The U.S. House of Representatives failed in its second attempt to pass the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, a flagship bill for U.S. competitiveness.
Originally published at LeadEnergy.org
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives failed in its second attempt
to pass the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, a flagship bill for
U.S. competitiveness containing broad support for science and
technology innovation, including funding authorization for energy
innovation and education programs.
The bill, which was
re-introduced on the floor again today after getting derailed last
week, was blocked by a minority of House Republican members despite the
uncontroversial and bipartisan nature of the legislation. It was
brought forward for a vote under the House's suspension process, which
forbids further amendments but requires a two-thirds majority, which
the bill failed to meet on a vote of 261-148 (290 votes required, full
breakdown available here).
The
second failure comes despite major cuts to the authorization level to
alleviate budget concerns - down from a five-year, $85.6 billion
authorization to three-years and $48 billion - and inclusion of the
anti-pornography amendment that derailed the effort last week. "I
understand the concern of many of my colleagues about the overall size
of a five year authorization, and this reduction is my sincere attempt
at compromising on an issue that is very important to me," stated
Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN). "The bill before us today includes
an overall funding reduction of almost 50 percent from H.R. 5116, as
introduced."
The America COMPETES Act was originally passed
with strong bipartisan support in 2007 to authorize recommendations
from the comprehensive National Academies competitiveness study, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm."
The COMPETES Act was part of President Bush's American Competitiveness
Initiative, and in 2007 it passed with unanimous consent in the House
in less than an hour. It requires re-authorization this year to
continue and faced relatively insignificant hurdles in passing the House Science & Technology Committee in late April (29-8 vote), with over 750 organizations offering their endorsement.
Advocates point out that the majority of U.S. economic growth in the 20th century resulted from technology innovation, and past federal investments in science and innovation
led to the creation of the Internet, microchips, the aerospace and
biotechnology industry, and more. "The path is simple," stated
Chairman Gordon, "research leads to innovation; innovation leads to
economic development and good paying jobs. Creating good jobs is the
goal of this bill, and it is what our country needs right now."
Nevertheless, according to The Hill, "Republican
House members remained unsatisfied with Democrats' research bill. The
GOP issued a statement of policy just before the vote that slammed
Gordon's effort for failing to incorporate all six of their revisions,
especially those that some members believe would reduce or eliminate
"numerous new and unnecessary" programs."
