EPSCoR Specific language in the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017

Appendix 1:

EPSCoR specific Text of S.3084: American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017

SEC. 103. EPSCOR REAFFIRMATION AND UPDATE

(a) FINDINGS.—Section 517(a) of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p– 9(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1)—

(A) by striking ‘‘The National’’ and inserting ‘‘the National’’; and

(B) by striking ‘‘education,’’ and inserting ‘‘education’’;

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘with 27 States’’ and all that follows through the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘with 28 States and jurisdictions, taken together, receiving only about 12 percent of all National Science Foundation research funding;’’;

(3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

‘‘(3) each of the States described in paragraph (2) receives only a fraction of 1 percent of the Foundation’s research dollars each year;’’; and

(4) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(4) first established at the National Science Foundation in 1979, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (referred to in this section as ‘EPSCoR’) assists States and jurisdictions historically underserved by Federal research and development funding in strengthening their research and innovation capabilities;

(5) the EPSCoR structure requires each participating State to develop a science and technology plan suited to State and local research, education, and economic interests and objectives;

(6) EPSCoR has been credited with advancing the research competitiveness of participating States, improving awareness of science, promoting policies that link scientific investment and economic growth, and encouraging partnerships between government, industry, and academia;

(7) EPSCoR proposals are evaluated through a rigorous and competitive merit-review process to ensure that awarded research and development efforts meet high scientific standards; and

(8) according to the National Academy of Sciences, EPSCoR has strengthened the national research infrastructure and enhanced the educational

opportunities needed to develop the science and engineering workforce.’’.

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(A) since maintaining the Nation’s scientific and economic leadership requires the participation of talented individuals nationwide, EPSCoR investments into State research and education capacities are in the Federal interest and should be sustained; and

(B) EPSCoR should maintain its experimental component by supporting innovative methods for improving research capacity and

competitiveness.

(2) DEFINITION OF EPSCOR.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘EPSCoR’’ has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p note).

(c) AWARD STRUCTURE UPDATES.—Section 517 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–9) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(g) AWARD STRUCTURE UPDATES.—In implementing the mandate to maximize the impact of Federal EPSCoR support on building competitive research infrastructure, and based on the inputs and recommendations of previous EPSCoR reviews, the head of each Federal agency administering an EPSCoR program shall—

‘‘(1) consider modifications to EPSCoR proposal solicitation, award type, and project evaluation—

‘‘(A) to more closely align with current agency priorities and initiatives;

‘‘(B) to focus EPSCoR funding on achieving critical scientific, infrastructure, and educational needs of that agency;

‘‘(C) to encourage collaboration between EPSCoR-eligible institutions and researchers, including with institutions and researchers in other States and jurisdictions;

‘‘(D) to improve communication between State and Federal agency proposal reviewers; and

‘‘(E) to continue to reduce administrative burdens associated with EPSCoR;

‘‘(2) consider modifications to EPSCoR award structures—

‘‘(A) to emphasize long-term investments in building research capacity, potentially through the use of larger, renewable funding opportunities; and

‘‘(B) to allow the agency, States, and jurisdictions to experiment with new research and development funding models; and

‘‘(3) consider modifications to the mechanisms used to monitor and evaluate EPSCoR awards—

‘‘(A) to increase collaboration between EPSCoR-funded researchers and agency staff, including by providing opportunities for mentoring young researchers and for the use of Federal facilities;

‘‘(B) to identify and disseminate best practices; and

‘‘(C) to harmonize metrics across participating Federal agencies, as appropriate.’’.

(d) REPORTS.—

(1) CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS.—Section 517 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–9), as amended, is further amended—

(A) by striking subsection (c);

(B) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) as subsections (c) through (f), re

spectively;

(C) in subsection (c), as redesignated—

(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Experimental Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research’’ and inserting‘‘EPSCoR’’; and

(ii) in paragraph (2)—

1. in subparagraphs (A) and (E), by striking ‘‘EPSCoR and Federal EPSCoR-like programs’’ and inserting ‘‘each EPSCoR’’;

2. in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘EPSCoR and other Federal EPSCoR-like programs’’ and inserting ‘‘each EPSCoR’’;

3. in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘EPSCoR or Federal EPSCoR-like programs’’ and inserting ‘‘each EPSCoR’’; and

4. in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘EPSCoR programs’’ and inserting ‘‘each EPSCoR’’; and

(D) by amending subsection (d), as redesignated, to read as follows:

‘‘(d) FEDERAL AGENCY REPORTS.—Each Federal agency that administers an EPSCoR shall submit to Congress, as part of its Federal budget submission—

‘‘(1) a description of the program strategy and objectives;

‘‘(2) a description of the awards made in the previous fiscal year, including—

‘‘(A) the total amount made available, by State, under EPSCoR;

‘‘(B) the total amount of agency funding made available to all institutions and entities within each EPSCoR State;

‘‘(C) the efforts and accomplishments to more fully integrate the EPSCoR States in major agency activities and initiatives;

‘‘(D) the percentage of EPSCoR reviewers from EPSCoR States; and

‘‘(E) the number of programs or large collaborator awards involving a partnership of organizations and institutions from EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR States; and

‘‘(3) an analysis of the gains in academic research quality and competitiveness, and in science and technology human resource development, achieved by the program over the last 5 fiscal years.’’; and

(E) in subsection (e)(1), as redesignated, by striking ‘‘Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research or a program similar to the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research’’ and inserting ‘‘EPSCoR’’.

(2) RESULTS OF AWARD STRUCTURE PLAN.—

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the EPSCoR Interagency Coordinating Committee shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the updates made to the award structure under 517(f) of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p–9(f)), as amended by this subsection.

(e) DEFINITION OF EPSCOR.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 502 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p note) is amended by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:

‘‘(2) EPSCOR.—The term ‘EPSCoR’ means—

‘‘(A) the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research established by the Foundation; or

‘‘(B) a program similar to the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research at another Federal agency.’’.

(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 113 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 1862g) is amended—

(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘EXPERIMENTAL’’ and inserting ‘‘ESTABLISHED’’;

(B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘an Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research’’ and inserting ‘‘a program to stimulate competitive research (known as the ‘Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research’)’’; and (C) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘the program’’ and inserting ‘‘the Program’’.