Sowing The Seeds Through Science And Engineering Research Act

Floor Speech

SOWING THE SEEDS THROUGH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH ACT -- (House of Representatives - April 24, 2007)

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Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, we spent quite a bit of time on the last bill talking about ``Rising above the Gathering Storm,'' the report. It charts a course for continuing American prosperity in the decades to
come. I recommend that my colleagues heed the warning of this report and pursue policies to implement its four major policy recommendations.

One of those recommendations is to ``sustain and strengthen the Nation's traditional commitment to long-term basic research that has the potential to be transformational, to maintain the flow of new ideas that fuel the economy and provide security and enhance the quality of life.'' The Gathering Storm report goes on to propose specific high-priority action items to realize this recommendation.

In this bill, H.R. 363, we have identified several of these action items that have broad bipartisan support. We call the bill the Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Act.

I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Hall from Texas, ranking minority member of the Committee on Science and Technology, who helped craft the current version of this bill.

Six weeks ago, the committee voted unanimously to favorably report this bill. We have heard from such groups as The Business Roundtable and the Council of Competitiveness expressing their support for the bill. These organizations represent a broad spectrum of business interests, understand that new technology ideas are necessary for the U.S. prosperity in a global 21st century economy. In fact, some economists have estimated that half of the economic growth in the United States since World War II can be attributed to technological innovation. H.R. 363 is needed to prevent the United States from falling behind other nations whose national commitments to research are increasing, just as ours have been decreasing. The fear is not just about falling behind scientifically, it's about falling behind economically.

The first two provisions of H.R. 363 focus on support for early-career scientists and engineers through grant programs at the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. These grants will identify and support our best and brightest young researchers who are engaged in high-risk, high-reward research that is transformational or highly innovative. By focusing on young researchers, we promote new ideas and research on the frontiers of knowledge.

The bill also supports graduate student training grants for individuals interested in research areas relative to industry's technological needs, establishes a Presidential Award for Innovation, creates a planning mechanism for maintaining the Nation's major research facilities, authorizes the National Science Foundation to support research on innovation, directs reports on Federal efforts to recruit new scientists and engineers, identifies NASA as a key player in the national competitiveness policy.

This bill doesn't merely seek to fund all of science, it focuses on fostering the most innovative elements of a scientific enterprise. It is through research such as these that we lay a foundation for future of global economic competitiveness. In the future, a healthy scientific and technological enterprise spawns innovation, creating jobs that pay good wages and produces products that make our lives better.

We must pave the way to that future, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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