[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8090-S8091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4558. Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr.
Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 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 appropriate place in title X, insert the following:
SEC. ____. NATIONAL MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP
SUPPLY CHAIN DATABASE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Center.--The term ``Center'' has the meaning given such
term in section 25(a) of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(a)).
(2) Database.--The term ``Database'' means the National
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Supply Chain Database
established under subsection (b).
(3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
(4) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means the National
Institute of Standards and Technology.
(b) Establishment of Database.--
(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Director shall establish a database to
assist the United States in minimizing disruptions in the
supply chain by providing a resource for manufacturers in the
United States.
(2) Designation.--The database established under paragraph
(1) shall be known as the ``National Manufacturing Extension
Partnership Supply Chain Database''.
(c) Considerations.--In establishing the Database, the
Director shall consider the findings and recommendations from
the study required under section 9413 of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2021 (Public Law 116-283), including measures to secure and
protect the Database from adversarial attacks and
vulnerabilities.
(d) Connections With Hollings Manufacturing Extension
Partnerships Centers.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall create the
infrastructure for the Database through the Hollings
Manufacturing Extension Partnership, established under
section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k), by connecting information
from the Centers through the Database.
(2) National view.--The Director shall ensure that
connections under paragraph (1)--
(A) provide a national overview of the networks of supply
chains of the United States; and
(B) support understanding of whether there is a need for
some manufacturers to retool in some critical areas to meet
the urgent need for key products, such as defense supplies,
food, and medical devices, including personal protective
equipment.
(3) Individual hollings manufacturing extension partnership
center databases.--
(A) In general.--The Director shall ensure that--
(i) each Center is connected to the Database; and
(ii) each supply chain database maintained by a Center is
interoperable with the Database.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to require a State or territory of the United
States to establish a new supply chain database through the
Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program.
(e) Maintenance of National Supply Chain Database.--The
Director, acting through the Hollings Manufacturing Extension
Partnership program or a designee of the program--
(1) shall maintain the Database as an integration of State-
level databases from the Center of each State or territory of
the United States; and
(2) may populate the Database with information from past,
current, or potential clients of Centers.
(f) Database Content.--
(1) In general.--The Database may include the following:
(A) Basic company information.
(B) An overview of capabilities, accreditations, and
products.
(C) Proprietary information.
(D) Such other items as the Director considers necessary.
(2) Standard classification system.--The Database shall use
the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Codes as follows:
(A) Sector 31-33 - Manufacturing.
(B) Sector 54 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical
Services.
(C) Sector 48-49 - Transportation and Warehousing.
(3) Levels.--The Database shall be multi-leveled as
follows:
(A) Level 1 shall have basic company information and shall
be available to the public.
(B) Level 2 shall have a deeper, nonproprietary overview
into capabilities, products, and accreditations and shall be
available to all companies that contribute to the Database
and agree to terms of mutual disclosure.
(C) Level 3 shall hold proprietary information.
(4) Matters relating to disclosure and access.--
(A) FOIA exemption.--The Database, and any information
contained therein that is not publicly released by the
Institute, shall be exempt from public disclosure under
section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code.
(B) Limitation on access to content.--Access to a
contributing company's nonpublic content in the Database
shall be limited to the contributing company, the Institute,
and staff from a Center who sign such nondisclosure agreement
as the Director considers appropriate.
(C) Aggregated information.--The Director may make
aggregated, de-identified information available to
contributing companies, Centers, or the public, as the
Director considers appropriate, in support of the purposes of
this section.
(g) Coordination With National Technology and Industrial
Base.--The Director, acting through the Hollings
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, may work with
the National Defense Technology and Industrial Base Council
established by section 2502(a) of title 10, United States
Code, as the Director considers appropriate, to include in
the Database information regarding the defense manufacturing
supply chain.
(h) Protections.--
(1) In general.--Supply chain information that is
voluntarily and lawfully submitted by a private entity and
accompanied by an express statement described in paragraph
(2)--
(A) shall be exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(3)
of title 5, United States Code;
(B) shall not be made available pursuant to any Federal,
State, local, or Tribal authority pursuant to any Federal,
State, local, or Tribal law requiring public disclosure of
information or records; and
(C) shall not, without the written consent of the person or
entity submitting such information, be used directly by the
Director, or any other Federal, State, or local authority in
any civil enforcement action brought by a Federal, State, or
local authority.
(2) Express statement.--The express statement described in
this paragraph, with respect to information or records, is--
[[Page S8091]]
(A) in the case of written information or records, a
written marking on the information or records substantially
similar to the following: ``This information is voluntarily
submitted to the Federal Government in expectation of
protection from disclosure as provided by the provisions of
section [___](h) of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2022.''; or
(B) in the case of oral information, a written statement
similar to the statement described in subparagraph (A)
submitted within a reasonable period following the oral
communication.
(i) Rules of Construction.--
(1) Private entities.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to require any private entity to share data with
the Director specifically for to the Database.
(2) Prohibition on new regulatory authority.--Nothing in
this section shall be construed to grant the Director, or the
head of any other Federal agency, with any authority to
promulgate regulations or set standards on manufacturers,
based on data within the Database, that was not in effect on
the day before the date of enactment of this section.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated--
(1) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 to develop and launch
the Database; and
(2) $26,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026
to maintain, update, and support Federal coordination of the
State supply chain databases maintained by the Centers.
______