Sec. 4. Research Policy Board
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Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall establish a Research Policy Board (in this section referred to as the Board ) to review proposed Federal regulations as well as major policies and guidance governing the conduct of scientific and engineering research at research institutions. The Board shall be composed of no more than 15 members, including— representatives from nonprofit associations representing research institutions; administrators from research institutions; stakeholders from the scientific and engineering research community, including at least one externally funded researcher who does not hold an administrative position; and senior research policy officials from Federal research funding agencies capable of addressing a broad range of policy issues regarding the conduct of academic research and with significant input into that agency’s decisionmaking regarding the regulatory process, including representatives from— the National Institutes of Health; the National Science Foundation; and the Department of Defense.
Members of the Board from organizations outside the Federal Government shall serve in a representative capacity and shall not be appointed as a special government employee or receive a salary as a Federal employee, but may receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. The Board shall be co-chaired by— the Associate Administrator for the Academic Research Enterprise, appointed pursuant to subsection (g); and a member of the Board who satisfies the criteria described in paragraph (1), (2), or
(3)of subsection (b), appointed by the President. In general, the Board shall— provide advice to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the heads of Federal research funding agencies on actions that each could take to make Federal regulation of the academic research enterprise more efficient and less burdensome; promote a comprehensive approach to regulating the academic research enterprise at the Federal level and to improve and maintain a Federal regulatory environment that is conducive to efficient performance of the Federal-university research partnership, including identification of regulations that are duplicative or impose significant costs or unnecessary burdens; meet not less than semiannually; facilitate efforts within the Federal Government to coordinate new and existing regulations, policies, guidance, and application and reporting formats; review existing regulations, policies, and guidance documents that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, with the goal of modifying, streamlining, or repealing, as needed; identify legislative mandates that Federal agencies and research institutions believe are unnecessary or outdated; recommend ad hoc working groups to address particular regulations, policies, and guidance documents reviewed or identified by the Board under paragraph
(5)or
(6)governing the research enterprise that are under development or targeted for reform; provide for coordination of regulations among Federal agencies and maximize consultation with the groups affected by Federal research regulations at an early stage; assist research agencies in fostering a culture of integrity at research institutions in order to achieve the highest standards in institutional and individual behavior; and submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, an annual report on progress made by the Board toward reforming and streamlining research regulations, policies, and guidance documents, and make such report publicly available. The head of each Federal research funding agency shall— provide to the Board a regulatory plan, to be updated annually, with regulations, policies, and guidance documents that the agency head expects to issue in proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year to facilitate review by the Board; include, to the extent possible, alternatives to be considered and preliminary estimates of costs and benefits of the items contained in the plan; and submit to the Board draft regulatory actions, policies, and guidance documents as the documents become available. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, after consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall appoint from among the current full-time equivalent employees or individuals employed pursuant to the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 ( 42 U.S.C. 4701 note) within the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs an Associate Administrator for the Academic Research Enterprise. The Associate Administrator shall— serve as a liaison between the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; act as Co-Chair of the Board; meet with representatives from Federal agencies, research institutions, and other Federal and non-Federal stakeholder entities relevant to the Federal research enterprise several times per year; and establish working groups from the members of the Board, which may include non-Board members with relevant expertise to working groups as recommended by the Board, to address particular regulations, policies, and guidance documents governing the Federal research enterprise that are under development or targeted for reform by the Board. The Research Policy Board shall be treated as an advisory committee subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Not later than 24 months after the establishment of the Board, and every 24 months thereafter, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that— assesses the performance of the Board, including the quality of collaboration between the non-Federal and Federal members of the Board to advise on the regulatory process (including the development, reform, and harmonization of regulations, policies, and guidance documents), including whether— the Federal agency heads presented the regulatory plans required by subsection (f); the non-Federal members had the opportunity to effectively comment on such plans; the comments had an impact on the final rules developed; and working groups were established as required by subsection (g)(4); makes recommendations for improving collaboration, as necessary, for accomplishing the requirements of this section; assesses the degree to which Federal research funding agencies and the Office of Management and Budget take into account the input of the Board when promulgating new regulations, policies, and guidance documents, or harmonizing or reforming existing regulations and policies; and considers any other issues which the Comptroller General may find relevant to the performance and purposes of the Board. The provisions of this section shall expire ten years after the date of enactment of this Act.
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Sec. 4
Research Policy Board
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