National Commission on Robotics Act

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an independent commission to be known as the Commission on American Leadership in Robotics (in this section referred to as the Commission). The Commission shall examine robotics as such pertains to interstate and foreign commerce, economic competitiveness, and national security, and make recommendations to the appropriate congressional committees relating thereto.

The Commission shall be composed of 18 members appointed as follows:

(A) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(B) Three members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

(C) Three members appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate.

(D) Three members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(E) Six members appointed by the President of the United States.

Members shall be appointed to the Commission by not later than 45 days after the date on which the Commission is established under subsection (a).

If one or more appointments under paragraph (1) is not made by the appointment date specified in paragraph (2), the authority to make such appointment or appointments shall expire, and the number of members of the Commission shall be reduced by the number equal to the number of appointments so not made.

Members of the Commission shall be individuals who are recognized experts and have appropriate professional experience in matters relating to either of the following:

(A) Robotics.

(B) Applications, or potential applications, of robotics by the private sector or public sector.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the Senate shall jointly designate one member of the Commission to serve as Chair of the Commission.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and the Minority Leader of the Senate shall jointly designate one member of the Commission to serve as Vice Chair of the Commission.

Members shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.

The Commission shall carry out a review of advances in robotics. In carrying out such review, the Commission shall consider the methods, means, and policies necessary to advance the development of robotics by the United States to comprehensively address the economic competitiveness and national security needs of the United States.

In conducting the review described in this subsection, the Commission shall consider the following:

(A) The competitiveness of the United States in robotics, including matters related to the domestic marketplace for robotics and private sector and public sector applications of robotics in the United States.

(B) Means and methods for the United States to assert and maintain a technological advantage in robotics, specifically in the deployment of robotics in industrial, retail, and commercial sectors in the United States.

(C) International developments and trends, including foreign actions and policies to advance robotics.

(D) Means by which to foster greater emphasis and investments in robotics to stimulate strategic partnerships in robotics with industry, the public, and academic institutions, to the extent that such efforts have material application related to economic competitiveness and manufacturing.

(E) Workforce incentives and programs to attract and recruit leading talent in robotics, including in associated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, to the extent that such efforts relate to economic competitiveness in robotics.

(F) The global and domestic supply chain for robotics, including any supply chain risks or dependencies, and policies to increase the manufacturing of robotics in the United States.

(G) Any other matters the Commission determines appropriate related to robotics.

Not later than one year after the date on which the Commission is established under subsection (a), the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the President an interim report on the status of the Commission’s review under subsection (e), including a discussion of any interim recommendations.

Not later than two years after the date on which the Commission is established under subsection (a), the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the President a final report on the findings of the Commission and such recommendations as the Commission may have for action by Congress and the Federal Government.

In carrying out its duties under this section, the Commission shall receive the full and timely cooperation of the Secretary and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies in providing the Commission with analysis, briefings, and other information necessary for the fulfillment of such duties.

The Secretary shall designate at least one officer or employee of the Department to serve as a liaison officer between the Secretary and the Commission.

The Secretary and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies may provide, and the Commission may accept and employ, personnel detailed from the Department and such other Federal departments and agencies, as the case may be, without reimbursement.

Not later than 45 days after the date on which the Commission is established under subsection (a), the Secretary may make available to the Commission the services of an independent, nongovernmental institute described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code, that has recognized credentials and expertise in economic competitiveness and technology in order to facilitate the Commission’s discharge of its duties under this section.

On request of the Commission, the Secretary shall make available to the Commission the services of a federally funded research and development center that is covered by a sponsoring agreement of the Department in order to enhance the Commission’s efforts to discharge its duties under this section.

The Secretary may provide to the Commission, on a nonreimbursable basis, such administrative services, funds, staff, facilities, and other support services as are necessary for the discharge of the Commission’s duties under this section.

In addition to any support provided under paragraph (1), the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies may provide to the Commission such services, funds, facilities, staff, and other support as such heads determine advisable and as may be authorized by law.

Notwithstanding the requirements of section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, including the required supervision under subsection (a)(3) of such section, a member of the Commission shall be considered to be a Federal employee.

The Commission shall appoint and fix the rate of basic pay for an Executive Director in accordance with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States Code.

The Executive Director, with the approval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the rate of basic pay for additional personnel as staff of the Commission in accordance with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States Code.

The Commission may—

(A) procure the services of experts or consultants (or of organizations of experts or consultants) in accordance with the provisions of section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; and

(B) pay in connection with such services travel expenses of individuals, including transportation and per diem in lieu of subsistence, while such individuals are traveling from their homes or places of business to duty stations.

The daily rate paid an expert or consultant procured pursuant to paragraph (1) may not exceed the daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services, goods, and property from non-Federal entities for the purposes of aiding and facilitating the work of the Commission. The authority under this subsection does not extend to gifts of money. Gifts accepted under this authority shall be documented, and conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest shall be avoided. Subject to the authority in this section, members of the Commission shall otherwise comply with rules set forth by the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives governing employees of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.

The Commission shall operate as a legislative advisory committee.

The Commission may acquire such administrative supplies and equipment as necessary for Commission use to the extent funds are available.

The Commission may secure directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the Commission considers necessary to discharge its duties. Upon such request of the Chair of the Commission, the head of such Federal department or agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.

The Commission may use the United States mail in the same manner and under the same conditions as Federal departments and agencies.

Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Commission is established under subsection (a), the Administrator of General Services, in consultation with the Commission, shall identify and make available suitable excess space within the Federal space inventory to house the operations of the Commission. If the Administrator is not able to make such suitable excess space available within such 30-day period, the Commission may lease space to the extent funds are available.

A member may be removed from the Commission for cause by the individual serving in the position responsible for the original appointment of such member under subsection (b)(1), if notice has first been provided to such member of the cause for such removal and such removal is voted and agreed upon by three quarters of the members serving. A vacancy created by such removal shall not affect the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.

The Commission shall terminate 18 months after the date on which the Commission submits the final report required under subsection (f)(2).

In this section:

The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

The term Department means the Department of Commerce.

The term robotics includes each of the following:

(A) Programmable multifunctional mechanical devices designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions to perform a variety of tasks.

(B) Programmed actuated mechanisms with a degree of autonomy to perform locomotion, manipulation, or positioning.

(C) Automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulators, programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or fixed to a mobile platform for use in automation applications in an industrial environment.

(D) Machines that—

(i) can sense their environment;

(ii) have the capacity to process the information they sense; and

(iii) are organized to act directly upon their environment.

(E) Mechanical devices that are capable of locomotion, navigation, or movement on the ground, and operate at a distance from one or more operators or supervisors based on commands or in response to sensor data, or through any combination thereof, and that may also be referred to as unmanned ground vehicle systems.

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.