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March 13, 2008

Gordon: House Budget Resolution Makes Investments to Spur American Innovation

(Washington, DC) Today, House Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) praised the passage of the FY2009 House budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 312.

The House budget resolution includes an additional $1.98 billion over the FY2008 appropriated levels for science, space, and technology – an amount that will fully accommodate the commitments made in the America COMPETES Act (PL 110-69) for the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy Office of Science.

Additional budget authority over this year’s levels also was included for energy technology research such as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology programs, which include help for small manufacturers and technology companies through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and Technology Innovation Program (TIP).

"This is a fiscally responsible budget that invests in proven programs to boost economic growth and spur innovation," said Chairman Gordon. "As we all know, the global marketplace continues to become more competitive, and our country cannot and should not compete with the rest of the world on wages when half of the world’s workers earn less than $2 a day. Our country needs to compete at a higher level – with better skills and higher productivity. That’s what the America COMPETES Act is all about, and I’m pleased to see this budget resolution make U.S. competitiveness and education a high priority."

H.Con.Res. 312 also includes a Sense of the House on innovation and the America COMPETES Act that states "the House should provide sufficient funding so that our nation may continue to be the world leader in education, innovation, and economic growth." The provision also notes that the budget resolution "will keep us on a path toward doubling funding for the National Science Foundation, basic research in the physical sciences, and collaborative research partnerships, and toward achieving energy independence through the development of clean and sustainable alternative energy technologies."

Last August, Congress passed and the President signed into law the America COMPETES Act. A response to the 2005 National Academies’ report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, and supported by a wide range of U.S. industries, universities, and science organizations, COMPETES seeks to ensure U.S. students, teachers, businesses, and workers will continue leading the world in science, innovation, research, and technology. COMPETES invests in long-term science and research, as well as short-term technology development and innovation.

The budget resolution passed on a vote of 212-207.

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110.229

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