Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Berman (CA-28) voted for legislation that will encourage and expand U.S. innovation while also strengthening America’s scientific and economic leadership.  H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 262 - 150.

More than half of the growth in the United States' GDP since World War II can be attributed to development and adoption of new technologies.  The jobs of tomorrow will require a highly educated and well trained workforce.  The America COMPETES Act will help to create jobs in California by investing in students, teachers and workers.

The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act supports basic research, improves science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and fosters innovation.  The legislation puts basic research programs—the Department of Energy Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology labs—on a doubling path over ten years. H.R. 5116 also improves science and math education by reauthorizing programs that give teachers a deep understanding of their content so they can help their students understand the real world applications of what they are learning.  The bill also addresses coordination of STEM activities across the federal government, and improves STEM education at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral levels. 

Additionally, this landmark bill helps foster innovation in new energy technologies by:  reauthorizing the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, which is pursing high-risk, high-reward energy technology development; and authorizing Energy Innovation Hubs, multidisciplinary collaborations with a single technological focus to help achieve our national energy innovation goals.  The bill will also help ensure U.S. leadership in growing fields like nanotechnology and information technology.

Innovative Technology Federal Loan Guarantees created by this bill will help small- and medium-sized manufacturers access capital to make necessary updates to become more efficient and stay competitive.  The bill will also assist industry by ensuring that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) better reflects the needs and challenges facing manufacturers today and reorganizing the NIST labs to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of technology and better meet the needs of industry in the 21st century.

Over 750 organizations have endorsed COMPETES including:  the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Business Roundtable, the Council on Competitiveness, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  The complete list of supporting organizations is available here.

The America COMPETES Act was based on the 2005 National Academies’ report Rising Above the Gathering Storm.  The report found that “the scientific and technological building blocks critical to our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength.”  COMPETES incorporated the science, technology and STEM education recommendations from the report and was signed into law with broad bipartisan support in 2007.