Administration, Congress Get Behind Innovation

by Chris McManes

Technological breakthroughs like the Internet, satellite communications and medical imaging devices were developed in the United States. Congress and the Bush Administration want to make sure the next major high-tech advance originates here, too, so our nation can remain the world’s technology leader.

The Protecting America’s Competitive Edge Act, or PACE Act, introduced on Capitol Hill in late January, will help accomplish this goal. The legislation is based on 20 recommendations from the October 2005 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.

IEEE Fellow and former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, working under the aegis of the National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, chaired the panel that produced the report

“The thrust of our report can be summed up in one word — ‘jobs,’” Augustine said at the news conference announcing the legislation. “… We must either create jobs that innovate or we’ll see them evaporate.”

Sens. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced the PACE Act, which is actually three bills (S. 2197, S. 2198 and S. 2199). Expected to cost about $9.5 billion in its first year, the legislation (PACE-Energy, PACE-Education and PACE-Finance) has broad bipartisan support.

“We’re now playing in a tougher league; China and India are competing for our jobs,” Alexander said. “The best way to keep those jobs in America is to maintain our brainpower edge in science and technology.”

The American Competitiveness Initiative that President George W. Bush announced during his recent State of the Union address features similar recommendations to the PACE Act. Both the initiative and the legislation are designed to improve the United States’ ability to compete in the global economy.

“With more research in both the public and private sectors,” President Bush said, “we will improve our quality of life and ensure that America will lead the world in opportunity and innovation for decades to come.”

IEEE-USA's Russ Lefevre (right) speaks with Sen. Lamar Alexander
at a 25 January news conference to announce the PACE Act.

Russ Lefevre, IEEE-USA’s vice president for technology policy activities, and IEEE-USA government relations staff continue to work with Senate staff to help identify positive aspects of the PACE Act, and to recommend sections that should be changed. IEEE-USA is also working to build grassroots support and convince other lawmakers to support the legislation. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) joined the four co-sponsors at the news conference.

When asked the benefit the legislation would have for her home state, Hutchison said, “If we can get more engineers, we can keep jobs in Texas and in America.”

IEEE-USA President Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr. and IEEE-USA President-Elect John Meredith are pleased with the PACE Act. It dovetails with their strategic focus on continuing education of our high-tech workforce; K-12 education for the next generation of scientists and engineers; and promoting innovation through public policy. U.S. IEEE members should benefit from this strategy.

Wyndrum and Meredith are also pleased that the legislation will foster innovation in the United States at places like NASA, the Departments of Defense and Energy, government-funded national laboratories and the National Science Foundation (NSF), among others.

“Innovation has been the hallmark of American engineering,” Wyndrum said. “We need to retain that and not let it slip overseas.”

Energy

Among the bill’s many proposals, PACE-Energy calls for establishing a DARPA-like agency within the Energy Department to develop transformational energy technologies that bridge the gap between scientific discovery and new energy innovations. The department’s Office of Science would receive double authorized funding for basic research in the physical sciences.

“The National Academies believes that research into energy is important for the United States to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources,” Lefevre said. “Doubling the Office of Science’s funding is one way to make this happen. More R&D is going to result in more jobs.”

PACE-Energy also proposes to increase basic research spending by up to 10 percent for seven years at several federal agencies. Another spur to economic growth is a doubling (20 to 40 percent) of the Research & Development (R&D) tax credit, and making it permanent. These changes will give U.S. companies incentive to conduct ground-breaking research here rather than set up shop overseas. In November 2005, IEEE-USA's Board of Directors approved a position calling for a permanent R&D tax credit.

“Making it permanent would allow businesses to plan ahead, instead of being concerned about R&D spending on a year-to-year basis,” said Cliff Lau, chair of IEEE-USA's Research & Development Policy Committee. “We think this would be a tremendous help to research laboratories and businesses in their long-range planning.”

The word innovation is bandied about frequently without much description of exactly what it is. IEEE-USA defines innovation as the conversion of ideas and inventions into useful and affordable products, services and processes. Dictionary.com defines it as “the act of introducing something new,” … “a creation resulting from study and experimentation.”

“The whole foundation of American culture and economy is based on the concept of discovery and innovation,” Mikulski said. “When you look at what has made America a superpower, it’s our innovation and our technology. We have to look at where the new ideas are going to come from that are going to generate the new products for the 21st century. The PACE Act will help set the framework and create the building blocks that we need for a smarter America.”

Innovation leads to desirable, high-paying jobs in critically important areas such as health care and national security, and engineers are our country’s principal innovators. Domenici pointed out that the United States, with just five percent of the world’s population, accounts for 30 percent of the world’s wealth. Taxpayer dollars invested in innovative research today contribute to the paychecks and tax base of tomorrow.

“More math and science means better jobs,” said Domenici, chair of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. “If we’re not careful, the new flat world will flatten our wallets.”

Wyndrum hopes the legislation’s R&D focus is more on research, rather than such things as commercial product development.

“We really need to differentiate fundamental innovative research from development work,” he said. “We applaud the legislation, and think it would be great to support even more fundamental research that is truly innovative.”

Education

PACE-Education has many provisions to improve math and science education in U.S. schools. Merit-based scholarships of up to $20,000 per year for up to four years would be awarded to students majoring in mathematics, science or engineering who concurrently pursue teacher certification and agree to teach math or science in a public school for at least four years. This arrangement would reduce the number of students being taught these subjects by teachers who did not major in them. Additionally, up to 25,000 students per year would receive four-year competitive scholarships to pursue a bachelor’s degree in science, engineering or math.

“These are exactly the sort of things that will improve the flow of qualified candidates into these critical fields,” Wyndrum said. “IEEE-USA enthusiastically endorses this.”

Wyndrum said his home state, New Jersey, does not allow teachers to teach a subject they have not been prepared to instruct.

“[The PACE Act] should enhance the flow of qualified instructors in advanced high school mathematics, physics and chemistry, which are in great shortage right now,” he said. “New Jersey has a significant shortage of high school instructors that can teach physics and chemistry.”

So how does the state get around this shortage?

“They don’t offer the [physics and chemistry] courses,” Wyndrum said, “and that’s really sad.”

Finance

PACE-Finance will promote continuing education by providing an annual tax credit of up to $500,000 to employers who pay for qualified courses to improve or maintain their employees’ knowledge in science and engineering. IEEE-USA is championing continuing education for U.S. IEEE members with the IEEE Educational Activities Board.

Despite the PACE Act having 60 Senate cosponsors by 1 February — many on key committees — passage is far from certain. If the Senate does pass all or part of the PACE initiative, it is hoped that the House will follow suit. A variety of less comprehensive bills dealing with these issues have been introduced in both chambers of Congress, with hearings scheduled shortly. Bingaman, ranking member of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, believes strongly in the bill’s intent.

“The PACE Act will sustain our vibrant science and technology sector, and with it our well-being, health, environment and security,” he said. “It will invest in R&D, encourage education, and nurture a business environment that transforms new knowledge into new high-wage jobs. The passage of this farsighted public investment initiative will ensure that the United States is stronger, smarter, and leads the world in scientific and technological innovation well into the future.”

Chris McManes is IEEE-USA's senior public relations coordinator in Washington, D.C. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.