[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E860-E861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2010

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                               speech of

                             HON. PHIL HARE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 12, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5116) to 
     invest in innovation through research and development, to 
     improve the competitiveness of the United States, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. HARE. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of this first 
amendment en bloc to the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. 
I support this legislation because I believe a substantial investment 
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics translates to 
innovation and good-paying jobs. As a member of the Education and Labor 
Committee, it is clear to me how federal grant opportunities for 
colleges provides for a strong American workforce.
  Mr. Chair, included in this en bloc amendment is language I authored 
which seeks to give every higher education institution, regardless of 
funding history or its location, a fair shot at receiving funding.
  I have concerns that a disproportional amount of the funding 
authorized under this bill would end up being awarded to large 
institutions, which may eclipse small colleges and universities, many 
of which are located throughout rural America.
  Let me be clear--I strongly support, and encourage, all institutions 
of higher learning to pursue federal STEM funding opportunities. What 
my provision does is simply express the sense of Congress that when the 
grant-making authority is evaluating two or more applications of equal 
merit, that additional consideration should be given to applicants in 
rural areas and those that have no history of federal STEM grant 
funding.
  Mr. Chair, because there are many bigger schools which have an entire 
staff dedicated to searching for grant opportunities, I believe that we 
must ensure there is a level playing field so that all areas of this 
nation and schools of all sizes and resources are able to benefit.
  I believe the language I authored will benefit the overall 
legislation by enabling unprecedented STEM funding access to schools 
all across this nation.
  I would like to close by thanking and congratulating Chairman Gordon 
and Ranking Member Hall for their extraordinary work in crafting the 
underlying bill. I was proud to support the 2007 COMPETES legislation, 
and I am proud to support its reauthorization.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting both en bloc 
amendment number

[[Page E861]]

one and the final passage of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act.

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