[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11872-11874]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFICIENCY ACT

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 5056) to improve the efficiency of Federal research and 
development, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5056

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Research and Development 
     Efficiency Act''.

     SEC. 2. REGULATORY EFFICIENCY.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) high and increasing administrative burdens and costs in 
     Federal research administration, particularly in the higher 
     education sector where most federally sponsored research is 
     performed, are eroding funds available to carry out basic 
     scientific research;
       (2) progress has been made over the last decade in 
     streamlining the pre-award grant application process through 
     Grants.gov, the Federal Government's website portal;
       (3) post-award administrative costs have grown as Federal 
     research agencies have continued to impose agency-unique 
     compliance and reporting requirements on researchers and 
     research institutions;
       (4) facilities and administration costs at research 
     universities can exceed 50 percent of the total value of 
     Federal research grants, and it is estimated that nearly 30 
     percent of the funds invested annually in federally funded 
     research is consumed by paperwork and other administrative 
     processes required by Federal agencies; and
       (5) it is a matter of critical importance to American 
     competitiveness that administrative costs of federally funded 
     research be

[[Page 11873]]

     streamlined so that a higher proportion of taxpayer dollars 
     flow into direct research activities.
       (b) In General.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
     Technology Policy shall establish a working group under the 
     authority of the National Science and Technology Council, to 
     include the Office of Management and Budget. The working 
     group shall be responsible for reviewing Federal regulations 
     affecting research and research universities and making 
     recommendations on how to--
       (1) harmonize, streamline, and eliminate duplicative 
     Federal regulations and reporting requirements; and
       (2) minimize the regulatory burden on United States 
     institutions of higher education performing federally funded 
     research while maintaining accountability for Federal tax 
     dollars.
       (c) Stakeholder Input.--In carrying out the 
     responsibilities under subsection (b), the working group 
     shall take into account input and recommendations from non-
     Federal stakeholders, including federally funded and 
     nonfederally funded researchers, institutions of higher 
     education, scientific disciplinary societies and 
     associations, nonprofit research institutions, industry, 
     including small businesses, federally funded research and 
     development centers, and others with a stake in ensuring 
     effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability in the 
     performance of scientific research.
       (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, 
     the Director shall report to the Committee on Science, Space, 
     and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate on what steps have been taken to carry out the 
     recommendations of the working group established under 
     subsection (b).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on H.R. 5056, the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague, chairman of the 
Research and Technology Subcommittee, Larry Bucshon, in support of this 
legislation, which reduces the regulatory burden faced by researchers 
and research universities.
  In its recently released report, the Federal Demonstration 
Partnership found that researchers devote 42 percent of their time to 
administrative tasks. Answering Federal regulatory and reporting 
requirements takes away from time spent on the conduct of science.
  H.R. 5056 requires the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy to establish a working group under the National 
Science and Technology Council to review Federal regulations that 
affect research and research universities. The working group is tasked 
with making recommendations on how to harmonize, streamline, and 
eliminate duplicative Federal regulations and reporting requirements, 
and making recommendations on how to minimize the regulatory burden on 
research institutions.
  H.R. 5056 is an important step to ensure Federal research dollars are 
being spent on research and not on regulatory requirements. I encourage 
my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5056, the Research and 
Development Efficiency Act.
  I would like to thank my colleagues, Mr. Bucshon and Mr. Peters, for 
introducing this important bill. As ranking member of the Subcommittee 
on Research and Technology, I have also been working on a topic of 
research regulations for some time, and I am pleased to be a cosponsor 
of this bill.
  Recent reports have found that federally funded researchers face 
significant administrative burdens, spending about 40 percent of their 
time on paperwork instead of what they do best, which is conducting 
research. This could mean a delay in research progress and lengthening 
the time for the next scientific breakthrough. It is certainly not the 
best use of some of our Nation's greatest science and engineering 
talent or of taxpayers' investment in that talent.
  I want to stress that administrative requirements are very important 
and many are in place for a reason. We must have a system that ensures 
that human participants are being protected and our resources are being 
used wisely. We have heard from those most affected by these 
requirements, and they fully agree.
  That being said, we also agree that we need to find the right balance 
that meets our safety and accountability goals, but still allows 
researchers to advance science for the good of the Nation. Right now, 
we are not striking the appropriate balance.
  H.R. 5056 was originally introduced by Chairman Bucshon as part of 
the FIRST Act. The America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014, which 
Ranking Member Johnson introduced and I cosponsored, had very similar 
language with the same goal.
  This bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy to 
establish a working group of Federal research agencies to figure out 
how to better standardize and streamline the administrative 
requirements on their grantees. Mr. Peters helped strengthen the 
provision during the subcommittee consideration of the FIRST Act with 
an amendment that ensured that those stakeholders who are affected by 
all of the requirements have a means to provide input and 
recommendations to the agency working group. The result is the 
bipartisan bill that we are considering today.
  Through a recent OMB process to overhaul their guidance on 
requirements for Federal grants and contracts, some progress has been 
made to streamline and harmonize administrative tasks. Some agencies 
are taking additional steps on their own, for example, considering 
requiring certain administrative information from researchers only if 
the proposal has been through scientific merit review and is likely to 
be awarded. These are important efforts, but significant work remains.
  Every week in the Science Committee we hear expert testimony on 
challenges with no easy solution. The challenge of having a patchwork 
of uncoordinated and sometimes duplicative administrative burdens on 
federally funded researchers should be a solvable problem. H.R. 5056 is 
a very important step in the right direction.
  Once again, I want to thank Chairman Bucshon and Mr. Peters for their 
leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support their 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume 
to the gentleman from Indiana, Dr. Bucshon, who is also the chairman of 
the Research and Technology Subcommittee of the Science Committee and 
the sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Thank you, Chairman Smith.
  Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to work on this bipartisan effort to 
reduce the administrative burden placed on federally funded 
researchers.
  Last year, in my new role as the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Research and Technology, I participated in a university tour across the 
State of Indiana. This tour focused on federally funded research in the 
State of Indiana, and included Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and 
Indiana State University, both located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and the 
University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana, both 
in Evansville, Indiana, and the issues of concern these higher 
education institutions have surrounding federally funded research.
  Along with the input I received during last year's tour, we have also 
received feedback and input at various hearings the committee has held 
pertaining to this regulatory burden.

                              {time}  1545

  This legislation would establish a working group to review Federal 
regulations that affect these universities

[[Page 11874]]

and others. The working group would be required to obtain input from 
stakeholders, including federally and non-federally funded researchers, 
higher education institutions, small businesses, and scientific 
disciplinary societies. The bill also requires a report on what steps 
are taken to carry out the recommendations of the working group.
  I would like to thank Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Johnson, my 
colleague Mr. Peters from California, and my colleague Mr. Lipinski 
from Illinois for their work on the bill. I am hopeful this bipartisan 
legislation can see movement in the Senate and that, from there, we can 
help to alleviate some of the burden placed on our research 
universities so they can get back to the main goal of conducting basic 
science research.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Bucshon and 
Chairman Smith for their work not just on this bill but on the series 
of bills that we are considering today.
  The Research and Technology Subcommittee, which Chairman Bucshon is 
chairman of and I am ranking member of, has been very active in this 
Congress. We had been working on the first act, and I am very happy 
that, although there were some disagreements on that bill, which did 
pass through committee, that, today, we are considering pieces of that 
bill and other legislation that we have worked on, in a bipartisan 
manner, on that subcommittee and on this committee. I am very happy we 
have been able to do that.
  There is a lot that we need to accomplish and that we are moving 
forward on accomplishing now on the Science, Space, and Technology 
Committee. I want to thank Chairman Smith and Chairman Bucshon for all 
of their work, and, hopefully, that will continue as we move forward in 
this Congress.
  I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman, the 
ranking member of the subcommittee, for his very generous comments. 
They are much appreciated. We have lots to thank him for as well on 
this bill and on many other bills on which he has shown a leadership 
role and on which he has contributed much to many bills under 
consideration today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 5056.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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