Date: 2000-02-15
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of H.R. 2086. The bill authorizes a major new research investment in information technology. which is consistent with the Presidents information technology for the 21st century initiative. This research initiative is very important to the Nations future and its wellbeing. and I am pleased that the measure has now come before the House for its consideration. and I give my thanks and respect to the chairman. and the chairman of the subcommittee and the ranking member of the committee. Information technology is a major driver of economic growth. It creates highwage jobs. provides for rapid communication throughout the world. and provides the tools for acquiring knowledge and insight from information. Advances in computering and communications will make the workplace more productive. improve the quality of health care. and make government more responsive and accessible to the needs of our citizens. Vigorous longterm research is essential for realizing the potential of information technology. The technical advances that led to todays computers and the Internet evolved from past federally sponsored research. in partnership with industry and universities.. H.R. 2086 will ensure that the store of basic knowledge is replenished and thereby enable the development of future generations of informationtechnology products and services. H.R. 2086 has received the bipartisan cosponsorship of many Members. and I would like to acknowledge the collegial manner in which the bill was developed by the Committee on Science. I want to thank the chairman of the committee. the gentleman from Wisconsin . for his efforts in crafting the bill and further thank the chairman. and the ranking Democratic Member. the gentleman from Texas . for their efforts in moving the bill to the floor. H.R. 2086 will establish a multiagency research initiative that responds to the recent findings and recommendations of the Presidents informationtechnology advisory committee. This committee. which was established through statute. is composed of distinguished representatives from computer and communication companies and from academia. It reached its conclusions following a comprehensive assessment of current federally funded informationtechnology research. The Presidents advisory committee found that Federal funding for informationtechnology research has tilted too much toward support for nearterm. missionfocused objectives. They discovered a growing gap between the power of high performance computers available to support agency mission requirements versus support for the general academic research community. They identified the need for socioeconomic research on the impact on society of the rapid evolution of information technology. and they judged that the annual Federal research investment is inadequate by more than $1 billion. I believe that H.R. 2086. as reported from -the Committee on Science. addresses each of the deficiencies identified by the advisory committee and will effectively implement its recommendations. I am particularly pleased by the inclusion of a provision that I offered in committee to explicitly authorize research to identify. understand. anticipate. and address the potential social and economic cost and benefits from the increasing pace of information technologybased transformations. In addition to support for research. H.R. 2086 will also contribute to providing the highly trained workers needed by the information industry. My district knows about this all too well. The bill would expand the human resources pool through two principal mechanisms. First. as a part of their training. graduate students will participate in most of the individual research projects supported by the bill. and. secondly. special provision is made for student internships in industry to. help recruit individuals for careers and informationbased companies. I sponsored the provision in the bill that opened such internships to students participating in the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program administered by the National Science Foundation. Research discoveries in information technology over the past 30 years have resulted in new commercial enterprises that now constitute a major fraction of the economy. Businesses that produce computers. semiconductors. software and communications equipment have accounted for a third of the total growth in the United States economic production since 1992. Clearly. there is ample evidence of the value of past Federal investments in informationtechnology research. A 1995 study by the National Academy of Sciences documented several billiondollarperyear companies that had their genesis from discoveries resulting from governmentsponsored research. H.R. 2086 will provide the basic research needed to underpin the technological advances in the future. Because of the wide recognition of the importance of the research and education components of H.R. 2086. many organizations have expressed their support for the bills passage. Among the industrial organizations that have endorsed 2086 are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. the Association for Manufacturing Technology. the National Association of Manufacturers. the Business Software Alliance. and the Computing Technology Industry Association. In addition. many academic institutions and technical societies have expressed support for the bill. including the Association of American Universities. the National Association of State Universities Land Grant Colleges. and the Computer Research Association. .Mr. Chairman. I believe that H.R. 2086 is an important investment in the future prosperity of this Nation and in the wellbeing of our fellow citizens. I commend the measure to all of my colleagues and ask for their support for its passage.