,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #abhi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #bj1 #bjac    
,mr4 ,foster 7for himself1 ,mr4         
,hultgren1 ,mr4 ,massie1 ,mr4 ,van      
,hollen1 ,mr4 ,capuano1 ,mr4 ,carney1   
,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 ,mr4   
,danny ,k4 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,mr4    
,loebsack1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mr4 ,peters
 of ,michigan1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,rush1 
,ms4 ,schakowsky1 and ,ms4              
,shea-,porter7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to provide a ,federal charter to the   
,fab ,foundation for the ,national ,fab 
,lab ,network1 a national network of    
local digital fabrication facilities    
providing community access to advanced  
manufacturing tools for learning skills1
 developing inventions1 creating        
businesses1 and producing personalized  
products4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,national ,fab ,lab 
,network ,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,findings  

,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,scientific discoveries and technical   
innovations are critical to the economic
 and national security of the ,united   
,states4  7#b7 ,maintaining the         
leadership of the ,united ,states in    
science1 technology1 engineering1 and   
mathematics will require a diverse      
population with the skills1 interest1   
and access to tools required to advance 
these fields4  7#c7 ,just as earlier    
digital revolutions in communications   
and computation provided individuals    
with the ,internet and personal         
computers1 a digital revolution in      
fabrication will allow anyone to make   
almost anything1 anywhere4  7#d7 ,the   
,center for ,bits and ,atoms of the     
,massachusetts ,institute of ,technology
 7,,cba7 has contributed significantly  
to the advancement of these goals       
through its work in creating and        
advancing digital fab labs in the       
,united ,states and abroad4  7#e7       
,,cba's fab labs provide a model for a  

new kind of national laboratory that    
links local facilities for advanced     
manufacturing to expand access and      
empower communities4  7#f7 ,a           
coordinated national public-private     
partnership will be the most effective  
way to accelerate the provision of this 
infrastructure for learning skills1     
developing inventions1 creating         
businesses1 and producing personalized  
products4  #c4 ,establishment of        
national fab lab network  7a7 ,federal  
,charter ,the ,fab ,foundation is hereby
 granted a ,federal charter as the      
,national ,fab ,lab ,network 7in this   
,act referred to as the ,,nfln74 ,the   
,,nfln shall exist as a nonprofit entity
 whose purpose is to facilitate the     
creation of a national network of local 
fab labs1 and to serve as a resource to 
assist stakeholders with their effective
 operation4  7b7 ,membership and        
organization ,eligibility for membership
 in the ,,nfln and the rights and       
privileges of members are as provided in

 the constitution and bylaws of the     
,,nfln4 ,directors1 officers1 and other 
staff of the ,,nfln1 and their powers   
and duties are as provided in the bylaws
 of the ,,nfln4  7c7 ,functions ,the    
functions of the ,,nfln shall be the    
following3  7#a7 ,to serve as the       
coordinating body for the creation of a 
national network of local fab labs in   
the ,united ,states4  7#b7 ,to provide a
 first point of contact for             
organizations and communities seeking to
 create fab labs1 providing information1
 assessing suitability1 advising on the 
lab lifecycle1 and maintaining          
descriptions of prospective and         
operating sites4  7#c7 ,to link funders 
and sites with operational entities that
 can source and install fab labs1       
provide training1 assist with           
operations1 account for spending1 and   
assess impact4  7#d7 ,to perform        
outreach for individuals and communities
 on the benefits available through the  
,,nfln4  7#e7 ,to facilitate use of the 

,,nfln in synergistic programs1 such as 
workforce training1 job creation1       
research broader impacts1 and the       
production of civic infrastructure4     
7#f7 ,to offer transparency in the      
management1 governance1 and operation of
 the ,,nfln4  7d7 ,purposes ,in carrying
 out its functions1 the ,,nfln's        
purposes and goals shall be--  7#a7 to  
create a national network of connected  
local fab labs to empower individuals   
and communities in the ,united ,states2 
7#b7 to foster the use of distributed   
digital fabrication tools to promote    
science1 technology1 engineering and    
math skills1 increase invention and     
innovation1 create businesses and jobs1 
and fulfill needs2 and  7#c7 to seek to 
establish at least one fab lab per every
 #gjj1jjj individuals in the ,united    
,states in the first ten years of its   
operation1 corresponding to availability
 in all #dce ,congressional districts4  
7e7 ,definitions ,in this section1 the  
term fab lab shall refer to a facility  

equipped with an integrated suite of    
fabrication tools to convert digital    
designs into functional physical things1
 and scanning tools to convert physical 
things into digital designs1 as         
exemplified by ,,cba's fab labs4 ,these 
labs shall be available for a range of  
individual and collaborative            
educational1 commercial1 creative1 and  
social purposes1 with the ,,nfln to     
provide guidelines for their sustainable
 operation4  7f7 ,funding ,the ,,nfln   
may accept funds from private           
individuals1 corporations1 government   
agencies1 or other organizations4