S.Amdt. 3097

SA 3097. Mr. COONS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms. Murkowski to the bill S. 2012, to
provide for the modernization of the energy policy of the United
States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:

On page 359, strike line 7 and insert the following:

SEC. 4204. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR COMMERCIALIZATION.

(a) Definition of National Laboratory.--
(1) In general.--In this section, the term ``National
Laboratory'' means a nonmilitary national laboratory owned by
the Department.
(2) Inclusions.--The term ``National Laboratory''
includes--
(A) Ames Laboratory;
(B) Argonne National Laboratory;
(C) Brookhaven National Laboratory;
(D) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory;
(E) Idaho National Laboratory;
(F) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory;
(G) National Energy Technology Laboratory;

[[Page S369]]

(H) National Renewable Energy Laboratory;
(I) Oak Ridge National Laboratory;
(J) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory;
(K) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory;
(L) Savannah River National Laboratory;
(M) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center;
(N) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility; and
(O) any laboratory operated by the National Nuclear
Security Administration, with respect to the civilian energy
activities conducted at the laboratory.
(b) Public-private Partnerships for Commercialization.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) through (4), the
Secretary shall delegate to directors of the National
Laboratories signature authority with respect to any
agreement described in paragraph (2) the total cost of which
(including the National Laboratory contributions and project
recipient cost share) is less than $1,000,000, if the
agreement falls within the scope of--
(A) a strategic plan for the National Laboratory that has
been approved by the Department; or
(B) the most recent congressionally approved budget for
Department activities to be carried out by the National
Laboratory.
(2) Agreements.--Paragraph (1) applies to--
(A) a cooperative research and development agreement;
(B) a non-Federal work-for-others agreement; and
(C) any other agreement determined to be appropriate by the
Secretary, in collaboration with the directors of the
National Laboratories.
(3) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to an
agreement with a majority-foreign-owned company.
(4) Administration.--
(A) Accountability.--The director of the affected National
Laboratory and the affected contractor shall carry out an
agreement under this subsection in accordance with applicable
policies of the Department, including by ensuring that the
agreement does not compromise any national security,
economic, or environmental interest of the United States.
(B) Certification.--The director of the affected National
Laboratory and the affected contractor shall certify that
each activity carried out under a project for which an
agreement is entered into under this subsection does not
present, or minimizes, any apparent conflict of interest, and
avoids or neutralizes any actual conflict of interest, as a
result of the agreement under this subsection.
(C) Availability of records.--On entering an agreement
under this subsection, the director of a National Laboratory
shall submit to the Secretary for monitoring and review all
records of the National Laboratory relating to the agreement.
(D) Rates.--The director of a National Laboratory may
charge higher rates for services performed under a
partnership agreement entered into pursuant to this
subsection, regardless of the full cost of recovery, if the
funds are exclusively used to support further research and
development activities at the applicable National Laboratory.
(5) Conforming amendment.--Section 12 of the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting the
subparagraphs appropriately;
(ii) by striking ``Each Federal agency'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
each Federal agency''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in
accordance with section 4204(b)(1) of the Energy Policy
Modernization Act of 2015, approval by the Secretary of
Energy shall not be required for any technology transfer
agreement proposed to be entered into by a National
Laboratory of the Department of Energy, the total cost of
which (including the National Laboratory contributions and
project recipient cost share) is less than $1,000,000.''; and
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ``subsection (a)(1)''
each place it appears and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)(A)''.
(c) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section abrogates or
otherwise affects the primary responsibilities of any
National Laboratory to the Department.

SEC. 4205. MICROLAB TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION.

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