National Science Foundation Authorization Act

(Reported to Senate from the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare with amendment, S. Rept. 94-888)

National Science Foundation Authorization Act - =Title I: Appropriations Authorized= - Authorizes an appropriation for the National Science Foundation in the amount of $826,400,000 for fiscal year 1977.

Directs the Foundation in any published material which is developed under a Foundation supported project to require an acknowlegement of Foundation support and a statement as to the responsibility for any findings contained in such published material.

Requires the Foundation to disseminate all substantive technical reports through the National Technical Information Service.

Requires the Director of the Foundation to conduct a study of the feasibility of operating a supplementary peer review system.

Prohibits the Foundation from transferring funds from one category to another if it is in excess of express guidelines set forth in this Act.

=Title II: National and International Needs and Resources= - Directs the Foundation to support basic and applied research and education programs and to conduct and support international cooperative programs to make the results of foreign research more readily available to American scientists, engineers and technologists.

Directs the Foundation, in cooperation with specified agencies, to study international scientific research, education, and policy analysis and report to the House and Senate oversight committees by March 1, 1977.

Directs the National Science Foundation to conduct a Science for Citizens Program which will: (1) improve public understanding; (2) facilitate the participation of the scientific community in public policy issues; and (3) enable groups to acquire the necessary technical expertise. Authorizes $3,000,000 to be allocated for this Program.

Requires the Foundation to initiate a program of continuing education in science and technology including the development of special curricula, and the awarding of fellowships to scientists and engineers. Authorizes $1,000,000 to be allocated for this program.

Directs the Foundation to intensify its search for qualified women, minorities, and handicapped individuals to fill executive level positions in the Foundation. Requires improving the representation of minorities, women, and handicapped individuals on advisory committees, review panels, and other mechanisms by which the scientific community provides assistance to the Foundation.

Directs the Foundation to establish an Office of Small Business Research and Development within the Office of Government and Public Programs to foster communication between the Foundation and the small business community.

Authorizes the making of grants by the Foundation to States in order to increase the States' capacity for application of science, engineering, and technology to meeting the needs of its citizens.

Authorizes the establishment of an Advisory Council on the National Science Foundation if at least six members of such Advisory Council are not scientists, and the Advisory Council furnishes advice to the Board and the Director on broad policy matters.

=Title III: National Science and Technology Policy= - Directs the Foundation to encourage the pursuit of national policies designed to foster research and education in science and engineering, and the application of scientific and technical knowledge to the solution of national and international problems.

Sets forth the qualifications for membership on the National Science Board. Requires the Board to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress on the status and health of science.

=Title IV: General Provisions= - Authorizes to be appropriated $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1977 for expenses of the National Science Foundation incurred outside the United States. Authorizes not in excess of $5,000 to be used for official consultation, representation, or other extraordinary expenses.

Requires the Director to keep the House Science and Technology Committee and the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee fully and currently informed on all activities of the Foundation.