[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1772-E1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2272, AMERICA COMPETES ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2007

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to strongly 
support the conference report for H.R. 2272, the America Creating 
Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, 
Education and Science, COMPETES, Act of 2007.
  Science, technology, engineering, and math STEM, research and 
education are the key to

[[Page E1773]]

much of our country's success for the last 200 years. America has long 
been a center for science and engineering discovery--in the last few 
decades alone, American ingenuity has transformed our Nation and the 
world with the personal computer and the internet. Going forward, new 
innovations will continue to be critical, both in maintaining a solid 
industrial and economic base and increasing our standard of living.
  Federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, NSF, the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, and the 
Department of Energy's Office of Science, play a key role by funding 
cutting-edge research and training the next generation of scientists 
and engineers. And nothing will occur without federal investment in 
STEM research and education--we must continue this strong Federal 
support to reinforce our global competitiveness and our prosperity.
  As a cosponsor of H.R. 2272 and a House conferee, I am proud to say 
that this legislation will set us in the right direction. It will help 
strengthen and improve research and education efforts at NSF, NIST, 
DOE's Office of Science, and the Department of Education, as well as 
update the High Performance Computing Act of 1991 and recognize the 
important role that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 
NASA, plays in STEM education and research. This bill will help to 
ensure that the United States continues to be a science and technology 
leader.
  H.R. 2272 includes a needed funding increase for overall laboratory 
research at NIST. As part of the American Competitiveness initiative, 
NIST will use these funds to expand upon its world-class research, 
ensuring that the United States will continue to be globally 
competitive in many industries.
  NIST is particularly important to me because one of its key 
laboratories is located in Boulder, Colorado, in my district. The 
Boulder labs employ more than 350 people and serve as a science and 
engineering center for significant research across the Nation. The 
increase in research funding will help the scientists here expand our 
knowledge about topics ranging from nanotechnology to material science.
  A critical component of this legislation is that it includes funding 
for construction at these laboratories. NIST's Boulder facilities have 
contributed to great scientific advances, but they are now over 50 
years old and have not been well maintained. Many environmental factors 
such as the humidity and vibrations from traffic can affect the quality 
of research performed at NIST. In fiscal year 2007, NIST-Boulder will 
begin an extension of Building 1 to make room for a Precision Metrology 
lab. This new facility will allow for incredibly precise control of 
temperature, relative humidity, air filtration and vibration to advance 
research on critical technologies, such as atomic clocks 
telecommunications, and nanomaterials. To complete this extension, NIST 
will need further funding in fiscal years 2008 and 2009. H.R. 2272 
authorizes this critical funding.

  I am also pleased to see that the legislation reauthorizes and 
gradually increases funding for key technology transfer programs like 
the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, MEP, program and the 
Technology Innovation Program, TIP, formerly known as the Advanced 
Technology Program, ATP.
  For NSF, H.R. 2272 will continue the effort to double its funding 
over a 10-year time period by authorizing almost $22 billion for fiscal 
years 2008-2010. The bill will also encourage the participation of more 
scientists who have not received NSF funding in the past through 1-year 
seed grants. By targeting these grants toward these new recipients, the 
legislation will help support early career researchers and encourage 
higher-risk research.
  As co-chair of the STEM Education Caucus, I am also pleased that H.R. 
2272 contains support and funding for NSF's STEM education programs. 
These programs include the Math and Science Partnerships program and 
the Noyce Scholarships Program, as well as several STEM education 
grants that focus on teacher professional development. These programs 
will help increase the number of well-qualified science and math 
teachers across the country, both through creating more teachers from 
current college students and by providing better training for the 
teachers already in our schools.
  The bill will increase funding for the Department of Energy's Office 
of Science, providing nearly $17 million over fiscal years 2008-2010. 
The Office of Science funds much of our country's physical science and 
has helped advance our knowledge about energy, a critical issue of both 
national and economic security. This increase will keep the Office of 
Science on track to double its funding over 10 years.
  As chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee 
Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, I am pleased that H.R. 2272 
contains a number of provisions that highlight the important role that 
the NASA can and does play in promoting innovation and competitiveness. 
To that end, the conference report includes language to ensure that 
NASA will be a full participant in all interagency innovation and 
competitiveness initiatives as well as STEM initiatives. That's 
important, because the record shows that past NASA R&D activities have 
contributed to the vitality of today's economy through NASA's 
development of a host of innovative technologies. In addition, NASA 
still has a ``brand'' that can inspire young people to pursue careers 
in science and engineering, and we should capitalize on that fact by 
involving NASA in interagency STEM initiatives whenever appropriate. 
The conference report does just that, and it also encourages NASA to 
use its undergraduate student research program to more directly engage 
college and university students in NASA-related research.

  In addition to NASA's basic science and research programs, H.R. 2272 
recognizes and endorses the significant role that NASA's aeronautics 
programs play in ensuring America's competitiveness. However, I think 
it is clear that investing in aeronautics is critical not only to our 
competitiveness, but also to our quality of life, the safety and 
efficiency of our Nation's air transportation system, and our military 
strength. We need to ensure that NASA continues to maintain its 
commitment to a meaningful and robust aeronautics R&D program.
  Finally, H.R. 2272 notes the role that the International Space 
Station, ISS, if properly utilized, can play in helping to promote 
interest in math and science. It thus directs NASA to make concrete 
plans to implement at least some of the innovative educational projects 
proposed by an interagency task force that looked at the contributions 
that the ISS could make to STEM education. In addition, the conference 
report also directs NASA to come up with a clear plan to identify and 
support ISS research that can contribute to innovation and 
competitiveness. As was made clear at a recent hearing held by my 
subcommittee, NASA needs to do much more than it has been doing to get 
a good return on the sizeable investment that the Nation has made in 
the ISS. As was further pointed out at the hearing, the ISS offers a 
unique capability for research in a number of disciplines that could 
benefit both NASA as well as our citizens back here on Earth--but NASA 
needs to step up to the challenge of making sure that research is 
adequately supported.
  I would like to thank House Science and Technology Committee Chairman 
Gordon and Ranking Member Hall, Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Domenici, House 
Education and Labor Committee Chairman Miller and Ranking Member 
McKeon, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman 
Inouye and Ranking Member Stevens, and the other conferees, for their 
work on this critical bipartisan legislation.
  I think we all recognize that investing in basic research and STEM 
education is critical for a strong economy and national security, and 
H.R. 2272 will help us improve the critical support for STEM education 
and research. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote for this 
important legislation.

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