[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                           BUILDING REGIONAL
                      INNOVATION ECONOMIES PART II

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

                                 OF THE

                      COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE,
                             AND TECHNOLOGY

                                 OF THE

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                           DECEMBER 14, 2022

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-73

                               __________

 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
 
 [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                                                                        
                                    

       Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
       
                              __________

                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
49-783PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2024                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------     
 
              COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY

             HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman
ZOE LOFGREN, California              FRANK LUCAS, Oklahoma, 
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon                 Ranking Member
AMI BERA, California                 MO BROOKS, Alabama
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan,             BILL POSEY, Florida
    Vice Chair                       RANDY WEBER, Texas
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey           BRIAN BABIN, Texas
JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York              ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
MELANIE A. STANSBURY, New Mexico     MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida
BRAD SHERMAN, California             JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado              DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida
JERRY McNERNEY, California           MIKE GARCIA, California
PAUL TONKO, New York                 STEPHANIE I. BICE, Oklahoma
BILL FOSTER, Illinois                YOUNG KIM, California
DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey          RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
DON BEYER, Virginia                  JAKE LaTURNER, Kansas
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois                CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania             JAY OBERNOLTE, California
DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina         PETER MEIJER, Michigan
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin                JAKE ELLZEY, TEXAS
DAN KILDEE, Michigan                 MIKE CAREY, OHIO
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas
VACANCY
                                 ------                                

                Subcommittee on Research and Technology

                HON. HALEY STEVENS, Michigan, Chairwoman
MELANIE A. STANSBURY, New Mexico     RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa, 
PAUL TONKO, New York                     Ranking Member
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin                ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania             JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
BILL FOSTER, Illinois                JAKE LaTURNER, Kansas
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania             PETER MEIJER, Michigan
DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina         JAKE ELLZEY, TEXAS
                        
                        
                        C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                           December 14, 2022

                                                                   Page

Hearing Charter..................................................     2

                           Opening Statements

Statement by Representative Haley Stevens, Chairwoman, 
  Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science, 
  Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives...........    10
    Written Statement............................................    11

Statement by Representative Randy Feenstra, Ranking Member, 
  Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science, 
  Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives...........    12
    Written Statement............................................    14

                               Witnesses:

Hon. Alejandra Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
  Economic Development, Economic Development Administration
    Oral Statement...............................................    16
    Written Statement............................................    18

Ms. Maureen Donohue Krauss, President and CEO, Detroit Regional 
  Partnership
    Oral Statement...............................................    28
    Written Statement............................................    30

Mr. David Spalding, Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Debbie and Jerry 
  Ivy College of Business and Interim Vice President of Economic 
  Development and Industry Relations, Iowa State University
    Oral Statement...............................................    40
    Written Statement............................................    42

Ms. Linda Olson, President/CEO, Tampa Bay Wave
    Oral Statement...............................................    51
    Written Statement............................................    53

Discussion.......................................................    61

              Appendix: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions

Hon. Alejandra Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
  Economic Development, Economic Development Administration......    74

Mr. David Spalding, Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Debbie and Jerry 
  Ivy College of Business and Interim Vice President of Economic 
  Development and Industry Relations, Iowa State University......    78

Ms. Linda Olson, President/CEO, Tampa Bay Wave...................    80

 
                           BUILDING REGIONAL
                      INNOVATION ECONOMIES PART II

                              ----------                              


                      WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022

                  House of Representatives,
           Subcommittee on Research and Technology,
               Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
                                                   Washington, D.C.

    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in 
room 2318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Haley Stevens 
[Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Chairwoman Stevens. This hearing will come to order. 
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare recess at 
any time.
    Before delivering opening remarks, I just wanted to note 
that, today, the Committee is meeting both in person and 
virtually, and I wanted to just announce a couple of reminders 
to Members about the conduct of this hearing. First, Members 
and staff who are attending in person may choose to be masked, 
but it is not a requirement. However, any individual with 
symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 
should wear a mask while present. Members who are attending 
virtually should keep their video feed on as long as they are 
present in the hearing. Members are responsible, certainly, for 
their own microphones. Please also keep your microphones muted 
unless you're speaking.
    Finally, if Members wish to submit for the record, please 
email the Committee Clerk, whose email address was circulated 
prior to this hearing.
    So with that, good morning, and welcome to the final 
Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing of the 117th 
Congress. Today, we're taking a closer look at the Economic 
Development Administration, or the EDA, and their role, their 
incredible role to promote regional innovation through 
community-led economic development.
    I want to thank our distinguished witnesses for joining us. 
I know you all have powerful testimony to share. And I would 
like to especially express my deep gratitude to Assistant 
Secretary Alejandra Castillo. Since I was elected to Congress, 
I devote Mondays primarily to visiting manufacturers or small 
businesses in my district. It's what I call Manufacturing 
Monday. And part of this is to showcase southeastern Michigan's 
innovation economy. I've seen firsthand the power of targeted, 
direct Federal investments to uplift the industry and talent 
already in our region. And these investments create coalitions 
by bringing a wide variety of community stakeholders to the 
table with a shared vision and shared goals. It opens new doors 
that otherwise would not be possible to open. And frankly, we 
have seen the return on the investment and the return to the 
dedication of supporting our manufacturing economy, our 
emerging industries all over this country.
    All the Members participating in this hearing know great 
innovators in their district, and they see it all across the 
country. So the question before us today is how to build 
innovation ecosystems in different communities with different 
strengths because I believe we can widen this pie. We can carve 
out equitable pathways for economic growth by supporting 
modernization to become part of a supply chain for industries 
of the future and to ensure American competitiveness.
    And certainly this is not just an issue of geography. Women 
and entrepreneurs of color have faced a more difficult road to 
commercial success. And in recent years, Black and Hispanic 
founders in the United States raised just 2.4 percent of the 
total U.S. venture capital funding, despite making up 30 
percent of the population. When we leave behind segments of our 
population, we leave behind countless great ideas and the 
benefits that come with them. An investment to increase 
geographic diversity and participation is also an investment to 
bolster domestic supply chains and grow our manufacturing 
capacity.
    Despite our standing, America still has lost about 1/4 of 
its manufacturing capacity over the last quarter of a century. 
This has certainly cost us good jobs and left critical supply 
chain vulnerabilities and gaps. The COVID-19 pandemic, as we 
all know, was a wake-up call in this space, and it was hardly 
our first wake-up call.
    In response to the Great Recession, this very Committee 
authorized the regional innovation programs at EDA in 2010. 
Through these programs, EDA has been building up support for 
entrepreneurs in local investment networks around the country. 
In midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic 
impacts as a result of the pandemic, EDA took on a much larger 
task. Congress directed EDA, in the American Rescue Plan, to 
help enable economic recovery in an effort to rebuild American 
communities. The Build Back Better Regional Challenge 
contributes to a stronger EDA going forward, one with an 
expanded suite of proven tools to nurture and support 
innovation economies across this country.
    We will hear from a variety of EDA success stories today 
from our witnesses. I recognize the hometown advantage, and I 
certainly am eager to hear from our witness, Maureen Donohue 
Krauss, President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the 
Detroit Regional Partnership, and her experience securing the 
$52 million grant through EDA's Build Back Better Challenge 
known as the global epicenter for mobility. Led by one of the 
most diverse regions in the United States, this example offers 
the opportunity to create a national model for equitable 
economic growth. And the award is a testament to the power of 
integrating all the pieces of an innovation ecosystem together.
    This Congress has taken immeasurable steps to bolster 
American manufacturing to lead the world in innovation and 
advanced technology, and I'm so proud of the multitude of 
bipartisan provisions this very Committee advanced in the CHIPS 
and Science Act. While this legislation is now law, I recognize 
that Congress still has work to do to fully fund the 
appropriations the bill authorized and certainly the role that 
we will play in oversight of the implementation of the CHIPS 
and Science Act. America's ability to compete globally hinges 
on us taking action to fully fund the CHIPS and Science Act.
    Lastly, it is my hope that this discussion continues beyond 
just today's hearing. As we look to the future of our work in 
Congress, I believe there is an appetite from both sides of the 
aisle to advance a vision for America to lead the world on this 
front. I want to thank our witnesses and my colleagues for 
their their contributions today.
    [The prepared statement of Chairwoman Stevens follows:]

    Good morning and welcome to the final Research and 
Technology subcommittee hearing of the 117th Congress. Today, 
we take a closer look at the Economic Development 
Administration and their role to promote regional innovation 
through community-led economic development. I want to thank our 
distinguished witnesses for joining us--I know you all have 
powerful testimony to share. I would like to especially express 
my gratitude to Assistant Secretary Alejandra Castillo.
    Since I was elected to Congress, I devote my Mondays to 
visiting a manufacturer or business in my district--what I call 
``Manufacturing Mondays''--to showcase southeast Michigan's 
innovation economy. I have seen firsthand the power of targeted 
federal investments to uplift the industries and talent already 
in our regions. These investments create coalitions by bringing 
a wide variety of community stakeholders to the table with a 
shared vision. It opens new doors that otherwise would not have 
been possible to open. I have seen the return on investment.
    All of the Members participating in this hearing know great 
innovators in their Districts and in pockets across the 
country. So, the question before us today is how to build 
innovation ecosystems in different communities with different 
strengths. Because I believe we can widen this pie. We can 
carve out equitable pathways for economic growth by supporting 
modernization to become part of a supply chain for industries 
of the future.
    This is not just an issue of geography. Women and 
entrepreneurs of color face a more difficult road to commercial 
success. In recent years, Black and Hispanic founders in the 
U.S. raised just 2.4% of the total U.S. venture capital funding 
despite making up over 30% of the population. When we leave 
behind entire segments of our population, we leave behind 
countless great ideas, and the benefits that come with them.
    An investment to increase geographic diversity and 
participation, is also an investment to bolster domestic supply 
chains and grow our manufacturing capacity. Despite our 
standing, America has lost a quarter of its manufacturing 
capacity over the past 25 years. This has cost us good jobs and 
left critical supply chains unacceptably vulnerable. The COVID-
19 pandemic was a wake-up call for sure, but hardly our first.
    In response to the Great Recession, this very committee 
authorized the regional innovation programs at EDA in 2010. 
Through these programs, EDA has slowly been building up support 
for entrepreneurs and local investment networks around the 
country.
    In midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic 
impacts, EDA took on a much larger task. Congress directed EDA, 
in the American Rescue Plan, to help enable economic recovery 
and rebuild American communities. The Build Back Better 
Regional Challenge will contribute to a stronger EDA going 
forward--one with an expanded suite of proven tools to nurture 
and support innovation economies across the country.
    We will hear a variety of EDA success stories today from 
our witnesses. I recognize the hometown advantage and am eager 
to hear from our witness, Maureen Donohue Krauss, President and 
CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership and her experience 
securing a $52.2 million grant through EDA's Build Back Better 
Regional Challenge. Led by one of the most diverse regions in 
the United States, this example offers the opportunity to 
create a national model for equitable economic growth. This 
award is a testament to the power of integrating all of the 
pieces of an innovation ecosystem together.
    This Congress has taken incredible steps to bolster 
American manufacturing to lead the world in innovation and 
advanced technology. I am so proud of the multitude of 
bipartisan provisions this committee advanced in the CHIPS and 
Science Act. While this legislation is now law, I recognize 
that Congress still has work to do to fully fund the 
appropriations the bill authorized. America's ability to 
compete globally hinges on us fully funding the CHIPS and 
Science Act.
    Lastly, it is my hope that this discussion continues beyond 
just today's hearing. As we look to the future of our work in 
Congress, I believe there is an appetite from both sides of the 
aisle to advance a vision for America to lead the world on this 
front. I want to again thank the witnesses and my colleagues 
for their contributions today.

    Chairwoman Stevens. And with that, the Chair now recognizes 
Mr. Feenstra for an opening statement.
    Mr. Feenstra. Thank you, Chairwoman Stevens, for holding 
this wonderful hearing today. I also want to thank Chairman 
Lucas for attending today. Thank you for being here. And I also 
want to thank our witnesses for your participation today and to 
hear your stories. I look forward to hearing your testimonies 
and all your success stories. I hope that we can use this 
hearing as an opportunity to build upon prior work to learn how 
we can continue to support regional innovation economies around 
the Nation.
    I would especially like to thank Assistant Secretary 
Castillo for taking the time to speak with us today and how the 
Economic Development Agency, EDA, supports local and regional 
economies. We have to ask ourselves, how do we promote 
meaningful innovation to drive economic development not only in 
Silicon Valley, but also in places like Iowa and the American 
heartland? This is a challenge for my colleagues as I have 
examined this in Congress to learn how we can support regional 
innovation around the country as every community has their own 
unique set of goals and challenges for developing their own 
innovation economy.
    I've directly seen result in investing in our regional 
innovation in my own home State Iowa, and I believe it can 
provide a strong example of how public-private partnerships and 
a focus on local strengths can build an economy of good-paying 
jobs while supporting innovation. Agriculture is one of the 
driving forces in our economy. In Iowa, we are proud to be one 
of the Nation's leading States in the agricultural sector and 
the Nation's largest producer of pork, corn, eggs, ethanol, and 
biodiesel. Iowa has developed several key industries such as 
biosciences, advanced manufacturing, and transportation to help 
drive economic growth and innovation. And when it comes to 
enhancing both economic growth and economic opportunities, Iowa 
State University has done an exemplary job at cultivating an 
innovation ecosystem to spur growth.
    Thank you to Dean Spalding for being here today to discuss 
the role of higher education and how it plays out in promoting 
regional innovation and economic development. Just last month, 
Iowa State won an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University 
Award for the fourth time since 2017 from the Association of 
Public and Land-grant Universities. Iowa State took home first-
place award for innovation--for exemplary innovations, spurring 
entrepreneurship, technology-based economic development. This 
recognition demonstrates how Iowa State Leadership in 
innovation can successfully enhance economic opportunities 
across Iowa and across our Nation.
    Iowa State is home to Iowa State University's Research 
Park, which serves as a technology community and incubator for 
business and provides access to countless resources at Iowa 
State, including talent pipelines, specialized equipment, and 
research infrastructure. The research part plays a key role in 
economic development at Iowa State when it comes to technology 
transfer, as it's part of a network that connects technology 
creation, business formation, and development assistance with 
established technology firms. This is just one example of how 
public-private partnerships at Iowa State have a tremendous 
success to advance innovation across Iowa and our Nation.
    I hope we can use today's hearing as an opportunity to 
discuss the importance of private partner--partnerships to 
drive regional innovation. I am proud of Iowa State's 
tremendous work in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, 
and I hope institutions around the country look to them as an 
example of how to be successful in this space. I also hope we 
can continue the important dialog of how all communities, 
whether big or small, rural or urban, can have the opportunity 
to become leaders in regional innovation. Every American in 
every zip code deserves the opportunity to participate in the 
innovation economy, whether that's starting their own business 
or building a career in a high-tech, good-paying job.
    I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my support for 
the Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization Act 
called MAPS, which the President signed into law last month, 
that ensures smaller and rural communities have a fair 
opportunity to receive Federal funding and assistance from 
programs like the ones we are discussing today.
    With that, I thank our witnesses. And with that, I yield 
back.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Feenstra follows:]

    Thank you, Chairwoman Stevens, for holding today's hearing. 
And thank you to our witnesses for your participation today.
    I look forward to hearing your testimonies and success 
stories. I hope we can use this hearing as an opportunity to 
build upon prior work to learn how we can continue to support 
regional innovation economies around the nation.
    I would especially like to thank Assistant Secretary 
Castillo for taking the time to speak to us today about how the 
Economic Development Agency (EDA) supports local and regional 
innovation economies.
    We have to ask ourselves: how do we promote meaningful 
innovation to drive economic development not only in Silicon 
Valley, but in places like America's Heartland?
    This is a challenge my colleagues and I have examined this 
Congress to learn how we can support regional innovation around 
the country, as every community has their own unique set of 
goals and challenges for developing their own innovation 
economy.
    I've directly seen the results of investing in regional 
innovation in my home state of Iowa, and I believe we can 
provide a strong example of how public-private partnerships and 
a focus on local strengths can build an economy of good paying 
jobs while supporting innovation.
    Agriculture is one of the driving forces of our economy. In 
Iowa we are proud to be one of America's leading states in the 
agriculture sector, and the nation's largest producer of pork, 
corn, eggs, ethanol, and biodiesel.
    Iowa has developed several other key industries such as 
biosciences, advanced manufacturing, and transportation, to 
help drive economic growth and innovation.
    And when it comes to enhancing both economic growth and 
economic opportunities, Iowa State University has done an 
exemplary job at cultivating an innovation ecosystem to spur 
growth.
    Thank you, Dean Spalding, for being with us here today to 
discuss the role higher education plays in promoting regional 
innovation and economic development.
    Just last month, Iowa State won an Innovation and Economic 
Prosperity University Award for the fourth time since 2017 from 
the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.
    Iowa State took home the first-place award for 
``Innovation'' for exemplary initiatives spurring innovation, 
entrepreneurship, and technology-based economic development.
    This recognition demonstrates how Iowa State's leadership 
in innovation can successfully enhance economic opportunities 
across Iowa and the United States.
    Iowa State is also home to the Iowa State University 
Research Park, which serves as a technology community and 
incubator for businesses and provides access to countless 
resources at Iowa State including talent pipelines, specialized 
equipment, and research infrastructure.
    The Research Park plays a key role in economic development 
at Iowa State when it comes to technology transfer, as it is 
part of a network that connects technology creation, business 
formation, and development assistance with established 
technology firms.
    This is just one example of how public-private partnerships 
at Iowa State have had tremendous success to advance innovation 
across Iowa and the nation.
    I hope we can use today's hearing as an opportunity to 
discuss the importance of public-private partnerships to drive 
regional innovation.
    I am proud of Iowa State's tremendous work in promoting 
innovation and entrepreneurship, and I hope institutions around 
the country look to them as an example of how to be successful 
in this space.
    I also hope we can continue this important dialogue on how 
all communities, whether big or small; rural or urban; can have 
the opportunity to become leaders in regional innovation. Every 
American in every zip code deserves the opportunity to 
participate in the innovation economy, whether that's starting 
their own business or building a career in a high tech, good 
paying job.
    I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my support for 
the Metropolitan Areas Protection and Standardization (MAPS) 
Act, which the President signed into law last month, that 
ensures smaller and rural communities have a fair opportunity 
to receive federal funding and assistance from programs like 
the ones we are discussing today.
    Thank you, and I yield back.

    Chairwoman Stevens. Great, thank you, Mr. Feenstra. And in 
the spirit of big 10 rivalry, you should remember that while 
Iowa has great public-private partnerships, Michigan invented 
the public-private partnership. So we're glad to all be here 
discussing that today. But if--just kidding.
    But at this time, if there are Members who wish to submit 
additional opening statements, your statements will be added to 
the record at this point.
    And at this time, I'd like to introduce our incredible 
witnesses. Our first witness is the Honorable Alejandra 
Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic 
Development. Assistant Secretary Castillo has served in 
leadership positions for three Presidents, President Biden, 
President Obama, and President Clinton. Prior to her position 
at EDA, Ms. Castillo was the Chief Executive Officer of the 
YWCA USA. In 2014 she was appointed by President Obama to serve 
as the National Director of the Commerce Department's Minority 
Business Development Agency, becoming the first Hispanic woman 
to lead the agency. Ms. Castillo has served as a senior policy 
analyst in the White House during the Clinton Administration, 
and we love watching her leadership shine.
    Our next witness is Ms. Maureen Donohue Krauss from my home 
State of Michigan. Ms. Krauss is the President and CEO of the 
Detroit Regional Partnership, a leading economic development 
nonprofit, serving the 11-county metro Detroit region. Ms. 
Krauss is an accomplished economic development officer with 
more than 30 years of leadership in economic development, 
nonprofit, and government sphere, successful having shepherded 
the Global Epicenter of Mobility (GEM) initiative through. This 
initiative will accelerate economic growth in metro Detroit by 
building on the region's unrivaled--our region's unrivaled 
mobility assets to create a smart, secure, sustainable, and 
inclusive advanced mobility industry. Prior to her role at the 
Detroit Regional Partnership, Ms. Krauss served as Vice 
President of Economic Development and Business Attraction at 
the Detroit Regional Chamber and worked for the Oakland County 
Department of Economic Development and Community Affairs, an 
award-winning county agency where she led a team of over 100.
    Our third witness is Mr. David Spalding. Mr. Spalding is 
the Raisbeck Endowed Dean of Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of 
Business at Iowa State University. He also serves as the 
interim Vice President for Economic Development and Industry 
Relations. During his time as dean, the college has added five 
undergraduate majors and launched five master's programs. Dean 
Spalding has served on a number of corporate boards and 
nonprofit organizations and currently serves on the Ames 
Economic Development Commission Board of Directors.
    Our next witness is Ms. Linda Olson. Ms. Olson is the 
founder and CEO of Tampa Bay Wave, which runs the only Florida-
based accelerator accredited by the Global Accelerator Network. 
In 2012, Ms. Olson led a regional effort to secure a $1 million 
Federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration 
that launched Tampa Bay Wave's Venture Connector and 
Accelerator Program in partnership with the University of South 
Florida. Ms. Olson is an original member of Startup America 
Partnership and is currently an active member of Startup 
Champions Network.
    As our witnesses should know, you will each have 5 minutes 
for your spoken testimony. Your written testimony will be added 
in the record for the hearing. When you have all completed your 
spoken testimony, we'll begin with questions, and each Member 
will have 5 minutes to question the panel. We will start with 
Assistant Secretary Castillo.

             TESTIMONY OF HON. ALEJANDRA CASTILLO,

                ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

                   FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,

              ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

    Ms. Castillo. Good morning, and thank you, Chairwoman 
Stevens, and Ranking Member Feenstra, and distinguished Members 
of the Subcommittee. Thank you for this opportunity to testify 
on the Economic Development Administration's regional 
innovation programs and place-based economic development 
strategies. Since our inception in 1965, we've made targeted, 
locally driven investments directly in distressed communities. 
While these investments are and will remain a core of our 
investment strategies, we have evolved with economic 
development approaches and now invest with a regional and 
place-based focus toward innovation and competitiveness.
    Our Build to Scale, our Build Back Better Regional 
Challenge, and our Good Jobs Challenge programs are excellent 
examples of the direction we are taking today. With recent 
substantial appropriations including $3 billion appropriated 
through the American Rescue Plan and disaster supplemental 
funding, EDA has ramped up its capacity and technical 
assistance to support the growth of regional industry clusters, 
strengthen our critical national infrastructure, and broaden 
the opportunities for communities to develop and implement 
innovation strategies that help them compete in the global 
economy.
    EDA's flagship program for enabling innovation is the Build 
to Scale program. The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 
leads and manages the design and implementation of this 
program. These grants advance the growth of connected tech-
driven economies that enable innovation and accelerate 
technology commercialization to increase global 
competitiveness. The Build to Scale program is incredibly 
impactful, and it is a great example of place-based programming 
that is critical to driving the innovation ecosystem and our 
Nation's economy forward. We are committed to maximizing the 
impact of these programs to best serve our customers, your 
communities.
    As part of the recently enacted Research and Development 
Competition and Innovation Act, Congress authorized two new 
programs for EDA. While no funds have been appropriated to 
implement either program, we are excited about how these 
dynamic new programs will continue to strengthen and build on 
our legacy of providing impactful place-based programming to 
stoke the innovation economy. If funds are appropriated for the 
program, we will build a fair and equitable process to ensure 
all regions across the country have the opportunity to compete. 
To have place-based strategies succeed, we strongly believe 
that we need programming like those delivered through EDA's 
historic $3 billion American Rescue Plan allocation and as 
proposed through the CHIPS Act.
    With our Build Back Better Regional Challenge and Good Jobs 
Challenge EDA supercharged its focus on regional cluster, 
making multiple simultaneously--simultaneous interconnected 
investments and explicitly funded governance to make those 
regional clusters more durable. The $1 billion Build Back 
Better Regional Challenge is the Nation's largest economic 
development competition, awarding 21 regions across the country 
between $25-$65 million to catalyze local innovation and 
competitiveness. Nineteen of the 21 winners had at least one 
technology-based project component.
    The $500 million Good Jobs Challenge is helping build 
communities that are resilient to future pandemic, economic 
downturns, and climate-related shocks through industry-led 
worker-centered workforce training grants. Together, the 32 
Good Jobs Challenge awardees will train workers in 15 
industries with a focus on industries that are essential to 
powering regional competitiveness and economic growth. Tech 
hubs would continue the evolution initiated under these 
challenges. Leveraging EDA's expertise, agility, and 
scalability, as well as our range of perspective from local to 
national, to enable regions to rapidly grow into global leaders 
in the industries of the future.
    To close, I'd like to mention our efforts to reauthorize 
EDA. It has been 17 years since EDA was last authorized by 
Congress. EDA's Public Work and Economic Development Act and 
Stevenson-Wydler authorized programs work together seamlessly, 
forming a continuum of assistance to meet community needs 
wherever they are on the economic development journey. New 
industries have emerged while other sectors have declined, 
regions have encountered and responded to devastating natural 
disasters, and we have all suffered the impact of a pandemic. 
Reauthorization is vitally important to strengthen EDA's 
response to new economic development challenges.
    Chairwoman Stevens, Ranking Member Feenstra, and Members of 
the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss how 
EDA is promoting regional innovation through programs and 
initiatives to support local economic development strategies. 
We have a bright future ahead, and I'm happy to answer any 
questions you may have. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Castillo follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chairwoman Stevens. Thank you so much. And with that, if we 
can, we're going to hear from Ms. Maureen Donohue Krauss.

            TESTIMONY OF MS. MAUREEN DONOHUE KRAUSS,

        PRESIDENT AND CEO, DETROIT REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP

    Ms. Krauss. Good morning, everyone. And thank you, 
Chairwoman Stevens, Ranking Member Feenstra, and distinguished 
Committee Members. I'm honored to speak to you today. Thank you 
for your leadership on this important issue. And thank you to 
Chairwoman Stevens, who has been extremely supportive and a 
champion of the Detroit region and the State of Michigan and 
the automotive industry. She truly is out visiting companies 
every Monday in our region to learn firsthand.
    I'm Maureen Donohue Krauss, President and CEO of the 
Detroit Regional Partnership. We are tasked with attracting 
investment and jobs to create a more prosperous 11-county 5.4 
million-person Detroit region. Our organization essentially 
travels the world to look for and meet with companies who want 
to innovate and expand their operations in southeast Michigan. 
With that perspective, I would like to share our experience in 
being awarded a $52 million grant from the Economic Development 
Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
    As you know, the world is experiencing a historic shift as 
we transition from internal combustion engines to electric and 
automotive companies continue to provide more advanced 
connected and fully autonomous vehicles. Building off our 
automotive legacy, the Detroit region is at the forefront of 
this new mobility innovation, but we understand that our 
leadership comes with no guarantee.
    Detroit, like our country, faces intense global competition 
to win the future of advanced mobility and electrification. The 
global electric vehicle (EV) market is expected to grow from 
$287 billion in 2021 to $1.3 trillion in 2028. Given the 
current rate of technological development, the trajectory of 
automotive industry for the next 100 years will likely be 
defined in the next 10 years. This is a critical juncture for 
the entire industry.
    Our region and our State are leading the push for 
electrification but also providing the testing grounds for 
alternative power sources such as hydrogen and other forms of 
clean energy technology. Let me share two recent examples with 
you. Our Next Energy is a homegrown startup founded in 2020 
that is poised to deliver cutting-edge energy storage 
technology that will allow electric vehicles to drive 600 miles 
on a single charge, doubling their current range. They recently 
announced a $1.6 billion investment to build a gigafactory in 
our region that will employ more than 2,100 people and deliver 
cutting-edge battery technology developed right here in the 
Detroit region. Less than 3 years ago, Our Next Energy did not 
even exist, and now they employ 150 on their way to 2,100. 
There are not many places in the world that can develop and 
produce this level of transformation innovation that quickly.
    Another company, Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, is the 
first Black-owned EV charging manufacturer that we are aware of 
in the world. Dunamis is building high-tech chargers for 
residential, business, and commercial fleets. They're committed 
to ensuring that historically excluded communities are included 
in the transformational wealth transfer that electrification 
will bring.
    Up and down the supply chain, the Detroit region is home to 
pioneers who continue to deliver cutting-edge battery, EV, and 
advanced mobility technologies. This advanced mobility 
stretches beyond traditional automotive and includes unmanned 
ground vehicles for the military, e-bikes, personal aviation, 
and drones, creating more opportunities to innovate. This grant 
will help the region marshal all of our resources to support 
the next Our Next Energy and the next Dunamis Energy.
    Building on more than 100 years of industry leadership, 
this grant will further entrench our region as the Global 
Epicenter of Mobility. GEM, as we call it, will help create an 
inclusive and sustainable advanced mobility cluster and ensure 
workers, companies, and communities are not left behind during 
this transition. The beauty of GEM is that we are not starting 
from scratch. We're building around more than 400 existing 
assets in our region that comprise the world's densest 
automotive and mobility industry cluster. The Detroit region 
has the world-class universities, testing facilities, supply 
chain, and infrastructure to deliver even more innovation and 
to do so in a way that maximizes the EDA's investment.
    Before I close, I have a few recommendations on how to 
build regional innovation economies. First, require regions--
incentivize regions to collaborate in order to qualify for 
transformational economic development projects that will 
maximize the best return on your investment. Require--secondly, 
require inclusion and equity to be a continued focus in 
economic development. Regions across this country have so much 
untapped or unutilized talent that can increase productivity 
and innovation. And third, seek out regions in this Nation that 
do something better than anywhere else. Innovative regions like 
Detroit are worth investing in.
    Thank you for this opportunity to testify today, and I look 
forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Krauss follows:]
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    Chairwoman Stevens. Thank you. And with that we'll hear 
from Mr. Spalding.

                TESTIMONY OF MR. DAVID SPALDING,

       RAISBECK ENDOWED DEAN OF THE DEBBIE AND JERRY IVY

         COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT

        OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRY RELATIONS,

                     IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

    Mr. Spalding. Chairwoman Stevens, Ranking Member Feenstra, 
and esteemed Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this 
opportunity to testify on behalf of Iowa State University. As 
part of today's hearing, I look forward to exploring the role 
of the Economic Development Administration to promote regional 
innovation through support for community-led economic 
development strategies.
    For over 150 years, Iowa State's motto has been ``science 
with practice'' and aptly describes our interest in science 
with practical applications. We pride ourselves in serving each 
of our almost 30,000 students and businesses in all 99 counties 
in the State of Iowa through our economic development programs. 
Innovation is woven into the fabric of our university culture, 
which inspires entrepreneurial thinking and innovation in all 
seven of our colleges. For each of the last several years we 
have been among the top 100 universities worldwide for U.S. 
patents granted for our science and technology discoveries.
    In the last 2 years, we won the two top awards for 
entrepreneurship in higher education. In 2021, we received the 
United States Association for Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Model Program Award. And just last month, we 
received the Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award 
from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers. We are 
proud for the last 3 years we were--we have been recognized as 
the number 11 undergraduate entrepreneurship program by 
Princeton Review. And I appreciate Congressman Feenstra 
mentioning the four awards we've received for economic 
development over the last 6 years from the Association of 
Public and Land-grant Universities. All the accolades are 
really a testament to the work our economic development teams 
do every day.
    The Build to Scale program goal is building regional 
economies through scalable startups. The program has provided 
Iowa State and the State of Iowa with foundational funding to 
expand or establish two important programs, the Iowa Startup 
Factory and the Iowa Go-To-Market Accelerator. These programs 
are the centerpieces of our work with startups, and both have 
provided substantial economic return on investment. To date, 88 
startups have graduated from our Startup Factory program, and 
they've raised more than $52 million in external funding. Our 
first Build to Scale grant began in the fall of 2017. We used 
EDA's $406,000 award in the Startup Factory to support founders 
working to develop startups in food production, food safety, 
and new food products. Twenty-nine companies were supported, 
and they reported raising over $16 million in financing.
    One of these companies is Clayton Farms, a startup founded 
in 2017 by Iowa State alum Clayton Mooney, who grew up on a 
farm in a small town in southeast Iowa. Now, Clayton Farms 
doesn't grow row crops. They are a vertical organic farming 
operation, which means they grow on racks indoors. They grow 
lettuce, tomato, microgreens that they sell to over 800 
subscribers to their service. Clayton Farms attributes the 
Startup Factory as being one of the major reasons for the 
success that they had in their launch, and they've raised more 
than $3 million in external capital.
    Our second and most recent grant from the Build to Scale 
program helped us partner with BioConnect Iowa to launch the 
Iowa Go-To-Market in fall of 2020. Go-To-Market is a post-
accelerator that provides startups with advanced training, 
business resources, and advising services to develop innovative 
technology-driven products or services. Since its launch, nine 
startups have completed the program with three more beginning 
this month. One of those companies, Mazen Animal Health, takes 
traditional animal vaccines and puts them into animal feed. 
They've successfully raised $11 million in venture funding 
shortly after completing the program.
    We've also leveraged the early success of the Startup 
Factory and the first EDA investment in responding to demand 
for rural innovation programs. We shared resources with 
America's Small Business Development Center Iowa to launch the 
Rural Business Innovators program, which provides customized, 
one-on-one counseling and group training to help rural 
technology entrepreneurs develop and scale their businesses to 
create jobs in rural Iowa.
    I hope that the testimony shared today showcases what 
programs like Build to Scale can do when thoughtfully 
administered and executed to maximize return on investment. 
Iowa State University remains committed to delivering science 
with practice, and we hope to continue to partner with the EDA 
as we innovate at Iowa State. It has been an honor to share my 
perspective with you today. Thank you for the opportunity, and 
I look forward to answering any questions. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Spalding follows:]
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    Chairwoman Stevens. Thank you. And with that, we'll hear 
from Ms. Olson.

                 TESTIMONY OF MS. LINDA OLSON,

                 PRESIDENT/CEO, TAMPA BAY WAVE

    Ms. Olson. Good morning, Chairwoman Stevens, Ranking Member 
Feenstra, and honorable Members of the Subcommittee on Research 
and Technology. It is a great honor to be part of this 
distinguished panel, and I'm grateful for the Subcommittee's 
kind invitation to join you. My name is Linda Olson, and I'm a 
proud Tampa Bay native and the CEO and founder of Tampa Bay 
Wave, Florida's No. 1 accelerator that helps entrepreneurs 
transform innovative ideas into real-world solutions and 
scalable businesses through our world-class programs and 
services. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is focused on 
the expansion of Tampa Bay's innovation-driven economy 
throughout an eight-county region by providing early stage 
companies with the resources they need to build bold, 
innovative, breakout tech companies.
    I can state without any hesitation that funding provided by 
the EDA's Office of Innovation under the Regional Innovation 
Strategies program has been absolutely essential to the rise of 
Tampa Bay's innovation economy and our reputation as a 
burgeoning tech hub. I am--in my role as the founder of Tampa 
Bay Wave, I've had a front row seat to this growth for more 
than a decade. I originally launched Tampa Bay Wave as a meetup 
group in 2008, being myself a tech founder struggling to build 
my own company in a region with little to no tech ecosystem. 
Given my previous experience working for a venture-backed dot-
com in Boston before and after the bubble burst, I saw 
firsthand what a healthy tech ecosystem looked like, and I 
wanted better for my own hometown.
    Within just a few years, the entrepreneurs in Wave's meetup 
group would decide to roll up their own sleeves to lead the 
change we wanted to see. We could no longer sit idly by waiting 
for a healthy ecosystem to magically emerge on its own, and we 
were tired of hoping the region's political and economic 
development leaders would start to prioritize innovation-based 
ecosystem building in our region. Tampa Bay was our home where 
we were raising our families while growing our businesses. 
Plus, we wanted the economic benefits of a thriving innovation-
based ecosystem in our local community, benefits like new 
business formation, high-wage job creation, capital and talent 
attraction, not to mention the creation of pathways to economic 
mobility and opportunity for those at risk in our communities.
    In 2011, we brought together local early stage investors 
and entrepreneurs, academia, and big corporate execs to build 
an exciting vision for our region, but the primary hurdle was 
how to fund such a vision in a region without the local 
political will to invest in ecosystem building and local--and 
without local, large companies capable of making sizable 
sponsorships since Tampa Bay lacks any Fortune 100 companies.
    Everything changed in the summer of 2012 when I led a 
regional coalition that included the University of South 
Florida and a network of universities, local businesses, 
nonprofits, and public sector partners, which was awarded a $1 
million i6 Challenge grant from the EDA to launch Wave's 
venture center and accelerator. We were also awarded a second 
i6 Challenge grant of $500,000 in 2014 and a $300,000 seed fund 
support grant in 2018. Overall, Tampa Bay Wave has now raised a 
total of $14 million from various Federal grants, corporate 
sponsors, generous donors, all in support of our mission and 
vision, including a new $2 million Build to Scale grant awarded 
just in October 2022.
    Ten years since that first grant after 28 accelerator 
cohorts, I am proud to report Wave has now supported 450 
startups that have raised over $650 million and created over 
4,000 jobs, making Wave one of the critical economic drivers 
for the region and the State of Florida. Without this first EDA 
i6 Challenge grant, I can confidently say that the Tampa Bay 
tech startup ecosystem would not be anywhere close to what it 
is today. A mere total of $1,800,000 in EDA grants from 2012 to 
2018 has led to hundreds of millions of dollars of impact in 
the region in terms of new business formation and high wage job 
creation, not to mention the creation of a new $25 million 
early stage seed fund in Tampa Bay called Tampa Bay Ventures. I 
hope you agree this is a pretty good return on investment for 
taxpayer dollars.
    As a mother to two future female entrepreneurs, Cadence and 
Cassidy Creely, who are now 9 and 7 years old, respectively, 
both my husband Curt Creely and I cannot stress enough how the 
EDA grant programs give my family, as well as families 
throughout the United States, hope for their children and for 
the future of this country.
    Again, I appreciate this invitation to appear before the 
Subcommittee today and I look forward to your questions, which 
I will try to answer. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Olson follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chairwoman Stevens. Thank you to our witnesses. And at this 
point, we are going to begin our first round of questions, and 
the Chair is going to recognize her herself for 5 minutes.
    The overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs, as Ms. Olson 
just intimated, founding high-growth startups are oftentimes 
White and male. And certainly, this leaves out essential 
wealth-building and economic growth opportunities for Americans 
in minority communities, including many communities here in 
metro Detroit but obviously all across the region. And the lack 
of founder diversity also limits the types of businesses 
created and the types of challenges that the businesses are 
addressing.
    And so while some of the Build to Scale and Regional 
Challenge awardees have focused on supporting entrepreneurs 
from underrepresented groups, a significant gap still exists. 
And, Ms. Donohue Krauss, I wanted to ask you, what are ways 
that the Global Epicenter for Mobility Consortium is engaged 
with historically left behind communities, and how did 
relationships and your approach evolve through the planning 
process of GEM?
    Ms. Krauss. Thank you for that question. When we put this 
proposal together, we ended up with 140 individuals and 
organizations throughout the Detroit region who participated in 
the process. And it was really terrific to hear all of the 
voices. We were very inclusive. We said at every meeting we 
had, who is not at this table, get them an invitation. And so 
there were groups that might not traditionally be in the 
conversation, but we were very intentional about keeping them a 
part of it. Our GEM proposal does have a DEI (Diversity, 
Equity, and Inclusion) officer who will assist entrepreneurs 
and small- to medium-sized companies in making sure that they 
are including those communities that haven't been--haven't had 
access to support or haven't had voices before, so it was very 
intentional. And we appreciate that the EDA made sure that was 
a part of all proposals.
    You know, in the Detroit region, we have a very diverse 
population here, but we know that, especially in the 
entrepreneurial, small- to medium-sized companies, they don't 
always have access to the support they need. So this was very 
intentional on your part, and in fact, very intentional on our 
part to make sure that--and that goes for every--even in the 
urban-rural sense, our region is diverse that way as well. And, 
you know, we talk about the ag space, look forward to talking 
to Professor Spalding about, you know, how can we look at 
autonomous plows. Perhaps that might be the future for farming 
and in the mobility space. So it has been really eye-opening 
for some, but it was really a part of who we are already, and 
we just have to make sure it's front and center.
    Chairwoman Stevens. Assistant Secretary Castillo, having 
previously led the Minority Business Development Agency, and 
now the EDA, you know, I imagine you've put a lot of thought 
into this topic. And how is EDA creating opportunities for 
high-growth potential minority-owned businesses?
    Ms. Castillo. So thank you for that question. Indeed, it is 
a--it is a personal passion of mine but a true commitment for 
EDA, as Ms. Krauss said. We not only took a look at our 
investment strategies, making equity one of the top investment 
strategies, but we also baked it into the notice of funding 
opportunities, making sure that applicants understood from the 
very beginning that we were looking at a broad table, and 
equity meant many things across the country. It was not just 
responding to underserved communities, communities of color, 
but also rural communities, looking at a very broad approach of 
how we needed to make sure that when we put these grants 
together, we were actually addressing those areas of our 
country that either have been forgotten or left behind. And I 
will tell you, in my travels, particularly under these two--the 
ARPA grants, the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and the 
Good Jobs Challenge, it is so satisfying to hear individuals 
say thank you for keeping us in mind, thank you for giving us 
this opportunity. And it's been not only important in terms of 
who has been awarded but also, as was mentioned before, the 
broad scope of the coalitions that came together. And we are 
monitoring those engagements, as I mentioned in my testimony, 
on the governance side, just to make sure that those 
partnerships continue to be strong and that all communities are 
represented in these deep--in these different initiatives.
    Chairwoman Stevens. It's so incredibly important and so 
also deeply touching. And obviously, I'm out of time, but I 
think Ms. Olson's concluding testimony sticks with me, you 
know, the on-the-ground work here in metro Detroit and 
certainly from your national perch, Ms. Castillo.
    So with that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Feenstra for 5 
minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Feenstra. Well, I just want to thank each and every 
witness for your testimony. It is quite amazing and very 
impressive. So I've got several questions. Dean Spalding, Iowa 
State University has received multiple awards for EDA Build to 
Scale programs to support Iowa's innovation ecosystem. In 
addition to these Federal awards, Iowa State has also received 
financial support from State and local communities. Can you 
explain the importance of State and local buy-in to create and 
maintain self-sustaining innovation ecosystems?
    Mr. Spalding. Thank you, Congressman Feenstra. I think that 
State and local support is critical to ensuring that you are 
bringing the control over efforts like this down to the to the 
ground level and ensuring that you are funding the programs 
that are successful within a State, within a region, within an 
area, that you have that community buy-in that the community is 
going to get engaged and get behind your programs because a lot 
of these programs require grassroot efforts. You know, we're--
when I talked about companies that we have involved in our 
programs that are scaling technology, those often start as a 
smaller business that might be working with our small business 
development centers or working one of our student programs. And 
so having had that community and local support for those 
programs to feed them into these programs that can be supported 
by the larger dollars that come from an EDA grant I think is 
critically important.
    Mr. Feenstra. Yes, and I agree with that. Thanks for those 
comments. I mean, being a past city administrator, I see how 
local support is so important to make sure things thrive and, 
you know, be successful.
    With that, your role in higher education, I just want to 
know, how is it so important when you think of higher education 
and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation programs? I came 
out of a university, Dordt University, that does some of this. 
Also, I know Iowa State University is ranked 11th in the Nation 
for entrepreneurial studies, which I'm so excited about. But 
what do you think the benefits are from the academic world to 
be so involved in entrepreneurial studies?
    Mr. Spalding. Well, you know, when you think about it, I 
think it's still the case that studies would show that small 
businesses are the job creation engines for our country. Having 
a stronger climate, stronger support for small businesses 
really helps create good jobs all across our country, whether 
it be in rural areas, whether it be in inner city areas, which 
we have close to Ames and Des Moines that those small 
businesses are really critical to that. And so we in higher 
education, I think, have a role to play in preparing our 
students to be a part of that ecosystem. You know, we have 140 
students in our entrepreneurship major this year. Not all of 
them are going to go off to start a company themselves, but 
they are perfectly prepared to be employee number 8, or 
employee number 20, or employee number 50 in a smaller venture 
that's looking to get going and continue to grow and continue 
to create jobs. And so I think that's where we have an 
important role to play. And it's very much core, again, to what 
we do here at Iowa State.
    Mr. Feenstra. Yes, yes, well, thank you for those comments. 
I really appreciate those.
    Assistant Secretary Castillo, the recently reestablished 
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 
NACIE, EDA is considering the development of a national 
entrepreneurship strategy. The strategy would strengthen the 
United States' ability to compete globally as the world's 
leading startup Nation and leader in critical emerging 
technologies. Can you update me on the progress of this 
development and what are the next steps?
    Ms. Castillo. Yes, Congressman. And if I may just take a 
minute to also underscore a couple of things to your previous 
questions to Dean Spalding. The interaction of so many 
different stakeholders is essential to the work that EDA does, 
and we rely on stakeholders like our university centers, of 
which Dean Spalding is part of it. We also rely on over 390 
economic development districts, which are multijurisdictional 
entities that all come into play to make sure that economic 
development strategies is coming from the ground up. So I 
wanted to underscore those stakeholders because universities, 
community colleges, mayors, so many different individuals have 
to be part of a broader economic development ecosystem.
    To your question about NACIE, Congressman, we're very 
excited. As you well noted, it has been reestablished. We 
announced the Members of that committee, advisory committee. 
The focus really is on a couple of really high level areas, 
one, as you well pointed out, the entrepreneurship strategy. 
We're also leveraging the expertise and background of NACIE to 
help us as we think about possibilities of tech hubs. What 
would that look like? What elements need to come into play? But 
we're also challenging NACIE to think about moonshots. What are 
those areas of the economy that need to really be bolstered by 
an array of not only investments but expertise, capacity 
building.
    And I'll just give you an example. The President's Office 
of Science and Technology just put out a report on the 
bioeconomy. These are the type of issues that NACIE is 
tackling. And I will also tell you, when we talk about 
entrepreneurship, we're talking about a broad spectrum of 
issues or barriers, but also opportunities. And with regards to 
some of those barriers in entrepreneurship, whether it's access 
to capital, access to technical assistance and support. So 
NACIE is very busy. We have a wonderful cadre of individuals, 
and we're looking forward to their report to the Secretary 
toward the end of 2024.
    Mr. Feenstra. Thank you so much for those comments. And my 
time is up. I greatly appreciate it. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stevens. Thanks. And with that, we're going to 
hear from Ms. Wild of Pennsylvania for 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Ms. Wild. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    And this is really a pleasure to have this hearing. I was 
the author of the Regional Innovation Act, which I was proud to 
see signed into law on a bipartisan basis as part of the final 
CHIPS package. And it was driven by my focus on creating 
opportunities for a wide array of community stakeholders, 
including not only universities, of which we have many in my 
district, but also economic development organizations, 
workforce boards, and unions. And I know that these groups each 
play an essential role in my own district, and I'm confident 
that their ability to collaborate and develop a sustainable 
strategy for regional innovation in the greater Lehigh Valley 
area will lead to continued success in this field and in my 
district.
    Ms. Donohue Krauss, what are some of the benefits and 
challenges involved in building these types of broad 
coalitions? We are still very much in that process in my 
district, and I'd love to know what lessons can be learned from 
your experience with the Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
    Ms. Krauss. Thank you. You know, that is something with our 
proposal, our successful proposal that I am as proud of as 
getting the acceptance and approval from the EDA. Two things, 
inclusiveness and transparency were the two keys to doing this, 
but of course, it's much more than that. It was really digging 
deep and working together. I will say 5 years ago the EDA would 
have received five different proposals from our region, and 
none of them would have talked to each other. It was a much 
more competitive time. And this time, we all decided--and 
really, this is our overarching economic development, as well 
as for this proposal. We have decided--my organization is only 
3 years old. We decided--and it was driven by our business 
leadership and our political leadership--that we're much more 
impactful when we combine our assets than when we show them 
separately.
    And so when--I just returned from a trade mission with the 
city of Detroit and Ann Arbor, both parts of our region, and 
one of our local banks. So it was a process, but I think we've 
seen the benefits through a regional economic development 
organization that, you know, combining resources, combining 
assets, everyone gets to say, you know, that we have a world-
class airport, and everyone gets to say we have world-class 
universities in our region because boundaries between 
communities aren't really important for businesses that look 
for regional talent, regional supply chain, and, you know, an 
overall regional economy. So that's the theme we've used, and 
it's working well for us. And it's--as someone who's done this 
a long time here, it's really nice to see.
    Ms. Wild. Excuse me. Let me just say, I agree with 
everything you just said. We've successfully done that in my 
district. My one concern--and I don't--I'm not asking you to 
comment on this because I want to get to another area--but is 
just making sure that we don't leave out certain sectors, 
whether it be minority communities or other types of 
communities that just somehow don't make it into that 
networking that exists. That's where I think we all probably 
need to really focus to make sure.
    Assistant Secretary Castillo, in the near future, I hope to 
see Congress fully fund the creation of the regional innovation 
hubs in communities like mine across the country. Based on your 
experience, what qualities make a community well-suited to 
successfully develop emerging technologies and promote 
innovation on a regional scale?
    Ms. Castillo. Congresswoman Wild, I'm going to piggyback a 
bit on what Maureen Krauss just said, a couple of things just 
to put it into perspective. One is the ability to come into 
partnership and coalitions and to do an assessment of their 
assets to look at where--what are the technologies or the 
spaces in which that particular community has some some 
positive gains in it.
    I also want to mention that what made particularly the 
Build Back Better Regional Challenge as a good example of how 
to even think about the tech hubs was the fact that we, too, 
included equity into the notice of funding opportunity, but we 
also provided transparency. We provided the general public all 
of the information of the applicants. And that in itself 
stirred--created an opportunity for people to talk to one 
another, to speak to one another, to share lessons learned.
    We have instituted a couple of things that I think is going 
to be very important as we think about tech hubs. One is 
communities of practice, communities of practice so that there 
is shared opportunities to learn from one another, but 
communities of practice to also look at how to best leverage 
assets and resources across region.
    The other thing I think is going to be very important in 
terms of tech hubs in the event that Congress does appropriate 
the funds is to make sure that we do proper listening tours, 
but also that we keep ourselves very open to to work across the 
Federal Government and leverage all of the different resources.
    Ms. Wild. Thank you so much. I do see that my time is up, 
which is always frustrating in these hearings. This one is so 
important. I would very much like to work with all of you in 
the future on making sure that these tech hubs become a 
reality. And I--my office will be reaching out. Thank you so 
very much.
    Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Wild. Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stevens. And with that, we're going to hear from 
Ranking Member Lucas for 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Lucas. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Assistant Secretary Castillo, in September of this year, 
EDA awarded the Tulsa Regional Advanced Mobility Corridor 
approximately $39 million. The project, led by the Indian 
Nations Council of Governments and Oklahoma State University 
will strengthen Oklahoma's national leadership as a hub of 
transformational air mobility research and development. 
Investing in this critical industry and local and State 
economies will increase Oklahoma--or--and I should actually say 
Oklahoma and America's technological competitiveness around the 
world.
    So, Assistant Secretary, how does EDA plan to ensure that 
more rural and tribal communities like those in my district 
that received this award have the same opportunities as larger 
communities at developing innovative economies?
    Ms. Castillo. Sure. And thank you, Congressman, for the 
question. And congratulations. As you know, it was a very 
competitive process. But here's what we have not only 
identified but also tried to work to address. We are very 
cognizant that we want to make sure that communities on the 
ground have the capacity and technical assistance to go after 
these grants. So in order to address some of the capacity 
questions on the ground, we have initiated both an equity 
impact investment program as well as an economic development 
core program. These two programs--and I'm happy to provide your 
team with more information--are--were designed to address some 
of the concerns that we saw on the ground of making sure that 
all communities had the wherewithal, the capacity to go after 
EDA grants.
    Secondly , as I mentioned before, we work very closely with 
our economic development districts across the country, of which 
there are 390. We work closely through our regional offices, 
and our outreach is but one part of the work that we do to make 
sure that all communities are well-positioned to apply for EDA 
grants. We provide the technical assistance, the webinars. And, 
as I've mentioned before, I am on the road, Congressman, 
because it is the only way that we can bridge any gaps that may 
exist between the EDA opportunities and communities on the 
ground. So I'll work with you and your team to continue to 
engage communities in Oklahoma, but more importantly, our 
commitment to indigenous communities still stands very, very 
strongly, as has been witnessed by the many grants that were 
issued to indigenous communities across the country.
    Mr. Lucas. Continuing with this line of thought, Assistant 
Secretary, in your testimony you state that EDA is prepared to 
move forward in executing the vision of the authorizations 
should the funding be made available, always a key phrase, for 
the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub program. Can you 
share more about how EDA is planning to administer and oversee 
the program, given the large authorizations included in CHIPS 
and Science for the Regional Hub program?
    Ms. Castillo. Sure, and thank you, Congressman. The tech 
hub authorization is not only exciting but so necessary. And 
you're absolutely right. If given the opportunity to have it 
appropriated, EDA stands ready. And here's how we're thinking 
through this process. Our Office of Innovation and 
Entrepreneurship really has a very deep expertise in that area, 
not only administering the Build to Scale, but it was 
instrumental in the way we not only designed but also executed 
our Build Back Better Regional Challenge. So we do have the 
expertise in-house and the ability to scale depending on the 
authorized levels, appropriated levels, I should say.
    A couple of things that I've mentioned before, we're 
leveraging the National Advisory Council on Innovation and 
Entrepreneurship to help us bring together not only the 
information but the elements that would make for a good tech 
hub, so we're leveraging that level of expertise. We're also 
leveraging the expertise across the Department of Commerce and 
the Federal--other Federal agencies as well. So in addition to 
not only doing our work and our due diligence, we have the 
experience and operation structures to execute on tech hubs 
within that time--within the timeframe that it was allotted.
    So I will tell you, we're excited about it. The country 
needs it. Areas across the country, I usually say tech hub is 
going to democratize technology and innovation and bring it to 
communities that have all the right assets to transform their 
local economies.
    Mr. Lucas. And it's important that we work together since 
the money, substantial authorizations as they are in the CHIPS 
and Science program are not mandatory money, they're 
authorized, so we have to make the case to persuade the 
budgeteers and the appropriators to fund it. The Administration 
has to use it wisely. And then together, we can justify 
continuing to advance that good work, so it's a team sport. 
Thank you, Assistant Secretary.
    Ms. Castillo. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
    Chairwoman Stevens. And with that, we'll hear from Mr. Lamb 
for 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Lamb. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you to all of 
our guests for being with us here today.
    Secretary Castillo, I want to first say thank you for all 
of your work, particularly as it related to the Build Back 
Better Regional Challenges. My region of western Pennsylvania 
was lucky enough to win one of those awards, and we really have 
high hopes about the impact that it's going to make, 
particularly on jobs. You know, I think the reason so many of 
us supported these programs was to create jobs for people in 
our regions that need them, better jobs than what they have 
access to now.
    But we had an interesting thing happen, which was that the 
week in October that we got together with two Members of 
Congress, an official from the EDA, and a whole host of local 
people who had supported our grant application, university 
folks, business folks, people from our Allegheny conference on 
economic development that really led the way, we got together 
in Westmoreland County, which is a more rural county outside of 
where Pittsburgh is at their community college. But it's also 
the home to a major investment that an autonomous vehicle 
company made in establishing a test track, so they had a ton of 
jobs. It was like a case of what we want to do, which is create 
jobs in areas that haven't had as many of them in this new 
economy. So we got together there, and then we had this 
wonderful event to talk about everything we were going to do 
with the award.
    And then literally the very next week, that company went 
out of business. And now no one knows what's going to happen to 
all of those workers that they already had. It's not entirely 
clear how this award is going to employ people in that sector 
in the future. Our hope is obviously that it still will, but it 
was just kind of gut-wrenching to see such a major potential 
source of jobs for people be taken away so quickly at the very 
time that we're investing money to try to train people in 
robotics and self-driving and everything that goes into it.
    So the first thing I just wanted to ask is whether, you 
know, you have seen examples like this, and maybe not 
identical, but that show that we need to find some way for 
these big companies--and the investors in the company that I'm 
talking about are two of the largest auto companies that there 
are--to get them to put more skin in the game. I mean, they 
didn't really have any skin in the game. We did this award with 
Federal tax dollars, and, you know, it didn't cost them 
anything to walk away just a week after we basically announced 
it. So have you all thought about that problem of making sure 
that, as we're creating jobs and doing job training for people, 
that the actual beneficiaries of all that work, these large 
for-profit companies actually have some skin in the game to 
stay involved?
    Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Congressman. And it is an 
unfortunate situation. We have seen some of--situations like 
that. A couple of things that I would say. One is here is where 
we also want to work on the entrepreneurial side because you're 
absolutely right. There are these large companies that are 
anchor companies who are providing the businesses. But we also 
understand that by creating new, smaller--small businesses and 
connecting them to other sources of--melding them into the 
supply--the broader supply chain is also a way to grow the 
economy on that front.
    As it relates to--and just to use your terminology--having 
skin in the game, we like to have stakeholders have skin in the 
game. There's a part of EDA, as you may know, that many of our 
grants require a match, and that is a way to have community and 
other stakeholders have ownership in this process. So I would 
very much welcome, Congressman, to work with you and others in 
your district to find solutions to the situation. I will tell 
you that the proposal that was put together was a strong 
proposal, and I--and we believe that there's a lot of future 
for that. So I welcome the opportunity to work with you more 
closely and also to address these matters.
    Last thing I will say, sir, if I may, is a lot of this 
information is critically important to us, but we're also 
building more data analysis to be able to foretell, if 
possible, wherever possible, but to have some predictive 
analytics as well to address these issues before they happen. 
So please take my words as an invitation to work closely with 
your office on this particular matter.
    Mr. Lamb. Thank you. Yes, and I know nobody expects you 
guys to be able to predict the future. I mean, the tech sector 
is very volatile right now. I just hope that if you see things 
like this going on in other parts of the country and it becomes 
an obstacle, please report that, you know, to the Congress. I'm 
on my way out, but I know my colleagues care about this as well 
because we may have to revisit, you know, some of the ways that 
these awards get handed out if their intended beneficiaries are 
larger companies like this who are so free to walk away. I 
agree with you that there are a lot of smaller entities we want 
to help, and they often tend to be more locally rooted. But 
when our goal is to create jobs, it also makes sense to focus 
on the larger players as well. So thank you very much for the 
excellent work you're doing. I know we're going to make 
something out of it in western Pennsylvania.
    Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stevens. Great, thank you, very productive.
    And with that, we're going to hear from Mr. Baird for 5 
minutes of questioning. Jim, let's get you off mute.
    Mr. Baird. Does that work better?
    Chairwoman Stevens. We can hear you.
    Mr. Baird. Hey, thanks.
    Chairwoman Stevens. Good to see you, Dr. Baird.
    Mr. Baird. Good to see you. Thank you, Chairwoman Stevens 
and Ranking Member Feenstra, for holding this interview 
session. And I really appreciate all of the witnesses being 
here. But, you know, with Purdue University in my district, 
I've had the opportunity to see firsthand the regional 
innovation efforts that really benefit Hoosier State, as well 
as directly affect the rest of the country. And so I often get 
the opportunity to meet with startup companies wishing to 
potentially set up learning centers and other entities 
associated with Purdue. And when I think about building 
regional innovation economies, these types of startup companies 
and partnerships are directly what comes to mind.
    So, Assistant Secretary Castillo, in forming these 
partnerships, what role should the Federal Government play? And 
in that same vein, the State of Indiana is fortunate to have an 
active Economic Development Agency. So what would a healthy 
productive relationship look like between the Federal 
Government and the State? So would you care to elaborate on how 
you see that?
    Ms. Castillo. Absolutely, sir, and thank you for the 
question. You know, we've talked about ecosystems throughout 
this entire hearing, and part of a very healthy ecosystem is 
one, not only the relationship on the ground, but as you point 
out, EDA's relationship with many stakeholders at the State and 
local level. I think we've been--we've shown what that looks 
like. And I'll give you a couple of examples of what that looks 
like. One, you know, leveraging EDA's opportunities to provide 
planning grants. One of the most important tools within the 
economic development space for EDA is the CEDS, the 
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies. So making sure 
that at the State and local level we're developing CEDS that 
are comprehensive, that have equity at the forefront, that are 
also looking at opportunities to provide capital, but also tech 
commercialization, as well as STEM (science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics) employment. So these are all some 
of the ingredients that are essential to it.
    On the--on another level, I will tell you working with the 
universities, and Purdue is a prime example, but also working 
with our community colleges. And to the previous questions, 
also very--working with employers, one of our most successful 
grants under the ARPA, the American Rescue Plan, was the Good 
Jobs Challenge and, again, looking at making sure that not only 
are we developing a robust ecosystem that is supporting 
technology innovation, but at the same time developing a 
workforce that's upskilled and reskilled to meet these--those 
opportunities.
    So, sir, I'm sure I can go on on many elements, but I also 
extend my--EDA's invitation to work very closely with you and 
your team.
    Mr. Baird. Well, thank you very much. And, you know, I 
really appreciated you mentioning STEM because I think that's 
all integrated, you know, the STEM--but then the fact that 
those people have the opportunity, they get their hands on, and 
that stimulates them to get into the STEM program probably. And 
so thank you for that comment and your focus there.
    Mr. Spalding, do you care--government should play in 
forming----
    Mr. Spalding. Sorry, Congressman, you broke up, and I was 
not able to get your question.
    Mr. Baird. Do you want me to do that again?
    Mr. Spalding. Please.
    Mr. Baird. Here you go. I just wanted you to comment on 
this, the role the Federal Government should play in forming 
these partnerships and just get your perspective on that issue.
    Mr. Spalding. You know, I think, Congressman, the EDA 
funding for us has been particularly helpful for us in starting 
up new programs, new initiatives where we're looking for seed 
funding. We may have local partners. We're always putting up 
match as part of those programs, but that seed funding is 
particularly important to us when the EDA gets involved. And we 
have a great, close working relationship with our EDA 
representative who covers the State of Iowa. He does an 
outstanding job, and that really helps us with being able to 
talk about these seed opportunities.
    Mr. Baird. Well, thank you very much. I see my time is 
almost up, and so I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stevens. Excellent, excellent. No, that's great. 
Thank you.
    And with that, we're going to hear from Mr. LaTurner for 5 
minutes of questioning.
    Mr. LaTurner. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
    My first questions are for Dean David Spalding. How are you 
doing today?
    Mr. Spalding. I'm doing just fine. Thank you.
    Mr. LaTurner. Good. I represent eastern and southeastern 
Kansas, and many of my constituents are farmers. Connecting the 
technical support for these programs to the real-world effects 
is important for garnering continued support. Can you discuss 
some examples that you're personally aware of that showcase how 
EDA investment helps support startup companies that benefit the 
agricultural sector?
    Mr. Spalding. Yes, so the first of the grants that we 
received we actually used in our Startup Factory Accelerator to 
focus on advancements in the food area writ large. And so that 
includes both growing food successfully, food products, food 
safety, food innovation. And so it was great to have the EDA 
support that effort, specifically focused on the work that we 
do here around agricultural startups.
    Mr. LaTurner. I appreciate that. From your perspective, 
what is the biggest challenge for rural communities and--when 
it comes to participating in regional innovation, and what's 
the solution to that?
    Mr. Spalding. I wish I had the solution. You know, Kansas, 
Iowa, we're facing much the same challenge with a hollowing out 
of our rural communities. And there are a number of reasons for 
that. We need to create more reasonable-cost housing. We need 
to create more jobs, broad-based jobs in those communities. We 
need to have stronger childcare arrangements in those 
communities. But when I look at it, you know, I mentioned the 
Rural Business Innovators program that we have, and this is a 
program where we're reaching out across the State. We don't 
extend into the urban areas. We're extending only into the 
rural areas and bringing scalable businesses in those 
communities and giving them the opportunity to participate in 
our Startup Factory program. The program has been so valuable 
that we've had people drive 45 minutes in order to get to a 
good internet connection to participate in the program. And 
there's another one of those fundamental issues in rural 
communities, right, that lack of broadband access. But our 
programs have been so valuable that these people were willing 
to drive regularly to get to a place where they had a good 
internet connection and spend 3 hours connected into the 
sessions we run as part of that Startup Factory program. And so 
we're really, with that program, looking to build more scalable 
businesses in those communities, create more jobs in those 
communities, and really help our small rural ag communities 
thrive.
    Mr. LaTurner. Talk to me about how Congress can continue to 
support the development of new regional innovation economies in 
your opinion.
    Mr. Spalding. Well, I think some of this comes with the 
base investment that I've talked about, whether that be rural 
broadband, which remains a challenge in our communities. But 
then we've pulled together here at Iowa State in the last year 
a group we call our Rural Vitality Council where we're pulling 
together faculty and our extension folks from across the 
university who are working in programs to help strengthen rural 
communities. It's giving us a chance to share best practices, 
share ideas, and we are talking about some opportunities to 
apply for Federal grant funding to help support the best 
performing of the programs that we've identified, which often 
are based on faculty research that's being done into what works 
best in those communities.
    Mr. LaTurner. I appreciate it very much.
    Ms. Castillo, how are you today?
    Ms. Castillo. Doing great, Congressman.
    Mr. LaTurner. Good. In your testimony you discussed the 
coordination that the Economic Development Administration does 
with other agencies and leaders to facilitate policy 
recommendations that grow innovation economies. Can you 
elaborate on that coordination process?
    Ms. Castillo. Yes. And thank you for that question. The 
economic development integrators are our way to really blend in 
and braid so many of the different policy and initiatives 
across the Federal Government.
    I want to underscore something that Dean Spalding just 
mentioned as well as we were talking about some of the 
challenges in rural America. I--as you may know, Congressman, 
EDA is part of a broader Commerce Department family. And one of 
the areas that we are working closely with is the National 
Telecommunication and Information Agency (NTIA), $48 billion 
that's being invested in terms of broadband because we 
understand that we need to continue to work with our our sister 
agencies across the Federal Government so that--the opportunity 
to work with NTIA but also the opportunity to work with 
Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, other 
Federal agencies across the government to make sure that as we 
think about these investments that we're keeping an eye both on 
economic development, but also how to--how do we spur 
technology innovation.
    If I may, sir, one last thing I will tell you, one of the 
Build Back Better Regional Challenges was in your State, but 
we--because we're putting in place communities of practice, we 
are able then to also leverage what's happening in Central 
Valley in California, which is a Build Back Better Regional 
Challenge on tech--agri-tech. So these are the type of 
opportunities to learn from one another, to be able to bring it 
to places as in your district, and make sure that we are 
continuing to invest in technologies in all industries and all 
in all sectors.
    Mr. LaTurner. I want to thank you and all the witnesses and 
our very able Chairwoman. Thank you very much. I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stevens. Well, great, thank you so much.
    And with that, we are at that time of bringing this 
incredible hearing to a close. And I just want to thank our 
witnesses so much for joining us and certainly thank my 
incredible partner and our Ranking Member, Randy Feenstra, for 
his close collaboration not only on this hearing but all the 
work that we have done throughout the 117th Congress.
    Certainly, a lot of great engagement today and interest in 
deepening the success, doubling down on the success, and 
connecting the dots. And I certainly want to take a minute to 
thank, as this is our concluding Subcommittee hearing for the 
term, our just very dedicated Research and Technology 
Subcommittee staff who have worked long and hard throughout 
this term sort of nonstop and orchestrating just an impressive 
slate of hearings.
    And given how things run at the end of the year, I know 
that many of our Members will be delighted to be reminded that 
the record is going to remain open for 2 weeks for additional 
statements from Members and for additional questions that the 
Committee may ask of the witnesses.
    And, again, thank you to our witnesses for informing today, 
and we look forward to further conversation and efforts to 
advance the goal of regional innovation inclusivity strategies, 
growing economies of scale, winning in places like the 
heartland, to the South, to rural America, to the industrious 
Midwest, and on.
    And with that, the witnesses are going to be excused at 
this point, and the hearing is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:21 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

                                Appendix

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                   Answers to Post-Hearing Questions

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