§19081. Facility operation and maintenance

§19081. Facility operation and maintenance

(a) In general

The Director shall continue the Facility Operation Transition pilot program for a total of 5 years.

(b) Cost sharing

The Facility Operation Transition program shall provide funding for 10 to 50 percent of the operations and maintenance costs for major research facilities that are within the first five years of operation, where the share is determined based on—

(1) the operations and maintenance costs of the major research facility; and

(2) the capacity of the managing directorate or division to absorb such costs.

(c) Report

After the fifth year of the pilot program, the Director shall transmit a report to Congress that includes—

(1) an assessment, that includes feedback from the research community, of the effectiveness of the pilot program for—

(A) supporting research directorates and divisions in balancing investments in research grants and funding for the initial operation and maintenance of major facilities;

(B) incentivizing the development of new world-class facilities;

(C) facilitating interagency and international partnerships;

(D) funding core elements of multi-disciplinary facilities; and

(E) supporting facility divestment costs; and

(2) if deemed effective, a plan for permanent implementation of the pilot program.