Conference Report on H. R. 2272, America Competes Act

Floor Speech

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2272, AMERICA COMPETES ACT -- (House of Representatives - August 02, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

What an exciting day for the Congress. Some of you are too young to know this, but you have read about it in the history books. Mr. Hall and I remember when President Kennedy came forward and said that he was going to inaugurate a program that would send a man to the moon and back, safely, within 10 years.

Now, for those of you who weren't born yet, you have read about it in history, you have to know that sending a man to the moon as an idea was such an impossibility. It would be almost like a magician cutting somebody in half and then putting them together again.

How could this possibly happen, that somebody would go into the sky, to the moon and come back?

At the time that he did that, it was a remarkable lift to the American people because it had followed upon Sputnik, as many of you know or have read in the history books and some of us remember. When he did that, President
Kennedy made the following statement. He said, ``The vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we are first, and therefore, we intend to be first. Our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others all require us to make this effort,'' hearkening back to our Founders, those magnificent, courageous, optimistic, confident people, and President Kennedy referenced our vows to their great work.

This is our innovation agenda which is reflected in the legislation before us today. In answering President Kennedy's call, at that time, to put a man on the Moon, America unleashed unprecedented technological advances that built the world's most vibrant economy. The talent, intellect and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people that made this country the leader is being seriously challenged today by other countries. Americans must continue to innovate in order to create new, thriving industries that will produce millions of good jobs here at home and a better future for the next generation.

The distinguished chairman of the Science and Technology Committee and the distinguished ranking member, in bringing this bill to the floor today, are giving us our opportunity at our time to meet the challenge for the future. Today Congress has the opportunity to make a decision for the future.

Nearly 2 years ago, House Democrats created our innovation agenda in a very bipartisan way, which guarantees our national security and our economic prosperity, expands markets for American products, and asserts our leadership throughout the world in the decades to come. Already this year the New Direction Congress has led the way in promoting innovation and investments in education, science, research and development.

Today, with the COMPETES Act, we have bipartisan, bicameral legislation that implements much of the innovation agenda. Again, I want to recognize the extraordinary leadership of Chairman Bart Gordon and the Science and Technology Committee and the ranking member for their leadership on this conference report. Chairman Gordon has energized this committee, ensuring that our Nation will continue to be the world leader in education, innovation and economic growth.

The COMPETES Act focuses on four key areas, as has been referenced: education, research and development, energy independence, and small business.

In education, the COMPETES Act recognized that America's greatest resources for innovation are in the classrooms across this country. This legislation invests in creating the most highly qualified teachers and training the next generations of scientists, mathematicians and engineers through public-private partnerships. This bill also takes steps to ensure that future innovators reflect the diversity of our country.

What I love about this bill and this legislation is that it's market-oriented, public-private entrepreneurial partnerships to keep us number one.

We know that innovation begins in the classroom and that scientific research provides the foundation for innovation and future technologies. The COMPETES Act makes a sustained commitment to research and development by putting us on a path to doubling funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology and the Department of Energy's Office of Science.

I heard Congressman Wamp with great enthusiasm talk about the ARPA--Energy. I'm excited about it as well. To help achieve energy independence, the COMPETES Act focuses on energy research and innovation by creating a new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, ARPA-E.

Mr. Chairman, I know your enthusiasm for that issue for a long time, and congratulations on bringing it to fulfillment here. This initiative will provide talent and resources for high-risk, high-reward energy research and technology development and attract investment for the next generation of revolutionary technologies.

And finally, the COMPETES Act recognizes that small businesses are often the catalyst for technological innovation and the backbone of the strong economy. It puts us on a path to doubling the funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and creates a new initiative, the Technology Innovation Program, to support high-risk, high-reward, pre-competitive technology for small and medium-sized companies.

Because this bill is a decision in favor of future jobs and future economic strength, it's earned the endorsement of the Chamber of Commerce, many university presidents, ITI, TechNet, and the National Association of Manufacturers, among others.

I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it. And before I close, I want to acknowledge the great leadership of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Congressman George Miller, who is the Chair of our Policy Committee, for the work they did bringing people together, Democrats and Republicans, entrepreneurs, high tech, biotech, academics, people in the work force, students, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, all to come to bear, all over the country. Meetings were held all over the country to put together the innovation agenda which is reflected in this legislation. Mr. Baird had an event in Washington State. As I look around, I could name so many Members who had events in their States. In doing so today, in passing this bill, we will assert our global economic leadership, create new business ventures and jobs, and give future generations the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

I began my remarks, Mr. Speaker, by quoting President Kennedy, who was an inspiration to so many of us of a certain generation who are active in public service today.

He hearkened back to our Founders and our vows to our Nation, and I want to hearken back to that place too, because our Founders were among the earliest American entrepreneurs. They were magnificent disrupters. They thought new and fresh and different ways. They came together. Imagine the confidence. They came together, declared their independence from the greatest naval power in existence at the time, did so in a declaration that asserted the equality of all people, and then went forward to win the Revolutionary War, write a Constitution that made us the freest people in the world. Thank heavens they made it amendable so that we could even become freer. And when they did so, they designed the Great Seal of the United States. And on it, it's in your pocket. You're carrying it around if you don't know it. It's on the dollar bill. And on that great seal it says, ``Novus Ordo Seclorum.''

These people, with all that revolutionary spirit, with all that disruption of the status quo, had so much confidence in what they were doing, so much faith in themselves, faith in this country to be and faith in God that they said that what they were establishing was for the centuries, for the ages, "seclorum.'' Those of you who know Latin know that that means "forever.'' And it was that optimism, that confidence that built America. And it is in that spirit of disruption, of change, of doing something different, of having a big goal of aspiring to greatness, that we, as President Kennedy said, do honor the vows of our Nation. And this legislation is very much in their pioneer and entrepreneurial spirit.

I thank you again, Chairman Gordon, for your tremendous leadership.

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