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America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

Date: May 20, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Science

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Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the gentleman's amendment and in support of the underlying reforms included in H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015.

This amendment would remove important measures that ensure greater transparency for the Federal Government's climate science initiative and require accountability for the Office of Science to justify the value of related work going forward.

The gentleman's amendment would also remove underlying language in the America COMPETES Act that would require the Government Accountability Office to identify duplicative climate science initiatives across the entire Federal Government.

All Members of Congress should support transparency in federally funded research. It is our core responsibility to provide oversight for Federal programs and make sure American taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly, not duplicating work that has already been done.

That said, the language in the America COMPETES Act does not ban any particular area of science but, instead, requires that DOE justify the science's merit and provide greater transparency if climate science work is intentionally duplicated.

This provision in the America COMPETES Act is simply good governance and is more important now than ever. The Obama administration has unapologetically pushed forward a politicized climate agenda through the Federal Government, prioritizing climate change research above all else. Better transparency can help prevent wasteful spending and prioritize the most valuable research.

H.R. 1806 authorizes the Office of Science within the Department of Energy to support basic research in the physical sciences, including research on Earth's atmosphere. By including these good government measures, the America COMPETES Act gives Congress appropriate oversight, funds valuable research, but does not provide a blank check for the President's climate agenda.

This amendment would strike these important accountability measures from the America COMPETES Act research. For that reason, I oppose the amendment and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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