HOUSE PASSES REP. WU LEGISLATION TO RENEW FEDERAL COMPETITIVENESS, INNOVATION INITIATIVES

Rep. David Wu, D-Ore. (1st CD), issued the following press release:

Today Rep. David Wu's legislation to reauthorize the competitiveness and innovation initiatives of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Passing this legislation was a priority of Rep. Wu and is part of the Democratic Innovation Agenda.

"For over 100 years, NIST has made important contributions to public safety, industrial competitiveness, and economic growth through standards and measurements. This legislation ensures that NIST's Nobel Prize-winning research and successful public-private partnerships will continue to invest in ideas and people here at home," said Congressman Wu. "The good work of NIST has reached hundreds of Oregon businesses and kept Oregonians working."

The most significant issues surrounding the legislation were the funding levels for laboratory research and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) initiative, and improving the Advanced Technology Program as replaced in the legislation by the Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The administration has proposed to cut the Manufacturing Extension Partnership initiative and eliminate the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). Both MEP and ATP are successful private-public partnerships that leverage federal tax dollars and contribute to American innovation and competitiveness.

Under Congressman Wu's legislation, the Technology Innovation Program will replace ATP. TIP maintains the primary purpose of ATP - to help fill the gap between high-risk innovative research that promises broad public benefits and marketable products - but contains several key changes. Under TIP, the requirements for grants to have wide-ranging benefits that meet critical national needs are tightened; intellectual property rights now can be vested by a university, and universities are also now allowed to lead the joint venture.

Some of the businesses and their employees benefiting from ATP include:

Planar Systems, Beaverton

InFocus Corp (formerly Proxima Corp), Wilsonville

Medical Logic, Hillsboro

Electro Scientific Industries, Inc, Portland

Merix Corporation, Forest Grove

AMTEK Research International, LLC, Lebanon

Oregon Health and Science University, Oregon State University and Portland State University also have received support through ATP.

Additionally, hundreds of Oregon businesses across the state, in 23 counties, will continue to benefit from MEP (view a complete list here). According to OMEP, a MEP network affiliate, in the period from July 1, 2005 through Sept. 30, 2006 Oregon manufacturers reported the following gains in an independent survey conducted, by Synovate, an international research company:

* improved profit margin: 70 percent;

* increased revenue or cash flow: 67 percent;

* improved customer satisfaction: 77 percent; and

* increased market share: 44 percent.

The passage of H.R. 1868, the Technology Innovation and Manufacturing Stimulation Act of 2007, marks the first time Congress has taken a comprehensive look at NIST since 1992. It authorizes $2.5 billion for NIST for fiscal years 2008-2010.

Under the legislation, funding for the laboratory research increases by 8% per year, effectively doubling NIST's research budget over a ten-year period. This is consistent with the president's American Competitiveness Initiative.

Funding for MEP also increases by 8% per year and doubles over a ten-year period. MEP is a mix of federal, state, local and private funds to help small and medium manufacturers streamline operations to compete more effectively against oversees manufacturers. The goal is not only to maintain manufacturing jobs, but also to create more jobs.

Cutting MEP federal funding by more than half, as proposed by the president in several of his past fiscal year budgets, would mean that over 8,000 small manufacturing businesses would lose $650 million in cost savings and $3 billion in sales. Given MEP's 10-1 return on investment, this means a loss of over $1 billion to the economy. MEP served 24,722 manufacturers nationwide in 2006.

H.R. 1868 also establishes a new program to take the place of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) called the Technology Innovation Program (TIP). TIP maintains the primary purpose of ATP - to help fill the gap between high-risk innovative research that promises broad public benefits and marketable products - but contains several key changes. Under TIP, the requirements for grants to have wide-ranging benefits that meet critical national needs are tightened; intellectual property rights now can be vested by a university, and universities are also now allowed to lead the joint venture.

In past Science and Technology Committee hearings on the development of nanotechnology, small businesses and venture capital firms have asserted that ATP, or an ATP-like program, is needed to move nanotechnology to broad commercial applications.

Congressman Wu's legislation now will be referred to the U.S. Senate. In the Senate, reauthorizing language for NIST is contained in a bill introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate's Majority Leader.