15 USC 278 - Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership

1 So in original. Two pars. (7) have been enacted.

Institution of higher education

2 So in original. Probably should refer to subsec. (m).

3 So in original.

4 See References in Text note below.

of this title.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subsections (c) and (d) of section 278i of this title, referred to in subsec. (m)(5)(B), which related to 3-year programmatic planning documents and annual updates, were repealed by Puspan. L. 114–329, title II, § 204(a)(1)(B)(i), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 2998.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(5). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(1), struck out “or consortium thereof,” before “an institution of higher education” and inserted “or a consortium thereof” before period at end.

Subsec. (a)(6) to (8). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10255(1)–(4), added pars. (6) defining historically Black college and university and (7) defining institution of higher education and redesignated former pars. (6) defining Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership or Program and (7) defining MEP Advisory Board as (7) and (8), respectively.

Subsec. (a)(9) to (11). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10255(5), added pars. (9) to (11).

Subsec. (c)(4). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(2), inserted “United States-based” before “industrial”.

Subsec. (c)(6). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(d)(1)(A), substituted “secondary schools, community colleges, and area career and technical education schools, including those in underserved and rural communities,” for “community colleges and area career and technical education schools”.

Subsec. (c)(7). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(d)(1)(B), substituted “local secondary schools and local colleges, including historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, minority-serving institutions, community colleges, and secondary schools and colleges in underserved and rural communities,” for “and local colleges” and inserted “or other applied learning opportunities” after “apprenticeships”.

Subsec. (d)(1). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(3)(A), inserted “at United States-based industrial facilities, including small and medium manufacturing companies” before “based”.

Subsec. (d)(2). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(3)(B), inserted “United States-based” before “companies”.

Subsec. (d)(3). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(d)(2), substituted “and local high schools, community colleges, and area career and technical education schools, including those in underserved and rural communities,” for “, community colleges, and area career and technical education schools,”.

Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(3)(C), inserted “United States-based” before “small”.

Subsec. (f)(5)(B)(i). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(4), inserted before semicolon at end “in the United States”.

Subsec. (l). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(a), amended subsec. (l) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In addition to such sums as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Director to operate the Program, the Secretary and Director may also accept funds from other Federal departments and agencies and from the private sector under section 272(c)(7) of this title, to be available to the extent provided by appropriations Acts, for the purpose of strengthening United States manufacturing.”

Subsec. (m)(4). Puspan. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(65)(A), substituted “Applicability of chapter 10 of title 5” for “FACA applicability” in heading.

Subsec. (m)(4)(A). Puspan. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(65)(B), substituted “chapter 10 of title 5.” for “the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).”

Subsec. (m)(4)(B). Puspan. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(65)(C), substituted “Section 1013 of title 5” for “Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act”.

Subsec. (n)(1)(A). Puspan. L. 117–167, § 10252(span)(5), inserted “United States-based” before “small”.

2017—Puspan. L. 114–329 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to establishment of regional centers for the transfer of manufacturing technology, the MEP Advisory Board, a competitive grant program, and an innovative services initiative.

2011—Subsec. (a). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(f)(3)(A), substituted “regional centers for the transfer of manufacturing technology” for “Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(6). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(a), added par. (6).

Subsec. (c)(7), (8). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(d), added pars. (7) and (8).

Subsec. (e)(4). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(e), amended par. (4) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In discharging its duties under this subsection, the MEP Advisory Board shall function solely in an advisory capacity, in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.”

Subsec. (f)(3). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 703(a), substituted “to add capabilities to the MEP program, including the development of” for “to develop” and “Centers may be reimbursed for costs incurred under the program. These themes—” for “These themes shall be related to projects associated with manufacturing extension activities, including supply chain integration and quality management, and including the transfer of technology based on the technological needs of manufacturers and available technologies from institutions of higher education, laboratories, and other technology producing entities, or extend beyond these traditional areas.” and added subpars. (A) to (C).

Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(i), substituted “Director of the Hollings MEP program,” for “Director of the Centers program,”.

Subsec. (f)(5). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 703(span), amended par. (5) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Awards under this subsection shall be peer reviewed and competitively awarded. The Director shall select proposals to receive awards—

“(A) that utilize innovative or collaborative approaches to solving the problem described in the competition;

“(B) that will improve the competitiveness of industries in the region in which the Center or Centers are located; and

“(C) that will contribute to the long-term economic stability of that region.”

Subsec. (f)(7). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 703(c), added par. (7) relating to duration.

Subsec. (f)(8), (9). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 703(c), added pars. (8) and (9).

Subsec. (g). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(span), added subsec. (g).

Subsec. (h). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(c), added subsec. (h).

Subsec. (i). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(f)(1), added subsec. (i).

Subsec. (j). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(f)(3)(B), added subsec. (j).

Subsec. (k). Puspan. L. 111–358, § 404(h), added subsec. (k).

2010—Subsec. (f)(7). Puspan. L. 111–240 added par. (7) relating to global marketplace projects.

2007—Subsec. (c)(3). Puspan. L. 110–69, § 3003(a), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (3) read as follows: “Any nonprofit institution, or group thereof, or consortia of nonprofit institutions, including entities existing on August 23, 1988, may submit to the Secretary an application for financial support under this subsection, in accordance with the procedures established by the Secretary and published in the Federal Register under paragraph (2). In order to receive assistance under this section, an applicant shall provide adequate assurances that it will contribute 50 percent or more of the proposed Center’s capital and annual operating and maintenance costs for the first three years and an increasing share for each of the last three years. Each applicant shall also submit a proposal for the allocation of the legal rights associated with any invention which may result from the proposed Center’s activities.”

Subsec. (c)(5). Puspan. L. 110–69, § 3003(span), inserted “A Center that has not received a positive evaluation by the evaluation panel shall be notified by the panel of the deficiencies in its performance and shall be placed on probation for one year, after which time the panel shall reevaluate the Center. If the Center has not addressed the deficiencies identified by the panel, or shown a significant improvement in its performance, the Director shall conduct a new competition to select an operator for the Center or may close the Center.” after “at declining levels.”

Subsec. (d). Puspan. L. 110–69, § 3003(c), added subsec. (d) and struck out former subsec. (d). Text of former subsec. (d) read as follows: “In addition to such sums as may be authorized and appropriated to the Secretary and Director to operate the Centers program, the Secretary and Director also may accept funds from other Federal departments and agencies for the purpose of providing Federal funds to support Centers. Any Center which is supported with funds which originally came from other Federal departments and agencies shall be selected and operated according to the provisions of this section.”

Subsec. (e). Puspan. L. 110–69, § 3003(d), added subsec. (e).

Subsec. (f). Puspan. L. 110–69, § 3003(e), added subsec. (f).

1998—Subsec. (c)(5). Puspan. L. 105–309 substituted “. After the sixth year, a Center may receive additional financial support under this section if it has received a positive evaluation through an independent review, under procedures established by the Institute. Such an independent review shall be required at least every two years after the sixth year of operation. Funding received for a fiscal year under this section after the sixth year of operation shall not exceed one third of the capital and annual operating and maintenance costs of the Center under the program.” for “, which are designed to ensure that the Center no longer needs financial support from the Institute by the seventh year. In no event shall funding for a Center be provided by the Department of Commerce after the sixth year of the operation of a Center.”

1992—Subsec. (c)(6). Puspan. L. 102–245, § 105(e)(1), inserted before period at end “except for contracts for such specific technology extension or transfer services as may be specified by statute or by the Director”.

Subsec. (d). Puspan. L. 102–245, § 105(e)(2), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows: “There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this section, a combined total of not to exceed $40,000,000 for fiscal years 1989 and 1990. Such sums shall remain available until expended.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Puspan. L. 108–447, div. B, title II, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2879, which in part renamed the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program authorized under this section as the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program and which named the centers established and receiving funding under former subsec. (a) of this section the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Centers, was repealed by Puspan. L. 111–358, title IV, § 404(f)(2), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4002.

Savings Provisions

Puspan. L. 114–329, title V, § 501(f), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3033, provided that: “Notwithstanding the amendments made by subsections (a) [sic; subsec. (a) is set out as a Short Title of 2017 Amendment note under section 271 of this title] and (span) of this section [amending this section], the Secretary of Commerce may carry out section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) as that section was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 6, 2017], with respect to existing grants, agreements, cooperative agreements, or contracts, and with respect to applications for such items that are received by the Secretary prior to the date of enactment of this Act.”

Resource Optimization

Puspan. L. 117–167, div. B, title II, § 10251(span), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1498, provided that: “Of amounts authorized for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program under section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k), the Secretary [of Commerce] shall optimize funding across sections 25 and 25A of such Act [15 U.S.C. 278k, 278k–1], as well as the program established under section 25B of such Act [15 U.S.C. 278k–2] (as added by subsection (a)), to the extent practicable and subject to the availability of appropriations, in order to maximize Center (as such term is defined in such section 25) participation as well as competitiveness, productivity, and technological performance in United States manufacturing.”

Patent Rights

Puspan. L. 114–329, title V, § 501(g), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3033, provided that: “The provisions of chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code, shall apply, to the extent not inconsistent with section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) and section 25 [sic] of that Act, to the promotion of technology from research by Centers under those sections, except for contracts for such specific technology extension or transfer services as may be specified by the Director of NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology] or under other law.”

Findings

Puspan. L. 111–358, title VII, § 702, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4041, provided that: “Congress finds the following:

“(1) Over its 20-year existence, the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership has proven its value to manufacturers as demonstrated by the resulting impact on jobs and the economies of all 50 States and the Nation as a whole.

“(2) The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership has helped thousands of companies reinvest in themselves through process improvement and business growth initiatives leading to more sales, new markets, and the adoption of technology to deliver new products and services.

“(3) Manufacturing is an increasingly important part of the construction sector as the industry moves to the use of more components and factory built suspan-assemblies.

“(4) Construction practices must become more efficient and precise if the United States is to construct and renovate its building stock to reduce related carbon emissions to levels that are consistent with combating global warming.

“(5) Many companies involved in construction are small, without access to innovative manufacturing techniques, and could benefit from the type of training and business analysis activities that the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership routinely provides to the Nation’s manufacturers and their supply chains.

“(6) Broadening the competitiveness grant program under [former] section 25(f) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act ([former] 15 U.S.C. 278k(f), now see 15 U.S.C. 278k–1) could help develop and diffuse knowledge necessary to capture a large portion of the estimated $100 billion or more in energy savings if buildings in the United States met the level and quality of energy efficiency now found in buildings in certain other countries.

“(7) It is therefore in the national interest to expand the capabilities of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership to be supportive of the construction and green energy industries.”

Agreements and Contributions for Collective Research and Development Initiatives

Puspan. L. 108–7, div. B, title II, Fespan. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 73, provided in part: “That hereafter the Secretary of Commerce is authorized to enter into agreements with one or more nonprofit organizations for the purpose of carrying out collective research and development initiatives pertaining to [former] 15 U.S.C. 278k paragraph (a), and is authorized to seek and accept contributions from public and private sources to support these efforts as necessary.”

Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation act:

Puspan. L. 107–77, title II, Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 774.

Additional Renewal of Federal Financial Assistance for Centers

Puspan. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(span) [title II], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–50, 2681–83, which provided that Federal financial assistance awarded by the Secretary of Commerce to a Regional Center for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology could continue beyond six years and could be renewed for additional periods, not to exceed one year, at a rate not to exceed one-third of the Center’s total annual costs or the level of funding in the sixth year, whichever was less, subject before any such renewal to a positive evaluation of the Center and to a finding by the Secretary of Commerce that continuation of Federal funding to the Center was in the best interest of the Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology Program, was from the Departments of Commerce Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, and was not repeated in subsequent appropriations Acts. Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation acts:

Puspan. L. 105–119, title II, Nov. 26, 1997, 111 Stat. 2476.

Puspan. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(a) [title II], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009, 3009–36.

Puspan. L. 103–317, title II, Aug. 26, 1994, 108 Stat. 1741.

Publication in Federal Register

Puspan. L. 100–519, title I, § 102(d), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2590, provided that the requirement of former subsec. (c)(2) of this section was met by the publication made by the National Bureau of Standards on July 18, 1988, at 53 F.R. 27060.