[House Report 108-419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-419

======================================================================



 
          MALCOLM BALDRIGE AWARDS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

                                _______
                                

 February 11, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Boehlert, from the Committee on Science, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                           AN ADDITIONAL VIEW

                        [To accompany H.R. 3389]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Science to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3389) to amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 
Act of 1980 to permit Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards 
to be made to nonprofit organizations, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend 
that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
   I. Purpose of the Bill.............................................2
  II. Background and Need for the Legislation.........................2
 III. Summary of Hearings.............................................3
  IV. Committee Actions...............................................3
   V. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill.........................3
  VI. Cost Estimate...................................................3
 VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................4
VIII. Compliance with Public Law 104-4 (Unfunded Mandates)............4
  IX. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations................4
   X. Statement on General Performance Goals and Objectives...........4
  XI. Constitutional Authority Statement..............................4
 XII. Federal Advisory Committee Statement............................5
XIII. Congressional Accountability Act................................5
 XIV. Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law..........5
  XV. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, As Reported...........5
 XVI. Committee Recommendations.......................................5
XVII. Additional View.................................................6
XVIII.Proceedings of Full Committee Markup............................7


                         I. Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of the bill is to amend the Stevenson-Wydler 
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 by adding a nonprofit 
category to the existing categories under which Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Awards are made. The existing 
categories are manufacturing, small business, services, health 
care, and education.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards were 
established in 1987 to promote improved quality assurance and 
management in U.S. companies and organizations. The Awards 
recognize those that have substantially benefited the economic 
or social well-being of the United States through outstanding 
improvements in the quality of their goods and services that 
result from the effective practice of quality management. The 
Awards were intended to raise awareness about the importance of 
quality and performance to competitiveness, and establish a 
process to disseminate information about successful strategies 
and best practices.
    The mechanism for making these awards, established in the 
law, is a public-private partnership housed in the National 
Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology (NIST) within the Department of Commerce). 
Authority was provided in the legislation to seek and accept 
gifts from public and private sources to carry out the program. 
Today, NIST is responsible for the development of the criteria 
under which each award is made, the training of the examiners 
who will review applicants to the award program, and the 
publication of criteria and related information for 
dissemination to the public. Collectively these activities are 
known as the Baldrige National Quality Program. The American 
Society for Quality (ASQ) assists in the administration of the 
award program under a contract with NIST. The Foundation for 
the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award was created to raise funds 
to permanently endow the partnership. Prominent leaders from 
U.S. organizations serve as Foundation Trustees.
    The awards are made on the basis of the Baldrige Criteria, 
which are based on seven general categories: leadership; 
strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, 
analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; 
process management; and business results. The Criteria 
constitute a methodology companies and other organizations can 
apply to themselves to improve quality and productivity.
    Companies or organizations that compete for the Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Award, participate in an application 
and examination process in which the NIST trained examiners 
audit the organization or company and score them according to 
the Baldrige Criteria. Each applicant receives a feedback 
report at the end of review process which provides an analysis 
of the applicants' strengths and recommendations for 
improvement. Award winners are required to share information on 
their practices and strategies with other U.S. organizations, 
which they do through the annual Quest for Excellence 
conference, and a variety of other public sessions.
    Since the passage of the law, the Baldrige Criteria have 
become commonly used by companies worldwide to increase their 
performance. In addition, a large number of the U.S. States 
have established their own state-level Baldrige Award systems 
to recognize excellence, and have begun to establish categories 
in addition to those offered at the national level. One of 
these categories is the nonprofit category. A nonprofit 
category permits entities from the nonprofit sector not 
involved in health care or education, or entities of Federal, 
State, or local government not similarly employed, to compete 
on the basis of the Baldrige Criteria. This category has proven 
especially popular and nonprofits and States where this 
category is recognized have urged Congress to establish a 
nonprofit category within the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Award.

                        III. Summary of Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 3389.

                         IV. Committee Actions

    Congressman Brad Miller introduced H.R. 3389, To amend the 
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to permit 
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to 
nonprofit organizations, on October 29, 2003, at which time the 
bill was referred to the Committee on Science. On February 2, 
2004, the bill was discharged from the Subcommittee on 
Environment, Technology, and Standards. On February 4, 2004, 
the Committee on Science considered H.R. 3389 and favorably 
reported the bill without amendment, by voice vote.

               V. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill

    The legislation amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 
Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3711a(c)(1). The Act was 
amended in 1987 to establish the Malcolm Baldrige National 
Quality Award, to be made in three categories: companies or 
their subsidiaries, small businesses, and companies that 
provide services. Education and health care were added in 1998 
and the first awards in those categories were made in 1999. 
H.R. 3389 adds nonprofit organizations to the list of eligible 
applicants.

                           VI. Cost Estimate

    A cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely submitted to 
the Committee on Science prior to the filing of this report and 
is included in Section X of this report pursuant to House Rule 
XIII, clause 3(c)(3).
    H.R. 3389 does not contain new budget authority, credit 
authority, or changes in revenues or tax expenditures. Assuming 
that the sums authorized under the bill are appropriated, H.R. 
3389 does not authorize additional discretionary spending, as 
described in the Congressional Budget Office report on the 
bill, which is contained in Section X. of this report.

             VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 11, 2004.
Hon. Sherwood L. Boehlert,
Chairman, Committee on Science,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3389, a bill to 
amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to 
permit Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to 
nonprofit organizations.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Melissa E. 
Zimmerman.
            Sincerely,
                                      Elizabeth M. Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3389--A bill to amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 
        Act of 1980 to permit Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards 
        to be made to nonprofit organizations

    H.R. 3389 would allow the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Awards to be awarded to nonprofit organizations. Currently, the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology grants the 
awards to small businesses, companies, health care providers, 
and education providers. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 
3389 would not have a significant effect on the budget and 
would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 3389 has no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Melissa E. 
Zimmerman. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                 VIII. Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 3389 contains no unfunded mandates.

          IX. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    The Committee on Science's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

        X. Statement on General Performance Goals and Objectives

    The House Science Committee expects a large applicant pool 
in the new Baldrige non-profit category. The Committee also 
expects winners in the Baldrige non-profit category to 
demonstrate a level of performance on par with winners in the 
other categories.

                 XI. Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 3389.

               XII. Federal Advisory Committee Statement

    H.R. 3389 does not establish nor authorize the 
establishment of any advisory committee.

                 XIII. Congressional Accountability Act

    The Committee finds that H.R. 3389 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1).

      XIV. Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any state, local, or 
tribal law.

       XV. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

  SECTION 17 OF THE STEVENSON-WYDLER TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ACT OF 1980


SEC. 17. MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD.

    (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) Categories in Which Award May Be Given.--(1) Subject to 
paragraph (2), separate awards shall be made to qualifying 
organizations in each of the following categories.
        (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

        (F) Nonprofit organizations.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                     XVI. Committee Recommendations

    On February 4, 2004, a quorum being present, the Committee 
on Science favorably reported H.R. 3389, To Amend the 
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to permit 
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to 
nonprofit organizations, by a voice vote, and recommended its 
enactment.

               XVII. ADDITIONAL VIEW OF HON. BRAD MILLER

    The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program is one 
Congressional initiative that is widely viewed as an 
unqualified success. Since the late 1980s, companies have 
treated the standards by which the Baldrige award applicants 
are judged as the highest available standard for the 
application of total quality management principles to their 
operations. The Baldrige program has recruited a unique corps 
of our nation's most sophisticated quality experts to serve as 
its examiners who measure applicant companies against the 
standards to annually determine the winners of the award. The 
Baldrige program has been emulated by many states and by many 
foreign countries.
    To win the award, a company must optimize all aspects of 
its operations including customer, employee, and supplier 
relations in light of its stated goals. Reaching the level of 
quality required for a site visit under this program can take 
years of hard work, leading many companies to work to win a 
state award before attempting to win the Baldrige award. Even 
those companies who do not win the award come away much 
stronger for having tried and with a much better idea of those 
areas where their company needs work.
    Not long after the passage of the Act setting up the 
Baldrige Award, efforts began to extend the Baldrige program to 
other aspects of the economy and in the late 1990s, categories 
were added for education and healthcare. The winners in these 
categories not only have shown unprecedented levels of 
efficiency in applying quality principles to their activities; 
they also have brought creative new ideas forward about how 
children learn and about how healthcare is delivered.
    I introduced H.R. 3389 because I believe the time is right 
to bring total quality management principles to the rest of our 
economy. Some state awards have already extended to non-profit 
areas of our economy including charities and government. These 
organizations are hugely important to the welfare of all of us 
and the better they deliver their services, the better off we 
all are. It, therefore, is my hope that my colleagues in the 
Congress will give this legislation priority consideration. 
Only then will it be clear that the Congress values well-run 
government at all levels as well as well-run private sector 
non-profit organizations and that we expect such entities both 
to be priorities for the quality movement and to have the same 
Baldrige incentives to perform at an optimum level as the 
private sector does.
                                                       Brad Miller.



XVIII. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP ON H.R. 3389, TO AMEND 
   THE STEVENSON-WYDLER TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ACT OF 1980 TO PERMIT 
   MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARDS TO BE MADE TO NONPROFIT 
                             ORGANIZATIONS

                              ----------                              


                      WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2004

                  House of Representatives,
                                      Committee on Science,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:08 a.m., in Room 
2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Sherwood L. 
Boehlert [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
    Chairman Boehlert. Good morning. The Committee on Science 
will be in order. We will begin with a few brief administrative 
matters involving the Subcommittee assignments. I ask unanimous 
consent to change the ratio of the Subcommittee on Energy from 
ten Republican Members and eight Democrat Members to eleven 
Republican Members and nine Democrats. Without objection, so 
ordered.
    I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Texas, the 
Honorable Ralph Hall, be elected to the Subcommittee on Energy 
and to the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Without 
objection, so ordered.
    Let me just say this is--you will notice some adjustments 
in the chairs up here, in the line up. First of all, it is a 
pleasure for me to welcome Mr. Hall to our side of the aisle. 
We have come to expect wonderful things from Mr. Hall. And one 
of the things that I admire most about him, in addition to his 
wit, is his good judgment. So Mr. Hall, welcome.
    And I also want to welcome my dear friend and colleague of 
many years, Bart Gordon, to the position as Ranking Member as 
leader of the Democrats. He is not leader of the opposition; he 
is leader of our partners in this effort. And I want to 
particularly note that he has been a most active Member of this 
committee from the beginning, from his first time here in 1985 
as a freshman Member. He is a thoughtful, deliberative guy. He 
is a guy who pays attention to the issues and one from whom I 
will expect great things in the future. I would point out that 
he also has a minor Committee assignment. He is a Member of 
Energy and Commerce, but this is where he devotes his--so much 
time and attention to very productive results. So Mr. Gordon, 
welcome. Mr. Hall, welcome. We are glad to have everyone here.
    And now the Chair is pleased to recognize the Ranking 
Member from Tennessee, Mr. Gordon.
    Mr. Gordon. Mr. Chairman, I should just say amen. I don't 
think I can beat your kind remarks. Thank you very much. I am 
excited about having the opportunity to serve as the Ranking 
Member. And I am pleased that our friend, Mr. Hall, is going to 
stay and be the referee. He has set a very good example for us, 
as you said, in working in a bipartisan manner. We want to 
continue that example.
    I think today is fitting that we have a full agenda, and so 
I want to be very brief and--so that we can move forward, but I 
do want to thank you for allowing Congressman Udall and 
Congressman Miller to have two bills today. And I hope that you 
will help us bring these to the Floor as promptly as you have 
brought them to this committee.
    Thank you very much.
    Chairman Boehlert. Mr. Hall.
    Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, and to the Ranking Member and to 
the other Members, I thank you very much. I am honored to be 
back on the Committee.
    I want to thank Mr. Gordon for his good judgment and for 
his kindness in keeping the team in place that we had set in 
place. They are good people and good folks to work with. I want 
to thank all of them from either side of the docket who have 
welcomed me here. Actually, when I decided--made the decision 
to switch parties, I didn't call anyone. I didn't call the 
President or anyone. I didn't tell anyone, including my wife, 
which was a mistake. I announced that I was making the switch 
and put it on the wire and then called and spoke to the 
Speaker. All I expected from him was that my seniority would be 
honored, and he said it would be. You have done that. And to 
both sides, I am the same guy I was when I came over here. I am 
probably the Speaker's problem now. So we will just have to 
wait and see how things go, but I am honored to be back with a 
group of men and women that I admire, respect, and look forward 
to working with.
    Thank you, and I yield back my time.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you so much.
    As those who have observed the deliberations of this 
committee would have testified to, it really doesn't matter 
where you sit in this committee, because we have some very 
important work and partisanship doesn't rear its ugly head very 
often here. On occasion it does, and we are all familiar with 
that. But when all is said and done, we work as a team, this 
Science Committee, and I am very proud of that. And so no 
matter where they are sitting, everybody is part of the team, 
and I thank them for their cooperation and support and vision 
as we look to the future.
    Pursuant to notice, the Committee on Science meets today to 
consider the following measures: H.R. 3551, the Surface 
Transportation Research Act of 2004; H.R. 3752, the Commercial 
Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004; H.R. 912, Charles ``Pete'' 
Conrad Astronomy Awards Act; H.R. 1292, Remote Sensing 
Applications Act of 2003; H.R. 3389, To amend the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to permit Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to nonprofit 
organizations; and H.Con.Res. 189, Celebrating the 50th 
anniversary of the International Geophysical Year and 
supporting an International Geophysical Year-2 in 2007-08. I 
ask unanimous consent for the authority to recess the 
Subcommittee at any point, and without objection, it is 
ordered.
    We will now proceed with opening statements. I want to 
welcome everyone here for this important markup. We want to get 
done by 11:00 a.m., so we will need to be brief. I am not 
planning to make any statements this morning other than this 
one, so I will discuss each of the bills right now. But first 
let me say that all of the bills, as usual, reflect long hours 
of bipartisan work on important issues. The smooth markup that 
we expect today is the result of countless hours of staff work 
on both sides of the aisle working out the kinks.
    The first that we will take up is the Transportation 
Research and Development Act offered by Dr. Ehlers and the 
negotiated amendments to it. The bill ensures that we will be 
devoting more resources to transportation R&D and that those 
resources will be better targeted. The bill authorizes an 
organized R&D effort that will focus on questions related to 
safety, environment, demographics, and getting the most out of 
the infrastructure that is already in place. It is an eminently 
sensible approach, and we will work hard to see that it becomes 
part of the overall highway bill. I know many Members have 
contributed ideas to the bill and to the amendments, including, 
in addition to the ones I have to offer, two freshmen Members 
on our side of the aisle, Mr. Neugebauer and Ms. Burgess--Dr. 
Burgess. I thank them for their contributions.
    The second measure on the roster is Mr. Rohrabacher's bill 
to amend the Commercial Space Launch Act. I want to thank 
Chairman Rohrabacher for bringing this important matter to our 
attention. We need to create a balanced and predictable 
regulatory regime that can help jump-start a commercial human 
space flight industry while protecting the public. I think that 
this bill does just that. I know some have concerns about the 
provision in the bill extending indemnification for just 3 
years. I don't want to have a long debate in this now, but the 
argument for indemnification has always been that we need to 
help out an infant industry. Well, no industry can remain 
infant forever. Indemnification has already been extended many 
times. Infancy has lasted long enough. In industry's interest, 
we need to send the signal now that the insurance regime out to 
be changing in the future. It certainly would not be fair or 
wise to catch industry off guard.
    The third bill is also offered by Chairman Rohrabacher. It 
would set up awards for amateur astronomers who discover near-
Earth asteroids. It is one of those ideas that is so obviously 
good that it is amazing that it hasn't happened already.
    The fourth bill is Mr. Udall's remote sensing bill. This is 
also a sensible bill that we passed in the last Congress. We 
ought to be doing more to ensure that the remote sensing data 
we have is actually being used. Mr. Weldon will be offering a 
helpful amendment on that to single out one use of the data: 
locating forest fires. I support that amendment.
    The fifth bill would expand the Baldrige Quality Awards to 
include nonprofits. I helped craft the legislation creating the 
Baldrige Award years ago. Little did I appreciate then what a 
major success the award would be. I congratulate Mr. Miller on 
his bill to expand the award.
    The sixth bill by Mr. Udall would call for another 
International Geophysical Year, 50 years after the first one 
was so successful in bringing the world together to conduct 
pioneering research in Antarctica, research several of us got 
to see firsthand last year. This is another idea that deserves 
this committee's support.
    I congratulate all of my colleagues on their hard work on 
these bills, and I look forward to their prompt passage here 
and on the House Floor.
    Let me once again restate the deep appreciation all of us 
have, on both sides, for the outstanding work of the very 
capable and hardworking professional staff. These are people 
who are here long after we have gone home, long after we have 
checked out of the airport to return to our Districts, working 
day and night and weekends to provide us with the support we 
need to do the good work we are doing.
    I now recognize Mr. Gordon for five minutes to present his 
opening remarks.
    [The prepared statement of Chairman Boehlert follows:]
            Prepared Statement of Chairman Sherwood Boehlert
    I want to welcome everyone here for this important markup. We want 
to get done by 11 a.m., so we all need to be brief. I'm not planning to 
make any statements this morning other than this one, so I will discuss 
each of the bills right now.
    But first let me say that all the bills, as usual, reflect long 
hours of bipartisan work on important issues. The smooth markup that we 
expect today is a result of countless hours of staff work on both sides 
of the aisle working out the kinks.
    The first bill we will take up is the transportation research and 
development (R&D) bill offered by Mr. Ehlers and the negotiated 
amendments to it. This bill ensures that we will be devoting more 
resources to transportation R&D and that those resources will be better 
targeted. The bill authorizes an organized R&D effort that will focus 
on questions related to safety, environment, demographics, and getting 
the most out of the infrastructure that is already in place. It's an 
eminently sensible approach, and we will work hard to see that it 
becomes part of the overall highway bill.
    I know many Members have contributed ideas to the bill and to the 
amendments, including (in addition to me), two freshmen Members on our 
side of the aisle, Mr. Neugebauer and Mr. Burgess. I thank them for 
their contributions.
    The second measure on the roster is Mr. Rohrabacher's bill to amend 
the Commercial Space Launch Act.
    I want to thank Chairman Rohrabacher for bringing this important 
matter to our attention. We need to create a balanced and predictable 
regulatory regime that can help jump-start a commercial human space 
flight industry while protecting the public. I think this bill does 
just that.
    I know some have concerns about the provision in the bill extending 
indemnification for just three years. I don't want to have a long 
debate on this now, but the argument for indemnification has always 
been that we need to help out an infant industry. Well, no industry can 
remain an infant forever. Indemnification has already been extended 
many times. Infancy has lasted long enough. In industry's interest, we 
need to send the signal now that the insurance regime ought to be 
changing in the future. It certainly would not be fair or wise to catch 
industry off guard.
    The third bill is also offered by Mr. Rohrabacher. It would set up 
awards for amateur astronomers who discover near-Earth asteroids. It's 
one of those ideas that is so obviously good that it's amazing that it 
isn't happening already.
    The fourth bill is Mr. Udall's remote sensing bill. This is also a 
sensible bill that we passed in the last Congress. We ought to be doing 
more to ensure that the remote sensing data we have is actually being 
used. Mr. Weldon will be offering a helpful amendment on that bill to 
single out one use of the data--locating forest fires. I support that 
amendment.
    The fifth bill would expand the Baldrige Quality Award to include 
non-profits. I helped craft the legislation creating the Baldrige Award 
years ago; little did I understand then what a major success the Award 
would be. I congratulate Mr. Miller on his bill to expand the Award.
    The sixth bill, by Mr. Udall, would call for another International 
Geophysical Year, 50 years after the first one was so successful in 
bringing the world together to conduct pioneering research in 
Antarctica--research several of us got to see firsthand last year. This 
is another idea that deserves this committee's support.
    I congratulate all my colleagues on their hard work on these bills, 
and I look forward to their prompt passage here--and on the House 
Floor.
    Mr. Gordon.

    Mr. Gordon. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to report to the 
Committee that the Democratic Caucus of the Science Committee 
has elected the Honorable Nick Lampson of Texas as the Ranking 
Democrat on the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Mr. 
Lampson has been a Member of the Committee and the Subcommittee 
since his election to Congress in 1996. He represents the 
Johnson--we will try again here. Okay. He represents the 
Johnson Space Center in Houston, and he has been out front in 
his vision for human space flight. Accordingly, I ask unanimous 
consent that the seniority order for the Democratic membership 
of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics be changed to 
reflect the action of our Caucus, placing Mr. Lampson first in 
the Democratic seniority.
    Chairman Boehlert. Without objection.
    Mr. Gordon. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent for 
another request, and that is I am pleased to report to the 
Committee that the Democratic Caucus of the Science Committee 
has elected the Honorable John Larson of Connecticut as ranking 
Democrat on the Subcommittee on Energy. John has been a Member 
of the Committee since 1998, also serves as the Ranking Member 
on the House Administration Committee, and was a leader in 
developing many of the R&D provisions of the energy bill. 
Accordingly, I ask unanimous consent that the Honorable John 
Larson be elected to the Subcommittee on Energy and that rank 
in seniority is first on the Democratic membership.
    Chairman Boehlert. Without objection.
    Mr. Gordon. Mr. Chairman, respecting your interest in 
getting out by 11:00, I will reserve any remarks on the bills 
as they come forth.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much. Without objection, 
all Members may place opening statements in the records at this 
point--in the record at this point.
    We will now consider the bill H.R. 3389, To amend the 
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to permit 
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to 
nonprofit organizations.
    I now recognize Mr. Gordon for five minutes to present his 
opening remarks.
    Mr. Gordon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I want to congratulate Mr. Miller for extending the concept 
of the quality awards into the last sector of our economy that 
is not currently covered by the Baldrige Awards. Mr. Miller has 
become a leader on this committee in a variety of economic 
issues, including technology transfer and quality, and I hope 
that the Chairman will see that the bill moves forward quickly.
    I yield back the balance of my--or I yield the balance of 
my time to Mr. Miller.
    Chairman Boehlert. Mr. Miller.
    Mr. Miller. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Gordon. And I 
want to thank Ms. Hart of Pennsylvania for her co-sponsorship 
of this bill.
    This is a bill of modest ambition. Since 1987, the Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Awards have been remarkably 
successful. They have established criteria for excellence. They 
have disseminated nationally best practices for how to achieve 
that kind of excellence. They have focused the mind of our 
nation's business leaders and those businesses and other 
entities that have competed for the awards have found that it 
has been a remarkably good thing for them to think about their 
business in terms of those criteria of excellence and how to 
achieve that kind of excellence. I have seen some astounding 
figures, which I can not find at this moment, that American 
businesses have saved $24 billion in productivity because of 
the changes they have made as the result of competing for the 
Malcolm Baldrige Awards.
    There are now five categories: manufacturing, service, 
small business, and since 1999, health care, and education. 
There is still a large, significant part of the United States 
economy that can not compete for these awards, can not be 
considered, and those are nonprofit organizations. Those 
include, obviously, human service awards, religious--human 
service organizations, religious organizations, cultural trade 
and professional associations, cooperatives, mutual insurance 
companies, credit unions, and et cetera. This would allow the 
benefit of the Baldrige Award competition to that important 
part of our economy.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much. The Baldrige Awards 
are near and dear to my heart. I claim partial parentage with 
my colleague--former colleague, Congressman Doug Walgren of 
Pennsylvania. And I remember vividly the day we were at the 
White House and President Reagan waxed as eloquently as he 
could about this and about the promise for the future that it 
offered, and it has exceeded our most optimistic projections. 
It is a wonderful program working exceptionally well, and that 
is why I am so pleased that you and Ms. Hart have teamed up to 
advance this.
    Ms. Hart.
    Ms. Hart. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be brief.
    I am pleased that you worked together with Congressman 
Walgren, because I represent a significant number of what used 
to be his constituents. And I am also very pleased that two 
businesses in my District, actually, have been recipients of 
the Malcolm Baldrige Award since its inception. This year's 
manufacturing recipient is Medrad, Inc. of Indianola, 
Pennsylvania. They are a leading provider of medical devices 
that enhance medical imaging procedures of the human body and 
also of injector systems. So the medical device industry, 
obviously, around the country is moving forward. Medrad is one 
of the, I think, most forward thinking of those companies.
    And one of the other recipients was--their first 
manufacturing recipient in 1988, Westinghouse Electric 
Corporation's nuclear fuels division, which is also located in 
my District, was a recipient of the Baldrige Award.
    In the interest of time, I will submit the rest of my 
statement for the record, but I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for 
bringing this bill up.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Hart follows:]
           Prepared Statement of Representative Melissa Hart
Amendment to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to 
permit Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to nonprofit 
                             organizations
    Mr. Chairman, thank you for quickly moving this legislation through 
the Committee and allowing me this opportunity to speak. I would also 
like to thank my colleague from North Carolina, Mr. Miller for 
introducing this simple, but necessary amendment.
    Since the inception of the Baldrige Award two businesses in my 
region have been recipients. The first Baldrige manufacturing recipient 
in 1988 was Westinghouse Electric Corporation Commercial Nuclear Fuel 
Division. The 2003 manufacturing recipient was Medrad Inc. based in 
Indianola, PA. They are a leading provider of medical devices that 
enhance medical imaging procedures of the human body and injector 
systems. When I visited Medrad two months ago, they had just received 
notice that they had been given the award. They will be coming to 
Washington in one month to receive the award from the President.
    This amendment makes one simple change, adding the words 
``nonprofit organization'' to the list of companies eligible to receive 
the Baldrige Award. Currently, only manufacturers, service businesses, 
small businesses, education organizations, and health care 
organizations may compete for this honor. However, Baldrige-based state 
award programs have additional categories that include non-profits and 
government agencies.
    In 1999, it was recognized that the Baldrige Award's performance 
standards could help stimulate improvement efforts in other sectors 
vital to the United States economy and the areas of education and 
health care were added to the criteria. Since then, a total of 66 
applications have been submitted in the education category and 61 in 
the health care category. Just as it has for businesses currently 
eligible for the Baldrige Award, the expansion of this program can help 
nonprofit organizations improve their performance, foster 
communication, share ``best practice'' information and enhance 
partnerships among schools, health care organizations, and businesses.
    I am pleased to be a part of this effort to expand the Malcolm 
Baldrige Award criteria.

    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much. And thank you for 
all of your hard work on this. And it makes a lot of sense.
    Dr. Ehlers.
    Mr. Ehlers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    As Chairman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction on this, 
I am pleased to support Mr. Miller's proposed change to the 
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to include nonprofits. 
I might also mention, I appreciate having a bill which only 
adds two words to existing law. That is--the minimalist 
approach is always good. This proposal will open the 
competition to Federal, State, and local governments as well as 
private, nonprofit organizations. These groups have also 
pressed--expressed strong support for the opportunity to be 
recognized for their efforts at the national level. Malcolm 
Baldrige was an enthusiastic advocate for quality assurance in 
both the private and public sector, and this expansion of the 
award that bears his name is consistent with his vision for 
quality in America. And we hope that this bill will result in 
the same types of quality improvements in the nonprofits and 
government as has occurred for the--in the public sector, the 
profit sector with the previous awards.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Ehlers follows:]
         Prepared Statement of Representative Vernon J. Ehlers
    I am please to support Mr. Miller's change to the Malcolm Baldrige 
National Quality Award to include nonprofits. This will open the 
competition to Federal, State, and local governments, as well as 
private nonprofit organizations. These groups have expressed strong 
support for the opportunity to be recognized for their efforts at the 
national level. Malcolm Baldrige was an enthusiastic advocate for 
quality assurance in both the private and public sector, and this 
expansion of the award that bears his name is consistent with his 
vision for quality in America.

    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much.
    Mr. Smith.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. A question, Mr. Chairman, to the 
sponsor or to staff. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality 
Awards have been very successful, and I am--has there been an 
investigation done in terms of reducing the effect of this 
award by spreading it out to an expanded community? That would 
be my only concern is whether it should be an expansion of this 
award or another award system. I would hate to dissipate and 
reduce the private sector contribution to establish this award.
    Chairman Boehlert. Counsel, anything you care to say?
    Mr. Webster. To our knowledge, the Baldrige Foundation said 
it is committed to working with NIST if there is any additional 
cost that this will bring, but there has been widespread 
support by all organizations and participants that this is a 
good thing to do.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. And the Baldrige Foundation, also, 
is the----
    Chairman Boehlert. Or as Martha Stewart would say, it is a 
good thing.
    Mr. Goldston. And Mr. Chairman, the other aspect, it is a 
separate category of the award, so it doesn't dilute any of the 
existing categories. Each of these categories is evaluated 
independently.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. Would these two awards bring it 
under a separate category?
    Mr. Goldston. I am--this is to add a separate category for 
nonprofits, so it would, thus, be nonprofits competing against 
each other. The manufacturers will still be in their own 
category and so forth.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. But it won't take the financial. 
Roughly, we are looking at a half a million on these awards. 
Will it take the award money? And I guess I will close with 
that, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Goldston. No.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. It will be a separate award effort 
for financing this sector?
    Mr. Goldston. Right.
    Mr. Smith of Michigan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much.
    Without objection, all Members may place opening statements 
in the record at this point.
    I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered as 
read. Without objection, so ordered.
    Are there any amendments? Hearing none, the question is now 
on the bill H.R. 3389, To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 
Innovation Act of 1980 to permit Malcolm Baldrige National 
Quality Awards to be made to nonprofit organizations. All of 
those in favor will say aye. Opposed will say no. In the 
opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it.
    I now recognize Mr. Gordon for a motion.
    Mr. Gordon. Mr. Chairman, I move the Committee favorably 
report H.R. 3389 to the House with the recommendation that the 
bill do pass. Furthermore, I move that staff be instructed to 
prepare the legislative report and make necessary technical and 
conforming changes, that the Chairman take all necessary steps 
to bring the bill before the House for consideration.
    Chairman Boehlert. The question is on the motion to report 
the bill favorably. Those in favor of the motion will signify 
by saying aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. And the 
resolution is favorably reported.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 
the table. I move that Members have two subsequent calendar 
days in which to submit supplemental, minority, or additional 
views on the measure. I move pursuant to Clause 1 of Rule 22 of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives that the Committee 
authorize the Chairman to offer such motions as may be 
necessary in the House to adopt and pass H.R. 3389 and go to 
conference with the Senate on H.R. 3389 or a similar bill. 
Without objection, so ordered.
    We will now----
    Mr. Miller. Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Boehlert. Yes, I am sorry.
    Mr. Miller. Mr. Chairman, if you would like and you give me 
the chance, I am sure I can find two words to take out of 
existing law.
    Chairman Boehlert. Thank you very much.
    This concludes our Committee markup, and I thank my 
colleagues for their enthusiastic participation. We are now 
adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:33 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]


                               Appendix:

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 H.R. 3389, To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
 1980 to permit Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards to be made to 
                        nonprofit organizations





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