Endless Frontier Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2731 To establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 21, 2021 Mr. KHANNA (for himself, Mr. GALLAGHER, Ms. WILD, Mr. TURNER, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Ms. SHERRILL) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innova- tion in the National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, science, research, inno- vation, manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, 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 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2731 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Endless Frontier Act’’. 2 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) For over 70 years, the United States has 5 been the unequivocal global leader in scientific and 6 technological innovation, and as a result the people 7 of the United States have benefitted through good- 8 paying jobs, economic prosperity, and a higher qual- 9 ity of life. 10 (A) Today, however, this leadership posi- 11 tion is being eroded and challenged by foreign 12 competitors, some of which are stealing intellec- 13 tual property and trade secrets of the United 14 States and aggressively investing in research 15 and commercialization to dominate the key ex- 16 isting and future technology fields. 17 (B) While the United States once led the 18 world in the share of our economy invested in 19 research, our Nation now ranks 9th globally in 20 total research and development and 12th in 21 publicly financed research and development. 22 (C) While wages for American workers 23 rose in parallel with growth in national produc- 24 tivity from the end of World War II through 25 most of the 1970s, since then wage growth has 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2731 IH been uneven and labor’s share in national in- 1 come has declined. 2 (2) Without a significant increase in investment 3 in research, education, technology transfer, intellec- 4 tual property, manufacturing, and other core 5 strengths of the United States innovation ecosystem, 6 it is only a matter of time before the global competi- 7 tors of the United States overtake the United States 8 in terms of technological primacy. The country that 9 wins the race in key technologies—such as artificial 10 intelligence, quantum computing, advanced commu- 11 nications, and advanced manufacturing—and uses 12 technological innovation to support high-quality jobs 13 and incomes will be the superpower of the future. 14 (3) The Federal Government must catalyze 15 United States innovation by boosting research in- 16 vestments focused on discovering, creating, commer- 17 cializing, and demonstrating new technologies and 18 manufacturing those technologies domestically 19 throughout the country to ensure the leadership of 20 the United States in the industries of the future. 21 (4) The distribution of innovation jobs and in- 22 vestment in the United States has become largely 23 concentrated in just a few locations, while much of 24 the Nation has been left out of growth in the innova- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2731 IH tion sector. More than 90 percent of the Nation’s in- 1 novation sector employment growth in the last 15 2 years was generated in just 5 major metropolitan 3 areas. The Federal Government must address this 4 imbalance in opportunity by— 5 (A) dramatically increasing funding for 6 science and engineering research and expanding 7 partnerships with the private sector to build 8 new technology hubs across the country; 9 (B) spreading high-quality innovation sec- 10 tor jobs more broadly; 11 (C) increasing the participation of under- 12 represented populations, engaging workers, and 13 collaborating with labor organizations in inno- 14 vation efforts to tap the talent and potential of 15 the entire Nation to ensure the United States 16 leads the industries of the future; and 17 (D) building regional capacity in such crit- 18 ical areas as entrepreneurship, access to capital 19 and other investment, and supply chain develop- 20 ment. 21 (5) As President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, 22 ‘‘[N]ew frontiers of the mind are before us, and if 23 they are pioneered with the same vision, boldness, 24 and drive with which we have waged this war we can 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2731 IH create a fuller and more fruitful employment and a 1 fuller and more fruitful life.’’ 2 (6) As Vannevar Bush stated in his 1945 re- 3 port entitled Science, The Endless Frontier, ‘‘New 4 products, new industries, and more jobs require con- 5 tinuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature, 6 and the application of that knowledge to practical 7 purposes. Similarly, our defense against aggression 8 demands new knowledge so that we can develop new 9 and improved weapons. This essential, new knowl- 10 edge can be obtained only through basic scientific re- 11 search.’’ 12 (7) Since their inception, the National Science 13 Foundation and other key Federal agencies, like the 14 Department of Energy, have carried out vital work 15 supporting basic and applied research to create 16 knowledge that is a key driver of the economy of the 17 United States and enhances the Nation’s security. 18 SEC. 3. IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION RE- 19 SEARCH AT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUN- 20 DATION. 21 (a) PROVIDING AUTHORITY TO DISSEMINATE INFOR- 22 MATION.—Section 11 of the National Science Foundation 23 Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1870) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2731 IH (1) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 1 the semicolon; 2 (2) in subsection (k), by striking the period at 3 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(l) provide for the widest practicable and appro- 6 priate dissemination of information within the United 7 States concerning the Foundation’s activities and the re- 8 sults thereof.’’. 9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECTORATE FOR TECH- 10 NOLOGY AND INNOVATION.—The National Science Foun- 11 dation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) is amended— 12 (1) in section 8 (42 U.S.C. 1866), by inserting 13 at the end the following: ‘‘Such divisions shall in- 14 clude the Directorate for Technology and Innovation 15 established under section 8A.’’; and 16 (2) by inserting after section 8 the following: 17 ‘‘SEC. 8A. IMPROVING RESEARCH AND ESTABLISHING DI- 18 RECTORATE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVA- 19 TION. 20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com- 22 munity college’ has the meaning given the term ‘jun- 23 ior or community college’ in section 312(f) of the 24 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2731 IH ‘‘(2) DESIGNATED COUNTRY.—The term ‘des- 1 ignated country’ means a country that has been ap- 2 proved and designated in writing by the President 3 for purposes of this section, after providing— 4 ‘‘(A) not less than 30 days of advance noti- 5 fication and explanation to the relevant con- 6 gressional committees before the designation; 7 and 8 ‘‘(B) in-person briefings to such commit- 9 tees, if requested during the 30-day advance no- 10 tification period described in subparagraph (A). 11 ‘‘(3) DIRECTORATE.—The term ‘Directorate’ 12 means the Directorate for Technology and Innova- 13 tion established under subsection (b). 14 ‘‘(4) EMERGING RESEARCH INSTITUTION.—The 15 term ‘emerging research institution’ means an insti- 16 tution of higher education with an established under- 17 graduate student program that has, on average for 18 the 3 years prior to an application for an award 19 under this section, received less than $35,000,000 in 20 Federal research funding. 21 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL RESEARCH FACILITY.—The term 22 ‘Federal research facility’ includes a research labora- 23 tory of the Department of Agriculture and any other 24 Federally funded research and development center. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2731 IH ‘‘(6) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI- 1 VERSITY.—The term ‘historically Black college or 2 university’ has the meaning given the term ‘part B 3 institution’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 4 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061)). 5 ‘‘(7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 6 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 7 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 8 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 9 ‘‘(8) KEY TECHNOLOGY FOCUS AREAS.—The 10 term ‘key technology focus areas’ means the areas 11 included on the most recent list under subsection 12 (d)(2). 13 ‘‘(9) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘labor 14 organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 15 tion 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 16 U.S.C. 152(5)), except that such term shall also in- 17 clude— 18 ‘‘(A) any organization composed of labor 19 organizations, such as a labor union federation 20 or a State or municipal labor body; and 21 ‘‘(B) any organization which would be in- 22 cluded in the definition for such term under 23 such section 2(5) but for the fact that the orga- 24 nization represents— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2731 IH ‘‘(i) individuals employed by the 1 United States, any wholly owned Govern- 2 ment corporation, any Federal Reserve 3 Bank, or any State or political subdivision 4 thereof; 5 ‘‘(ii) individuals employed by persons 6 subject to the Railway Labor Act (45 7 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); or 8 ‘‘(iii) individuals employed as agricul- 9 tural laborers. 10 ‘‘(10) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 11 term ‘minority-serving institution’ means an institu- 12 tion described in section 371(a) of the Higher Edu- 13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 14 ‘‘(11) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘Na- 15 tional Laboratory’ has the meaning given the term 16 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 17 U.S.C. 15801). 18 ‘‘(12) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 19 TEES.—The term ‘relevant congressional commit- 20 tees’ means— 21 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Armed Services, 22 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 23 Transportation, the Committee on Energy and 24 Natural Resources, the Committee on Appro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2731 IH priations, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 1 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 2 and Pensions, and the Select Committee on In- 3 telligence of the Senate; and 4 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Armed Services, 5 the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 6 nology, the Committee on Appropriations, the 7 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Perma- 8 nent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 9 House of Representatives. 10 ‘‘(13) STEM.—The term ‘STEM’ has the 11 meaning given such term in section 2 of the America 12 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public 13 Law 111–358; 42 U.S.C. 6621 note). 14 ‘‘(14) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 15 term ‘Tribal college or university’ has the meaning 16 given the term in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher 17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)). 18 ‘‘(15) UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS.— 19 The term ‘underrepresented populations’ means 20 women, minorities, veterans, tribal populations, per- 21 sons with disabilities, and other populations that are 22 underrepresented in STEM. 23 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECTORATE FOR TECH- 24 NOLOGY AND INNOVATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2731 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 1 after the date of enactment of the Endless Frontier 2 Act, the Director shall establish in the Foundation 3 a Directorate for Technology and Innovation. The 4 Directorate shall carry out the duties and respon- 5 sibilities described in this section, in order to further 6 the following goals: 7 ‘‘(A) Strengthening the leadership of the 8 United States in critical technologies, as de- 9 scribed as a critical national need in section 10 7018 of the America COMPETES Act (42 11 U.S.C. 1862o–5), through basic research in the 12 key technology focus areas and the commer- 13 cialization of those technologies to businesses in 14 the United States. 15 ‘‘(B) Addressing and mitigating technology 16 challenges integral to the geostrategic position 17 of the United States through the activities au- 18 thorized by this section. 19 ‘‘(C) Enhancing the competitiveness of the 20 United States in the key technology focus areas 21 by improving education in the key technology 22 focus areas and attracting more students to 23 such areas at all levels of education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2731.IH H2731 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2731 IH ‘‘(D) Consistent with the mission and oper- 1 ations of the Foundation, fostering the eco- 2 nomic and societal impact of Federally funded 3 research and development through an acceler [Text truncated for display. 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