Overview
Title
An Act To improve the commercialization of Federal research by domestic manufacturers, and for other purposes.
ELI5 AI
The "Invent Here, Make Here Act of 2024" is a new rule that wants to make sure things made with ideas from U.S. government projects are mainly made in America, so that more jobs and factories can stay in the country. It also lets the president allow some things to be made somewhere else if needed.
Summary AI
S. 1956, known as the “Invent Here, Make Here Act of 2024,” aims to boost the U.S. manufacturing industry by encouraging the commercialization of research conducted by federal agencies. The bill requires collaboration between various federal departments and organizations to identify manufacturers and investors who can translate research into commercial products. It mandates that products resulting from federally funded research must be substantially manufactured in the U.S., with certain exceptions that require presidential approval. The bill also amends previous laws to emphasize domestic production in technology and innovation initiatives.
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AnalysisAI
General Summary of the Bill
The "Invent Here, Make Here Act of 2024" is legislation aimed at enhancing the commercialization of federal research within the United States. Its primary goal is to ensure that insights and innovations emerging from federally funded research are developed into commercial products by domestic manufacturers. The bill mandates the establishment of collaboration by various federal agencies with industry organizations to identify and empower U.S.-based manufacturers and investors. Additionally, it encourages the manufacturing of these products within the U.S., emphasizing economic benefits that can arise from domestic production.
The bill amends existing legislation, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act and the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act, to promote internal production and investment. Furthermore, the bill introduces reporting requirements and a preference system where, generally, products must be manufactured in the U.S. unless waived under specific conditions.
Summary of Significant Issues
International Trade Conflicts: The requirement for products to be substantially made in the U.S. could infringe on international trade agreements, possibly straining relations with trade partners and affecting the global competitiveness of U.S. products.
Transparency and Accountability in Manufacturer Selection: Lacking specific criteria for identifying domestic manufacturers and investors raises transparency concerns. Without clear guidelines, there may be a risk of favoritism or inefficiencies in the allocation of resources and support.
Centralized Decision-Making: The process for waiving manufacturing requirements grants significant power to presidential authorization. This could lead to potential biases, decision delays, or politically driven outcomes.
Complexity and Bureaucracy: Complex bureaucratic processes, such as waiver applications and annual reporting, could overwhelm small businesses and nonprofits, potentially discouraging their participation in leveraging federal research.
Implementation and Compliance Challenges: The vagueness in language regarding domestic production requirements may present compliance challenges and create risks for how effectively recommendations from mandated studies are implemented.
Impact on the Public
The bill is likely to bring more federal research-driven innovations to the market, which can foster technological advancements domestically. This could benefit consumers through improved products and services. However, strict U.S. manufacturing stipulations could increase prices if production costs are higher domestically compared to offshore manufacturing.
Impact on Stakeholders
Positive Impacts
Domestic Manufacturers: The bill is designed to strengthen U.S. manufacturing by directly linking them to federal research opportunities. This can lead to job creation and stronger local economies.
Federal Agencies: With clearer directives to collaborate and identify capable domestic manufacturers, federal agencies can better align research outputs with commercial potential within the U.S.
Negative Impacts
Small Businesses and Nonprofits: The bureaucratic challenges and waiver complexities might hinder their ability to engage effectively with federal research opportunities, particularly if they lack the resources to navigate these processes.
International Trade Partners: The emphasis on U.S.-based manufacturing could strain relationships with international partners, potentially inviting retaliatory measures affecting exports.
In conclusion, while the "Invent Here, Make Here Act of 2024" aims to bolster U.S.-based innovation and manufacturing, careful consideration must be given to its implementation, particularly regarding international trade compliance and ensuring equitable participation for small entities in federal research commercialization.
Issues
The requirement for manufacturers to ensure their products are substantially made in the United States (Section 4 and Section 5) could conflict with international trade agreements, potentially impacting global business relationships and domestic market competitiveness.
The lack of specific criteria or metrics in Section 2 for identifying domestic manufacturers and investors could lead to non-transparent decisions, favoritism, or inefficiencies, directly affecting small businesses' opportunities to benefit from federal research commercialization.
The broad waiver clause in Section 4, which allows for certain requirements to be bypassed with presidential authorization, could centralize decision-making power excessively at the executive level, introducing biases and potential delays due to political considerations.
The absence of clear oversight and accountability measures in Section 2 and Section 3 for the use of funding and resources raises concerns about potential misuse or inefficiencies in commercialization processes.
Complex bureaucratic requirements, especially around the waiver processes described in Section 4 and annual reporting, could burden small businesses and nonprofits, discouraging them from federal engagements.
Section 3 has no details on implementing or enforcing study findings, creating risks for the recommendations to be ignored and the study to have minimal practical impact despite potentially high costs.
The lengthy timeline of 540 days for completing the study in Section 3 could delay the application of potentially beneficial insights for domestic manufacturing advancement.
The complexity and potentially inaccessible language throughout Sections 3 and 4 can alienate stakeholders without legal or scientific expertise, reducing their ability to participate in and benefit from the initiatives.
Sections
Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.
1. Short title Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The first section of this bill gives it the official short title, which is the "Invent Here, Make Here Act of 2024".
2. Improvement of commercialization of Federal research by domestic manufacturers Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The section amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to improve the commercialization of government research by domestic manufacturers. It requires the Director to collaborate with various federal officials and organizations to identify manufacturers and investors for commercialization and to maintain a public database of manufacturers capable of utilizing federally funded research.
3. Study and comprehensive review of commercialization of Federal research by domestic manufacturers Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is required to conduct a study and review related to how domestic manufacturers commercialize Federal research, identifying current barriers and the influence of investment availability. The Director must also provide recommendations to improve the transfer of research to domestic manufacturers and then report the findings to relevant Senate and House Committees.
4. Preference for United States industry Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The text describes changes to Section 204 of title 35 in the United States Code, which emphasizes a preference for manufacturing inventions developed under federal funding agreements within the United States. It includes rules about granting exclusive rights for using such inventions, conditions under which waivers to these rules can be sought, and a requirement for federal agencies to report annually to Congress about waiver requests and manufacturing plans related to these inventions.
204. Preference for United States industry Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
The section establishes a preference for manufacturing products based on certain inventions in the United States, requiring that small businesses or nonprofit organizations seek to have such products made in the U.S. before granting exclusive rights. Federal agencies can waive this requirement if domestic manufacturing isn't feasible, but they need presidential approval if the manufacturing would occur significantly in countries of concern. An annual report to specific congressional committees is also mandated, ensuring confidentiality of sensitive information.
5. Amendments to the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Read Opens in new tab
Summary AI
This section amends several parts of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to emphasize manufacturing products in the United States through research funded by the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships. It encourages developing domestic industrial capacity and ensures that innovations from research bring economic benefits by being produced in the U.S. for a global market.