to any recommendations for nomination which may be submitted to him by the National Academy of Sciences, Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities, the National Association of State Universities, Association of American Colleges, or by other scientific or educational organizations.

(b) The term of office of each member of the Foundation shall be six years, except that (1) any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term; and (2) the terms of office of the members first taking office after the date of enactment of this Act shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of appointment, eight at the end of two years, eight at the end of four years, eight at the end of six years, after the date of enactment of this Act. Any person who has been a member of the Foundation for twelve consecutive years shall thereafter be ineligible for appointment during the two-year period following the expiration of such twelfth year.

(c) The President shall call the first meeting of the members of the Foundation, at which the first order of business shall be the election of a chairman and a vice chairman.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE FOUNDATION

SEC. 4. (a) The Foundation is authorized and directed

(1) to develop and encourage the pursuit of a national policy for the promotion of basic research and education in the sciences;

(2) to initiate and support basic scientific research in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences, by making contracts or other arrangements (including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance) for the conduct of such basic scientific research and to appraise the impact of research upon industrial development and upon the general welfare;

(3) after consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to initiate and support scientific research in connection with matters relating to the national defense by making contracts or other arrangements (including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance) for the conduct of such scientific research; (4) to grant scholarships and graduate fellowships in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences;

(5) to foster the interchange of scientific information among scientists in the United States and foreign countries;

(6) to correlate the Foundation's scientific research programs with those undertaken by individuals and by public and private research groups; and

(7) to establish for such period of time as it may determine a special commission on cancer, on heart and cardiovascular diseases, on poliomyelitis and other degenerative diseases, and such other special commissions as the Foundation may from time to time deem necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(b) In exercising the authority and discharging the functions referred to in subsection (a) of this section, it shall be one of the objectives of the Foundation to strengthen basic research and education in the sciences, including independent research by individuals, throughout the United States, including its Territories and possessions, and to avoid undue concentration of such research and education.

(c) The members of the Foundation shall meet annually on the first Monday in December and at such other times as the Chairman may determine, but he shall also call a meeting whenever one-third of the members so request in writing. A majority of the members of the Foundation shall constitute quorum. Each member shall be given notice, by registered mail mailed to his last-known address of record not less than fifteen days prior to any meeting, of the call of such meeting.

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(d) The first Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Foundation shall be elected by the Foundation to serve until the first Monday in December next succeeding the date of election at which time a Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected for a term of two years. Thereafter such election shall take place at the annual meeting occurring at the end of each such term. The Vice Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman in his absence. In case a vacancy occurs in the chairmanship or vice chairmanship, the Foundation shall elect a member to fill such vacancy.

(e) The Foundation shall render an annual report to the President for submission on or before the 15th day of January to the Congress, summarizing the

activities of the Foundation and making such recommendations as it may deem appropriate. Such report shall include in full the report of the Executive Committee to the Foundation provided for in section 5 (d).

CREATION AND POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SEC. 5. (a) There is hereby established an Executive Committee of the Foundation which shall consist of the Director ex officio as provided for in section 6 of this Act, and nine other members elected by the members of the Foundation from among their number. The term of office of each member of the Executive Committee shall be two years except that (1) any member elected to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was elected shall be elected for the remainder of such term; and (2) the term of office of four of the members first elected after the date of enactment of this Act shall be one year. Any person who has been a member of the Executive Committee for six consecutive years shall thereafter be ineligible for election during the two-year period following the expiration of such sixth year. The Executive Committee shall implement the policies developed by the Foundation under this Act. The membership of the Executive Committee shall so far as practicable be representative of diverse interests and shall be so chosen as to provide representation, so far as practicable, for all areas of the Nation.

(b) The Executive Committee shall meet at the call of its chairman or at such times as may be fixed by itself, but not less than six times each year.

(c) A majority of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

(d) The Executive Committee shall render an annual report to the Foundation, and such other reports as it may deem necessary, summarizing the activities of the Executive Committee, making such recommendations as it may deem appropriate, and setting forth the recommendations of the divisional committees and special commissions. Minority views and recommendations, if any, of members of the Executive Committee, the divisional committees, and special commissions shall be included in such reports.

DIRECTOR OF FOUNDATION

SEC. 6. (a) There shall be a Director of the Foundation who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, after receiving recommendations from the Foundation. He shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member of the Foundation and also as the nonvoting Chairman of the Executive Committee. In addition thereto, he shall be the chief executive officer of the Foundation. The Director shall receive compensation at the rate of $15,000 per annum and shall serve for a term of six years unless sooner removed by the President.

(b) The Director shall, in accordance with such directives as the Executive Committee shall from time to time prescribe, exercise the powers set forth in this Act within the policies developed by the Foundation: Provided, That the authority granted to the Foundation by paragraph (c) of section 11 shall be exercised by the Director with the approval of the Executive Committee.

DIVISIONS WITHIN THE FOUNDATION

SEC. 7. (a) Until otherwise provided by the Foundation there shall be within the Foundation the following divisions:

(1) A Division of Medical Research;

(2) A Division of Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences.

(3) A Division of Biological Sciences; and

(4) A Division of Scientific Personnel and Education, which shall be concerned with programs of the Foundation relating to the granting of scholarships and graduate fellowships in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences.

(b) There shall also be within the Foundation such other divisions as the Foundation may, from time to time, deem necessary.

DIVISIONAL COMMITTEES

SEC. 8. (a) There shall be a committee for each division of the Foundation. (b) Each divisional committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall consist of not less than five persons who may be members or nonmembers of the Foundation.

(c) The terms of members of each divisional committee shall be two years. Each divisional committee shall annually elect its own chairman from among its own members, and shall prescribe its own rules of procedure, subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed by the Executive Committee.

(d) Each divisional committee shall make recommendations to, and advise and consult with, the Executive Committee and the Director with respect to matters relating to the program of its division.

SPECIAL COMMISSIONS

SEC. 9. (a) Each special commission established by the Foundation pursuant to section 4 (a) (7) shall consist of eleven members appointed by the Executive Committee, six of whom shall be eminent scientists and five of whom shall be persons other than scientists. Each special commission shall choose its own chairman and vice chairman.

(b) It shall be the duty of each such special commission to make a comprehensive survey of research, both public and private, being carried on in its field, and to formulate and recommend to the Executive Committee at the earliest practicable date an over-all research program in its field.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS; REGISTER OF SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL SEC. 10. (a) The Director, with the approval of the Foundation, is authorized to award, within the limits of funds made available pursuant to section 14, scholarships and graduate fellowships for scientific study or scientific work in the mathematical, physical, medical, biological, engineering, and other sciences at accredited nonprofit American or nonprofit foreign institutions of higher education, selected by the recipient of such aid, for stated periods of time. Persons shall be selected for such scholarships and fellowships from among citizens of the United States, and such selections shall be made solely on the basis of ability; but in any case in which two or more applicants for scholarships or fellowships, as the case may be, are deemed by the Director and the Foundation to be possessed of substantially equal ability, and there are not sufficient scholarships or fellowships, as the case may be, available to grant one to each of such applicants, the available scholarship or scholarships or fellowship or fellowships shall be awarded to the applicants in such manner as will tend to result in a wide distribution of scholarships and fellowships among the States, Territories, possessions, and the District of Columbia.

(b) The Foundation shall maintain a register of scientific and technical personnel and in other ways provide a central clearinghouse for information covering all scientific and technical personnel in the United States and its possessions.

AUTHORITY OF FOUNDATION

SEC. 11. The Foundation is empowered to do all things necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, and without being limited thereby, the Foundation is specifically authorized

(a) to prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary governing the manner of its operations and its organization and personnel; (b) to make such expenditures as may be necessary for administering the provisions of this Act;

(c) to enter into contracts or other arrangements, or modifications thereof, for the carrying on, by organizations or individuals in the United States and foreign countries, including other government agencies of the United States and of foreign countries (without legal consideration, without performance or other bonds, and without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes), of such basic scientific research activities and scientific research activities in connection with the matters relating to the national defense as the Foundation deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act;

(d) to make, advance, progress, and other payments which relate to scientific research without regard to the provisions of section 3648 of the Revised Statutes (31 U. S. C., sec. 529);

(e) to acquire by purchase, lease, loan, or gift, and to hold and dispose of by sale, lease, or loan, real and personal property of all kinds necessary for, or resulting from, scientific research;

(f) to receive and use funds donated by others, if such funds are donated, without restriction, other than that they be used in furtherance of one or more of the general purpose of the Foundation;

(g) to publish or arrange for the publication of scientific and technical information so as to further the full dissemination of information of scientific value consistent with the national interest, without regard to the provisions of section 87 of the Act of January 12, 1895 (28 Stat. 622), and section 11 of the Act of March 1, 1919 (40 Stat. 1270; 44 U. S. C., sec. 111);

(h) to accept and utilize the services of voluntary and uncompensated personnel and to pay the actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses (including, in lieu of subsistence, per diem allowances at a rate not in excess of $10 of such personnel incurred in the course of such services); and

(i) to prescribe, with the approval of the Comptroller General of the United States, the extent to which vouchers for funds expended under contracts for scientific research shall be subject to itemization or substantiation prior to payment, without regard to the limitations of other laws relating to the expenditure of public funds and accounting therefor.

PATENT RIGHTS

SEC. 12. (a) Each contract or other arrangement executed pursuant to this Act which relates to scientific research shall contain provisions governing the disposition of inventions produced thereunder in a manner calculated to protect the public interest and the equities of the individual or organization with which the contract or other arrangement is executed: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the Foundation, by any contractual or other arrangement, to alter or modify any provision of law affecting the issuance or use of patents.

(b) No officer or employee of the Foundation shall acquire, retain, or transfer any rights, under the patent laws of the United States or otherwise, in any invention which he may make or produce in connection with performing his assigned activities and which is directly related to the subject matter thereof: Provided, however, That this subsection shall not be construed to prevent any officer or employee of the Foundation from executing any application for patent on any such invention for the purpose of assigning the same to the Government or its nominee in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Director may establish.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

SEC. 13. (a) The Foundation is hereby authorized to cooperate in any international scientific research activities consistent with the purposes of this Act and to expend for such international scientific research activities such sums within the limit of appropriated funds as the Foundation may deem desirable. (b) The Director, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may defray the expenses of representatives of Government agencies and other organizations and of individual scientists to accredited international scientific congresses and meetings whenever he deems it necessary in the promotion of the objectives of this Act.

APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 14. (a) To enable the Foundation to carry out its powers and duties, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated annually to the Foundation, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

(b) The funds hereafter appropriated to the Foundation, as herein authorized, shall, if obligated during the fiscal year for which appropriated, remain available for expenditure for four years following the expiration of the fiscal year for which appropriated. After such four-year period, the unexpended balances of appropriations shall be carried to the surplus fund and covered into the Treasury.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 15. (a) The Director shall, in accordance with such general directives as the Executive Committee shall from time to time prescribe, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Such appointments shall be made and such compensation shall be fixed in accordance with the provisions of the civil-service laws and regulations and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended: Provided, That the Director may, in accordance with such general directives as the Executive Committee

shall from time to time prescribe, employ such technical and professional personnel and fix their compensation, without regard to such laws, as he may deem necessary for the discharge of the responsibilities of the Foundation under this Act. The Deputy Director hereinafter provided for, and the members of the divisional committees, and special commissions, shall be appointed without regard to the civil-service laws or regulations. Neither the Director nor the Deputy Director shall engage in any other business, vocation, or employment than that of serving as such Director or Deputy Director, as the case may be; nor shall the Director or Deputy Director, except with the approval of the Executive Committee, hold any office in, or act in any capacity for, any organization, agency, or institution with which the Foundation makes any contract or other arrangement under this Act.

(b) The Director may appoint, with the approval of the Executive Committee, a Deputy Director who shall perform such functions as the Director, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may prescribe and shall be Acting Director during the absence or disability of the Director or in the event of a vacancy in the Office of the Director, and who shall receive compensation at a rate not to exceed $12,000 per annum.

(c) The Foundation shall not, itself, operate any laboratories or pilot plants. (d) The members of the Foundation, and the members of each divisional committee, or special commission, shall receive compensation at the rate of $25 for each day engaged in the business of the Foundation, pursuant to authorization of the Foundation, and shall be allowed actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses (including, in lieu of subsistence, per diem allowance at a rate not in excess of $10) when engaged, away from home, in the duties of their offices. (e) Persons holding other offices in the executive branch of the Federal Government may serve as members of the divisional committees, and special commissions, but they shall not receive remuneration for their services as such members during any period for which they receive compensation for their services in such other offices.

(f) Service of an individual as a member of the Foundation, of a divisional committee, or of a special commission shall not be considered as service bringing him within the provisions of section 109 or section 113 of the Criminal Code (U. S. C., 1940 edition, title 18, secs. 198 and 203) or section 19 (e) of the Con tract Settlement Act of 1944, unless the act of such individual, which by such section is made unlawful when performed by an individual referred to in such section, is with respect to any particular matter which directly involves the Foundation or in which the Foundation is directly interested.

(g) In making contracts or other arrangements for scientific research, the Foundation shall utilize appropriations available therefor in such manner as will in its discretion best realize the objectives of (1) having the work performed by organizations, agencies, and institutions, or individuals in the United States or foreign countries, including Government agencies of the United States and of foreign countries, qualified by training and experience to achieve the results desired, (2) strengthening the research staff of organizations, particularly nonprofit organizations, in the States and Territories and the District of Columbia, (3) aiding institutions, agencies, or organizations which, if aided, will advance basic research, and (4) encouraging independent basic research by individuals.

(h) The activities of the Foundation shall be construed as supplementing and not superseding, curtailing, or limiting any of the functions or activities of other i Government agencies authorized to engage in scientific research or development.

(i) Funds available to any department or agency of the Government for scientific or technical research, or the provision of facilities therefor, shall be available for transfer, with the approval of the head of the department or agency involved, in whole or in part, to the Foundation for such use as is consistent with the purposes for which such funds were provided, and funds so transferred shall be expendable by the Foundation for the purposes for which the transfer was made, and, until such time as an appropriation is made available directly to the Foundation, for general administrative expenses of the Foundation without regard to limitations otherwise applicable to such funds.

(j) The National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel shall be transferred from the Department of Labor to the Foundation, together with such of the personnel, records, property, and balances of appropriations as have been utilized or are available for use in the administration of such roster as may be determined by the President. The transfer provided for in this subsection shall take effect at such time or times as the President shall direct.