[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 154 (Friday, November 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13338-S13339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, AND COMMERCE APPROPRIATIONS

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, earlier this week the Senate passed the 
conference report accompanying H.R. 2862, the Science, State, Justice 
and Commerce Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2006.
  As the ranking member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, 
Justice, and Science, I rise today to explain how this legislation is 
critical to spurring economic innovation in our Nation and how the bill 
protects communities and saves lives and livelihoods.
  I believe this appropriations bill is an important step in making our 
country more competitive in the global economy. The future of our 
economic security as well as our national security will depend upon our 
ability to innovate. This bill is a major Federal investment in 
innovation through science and technology, and it will help make 
America stronger by investing in our future.
  Innovation begins with basic research. H.R. 2862 funds the National 
Science Foundation, NSF, at $5.6 billion, a $180 million increase over 
last year.
  The key to innovation is investing in basic research in the physical 
sciences- biology, chemistry, physics and the cutting edge 
interdisciplinary initiatives in nanotechnology, biotechnology and 
information technology. The National Academy of Sciences, the Council 
on Competitiveness, and numerous other organizations have all called 
for a substantial increase in our investment in basic scientific 
research. This bill makes a downpayment on that investment.
  The technology of tomorrow will create the jobs of tomorrow. But if 
we don't invest in research, the technology and the jobs will go 
overseas.
  But it is not just about investing in research, we also have to 
invest in education. This bill preserves funding for graduate student 
stipends at $30,000 per year. NSF funds critical programs to improve 
the teaching of math and science and to improve science and math 
curriculum in our schools. We must increase the number of math and 
science teachers as well as the number of math and science students.
  In addition, government and the private sector must work together to 
spur innovation in our economy. That is where the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, NIST, comes into play. NIST invests in new 
technologies that lead to new breakthroughs that create jobs to make 
our nation more competitive. NIST also sets industry standards so that 
American business can be competitive abroad. H.R. 2862 funds NIST at 
$761 million, a $62 million increase over last year.
  This legislation also funds other important agencies that are on the 
cutting edge of science and technology that can save lives and 
communities.
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, is 
responsible for the National Weather Service as well as critical 
research into oceans, fisheries and the Earth's atmosphere.
  For NOAA, we have provided $3.9 billion, a $20 million increase over 
last year. Whether it is warning us about severe weather so we can 
secure our property and get out of harm's way, or helping to restore 
our fisheries that are so critical to our economy, NOAA saves lives and 
communities every day.
  In space, this appropriations bill fully funds the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, and the cutting edge 
scientific and technological research that only NASA can do.
  For NASA, we have provided $16.4 billion, which is a $260 million 
increase over last year. This includes $271 million for the Hubble 
Space Telescope, $50 million over the President's budget request to 
accommodate a servicing mission to Hubble, should the Administrator 
determine that the space shuttle is safe to use.
  The servicing of Hubble will involve replacing batteries, gyroscopes 
and installing new scientific instruments to make Hubble more powerful 
than ever. Hubble is the very symbol of innovation and discovery that 
are hallmarks of America's space program.
  We continue our investment in the Mars program and fully fund the 
next generation of launch vehicles to replace the space shuttle.
  All major science programs are funded at the President's request 
level or higher including the Living With A Star program which is 
crucial to understanding the Sun's effects on the Earth.
  While NSF, NOAA, NIST and NASA are all integral to our nation's 
ability to innovate, along with our other federal agencies, it is the 
private sector that is responsible for most of the innovation that 
drives our economy.
  The Patent and Trademark Office, PTO, plays a central role in 
protecting our nation's valuable intellectual property. The PTO has a 
backlog of applications waiting to be processed. H.R. 2862 funds the 
PTO at a record $1.7 billion, a 30 percent increase over last year.
  This record increase will go a long way towards helping the PTO 
reduce the backlog of patent applications so we can properly protect 
our intellectual property and maintain our competitiveness.
  But as we invest in our future, this legislation also takes care of 
our day-to-day needs especially when it comes to protecting our 
neighborhoods and communities
  In making our country safer, the Department of Justice is our front 
line. This bill provides $21 billion to the Justice Department, $800 
million more than last year. The Justice Department accounts for almost 
50% of the entire bill. This includes funding for the FBI, DEA, ATF, 
U.S. Marshals, U.S Attorneys as well as the Federal Prison System.
  The Justice Department provides assistance to our state and local law 
enforcement and help communities fight gang violence. It also protects 
us from terrorists and protects our neighborhoods and communities. 
Specifically, the FBI will receive $5.7 billion in 2006,

[[Page S13339]]

a $500 million increase over last year. Most of this increase has been 
devoted to counterterrorism.
  H.R. 2862 also increases funding to fight sexual predators who prey 
upon our children. The bill provides $48 million to continue and expand 
the Missing and Exploited Children Program. It also funds a Cyber-
Tipline, an online resource where people can report leads and tips 
about child sexual exploitation.
  Finally, the bill provides $2.7 million for the FBI's innocent images 
program to investigate and capture child pornographers who use the 
Internet to prey on children.
  In addition to sexual predators, gangs are becoming a growing local, 
regional, and national problem. We have provided increases to the ATF, 
U.S Attorneys and the FBI to help fight against gangs in our schools 
and communities.
  Any anti-gang strategy must focus on three principles: prevention, 
intervention and suppression. In my own State of Maryland, in 
Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, and around the State, gangs 
are a growing problem.
  This bill provides $2 million for Montgomery and Prince George's 
Counties to deal with gang violence and fund prevention programs. It 
also provides another $2 million to combat gang violence and gang 
prevention programs around the State of Maryland. The purpose of this 
funding is to bring federal resources to the local level to help stop 
and prevent further gang violence from afflicting our neighborhoods and 
communities.
  Mr. President, the President's budget cut state and local law 
enforcement by $1.4 billion. We were able to restore $1.1 billion of 
that cut in this bill.
  I know how important our local police are to fighting crime and 
gangs. Our local police are the first responders. If we were not 
subjected to strict limits on spending that were imposed on us by the 
Budget Resolution, we would have provided additional funding for state 
and local law enforcement.
  But with the need to increase funding for counterterrorism and 
counterintelligence, plus the need to address the growing problems of 
both methamphetamine abuse and regional and even international gang 
violence, we had to make difficult choices, under very difficult 
circumstances.
  Mr. President, the Science, State, Justice, and Commerce 
Appropriations bill is about investing in science and technology to 
spur innovation in our economy, protecting our Nation, and saving 
communities, lives, and livelihoods.
  Investments in innovation are critical so America will retain its 
competitiveness as well as its economic and national security. Through 
the Department of Justice and its major law enforcement bureaus, we are 
increasing our commitment to protecting children from sexual predators 
and making our neighborhoods and communities safer from gang violence 
and street crime.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues next year to continue 
the progress we have made and increase our commitment to innovation, 
science and technology.

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