Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 116 Part 3.djvu/344

 116 STAT. 1936 PUBLIC LAW 107-277—NOV. 5, 2002 Nov. 5, 2002 Public Law 107-277 107th Congress An Act To authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to work with major manufacturing industries on an initiative of standards development and [H.R. 2733] implementation for electronic enterprise integration. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Enterprise the United States of America in Congress assembled, Integration Act of 2002. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. note ^~ This Act may be cited as the "Enterprise Integration Act of 2002". 15 USC 278g-5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress makes the following findings: (1) Over 90 percent of United States companies engaged in manufacturing are small- and medium-sized businesses. (2) Most of these manufacturers produce goods for assemblage into products of large companies. (3) The emergence of the World Wide Web and the promulgation of international standards for product data exchange greatly accelerated the movement toward electronically integrated supply chains during the last half of the 1990's. (4) European and Asian countries are investing heavily in electronic enterprise standards development, and in preparing their smaller manufacturers to do business in the new environment. European efforts are well advanced in the aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries and are beginning in other industries including home building, furniture manufacturing, textiles, and apparel. This investment could give overseas companies a major competitive advantage. (5) The National Institute of Standards and Technology, because of the electronic commerce expertise in its laboratories and quality program, its long history of working cooperatively with manufacturers, and the nationwide reach of its manufacturing extension program, is in a unique position to help United States large and smaller manufacturers alike in their responses to this challenge. (6) It is, therefore, in the national interest for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to accelerate its efforts in helping industry develop standards and enterprise integration processes that are necessary to increase efficiency and lower costs. 15 USC 278g-5 SEC. 3. ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION INITIATIVE. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish an initiative for advancing enterprise integration within the United States. In

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