National Science Foundation for the Future Act

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2225 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 12, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 for the National Science Founda- tion, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2225 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Science 2 Foundation for the Future Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Over the past seven decades, the National 6 Science Foundation has played a critical role in ad- 7 vancing the United States academic research enter- 8 prise by supporting fundamental research and edu- 9 cation across science and engineering disciplines. 10 (2) Discoveries enabled by sustained investment 11 in fundamental research and the education of the 12 United States science and engineering workforce 13 have led to transformational innovations and 14 spawned new industries. 15 (3) While the traditional approach to invest- 16 ment in research has delivered myriad benefits to so- 17 ciety, a concerted effort is needed to ensure the ben- 18 efits of federally funded science and engineering are 19 enjoyed by all Americans. 20 (4) As countries around the world increase in- 21 vestments in research and STEM education, United 22 States global leadership in science and engineering is 23 eroding, posing significant risks to economic com- 24 petitiveness, national security, and public well-being. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2225 RFS (5) To address major societal challenges and 1 sustain United States leadership in innovation, the 2 Federal Government must increase investments in 3 research, broaden participation in the STEM work- 4 force, and bolster collaborations among universities, 5 National Laboratories, field stations and marine lab- 6 oratories, companies, labor organizations, non-profit 7 funders of research, local policymakers, civil societies 8 and stakeholder communities, and international 9 partners. 10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 11 In this Act: 12 (1) ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Academies’’ 13 means the National Academies of Sciences, Engi- 14 neering, and Medicine. 15 (2) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘ar- 16 tificial intelligence’’ has the meaning given such 17 term in section 5002 of the William M. (MAC) 18 Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 19 Fiscal Year 2021. 20 (3) AWARDEE.—The term ‘‘awardee’’ means 21 the legal entity to which Federal assistance is 22 awarded and that is accountable to the Federal Gov- 23 ernment for the use of the funds provided. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2225 RFS (4) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na- 1 tional Science Board. 2 (5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 3 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 4 (6) EMERGING RESEARCH INSTITUTION.—The 5 term ‘‘emerging research institution’’ means an in- 6 stitution of higher education with an established un- 7 dergraduate student program that has, on average 8 for 3 years prior to the time of application for an 9 award, received less than $35,000,000 in Federal re- 10 search funding. 11 (7) FEDERAL RESEARCH AGENCY.—The term 12 ‘‘Federal research agency’’ means any Federal agen- 13 cy with an annual extramural research expenditure 14 of over $100,000,000. 15 (8) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 16 means the National Science Foundation. 17 (9) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNI- 18 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college and 19 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 20 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 22 (10) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 23 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2225 RFS meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 2 (11) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 3 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 4 section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 5 U.S.C. 152(5)), except that such term shall also in- 6 clude— 7 (A) any organization composed of labor or- 8 ganizations, such as a labor union federation or 9 a State or municipal labor body; and 10 (B) any organization which would be in- 11 cluded in the definition for such term under 12 such section (5) but for the fact that the orga- 13 nization represents— 14 (i) individuals employed by the United 15 States, any wholly owned Government cor- 16 poration, any Federal Reserve Bank, or 17 any State or political subdivision thereof; 18 (ii) individuals employed by persons 19 subject to the Railway Labor Act (45 20 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); or 21 (iii) individuals employed as agricul- 22 tural laborers. 23 (12) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 24 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means a His- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2225 RFS panic-serving institution, an Alaska Native-serving 1 institution, a Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, a 2 Predominantly Black Institution, an Asian American 3 and Native American Pacific Islander-serving insti- 4 tution, or a Native American-serving nontribal insti- 5 tution as described in section 371 of the Higher 6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 7 (13) NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 8 ‘‘non-profit organization’’ means an organization 9 which is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Inter- 10 nal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 11 under section 501(a) of such code. 12 (14) NSF INCLUDES.—The term ‘‘NSF in- 13 cludes’’ means the initiative carried out under sec- 14 tion 6(c). 15 (15) PREK-12.—The term ‘‘preK-12’’ means 16 pre-kindergarten through grade 12. 17 (16) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD.— 18 The term ‘‘research and development award’’ means 19 support provided to an individual or entity by a Fed- 20 eral research agency to carry out research and devel- 21 opment activities, which may include support in the 22 form of a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or 23 other such transaction. The term does not include a 24 grant, contract, agreement or other transaction for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 2225 RFS the procurement of goods or services to meet the ad- 1 ministrative needs of a Federal research agency. 2 (17) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORK.—The term 3 ‘‘skilled technical work’’ means an occupation that 4 requires a high level of knowledge in a technical do- 5 main and does not require a bachelor’s degree for 6 entry. 7 (18) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 2 of the America 9 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 10 U.S.C. 6621 note). 11 (19) STEM EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘STEM 12 education’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 13 tion 2 of the STEM Education Act of 2015 (42 14 U.S.C. 6621 note). 15 (20) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 16 term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ has the meaning 17 given such term in section 316 of the Higher Edu- 18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c). 19 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 20 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2022.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 22 appropriated to the Foundation $12,504,890,000 for 23 fiscal year 2022. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 2225 RFS (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 1 authorized under paragraph (1)— 2 (A) $10,025,000,000 shall be made avail- 3 able to carry out research and related activities, 4 of which— 5 (i) $55,000,000 shall be for the Mid- 6 Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 7 and 8 (ii) $1,400,000,000 shall be for the 9 Directorate for Science and Engineering 10 Solutions; 11 (B) $1,583,160,000 shall be made avail- 12 able for education and human resources, of 13 which— 14 (i) $73,700,000 shall be for the Rob- 15 ert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; 16 (ii) $59,500,000 shall be for the NSF 17 Research Traineeship Program; 18 (iii) $416,300,000 shall be for the 19 Graduate Research Fellowship Program; 20 and 21 (iv) $70,000,000 shall be for the 22 Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Pro- 23 gram; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 2225 RFS (C) $249,000,000 shall be made available 1 for major research equipment and facilities con- 2 struction, of which $76,250,000 shall be for the 3 Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 4 (D) $620,000,000 shall be made available 5 for agency operations and award management; 6 (E) $4,620,000 shall be made available for 7 the Office of the National Science Board; and 8 (F) $23,120,000 shall be made available 9 for the Office of the Inspector General. 10 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2023.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 12 appropriated to the Foundation $14,620,800,000 for 13 fiscal year 2023. 14 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 15 authorized under paragraph (1)— 16 (A) $11,870,000,000 shall be made avail- 17 able to carry out research and related activities, 18 of which— 19 (i) $60,000,000 shall be for the Mid- 20 Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 21 and 22 (ii) $2,300,000,000 shall be for the 23 Directorate for Science and Engineering 24 Solutions; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 2225 RFS (B) $1,654,520,000 shall be made avail- 1 able for education and human resources, of 2 which— 3 (i) $80,400,000 shall be for the Rob- 4 ert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; 5 (ii) $64,910,000 shall be for the NSF 6 Research Traineeship Program; 7 (iii) $454,140,000 shall be for the 8 Graduate Research Fellowship Program; 9 and 10 (iv) $72,000,000 shall be for the 11 Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Pro- 12 gram; 13 (C) $355,000,000 shall be made available 14 for major research equipment and facilities con- 15 struction, of which $80,000,000 shall be for the 16 Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 17 (D) $710,000,000 shall be made available 18 for agency operations and award management; 19 (E) $4,660,000 shall be made available for 20 the Office of the National Science Board; and 21 (F) $26,610,000 shall be made available 22 for the Office of the Inspector General. 23 (c) FISCAL YEAR 2024.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 2225 RFS (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 1 appropriated to the Foundation $15,945,020,000 for 2 fiscal year 2024. 3 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 4 authorized under paragraph (1)— 5 (A) $13,050,000,000 shall be made avail- 6 able to carry out research and related activities, 7 of which— 8 (i) $70,000,000 shall be for the Mid- 9 Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 10 and 11 (ii) $2,900,000,000 shall be for the 12 Directorate for Science and Engineering 13 Solutions; 14 (B) $1,739,210,000 shall be made avail- 15 able for education and human resources, of 16 which— 17 (i) $87,100,000 shall be for the Rob- 18 ert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; 19 (ii) $70,320,000 shall be for the NSF 20 Research Traineeship Program; 21 (iii) $491,990,000 shall be for the 22 Graduate Research Fellowship Program; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 2225 RFS (iv) $78,000,000 shall be for the 1 Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Pro- 2 gram; 3 (C) $370,000,000 shall be made available 4 for major research equipment and facilities con- 5 struction, of which $85,000,000 shall be for the 6 Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 7 (D) $750,000,000 shall be made available 8 for agency operations and award management; 9 (E) $4,700,000 shall be made available for 10 the Office of the National Science Board; and 11 (F) $31,110,000 shall be made available 12 for the Office of the Inspector General. 13 (d) FISCAL YEAR 2025.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 15 appropriated to the Foundation $17,004,820,000 for 16 fiscal year 2025. 17 (2) SPECIFIC ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amount 18 authorized under paragraph (1)— 19 (A) $14,000,000,000 shall be made avail- 20 able to carry out research and related activities, 21 of which— 22 (i) $75,000,000 shall be for the Mid- 23 Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 HR 2225 RFS (ii) $3,250,000,000 shall be for the 1 Directorate for Science and Engineering 2 Solutions; 3 (B) $1,823,470,000 shall be made avail- 4 able for education and human resources, of 5 which— 6 (i) $93,800,000 shall be for the Rob- 7 ert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; 8 (ii) $75,730,000 shall be for the NSF 9 Research Traineeship Program; 10 (iii) $529,830,000 shall be for the 11 Graduate Research Fellowship Program; 12 and 13 (iv) $84,000,000 shall be for the 14 Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Pro- 15 gram; 16 (C) $372,000,000 shall be made available 17 for major research equipment and facilities con- 18 struction, of which $90,000,000 shall be for the 19 Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program; 20 (D) $770,000,000 shall be made available 21 for agency operations and award management; 22 (E) $4,740,000 shall be made available for 23 the Office of the National Science Board; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2225.RFS H2225 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 14 HR 2225 RFS (F) $34,610,000 shall be made available 1 for the Office of the Inspector General. 2 (e) FISCAL YE [Text truncated for display. 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