by Gary Jones
FLC Washington, DC Representative
Greetings from D.C. In the waning hours prior to the August recess, the House and Senate passed the conference agreement on the long-awaited "competitiveness" bill, the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 2272), which the President signed into public law on August 9, 2007.
The bill (now law) is the culmination of great effort over the last two years to address several of the primary concerns identified in the National Academies' Report ("The Gathering Storm" — see this column for October/November 2005) presented to Congress in fall 2005, i.e., the need to increase basic research in the physical sciences and to emphasize math and science education (specifically, improving K-12 science and math teaching skills and attracting more students to the science, technology, engineering and math areas).
Recall that these concerns, along with the need to reform the current intellectual property system, immigration policy (to ensure foreign S&T students and workers can participate in the U.S. R&D enterprise), R&D tax credit policy for industry and to provide greater access to broadband, were identified in "The Gathering Storm" as important policy levers to help the U.S. maintain its dominant technological position in the world. Much of the language and emphasis from this report found its way into the President's 2007 budget in the form of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), which focused heavily on physical science basic research funding and STEM education issues.
The congressional effort was spearheaded on the House side primarily by the Science and Technology (S&T) Committee and on the Senate side by the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, (D-NM), chair of the Senate ENR Committee, described the bill as "a landmark piece of legislation that will ensure that our nation retains its competitive edge for generations to come." Rep. Bart Gordon (DTN), Chair of the House S&T Committee, similarly expressed the notion that securing "a brighter future for our children is simply not a partisan issue. I'm proud that my colleagues and I have been able to work together
to move this bill forward—this truly is a team effort."
Unfortunately, the bill also eliminates the Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Administration which, among many other duties, facilitates the current Interagency Working Group for Technology Transfer. This is one part of the law we'll be sorry to see implemented. However, passage of this bill is only a first step in maintaining our technological competitiveness. As "The Gathering Storm" report clearly points out, basic research funding and STEM education comprise only two of the areas that require policy action to ensure the U.S. maintains its technological lead. Many of the other areas identified in the report are the subject of legislative initiatives or debate now underway on Capitol Hill. For example, comprehensive patent reform legislation is currently working its way through the House and Senate, immigration reform remains a priority for many stakeholders, legislation to increase and make permanent R&D tax credits for industry has been introduced, among others. The competitiveness law is a good first step, but we have much farther to go. See the House S&T Committee press release and the Senate ENR Committee press release.
Gary can be reached at gkjones@federallabs.org.
