PSI Sci
New here? Follow the money and the votes · Not sure of your district? Find your U.S. House member · Find your state legislators

S. 3530: Reward Innovation in America Act of 2010

Before you vote › Federal bills

S. 3530: Reward Innovation in America Act of 2010

111th Congress · introduced 2010-06-24 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5462)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2010-06-24 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5462) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Reward Innovation in America Act of 2010

Plain summary

Reward Innovation in America Act of 2010 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to authorize each head of a federal agency (other than a legislative agency) to carry out a program to award prizes competitively to stimulate innovation that has the potential to advance the agency's mission, including: (1) point solution prizes that reward and spur the development of solutions for a particular, well-defined problem; (2) exposition prizes that help identify and promote a broad range of ideas and practices that may not otherwise attract attention, facilitating further development of the idea or practice by third parties; and (3) participation prizes that create value by encouraging contestants to change their behavior or develop new skills that may have beneficial effects during and after the competition. Requires the agency head to: (1) widely advertise each competition to encourage broad participation; and (2) publish notices of competitions in the Federal Register. Prohibits the government from gaining an interest in intellectual property developed by a participant in a competition without the written consent of the participant, but authorizes the government to negotiate a license for the use of intellectual property developed by a participant. Authorizes: (1) an agency head to enter into an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to administer competitions; and (2) support for a competition to consist of federal appropriated funds and funds provided by the private sector for cash prizes. Prohibits a prize from being announced until all funds needed to pay out the announced amount of the prize have been appropriated or committed in writing by a private source. Limits prize amounts. Requires: (1) the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide government-wide services to share best practices and assist agencies in developing guidelines for issuing competitions; and (2) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to submit annual reports on program activities.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Reward Innovation in America Act of 2010

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mark R. Warner (D-VA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Federal Register
The official daily publication of the U.S. government for agency rules, proposed rules, public notices and presidential documents.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong111-s3530 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111