S.Amdt. 269

SA 269. Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Brown, Ms. Collins,
Mr. Carper, Mr. Coons, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Cortez Masto,
and Ms. Hirono) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him
to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in Subtitle B of title II, insert
the following:

SEC. ___. REAUTHORIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE
RESEARCH.

(a) Modification of Program Objectives.--Subsection (b) of
section 257 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 1995 (Public Law 103-337; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated by
paragraph (1), the following new paragraph (1):
``(1) To increase the number of university researchers in
eligible States capable of performing science and engineering
research responsive to the needs of the Department of
Defense.''; and
(3) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by
inserting ``relevant to the mission of the Department of
Defense and'' after ``that is''.
(b) Modification of Program Activities.--Subsection (c) of
such section is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraph (3):
``(3) To provide assistance to science and engineering
researchers at institutions of higher education in eligible
States through collaboration between Department of Defense
laboratories and such researchers.''.
(c) Modification of Eligibility Criteria for State
Participation.--Subsection (d) of such section is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``in areas relevant
to the mission of the Department of Defense'' after
``programs''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) The Under Secretary shall not remove a designation of
a State under paragraph (2) because the State exceeds the
funding levels specified under subparagraph (A) of such
paragraph unless the State has exceeded such funding levels
for at least two consecutive years.''.
(d) Modification of Name.--
(1) In general.--Such section is amended--
(A) in subsections (a) and (e) by striking ``Experimental''
each place it appears and inserting ``Established''; and
(B) in the section heading, by striking ``experimental''
and inserting ``established''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--Such Act is amended, in the table
of contents in section 2(b), by striking the item relating to
section 257 and inserting the following new item:

``Sec. 257. Defense established program to stimulate competitive
research.''.
(3) Conforming amendment.--Section 307 of the 1997
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from
Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts,
Including Those in Bosnia (Public Law 105-18) is amended by
striking ``Experimental'' and inserting ``Established''.
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