Oklahoma congressman Frank Lucas opened a House Committee hearing Thursday urging support for increased national research investment pointing out the U.S. already lags behind China.
Rep. Lucas is the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology which held a hearing on “Reimagining our Innovation Future.”
He warned the nation’s leadership in science and technology is under threat.
” China has likely surpassed us in total R&D spending already. While they increased their research investment by 56% between 2011 and 2016, ours fell by 12%,” said Lucas in his comments.
In his remarks, the GOP Congressman from western Oklahoma emphasized the importance of basic research to our nation’s prosperity and highlighted the Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act, which doubles basic research investment across the board and defines a national strategy for science and technology.
“Our investment in basic and early-stage federal research has given us lower food prices, better health care treatments, cleaner and cheaper energy, and widespread access to reliable broadband internet (just not yet on my farm in rural Oklahoma),” said Lucas. “In short, our investment in basic federal research, infrastructure, and workforce development pays massive dividends.”
“SALSTA will invest in our research infrastructure so we have the facilities required to do groundbreaking research. It helps to grow a strong American STEM pool of talent through workforce development and STEM education programs. And it makes it easier to transfer technological breakthroughs from the lab to private industry through regulatory reform. Taken together, SALSTA is a comprehensive and strategic approach to investing in America’s science and technological development.”
