America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. This bill also makes huge cuts to funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy research and development as well as the funding for ARPA-E. These cuts ignore the reality that a modern society needs energy, and the only way we are going to meet our energy challenge is through smart investments in research and development.

Energy is essential to our economy, and if we pull back resources and do not invest, we will put our economic and national security at risk. We will also not meet the energy challenge if we blindly ignore existing research and refuse to access the most up-to-date information.

We also cannot solve our budget deficit with these types of cuts. In fact, they are more likely to make the problem worse. The best way to reduce our budget deficit is by fostering new businesses and industries that generate economic wealth, revenue, and jobs, and the fuel for that task is research and development. We are missing a golden opportunity with this measure. For these reasons I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

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