Bioeconomy Research and Development Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Johnson and House leadership for finding a path forward on this important bill.

I am so pleased to see renewed enthusiasm for Federal scientific investment under this administration and in this Congress.

The investments contained in the bill could hardly be more urgent. Over the past few decades, Federal investment in research and development has flatlined as a share of the overall U.S. economy. Meanwhile, our global competitors are jump-starting innovation and economic growth by accelerating investment. Without action, they will soon outpace us.

America needs to improve the speed and scale of scientific research while promoting innovative solutions.

This is a matter of national security.

Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee have worked hard to advance bipartisan innovation bills included in this package as strong counterparts to the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. The proposals offer a strategic and sustainable plan to grow American science, innovation, and technology to ensure our investments are aligned with the best interests of our scientific enterprise and builds on successful prior efforts. It includes provisions to diversify our workforce.

Additionally, to firmly establish the U.S. as a global leader in innovation and to compete for generations to come, we must build our domestic STEM workforce and encourage startup companies to establish roots here.

While increasing STEM scholarships for U.S. students, the act simultaneously draws the world's best and brightest STEM doctoral recipients and company founders to the U.S. It ensures that individuals who earned STEM doctoral degrees from top research universities will be eligible for permanent residence.

Unlike Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany, our laws don't provide a visa option for company founders to start a new venture and create jobs in the United States. This act would fix this.

I thank Priscilla Kim on my staff for the hard work she put into this, and once again, I thank our most wonderful chairwoman, Eddie Bernice Johnson.

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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, as the designee of Chairwoman Johnson, pursuant to House Resolution 900, I offer amendments en bloc.

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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, these amendments, although I am sure offered in good faith, diminish the value in the underlying bill. Not only the underlying bill, but the bipartisan amendments just adopted or that we will adopt tomorrow or Friday.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose these amendments, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, once again, I urge opposition to this en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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