
     board of directors; and
       (3) at its principal office, a record of the names and 
     addresses of its members entitled to vote.
       (b) Inspections.--A member entitled to vote, or an agent or 
     attorney of the member, may inspect the records of the 
     corporation for any proper purpose, at any reasonable time.

     SEC. __12. ANNUAL REPORT.

       Not less frequently than once each year, the corporation 
     shall submit to Congress, including specifically to the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
     the House of Representatives, a report on the activities of 
     the corporation during the prior fiscal year.
                                 ______