The Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness (EPIC) Act
Bill Status: Introduced
Latest Action: June 7, 2024
Legislation
The Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness (EPIC) Act
Summary
The EPIC Act establishes a Foundation for Standards and Metrology (FSM) to engage with academia, industry, and civil society organizations to create innovative & flexible partnerships to support NIST’s mission in advancing measurement science, technical standards, and emerging technologies. FSM will support NIST as a Congressionally-authorized independent Foundation, similar to those at other federal science agencies including NIH, CDC, USDA, and DOE. By allowing NIST the same flexibility that other Federal science agencies already enjoy, the U.S. will fully unlock the potential of NIST’s unique role in our innovation ecosystem and foster the commercialization of emerging technologies, such as AI and quantum computing.
Specifically, the FSM will allow NIST to have:
- Increased access to private sector and philanthropic funding,
- advanced innovative and diverse collaborations with industry, non-profit organizations, and academia, and
- support NIST’s workforce through education, training, retention & recruitment support, and professional development.
Endorsements
Four Former Directors of NIST
3D Epitaxial Technologies
ACT | The App Association
American Chemical Society
American Governance Institute
American Physical Society
Americans for Responsible Innovation
ARI is pleased to endorse the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act. We believe this bill would allow NIST to better leverage its existing resources in pursuit of new research capabilities, putting it on par with other scientific agencies and enabling it to better fulfill its mission, especially in regards to U.S. leadership in AI.
Carnegie Mellon University
Center for Democracy & Technology
Center for AI Policy
The Center for AI Policy welcomes the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act, a bill to create an independent foundation to bolster resources available for AI work at the National Institute of Science and Technology. NIST plays a vital role in navigating the complex landscape presented by artificial intelligence -- but the agency is hampered by chronic underfunding. We hope that with additional support from private and philanthropic entities, the agency will have the financial bandwidth to pursue rigorous safety standards along with its innovative priorities.
Happily, the bill is meant to supplement, not replace, the responsibility of Congress to act to give NIST much-needed public funding; and it will fall to the Board to implement appropriate boundaries to ensure no conflicts of interest occur that would undermine agency decision-making integrity. Ultimately, CAIP is confident that, with clear standards and oversight, such partnerships can propel NIST's efforts to ensure a safer future in the era of AI.
Chainguard
Common Crawl Foundation
The Common Crawl Foundation supports the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act. This legislation will enhance NIST's ability to drive cutting-edge research and foster partnerships across academia, industry, and government. By providing NIST with expanded resources and flexibility, the bill positions the agency to accelerate innovation, boost U.S. competitiveness in AI technologies, and deliver impactful solutions for industry and the public.
Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0
The CSC 2.0 strongly supports establishing a Foundation for Standards and Metrology at NIST through the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act. This initiative will enhance NIST’s ability to foster innovation and strengthen its mission by increasing access to private philanthropic funding. By leveraging these additional resources for stakeholder engagement, NIST will create more opportunities to collaborate with partners across academia, industry, and government while supporting the education and training of the future workforce.
Darling Fibers
Eric Schmidt
"The U.S. must lead in emerging technologies like biotechnology, AI, and quantum computing. NIST's growing role in this effort highlights the need for a nonprofit foundation to rally philanthropists and private donors in support of this national interest."
Federation of American Scientists
“The Foundation for Standards and Metrology would fill an important gap with a flexible new entity capable of accelerating commercialization of emerging technologies and fostering deeper collaboration between academia, industry, and government,” says Daniel Correa, Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of American Scientists. “We commend Representative Stevens for introducing this important bill at a time when NIST’s work on emerging technologies like AI is particularly critical.”
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
Institute for AI Policy and Strategy (IAPS)
NIST plays a special role in the scientific and technical community as a respected consensus-builder that is uniquely capable of bringing a diverse range of research and civil society organizations together. There is ample appetite from the larger civil society community to support NIST’s work, as is evident from active engagement by civil society organizations on efforts ranging from NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework, to the National Vulnerabilities Database, to the AI Safety Consortium. IAPS welcomes the EPIC Act, and believes that securing more funding for NIST via a dedicated Foundation will empower NIST to expand and amplify its partnerships with civil society, to the benefit of US and global innovation.
Institute for Progress
The Institute for Progress (IFP) strongly endorses the House Science Committee's legislation to establish a non-profit foundation for NIST. This foundation can play a pivotal role in advancing the development of new standards for emerging technologies and attracting cutting-edge technical talent to NIST.
Non-profit foundations have been essential in supporting the work of other scientific agencies such as the NIH and CDC, enabling groundbreaking research and aligning R&D initiatives through public-private partnerships. A NIST foundation could similarly enhance the agency's capacity to drive scientific and technological progress, securing America's leadership in emerging technologies.
Keysight Technologies
Materials Research Society
Members of Quantum Economic Development - Consortium
Microsoft
NIST Coalition
The NIST Coalition praises the introduction of the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act to establish a NIST foundation. A NIST foundation will not only foster the advancement of science and technology but also symbolizes a commitment to a more resilient future for the institution. By investing in the National Institute of Standards and Technology, we invest in the very foundation of our nation's ingenuity, ensuring that we continue to lead the world in research, standards, and groundbreaking discoveries. We are grateful to Representative Haley Stevens and Representative Jay Obernolte for their leadership on this very important issue.
Renaissance Philanthropy
"NIST is playing a growing role in supporting U.S. leadership in emerging technologies like AI, quantum, and biotech. Establishing a NIST Foundation is an excellent idea to leverage philanthropic support for the agency's mission to advance measurement science and standards for emerging technologies." - Tom Kalil, CEO, Renaissance Philanthropy
Rigetti Computing, Inc
SEEQC
SEMI Americas
"The establishment of the Foundation for Standards and Metrology (FMS) through the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act is paramount in propelling measurement science, technical standards, and emerging technology research at NIST. By amplifying access to private sector funding, cultivating cross-sector collaboration, and bolstering education and training endeavors, the FMS will substantially fortify NIST's capacity to achieve its goals and ignite innovation, thereby benefiting the economy and the foundational work crucial to our industry." – Joe Stockunas, President, SEMI Americas
SPIE
Safe Quantum Inc
SeedAI
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
TOPTICA Photonics, Inc.
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
“The Telecommunications Industry Associations applauds the introduction of the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act. NIST has a vital role to play in partnering with the private sector to advance standards development, measurement science, and technology. The proposed Foundation for Standards and Metrology will ensure that NIST has the broad base of partners, resources, and knowledge it needs to advance U.S. economic and technological leadership.” - Melissa Newman, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs
The Center for AI Policy
The Center for AI Safety Action Fund
"The Center for AI Safety Action Fund (CAIS AF) proudly supports Ranking Member Haley Steven's Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act. This bill would further facilitate public-private sector partnerships and ensure that NIST has the necessary resources to fulfill its mission and uphold U.S. global leadership in innovation and standard-setting." - Varun Krovi, Head of Government Relations and Public Policy, CAIS AF.
Trustible
Trustible fully supports NIST's mission furthering AI safety standards, and therefore we support the proposed bill. The NIST foundation can help ensure NIST is appropriately staffed with world class talent, help it build strong public-private partnerships, and facilitate NIST's global leadership in AI safety and cybersecurity.
University of Colorado, Boulder
"It is my pleasure write a statement of support of the Expanding Partnerships for Innovation and Competitiveness Act. NIST and CU have decades of collaboration in research consortia and programs, and our formal partnerships reach back more than 50 years with the formation of JILA, a joint CU-NIST research institute. The creation of a NIST foundation – like what already exists at NIH, CDC, USDA, and DOE – would equip CU with an additional tool to increase collaboration with industry and government agencies to more rapid technology transfer to the private sector. Additionally, the bill would support education and training of new researchers in emerging technologies through awards, grants, and fellowships at both CU, JILA, and the broader Colorado research enterprise." – Massimo Ruzzene, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Dean of the Institutes, University of Colorado Boulder
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Toronto
"As the remarkable capabilities of emerging technologies such as generative AI become clear, there is an urgent need for frontier research in how to translate democratic goals and values into concrete standards and requirements for frontier AI systems. NIST is already leading important work to promote innovation and support connections between the public and private sectors in measuring and regulating advanced technologies, but funding constraints limit its ability to be effective. A foundation would increase access to funding and opportunities for collaboration, ultimately supporting the public interest by recruiting top researchers and research organization to this effort." - Gillian Hadfield, Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society, Professor of Law and Professor of Strategic Management. CIFAR AI Chair
Vescent Technologies
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