Union Calendar No. 764
115th CONGRESS 2d Session |
[Report No. 115–977]
To authorize the programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and for other purposes.
June 26, 2018
Mrs. Comstock (for herself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Smith of Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Knight, Mrs. Lesko, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Weber of Texas, and Mr. Biggs) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
September 25, 2018
Additional sponsor: Mr. Balderson
September 25, 2018
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 26, 2018]
To authorize the programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 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 “National Institute of Standards and Technology Reauthorization Act of 2018”.
SEC. 2. Authorization of appropriations.
(a) Fiscal year 2018.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce $1,198,500,000 for the National Institute of Standards and Technology for fiscal year 2018.
(b) Fiscal year 2019.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce $1,125,000,000 for the National Institute of Standards and Technology for fiscal year 2019.
(2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount authorized by paragraph (1)—
(A) $850,000,000 shall be for scientific and technical research and services laboratory activities, of which—
(i) $109,900,000 shall be for the advanced communications, networks, and scientific data systems mission area;
SEC. 3. Quantum information science.
(a) Research activities and engagement.—The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall—
(1) continue to support and expand basic quantum information science and technology research and development of measurement and standards infrastructure necessary to advance commercial development of quantum applications;
(2) use the programs of the Institute, in collaboration with other relevant Federal agencies, as appropriate, to train scientists in quantum information science and technology to increase participation in the quantum fields;
(3) establish or expand collaborative ventures or consortia with other public or private sector entities, including other Federal agencies engaged in quantum information science research and development, institutions of higher education, National Laboratories, and industry, for the purpose of advancing the field of quantum information science and engineering; and
(4) have the authority to enter into and perform such contracts on such terms as the Secretary, acting through the Director, considers appropriate, including cooperative research and development arrangements and grants and cooperative agreements or other transactions, as may be necessary in the conduct of the work of the Institute with respect to quantum information science and technology.
(b) Quantum workshop.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall convene a workshop of stakeholders to discuss the future measurement, standards, cybersecurity, and other issues that relate to development of quantum information science in the United States. The goals of the workshop shall be—
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a summary report containing the findings of the workshop convened under this subsection.
(c) Funding.—The Secretary of Commerce shall devote $80,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal year 2019, subject to the availability of appropriations, to come from amounts made available pursuant to section 2(b)(2)(A)(iii) of this Act. This section shall be carried out using funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date of enactment of this Act.
(a) Assistance to Federal agencies.—The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall enhance and expand the Institute’s guidance and assistance to Federal agencies to help such agencies effectively use the Framework, including by providing technical guidance and education and training of—
(b) Report.—Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing the implementation of the activities described in this section in as much detail as possible, including the identification of Federal agencies assisted pursuant to subsection (a) and the types of consultative services, education, guidance, assistance, and training provided to such agencies and inspectors general of such agencies pursuant to such subsection.
(c) Research.—The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall expand the fundamental and applied research carried out by the Institute to address key questions relating the measurement of privacy, security, and vulnerability of software tools and communications networks, including through—
(1) the development of research and engineering capabilities to provide practical solutions, including measurement techniques and engineering toolkits, to solve cybersecurity challenges such as human factors, identity management, network security, privacy, and software;
(d) Authority.—The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall have the authority to enter into and perform such contracts on such terms as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, including cooperative research and development arrangements, grants, and cooperative agreements or other transactions, as may be necessary in the conduct of the work of the Institute with respect to cybersecurity.
(a) Research.—The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall implement the recommendations contained in the December 2017 report entitled “Road Mapping Workshop Report on Overcoming Barriers to Adoption of Composites in Sustainable Infrastructure”, as appropriate, to help facilitate the adoption of composite technology in infrastructure in the United States. In implementing such recommendations, the Secretary, acting through the Director shall, with respect to the use of composite technology in infrastructure—
(1) not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, establish a design data clearinghouse to identify, gather, validate, and disseminate existing design criteria, tools, guidelines, and standards; and
(b) Standards coordination.—The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall assure that the appropriate Institute staff consult regularly with standards developers, members of the composites industry, institutions of higher education, and other stakeholders in order to facilitate the adoption of standards for use of composite materials in infrastructure that are based on the research and testing results and other information developed by the Institute.
(c) Funding.—The Secretary of Commerce shall devote $11,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal year 2019, subject to the availability of appropriations, to come from amounts made available pursuant to section 2(b)(2)(A)(iv) of this Act. This section shall be carried out using funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. Artificial intelligence and data science.
The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall continue to support the development of artificial intelligence and data science, including through—
(1) the expansion of the Institute’s capabilities, including scientific staff and research infrastructure;
The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall continue to conduct research with respect to and support the expanded connectivity, interoperability, and security of interconnected systems and other aspects of the internet of things, including through—
(2) the development of technologies to address network congestion and device interference, such as the development of testing tools for next generation wireless communications, internet of things protocols, coexistence of wireless communications systems, and spectrum sharing;
SEC. 8. Hiring and management.
(a) Appointments.—The Secretary, acting through the Director shall have the authority to—
(1) make appointments of scientific, engineering, and professional personnel without regard to the civil service laws as the Secretary, acting through the Director determines necessary for carrying out research and development functions which require the services of specially qualified personnel relating to cybersecurity and quantum information science and technology and such other areas of national research priorities as the Secretary, acting through the Director may determine; and
In this Act:
(2) The term “Framework” means the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and referred to in Executive Order 13800 issued on May 11, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 22391 et seq.).
(4) The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
Union Calendar No. 764 | |||||
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[Report No. 115–977] | |||||
A BILL | |||||
To authorize the programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and for other
purposes. | |||||
September 25, 2018 | |||||
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed |