DC Dispatch
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May 22, 2015
New Senate Bill Introduced on DOE Tech Transfer
(National Laboratory Technology Maturation Act 2015)
Senators Heinrich (D-NM) and Bennet (D-CO) have introduced legislation: titled the
National Laboratory Technology Maturation Act (S. 1259), that will “launch a new
National Laboratory Technology Maturation Program (NLTMP) at the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) to facilitate successful commercialization of laboratory-developed
technologies and boost regional, technology-driven economic impacts.” From Sen.
Heinrich’s press release, “[Under the NLTMP], small businesses with licensed
technology from a national laboratory could apply for a voucher for up to up to $250,000
to purchase assistance from lab scientists and engineers to mature the technology and
further develop products and services until they are market-ready or sufficiently
developed to attract private investment. Small businesses with vouchers could also use
their local lab's special equipment, facilities, partner on a commercial prototype, or
perform early-stage feasibility or later-stage field testing. … [E]ach national laboratory
could apply to DOE for up to $5 million per year to pay the cost of the vouchers.” This is
a revised version of a similar bill introduced at the end of last session (See DC Dispatch
12-12-14). You can find the bill here. (Original Sources: Sen. Heinrich’s web site,
congress.gov)
House Passes Multiple Science-Related Bills
Six Science-Related Bills Passed the House
(Bipartisan)
Early this week the House passed: six bills that came out of the Science, Space and
Technology Committee. From the Majority press release, Committee Chair Lamar Smith
(R-TX), notes, “[T]hese are all good bipartisan bills. H.R. 1561 protects lives and
property through improved weather research to better forecast tornadoes and hurricanes
and to increase warning lead times. H.R. 1119 takes steps to cut through administrative
red tape to ensure our nation’s research investments are efficient and effective. H.R. 1156
improves economic and national security and supports U.S. foreign policy goals. H.R.
1162 promotes increased utilization of prize competitions within the federal government
to create technological breakthroughs. H.R. 1158 shows this Committee stands together
in wanting to further open up the capabilities and talents of the Department of Energy
(DOE) to private sector innovators. And H.R. 874 calls on DOE to develop a pathway
towards the next generation of supercomputing systems.” See the Committee’s Minority
press release here. See the above link for a blurb on the purpose of each bill – our folks
should be particularly interested in H.R. 1162 (on Prize Competitions) and H.R. 1158 (on
DOE Tech Transfer). (Original Sources: House SS&T committee web sites)
Contact:
Gary K. Jones, FLC DC Representative, gkjones.ctr@federallabs.org
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America COMPETES Reauthorization Passed the House
(Very much not bipartisan)
Early this week the House also passed: a partisan version of the America COMPETES
Reauthorization bill, also emanating from the House SS&T committee. From the
Majority press release, Committee Chair Smith (R-TX) notes, “H.R. 1806 prioritizes
basic research and development while staying within the caps set by the Budget Control
Act. America’s businesses rely on government support for basic research to produce the
scientific breakthroughs that spur technological innovation, jumpstart new industries and
spur economic growth. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle would have you
believe that the only way you can be pro-science is to spend more taxpayer money than
the Budget Control Act allows. Real priorities require making choices. H.R. 1806
proves that we can set priorities, make tough choices and still invest more in
breakthrough research and innovation.” See the Minority press release here. Ranking
Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), notes, “[H.R. 1806] abandons the legacy of
Competes by flat-funding R&D investments. It abandons that legacy by slashing funding
for the very ARPA-E program envisioned by the Augustine Committee. It abandons that
legacy by politicizing the scientific grant making process and pitting different research
disciplines against one another. I want to be clear about what it is that the Majority is
abandoning. They are abandoning our future.” Not exactly bipartisan. (Original Sources
House SS&T committee web sites)
More DOE News
DOE Office of Tech Transition Releases RFI
DOE OTT has released: a Request for Information to get “feedback from public and
private sector stakeholders regarding opportunities to enhance the commercial impact of
DOE's portfolio of Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment activities.”
From the RFI, the DOE OTT (established by the Secretary of Energy in February 2015),
seeks “input on how OTT can most effectively accomplish its mission over the short,
medium, and long-term. In addition to general input on opportunities to advance its
mission, OTT seeks specific input on key areas of interest, which are outlined below.”
They provide a list of topics as a guide the scope of responses. This list includes: 1) the
design and implementation of the technology commercialization fund, 2) approaches to
coordinating DOE activities to effectively transition technologies through the innovation
cycle and foster cross-research and development linkages, 3) clarifying, streamlining, or
otherwise improving existing central policies and procedures related to multiple areas
affecting the commercial impact of DOE’s RDD&D portfolio, 4) enhancing tech transfer
and commercialization at the national labs related to intramural research activities , and
5) enhancing the commercial impact of DOE’s RDD&D portfolio by transitioning and
commercializing DOE-sponsored technologies in collaboration with external partners
[i.e., extramural research activities]. The deadline for responding is June 10. (Original
Sources: DOE web site)
Contact:
Gary K. Jones, FLC DC Representative, gkjones.ctr@federallabs.org
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DOE Launches Technologist-in-Residence Pilot
DOE launched a Technologist-in-Residence pilot: in April to “catalyze strong national
laboratory-industry relationships that result in significant growth in high-impact
collaborative research and development.” From the web site, the goal of the TIR
program is to “increase collaborative research and development between national labs
and private sector companies [and] develop a streamlined method for companies to
establish long-term relationships with national laboratories that result in collaborative
research and development.” The TIR program is part of the Department’s Clean Energy
Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI), which is “is an effort across the U.S. Department of
Energy to strengthen U.S. clean energy manufacturing competitiveness.” (Original
Sources: DOE web site)
FY 2016 Federal Budget Status
Congress has now passed the FY 2016 budget resolution: along partisan lines, paving the
way for appropriations work to get started in earnest. As noted by AAAS, “the budget
resolution adopts sequestration-level discretionary spending in FY 2016, while proposing
significant nondefense cuts in future years. Recommendations for spending levels in the
years beyond FY 2016 don't have any binding significance and are ultimately political
statements, but the policy differences between Congress and the White House are
apparent when comparing them. With the budget resolution in hand, Congress can now
fully go about their appropriations business … But this may be where it gets difficult:
while the budget resolution only requires a simple majority in the Senate, appropriations
bills can be filibustered, and Senate Democrats have promised to do just that to bills that
adhere to that sequester-level budget. And even if appropriations make it through the
Senate, the President's veto pen awaits.” See the link for some agency-specific R&Drelated details in the resolution. (Original Sources: AAAS web site)
OMB Releases Budget Guidance for FY 2017
OMB has released: its guidance to agency and department heads for preparing their FY
2017 federal budget submissions. From the guidance memorandum, the FY 2017 Budget
should “continue to build on the investments and reforms proposed in the FY 2016
Budget. In addition, agency budget requests should reflect management strategies that
will help us deliver a Government that is more effective, efficient, and supportive of
economic growth. … To provide the President with the options needed to sustain or
augment critical investments and support effective programs, your FY 2017 budget
submission to OMB should reflect a 5 percent reduction below the net discretionary total
provided for your agency for FY 20 17 in the FY 20 16 Budget (unless otherwise directed
by OMB). This reduction applies equally to defense (budget function 050) and nondefense programs; agencies that are split between the two may not reduce defense by
more than 5 percent to offset non-defense or vice versa.” The guidance also mentions
support for Cross Agency Priority goals (which include lab-to-market initiatives).
(Original Sources: OMB web site)
Contact:
Gary K. Jones, FLC DC Representative, gkjones.ctr@federallabs.org
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Spotlight on Member Activities
(NASA Releases 1000 Software Programs)
NASA has recently released: it’s “second annual Software Catalog, a giant compendium
of over 1,000 programs available for free to industry, government agencies, and the
general public.” From the NASA website, “[T]he Software Catalog contains the actual
advanced engineering and aeronautics codes NASA engineers purpose-built for their
daily work. The Software Catalog stemmed from the October 28, 2011 Presidential
Memorandum on accelerating the commercialization of Federal research in support of
high-growth businesses, in which the President challenged all Federal agencies to find
new ways to increase the efficiency and economic impact of their technology transfer
activities. In response to this call to action, NASA developed a five-year plan for
accelerating technology transfer with several high-level objectives, one of which was to
locate, collect, and make accessible all of the agency’s software. The result was
the Software Catalog, a comprehensive offering of all of NASA’s releasable software,
including programs designated as open-source, codes-restricted, and government-use.
The first edition of the Software Catalog, published in May 2014, has been downloaded
over 100,000 times, and the Software Catalog website has received millions of visitors.
With the release of the second edition of the Software Catalog, NASA remains the first
and only agency to offer this comprehensive a collection of free software tools, and
serves as an example for others to follow.” (Original Sources: NASA web site)
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Note: The DC Dispatch is a periodic update of selected items of interest to the FLC and
technology transfer community -- i.e., current legislation, trends, reports, policy and other
developments potentially affecting technology transfer or related activities -- designed to
keep the community informed of relevant issues on a timely basis. Information is
gleaned directly from a variety of sources (newsletters, email alerts, web sites, direct
participation at events from the FLC DC Representative’s office, etc.) -- with original
sources, contacts and links provided.
Contact:
Gary K. Jones, FLC DC Representative, gkjones.ctr@federallabs.org
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