§19251 Interagency working group

Summary

The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy must create or pick an interagency working group, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate work on key technology focus areas. The group includes top officials (or their designees) from Commerce, the National Science Foundation, Energy, Defense, the National Economic Council, OMB, Health and Human Services, NASA, Agriculture, the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI Director, and any other federal officials the OSTP Director thinks are needed. They can form subcommittees. The group must make sure agency efforts help each other and do not unnecessarily duplicate work. It will focus on NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships activities (including Regional Innovation Engines and test beds), Commerce programs (including regional tech hubs, Manufacturing USA, and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership), Department of Energy work at national and federal labs and related facilities, and any other relevant R&D programs the OSTP Director identifies. By not later than 180 days after August 9, 2022, the group must do an initial review of federal programs and resources for those key areas, assess current efforts and infrastructure, spot overlaps, find cross-agency collaboration and joint funding chances, seek stakeholder input, and send a report to Congress. The group must also carry out the annual reviews and updates required under section 19107(e). If agencies disagree, the President will make the final decision.