Cabinet secretaries urge full funding of America Competes

Three Cabinet members Tuesday laid blame on Congress for not fully funding budget increases proposed for federal research agencies under a national competitiveness plan, which was part of the 2006 State of the Union address and was the basis for the America Competes Act that became law last year.

Energy Secretary Bodman, Commerce Secretary Gutierrez, and Education Secretary Spellings each offered a keynote at a National Academies symposium on U.S. competitiveness in math, science and technology. "We're the Three Musketeers of the president's competitiveness agenda," Spellings joked before slamming lawmakers.

Earlier in the day, Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., co-chair of the Congressional Research Caucus; House Science Chairman Bart Gordon and several other members defended Congress' decision-making in a tough fiscal climate where nondefense research and development is lagging.

Spellings echoed a recent missive by former Lockheed Martin chief Norm Augustine, bemoaning that next year, more than 200,000 students will study abroad, mostly in science and engineering fields; government R&D is set to increase; and a multiyear initiative is under way to make the country a global nanotechnology hub -- with the problem being those actions were taken by China, the United Kingdom and India, respectively.

Bodman, whose agency's science office funding would double under President Bush's competitiveness plan, said it was "most unfortunate" lawmakers had not fully funded the authorizations in America Competes.

Current technologies are inadequate to deal with the nation's energy, security and global climate change demands, Bodman said. "Breakthroughs that truly change the nature of our thinking" are required, he said.

Gutierrez, whose agency oversees the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Patent and Trademark Office, said it is "no secret" that U.S. pre-eminence is not guaranteed and global competition is increasing. "How we respond will impact our economy for decades to come," he said.

Gutierrez stressed the importance of enhancing intellectual property protections for U.S. goods and the effect those copyrighted, patented, and trademarked creations have on the economy. The administration "strongly supports" patent legislation that does not discriminate against certain industries.

"I urge the Senate to get a good bill to the president's desk," Gutierrez said. The House passed its version of the bill in September, but the measure has languished in the Senate.