Title 15 › Chapter 7— NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY › § 278s
Creates a program called the Manufacturing USA Program inside the Institute and a matching Manufacturing USA Network of institutes. The goals are to make U.S. manufacturing more competitive, grow domestic production, lead in advanced manufacturing research and technology, help new technologies move into large-scale and affordable production, give manufacturers access to expensive infrastructure and supply chains, build a skilled workforce, share best practices, attract non‑Federal funding so the work can keep going without long-term Federal money, create and keep jobs, and support regional innovation efforts. The Secretary must run the Program through the Director and set up a National Program Office to oversee the Network and carry out these goals. A Manufacturing USA institute is a group set up to solve advanced manufacturing problems, focused on a key manufacturing process, new material, enabling technology, supply-chain method, or similar area, and that includes partners from industry, colleges, research institutions, and others. Institutes do research and prototyping, workforce education and training, supply‑chain work, outreach to small and medium manufacturers (including minority-, women-, and veteran‑owned firms), and roadmapping. Institutes already recognized by law or under review on December 16, 2014, and certain institutes funded or reviewed as of December 20, 2019 or funded by the Department of Energy, count as Manufacturing USA institutes. The Secretary and the Secretary of Energy must, and other agency heads may, award financial help to plan, start, or support an institute. Awards run 5 to 7 years at first and can be renewed after a strict merit review that checks performance; institutes get one year to fix problems before losing renewal eligibility. Applicants must show current and expected non‑Federal funding. Reviews must be competitive, use diverse expert reviewers, avoid political appointees, and follow conflict‑of‑interest rules. Generally, non‑Federal funding must be at least 50% of an institute’s support unless waived for things like satellite centers, big facilities, equipment, workforce work, or operations. The Secretary may fund test beds and facilities, and may give grants to institutes not otherwise funded for workforce or outreach work if it serves the national interest. The National Program Office must make a strategic plan by December 16, 2015 and update it at least every four years, coordinate with many Federal agencies, keep a public clearinghouse of information, help with workforce credentials, and promote sharing of best practices. Institutes must send yearly finance and performance reports to their agency and the Secretary. The Secretary must report to Congress at least once a year on Program performance through December 31, 2030. The Comptroller General must assess the Program every three years and give a final report by December 31, 2030. Funding rules include up to $5,000,000 per year from the Industrial Technical Services account for each fiscal year 2015–2019, flexible amounts for fiscal years 2020–2030, and Department of Energy funding of $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020–2022 and $84,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023–2024. Two defined terms: "agency head" = the head of any Executive agency except the Department of Defense; "regional innovation initiative" = defined in another law (section 3722(f)(1)).
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Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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Citation
15 U.S.C. § 278s
Title 15 — Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Apr 18, 2026
Release point: 119-83