Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 2046 (rs) To reauthorize the Next Generation Internet Act, and for other purposes. [Reported in Senate] ...S. 2046 (rs) To reauthorize the Next Generation Internet Act, and for other purposes. [Reported in Senate] ...
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2046
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 22, 2000
Referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee
on Commerce, the Committee on Resources and the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To reauthorize the Next Generation Internet Act, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Research Investment Act''.
TITLE I--FEDERAL RESEARCH INVESTMENT
SEC. 101. GENERAL FINDINGS REGARDING FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH.
(a) Value of Research and Development.--The Congress makes the
following findings with respect to the value of research and
development to the United States:
(1) Federal investment in research has resulted in the
development of technology that has saved lives in the United
States and around the world.
(2) The research and development investment across all
Federal agencies has been effective in creating technology that
has enhanced the American quality of life.
(3) The Federal investment in research and development
conducted or underwritten by both military and civilian
agencies has produced benefits that have been felt in both the
private and public sector.
(4) Discoveries across the spectrum of scientific inquiry
have the potential to raise the standard of living and the
quality of life for all Americans.
(5) Science, engineering, and technology play a critical
role in shaping the modern world.
(6) Studies show that about half of all United States post-
World War II economic growth is a direct result of technical
innovation; science, engineering, and technology contribute to
the creation of new goods and services, new jobs and new
capital.
(7) Technical innovation is the principal driving force
behind the long-term economic growth and increased standards of
living of the world's modern industrial societies. Other
nations are well aware of the pivotal role of science,
engineering, and technology, and they are seeking to exploit it
wherever possible to advance their own global competitiveness.
(8) Federal programs for investment in research, which lead
to technological innovation and result in economic growth,
should be structured to address current funding disparities and
develop enhanced capability in States and regions that
currently are underrepresented in the national science and
technology enterprise.
(b) Status of the Federal Investment.--The Congress makes the
following findings with respect to the status of the Federal investment
in research and development activities:
(1) Civilian research and development expenditures reached
their pinnacle in the mid-1960s due to the Apollo Space
program, declining for several years thereafter. Despite
significant growth in the late 1980s and early 1990s, these
expenditures, in constant dollars, have not returned to the
levels of the 1960s.
(2) Fiscal realities now challenge Congress and the
President to steer the Federal Government's role in science,
engineering, and technology in a manner that ensures a prudent
use of limited public resources. There is both a long-term
problem--addressing the ever-increasing level of mandatory
spending--and a near-term challenge--apportioning a dwindling
amount of discretionary funding to an increasing range of
targets in science, engineering, and technology. This
confluence of increased national dependency on technology,
increased targets of opportunity, and decreased fiscal
flexibility has created a problem of national urgency. Many
indicators show that more funding for science, engineering, and
technology is needed but, even with increased funding,
priorities must be established among different programs. The
United States cannot afford the luxury of fully funding all
deserving programs.
SEC. 102. SPECIAL FINDINGS REGARDING HEALTH-RELATED RESEARCH.
The Congress makes the following findings with respect to health-
related research:
(1) Health and economic benefits provided by health-related
research.--Because of health-related research, cures for many
debilitating and fatal diseases have been discovered and
deployed. At present, the medical research community is on the
cusp of creating cures for a number of leading diseases and
their associated burdens. In particular, medical research has
the potential to develop treatments that can help manage the
escalating costs associated with the aging of the United States
population.
(2) Funding of health-related research.--Many studies have
recognized that clinical and basic science are in a state of
crisis because of a failure of resources to meet the
opportunity. Consequently, health-related research has emerged
as a national priority and has been given significantly
increased funding by Congress in both fiscal year 1999 and
fiscal year 2000. In order to continue addressing this urgent
national need, the pattern of substantial budgetary expansion
begun in fiscal year 1999 should be maintained.
(3) Interdisciplinary nature of health-related research.--
Because all fields of science and engineering are
interdependent, full realization of the Nation's historic
investment in health will depend on major advances both in the
biomedical sciences and in other science and engineering
disciplines. Hence, the vitality of all disciplines must be
preserved, even as special considerations are given to the
health research field.
SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL FINDINGS REGARDING THE LINK BETWEEN RESEARCH AND
TECHNOLOGY.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Flow of science, engineering, and technology.--The
process of science, engineering, and technology involves many
steps. The present Federal science, engineering, and technology
structure reinforces the increasingly artificial distinctions
between basic and applied activities. The result too often is a
set of discrete programs that each support a narrow phase of
research or development and are not coordinated with one
another. The Government should maximize its investment by
encouraging the progression of science, engineering, and
technology from the earliest stages of research up to a pre-
commercialization stage, through funding agencies and vehicles
appropriate for each stage. This creates a flow of technology,
subject to merit review at each stage, so that promising
technology is not lost in a bureaucratic maze.
(2) Excellence in american university research
infrastructure.--Federal investment in science, engineering,
and technology programs must foster a close relationship
between research and education. Investment in research at the
university level creates more than simply world-class research.
It creates world-class researchers as well. The Federal
strategy must continue to reflect this commitment to a strong
geographically-diverse research infrastructure. Furthermore,
the United States must find ways to extend the excellence of
its university system to primary and secondary educational
institutions and to better utilize the community college system
to prepare many students for vocational opportunities in an
increasingly technical workplace.
(3) Commitment to a broad range of research initiatives.--
An increasingly common theme in many recent technical
breakthroughs has been the importance of revolutionary
innovations that were sparked by overlapping of research
disciplines. The United States must continue to encourage this
trend by providing and encouraging opportunities for
interdisciplinary projects that foster collaboration among
fields of research.
(4) Partnerships among industry, universities, and federal
laboratories.--Each of these contributors to the national
science and technology delivery system has special talents and
abilities that complement the others. In addition, each has a
central mission that must provide their focus and each has
limited resources. The Nation's investment in science,
engineering, and technology can be optimized by seeking
opportunities for leveraging the resources and talents of these
three major players through partnerships that do not distort
the missions of each partner. For that reason, Federal dollars
are wisely spent forming such partnerships.
SEC. 104. MAINTENANCE OF FEDERAL RESEARCH EFFORT; GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
(a) Maintaining United States Leadership in Science, Engineering,
and Technology.--It is imperative for the United States to nurture its
superb resources in science, engineering, and technology carefully in
order to maintain its own globally competitive position.
(b) Guiding Principles.--Federal research and development programs
should be conducted in accordance with the following guiding
principles:
(1) Good science.--Federal science, engineering, and
technology programs include both knowledge-driven science
together with its applications, and mission-driven, science-
based requirements. In general, both types of programs must be
focused, peer- and merit-reviewed, and not unnecessarily
duplicative, although the details of these attributes must vary
with different program objectives.
(2) Fiscal accountability.--The Congress must exercise
oversight to ensure that programs funded with scarce Federal
dollars are well managed. The United States cannot tolerate
waste of money through inefficient management techniques,
whether by Government agencies, by contractors, or by Congress
itself. Fiscal resources would be better utilized if program
and project funding levels were predictable across several
years to enable better project planning; a benefit of such
predictability would be that agencies and Congress can better
exercise oversight responsibilities through comparisons of a
project's and program's progress against carefully planned
milestones and international benchmarks.
(3) Program effectiveness.--The United States needs to make
sure that Government programs achieve their goals. As the
Congress crafts science, engineering, and technology
legislation, it must include a process for gauging program
effectiveness, selecting criteria based on sound scientific
judgment and avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy. The Congress
should also avoid the trap of measuring the effectiveness of a
broad science, engineering, and technology program by passing
judgment on individual projects. Lastly, the Congress must
recognize that a negative result in a well-conceived and
executed project or program may still be critically important
to the funding agency.
(4) Criteria for Government funding.--Program selection for
Federal funding should continue to reflect the Nation's 2
traditional research and development priorities: (A) basic,
scientific, and technological research that represents
investments in the Nation's long-term future scientific and
technological capacity, for which Government has traditionally
served as the principal resource; and (B) mission research
investments, that is, investments in research that derive from
necessary public functions, such as defense, health, education,
environmental protection, all of which may also raise the
standard of living, which may include pre-commercial, pre-
competitive engineering research and technology development.
Additionally, Government funding should not compete with or
displace the short-term, market-driven, and typically more
specific nature of private-sector funding. Government funding
should be restricted to pre-competitive activities, leaving
competitive activities solely for the private sector. As a
rule, the Government should not invest in commercial technology
that is in the product development stage, very close to the
broad commercial marketplace, except to meet a specific agency
goal. When the Government provides funding for any science,
engineering, and technology investment program, it must take
reasonable steps to ensure that the potential benefits derived
from the program will accrue broadly.
SEC. 105. POLICY STATEMENT.
(a) Policy.--This title is intended to--
(1) assure a doubling of the base level of Federal funding
for basic scientific, biomedical, and pre-competitive
engineering research, achieved by steadily increasing the
annual funding of civilian research and development programs so
that the total annual investment equals 10 percent of the
Federal Government's discretionary budget by fiscal year 2011;
(2) invest in the future economic growth of the United
States by expanding the research activities referred to in
paragraph (1);
(3) enhance the quality of life and health for all people
of the United States through expanded support for health-
related research;
(4) allow for accelerated growth of individual agencies to
meet critical national needs;
(5) guarantee the leadership of the United States in
science, engineering, medicine, and technology;
(6) ensure that the opportunity and the support for
undertaking good science is widely available throughout the
United States by supporting a geographically-diverse research
and development enterprise; and
(7) continue aggressive Congressional oversight and annual
budgetary authorization of the individual agencies listed in
subsection (b).
(b) Agencies Covered.--The agencies and trust instrumentality
intended to be covered to the extent that they are engaged in science,
engineering, and technology activities for basic scientific, medical,
or pre-competitive engineering research by this title are--
(1) the National Institutes of Health, within the
Department of Health and Human Services;
(2) the National Science Foundation;
(3) the National Institute for Standards and Technology,
within the Department of Commerce;
(4) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(5) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
within the Department of Commerce;
(6) the Centers for Disease Control, within the Department
of Health and Human Services;
(7) the Department of Energy (to the extent that it is not
engaged in defense-related activities);
(8) the Department of Agriculture;
(9) the Department of Transportation;
(10) the Department of the Interior;
(11) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(12) the Smithsonian Institution;
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