42 U.S.C. § 19331 — Microelectronics research for energy in-

Page 9357 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 19331 participate in this program at each National Laboratory and the number of employees who take a permanent leave from their positions at National Laboratories as a result of partici- pating in this program. (e) Federal ethics Nothing in this section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal per- sonnel. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10719, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1707.) § 19313. National Laboratory non-Federal em- ployee outside employment authority (a) In general The Secretary shall delegate to Directors of National Laboratories the authority to allow their non-Federal employees— (1) to engage in outside employment, includ- ing start-up companies based on licensing technologies developed at National Labora- tories and consulting in their areas of exper- tise, and receive compensation from such enti- ties; and (2) to engage in outside activities related to their areas of expertise at the National Lab- oratory and may allow employees, in their em- ployment capacity at such outside employ- ment, to access the National Laboratories under the same contracting mechanisms as non-Laboratory employees and entities, in ac- cordance with appropriate conflict of interest protocols. (b) Requirements If a Director elects to use the authority grant- ed by subsection (a) of this section, the Director, or their designee, shall— (1) require employees to disclose to and ob- tain approval from the Director or their des- ignee prior to engaging in any outside employ- ment; (2) develop and require appropriate conflict of interest protocols for employees that en- gage in outside employment; (3) maintain the authority to terminate em- ployees engaging in outside employment if they are found to violate terms, including con- flict of interest protocols, mandated by the Di- rector; and (4) ensure that any such programs or activi- ties are in conformance with the Department’s research security policies, including DOE Order 486.1. (c) Additional restrictions Employees engaging in outside employment may not— (1) allow such activities to interfere with or impede their duties at the National Labora- tory; (2) engage in activities related to outside employment using National Laboratory gov- ernment equipment, property, or resources, unless such activities are performed under Na- tional Laboratory contracting mechanisms, such as Cooperative Research and Develop- ment Agreements or Strategic Partnership Projects, whereby all conflicts of interest re- quirements apply; or (3) use their position at a National Labora- tory to provide an unfair competitive advan- tage to an outside employer or start-up activ- ity. (d) Federal ethics Nothing in this section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal per- sonnel. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10720, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1707.) SUBPART 3—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY MODERNIZATION § 19321. Special hiring authority for scientific, engineering, and project management per- sonnel (a) In general The Under Secretary for Science shall have the authority to— (1) make appointments of not more than 60 scientific, engineering, and professional per- sonnel, without regard to civil service laws, to assist the Department in meeting specific project or research needs; (2) fix the basic pay of any employee ap- pointed under this section at a rate to be de- termined by the Under Secretary at rates not in excess of Level II of the Executive Schedule (EX–II) under section 5311 of title 5 without re- gard to the civil service laws; and (3) pay any employee appointed under this section payments in addition to basic pay, ex- cept that the total amount of additional pay- ments paid to an employee under this sub- section for any 12-month period shall not ex- ceed the lesser of the following amounts: (A) $25,000. (B) The amount equal to 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of that employee. (C) The amount of the limitation that is applicable for a calendar year under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5. (b) Term (1) In general The term of any employee appointed under this section shall not exceed 3 years unless otherwise authorized in law. (2) Termination The Under Secretary for Science shall have the authority to terminate any employee ap- pointed under this section at any time based on performance or changing project or re- search needs of the Department. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10726, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1710.) PART I—MICRO ACT § 19331. Microelectronics research for energy in- novation (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Center The term ‘‘Center’’ means a Microelec- tronics Science Research Center established pursuant to subsection (d). Page 9358 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 19331 (2) Department The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart- ment of Energy. (3) Director The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Office of Science. (4) Historically Black college or university The term ‘‘historically Black college or uni- versity’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 1061 of title 20. (5) Institution of higher education The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1001(a) of title 20. (6) Microelectronics The term ‘‘microelectronics’’ means— (A) a semiconductor and related materials; (B) processing chemistries; (C) design technologies; (D) fabrication technologies; (E) lithography technologies; (F) packaging technologies; (G) a sensor; (H) a device; (I) an integrated circuit; (J) a processor; (K) computing architecture; (L) modeling and simulation; (M) a software tool; and (N) any other related technology. (7) Minority-serving institution The term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means— (A) a Hispanic-serving institution (as de- fined in section 1101a(a) of title 20); (B) an Alaska Native-serving institution (as defined in section 1059d(b) of title 20); (C) a Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined in that section); (D) a Predominantly Black Institution (as defined in section 1067q(c) of title 20); (E) an Asian American and Native Amer- ican Pacific Islander-serving institution (as defined in that section); and (F) a Native American-serving nontribal institution (as defined in that section). (8) National Laboratory The term ‘‘National Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term in section 15801 of this title. (9) Program The term ‘‘program’’ means the program es- tablished under subsection (c)(1). (10) Secretary The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Energy. (11) Skilled technical workforce The term ‘‘skilled technical workforce’’ has the meaning given the term in section 4(b)(3) of the Innovations in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act (42 U.S.C. 1862p note; Pub- lic Law 115–402). (12) Tribal College or University The term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1059c of title 20. (13) Work-based learning The term ‘‘work-based learning’’ has the meaning given the term in section 2302 of title 20. (b) Findings Congress finds that— (1) the coming end of Moore’s Law presents major technological challenges and opportuni- ties for the United States and has important implications for national security, economic competitiveness, and scientific discovery; (2) future progress and innovation in micro- electronics, and the maintenance of a robust domestic microelectronics supply chain, will require an approach that advances relevant materials science, electronic and photonic de- vice technologies, processing and packaging technologies, manufacturing technologies, cir- cuit, chip, and system architecture, and soft- ware system and algorithm development in a codesign fashion; (3) the National Laboratories possess unique technical expertise and user facilities that are essential to— (A) overcoming foundational research challenges relevant to the topics described in paragraph (2); and (B) translating and transferring research outcomes to industry; and (4) the expertise and user facilities of the National Laboratories described in paragraph (3) will enable the Department to drive ad- vances in microelectronics that are essential to meeting future needs in areas critical to the missions of the Department and the future competitiveness of the domestic microelec- tronics industry, including high-performance computing, emerging data-centric computing approaches and energy-efficient computing, optical sensors, sources, and wireless net- works, and power electronics and electricity delivery systems. (c) Microelectronics research program (1) In general The Secretary shall carry out a crosscutting program of research, development, and dem- onstration of microelectronics relevant to the missions of the Department to enable ad- vances and breakthroughs that will— (A) accelerate underlying research and de- velopment for design, development, and manufacturability of next-generation micro- electronics; and (B) ensure the global competitiveness of the United States in the field of microelec- tronics. (2) Research projects (A) In general In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall provide financial assistance to eligible entities described in subparagraph (B) to carry out research projects in— (i) foundational science areas, includ- ing— (I) materials sciences, chemical sciences, and plasma science synthesis and fabrication; (II) novel microelectronics devices, in- cluding emerging memory and storage technologies; Page 9359 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 19331 (III) diverse computing architectures and paradigms, including analog com- puting and edge computing; (IV) data-driven modeling and simula- tion; (V) integrated sensing, power har- vesting, and communications; (VI) component integration and sub- systems; (VII) photonic integration and pack- aging; and (VIII) development of codesign frame- works for all stages of microelectronics design, development, fabrication, and ap- plication; (ii) cybersecurity by design to result in trusted and resilient microelectronics; (iii) methods for leveraging advanced simulation and artificial intelligence to enhance codesign and discovery in micro- electronics; (iv) in consultation with the National In- stitute of Standards and Technology, fab- rication and processing science and me- trology associated with microelectronics manufacturing, including lithography, patterning, surface deposition, etching, and cleaning; (v) approaches for optimizing system- level energy efficiency of advanced com- puting systems, the electrical grid, power electronics, and other energy infrastruc- ture; (vi) approaches for enhancing the dura- bility and lifetime of radiation-hardened electronics; (vii) enhancement of microelectronics security, including the development of in- tegrated devices, packages, and thermal management for severe environments and national security; (viii) in coordination with other relevant initiatives of the Department, methods to improve the lifetime, maintenance, recy- cling, reuse, and sustainability of micro- electronics components and systems, in- cluding technologies and strategies that reduce the use of energy, water, critical materials, and other commodities that the Secretary determines are vulnerable to disruption; and (ix) methods and techniques for domestic processing of materials for microelec- tronics and components of microelec- tronics. (B) Eligible entities An eligible entity referred to in subpara- graph (A) is— (i) an institution of higher education, in- cluding a historically Black college or uni- versity, a Tribal College or University, and a minority-serving institution; (ii) a nonprofit research organization; (iii) a State research agency; (iv) a National Laboratory; (v) a private commercial entity; (vi) a partnership or consortium of 2 or more entities described in clauses (i) through (v); and (vii) any other entity that the Secretary determines appropriate. (C) Notification Not later than 30 days after the Secretary provides financial assistance to an eligible entity under subparagraph (A), the Sec- retary shall submit to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a notification of the financial assistance provided, including— (i) the criteria used by the Secretary to select the eligible entity receiving the fi- nancial assistance; (ii) the manner in which the criteria de- scribed in clause (i) comport with the pur- poses of the program described in para- graph (1); and (iii) a description of the research project that the eligible entity will carry out using the financial assistance. (3) Technology transfer In carrying out the program, the Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Technology Transitions and in consultation with the private sector, shall— (A) support translational research and transfer of microelectronics technologies; and (B) identify emerging research and devel- opment needs of industry and government for the benefit of United States economic competitiveness. (4) Workforce development In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall support— (A) workforce development through exist- ing authorities and mechanisms available to the Department, including internships, fel- lowships, individual investigator grants, and other activities the Secretary determines appropriate; and (B) in consultation with the National Science Foundation, as appropriate, edu- cation and outreach activities— (i) to disseminate information and pro- mote understanding of microelectronics and related fields among students at ele- mentary school, secondary school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate lev- els; and (ii) that may include educational pro- gramming with an emphasis on experien- tial and project-based learning. (5) Outreach The Secretary shall conduct outreach to re- cruit applicants to the program and engage participants from all regions of the United States, especially individuals from under- served communities and groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engi- neering, and mathematics. (6) Coordination In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall— (A) coordinate across all relevant pro- grams and offices of the Department; and (B) coordinate the research carried out under the program relating to microelec- Page 9360 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 19331 tronics with activities carried out by other Federal agencies and programs relating to microelectronics research, development, manufacturing, and supply chain security, including the programs authorized under subsections (c) through (f) of section 4656 of title 15. (7) Report Not later than 180 days after August 9, 2022, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen- ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report describing the goals, priorities, and an- ticipated outcomes of the program. (8) Funding There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection— (A) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; (B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; (C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; (D) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and (E) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2027. (d) Microelectronics Science Research Centers (1) In general In carrying out the program, subject to the availability of appropriations, the Director shall establish not more than 4 Microelec- tronics Science Research Centers, each com- prising 1 or more eligible entities— (A) to conduct mission-driven research to address foundational challenges in the de- sign, development, characterization, proto- typing, demonstration, and fabrication of microelectronics; and (B) to facilitate the translation of research results to industry. (2) Eligible entities An eligible entity referred to in paragraph (1) is— (A) a National Laboratory; (B) an institution of higher education, in- cluding a historically Black college or uni- versity, a Tribal College or University, and a minority-serving institution; (C) a private commercial entity; (D) a research center; (E) a partnership or consortium of 2 or more entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (D); and (F) any other entity that the Secretary de- termines appropriate. (3) Activities The activities of a Center shall include re- search, development, and demonstration ac- tivities for— (A) accelerating the development of new microelectronics science and technology, in- cluding materials, devices, circuits, systems, architectures, fabrication tools, processes, diagnostics, modeling, synthesis, and, in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, metrology; (B) advancing the sustainability and en- ergy efficiency of new microelectronics de- vices, packages, and systems; (C) application-driven codesign and proto- typing of novel devices to facilitate labora- tory-to-fabrication transition; (D) advancing knowledge and experimental capabilities in surface and materials science, plasma science, and computational and theo- retical methods, including artificial intel- ligence, multiscale codesign, and advanced supercomputing capabilities to invent and manufacture revolutionary microelectronic devices; (E) creating technology testbeds for proto- typing platforms for validation and verification of new capabilities and sharing of ideas, intellectual property, and the unique facilities of the Department; (F) supporting development of cybersecurity capabilities for computing ar- chitectures that measurably improve safety and security and are adaptable for existing and future applications; and (G) supporting long-term and short-term workforce development in microelectronics. (4) Request for proposals; merit review (A) In general The Director shall, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director determines to be appropriate, issue a request for proposals from eligible entities described in paragraph (2) seeking to be designated as a Center. (B) Competitive merit review The Director shall select eligible entities under subparagraph (A) through a competi- tive, merit-based process. (5) Operation (A) Duration (i) In general Each Center shall operate for a period of not more than 5 years, unless renewed for an additional 5-year period in accordance with clause (ii). (ii) Renewal (I) Initial renewal In the case of a Center that has oper- ated for not more than 5 years, the Di- rector may renew support for the Center on a merit-reviewed basis for a period of not more than 5 years. (II) 10-year operation In the case of a Center that has operated for not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years, the Director may renew support for the Center on a competitive, merit-re- viewed basis for a period of not more than 5 years. (III) 15-year operation In the case of a Center that has operated for not less than 10 years but not more than 15 years, the Director may renew sup- port for the Center on a merit-reviewed basis for a period of not more than 5 years. (B) Termination Consistent with the existing authorities of the Department, the Director may termi- nate an underperforming Center during the performance period. (6) Technology transfer The Director, in coordination with the Di- rector of the Office of Technology Transitions, Page 9361 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 19341 shall seek to enter into partnerships with in- dustry groups to facilitate the translation and transfer of research results produced by the Centers. (7) Coordination The Secretary shall— (A) establish a coordinating network to co- ordinate cross-cutting research and foster communication and collaboration among the Centers; and (B) ensure coordination, and avoid unnec- essary duplication, of the activities of each Center with the activities of— (i) other research entities of the Depart- ment, including— (I) the Nanoscale Science Research Centers; (II) the National Quantum Information Science Research Centers; (III) the Energy Frontier Research Centers; (IV) the Energy Innovation Hubs; (V) the National Laboratories; and (VI) other offices of the Department; (ii) the National Semiconductor Tech- nology Center established under section 4656(c)(1) of title 15; (iii) institutions of higher education; (iv) industry; and (v) relevant research activities carried out by other Federal agencies. (8) Workforce development Each Center shall support workforce devel- opment through— (A) incorporation of undergraduate stu- dents, postdoctoral fellows, graduate stu- dents, and early career researchers, as well as elementary school, secondary school, and high school students, through opportunities such as dual-enrollment programs and work- based learning programs, as applicable; (B) hands-on research and equipment training programs; (C) technical training and certificate pro- grams for the skilled technical workforce; (D) facilitation of engagement among aca- demic, industry, and laboratory researchers; and (E) public outreach activities, including to students at elementary school, secondary school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels, which may include edu- cational programming with an emphasis on experiential and project-based learning. (9) Outreach The Director shall support the workforce de- velopment of Centers under paragraph (8) by conducting outreach to recruit applicants and engage participants from all regions of the United States, especially individuals from un- derserved communities and groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engi- neering, and mathematics. (10) Intellectual property The Secretary shall ensure that the intellec- tual property and value proposition created by the Centers are retained within the United States. (11) Notification (A) Definition of covered determination In this paragraph, the term ‘‘covered de- termination’’ means a determination of the Secretary— (i) to establish a Center under paragraph (1); (ii) to renew support for a Center under paragraph (5)(A)(ii); or (iii) to terminate a Center under para- graph (5)(B). (B) Notification Not later than 30 days after the Secretary makes a covered determination, the Sec- retary shall submit to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a notification of the covered determination, including— (i) the criteria used by the Secretary to make the covered determination; and (ii) the manner in which the criteria de- scribed in clause (i) comport with the pur- poses of the program described in para- graph (1). (12) Funding Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall use not more than $25,000,000 to fund each Center for each of fis- cal years 2023 through 2027. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10731, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1711.) PART J—APPLIED LABORATORIES INFRASTRUC- TURE RESTORATION AND MODERNIZATION § 19341. Applied laboratories infrastructure res- toration and modernization (a) Definition of National Laboratory. In this section, the term ‘‘National Labora- tory’’ means— (1) the National Renewable Energy Labora- tory; (2) the National Energy Technology Labora- tory; (3) the Idaho National Laboratory; (4) the Savannah River National Laboratory; (5) the Sandia National Laboratories; (6) the Los Alamos National Laboratory; and (7) the Lawrence Livermore National Lab- oratory. (b) Restoration and modernization projects (1) In general The Secretary shall fund projects described in paragraph (2) as needed to address the de- ferred maintenance, critical infrastructure needs, and modernization of National Labora- tories. (2) Projects described The projects referred to in paragraph (1) are, as determined by the Secretary— (A) priority deferred maintenance projects at National Laboratories, including facili- ties sustainment for, upgrade of, and con- struction of research laboratories, adminis-