National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995


 * Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

{{SECTION|SEC. 1.|SECTION 1}}. SHORT TITLE.

 * This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 * The Congress finds the following:

(1) Bringing technology and industrial innovation to the marketplace is central to the economic, environmental, and social well-being of the people of the United States.

(2) The Federal Government can help United States business to speed the development of new products and processes by entering into cooperative research and development agreements which make available the assistance of Federal laboratories to the private sector, but the commercialization of technology and industrial innovation in the United States depends upon actions by business.

(3) The commercialization of technology and industrial innovation in the United States will be enhanced if companies, in return for reasonable compensation to the Federal Government, can more easily obtain exclusive licenses to inventions which develop as a result of cooperative research with scientists employed by Federal laboratories.

SEC. 3. USE OF FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY.

 * Subparagraph (B) of section 11(e)(7) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(e)(7)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

SEC. 4. TITLE TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ARISING FROM COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.

 * Subsection (b) of section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(b)) is amended to read as follows:

SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME FROM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RECEIVED BY FEDERAL LABORATORIES.

 * Section 14 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710c) is amended—

(1) by amending subsection (a)(1) to read as follows:

(2) in subsection (a)(2)—

(A) by inserting ‘‘or other payments’’ after ‘‘royalties’’; and

(B) by striking ‘‘for the purposes described in clauses (i) through (iv) of paragraph (1)(B) during that fiscal year or the succeeding fiscal year’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘under paragraph (1)(B)’’;

(3) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘$150,000’’;

(4) in subsection (a)(4)—

(A) by striking ‘‘income’’ each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘payments’’;

(B) by striking ‘‘the payment of royalties to inventors’’ in the first sentence thereof and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘payments to inventors’’;

(C) by striking ‘‘clause (i) of paragraph (1)(B)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘clause (iv) of paragraph (1)(B)’’;

(D) by striking ‘‘payment of the royalties,’’ in the second sentence thereof and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘offsetting the payments to inventors,’’; and

(E) by striking ‘‘clauses (i) through (iv) of’’; and

(5) by amending paragraph (1) of subsection (b) to read as follows:

SEC. 6. EMPLOYEE ACTIVITIES.

 * Section 15(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710d(a)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘the right of ownership to an invention under this Act’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘ownership of or the right of ownership to an invention made by a Federal employee’’; and

(2) by inserting ‘‘obtain or’’ after ‘‘the Government, to’’.

SEC. 7. AMENDMENT TO BAYH–DOLE ACT.

 * Section 210(e) of title 35, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘, as amended by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986,’’.

SEC. 8. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ACT AMENDMENTS.

 * The National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et seq.) is amended—

(1) in section 10(a)—

(A) by striking ‘‘nine’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘15’’; and

(B) by striking ‘‘five’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘10’’;

(2) in section 15—

(A) by striking ‘‘Pay Act of 1945; and’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Pay Act of 1945;’’; and

(B) by inserting ‘‘; and (h) the provision of transportation services for employees of the Institute between the facilities of the Institute and nearby public transportation, notwithstanding section 1344 of title 31, United States Code’’ after ‘‘interests of the Government’’; and

(3) in section 19—

(A) by inserting ‘‘, subject to the availability of appropriations,’’ after ‘‘post-doctoral fellowship program’’; and

(B) by striking ‘‘nor more than forty’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘nor more than 60’’.

SEC. 9. RESEARCH EQUIPMENT.

 * Section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(i)) is amended by inserting ‘‘loan, lease, or’’ before ‘‘give’’.

SEC. 10. PERSONNEL.

 * The personnel management demonstration project established under section 10 of the National Bureau of Standards Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 (15 U.S.C. 275 note) is extended indefinitely.

SEC. 11. FASTENER QUALITY ACT AMENDMENTS.
(a) .—Section 2 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401) is amended—

(1) by striking subsection (a)(4), and redesignating paragraphs (5) through (9) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively;

(2) in subsection (a)(7), as so redesignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘by lot number’’; and

(3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘used in critical applications’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘in commerce’’.

(b) .—Section 3 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5402) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1)(B) by striking ‘‘having a minimum tensile strength of 150,000 pounds per square inch’’;

(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘consensus’’ after ‘‘or any other’’;

(3) in paragraph (5)—

(A) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘standard or specification,’’ in subparagraph (B);

(B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (C);

(C) by striking subparagraph (D); and

(D) by inserting ‘‘or produced in accordance with ASTMF 432’’ after ‘‘307 Grade A’’;

(4) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘other person’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘government agency’’;

(5) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘Standard’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Standards’’;

(6) by striking paragraph (11) and redesignating paragraphs (12) through (15) as paragraphs (11) through (14), respectively;

(7) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated by paragraph (6) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘, a government agency’’ and all that follows through ‘‘markings of any fastener’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or a government agency’’; and

(8) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated by paragraph (6) of this subsection, by inserting ‘‘for the purpose of achieving a uniform hardness’’ after ‘‘quenching and tempering’’.

(c) .—Section 4 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5403) is repealed.

(d) .—Section 5 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5404) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)(1)(B) and (2)(A)(i) by striking ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections (b), (c), and (d)’’;

(2) in subsection (c)(2) by striking ‘‘or, where applicable’’ and all that follows through ‘‘section 7(c)(1)’’;

(3) in subsection (c)(3) by striking ‘‘, such as the chemical, dimensional, physical, mechanical, and any other’’;

(4) in subsection (c)(4) by inserting ‘‘except as provided in subsection (d),’’ before ‘‘state whether’’; and

(5) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(e) .—Section 6(a)(1) of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5405(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The’’.

(f) .—Section 7 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5406) is amended—

(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

(2) in subsection (c)(2) by inserting ‘‘to the same’’ after ‘‘in the same manner and’’;

(3) in subsection (d)(1) by striking ‘‘certificate’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘test report’’; and

(4) by striking subsections (e), (f), and (g) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

(g) .—Section 9 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5408) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(h) .—Section 10 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5409) is amended—

(1) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘10 years’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘5 years’’; and

(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘any subsequent’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the subsequent’’.

(i) .—Section 13 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5412) is amended by striking ‘‘within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act’’.

(j) .—Section 14 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5413) is repealed.

SEC. 12. STANDARDS CONFORMITY.
(a) .—Section 2(b) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(b)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, including comparing standards’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Federal Government’’;

(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (11) as paragraphs (4) through (12), respectively; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:

(b) .—Section 2(b) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(b)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (11), as so redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this section;

(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (12), as so redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this section, and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(c) .—The National Institute of Standards and Technology shall, within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, transmit to the Congress a plan for implementing the amendments made by this section.

(d) .—

(1) .—Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, all Federal agencies and departments shall use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies, using such technical standards as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities determined by the agencies and departments.

(2) .—In carrying out paragraph (1) of this subsection, Federal agencies and departments shall consult with voluntary, private sector, consensus standards bodies and shall, when such participation is in the public interest and is compatible with agency and departmental missions, authorities, priorities, and budget resources, participate with such bodies in the development of technical standards.

(3) .—If compliance with paragraph (1) of this subsection is inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical, a Federal agency or department may elect to use technical standards that are not developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies if the head of each such agency or department transmits to the Office of Management and Budget an explanation of the reasons for using such standards. Each year, beginning with fiscal year 1997, the Office of Management and Budget shall transmit to Congress and its committees a report summarizing all explanations received in the preceding year under this paragraph.

(4) .—As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘technical standards’’ means performance based or design-specific technical specifications and related management systems practices.

SEC. 13. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 * It is the sense of the Congress that the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program offers substantial benefits to United States industry, and that all funds appropriated for such program should be spent in support of the goals of the program.

Approved March 7, 1996.

Legislative History

 * HOUSE REPORTS:
 * No. 104–390, (Comm. on Science)
 * SENATE REPORTS:
 * No. 104–194, (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)
 * CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 141 (1995):
 * Dec. 12, considered and passed House.
 * CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 142 (1996):
 * Feb. 7, considered and passed Senate, amended.
 * Feb. 27, House concurred in Senate amendments.
 * Feb. 27, House concurred in Senate amendments.

