Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, I, along with my colleague Mr. Carnahan, rise to enter into a colloquy. Mr. Pastor, several weeks ago the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition met with the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu. He shared his vision of eight energy innovation hubs that would deliver transformational energy technologies. This bill only funds one of those important hubs. When these hubs were first discussed with the committee, DOE's action plan was not fully developed. Since that time, they have made necessary revisions to develop the concept. While we support funding only proposals that are fully developed, we hope that you will work with the members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and the Department of Energy to continue working to fund this initiative as this process continues. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield to my colleague and fellow SEEC member, Mr. Carnahan of Missouri.

Mr. POLIS. I would like to thank the gentleman from Arizona.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, last week, hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country, many of whom were in Colorado, picked up their phones and called Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to ask her to delay the deportation of a young man from Miami, Florida, Walter Lara. Let me tell you a little bit about Walter. Walter moved to the United States from Argentina when he was 3 years old, and he has never left. He has dedicated thousands of hours to serving his community, tutoring children in mathematics and computers. He stood out in high school as an honor student and graduated from Miami Dade Honors College in 2007. But instead of following his dream and pursuing a promising career in computer animation and Web design, Walter's graduation gift was an imminent deportation order. Walter was scheduled to be deported over the 4th of July weekend, but thanks to a week of intense activism by congressional leaders, the SEIU, bloggers, and thousands of grass-roots activists who made calls and sent letters on Walter Lara's behalf, the Department of Homeland Security moved to defer 23-year-old Lara's scheduled deportation back an entire year until July 3 of 2010. While I was thrilled to hear that Walter's deportation has been delayed and he would be able to stay in the United States, this action alone is far from enough. What will happen to Walter in 2010 if we don't pass comprehensive immigration reform? What does it mean for the hundreds of thousands of Walters throughout the country who came to the United States as children, excelled in school, played by the rules, only to face deportation? Despite meeting State residency requirements, immigrant students in most States are charged out-of-state or international tuition rates which effectively render college inaccessible. These kids, Mr. Speaker, are as American as anybody else, but for far too long they have had their dreams shattered by an education system that ignores their good grades and hard work. Educational opportunity is a right, and something that we are all taught that if you work hard in this country and you don't give up, you can achieve anything. But the doors to opportunity have been shut for thousands of hardworking students who have been raised and educated in our country. Even though Walter was able to stay, the U.S. Government deports thousands of students just like Walter and will continue to do so until we pass the DREAM Act as part of comprehensive immigration reform. The DREAM Act will ensure that children who have grown up in the United States and studied in American schools can remain here and work and pay taxes and live in our country. Under the American DREAM Act, qualified students would be eligible for temporary legal immigration status upon high school graduation that could lead to permanent legal residency if they attend college or serve in the military. Students like Walter are our greatest natural resource, and they should have access to higher education, the key to both individual success and our Nation's economic growth and prosperity. I recently had the opportunity to visit an immigrant detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. These are young people, people of all ages, who are picked up. They might have broken the speed limit, they might have a taillight out on their car, they might simply have been loitering, and now, with taxpayer money, we are putting them up at $120 a day of our hard-earned money rather than them being out working and paying taxes to reduce our deficit. Mr. Speaker, in this era of budget deficit, putting Walter and people like him in a government hotel that taxpayers are paying for for $120 a day makes absolutely no sense when Walter would rather be out working and paying taxes to help reduce our deficit. To help the hundreds of thousands of Walters across the country, now is the time to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. I rise today in support of H.R. 3082, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriation Act for fiscal year 2010, and the rule. I'd like to thank Chairman Edwards of the Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs Appropriation Committee as well as Chairman Obey for their hard work and as well the dedicated work of their staff in bringing this bill before us. This legislation truly reflects our commitment to improving the quality of life for our service men and women as well as our veterans, who have given so much to defend the freedoms that we enjoy every day. In the midst of an economic crisis and a war on two fronts, fully funding the Veterans Affairs bill is critical to our country's ability to address the needs of our veterans and our military families. This bill authorizes funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fund a number of worthy projects, such as building housing for our troops, mental health services and grants for the construction of extended care facilities and veterans' cemeteries. As a Coloradan, I am particularly pleased to see that the Fitzsimons Veterans Affairs Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, will receive $119 million as part of the Military Construction bill. It is absolutely crucial for the State of Colorado and for the veterans in my district to have access to quality care close to their homes. I am very grateful to Secretary Shinseki and his staff, who invited those of us from the Colorado delegation to the Department of Veterans Affairs to make this announcement last month. They have truly recognized the urgency of completing a project that has been torn by uncertainty and going back to the drawing board for many, many years and finally moved forward in funding this Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Act. This bill will help ensure that the Obama administration continues to move quickly forward. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the rule and vote ``yes'' on final passage of H.R. 3082.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Yesterday, the Senate voted to extend the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and to expand E-Verify, making this flawed employment verification system both mandatory and permanent for Federal contractors. The American people don't want to see political posturing; they want to see real, meaningful immigration reform. These provisions attempt to enforce immigration laws without getting to the heart of the issue. Building a bigger wall at the U.S.-Mexico border is going to spend millions of taxpayer dollars and will not stop illegal immigration; reforming our immigration system will. Forcing Federal contractors to implement a costly employment verification program isn't going to stop illegal immigration. Instead, a mandatory E-Verify clause would force cash-strapped small businesses to make the painful decisions between losing government contracts and spending millions of dollars on a flawed and expensive employment verification system. It's not that we shouldn't talk about border security or employment verification. We must. These are conversations we need to have as part of a larger debate on comprehensive immigration reform, not as amendments to an appropriations bill. Instead of trying to act tough, Members of Congress should be tough and fix our broken immigration system.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would share with my colleague from Illinois that in my previous career before I came to Congress, I had been on various sides of this equation. I have been a venture capital investor. I have been in venture-backed companies. I have been a limited partner in venture capital companies, and I have raised money from individual investors as well. I can't see any good reason why the government should discriminate on the form of capital based on the form of capital the company has raised. It might be debt financing from a bank. It might be private capital from individual investors. It might be professional venture capital. It might be a grant under DARPA. It might be a Phase I grant under SBIR. These are all valid ways to raise money. These are all perfectly fine ways. Personally, I think it's better when they raise money from people rather than taxpayers. If they raise money from venture capital investors, that's a plus. If they raise money from a bank through credit, that's a plus too. The truth is, a lot of types of businesses aren't bankable. They can't borrow. They can't leverage because they are not buying a tangible asset with that. If you are in software, if you are in e- commerce, you can't borrow to develop that company. You need to rely on equity capital. By discriminating based on equity capital, which is what we are talking about with venture capital, you are basically favoring companies that have a bankable asset that they're purchasing. Now I'm sure both kinds of companies are critical for the future of our economy, but many of the very technology companies we need to support and are going to be a powerful growth sector in biotech, in computer technology, are going to be companies that can only raise money through equity capital. And by allowing them to do that, through allowing venture capital- backed companies to be eligible for these programs, we're furthering our engine of economic growth. I would like to yield 2 additional minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

Mr. POLIS. I yield 1 additional minute to the gentleman from Oregon.

Mr. POLIS. To address the points of the gentlelady from North Carolina, when we are talking about this bill, we are talking about a pro business bill. There are no taxes in this bill. This is all budgeted for already in the budget that was passed. The Democrats have already delivered a number of tax cuts for small businesses. Tax cuts are certainly part of the solution. We have done that through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for small businesses. Soon we will be taking up health care, which will be a tremendous benefit to the small businesses of this country. This bill, H.R. 2965, which invests in small businesses, is supported by the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the Biotechnology Industry Association, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, the National Venture Capital Association, and the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. It is also supported by many of the patient advocacy groups who recognize that this type of investment will help cure the health concerns and address the health concerns of many American families. It is supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Parkinson's Action Network and the ALS Association. These are all critical reasons that, for American small business to create jobs and for the health of our population and the continued growth of our economy, we need to pass this rule and pass this bill. I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, again, there is no good economic reason to discriminate on the form of capital, the form of private investment that goes into companies. When you have a company that borrows, a company that has access to credit, one could argue if they are worth less than they borrowed, the bank owns 100 percent of the company, and yet that company could, in fact, be eligible for the SBIR grant. The control provisions are clear. The control of the company cannot reside with the venture capitalist. I think this is a very positive step towards the direction in making sure that, regardless of the source of capital of the company, we invest in the very best technologies, products and services for the American people. With that, I would like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Boren).

Mr. POLIS. Again, I think there is, from the other side of the aisle, somewhat of a misunderstanding with regard to what venture capital is. It's as valid a way to finance a company as anything else. It has nothing to do with whether the company is large or small. There are provisions in here, in the bill, that will require that the company is, in fact, a small company. Whether they receive their financing from a bank, from individual investors, from labor financing, which means people not taking a salary and kind of working for free or on spec, there is a variety of ways to finance companies. And it shouldn't be the business of the government to discriminate based on how a particular company chooses to finance itself. With that, I would like to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Perriello).

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, if small businesses are the engine that drives our economy, then investment is the fuel. By ensuring that a portion of Federal research dollars are invested in small businesses, SBIR and STTR are fueling job creation and technological innovation. Since 1992, SBIR has issued 65,000 grants to small companies that are engaged in cutting-edge research to cure diseases, strengthen our national defense, and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources. This Congress has been tasked with helping American families keep their jobs through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We now have an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent. While there has been disagreement and spirited debate on the best prescription to get our economy moving again, we are fortunate that we have in place programs that are time tested. Every year the SBIR program invests $2.2 billion in small businesses, helping 1,500 new firms get off the ground. Mr. Speaker, I speak on behalf of Tech-X in Boulder; Coherent Technologies in Louisville; Community Power Corporation in Littleton; NavSys in Colorado Springs; and the many other small businesses which have benefited from the SBIR in my State of Colorado and across the country. Again, I commend the Members and staff who have worked diligently to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, as I said before and will continue to say, so much of our work thus far in Congress has moved us in the direction of creating more jobs. Whether it was passing the budget or work on health care, clean energy, education, the Recovery Act, the Green Schools bill, and even the Water Quality Investment Act created jobs. This bill is just another step on the road to recovery. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. POLIS. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. POLIS. Reclaiming my time, why should companies be forced to accept government grants when there's private capital out there that would be willing to save taxpayer money, invest in those companies, bring that technology to the next stage and preserve that taxpayer money to be able to invest in the commercialization of those products and technologies? With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 610 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina, Dr. Foxx. All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 610.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. House Resolution 610 provides for consideration of H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009, under a structured rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate with 40 minutes controlled by the Committee on Small Business and 20 minutes controlled by the Committee on Science and Technology. The rule makes in order five amendments printed in the Rules Committee report. The amendments are debatable for 10 minutes each, except for the manager's amendment, which is debatable for 30 minutes. The rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 610 and the underlying bill, H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act, which reauthorizes the Small Businesses Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program. Programs such as these, programs that successfully create high-wage jobs and ensure our Nation's technological competitive advantage in wide areas from software to defense to medicine, are vital, particularly in light of our economic climate. On behalf of my constituents in Colorado whose businesses have prospered as a result of this program, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire) for crafting this legislation. I also thank Chairwoman Velazquez and Chairman Gordon and their staffs for their hard work and efforts to bring this bill in a timely fashion before us on the floor of the House of Representatives. With the Small Business Innovation and Research Program extension set to expire at the end of this month, these committees have carefully debated this legislation and with deliberate speed have brought us a bill that is an improvement over existing programs and is deserving of swift passage by this body. Since its inception in 1982, the SBIR has made awards to more than 94,000 projects totaling over $20.7 billion of funding for small businesses. The SBIR program was conceived to help small innovative businesses access Federal research and development funding that creates jobs and allows Federal agencies to benefit from the ingenuity of private industry. SBIR's companion, the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, which began in 1992, goes further by incorporating nonprofit research institutes. This public-private partnership program is a success story that's not only created jobs but has also yielded dividends for the Federal agencies that sponsor the program. Americans can be proud that Federal resources have been leveraged to create innovations that have benefited 11 Federal agencies that have SBIR programs, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. The research and development of new technologies and processes that is completed by private companies have created efficiency in the Departments that sponsor SBIR while freeing the resources and staffs for projects that are essential to the agency's mission, making our Nation safer and our citizens healthier. Mr. Speaker, the success of this program is clear. One need only look to the patents that have resulted from SBIR awards or the 1.5 million Americans employed by SBIR program participant companies to get a sense of the real value of this program. Less tangible but equally important are the other benefits of this program. Across the country, communities have enjoyed the economic impact of investment in small business. The projects of SBIR participants have resulted in not only high-wage, direct research employment but also have generated manufacturing jobs right here in this country and a host of support industry jobs. In my State of Colorado, the synergy of Federal labs, small business, and academia has driven economic growth in good times and in bad, and acted as a stabilizing effect in the hard times. In my district, as a result of SBIR participation, Boulder-based Tech-X Corporation has created 58 high-paying jobs that earn $453,000 from sales and licensing of advanced software that's used in private industry as well as NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. The legislation before us reauthorizes the program that allows small businesses to make big plans and helps them succeed. I remind my colleagues that in the midst of a recession, we have an obligation to our small businesses to provide as much security as possible, and that reauthorizing this program through 2011 provides security for long- range planning while giving Congress the opportunity to adjust any deficiencies in the program. This flexibility is important when considering the fast pace of change in the high-tech industry. With H.R. 2965, we don't just reauthorize the SBIR program, we also modernize and improve the program. We increase funding levels for phase I and phase II awards to a level that's consistent with modern financial realities. We clarify the language regarding which companies can participate so that no worthwhile innovation is left behind. And we streamline the SBIR and STTR so that the two programs operate more efficiently, meet clear performance standards, and put taxpayer dollars to the best possible use. We also put a greater emphasis on bringing products to market and broaden the pool of businesses that participate with outreach to rural and underserved communities. Finally, and importantly, we increase the outreach to our Nation's veterans, ensuring that those who have served our country have every opportunity to reenter the business world and succeed financially when they get home. Mr. Speaker, today we have a great opportunity to reauthorize a program that the Government Accountability Office has said clearly is doing what Congress asked it to do in achieving commercial sales and developmental funding for the private sector. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and the underlying legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. One minor correction, to the gentlelady from North Carolina. The rule is a structured rule as opposed to a closed rule. I know that my colleague on the Rules Committee is aware of the difference as well. Specifically, this rule calls for five amendments to be in order, including three Republican amendments and two Democratic amendments. I think it's a very fair rule. There were 34 amendments that were submitted to the Rules Committee. Thirteen of those were withdrawn by the sponsors, and two were nongermane. With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow).

Mr. POLIS. The bill before us today has no earmarks. To elaborate upon the processes for awarding funds, I'd like to yield 3 minutes to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

Mr. POLIS. With the Nation facing a historically tight credit market, H.R. 2965 makes it easier for small businesses that participate in SBIR to find capital and lets the business owners--not Washington bureaucrats--decide how to raise that capital. The commonsense improvements to the SBIR program, clarifying its mission and which businesses qualify, will make an already successful program run more efficiently and yield better results for taxpayers and for American businesses. The new focus on bringing products to market will help create even more job growth in manufacturing as well as support industries. America can be competitive and will continue to be competitive in manufacturing jobs in the high-tech sector. As technology improves at a lightning pace, the investments we make today in high-tech companies will ensure our Nation's technological advantage for many years to come. The success of these companies brings new technology, efficiency and economic activity to Federal agencies and private industry alike. But more importantly, these successes will spark interest in science and technology in our youth. The advances we make now need a steady pipeline of new lines to keep us on track. We can leave no better legacy to the next generation of Americans than our example of intellectual prowess. Our colleagues on the Small Business Committee and the Science and Technology Committee understand the importance of taking action now for a stronger economic future. It is for this reason that both committees voted unanimously to bring this legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, let us follow the example of our colleagues by putting partisanship aside and reauthorizing this program which has been so beneficial for our constituents. Let us show the American people that this is what we can accomplish when Democrats and Republicans work together for the common good. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. To address the points made by my colleague Mr. Manzullo of Illinois, previous to this change, we effectively require that recipient companies take government money in Phase I in order to be eligible for Phase II. By making this change, we're saying, You know what, you don't need to rely on the government. You can raise private capital to make yourself eligible for Phase II. And we can actually have more funding available for Phase II by reducing the need for Phase I money by using private capital sources rather than government capital, rather than the taxpayer money that would otherwise go into it. We also have protections to ensure that a majority of the company is owned by those inventors and entrepreneurs who start the company. Venture capital investment is typically 20, 30, 40 percent of the company. Under this bill, we also stipulate that it can't be a majority of the company.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker I rise today in support of this legislation, and urge its passage. I also would like to thank Chairman Waxman for his hard work on this bill, it is of incredible importance and he has taken that responsibility to heart. I also thank the chairman for including two of my amendments within the manager's amendment, provisions that are important to ensure quality clean energy jobs training programs are accessible to all communities and that state SEED funds can go directly to renewable energy producers ensuring we get the most for our clean energy investment. Mr. Speaker, today we will be casting an historic vote, a vote of moral responsibility, a vote of economic prosperity, and a vote FOR our nation's future and our nation's leadership on the international stage. We've heard the arguments against acting, we've heard the nay sayers and those who would rather fear something they don't understand then roll up our sleeves and work to solve a monumental challenge. To my younger colleagues and the millions of young men and women in this country who are embarking on their adult lives, who are starting young families and are looking to a brighter future I say . . . This is our generation's space race, this is our generations cold war, this is our generation's greatest challenge and it is past time that we accept that challenge to do better rather than shy away in the face of the unknown. I'd just like to reiterate the scale of this issue, and say that I find it truly troubling that when we are faced with overwhelming credible and independent scientific evidence, and we can see the effects of a changing climate in our daily lives, the delusion it takes to drum up facts and figures paid for by oil companies and promote those as if they were science is truly reaching a new low. This bill is not a tax. This bill isn't even a preverbal tax, and to paint something as a tax simply because you don't understand it is irresponsible. We simply can't afford to do nothing. Opponents of action would continue the status quo of doing nothing, which has cost the average family a $1,000 increase in energy bills over the past eight years. America's energy costs will increase by $420 billion annually within the next 5 years if we do nothing to reduce our dependence on oil and fossil fuels. That amounts to $3,500 annually for every family in the nation. This bill has oversight after oversight, and ensures that consumers aren't hurt at all. This bill is good for our economy. Low income consumers are protected first, the CBO estimates that this bill will save low income consumers $40 by 2020. The energy efficiency provisions in this bill could save $750 per household by 2020 and $3,900 per household by 2030. My colleague on the other side of the aisle seems to be giving data compiled by the partisan Heritage foundation, espousing to know something about my district. But Coloradans already know that in our state we already have many of the provisions that this bill makes federal, like a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. These policies have made Colorado a clean energy leader and have brought our state high tech and high quality jobs. I encourage my colleagues and the American people to learn about this critical issue, learn about the science, learn about the market mechanisms that this bill creates . . . and DON'T BUY the falsities that big oil and big energy companies are spending millions to promote. We've had enough. We've had enough of old ideas, of fear, of just saying no to a better tomorrow and we've had enough of old technology running our country and economy into the ground. It's time we take a significant step forward, shaking the special interests and act boldly for the good of our country. You might be scared, but don't hurt our country because of that fear. This bill is our Apollo project, our Manhattan project but now we act for a nobler cause and we must act in bold and decisive terms. I urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 150th birthday of my home town, Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is a special place. When I meet people from other parts of the country who have passed through our fair state, the very mention of Boulder always brings a smile to their face. On February 10, 1859, settlers from the Nebraska Territory (the beginnings of a world renowned college football rivalry perhaps) founded the ``Boulder City Town Company.'' From its birth, our city has been a shining example of what is possible with a civic minded populace. From our humble beginning as a supply town for miners, to the national leader in smart growth and environmental stewardship we are today, Boulder has always been dedicated to the careful balance of entrepreneurship and wise land use. The beauty of our natural surroundings has caused generations of Boulderites to value our town and to embrace a life of grace rather than greed. Over the years, Boulder residents have taken extraordinary measures to mesh the human environment seamlessly with our natural environment. Through a citizen initiative, we brought Frederick Law Olmstead to Boulder at the beginning of the 20th century to craft a vision plan for our city designed to highlight our natural treasures such as Boulder Creek and the Flatirons. In 1959, our residents took action to create the ``blue-line'' to preserve the mountain backdrop, and made Boulder the first city in the nation to impose a tax for land conservation. We purchased the Arapahoe Glacier to ensure a source of drinking water for our residents and agricultural uses. Boulder was also the first community to adopt a ``carbon tax'' to deal with the crisis of climate change. Today, our open space program has made Boulder the envy of many an over-crowded community and is now a model duplicated state and nationwide. Boulder's commitment to the environment is equaled by its commitment to the community and especially to education. The Colorado Territory's first class of high school seniors graduated in Boulder. When Colorado became a state in 1874, Boulder citizens pooled their resources and raised $15,000, a fortune in those days, to build the state's first public university. The vibrant culture surrounding this top tier institution of higher learning--full of philosophical debate, football, and foreign exchange--has created the colorful lifestyle that makes our town unique. Our highly skilled workforce has attracted world class employers, such as IBM, Ball Aerospace, and Roche Pharmaceuticals Boulder, as well as some of the nation's premier research institutes, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The heart of Boulder is our award winning Downtown. Boulder's small businesses are the life blood of our community and give Boulder the special sense of place that is loved by residents and visitors alike. For more than 50 years, Boulder residents have relied on the Boulderado, McGuckins Hardware, and The Sink. The Pearl Street Mall and our Downtown, both easily accessible by pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists, are national models of smart urban development. The eclectic mix of housing, independent retailers and commercial enterprises give Boulder an economic driver that many larger communities envy. I congratulate my fellow Boulderites on 150 years of progress and prosperity, and look forward with great anticipation of what the future holds for our diverse and vibrant community. Happy Birthday, Boulder.