[House Report 114-121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress    }                                       {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                       {     114-121

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



 
                RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFICIENCY ACT

                                _______
                                

  May 19, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

     Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                  Technology, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1119]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 1119) to improve the efficiency of 
Federal research and development, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Committee Statement and Views....................................     2
Section-by-Section...............................................     4
Explanation of Amendments........................................     4
Committee Consideration..........................................     4
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     4
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     5
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     5
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     5
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     5
Unfunded Mandate Statement.......................................     5
Earmark Identification...........................................     5
Committee Estimate...............................................     5
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate...     6

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

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 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;
          (2) minimize the regulatory burden on United States 
        institutions of higher education performing federally funded 
        research while maintaining accountability for Federal tax 
        dollars; and
          (3) identify and update specific regulations to refocus on 
        performance-based goals rather than on process while still 
        meeting the desired outcome.
  (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).

                     Committee Statement and Views


                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of H.R. 1119, the Research and Development 
Efficiency Act, sponsored by Representative Barbara Comstock 
(R-VA-10), Chairwoman of the Research and Technology 
Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology 
Committee, is to improve the efficiency of Federal research and 
development.
    The bill 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 make 
recommendations on how to minimize the regulatory burden on 
research institutions.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 2012, the National Research Council produced a report, 
in response to a bipartisan bicameral request, highlighting ten 
recommendations for the future of U.S. research universities. 
One of the recommendations from that report was to ``reduce or 
eliminate regulations that increase administrative costs, 
impede research productivity, and deflect creative energy 
without substantially improving the research environment.''\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsb1418/nsb1418.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Federal Demonstration Partnership 2012 Faculty Workload 
Survey, released in April 2014, found that principal 
investigators (PIs) of federally sponsored research projects 
spend, on average, 42 percent of their time on associated 
administrative tasks. A similar study conducted seven years 
prior in 2005 also yielded the identical 42% response. 
According to the 2012 survey, the most common administrative 
tasks were those ``related to federal project finances, 
personnel, and effort reporting.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\http://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/pgasite/documents/
webpage/pga_087667.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On May 1, 2014, the National Science Board Task Force on 
Administrative Burdens publically released a report 
highlighting a growing complaint that there has been an 
increasing administrative workload placed on federally funded 
researchers at U.S. institutions, which they say is interfering 
with the conduct of science. The Task Force offered several 
recommendations in its report, including to eliminate or modify 
ineffective regulations, and to harmonize and streamline 
requirements.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    In the 113th Congress, Rep. Larry Bucshon, then-Chairman of 
the Research and Technology Subcommittee of the House Science, 
Space, and Technology Committee, introduced H.R. 5056, the 
Research and Development Efficiency Act, on July 10, 2014. It 
passed by voice vote on the House floor on July 14, 2014, and 
was referred to the Senate on July 15, 2014.

                            COMMITTEE VIEWS

    For several years, the research community has expressed 
concern that time spent on administrative and reporting 
requirements for federal research seriously cuts into lab time 
and therefore negatively affects the science conducted under 
those grants. A June 2014 hearing by the Oversight Subcommittee 
and Research and Technology Subcommittee highlighted these 
concerns through testimony from witnesses representing the 
National Science Board, the Federal Demonstration Partnership 
and the National Science Foundation's Office of Inspector 
General among others. H.R. 1119 is a step toward addressing 
these concerns as it directs the Administration to take steps 
to cut through administrative red tape to ensure our nation's 
research investments are efficient and effective.
    However, the effort to reduce bureaucracy should not be 
interpreted to mean that it occurs at the expense of 
transparency and accountability. Sufficient administrative and 
reporting requirements are necessary so Congress can 
effectively exercise its oversight responsibilities relative to 
federally funded grants, and federal offices, and so that the 
Offices of the Inspectors General have the tools necessary to 
perform grant audits.

                           Section-by-Section


Section 1. Short title

    Research and Development Efficiency Act.

Section 2. Regulatory efficiency

    This section includes a sense of Congress highlighting the 
problems with higher administrative costs for performing 
research.
    This section requires the Director of OSTP to establish a 
working group under the National Science and Technology Council 
to review federal regulations affecting research and research 
universities. The working group, which will include the Office 
of Management and Budget, is tasked with making recommendations 
on how to harmonize, streamline, and eliminate duplicative 
Federal regulations and reporting requirements, as well as 
recommendations on how to minimize the regulatory burden on 
institutions of higher education performing federally funded 
research. The working group will also identify and update 
specific regulations to refocus on performance-based goals 
rather than on process, while still meeting the desired 
outcome. The working group is instructed to take into account 
input and recommendations from non-Federal stakeholders.
    The Director of OSTP must report to Congress within a year 
of enactment, and annually thereafter for three years, on what 
steps have been taken to carry out the recommendations of the 
working group.

                       Explanation of Amendments

    An amendment offered by Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-
IL-03), Ranking Member of the Research and Technology 
Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology 
Committee, was adopted by voice vote and is incorporated in the 
base text of H.R. 1119. The amendment requires the OSTP working 
group to make recommendations to identify and update 
regulations to refocus on performance-based goals and not 
bureaucratic processes. This amendment is in keeping with the 
spirit of the legislation to minimize the regulatory burden on 
U.S. institutions of higher education so that researchers may 
spend more time on scientific work.

                        Committee Consideration

    On March 4, 2015, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 1119, as amended, by 
voice vote, a quorum being present.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services and accommodations. 
This bill improves the efficiency of Federal research and 
development. As such this bill does not relate to employment or 
access to public services and accommodations.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committees oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of 
this report.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, H.R. 1119 requires the 
Director of OSTP to establish a working group under the 
National Science and Technology Council to review federal 
regulations affecting research and research universities.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    No provision of H.R. 1119 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 1119 does not 
direct the completion of any specific rule makings within the 
meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551.

                     Federal Advisory Committee Act

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandate Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement as to 
whether the provisions of the reported include unfunded 
mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has 
received a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included 
herein.

                         Earmark Identification

    H.R. 1119 does not include any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI.

                           Committee Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 1119. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 
that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has 
included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the 
bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

     Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received 
the following cost estimate for H.R. 1119 from the Director of 
Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 12, 2015.
Hon. Lamar Smith,
Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1119, the Research 
and Development Efficiency Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Marin 
Burnett.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1119--Research and Development Efficiency Act

    H.R. 1119 would require the Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish a working 
group that would be tasked with making recommendations on how 
to streamline federal regulations and reporting requirements 
for persons and institutions seeking to perform federally 
funded research. The working group would have to seek input and 
recommendations from nonfederal stakeholders. Within one year 
of enactment, OSTP also would be required to report to the 
Congress on what steps have been taken to carry out the 
recommendations of the working group.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1119 would have no 
significant cost because the activities specified in the bill 
are generally consistent with activities already carried out by 
OSTP and other agencies that would probably participate in the 
proposed working group.
    Enacting H.R. 1119 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 1119 contains 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 Marin Burnett. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                                  [all]