Issue Position: Technology

Issue Position

INVESTING IN INNOVATION

Mike served as member of Democrats' Innovation Agenda task force, which developed a plan for promoting technological advancement and innovation that became the America COMPETES Act. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, he has led the charge for delivering the R&D funding called for in the Innovation Agenda for the National Science Foundation, National Institute for Standards and Technology and its Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Department of Energy and its Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), and the Department of Defense. The research funded by these agencies underlies many of the innovations that have emerged from Silicon Valley's leading companies. Mike was recognized for his leadership in this area by the Science- Engineering-Technology Working Group, which presented him with the coveted George Brown Award for active leadership in the determination of science, engineering, and technology policy.
A LEADER ON NANOTECHNOLOGY

Representing Silicon Valley, the heart of American innovation, Rep Honda has always ensured that technological leadership is at the fore of his Congressional agenda. As co-author of the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which was enacted in 2003, Rep Honda helped authorize a federal investment of up to $3.7 billion over 4 years in nanotechnology research and development, and authorizing a wide range of nanotechnology research activities across the federal government. Following on this effort, Mike co-convened the California Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology, an esteemed group of experts from academia, government, established industry, startup companies, consulting groups, non-profits, and industry associations throughout California who debated ideas and developed a series of policy recommendations that are included in the report Thinking Big about Thinking Small. Mike has introduced the Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities Act based on these recommendations, legislation endorsed by the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association. Mike's leadership on nanotechnology has been recognized by the Foresight Institute, which presented him with its inaugural Government Prize in Nanotechnology.
BRINGING A PATENT OFFICE TO OUR NATION'S LEADING INNOVATORS

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Mike led efforts to convince the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to bring a satellite office to Silicon Valley, which will provide additional resources to facilitate and expedite patent processing for our local inventors and reinforce the Bay Area as a leading innovation center. Mike has been a leader in efforts to ensure that the USPTO has the budget it needs provide excellent, expedient service to the Valley. Mike is spearheading efforts to undo the impact of budget sequestration on USPTO operations and the opening of the permanent Silicon Valley office.
INCORPORATING SILICON VALLEY ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

From his work with Silicon Valley business leaders, Mike knows that there are many things that government agencies could learn from the private sector to improve their operations. Working with Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Dell Corporation, he has introduced legislation to bring the concept of an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR), developed by the private sector to maintain ties to talented people who were between jobs and to bring experienced professionals into the startup process, to the federal government. These EIRs would provide recommendations and assist efforts to make agency services and operations simpler, more efficient, and more responsive to the current needs of entrepreneurs and businesses.
FIGHTING TO PRESERVE U.S. LEADERSHIP IN SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY

Working with the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry, Mike has been the leading voice in Congress for the need for federal action to ensure that we maintain U.S. leadership and dominance in the production of semiconductor manufacturing equipment as the industry makes the transition to larger sized 450 mm wafers. To counteract incentives being offered by foreign governments, he has led efforts to secure a U.S. government commitment to support the R&D needed to make the transition here. He successfully offered an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Appropriations Act highlighting the importance of this issue and is spearheading efforts to authorize and fund the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation proposed by President Obama, which would help support this type of advanced manufacturing.
ADVANCING HEALTH IT AND PROMOTING GROWTH IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR

Recognizing the important role that technology can play in improving the delivery of health care, Mike worked with industry leaders to develop the Healthcare Innovation and Marketplace Technologies Act to foster innovation in the healthcare industry. This bill responds to the needs of industry by providing access to front-loading capital, creating marketplace incentives, removing barriers in governmental regulation, and creating workforce training programs. Mike has also seen first-hand the value of allowing Silicon Valley companies that have succeeded in securing venture capital funding to receive federal assistance through the Small Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Research program. SBIR and STTR allow innovative companies to undertake riskier projects with the potential for breakthrough discoveries, which Mike believes is exactly the kind of investment the federal government must make to ensure domestic competitiveness in a global economy. The California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology has awarded Mike as Biotechnology Legislator of the Year in recognition of his leadership.
ENSURING A SKILLED WORKFORCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

As a Member of Congress, former teacher, principal, and school board member, Mike Honda has made improving education a top priority. In Silicon Valley, that means putting high-tech equipment in the classroom so that students have the skills they need to compete in the 21st Century workforce and making a priority of investing in science and technology programs for our kids. Mike believes it is critical that the US develop a highly skilled workforce to ensure our future global competitiveness, which is why he has introduced legislation that would help prepare the high-tech workforce of the future by elevating the role of STEM education in national policy and improving the quality of STEM education and STEM educators. Mike has also proposed establishing an Advanced Research Projects Agency-ED (ARPA-ED) to award grants to support the development of educational technology to improve student outcomes and technological literacy for a 21st Century learner. The American Chemical Society has recognized Mike's leadership in STEM education by presenting him with its Public Service Award.
REFORMING IMMIGRATION FOR HIGHLY SKILLED WORKERS

Mike is fighting to make sure that Comprehensive Immigration Reform increases the pool of green cards available to foreign-born STEM graduates and reduces the backlog for STEM degree recipients, while giving workers on H-1B visas the flexibility to change employers, jobs or positions without losing their immigration status, and work authorization should be granted to the spouses of H-1B workers. He has cosponsored bills such as the IDEA Act and the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act to demonstrate his support for the high-tech sector while also fighting to protect the rights and wellbeing of all immigrants.
PROTECTING THE OPEN NATURE OF THE INTERNET

Mike Honda has been a champion for internet freedom and advocated strongly for policies that protect the open nature of the internet. He was a vocal opponent of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), and he was one of only a handful of Members of Congress to "black-out' their official websites in protest of the legislation. Similarly, Mike has been an unyielding advocate for net neutrality and has worked with the FCC to stop content filtering and broadband throttling.

Mike has made expanding broadband access and improving internet speed one of his top priorities in Congress. He has worked with his colleagues in Congress and leaders in the technology space to develop the Democrats Innovation Agenda that, among other things, would prioritize affordable access to broadband technology for all Americans. Rep. Honda was also an instrumental ally in the establishment of a National Broadband Plan to lay out a bold roadmap to internet accessibility and service.
A PROPONENT OF GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY

Congressman Honda has been a leader in promoting the open use of government data and information. In 2008, he was the first Member of Congress to publically advocate for Congress to provide bulk access to legislative information. In 2009, he was successful in including an amending n the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act to push the Government Printing Office (GPO) to conduct a feasibility study on making bulk government data more accessible. As a direct result of this work, the GPO in 2012 revolutionized the legislative information process and finally allowed bulk legislative data to be available. Similarly, Mike has personally promoted several new uses of technology to further increase the involvement of citizens in government. He has been a strong advocate for crowdsourcing and the use of the "crowd' to conduct legislative and technical business, a pioneer member to crowd source the design of his official website twice to help ensure that his work in Congress was presented to constituents in an accessible manner.

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