[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4610 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4610
To establish an expansion awards pilot program as a part of the
Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 21, 2021
Ms. Stevens (for herself and Mr. Meijer) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an expansion awards pilot program as a part of the
Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF EXPANSION AWARDS PILOT PROGRAM AS A PART OF
THE HOLLINGS MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C.
271 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 25A (15 U.S.C. 278k-
1) the following:
``SEC. 25B. EXPANSION AWARDS PILOT PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--The terms used in this section have the
meanings given the terms in section 25.
``(b) Establishment.--The Director shall establish as a part of the
Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership a pilot program of
expansion awards among participants described in subsection (c) of this
section for the purposes described in subsection (e) of this section.
``(c) Participants.--Participants receiving awards under this
section shall be Centers, or a consortium of Centers.
``(d) Award Amounts.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, an award for a recipient under this section shall be in
an amount equal to the sum of the following:
``(1) Such amount as the Director considers appropriate as
a minimum base funding level for each award under this section.
``(2) Such additional amount as the Director considers in
proportion to the manufacturing density of the region of the
recipient.
``(3) Such supplemental amounts as the Director considers
appropriate.
``(e) Purpose of Awards.--An award under this section shall be made
for one or more of the following purposes:
``(1) To provide coordinating services on employee
engagement, including employee ownership and workforce
training, including connecting manufacturers with career and
technical education entities, institutions of higher education
(including community colleges), workforce development boards,
labor organizations, and nonprofit job training providers to
develop and support training and job placement services,
including apprenticeship and online learning platforms, for new
and incumbent workers, programming to prevent job losses when
adopting new technologies and processes, and development of
employee ownership practices.
``(2) To provide services to improve the resiliency of
domestic supply chains and to mitigate vulnerabilities to
cyberattacks, including helping to offset the cost of
cybersecurity projects for small manufacturers.
``(3) To expand advanced technology services to small- and
medium-sized manufacturers, which may include--
``(A) developing technology demonstration
laboratories;
``(B) services for the adoption of advanced
technologies, including smart manufacturing
technologies and practices; and
``(C) establishing partnerships, for the
development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced
technologies, with--
``(i) national laboratories (as defined in
section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 15801));
``(ii) Federal laboratories;
``(iii) Manufacturing USA institutes (as
described in section 34(d)); and
``(iv) institutions of higher education.
``(4) To build capabilities across the Hollings
Manufacturing Extension Partnership for domestic supply chain
resiliency and optimization, including--
``(A) assessment of domestic manufacturing
capabilities, expanded capacity for researching and
deploying information on supply chain risk, hidden
costs of reliance on offshore suppliers, redesigning
products and processes to encourage reshoring, and
other relevant topics; and
``(B) expanded services to provide industry-wide
support that assists United States manufacturers with
reshoring manufacturing to strengthen the resiliency of
domestic supply chains, including in critical
technology areas and foundational manufacturing
capabilities that are key to domestic manufacturing
competitiveness and resiliency, including forming,
casting, machining, joining, surface treatment, and
tooling.
``(f) Reimbursement.--The Director may reimburse Centers for costs
incurred by the Centers under this section.
``(g) Applications.--Applications for awards under this section
shall be submitted in such manner, at such time, and containing such
information as the Director shall require in consultation with the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Advisory Board.
``(h) Selection.--
``(1) Reviewed and merit-based.--The Director shall ensure
that awards under this section are reviewed and merit-based.
``(2) Geographic diversity.--The Director shall endeavor to
have broad geographic diversity among selected proposals.
``(3) Criteria.--The Director shall select applications
consistent with the purposes identified pursuant to subsection
(e) to receive awards that the Director determines will achieve
one or more of the following:
``(A) Improvement of the competitiveness of
industries in the region in which the Center or Centers
are located.
``(B) Creation of jobs or training of newly hired
employees.
``(C) Promotion of the transfer and
commercialization of research and technology from
institutions of higher education, national
laboratories, or other federally funded research
programs, and nonprofit research institutes.
``(D) Recruitment of a diverse manufacturing
workforce, including through outreach to
underrepresented populations, including individuals
identified in section 33 or section 34 of the Science
and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C.
1885a, 1885b).
``(E) Any other result the Director determines will
advance the objective set forth in sections 25(c) or
26.
``(i) Program Contribution.--Recipients of awards under this
section shall not be required to provide a matching contribution.
``(j) Global Marketplace Projects.--In making an award under this
section, the Director, in consultation with the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership Advisory Board and the Secretary, may take into
consideration whether an application has significant potential for
enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized United States
manufacturers in the global marketplace.
``(k) Duration.--The Director shall ensure that the duration of an
award under this section is aligned and consistent with a Center's
cooperative agreement established in section 25(e).
``(l) Report.--After the completion of the pilot program under
subsection (b) and not later than October 1, 2024, the Director shall
submit to Congress a report that includes--
``(1) a summary description of what activities were funded
and the measurable outcomes of such activities;
``(2) a description of which types of activities under
paragraph (1) could be integrated into, and supported under,
the program under section 25;
``(3) a description of which types of activities under
paragraph (1) could be integrated into, and supported under,
the competitive awards program under section 25A; and
``(4) a recommendation, supported by a clear explanation,
as to whether the pilot program should be continued.
``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out the pilot program under this section
$260,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024.''.
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