116th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to improve the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program, and for other purposes.
May 13, 2019
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Peters, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
To amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to improve the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Global Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing Act of 2019”.
SEC. 2. Improvements to Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program.
(a) Centers for manufacturing innovation.—Subsection (c) of section 34 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s) is amended—
(1) in subparagraphs (B) and (C)(i) of paragraph (1), by striking “and tool” both places it appears and inserting “tool development for microelectronics, food manufacturing, superconductors, advanced battery technologies, robotics, advanced sensors, quantum information science, supply chain water optimization, and aeronautics and advanced materials”;
(2) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking “and minority” and inserting “, minority, and veteran”; and
(3) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking “, but such” and all that follows through “under subsection (d)”.
(b) Financial assistance To establish and support centers for manufacturing innovation.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended—
(i) in clause (i), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(I) by inserting “, including appropriate measures for assessing the effectiveness of the activities funded with regards to the center's success in advancing the current state of the applicable advanced manufacturing technology area such as technology readiness level and manufacturing readiness level,” after “measures”; and
(II) by striking the period at the end; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
“(iii) establish standards for the performance of centers for manufacturing innovation that are based on the measures developed under clause (ii); and
“(iv) for each center for manufacturing innovation supported by the award, if any, once every 5 years, conduct an assessment of the center to confirm whether the performance of the center is meeting the standards for performance established under clause (iii).”;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting “, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation” after “manufacturing”; and
(i) in clause (ii), by striking “without the need for long-term Federal funding”;
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking “significantly”;
(iii) in clause (v), by inserting “and to improve the domestic supply chain” after “technologies”; and
(iv) in clause (ix), by inserting “industrial, research, entrepreneurship, and other” after “leverage the”;
(A) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
“(A) IN GENERAL.—No award of financial assistance may be made under paragraph (1) to support a center for manufacturing innovation that the Secretary finds under paragraph (4)(C) does not meet the standards for performance established under paragraph (4)(C)(iii).”;
(i) in the first sentence, by striking “large capital facilities or equipment purchases” and inserting “large capital facilities, equipment purchases, workforce development, or general operations”; and
(ii) by striking the second sentence; and
(C) by striking subparagraph (C); and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
“(6) USE OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Financial assistance awarded under paragraph (1) may be used—
“(A) for the purposes described in such paragraph; or
“(B) to carry out Program-wide activities directed by the Secretary, such as activities targeting workforce development.”.
(c) Funding.—Subsection (e)(2) of such section is amended—
(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
“(A) NIST INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL SERVICES ACCOUNT.—To the extent provided for in advance by appropriations Acts, the Secretary may use amounts appropriated to the Institute for Industrial Technical Services account to carry out this section as follows:
“(i) For each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2019, an amount not to exceed $5,000,000.
“(ii) For each of fiscal years 2020 through 2030, such amounts as may be necessary to carry out this section.”; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking “through 2024” and inserting “through 2019”.
(d) National Program Office.—Subsection (f) of such section is amended—
(i) by inserting “coordinate with and, as appropriate,” before “enter”; and
(ii) by inserting “including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation,” after “manufacturing,”;
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (J); and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
“(F) to carry out pilot programs in collaboration with the centers for manufacturing innovation such as a laboratory-embedded entrepreneurship program;
“(G) to provide support services and funding as necessary to promote workforce development activities;
“(H) to coordinate with centers for manufacturing innovation to develop best practices for the membership agreements and coordination of similar project solicitations;
“(I) to collaborate with the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, industry, career and technical education schools, local community colleges, universities, and labor organizations to provide input for the development of national certifications for advanced manufacturing workforce skills in the technology areas of the centers for manufacturing innovation; and”;
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting “State and local governments,” after “community colleges,”; and
(A) by striking “The Secretary” and inserting the following:
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary”; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
“(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide financial assistance to a manufacturing extension center established as part of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership to detail a liaison of the center to a center for manufacturing innovation to facilitate the support by the Partnership of at least the following:
“(I) Cybersecurity awareness and support services for small- and medium-sized manufacturers.
“(II) Assistance with workforce development.
“(III) Technology transfer for small and medium-sized manufacturers.
“(ii) SELECTION OF LIAISONS.—Selection of a liaison under this subparagraph shall be made in coordination with the applicable center for manufacturing innovation.”.
(e) Reporting and auditing.—Subsection (g) of such section is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking “December 31, 2024” and inserting “December 31, 2030”; and
(i) by striking “2 years” and inserting “3 years”; and
(ii) by striking “2-year” and inserting “3-year”; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking “December 31, 2024” and inserting “December 31, 2030”.
(f) Expansion.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of Commerce shall increase the number of centers for manufacturing innovation that participate in the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program.