[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 181 (Friday, December 16, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





          S. 3084 AMERICAN INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LAMAR SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 16, 2016

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support S. 3084, the 
American Innovation and Competitiveness Act.
  This bill represents a bicameral, bipartisan agreement between 
legislation that recently passed the Senate Commerce, Science and 
Transportation Committee and nine House Science Committee bills that 
passed the full House over the last two years, including H.R. 1806, the 
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015.
  This bill maximizes the nation's investment in basic research. It 
improves accountability and transparency, reduces administrative burden 
on researchers, enhances agency oversight, which improves research 
coordination, and reforms federal science agency programs to increase 
the impact of taxpayer-funded research.
  The investment in basic research helps boost U.S. competitiveness, 
creates jobs and spurs new business and industries.
  First and foremost, the bill helps ensure that research grants funded 
by the National Science Foundation are in the ``national interest.''
  The House and Senate worked together to find common ground on 
language that ensures each NSF grant award has scientific merit and is 
required to serve the national interest through a broader impacts 
criterion, which supports one of seven goals.
  These goals are:
  Increasing the economic competitiveness in the United States.
  Advancing of the health and welfare of the American public.
  Supporting the national defense of the United States.
  Enhancing partnerships between academia and industry in the United 
States.
  Developing an American STEM workforce that is globally competitive 
through improved prekindergarten through grade 12 STEM education and 
teacher development, and improved ungraduated STEM education and 
instruction.
  Improving public scientific literacy and public engagement with 
science and technology in the United States.
  Expanding participation of women and individuals from 
underrepresented groups in STEM.
  Each public NSF award announcement must make clear, in non-technical 
language, how at least one of these goals is met, affirming that the 
project is worthy of taxpayer support, based on scientific merit and 
national interest.
  The American Innovation and Competitiveness Act preserves the intent 
of H.R. 3293, the Scientific Research in the National Interest Act, a 
bill I authored that passed the House earlier this year.
  I believe this provision will go a long way towards ensuring the 
grant-making process at NSF is transparent and accountable to the 
American public. It also makes permanent and enhances some of the 
reforms NSF already has underway.
  Title I of the bill includes key provisions from House-passed H.R. 
5049, the NSF Major Facility Research Reform Act, introduced by Science 
Committee Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk.
  It also requires NSF to address concerns about waste and abuse. It 
improves oversight of large facility construction, increases oversight 
on the use of rotator personnel, and updates conflict of interest 
policies.
  S. 3084 incorporates a number of provisions to improve research 
coordination across the federal government in computing, neuroscience, 
cybersecurity and the physical sciences, specifically radiation 
biology, fusion energy, and high energy physics.
  Most notably, Title I of the bill contains House-passed H.R. 5312, 
the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
(NITRD) Act, authored by Science Committee Member Darin LaHood.
  The bill updates and improves the interagency NITRD program, which 
coordinates the Federal R&D investment portfolio in unclassified 
networking, computing, software and cybersecurity.
  Additionally, S. 3084 includes other enhancements to federal 
cybersecurity research and standards.
  The bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST) to study the effectiveness of federal agency information 
security programs and practices, and the challenges to federal 
agencies' implementation of NIST standards and guidelines.
  Other provisions also are included from H.R. 6066, the Cybersecurity 
Responsibility and Accountability Act of 2016, introduced by 
Representative Ralph Abraham, which passed the Science Committee in 
September.
  Title II includes H.R. 1119, the Research and Development Efficiency 
Act. This House-passed bill sponsored by the Research & Technology 
Subcommittee Chair Barbara Comstock helps reduce the regulatory burdens 
on federally funded researchers, so more time can be spent on research, 
not redtape.
  Title III of the bill improves coordination of STEM education 
activities across the Federal Government. A well-educated and trained 
high-tech workforce ensures our future economic prosperity.
  This means motivating more American students to study science, math, 
and engineering so they will want to pursue these careers. The bill 
authorizes a STEM education advisory panel of outside experts to help 
guide federal STEM education program decision making and help ensure 
the best results for the taxpayer investment.
  The title also continues the commitment of the STEM Education Act, a 
law I authored, which makes computer science part of STEM Education. 
That bill authorizes grants for computer science education research as 
an integral part of STEM education programs.
  Finally, title IV and title V include a number of provisions to 
improve manufacturing innovation and leveraging the private sector in 
improved public-private partnerships.
  It includes updates to NIST's Manufacturing Extension Program to 
improve participation and oversight. It promotes entrepreneurship 
education by expanding NSF's successful Innovation Corps program. And 
it expands opportunities for science prize competitions by reducing 
barriers and providing participants with IP protections.
  America's future economic strength and national security depends on 
innovation. Public and private investments in research and development 
fuel the economy, create jobs and lead to new technologies that benefit 
Americans' daily lives.
  I urge adoption of this pro-science bill that will help America 
remain the global leader in basic research discovery and technological 
innovation.

                          ____________________