,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bigc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #d1  
#bjad ,mr4 ,heinrich introduced the     
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
establish a grant program to allow      
,national ,laboratories to provide      
vouchers to small business concerns to  
improve commercialization of            
technologies developed at ,national     
,laboratories and the technology-driven 
economic impact of commercialization in 
the regions in which ,national          
,laboratories are located1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title  ,this ,act
 may be cited as the ,national          
,laboratory ,technology ,maturation ,act
 of #bjad4  #b4 ,definitions ,in this   
,act3 7#a7 ,national laboratory ,the    
term ,national ,laboratory has the      
meaning given the term in section #b of 
the ,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db  
,u4,s4,c4 #aehja74  7#b7 ,secretary ,the

 term ,secretary means the ,secretary of
 ,energy4  7#c7 ,small business concern 
,the term small business concern has the
 meaning given the term in section #c of
 the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae         
,u4,s4,c4 #fcb74  #c4 ,establishment of 
technology maturation grant program  7a7
 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall      
establish the ,national ,laboratory     
technology maturation program under     
which the ,secretary shall make grants  
to ,national ,laboratories for the      
purpose of increasing the successful    
transfer of technologies licensed from  
,national ,laboratories to small        
business concerns by providing a link   
between an innovative process or        
technology and a practical application  
with potential to be successful in      
commercial markets4  7b7 ,application   
for grant from the ,secretary  7#a7 ,in 
general ,each ,national ,laboratory that
 elects to apply for a grant under      
subsection 7a7 shall submit an          
application to the ,secretary at such   

time1 in such manner1 and containing    
such information as the ,secretary may  
reasonably require4  7#b7 ,contents ,in 
an application submitted under this     
subsection1 a ,national ,laboratory     
shall describe how the ,national        
,laboratory will-- 7,a7 manage a        
technology maturation program2  7,b7    
encourage small business concerns1 with 
an emphasis on businesses in the region 
in which the ,national ,laboratory is   
located1 to participate in the          
technology maturation program2  7,c7    
select small business concerns and      
technologies to participate in the      
technology maturation program using a   
selection board 7referred to in this    
section as the selection board7 made up 
of technical and business members1      
including venture capitalists and       
investors2 and  7,d7 measure the results
 of the program and the return on       
investment1 including-- 7i7 the number  
of technologies licensed to small       
business concerns2  7ii7 the number of  

new small business concerns created2    
7iii7 the number of jobs created or     
retained2  7iv7 sales of the licensed   
technologies2  7v7 the change in average
 salaries paid by the participating     
small business concerns2 and  7vi7 any  
additional external investment attracted
 by participating small business        
concerns4  7c7 ,maximum grant ,the      
maximum amount of a grant received by a 
,national ,laboratory under subsection  
7a7 shall be #e1jjj1jjj for each fiscal 
year4  7d7 ,vouchers to small business  
concerns from ,national ,laboratories   
7#a7 ,in general ,a ,national           
,laboratory receiving a grant under     
subsection 7a7 shall use the grant funds
 to provide vouchers to small business  
concerns that hold a technology license 
from a ,national ,laboratory to pay the 
cost of providing assistance from       
scientists and engineers at the         
,national ,laboratory to assist in the  
development of the licensed technology  
and further develop related products and

 services until the products and        
services are market-ready or            
sufficiently developed to attract       
private investment4  7#b7 ,use of       
voucher funds ,a small business concern 
receiving a voucher under paragraph 7#a7
 may use the voucher-- 7,a7 to gain     
access to special equipment or          
facilities at the ,national ,laboratory 
that awarded the voucher2  7,b7 to      
partner with the ,national ,laboratory  
on a commercial prototype2 and  7,c7 to 
perform early-stage feasibility or      
later-stage field testing4  7#c7        
,eligible projects ,a ,national         
,laboratory receiving a grant under     
subsection 7a7 may provide a voucher to 
small business concerns and partnerships
 between a small business concern and an
 institution of higher education 7as    
defined in section #aja7;a7 of the      
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajja7;a777 for projects--    
7,a7 involving-- 7i7 commercial         
prototypes2  7ii7 scale-up and field    

demonstrations2 or  7iii7 other         
activities that move the technology     
closer to successful commercialization2 
and  7,b7 that do not exceed #a year4   
7#d7 ,application for voucher from      
,national ,laboratory ,each small       
business concern that holds a technology
 license from a ,national ,laboratory   
that elects to apply for a voucher under
 paragraph 7#a7 shall submit an         
application to the selection board at   
such time1 in such manner1 and          
containing such information as the      
selection board may reasonably require4 
7#e7 ,criteria ,the selection board may 
award vouchers based on-- 7,a7 the      
technological and commercial viability  
of the project for commercial success2  
7,b7 a significant opportunity for new  
company formation or growth of an       
existing company in the region in which 
the ,national ,laboratory is located2   
7,c7 access to a strong1 experienced    
business and technical team2  7,d7      
clear1 market-driven milestones for the 

project that connect to an ability to   
leverage matching funds from other      
sources2  7,e7 a clear path for         
commercialization2  7,f7 identification 
of a profitable market2  7,g7 the       
potential to enhance the                
technology-driven economy of the region 
in which the ,national ,laboratory is   
located2  7,h7 availability and source  
of matching funds for the project2 and  
7,i7 compatibility with the mission of  
the ,national ,laboratory4  7#f7        
,maximum voucher ,the maximum amount of 
a voucher received by a small business  
concern under paragraph 7#a7 shall be   
#bej1jjj4  7#g7 ,progress tracking  7,a7
 ,in general ,the ,national ,laboratory 
that awards a voucher to carry out a    
project under paragraph 7#a7 shall      
establish a procedure to monitor interim
 progress of the project toward         
commercialization milestones4  7,b7     
,termination of voucher ,if the         
,national ,laboratory determines that a 
project is not making adequate progress 

toward commercialization milestones     
under the procedure established pursuant
 to subparagraph 7,a71 the project shall
 not continue to receive funding or     
assistance under this subsection4  #d4  
,annual report  7a7 ,in general ,each   
,national ,laboratory receiving a grant 
under section #c shall submit to the    
,secretary an annual report1 at such    
time and in such manner as the          
,secretary may reasonably require4  7b7 
,contents of report ,the report         
submitted under subsection 7a7 shall--  
7#a7 include a list of each recipient of
 a voucher and the amount of each       
voucher awarded2 and  7#b7 provide an   
estimate of the return on investment1   
including-- 7,a7 the number of          
technologies licensed to small business 
concerns2  7,b7 the number of new small 
business concerns created2  7,c7 the    
number of jobs created or retained2     
7,d7 sales of the licensed technologies2
  7,e7 the change in average salaries   
paid by the participating small business

 concerns2 and  7,f7 any additional     
external investment attracted by        
participating small business concerns4  
#e4 ,final report ,not later than #e    
years after the date of enactment of    
this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit  
to the ,committees on ,armed ,services  
and ,energy and ,natural ,resources of  
the ,senate and the ,committees on      
,armed ,services and ,science1 ,space1  
and ,technology of the ,house of        
,representatives a report on the results
 of the program established under       
section #c1 including-- 7#a7 the return 
on investment2 and  7#b7 any            
recommendations for improvements to the 
program4  #f4 ,authorization of         
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this ,act  
#be1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjae through #bjai4