RISE Act of 2020

II Calendar No. 639 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4286 [Report No. 116–332] To authorize appropriations for offsetting the costs related to reductions in research productivity resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 22, 2020 Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. PETERS, Mr. GARDNER, Ms. WAR- REN, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- portation DECEMBER 15, 2020 Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To authorize appropriations for offsetting the costs related to reductions in research productivity resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. 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 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4286 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Research Investment 2 to Spark the Economy Act’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Agencies provided Federal research grantees 6 flexibility during the pandemic to support graduate 7 students, postdocs, principal investigators, and tech- 8 nical support staff. 9 (2) Agencies will need to provide current Fed- 10 eral research grants extensions to cover time lost in 11 research labs and in the field that will impact the 12 completion of that agency’s research missions and 13 priorities. Additionally, agencies allowed federally 14 funded labs to donate necessary equipment, like per- 15 sonal protective equipment among others, to support 16 hospitals and first responders, which will need to be 17 re-purchased and will create additional expenses to 18 Federal contracts. 19 (3) The need to ensure the United States sus- 20 tains the critical human infrastructure that under- 21 girds the United States research enterprise, which 22 has created a longstanding government-university 23 partnership which has made America the global 24 leader in innovation, strengthening the health of our 25 Nation’s citizens, economy, and national security. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4286 RS (4) While the Federal Government has made 1 significant investments in new research to address 2 COVID–19, existing research has been slowed down 3 or stopped due to COVID–19 modified operations of 4 campuses and laboratories. 5 (5) Given the modified operations of many uni- 6 versity-based and national laboratories due to the 7 pandemic, Congress is concerned that the people 8 who comprise the research workforce—graduate stu- 9 dents, postdocs, principal investigators, and tech- 10 nical support staff—and the future health and 11 strength of the United States research enterprise 12 and manufacturing and technology economies, 13 among others, are at risk. 14 (6) While our Nation’s research capacity has 15 demonstrated it can absorb shocks and pivot to ad- 16 dress immediate national threats, the scale of this 17 pandemic is still growing and unprecedented in du- 18 ration and impact. 19 (7) Without funding, future innovations in 20 areas such as quantum, artificial intelligence, robot- 21 ics, computing, 5G, space exploration, digital agri- 22 culture, cancer, and aging will be forestalled while 23 the agencies are forced to use future appropriations 24 for new research, meant to create new knowledge 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4286 RS leading to the next generation of discoveries, to 1 cover existing grants. The Nation must innovate to 2 launch the next 50 years of unparalleled economic 3 leadership and be prepared for any future 4 pandemics. 5 (8) Therefore, Congress believes it is vital that 6 the Federal Government take measures to help re- 7 lieve the strain agencies will be forced to face and 8 sustain the strength of our Nation’s ability to re- 9 main a global leader in an increasingly competitive 10 global research environment, as other countries con- 11 tinue to make disproportionately large investments 12 in key research areas. 13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this Act: 15 (1) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 16 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any agency (as de- 17 fined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) 18 with at least $50,000,000 in basic and applied re- 19 search obligations in fiscal year 2020. 20 (2) RESEARCH INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘re- 21 search institution’’ means an institution of higher 22 education (as defined in section 101(a) of the High- 23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4286 RS a nonprofit entity that conducts federally funded re- 1 search. 2 (3) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na- 3 tional laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term in 4 section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 5 U.S.C. 15801). 6 SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS. 7 (a) ALLOWABLE USES.—A Federal science agency 8 may use funds authorized under this Act to— 9 (1) provide supplemental funding to extend the 10 duration of a grant to a research institution or Na- 11 tional laboratory that was awarded prior to the date 12 of enactment of this Act, or to expand the purposes 13 of such a grant in order to— 14 (A) enable a graduate student or post-doc- 15 toral researcher to complete work that was dis- 16 rupted by COVID–19; 17 (B) enable a principal investigator to com- 18 plete work that was disrupted by COVID–19; 19 (C) extend the training of a graduate stu- 20 dent or the employment of a post-doctoral re- 21 searcher on an ongoing research project for up 22 to 2 years because of the disruption of the job 23 market due to COVID–19; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4286 RS (D) allow for the use of laboratory ani- 1 mals, reagents, equipment, or other items re- 2 quired for research funded by a grant that was 3 awarded prior to the date of enactment of this 4 Act, but need to be replaced, refurbished, or 5 otherwise made usable after disruption because 6 of COVID–19; 7 (E) reconfigure laboratories, restart equip- 8 ment and disrupted research, and other activi- 9 ties necessary to safely resume on-site research 10 activities in laboratories that were temporarily 11 closed or redirected to COVID–19 response; 12 and 13 (F) facilitate other competitively awarded 14 research and training activities that have been 15 disrupted by COVID–19; 16 (2) provide supplemental funding through exist- 17 ing competitively awarded cooperative agreements 18 and contracts to cover the increased costs of con- 19 struction of scientific facilities and equipment that 20 have been delayed because of COVID–19; and 21 (3) award grants and cooperative agreements to 22 institutions of higher education to conduct research 23 on the behavioral, social, or economic effects of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4286 RS COVID–19 and the responses to the disease, or on 1 the effectiveness of such responses. 2 (b) AWARDS.—Each Federal science agency author- 3 ized to receive funds under this Act shall develop proce- 4 dures to award such funds and shall award such funds 5 as rapidly as possible. 6 (c) TIMING.—Funds authorized under this Act shall 7 be awarded during fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and funds 8 so awarded shall remain available for expenditure for up 9 to 2 years. 10 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 11 Until such time as a research institution has deter- 12 mined it can safely reopen a research laboratory funded 13 by a Federal science agency, such agency shall continue 14 to interpret regulations in a manner consistent with— 15 (1) the memorandum issued by the Office of 16 Management and Budget on March 19, 2020, enti- 17 tled ‘‘Administrative Relief for Recipients and Appli- 18 cants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Im- 19 pacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID–19) due 20 to Loss of Operations’’; and 21 (2) the memorandum issued by the Office of 22 Management and Budget on March 19, 2020, enti- 23 tled ‘‘Managing Federal Contract Performance 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4286 RS Issues Associated with the Novel Coronavirus 1 (COVID–19)’’. 2 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 (a) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—There is au- 4 thorized to be appropriated to the Department of Agri- 5 culture for fiscal year 2020— 6 (1) $300,000,000 to fund activities under sec- 7 tion 4; and 8 (2) $80,000,000 to carry out cooperative exten- 9 sion and education programs in response to exigent 10 circumstances created by the COVID–19 pandemic. 11 (b) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—There is author- 12 ized to be appropriated $650,000,000 to the Department 13 of Commerce for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities under 14 section 4 of this Act, of which at least $350,000,000 shall 15 be for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 16 ministration and at least $300,000,000 shall be for the 17 National Institute of Standards and Technology. 18 (c) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—There is author- 19 ized to be appropriated $3,000,000,000 to the Depart- 20 ment of Defense for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities 21 under section 4. 22 (d) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.—There is author- 23 ized to be appropriated $200,000,000 to the Department 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4286 RS of Education for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities under 1 section 4 for the Institute for Education Sciences. 2 (e) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.—There is authorized 3 to be appropriated $5,000,000,000 to the Department of 4 Energy for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities under sec- 5 tion 4, of which at least $3,000,000,000 shall be for use 6 by the Office of Science, at least $900,000,000 shall be 7 for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, at least 8 $450,000,000 shall be for Nuclear Energy, at least 9 $300,000,000 shall be for Fossil Research and Develop- 10 ment, at least $150,000,000 shall be for ARPA–E, and 11 at least $100,000,000 shall be for the Office of Electricity. 12 (f) DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR.—There is authorized 13 to be appropriated $300,000,000 to the Department of In- 14 terior for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities under section 15 4 for the United States Geological Survey. 16 (g) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV- 17 ICES.—There is authorized to be appropriated 18 $10,000,000,000 to the Department of Health and 19 Human Services for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities 20 under section 4 for the National Institutes of Health. 21 (h) NASA.—There is authorized to be appropriated 22 $2,000,000,000 to the National Aeronautics and Space 23 Administration for fiscal year 2020 to fund activities 24 under section 4. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4286 RS (i) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There is au- 1 thorized to be appropriated $3,000,000,000 to the Na- 2 tional Science Foundation for fiscal year 2020 to fund ac- 3 tivities under section 4. 4 (j) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—There 5 is authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 to the En- 6 vironmental Protection Agency for fiscal year 2020 to 7 fund activities under section 4. 8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Research Investment to 10 Spark the Economy Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act of 11 2020’’. 12 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 13 Congress finds the following: 14 (1) Federal agencies have provided Federal re- 15 search awardees flexibility during the Coronavirus 16 Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic to support grad- 17 uate and undergraduate students, post-doctoral stu- 18 dents, principal investigators, and administrative 19 and technical support staff. 20 (2) Federal agencies may need to provide current 21 Federal research awardees extensions to cover time 22 lost in awardee facilities and in the field that will af- 23 fect the completion of that agencies’ research missions 24 and priorities. Additionally, agencies have allowed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4286 RS federally funded laboratories to donate necessary 1 equipment, such as personal protective equipment, to 2 support hospitals and first responders, which may 3 need to be repurchased and will create additional ex- 4 penses under Federal contracts, grants, and coopera- 5 tive agreements. 6 (3) The United States needs to sustain the crit- 7 ical human infrastructure that undergirds the United 8 States research enterprise, which has created a long- 9 standing government-university partnership, that has 10 made the United States the global leader in innova- 11 tion, strengthening the health of citizens of the United 12 States, the economy of the United States, and na- 13 tional security. 14 (4) While the Federal Government has made sig- 15 nificant investments in new biomedical research to 16 address COVID–19, existing research has been slowed 17 down or stopped due to COVID–19-modified oper- 18 ations of campuses and laboratories. 19 (5) Given the modified operations of many uni- 20 versity-based and national laboratories due to the 21 pandemic, Congress is concerned that the people who 22 comprise the research workforce (for example, grad- 23 uate and undergraduate students, post-doctoral stu- 24 dents, principal investigators, and administrative 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4286.RS S4286 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4286 RS and technical support staff) and the future health and 1 strength of the United States research enterprise and 2 manufacturing and technology economies, among oth- 3 ers, are at risk. 4 (6) While the research capacity of the United 5 States has demonstrated that it can absorb shocks and [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]