Tested Ability to Leverage Exceptional National Talent Act of 2016
Floor Speech
I rise in support of the TALENT Act. I believe it will help our government continue to attract the best and the brightest to help some of our Nation's largest challenges.
This Act codifies Executive Order 13704, and ensures the continuation of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which helps bring private-sector information technology solutions to Federal agencies.
Established by President Obama in 2012, this program has matched over 100 innovators with top civil servants at 25 different Federal departments and agencies. These partnerships harness new technology and tools to create a more effective and efficient government. During their tenure, fellows work to quickly deliver innovative products and services that help improve the way the Federal Government interacts with the American people.
The fellows are as diverse as our country and come from every region, age, skill, race, and gender. They have experience at companies like Google and Facebook, degrees from some of our top universities, extensive experience in nonprofits and, most importantly, a desire to harness their skills for public service.
Past projects include the Blue Button Initiative, which allows 150 million Americans access to their own health data so they can make informed decisions about their family's care.
The GeoQ project provides FEMA with better on-the-ground knowledge in times of disaster, using crowdsourced pictures to better assess damages and needs.
The NotAlone.gov project provides students and law enforcement personnel resources on responding and preventing sexual assault on college campuses.
And as a veteran myself, I appreciate the Veterans Employment Center, which has created a central hub for those who served with resources and potential employers to help them make the transition to civilian life.
This is a good bill that would make permanent a successful program. I urge my colleagues to support it.
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Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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