,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ahdi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bf1 #bjba
 ,mr4 ,portman 7for himself and ,mr4    
,bennet7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,small ,business and     
,entrepreneurship  ,a ,,bill  ,to       
establish a program to support the      
participation of small businesses in    
meetings and proceedings of             
international standards organizations1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,leadership in ,global ,tech ,standards 
,act of #bjba4  #b4 ,support for        
industry participation in international 
standards organizations  7a7            
,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,administrator ,the term ,administrator 
means the ,administrator of the ,small  
,business ,administration4  7#b7        
,artificial intelligence ,the term      
artificial intelligence has the meaning 
given the term in section #bch7;g7 of   

the ,john ,s4 ,mc,cain ,national        
,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal
 ,year #bjai 7#aj ,u4,s4,c4 #bceh note74
  7#c7 ,covered entity ,the term covered
 entity means a small business concern  
that is incorporated and maintains a    
primary place of business in the ,united
 ,states4  7#d7 ,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  7b7 ,establishment    
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 the         
,administrator shall establish a program
 to support participation by covered    
entities in meetings and proceedings of 
standards development organizations in  
the development of voluntary technical  
standards4  7c7 ,activities ,in carrying
 out the program established under      
subsection 7b71 the ,administrator shall
 award competitive1 merit-reviewed      
grants to covered entities to cover the 
reasonable costs1 up to a specified     

ceiling1 of participation of employees  
of those covered entities in meetings   
and proceedings of standards development
 organizations1 including--  7#a7       
regularly attending meetings2  7#b7     
contributing expertise and research2    
7#c7 proposing new work items2 and  7#d7
 volunteering for leadership roles such 
as a convener or editor4  7d7 ,award    
criteria ,the ,administrator may only   
provide a grant under this section to a 
covered entity that-- 7#a7 demonstrates 
deep technical expertise in key emerging
 technologies and technical standards1  
including artificial intelligence and   
related technologies2  7#b7 commits     
personnel with such expertise to regular
 participation in international bodies  
responsible for developing standards for
 such technologies over the period of   
the grant2 and  7#c7 agrees to          
participate in efforts to coordinate    
between the ,federal ,government and    
industry to ensure protection of        
national security interests in the      

setting of international standards4  7e7
 ,no matching contribution ,a recipient 
of an award under this section shall not
 be required to provide a matching      
contribution4  7f7 ,evaluation ,in      
making awards under this section1 the   
,administrator shall coordinate with the
 ,director of the ,national ,institute  
of ,standards and ,technology1 who shall
 provide support in the assessment of   
technical expertise in emerging         
technologies and standards setting      
needs4  7g7 ,authorization of           
appropriation ,there is authorized to be
 appropriated for fiscal year #bjbb and 
each fiscal year thereafter #a1jjj1jjj  
to carry out the program established    
under this section4