Lamar Smith

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 1806.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would strike good government accountability measures within the COMPETES bill that require DOE's Office of Science to prioritize biological systems and genomic science. It would also strike reforms included in the America COMPETES Act that prevent duplication of research, which saves taxpayer dollars. I encourage Members to oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), who is a member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman's amendment would remove key policy reforms to ARPA-E from the COMPETES bill and instead place limitations on the research and development conducted at ARPA-E. Federally funded research should include innovative technologies for all forms of energy, not just the President's personal preferences. So I encourage Members to oppose the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1156, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1156, the International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2015, directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a working group to identify and coordinate international science and technology efforts to strengthen the U.S. research enterprise. I thank the ranking member of the Research and Technology Subcommittee, Mr. Lipinski, for introducing this bill. I also thank the subcommittee's vice chair, Mr. Moolenaar, the ranking member of the full committee, Ms. Johnson, as well as our colleagues Mr. Hultgren, Ms. Esty, and Mr. Swalwell for being bipartisan cosponsors. The Office of Science and Technology Policy, in coordination with the State Department, represents the United States in bilateral and multilateral meetings with foreign nations. It works closely with government science agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and independent research and scientific institutions to promote science and technology initiatives and to strengthen global science cooperation. H.R. 1156 improves our Nation's collaborative efforts with international partners on scientific issues. While many Federal agencies are engaged with international partners on science and technology projects, there is a need to coordinate these projects across the Federal Government. Better collaboration with our partners will strengthen U.S. scientific activities and further promote the free exchange of ideas with other nations. Interagency coordination ensures that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and that U.S. priorities are consistently addressed when working with our international partners on science and technology issues. Science and technology research addresses some of the major challenges that face our Nation, including public health, energy production, national security, and economic development. Coordinated international collaboration on scientific issues, which H.R. 1156 promotes, also will improve economic and national security and support U.S. foreign policy goals. Again, I want to thank Mr. Lipinski for his continued hard work on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1156) to authorize the establishment of a body under the National Science and Technology Council to identify and coordinate international science and technology cooperation opportunities, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1162, the Science Prize Competitions Act, promotes increased utilization of prize competitions within the Federal Government. I want to thank the ranking member of the Oversight Subcommittee, Mr. Beyer, for introducing this legislation. I also thank the bipartisan cosponsors, which include the vice chair of the Oversight Subcommittee, Mr. Bill Johnson, as well as the full committee ranking member, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson. Prize competitions help spur innovation. They give innovators incentives to produce groundbreaking, outside-the-box ideas. Used effectively, prize competitions can be a tool to generate revolutionary results that wouldn't happen otherwise. For example, after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the X Prize Foundation sponsored a competition to elicit new oil removal technologies that needed to be better than state of the art. With the incentive of a million-dollar prize for first place, the winning team designed technology capable of extracting 89 percent of the oil from the water. Thanks to the incentives provided by the competition, the winner, in a few months, blew the competition and the then best available oil skimmers out of the water. Another example of a novel idea for a prize involves the Head Health Challenge. This is a joint effort by the National Football League, Under Armour, General Electric, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to produce ``viable materials that will result in increased safety and protection for athletes, the warfighter, and civilians.'' This is a competition that could yield a solution that would benefit a diverse section of the population, from athletes to soldiers. H.R. 1162 makes important changes to the prize competitions section of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. It better defines the role of the private sector in various aspects of prize competitions. H.R. 1162 will have a positive impact on science prize competitions, which have bipartisan support. A letter from the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy proclaims the values of such competitions by stating: This report details the remarkable benefits the Federal Government has reaped from more than 400 prize competitions and challenges implemented by over 72 agencies to date, the steps the administration has taken to establish a lasting foundation for use of the COMPETES prize authority, and detailed examples from fiscal year 2014 of how the COMPETES prize authority is increasing the number of agencies that use prizes to achieve their missions more efficiently and effectively. Again, I want to thank Mr. Beyer of Virginia and Mr. Johnson of Ohio for introducing this bill. I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1162, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1162) to make technical changes to provisions authorizing prize competitions under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock), the Science Committee's Research and Technology Subcommittee chairwoman and the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1119, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1119) to improve the efficiency of Federal research and development, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, really quickly, I want to thank Mrs. Comstock for introducing this bill and Mr. Lipinski for cosponsoring it. As well, it is a great bipartisan piece of legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 874, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 874, the American Super Computing Leadership Act, requires the Department of Energy to develop a plan to bring the United States into the next generation of supercomputing, also known as exascale computing. I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren) for taking the initiative on this issue. DOE's Advanced Scientific Computing Research program is the primary Federal research and development program for innovation in computing technology. High-performance computing has paved the way for breakthroughs in medical imaging, genetics research, manufacturing, engineering, and weapons development. Faster computing speeds have revolutionized the energy sector, improved the efficiency of energy production, and aided in distribution technologies. Advances in computer modeling offer opportunities for scientific discovery in fields where experiments are too difficult, costly, or dangerous to conduct. These advances reduce costs and open the door to more innovative discoveries. The country with the strongest computing capability will host the world's next scientific breakthroughs. Unfortunately, China currently holds the world's fastest computer, not the United States. This bill should reverse this trend and help advance American competitiveness. Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren), as well as the gentleman from California (Mr. Swalwell), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty), and the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) for their initiative on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren), who is a sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers on this side, so I am prepared to yield back the balance of my time after the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time as well.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1158, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015, enables the Department of Energy (DOE) to better form partnerships with non- federal entities and transfer research to the private sector. I thank the gentleman from Illinois, Rep. Randy Hultgren, for his initiative on this issue, and the gentleman from Colorado, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, for it cosponsoring this important legislation. The Department of Energy is the largest federal supporter of basic research and development and sponsors 47 percent of federal basic research in the physical sciences. The Department's science and energy research is conducted at over 300 sites nationwide. More than 31,000 researchers take advantage of DOE user facilities each year. This includes the Department's 17 National Labs, which provide the foundation for the Department of Energy's research and development infrastructure. These labs keep America at the forefront of global technological capabilities. They ensure that we continue to conduct critical research in high energy physics, advanced scientific computing, biological and environmental research, nuclear physics, fusion energy sciences, basic energy sciences, and applied energy research and development in fossil, nuclear and renewable energy. The innovative early stage research performed at the labs can have great value for the private sector, but often goes unnoticed. Because of a communication gap between the labs and the private sector, ideas and technology are often slow to reach the market. And federal government red tape discourages the private sector from using the unique state-of-the-art facilities the national labs offer. This bill grants lab directors signature authority for agreements with private sector entities valued at less than $1 million. And it extends a pilot program that allows for more flexible contract terms between companies and lab operators. This bill also requires DOE to assess its capability to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion research and next generation fission reactor prototypes. Due to regulatory uncertainty from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the private sector currently has little incentive or ability to build reactor prototypes. This legislation represents a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to modernize and increase the productivity of the DOE national lab system. I again thank Mr. Hultgren and Mr. Perlmutter for their initiative on this issue and encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank the gentlewoman from Oregon for her work on this bill. She has been a strong advocate and an initiator on the benefits that this bill does promote. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Bridenstine), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.