National Institute of Manufacturing Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4194 To establish the National Institute of Manufacturing, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. PETERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish the National Institute of Manufacturing, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Institute of 4 Manufacturing Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CHIEF MANUFACTURING OFFICER.—The 8 term ‘‘Chief Manufacturing Officer’’ means the prin- 9 cipal advisor to the Secretary regarding manufac- 10 turing issues and the Director of the Institute. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4194 IS (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 1 National Manufacturing Council established under 2 section 4. 3 (3) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 4 the National Institute of Manufacturing established 5 under section 3. 6 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 7 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 10 (5) NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN FOR MANUFAC- 11 TURING.—The term ‘‘national strategic plan for 12 manufacturing’’ means the national strategic plan 13 for manufacturing developed under section 3(c)(1). 14 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 15 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 16 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 18 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of Commerce. 20 (8) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The term ‘‘transi- 21 tion period’’ means the 1-year period beginning on 22 the date of enactment of this Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4194 IS SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MAN- 1 UFACTURING. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 3 Department of Commerce an institute to be known as the 4 ‘‘National Institute of Manufacturing’’. 5 (b) MISSION.—The primary missions of the Institute 6 are to— 7 (1) ensure global leadership in advanced manu- 8 facturing technologies critical to the long-term eco- 9 nomic and national security of the United States; 10 (2) restore and strengthen the United States 11 industrial commons, which includes the essential 12 skills, equipment, and suppliers that provide the 13 foundation for the innovativeness and competitive- 14 ness of all United States manufacturers; 15 (3) strengthen the technical, financial, and edu- 16 cational conditions and assets necessary to ensure 17 that the United States is the best location for the 18 creation and production of advanced technologies 19 emerging from national research and development 20 investments; 21 (4) capitalize on the scientific and technological 22 advances produced by researchers and innovators in 23 the United States by developing capable and respon- 24 sive institutions focused on advancing the technology 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4194 IS and manufacturing readiness levels of those ad- 1 vances; 2 (5) support the discovery, invention, scale-up, 3 and transition of new products and manufacturing 4 technologies to full-scale production in the United 5 States; 6 (6) address the evolving needs of manufacturers 7 to find a diverse set of workers with the necessary 8 skills, training, and expertise; 9 (7) improve and expand manufacturing engi- 10 neering and technology offerings within institutions 11 of higher education and secondary schools to be 12 more closely aligned with the needs of the United 13 States manufacturing sector and the goal of 14 strengthening the long-term competitiveness of 15 United States manufacturing; and 16 (8) work collaboratively with other Federal 17 agencies, State and local governments, Tribal gov- 18 ernments, regional authorities, economic develop- 19 ment organizations, labor organizations, and institu- 20 tions of higher education to leverage their knowl- 21 edge, resources, and programs to foster manufac- 22 turing in the United States and anticipate and pre- 23 pare for emergencies and global, national, and re- 24 gional supply chain disruptions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4194 IS (c) FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the purposes of this 1 Act, the Institute shall— 2 (1) convene key industry, academic, defense, 3 government, and other stakeholders to develop a na- 4 tional strategic plan for manufacturing in the 5 United States that would identify short-, medium-, 6 and long-term needs and priorities of the manufac- 7 turing sector in the United States, including emer- 8 gency readiness; 9 (2) monitor the status of technological develop- 10 ments, critical production capacity, skill availability, 11 investment patterns, emerging defense needs, and 12 other key indicators of manufacturing competitive- 13 ness, such as key indicators from manufacturing 14 dealers, to provide foresight for periodic updates to 15 the national strategic plan for manufacturing and to 16 guide investment decisions; 17 (3) initiate and support discovery, invention, 18 and translational research in engineering and manu- 19 facturing by making contracts or other arrange- 20 ments, including grants, awards, cooperative agree- 21 ments, loans, and other forms of assistance, to con- 22 duct that research and to assess the impact of that 23 research on the economic well-being, climate impact, 24 and national security of the United States; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4194 IS (4) administer programs that incentivize and 1 facilitate collaboration among private and public sec- 2 tor stakeholders in United States manufacturing; 3 (5) award scholarships and graduate fellowships 4 in the engineering and manufacturing disciplines; 5 (6) award industrial, academic, and govern- 6 mental fellowships to faculty and retired manufac- 7 turing experts to support the manufacturing inter- 8 ests of the United States; 9 (7) advise United States manufacturers on 10 international trade and investment policies in inter- 11 national markets and advise the Federal Govern- 12 ment on how to expand business opportunities for 13 United States manufacturers in international mar- 14 kets; 15 (8) develop and assess key indicators of manu- 16 facturing competitiveness, including the geographic 17 diversity of manufacturing in the United States, and 18 provide interpretation and analysis of collected data 19 on the manufacturing sector in the United States; 20 (9) provide small and medium manufacturers, 21 including new startups, with financial support, in- 22 cluding loans, counseling, training, technical assist- 23 ance, and advocacy; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4194 IS (10) identify opportunities to achieve commer- 1 cial-scale production of emerging technologies by 2 leveraging government procurement contracts, in 3 particular contracts of the Department of Defense; 4 and 5 (11) be the primary entity with which other en- 6 tities in the Federal Government will consult on de- 7 cisions relating to manufacturing. 8 (d) DIRECTOR AND CHIEF MANUFACTURING OFFI- 9 CER.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Director of 11 the Institute, who shall— 12 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 13 with the consent of the Senate; 14 (B) oversee all Institute activities; 15 (C) serve as an ex-officio member of the 16 Institute; 17 (D) make recommendations regarding, and 18 manage, the budget of the Institute; 19 (E) serve as the Chief Manufacturing Offi- 20 cer of the United States; and 21 (F) advise and consult with the President 22 and the Secretary on all policy issues relating 23 to manufacturing. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4194 IS (2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY OF THE NA- 1 TIONAL INSTITUTE OF MANUFACTURING.— 2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 3 provided, the Chief Manufacturing Officer shall 4 exercise all of the authority granted to the In- 5 stitute under this Act, including any powers 6 and functions that may be delegated to the 7 Chief Manufacturing Officer by the Secretary 8 or the President. 9 (B) FINAL ACTIONS.—All actions taken by 10 the Chief Manufacturing Officer under this Act, 11 or under the terms of a delegation described in 12 subparagraph (A), shall be final and binding 13 upon the Institute. 14 (3) DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS.—The Chief 15 Manufacturing Officer may, from time to time, dele- 16 gate the performance of a function under this Act to 17 another officer, employee, or Directorate of the In- 18 stitute, including functions delegated to the Chief 19 Manufacturing Officer. 20 (4) DUTIES AS CHIEF MANUFACTURING OFFI- 21 CER.—The Chief Manufacturing Officer of the 22 United States shall— 23 (A) coordinate all activities within the De- 24 partment of Commerce relating to manufac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4194 IS turing and advise and consult with the Sec- 1 retary on all policy issues relating to manufac- 2 turing; 3 (B) advise and consult with the Secretary 4 and the heads of any other relevant agencies on 5 the national security supply chain; 6 (C) foster the coordination of manufac- 7 turing-related policies and activities across 8 agencies as Chair of the Committee on Tech- 9 nology of the National Science and Technology 10 Council established under section 102 of the 11 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 12 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6622); 13 (D) promote Federal Government meas- 14 ures, including inter-agency input on new regu- 15 lations that affect manufacturing, and policies 16 with the potential of advancing United States 17 technological innovation in manufacturing and 18 exploiting manufacturing innovations of foreign 19 origin; 20 (E) convene key industry, labor, academic, 21 defense, government, and other stakeholders to 22 aid in the development of the national strategic 23 plan for manufacturing; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4194 IS (F) monitor the status of technological de- 1 velopments, critical production capacity, skill 2 availability, investment patterns, emerging de- 3 fense needs, and other key indicators of manu- 4 facturing competitiveness to provide foresight 5 for periodic updates to the national strategic 6 plan for manufacturing and to coordinate with 7 the Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Sec- 8 retary for Administration of the Department of 9 Commerce in developing the annual budgets for 10 manufacturing-related programs of the Depart- 11 ment of Commerce; 12 (G) oversee and convene the Council; 13 (H) solicit input from the public and pri- 14 vate sectors and academia regarding emerging 15 trends in manufacturing and the responsiveness 16 of Federal programming; 17 (I) convene interagency working groups to 18 align Federal policies to drive implementation 19 of the national strategic plan for manufac- 20 turing, including collaboration among the De- 21 partment of Education, the Department of 22 Labor, the Department of Energy, the Depart- 23 ment of Commerce, the Department of Defense, 24 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4194 IS tional Science Foundation, the Small Business 1 Administration, and other agencies; and 2 (J) develop and maintain the manufac- 3 turing.gov hub developed under section 7 to— 4 (i) help inform, and serve as the prin- 5 cipal place of interaction between, United 6 States manufacturers and the Federal 7 manufacturing programs described in sec- 8 tion 7(b)(1); and 9 (ii) provide assistance relating to— 10 (I) international trade and in- 11 vestment matters; 12 (II) research and technology de- 13 velopment opportunities; 14 (III) workforce development and 15 training programs and opportunities; 16 (IV) small and medium manufac- 17 turer needs; and 18 (V) industrial commons and sup- 19 ply chains needs. 20 (5) TERM.—The Chief Manufacturing Officer 21 shall serve for a term of 6 years, unless removed 22 earlier by the President. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4194 IS (e) DIRECTORATES.—Unless otherwise provided by 1 the Chief Manufacturing Officer, there shall be within the 2 Institute the following Directorates: 3 (1) A Directorate for Technology Development, 4 which shall— 5 (A) make competitive awards to support 6 discovery, invention, and translational research 7 in the fields of engineering and manufacturing; 8 (B) conduct prize competitions in accord- 9 ance with section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler 10 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 11 3719) to stimulate innovation that has the po- 12 tential to advance manufacturing technology; 13 (C) administer a pilot program establishing 14 translational research centers associated with 15 research universities, which will guide and fund 16 research needed to translate laboratory results 17 to testable beta prototypes and facilitate con- 18 nections with domestic manufacturers to scale 19 domestic production; and 20 (D) administer other programs and activi- 21 ties that promote technology development. 22 (2) A Directorate for the Industrial Commons, 23 which shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:52 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4194.IS S4194 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4194 IS (A) administer the Investing in Manufac- 1 turing Communities Partnersh [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]