Sec. 1089. Securing American science and technology
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The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, acting through the National Science and Technology Council, in consultation with the National Security Advisor, shall establish an interagency working group to coordinate activities to protect federally funded research and development from foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft, or espionage and to develop common definitions and best practices for Federal science agencies and grantees, while accounting for the importance of the open exchange of ideas and international talent required for scientific progress and American leadership in science and technology.
The working group shall include a representative of— the National Science Foundation; the Department of Energy; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the Department of Commerce; the National Institutes of Health; the Department of Defense; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Education; the Department of State; the Department of the Treasury; the Department of Justice; the Department of Homeland Security; the Central Intelligence Agency; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; the Office of Management and Budget; the National Economic Council; and such other Federal department or agency as the President considers appropriate.
The working group shall be chaired by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (or the Director’s designee). The working group established under paragraph
(1)shall— identify known and potential cyber, physical, and human intelligence threats and vulnerabilities within the United States scientific and technological enterprise; coordinate efforts among agencies to share and update important information, including specific examples of foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft, or espionage directed at federally funded research and development or the integrity of the United States scientific enterprise; identify and assess existing mechanisms for protection of federally funded research and development; develop an inventory of— terms and definitions used across Federal science agencies to delineate areas that may require additional protection; and policies and procedures at Federal science agencies regarding protection of federally funded research; and develop and periodically update unclassified policy guidance to assist Federal science agencies and grantees in defending against threats to federally funded research and development and the integrity of the United States scientific enterprise that— includes— descriptions of known and potential threats to federally funded research and development and the integrity of the United States scientific enterprise; common definitions and terminology for categorization of research and technologies that are protected; identified areas of research or technology that might require additional protection; recommendations for how control mechanisms can be utilized to protect federally funded research and development from foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft or espionage, including any recommendations for updates to existing control mechanisms; recommendations for best practices for Federal science agencies, universities, and grantees to defend against threats to federally funded research and development, including coordination and harmonization of any relevant reporting requirements that Federal science agencies implement for grantees, and by providing such best practices with grantees and universities at the time of awarding such grants or entering into research contracts; a remediation plan for grantees and universities to mitigate the risks regarding such threats before research grants or contracts are cancelled because of such threats; assessments of potential consequences that any proposed practices would have on international collaboration and United States leadership in science and technology; and a classified addendum as necessary to further inform Federal science agency decisionmaking; and accounts for the range of needs across different sectors of the United States science and technology enterprise. The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall coordinate with the Academies to ensure that at least one member of the interagency working group is also a member of the roundtable under subsection (b). Not later than six months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall provide a report to the relevant committees that includes the inventory required under paragraph (3)(D), and an update on progress toward developing the policy guidance required under paragraph (3)(E), as well as any additional activities undertaken by the working group in that time. Two years after the date of enactment of this Act, and at least every two years thereafter, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall provide a summary report to the relevant committees on the activities of the working group and the most current version of the policy guidance required under paragraph (3)(E). The National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense, and any other agencies as determined by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall enter into a joint agreement with the Academies to create a new National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the roundtable ). The roundtable shall include senior representatives and practitioners from Federal science, intelligence, and national security agencies, law enforcement, as well as key stakeholders in the United States scientific enterprise including institutions of higher education, Federal research laboratories, industry, and non-profit research organizations. The purpose of the roundtable is to facilitate among participants— exploration of critical issues related to protecting United States national and economic security while ensuring the open exchange of ideas and international talent required for scientific progress and American leadership in science and technology; identification and consideration of security threats and risks involving federally funded research and development, including foreign interference, cyberattacks, theft, or espionage; identification of effective approaches for communicating the threats and risks identified in subparagraph
(b)to the academic and scientific community, including through the sharing of unclassified data and relevant case studies; sharing of best practices for addressing and mitigating the threats and risks identified in subparagraph (B); and examination of potential near- and long-term responses by the government and the academic and scientific community to mitigate and address the risks associated with foreign threats. The joint agreement under paragraph
(1)shall specify that— the roundtable shall periodically organize workshops and issue publicly available reports on the topics described in paragraph
(3)and the activities of the roundtable; and not later than March 1, 2020, the Academies shall provide a briefing to relevant committees on the progress and activities of the roundtable. There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Defense for fiscal years 2020 to 2024 to carry out this subsection. In this section: The term Academies means the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. The term Federal science agency means any Federal agency with at least $100,000,000 in basic and applied research obligations in fiscal year 2018. The term grantee means an entity that is— a recipient or subrecipient of a Federal grant or cooperative agreement; and an institution of higher education or a non-profit organization. The term relevant committees means— the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives; the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.