[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3530 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3530
To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to
provide for prize competitions to stimulate innovations that advance
the missions of Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2010
Mr. Pryor (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to
provide for prize competitions to stimulate innovations that advance
the missions of Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
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 ``Reward Innovation in America Act of
2010''.
SEC. 2. PRIZE COMPETITIONS.
The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 24. PRIZE COMPETITIONS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' means a Federal agency.
``(2) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' has the
meaning given under section 4, except that term shall not
include any agency of the legislative branch of the Federal
Government.
``(3) Head of an agency.--The term `head of an agency'
means the head of a Federal agency.
``(b) In General.--Each head of an agency may carry out a program
to award prizes competitively to stimulate innovation that has the
potential to advance the mission of the respective agency.
``(c) Prizes.--For purposes of this section, a prize may be one or
more of the following:
``(1) A point solution prize that rewards and spurs the
development of solutions for a particular, well-defined
problem.
``(2) An exposition prize that helps identify and promote a
broad range of ideas and practices that may not otherwise
attract attention, facilitating further development of the idea
or practice by third parties.
``(3) Participation prizes that create value during and
after the competition by encouraging contestants to change
their behavior or develop new skills that may have beneficial
effects during and after the competition.
``(4) Such other types of prizes as each head of an agency
considers appropriate to stimulate innovation that has the
potential to advance the mission of the respective agency.
``(d) Topics.--In selecting topics for prize competitions, the head
of an agency shall consult widely both within and outside the Federal
Government, and may empanel advisory committees.
``(e) Advertising.--The head of an agency shall widely advertise
each prize competition to encourage broad participation.
``(f) Requirements and Registration.--For each prize competition,
the head of an agency shall publish a notice in the Federal Register
announcing--
``(1) the subject of the competition;
``(2) the rules for being eligible to participate in the
competition;
``(3) the process for participants to register for the
competition;
``(4) the amount of the prize; and
``(5) the basis on which a winner will be selected.
``(g) Eligibility.--To be eligible to win a prize under this
section, an individual or entity--
``(1) shall have registered to participate in the
competition under any rules promulgated by the head of an
agency under subsection (f);
``(2) shall have complied with all the requirements under
this section;
``(3) in the case of a private entity, shall be
incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the
United States, and in the case of an individual, whether
participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen or
permanent resident of the United States; and
``(4) may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee
acting within the scope of their employment.
``(h) Consultation With Federal Employees.--An individual or entity
shall not be deemed ineligible under subsection (g) because such
individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal
employees during a competition if such facilities and employees are
made available to all individuals and entities participating in the
competition on an equitable basis.
``(i) Liability.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term
`related entity' means a contractor or subcontractor at
any tier, and a supplier, user, customer, cooperating
party, grantee, investigator, or detailee.
``(B) Liability.--Registered participants shall be
required to agree to assume any and all risks and waive
claims against the Federal Government and its related
entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for
any injury, death, damage, or loss of property,
revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or
consequential, arising from their participation in a
competition, whether such injury, death, damage, or
loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
``(2) Insurance.--Participants shall be required to obtain
liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in
amounts determined by the head of an agency, for claims by--
``(A) a third party for death, bodily injury, or
property damage, or loss resulting from an activity
carried out in connection with participation in a
competition, with the Federal Government named as an
additional insured under the registered participant's
insurance policy and registered participants agreeing
to indemnify the Federal Government against third-party
claims for damages arising from or related to
competition activities; and
``(B) the Federal Government for damage or loss to
Government property resulting from such an activity.
``(3) Exception.--The head of an agency may not require a
participant to waive claims against the administering entity
arising out of the unauthorized use or disclosure by the agency
of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential
business information of the participant.
``(j) Intellectual Property.--
``(1) Prohibition on the government acquiring intellectual
property rights.--The Federal Government may not gain an
interest in intellectual property developed by a participant in
a competition without the written consent of the participant.
``(2) Licenses.--The Federal Government may negotiate a
license for the use of intellectual property developed by a
participant for a competition.
``(k) Judges.--
``(1) In general.--For each competition, the head of an
agency, either directly or through an agreement under
subsection (l), shall appoint one or more qualified judges to
select the winner or winners of the prize competition on the
basis described under subsection (f). Judges for each
competition may include individuals from outside the agency,
including from the private sector.
``(2) Restrictions.--A judge may not--
``(A) have personal or financial interests in, or
be an employee, officer, director, or agent of any
entity that is a registered participant in a
competition; or
``(B) have a familial or financial relationship
with an individual who is a registered participant.
``(3) Guidelines.--The heads of agencies who carry out
competitions under this section shall develop guidelines to
ensure that the judges appointed for such competitions are
fairly balanced and operate in a transparent manner.
``(4) Exemption from faca.--The Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to any committee, board,
commission, panel, task force, or similar entity, created
solely for the purpose of judging prize competitions under this
section.
``(l) Administering the Competition.--The head of an agency may
enter into an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to administer
a prize competition, subject to the provisions of this section.
``(m) Funding.--
``(1) In general.--Support for a prize competition under
this section, including financial support for the design and
administration of a prize or funds for a monetary prize purse,
may consist of Federal appropriated funds and funds provided by
the private sector for such cash prizes. The head of an agency
may accept funds from other Federal agencies to support such
competitions. The head of an agency may not give any special
consideration to any private sector entity in return for a
donation.
``(2) Availability of funds.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, funds appropriated for prize awards under
this section shall remain available until expended, and may be
transferred, reprogrammed, or expended for other purposes only
after the expiration of 10 fiscal years after the fiscal year
for which the funds were originally appropriated. No provision
in this section permits obligation or payment of funds in
violation of section 1341 of title 31, United States Code.
``(3) Amount of prize.--
``(A) Announcement.--No prize may be announced
under subsection (f) until all the funds needed to pay
out the announced amount of the prize have been
appropriated or committed in writing by a private
source.
``(B) Increase in amount.--The head of an agency
may increase the amount of a prize after an initial
announcement is made under subsection (f) only if--
``(i) notice of the increase is provided in
the same manner as the initial notice of the
prize; and
``(ii) the funds needed to pay out the
announced amount of the increase have been
appropriated or committed in writing by a
private source.
``(4) Limitation on amount.--
``(A) Notice to congress.--No prize competition
under this section may offer a prize in an amount
greater than $50,000,000 unless 30 days have elapsed
after written notice has been transmitted to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
the Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology
of the House of Representatives.
``(B) Approval of head of agency.--No prize
competition under this section may result in the award
of more than $1,000,000 in cash prizes without the
approval of the head of an agency.
``(n) General Service Administration Assistance.--Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the General
Services Administration shall provide Government-wide services to share
best practices and assist agencies in developing guidelines for issuing
prize competitions. The General Services Administration shall develop a
contract vehicle to provide agencies access to relevant products and
services, including technical assistance in structuring and conducting
prize competitions to take maximum benefit of the marketplace as they
identify and pursue prize competitions to further the policy objectives
of the Federal Government.
``(o) Compliance With Existing Law.--The Federal Government shall
not, by virtue of offering or providing a prize under this section, be
responsible for compliance by registered participants in a prize
competition with Federal law, including licensing, export control, and
nonproliferation laws, and related regulations.
``(p) Annual Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science and
Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the
activities carried out during the preceding fiscal year under
the authority in subsection (b).
``(2) Information included.--The report for a fiscal year
under this subsection shall include, for each prize competition
under subsection (b), the following:
``(A) Proposed goals.--A description of the
proposed goals of each prize competition.
``(B) Preferable method.--An analysis of why the
utilization of the authority in subsection (b) was the
preferable method of achieving the goals described in
subparagraph (A) as opposed to other authorities
available to the agency, such as contracts, grants, and
cooperative agreements.
``(C) Amount of cash prizes.--The total amount of
cash prizes awarded for each prize competition,
including a description of amount of private funds
contributed to the program, the sources of such funds,
and the manner in which the amounts of cash prizes
awarded and claimed were allocated among the accounts
of the agency for recording as obligations and
expenditures.
``(D) Solicitations and evaluation of
submissions.--The methods used for the solicitation and
evaluation of submissions under each prize competition,
together with an assessment of the effectiveness of
such methods and lessons learned for future prize
competitions.
``(E) Resources.--A description of the resources,
including personnel and funding, used in the execution
of each prize competition together with a detailed
description of the activities for which such resources
were used and an accounting of how funding for
execution was allocated among the accounts of the
agency for recording as obligations and expenditures.
``(F) Results.--A description of how each prize
competition advanced the mission of the agency
concerned.''.
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