He is the author of this month's In Focus, presenting his views as he makes the transition into his new role as Montana's only member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rick welcomes your ideas and suggestions. As a businessman, I experienced first hand how technology benefits a business. My job was to provide a small business perspective of how we could invest effectively in Montana's technology base to advance our economic future. I found that providing a nurturing climate for research and technology-based industries was very important in planning for Montana's economic future.
Research is important to Montana's economic future in four ways.
It provides technology to add value to our natural resource based economy and the advances created by research increase our quality of life and our environment. In today's global economy, a business must continue to refine, upgrade and create new products to stay competitive. Inability to adapt to a changing environment is the primary reason businesses fail. Because of research's ability to help businesses adapt, I consider it one of the four cornerstones of Montana's economy. My goal as your congressman is to foster better understanding and broader support for research industries in the Congress.