Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 1868m Technology Innovation And Manufacturing Stimulation Act Of 2007

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1868, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND MANUFACTURING STIMULATION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 02, 2007)

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of promoting technological innovation, bolstering the strength of our manufacturing industry and contributing to the overall global competitiveness of American business. However, I simply cannot support the closed rule process brought forward today by the Democrat majority that prevents all but one Republican amendment from being considered by the House.

This rule represents a substantial break with recent precedent because the last time that a comprehensive reauthorization of the National Institute of Standards and Technology was brought to the Rules Committee, the Republican majority provided the House with a completely open rule for its consideration. I know this, Mr. Speaker, because I had the privilege of managing that rule for our majority, and the Democrat minority position was then ably handled by the current chairman of the Rules Committee, my good friend Chairman LOUISE SLAUGHTER.

Unfortunately, Chairwoman Slaughter seems to have forgotten the merits of providing the House with an open rules process because today the committee that she chairs has provided the House with a closed process, through a restrictive rule, not an open rule, even using the more lenient definition of an open rule currently being employed by the Democrat majority, which under Republican leadership was reserved for modified open rules.

I include for the Record a copy of this rule, H. Res. 474, which provided for the consideration of H.R. 2733, the Enterprise Integration Act of 2002, to remind the majority that NIST reauthorization is, in fact, possible to do under an open process.

H. Res. 474

Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2733) to authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to work with major manufacturing industries on an initiative of standards development and implementation for electronic enterprise integration. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Science. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of substitute recommended by the Committee on Science now printed in the bill. Each section of the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Despite my objection to the rule, I do want to support the underlying legislation which makes a number of positive changes to an institution with a long history of helping to keep America globally competitive.

Since its inception in 1901, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has worked diligently to achieve its mission of promoting U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement, science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life.

By focusing on its core mission of stimulating innovation, fostering industrial competition and competitiveness and improving quality of life, the NIST has become a valuable component in the ongoing struggle that the United States faces to remain globally competitive.

This legislation authorizes appropriations for NIST for the next 3 years, most notably doubling the Federal Government's investment in physical
science research, as proposed by President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative. And this increased investment will yield real-world benefits across a number of diverse sectors, including developing performance standards for bullet-proof vests for our military and law enforcement, chemical and biological protection equipment for first responders, and measurement standards vital to leading-edge industries like nanotechnology and next-generation solar cells that will help America increase its energy independence.

This legislation strengthens oversight by requiring the NIST director to submit annual programmatic planning documents to Congress, ensuring that the NIST budget is spent on activities that meet the needs of American industry, and that the increased funds which the NIST is being entrusted with are spent wisely.

This legislation also takes steps to ensure the continued viability of the workhorses of the American economy, small and medium-size manufacturers.

By reauthorizing the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, Congress will help countless domestic manufacturers to improve their manufacturing processes, reduce waste and to train workers to use new equipment.

Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the work of Chairman BART GORDON and my good friend, the ranking member of the committee, the gentleman from Rockwall, Texas, Mr. RALPH HALL, for all of their hard work and bipartisan cooperation on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the Statement of Administration Policy for this legislation.

Statement of Administration Policy

H.R. 1868--TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND MANUFACTURING STIMULATION ACT OF 2007, MAY 1, 2007

The Administration opposes House passage of H.R. 1868 in its current form. The bill conflicts with the administration's Research and Development Criteria by diverting funds from critical, high-return basic research to support subsidized management consulting activities and a Technology Innovation Program (TIP) modeled on the Advanced Technology Program that was proceeding toward termination last Congress, as the Administration has proposed for the past five years. These external commercial support programs would be authorized at a total of $223 million in Fiscal Year 2008, and would increase by more than 18 percent in FY 2009. The Administration does not support the level of funding or the focus and structure of the programs as currently reflected in the bill. The Administration recognizes that a Manager's Amendment may be offered that is intended to improve the bill by refocusing TIP awards on areas of national need. However, the bill still permits grants to large corporations, limits the role of universities and national laboratories, and does not target major societal challenges.

The Administration continues to believe that investing in basic research is a higher priority. Last year the President proposed doubling support for high-payoff physical science research in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy's Office of Science over the coming decade as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI). Compared with the amounts required to double NIST's core research and facilities funding, H.R. 1868 provides $22 million less in FY 2008 than the President requested and authorizes less funding than the Administration recommends in FYs 2009 and 2010. Such investment in NIST's core measurement and standards capabilities has demonstrated a significant, and often exceptional, return to the economy. Studies commissioned by NIST to evaluate the economic impacts of its core standards activities generally show benefits far greater than costs--the benefit-cost ratio across 19 of these studies averaged 44:1, indicative of the great leveraging of NIST's work in the economy. The research funding increases for NIST proposed in the ACI have been broadly endorsed by the science community, most recently in the ``American Innovation Proc1amation''--a package of targeted recommendations by America's business and higher education leaders.

The House bill would divert NIST resources from core basic research activities toward less meritorious industrial policy. The Administration urges the House to amend the bill to address these concerns.

But despite my support for the legislation's goals, I encourage my colleagues to oppose this rule, so that this legislation can be considered under an open rule process that gives every single Member of this body with a germane amendment an opportunity to come down to the floor and to make their case.

Mr. Speaker, the essence of what we are here to do today is to help America to become more competitive in the global process. By doing this, what we are saying is that by working with the NIST, it is a collaboration that the government has on behalf of and in particular for technology.

Technology is what ultimately will drive America well into this new century to make sure that we solve problems, problems that have existed. Maybe they are mathematical problems, perhaps they are problems of trying to get people to work with new equipment that they may have. But the technology angle and the ability that the Federal Government has to take a proactive stand on behalf of American competitiveness is the essence of this bill.

For a long time, we have spoken on this floor, Member-to-Member and as a body, about how important it is for America to understand the global competition that faces America. Today is an opportunity for us to come together here in this Congress to make sure that we are talking not only about that which will help America, but to continue something that we have been doing since 1901, and that is a government program that works well with the private sector to make sure that America is poised in its future to be prepared for what lies ahead.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as you can see by the last two speakers, the gentleman from Georgia (Dr. Gingrey) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu), they have approached this subject not only in a bipartisan way, but with a genuine friendship to each other in trying to promote NIST as well as American competitiveness. I think this flows all the way to the top, where Chairman BART GORDON and ranking member RALPH HALL have worked very diligently on this. I think it is a good thing when we are able to work in the Congress on behalf of the American people, in this case for the NIST laboratories.

I would like to talk for just a minute, if I can, about more of what they do, because I think it is an interesting exercise to go through.

Between 3 and 6 percent of the U.S. gross domestic products is attributed to measurements and measurement-related operations that rely on the NIST for accuracy, reliability and for international recognition. The NIST X-ray standards and proficiency tests ensure proper radiation exposure levels in
more than 9,000 facilities that perform more than 30 million mammograms yearly.

The NIST Internet time services are being used by NASDAQ, a key component of our wonderful American system of financial integrity, for NASDAQ members to time stamp hundreds of billions of dollars worth of stock trades and other financial transactions that are conducted in business every single day.

The United States, for the last 35 years, has helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI. During part of that time my father, for eight of those years, served as Director of the FBI.

The NIST helps improve the process of matching fingerprints found at crime scenes or collected from suspects with those that are on file. In cooperation with the American National Standards Institute, the NIST also developed a uniform way for fingerprint identification data to be exchanged between different jurisdictions and between scanning machines made by different manufacturers.

The Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, the Nation's highest honor awarded by the President of the United States to U.S. organizations for their performance excellence in quality achievement, is managed by the NIST, and the award criteria are used by thousands of companies, hospitals, and schools to improve their products and services all across the United States.

The total economic benefit of the NIST Baldridge National Quality Program, which receives only a small amount of Federal funding, is estimated at almost $25 billion for a stunning benefit-cost ratio of 207 to 1.

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about something that is a laboratory that all Americans can be proud of. I came from a research organization years ago in New Jersey where I had a chance to also work in a lab. This lab is an asset to America. But, Mr. Speaker, it is part of an overall comprehensive and complex way that the United States chooses to do business not only in this country, but also to lead the world.

I found it interesting that just a few weeks ago there was a report issued by the Financial Times, which is a newspaper that reports on international monetary circumstances, and it reported that now the 25-member EU countries have a combined GDP that equals that of the United States of America, 25 member countries from the EU. But if you read on, you see that they now have a combined GDP that equals the United States where we were in 1985.

America truly is the world leader. We are the world leader in commerce and activities that create better lives for people. The EU is struggling. They are struggling because of high taxes, rules and regulations, and a single-payer system in health care, those things that we here in the United States Congress also debate and talk about.

And because we have a chance to have something like the NIST as well as a free-enterprise system that is vibrant here in America, because we shut off the heavy rules and regulations, the heavy taxation, and those things that would be related to a single-payer system for health care, we have been able to move America economically in the world marketplace.

So Republicans today come to the floor in full appreciation and respect with our colleagues to say we want to continue what this lab does, but we are also asking for them at the same time to recognize that growing medium and small business, ensuring that America stays competitive, and, most importantly, that we are prepared for the future where our competitors might be is what really this Congress should be doing.

Today is a small piece, part, a component of that competitiveness model that will keep America going, and I am proud to be a part of that.

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