[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8294-S8295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4718. Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Warner) 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, insert the following:
SEC. ___. MINORITY INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE RESEARCH.
(a) Plan to Establish Minority Institute for Defense
Research.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to
the congressional defense committees a plan (in this section
referred to as the ``Plan'') for the establishment of the
Minority Institute for Defense Research (in this section
referred to as the ``Consortium'').
(2) Elements.--The Plan shall include the following:
(A) Information relating to the projected needs of the
Department for the next twenty years with respect to
essential engineering, research, or development capability.
(B) An assessment relating to the engineering, research,
and development capability of each minority institution to
identify each leading minority institution.
(C) Information relating to the advancements and
investments necessary to elevate a minority institution or a
consortium of minority institutions to the research capacity
of a University Affiliated Research Center.
(D) Recommendations relating to actions that may be taken
by the Department, Congress, and minority institutions to
establish the Consortium within 10 years.
(3) Publicly available.--The Plan shall be posted on a
publicly available website of the Department.
(b) Naming of the Consortium.--With respect to the naming
of the Consortium, the Secretary shall--
(1) establish a process to solicit and review proposals of
names from--
(A) minority institutions;
(B) nonprofit institutions that advocate on behalf of
minority institutions; and
(C) members of the public;
(2) develop a list of all names received pursuant to
paragraph (1);
(3) provide opportunity for public comment on the names
included on such list; and
(4) choose a name from such list to name the Consortium.
(c) Grant Program for Leading Minority Institutions.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may establish a program to
award grants, on a competitive basis, to leading minority
institutions for the purposes described in paragraph (2).
(2) Purposes.--The purposes described in this paragraph are
the following:
(A) Establishing a legal entity for the purpose of entering
into research contracts or agreements with the Federal
Government or the Consortium.
(B) Developing the capability to bid on Federal Government
or Consortium contracts.
(C) Requesting technical assistance from the Federal
Government or a private entity with respect to contracting
with the Federal Government or the Consortium.
(D) Recruiting and retaining research faculty.
(E) Advancing research capabilities relating to the
national security of the United States.
(F) Any other matter determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
(3) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, a leading minority institution shall submit to
the Secretary an application therefor in such form, and
containing such information, as the Secretary may require.
(4) Preference.--In awarding grants pursuant to paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall give preference to a leading
minority institution with a R1 or R2 status on the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``Department'' means the Department of
Defense.
(2) The term ``leading minority institution'' means a
minority institution identified (pursuant to the assessment
required under subsection (a)(2)(B)) as being in the top 20
percent of all such institutions with respect to providing
essential engineering, research, or development capability.
(3) The term ``institution of higher education'' has the
meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(4) The term ``minority institution'' means--
(A) a part B institution (as such term is defined in
section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1061)); or
(B) any institution of higher education 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.
(5) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Defense.
(6) The term ``University Affiliated Research Center''
means a research organization within an institution of higher
education that--
(A) provides or maintains Department essential engineering,
research, or development capabilities; and
(B) receives sole source contract funding from the
Department pursuant to section 2304(c)(3)(B) of title 10,
United States Code.
SEC. ___. SUBCONTRACT REQUIREMENTS FOR MINORITY INSTITUTIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 2304 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(m)(1) The head of an agency shall require that a
contract awarded to an educational institution pursuant to
subsection (c)(3)(B) includes a requirement to subcontract
with one or more minority institutions for a total amount of
not less than 5 percent of the amount awarded in the
contract.
``(2) For the purposes of this subsection, a minority
institution means--
``(A) 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
``(B) 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) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall--
(1) take effect on October 1, 2026; and
(2) apply with respect to funds that are awarded by the
Department of Defense on or after such date.
SEC. ___. FUNDING FOR APPLIED AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES AND MINORITY INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Additional Funding.--
(1) Applied research.--(A) The amount authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2022 by section 201 for
research, development, test, and evaluation is hereby
increased by $30,000,000, with the amount of the increase to
be available for Advancement of S&T Priorities (PE
0602251D8Z).
(B) The amount available under subparagraph (A) shall be
available for minority institutions.
(2) Advanced technology development.--(A) The amount
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2022 by section
201 for research, development, test, and evaluation is hereby
increased by $15,000,000, with the amount of the increase to
be available for Advanced Research High speed flight
experiment testing (PE 0603180C).
(B) The amount available under subparagraph (A) shall be
available for minority institutions.
(b) Offset.--The amount authorized to be appropriated for
fiscal year 2022 by section 301 for operation and maintenance
is hereby decreased by $45,000,000, with the amount of the
decrease to be taken from amounts available as specified in
the funding table in section 4301 for the Afghanistan
Security Forces Fund, Afghan Air Force Sustainment.
(c) Definition of Minority Institution.--In this section,
the term ``minority institution'' means--
(1) a part B institution (as such term is defined in
section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1061)); or
(2) any institution of higher education at which not less
than 50 percent of the total
[[Page S8295]]
student enrollment consists of students from ethnic groups
that are underrepresented in the fields of science and
engineering.
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