[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 15, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PRAISE FOR THE NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND 
                            DEVELOPMENT ACT

  (Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I just want to compliment the House on the 
action just completed. The Networking and Information Technology 
Research and Development Act is very important legislation. It will 
maintain the U.S. global leadership in information technology. When one 
is the first and one is the best, one has to work at maintaining that 
first place position, at securing the fact that one legitimately is the 
very best.

                              {time}  1500

  The $500 billion a year information technology industry has accounted 
for one-third of our Nation's economic growth since 1992, and created 
new industries and millions of new high-paying jobs. All across America 
people are benefiting from what has been done in information 
technology.
  Once again, we are the leader, we are first, we are the best, and we 
have to work at maintaining that. We have to prioritize basic 
information technology research. There are a whole slew of very good 
ideas, but we have to have priorities. We have to go first with that 
which is most important. We have to produce the next generation of 
highly-skilled information technology workers.
  This bill will help attract more students to science and to careers 
in information technology by providing grants for colleges and 
companies to create for-credit courses which include internships. 
Participating companies must commit to providing 50 percent of the cost 
of the program.
  So for a whole host of very legitimate reasons, the Committee on 
Science and this House have done themselves proud. We are moving 
forward, we are not just satisfied to rest on our laurels. We are going 
forward. This is, indeed, the Information Age, and we are the leaders. 
We have to maintain that position.
  I am a great unabashed baseball fan, and on the 17th of this month, 
just a couple of days hence, the pitchers and catchers will report to 
spring training. The one team that I am most interested in is the New 
York Yankees, because they are the world champions.
  If I may draw an analogy, let me point out that the Yankees are not 
resting on their laurels, they are continuing to improve and invest in 
their club. That is why they are the world champions, and we cannot 
afford to rest on our laurels.
  I thank my colleagues for their unrelenting support of this bill. I 
thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Sensenbrenner) for the 
leadership he has provided. I thank the ranking member, the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Hall) for his strong support and leadership.
  This is truly bipartisan legislation serving the best interests of 
the American people.

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