109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3527
To require the Under Secretary of Technology of the Department
of Commerce to establish an Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software
Institute.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 15, 2006
Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Mr. KOHL) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To require the Under Secretary of Technology of the Department
of Commerce to establish an Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software
Institute.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Blue Collar Computing and Business Assistance
Act of 2006'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings- Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Computational science, the use of advanced computing capabilities
to understand and solve complex problems, including the development of
new products and processes, is now critical to scientific leadership,
economic competitiveness, and national security.
(2) Advances in computational science and high performance computing provide
a competitive advantage because they allow businesses to run faster simulations
of complex systems or to develop more precise computer models.
(3) The Federal Government is one of the investors in research aimed at
the development of new computational science and high-performance computing
capabilities.
(4) As determined by the Council on Competitiveness, the Nation's small
businesses and manufacturers must `Out Compute to Out Compete'. However,
new computational science technologies are not being transferred effectively
from the research organizations to small businesses and manufacturers.
(5) Small businesses and manufacturers are especially well-positioned
to benefit from increased availability and utilization of high-performance
computing technologies and software.
(6) Current cost and technology barriers associated with high-performance
computing and software algorithms often inhibit small businesses and manufacturers
from successfully making use of these technologies.
(7) The establishment of an advanced multidisciplinary computing software
institute will help make existing high performance computing resources
more accessible to small businesses and manufacturers. This will create
new opportunities for economic growth, jobs, and product development.
(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to provide grants for the creation
of an Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Institute that will--
(1) develop and compile high-performance computing software and algorithms
suitable for applications in small business and manufacturing;
(2) effectively carry out the transfer of new computational science and
high-performance computing technologies to small businesses and manufacturers;
and
(3) actively assist small businesses and manufacturers in utilizing such
technologies.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) ADVANCED MULTIDISCIPLINARY COMPUTING SOFTWARE CENTER; CENTER- The
term `Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Center' or `Center'
is a center created by an eligible entity with a grant awarded under section
4.
(2) ADVANCED MULTIDISCIPLINARY COMPUTING SOFTWARE INSTITUTE- The term
`Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Institute' means a network
of up to 5 Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing Software Centers located
throughout the United States.
(3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION- The term `nonprofit organization' means any
organization if such organization is described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from tax under section
501(a) of such Code.
(4) SMALL BUSINESS OR MANUFACTURER- The term `small business or manufacturer'
means a small business concern as that term is defined by section 3(a)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)), including a small manufacturing
concern.
(5) UNDER SECRETARY- The term `Under Secretary' means the Under Secretary
of Technology of the Department of Commerce.
SEC. 4. GRANTS.
(a) In General- The Under Secretary of Technology of the Department of Commerce
shall award grants to establish up to 5 Advanced Multidisciplinary Computing
Software Centers at eligible entities throughout the United States. Each
Center shall--
(1) conduct general outreach to small businesses and manufacturers in
all industry sectors within a geographic region assigned by the Under
Secretary; and
(2) conduct technology transfer, development, and utilization programs
relating to a specific industry sector, for all firms in that sector nationwide,
as assigned by the Under Secretary.
(b) Eligible Entities- For the purposes of this section, an eligible entity
is any--
(1) nonprofit organization;
(2) consortia of nonprofit organizations; or
(3) partnership between a for-profit and a nonprofit organization.
(1) IN GENERAL- Each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under
this Act shall submit an application to the Under Secretary, at such time,
in such manner, and accompanied by such additional information as the
Under Secretary may reasonably require.
(2) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER- The Under Secretary shall publish
the requirements described in paragraph (1) in the Federal Register no
later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) CONTENTS- Each application submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) An application that conforms to the requirements set by the Under
Secretary under paragraph (1).
(B) A proposal for the allocation of the legal rights associated with
any invention that may result from the activities of the proposed Center.
(4) SELECTION CRITERIA- Each application submitted under paragraph (1)
shall be evaluated by the Under Secretary on the basis of merit review.
In carrying out this merit review process, the Under Secretary shall consider--
(A) the extent to which the eligible entity--
(i) has a partnership with nonprofit organizations, businesses, software
vendors, and academia recognized for relevant expertise in their selected
industry sector;
(ii) makes use of State-funded academic supercomputing centers and
universities or colleges with expertise in the computational needs
of the industry assigned to the eligible entity under subsection (a)(1);
(iii) has a history of working with businesses;
(iv) has experience providing educational programs aimed at helping
organizations adopt the use of high-performance computing and computational
science;
(v) has partnerships with education or training organizations that
can help educate future workers on the application of computational
science to industry needs;
(vi) is accessible to businesses, academia, incubators, or other economic
development organizations via high-speed networks; and
(vii) is capable of partnering with small businesses and manufacturers
for the purpose of enhancing the ability of such entities to compete
in the global marketplace;
(B) the ability of the eligible entity to enter successfully into collaborative
agreements with small businesses and manufacturers in order to experiment
with new high performance computing and computational science technologies;
and
(C) such other factors as identified by the Under Secretary.
(d) Amount- A grant awarded under this section shall not exceed $5,000,000
for any year of the grant period.
(1) IN GENERAL- Except for a renewal under paragraph (2), the duration
of any grant awarded under subsection (a) may not exceed 5 years.
(2) RENEWAL- Any grant awarded under subsection (a) may be renewed at
the discretion of the Under Secretary.
(f) Matching Requirement-
(1) IN GENERAL- An eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection
(a) shall provide at least 50 percent of the capital and annual operating
and maintenance funds required to create and maintain a Center.
(2) FUNDING FROM OTHER FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES- The
funds provided by the eligible entity under paragraph (1) may consist
of amounts received by the eligible entity from a Federal department or
agency, other than the Department of Commerce, or a State or local government
agency.
(g) Limitation on Administrative Expenses- The Under Secretary may establish
a reasonable limitation on the portion of each grant awarded under subsection
(a) that may be used for administrative expenses or other overhead costs.
(h) Fees and Alternative Funding Sources Authorized-
(1) IN GENERAL- A Center established pursuant to this Act may, according
to regulations established by the Under Secretary--
(A) collect a nominal fee from a small business or manufacturer for
a service provided pursuant to this Act, if such fee is utilized for
the budget and operation of the Center; and
(B) accept funds from any other Federal department or agency for the
purpose of covering capital costs or operating budget expenses.
(2) CONDITION- Any Center that is supported with funds that originally
came from a Federal department or agency, other than the Department of
Commerce, may be selected, and if selected shall be operated, according
to the provisions of this section.
SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under section 4(a) shall use the
funds for the benefit of businesses in the industry sector designated by
the Under Secretary under such subsection, and the eligible entity shall
use such funds to--
(1) create a repository of nonclassified, nonproprietary new and existing
federally-funded software and algorithms;
(2) test and validate software in the repository;
(3) determine when and how the industry sector it serves could benefit
from resources in the repository;
(4) work with software vendors to commercialize repository software and
algorithms from the repository;
(5) make software available to small businesses and manufacturers where
it has not been commercialized by a software vendor;
(6) help software vendors, small businesses, and manufacturers test or
utilize the software on high-performance computing systems; and
(7) maintain a research and outreach team that will work with small businesses
and manufacturers to aid in the identification of software or computational
science techniques which can be used to solve challenging problems, or
meet contemporary business needs of such organizations.
SEC. 6. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.
(a) Report- Each eligible entity who receives a grant under section 4(a)
shall submit to the Under Secretary on an annual basis, a report describing
the goals of the Center established by the eligible entity and the progress
the eligible entity has achieved towards meeting the purposes of this Act.
(b) Evaluation- The Under Secretary shall establish a peer review committee,
consisting of representatives from industry and academia, to review the
goals and progress made by each Center during the grant period.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General- There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 to carry out the
provisions of this Act.
(b) Availability- Funds provided for the establishment and operation of
Centers under this Act shall remain available until expended.
END
