Policy Update: Status of COMPETES Reauthorization

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1 Policy Update: Status of COMPETES Reauthorization Lewis Burke Associates LLC August 7, 2014 As Lewis Burke has reported throughout the year, both the House and Senate are attempting to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, which originally passed in 2007 in response to the National Academies Rising Above the Gathering Storm report. The original legislation authorized doubling the funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy s (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). COMPETES was last reauthorized for fiscal years (FY) 2011 through 2013, resulting in its expiration on September 30, Although the House Science, Space, and Technology (HSST) Committee held a hearing and mark ups for its version of COMPETES, the Frontiers in Innovative Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) Act, the controversial legislation has not made it to the floor for a vote. HSST had also planned to move a separate DOE bill; however, the bill has not been able to move past the Subcommittee level. Not able to advance these larger bills, the House passed several smaller bills that were similar to a few noncontroversial provisions in the FIRST Act and the House Democratic version of COMPETES. The Senate meanwhile introduced its version of the COMPETES reauthorization bill, S. 2757, on July 31. While this bill includes much higher authorization levels and is far less controversial than the House FIRST Act, it is unclear exactly when the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation (CST) Committee will markup the legislation, let alone when the legislation would be considered by the full Senate. Given the few remaining legislative days on the calendar, the uncertainty of Senate action, and that the House has yet to vote on the FIRST Act, it is increasingly likely that a complete COMPETES reauthorization will have to wait until next year and a new Congress. However, there is some speculation that both chambers could move on the non controversial provisions, passing those into law. Below are short summaries of the Senate COMPETES bill, the most recent Senate COMPETES hearing, and the non controversial bills passed in the House. As always, Lewis Burke will continue to provide updates as progress is made to reauthorize COMPETES. Summary of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014 Introduced in the Senate On July 31, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D WV), along with Senators Dick Durbin (D IL), Bill Nelson (D FL), Mark Pryor (D AR), Chris Coons (D DE), and Edward Markey (D MA), introduced a Senate version of the America COMPETES Act reauthorization. Like the FIRST Act, the bill would include authorizations for NSF, NIST, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). There is also language on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The major difference between the Senate bill and the FIRST Act is authorization levels. For NSF, the Senate bill would authorize funding for five years (FY 2015 through FY 2019), increasing overall funding

2 authorization levels by 6.6 or 6.7 percent each year and Research and Related Activities funding by 7.2 percent each year. This is substantially above the relatively flat two year authorization in the FIRST Act. The bill also has a different tone than the FIRST Act, praising NSF s merit review process as well as its investment in basic research in general and social and behavioral science in particular. The Senate bill focuses on many of the same topics and themes as the FIRST Act. For example, the OSTP section calls for the creation of an interagency committee to examine reducing administrative burdens and regulatory costs for researchers, similar to the Research and Development Efficiency Act that passed the House. The bill would also provide guidance on prize competitions and the interagency STEM strategic plan. The Senate bill includes additional provisions for OSTP. One would direct OSTP to coordinate policy across science agencies for helping career life balance, workplace flexibility, and family responsive initiatives, while another emphasizes the importance of federal agency participation in science and technology conferences. Within the NSF subtitle, the bill mostly focuses on issues related to STEM education and commercialization of research results. Like the House Democratic COMPETES draft, the Senate bill would authorize and provide guidance on many current NSF activities, including informal STEM education, Noyce fellowships, STEM teacher training programs, broadening participation programs, graduate traineeships, and I Corps. As in the FIRST Act, the bill would call on NSF to grow the Graduate Research Fellowship program and the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program at the same rate. The Senate bill would also encourage NSF to support early undergraduate research opportunities, urges support for graduate traineeship experiences that give students skills for workforce needs outside academia, and calls on the National Science Board to assess K 12 science comprehension as part of its biannual Science and Engineering Indicators. Similar to the 2010 COMPETES bill, the Senate bill also includes extensive guidance on the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Unlike the FIRST Act and similar to the 2010 COMPETES bill, the Senate would include language authorizing STEM education activities at NASA and NOAA. The bill would also call on NASA to continue its EPSCoR program and maintain core capabilities in foundational engineering. The bill would additionally call on NSF and the Department of Education to jointly administer a grants program to support the development of STEM secondary schools by state education agencies. The Senate bill does not contain controversial provisions of the FIRST Act on public access, use of rotating personnel, or research misconduct. With regards to NIST, the Senate bill would authorize funding for five years from FY 2015 through FY Total funding for the agency would increase by 7.4 percent in FY 2015 and by 6.7 percent in each remaining year. These increases are much higher than included in the House bill, which would keep funding levels essentially flat compared to FY Like the House bill, the majority of the language is devoted to reauthorizing the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. The bill would also create a Manufacturing Fellowship Program for postdoctoral researchers and researchers at universities and within industry. In addition, the bill would create the NIST Foundation to be established by a nonprofit organization. The foundation would support international engagement activities, education and outreach activities, and guest researchers at NIST facilities. Regarding economic development and innovation activities, the bill would authorize $25 million for each year (FY 2015 through FY 2019) for Regional Innovation Clusters. The bill directs the President to

3 develop a national strategic plan for advanced manufacturing, including plans for manufacturing R&D activities. In addition, the bill directs federal science agencies to partner with industry and academia to leverage knowledge in optics and photonics research. Sources and Additional Information The press release announcing the introduction of the bill as well as a link to the bill text can be found at ffaa c71a 4630 a25f 3e24aabd263d. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation COMPETES Hearing On Thursday, July 17, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing, The Federal Research Portfolio: Capitalizing on Investments in R&D, in which they discussed federal investments in research and development (R&D) and the importance of STEM research. In his opening comments, Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D WV) emphasized the benefits of basic STEM research and its positive contribution to the public. He advocated that science research must be a congressional priority and highlighted the need for bipartisan cooperation. Following Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member John Thune (R SD) remarked on the need for bipartisan support for science research. Senator Thune was curious as to partnerships in R&D, current obstacles to research, and methods to incentivize U.S. trained foreign researchers to remain within the U.S. research community. The witnesses included: Dr. Vinton Cerf (Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google; Member, National Science Board) Ms. Mariette DiChristina (Editor in Chief and Senior Vice President, Scientific American) Dr. Neal Lane (Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Malcolm Gillis University Professor and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University; Co Chair, Committee on New Models for U.S. Science and Technology Policy, American Academy of Arts & Sciences) Dr. Stephen Fienberg (Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science, Department of Statistics, the Machine Learning Department, the Heinz College, and Cylab, Carnegie Mellon University) The witnesses echoed the Senators sentiments regarding the need for science research and federal support. Witnesses argued for sustained federal investment in research, particularly basic research, as private sector motivations limit businesses investment in research. Witnesses also commented on increased support in R&D from competitors like China and the need for strong investments now in order to remain competitive long term. In their questioning, the Senators touched on foreign research talent in the U.S., the U.S. s commitment to science in relation to other countries, efficiency in research, R&D tax credits, benefits from failed research, and best practices for engaging youth with STEM education. Throughout the hearing, there was no reference to House attempts to reauthorize COMPETES legislation through the FIRST Act.

4 Sources and Additional Information: An archived webcast of the hearing and the witnesses written testimonies are available at b2a7 4def bd97 ae9c3b50daba&contenttype_id=14f995b9 dfa5 407a 9d35 56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=b06c39af e033 4cba 9221 de668ca1978a. House Passes COMPETES/FIRST Act Themed Legislation As mentioned, in July the House passed several pieces of legislation with COMPETES/FIRST Act themes. Below are short summaries of each. Research and Development Efficiency Act (H.R. 5056) Administrative burden on researchers and institutions is receiving attention from Congress, and this legislation would have the OSTP Director establish a working group to review federal regulations impacting researchers and research universities to minimize the burden and streamline federal regulations and reporting requirements. International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2014 (H.R. 5029) This legislation directs OSTP to establish a body under the National Science and Technology Council to identify and coordinate international science and technology cooperation that can strengthen the United States science and technology enterprise, improve economic and national security, and support United States foreign policy goals. Responsibilities would include coordinating interagency international science and technology training and partnership activities; establishing federal priorities and policies for aligning international research activities supported by federal agencies; identifying new opportunities (with stakeholder input); and identifying broad issues that influence the ability to collaborate with foreign counterparts, including barriers to collaboration and access to scientific information. STEM Education Act (H.R. 5031) This legislation adds computer science to the definition of STEM for federal science agencies. The legislation also authorizes NSF informal STEM education grants, and expands the eligibility of the Noyce Master Teacher Fellowship program to math and science teachers that have a bachelor s degree in a STEM field. NIST Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 5035) This bill would reauthorize NIST until FY 2016 at levels lower than the Senate COMPETES legislation. The bill reauthorizes the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program and the Postdoctoral Fellowship program and requires NIST to work with the National Research Council on a report assessing the internal NIST laboratories. Sources and Additional Information: HSST Committee majority press release on passage of H.R. 5056, H.R. 5029, and H.R is available at release/house approves four committee bills. HSST Committee minority press release on passage of H.R. 5056, H.R. 5029, and H.R is available at release/house passes several sciencecommittee bills. HSST Committee majority press release on passage of H.R is available at release/house passes two committee bills.

5 HSST Committee minority press release on passage of H.R is available at release/house passes nist reauthorization and doelabs tech transfer bill.