PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 11, 2007
Reward Innovation in America Act - Establishes a National Innovation Prizes Board in the Department of Commerce, which shall develop and administer a program of competitions to award innovation prizes to eligible individuals and entities to advance the research, development, and commercial application of innovative technologies.
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to submit a plan for implementing such program. Requires that there be two categories of prizes: (1) 21st Century Innovation Prizes, which shall be awarded in multiple competitions in different research areas; and (2) Innovate America Grand Challenge Prizes, which shall be awarded in large, highly complex, and expensive competitions that are held every two to four years and address research objectives well beyond the current state of the art and that are intended to become integral to major changes in complex socio-technological systems. Requires the Board to determine the amount of each prize for each competition.
Instructs the Board to: (1) advertise competitions widely to encourage broad participation; and (2) publish notices of competitions in the Federal Register.
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Authorizes the Board to enter into an agreement with a private, nonprofit organization to administer competitions.
Specifies that prizes awarded under the program shall consist of: (1) funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to this Act; and (2) any funds raised by the administering entity to pay for administrative costs of competitions and to contribute to cash prizes.
Requires the Secretary to submit annual reports describing the activities of the program.
People & committees
Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR] · D–AR
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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