[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 16, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1304-H1305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MAKING THE R&D TAX CREDIT PERMANENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
R&D tax credit, a program that has done a lot to help our technology 
sector in the United States, and as these charts show, the technology 
sector has done a lot to contribute to the job growth in this country. 
It is the key, the cornerstone to the growth that we are going to 
experience in the years ahead and most of the growth that we have 
experienced in this decade to this point. We must do everything we can 
to encourage the technology sector.
  The R&D tax credit is set to expire, as it does every year. I urge 
that we do not reauthorize it, but we make it permanent.
  The first big point is that the technology sector drives job growth, 
and the chart that I have brought with me shows how the computer 
industry and the technology sector in general, first of all, it pays 
more. The jobs that we have in this sector on average pay twice as much 
as typical jobs in other areas of the economy. It also shows that the 
job growth, the jobs that are being created, are coming predominantly 
from the high-tech sector. Also, in the 10 years ahead, that is going 
to become even more the case. Technology is what is driving our 
economy, and the R&D tax credit helps that technology grow.
  The second chart that I want to show shows specifically how the R&D 
tax credit helps. It helps because it helps increase the productivity 
of companies across all sectors. Because computers are a part of a 
company whether one is in the technology business or not, whether one 
makes computers or software for the Internet or if one makes airplanes 
or furniture or just about anything, having money for R&D helps you 
increase your productivity and more and better jobs. This has just some 
of the various sectors of our economy that have benefited substantially 
from the R&D tax credit that has created jobs.
  That is what this is all about. We may look at these industries and 
sectors and think well, gosh, I do not work in the pharmaceutical 
industry or the computer industry, but no matter where one works in the 
American economy, technology touches us, and the R&D tax credit helps 
advance that.
  I would like us to make it permanent this time instead of doing the 
year-after-year reauthorization. First of all, as I have argued, this 
is a very good program and should be made permanent, but more 
importantly long term planning of companies that depend on this tax 
credit could be greatly enhanced if they knew it was going to be there 
from year-to-year. They could invest even more in the R&D tax credit 
over the long haul, knowing that it is going to be around, knowing that 
every year they are not going to have to come back and try to seek 
reauthorization. This is a program that should be permanent because it 
does so much for our economy.

  Technology touches on a lot of issues, the R&D tax credit being just 
one of them. I strongly urge that our government get in touch with 
high-tech issues in the high-tech industry and find out what we can do 
to help them. It is critical to our job growth. Technology crosses all 
sectors. Yes, there are the ones that we think of off the top of our 
heads when we think of technology. We think of telecommunications, we 
think of hardware and software, we think of the Internet. But just 
about any industry we have benefits from a better computer system, from 
better software, from access to the Internet. They can make better 
products, they can transfer that information all across the world to 
various segments of their business to help that business grow. This 
touches everything. We will not find an industry that is not high-tech.
  I ran into someone from the company Kosco out in my area which sells 
food and various other products on a sort of wholesale retail basis, 
and they thought of themselves as not being a high-tech company. But 
they too are dependent on the computer systems that help them keep 
track of their inventory, that help them track their financial records, 
their sales records, and the faster and better those systems become, 
the more efficient and the more productive their business becomes. It 
does not matter what sector of the economy one is in. Technology 
affects us, and the R&D tax credit can help us have better jobs that 
pay more and will also help create more and more jobs for those who do 
not have them yet.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge this body to adopt a permanent 
authorization of the R&D tax credit as soon as

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possible for the sake of our future economic growth.

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