117th Congress
Regional Innovation Act of 2021
Purpose
To amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to establish a regional technology and innovation hub program, and for other purposes.
Summary of Selected Provisions
- Directs the Commerce Department to establish a grant program that supports the creation of no fewer than 10 “regional technology and innovation hubs” in regions that “are not leading technology centers”
- Requires that at least one-third of the hubs benefit rural or other underserved communities, that at least one hub is in an EPSCoR state, and that at least one hub is “headquartered in a region that has a high density of institutions of higher education serving populations historically underrepresented in STEM”
- Permits the grant funds to support workforce development, business and entrepreneur development, technology commercialization, and infrastructure projects
- Recommends the department receive $7 billion over five years to implement the program and stipulates that the initial hub awards may not exceed $150 million each
- Recommends the Department of Energy receive $250 million over five years to establish a program that would provide grants to establish regional clean energy innovation partnerships
Primary Sponsors
Co-sponsors by Party
R
2
D
4
I
0
Actions
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07/27/2021Advanced by House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
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07/20/2021Introduced in House