Bipartisan Bills Pass Out of Committee
(Washington, DC) – Today the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a markup of H.R. 1119, H.R. 1156, H.R. 1162, H.R. 1158, and H.R. 874. All of the bills passed out of Committee on bipartisan voice votes.
Though the markup was bipartisan, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), expressed concern that the bills did not go through regular order on the Committee. She also said, “I am concerned that we are spending our time marking up a number of individual small bills that at one time would have been parts of a comprehensive R&D bill such as the America Competes Act. When Mr. Norman Augustine appeared before our Committee at the end of January he stated in no uncertain terms, and I quote, ‘I think America Competes is the most important thing this Committee could take on.’ I agree with Mr. Augustine, and rather than continuing to focus on small bills like those before us today—meritorious though they may be—I would hope that we can now turn our focus to working together to hold comprehensive hearings and bipartisan dialogue aimed at reauthorizing America Competes.”
H.R. 1119, the Research and Development Efficiency Act requires that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) establish a working group of federal research agencies to figure out how to better standardize and streamline the administrative requirements on their grantees.
Ranking Member Johnson said, “The National Science Board, the Association of American Universities, the Federal Demonstration Partnership, and the National Academy of Sciences have all issued reports just in the last few years expressing concern about administrative burdens faced by U.S. researchers. The statistic that we’ve heard many times is that federally funded researchers spend an average of 42 percent of their time on administrative tasks. That is time and money spent not doing science. This is a terribly inefficient use of some of our nation’s greatest scientific brainpower in addition to being an inefficient use of federal funds. While I believe we must continue to increase our investments in science and technology to remain competitive, we must also ask how we can do more and better with what we have. The vitality of our nation’s research universities and our overall competitiveness will suffer if we do not reduce the administrative workload on our nation’s scientific talent. H.R. 1119 is an important step in the right direction.”
H.R. 1156, the International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2015 requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) committee to coordinate international S&T activities across federal agencies and identify opportunities for new international S&T partnerships aligned with U.S. foreign policy priorities.
Ranking Member of the Research and Technology Subcommittee, Congressman Dan Lipinksi (D-IL) said, “Scientific research has always been an international endeavor. From the International Space Station to the Human Genome Project to the discovery of the Higgs Boson at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, international science collaborations have always played a vital role in advancing human knowledge, and the US has long been a leader in this area. While the administration is taking steps to formulate a strategy for international science cooperation, this bill will ensure that the process moves forward with the appropriate congressional oversight.”
H.R. 1162, the Science Prize Competitions Act would strengthen the authority federal agencies have to use prize competitions as an alternative to incentivize scientific research and development.
Ranking Member of the Oversight Subcommittee Don Beyer (D-VA) said, “Price competitions accelerate technological innovation and have pioneered advancements in space exploration, public health, automobiles, lighting, and much more… I hope that our science agencies will see these successes and continue to support federal agencies as they strengthen this authority.”
H.R. 1158, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015 improves management of the National Laboratories, enhances technology commercialization, and facilitates public-private partnerships.
Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) said, “DOE’s national laboratories and research programs have been the birthplace to some of our most revolutionary technologies. When this research is harnessed by entrepreneurs and business leaders, start-ups with one or two employees can grow into companies that create hundreds of quality jobs. I've seen this time and again at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado. We want to make sure our federally-funded institutions and initiatives remain an important foundation of our knowledge-based economy. That’s why I was proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation with my friend from Illinois, Randy Hultgren, giving scientists and researchers in both the public and private sector the tools and freedom they need to unlock a new wave of innovation.”
H.R. 874, the American Super Computing Leadership Act amends the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 to improve the high-end computing research and development program of the Department of Energy.
Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said, “This bill would authorize an exascale computing program that would not only support the development of the next generation of the fastest computers in the world right here in the United States, but also help ensure that we develop software and algorithms that allow us to make the best use of these computers. Representing a district that contains two Department of Energy laboratories, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia, I know very well how vital developing these capabilities are to ensuring that we remain the world leader in a wide range of research areas. For example, the Sequoia system at Lawrence Livermore – currently the 3rd fastest in the world – is performing calculations that are critical to ensuring the reliability of our nuclear weapons stockpile. This important work allows us to maintain our national security while abiding by the nuclear test ban treaty. With this bipartisan legislation, we will be establishing a program that will allow the United States to remain a leader in high-end computing.”
Related Content
Next Article Previous Article