Honoring Drs. Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hansch for being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2005, and Drs. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Richard R. Schrock for being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2005, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 541) honoring Drs. Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hansch for being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2005, and Drs. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Richard R. Schrock for being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2005, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 541, the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am very pleased that we are considering this resolution honoring the winners of the 2005 Nobel Prizes in chemistry and physics. This is especially a pleasurable experience for me because I

know two of them personally and have worked with one of them rather closely for a period of over a year.

Our Nation has a long, proud history of pushing forward the boundaries of human knowledge, and few awards bestow more recognition and honor on those who devote their lives to this quest than does the Nobel Prize. As a fellow scientist, I offer to each of the laureates my congratulations and heartfelt appreciation for your outstanding contributions to your fields.

I am particularly honored to offer congratulations to Dr. John Hall for his commendable contributions to the field of laser-based precision spectroscopy. His careful and dedicated work has resulted, among other things, in improved accuracy in vital navigation systems such as the GPS. John's long and noteworthy career includes a founding role as a fellow of JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute of Laboratory Astrophysics, which is a joint research institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado in Boulder.

It was at that institution where I worked with him doing research in atomic physics, a little nuclear physics and also in science education. I am proud to say that Dr. Hall is a wonderful scientist, and I was delighted to work with him.

I am most pleased as the chairman of the Science Committee Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards, where I oversee NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to offer John congratulations and wishes for many more years of exciting discovery.

I would also like to point out that this is the third Nobel Prize awarded to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is basically a standard-setting organization, which includes a lot of research on standards; but in spite of the restriction on the research, three individuals from that outstanding organization have now been awarded Nobel Prizes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This resolution recognizes and honors Drs. Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hansch for being awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for 2005, and Drs. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock for being awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for 2005.

As I mentioned earlier, John Hall is a personal friend of mine, and I have worked with him. Theodor Hansch was also a colleague of mine for some time many years ago, even though we did not work together, and we were not addressing the same issue.

Additionally, the resolution acknowledges the importance of the National Institute of Standards and Technology research and its contributions to U.S. industry, academia and government.

On October 10, 2005, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for 2005 to Drs. Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hansch for their pioneering discoveries in the field of optics. Their contributions to the quantum theory of optical coherence and development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique, has led to improvements in the accuracy of precision instruments such as GPS locators, atomic clocks, and navigation systems.

I would love to spend another 10, 15 minutes explaining exactly what that means, but I risk boring you, Mr. Speaker, and the rest of the audience, but let me say it is a fascinating field of research. It has led to great improvements, and people who ask me

how can this possibly be of value should simply look at their TV set and remind themselves of years ago when they turned on the TV set and spent 5 minutes adjusting the hue and the color to get everything correct. The type of work done by these individuals created such accurate time standards that everything went automatically now on their TV set.

That was one minor trivial example of all the benefits that arise from basic research.

Continuing, John L. Hall recently retired from a long career with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, better known as NIST, in the Quantum Physics Division, and was one of the founding fellows of JILA, a joint Federal lab/university cooperative effort supporting research and post-graduate training.

NIST was founded in 1901, and its laboratories and collaborations with academia have contributed to the achievement of present and past Nobel Prize winners by supporting research that strengthens the global economic competitiveness of the United States through the development of technologies, measurement methods and standards. Indeed, NIST used to be known as the National Bureau of Standards and received its more modern name somewhat recently.

John L. Hall is one of three NIST researchers that have received the Nobel Prize.

On October 10, 2005, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for 2005 to Drs. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock for their pioneering discoveries in the field of organic chemistry. Their research on metathesis reactions and the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis has resulted in a major advance for ``green chemistry'' and the development of pharmaceuticals that can be made through methods that are more efficient and generate less hazardous waste.

This is an outstanding advancement, and we must concentrate greater efforts on green chemistry, in other words, chemistry that provides results in fewer residuals that endanger the environment. The Science Committee, I might add, has developed a new bill on this topic, and I am very eager to see that passed into law.

This resolution recognizes and honors Drs. Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hansch, Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock, and acknowledges the importance of National Institute of Standards and Technology research and its contributions to United States industry, academia and government.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank the gentleman from Washington for his eloquent comments. He stated it extremely well. And I would like to point out that our basic research programs in the United States have led to incredible discoveries and developments, but also have made incredible contributions to the economy of this Nation.

Just to pick one example, something that happened when I was a graduate student, which is obviously many years ago, about roughly 50 years ago, the development of the laser by a good friend of mine, Charlie Towns. And I did not work with Dr. Towns, but I knew of the experiments, I knew what was going to emerge, I knew that he would discover the laser. And even though I am a scientist, I am in the field, I never envisioned the results of that.

We were all extremely excited at the development of the laser, because it enabled us to do scientific experiments we had only dreamed about doing before. What we didn't realize, or what I didn't realize, is that we would have a world where lasers are ubiquitous; where you would not think of putting in a ceiling tile without having a laser to level the tiles and make it all look good; we would not think of putting in sewer or water mains without lasers to help us align them so that they are in the proper location.

Today, you can go into novelty stores and buy lasers for $15. Children play with them, cat lovers use them to have cats chase the little red dot around. They are ubiquitous. And out of that small investment from the United States Government in that research, which I would estimate was roughly $10 million or less, today we have a multibillion dollar industry in the United States.

The problem this Nation faces is that that research is not being supported by this Nation the way it was in the past and we are in danger of losing our leadership because of that. I deeply, deeply appreciate the leadership of President George Bush in announcing in his State of the Union speech the American Competitiveness Initiative, which will help restore our lead in research in this world. It will help provide the education our children need so that they can be leaders in the world.

I strongly urge this Congress to provide the funding that the President has requested so that we can not only maintain, but increase, our leadership in the world and maintain our economic competitiveness and continue to be the giant in the world that we have been so that our people will have jobs and we won't be shipping them abroad.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume, and I wish to begin by thanking Dr. Ehlers for his distinguished leadership on the committee, on the subcommittee, and it has been a privilege to serve with him. It is nice to have a fellow scientist on the Science Committee who can speak so eloquently to these matters and actually understand the kind of research that these Nobel Prize winners have conducted.

Mr. Speaker, I want to rise in strong support of H. Res. 541, a resolution I introduced along with a number of my colleagues to honor the 2005 Nobel Laureates in the fields of physics and chemistry, as well as to acknowledge the importance of National Institute of Standards and Technology, its research and its contributions to the United States industry and the academic world and government.

On October 10, 2005, two of America's finest scientists, Richard H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock, along with Yves Chauvin of France, shared in the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

The basic research of these scientists was recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as ``a great step forward for `green chemistry,' reducing potentially hazardous waste through smarter production.''

Their research on metathesis reactions and the development of the metathesis model in organic synthesis has served as an important tool in the creation of new pharmaceuticals, including drugs that will help fight many of the world's major diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's and AIDS. They also are used to develop herbicides and new polymers and fuels.

Another scientific prize was also conferred on October 10, 2005.

Again, two American scientists, this time Roy J. Glauber and John L. Hall, along with Theodor W. Hansch of Germany, shared the Nobel Prize in physics.

Their pioneering research in the fields of optics and contributions to the quantum theory of optical coherence and development of laser- based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique, has led to improvements in the accuracy of precision instruments such as GPS locators, atomic clocks, and navigation systems.

It is true this year, as in preceding years, that research conducted at such well-respected universities such as MIT, Harvard, and Caltech has produced Nobel Prize-worthy research. However, what is rarely acknowledged is the work of Federal labs and the additional Federal investment that supports and produces such prize-worthy results from such outstanding scientists.

Such is the case with the work of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST. Their collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder resulted in the third Nobel Prize awarded to an NIST scientist, John Hall, a scientist emeritus from the NIST Quantum Physics Division.

Interestingly enough, NIST was founded in 1901, around the same time as the Nobel Prize Foundation in 1900. Since that time, both institutions have served a similar purpose in supporting research that produces, in the words of Dr. Alfred Nobel, ``the greatest benefit to mankind.''

NIST, with its laboratories and collaborations with academia, has contributed to the achievements of present and past Nobel Prize winners by supporting research that strengthens the global economic competitiveness of the United States through the development of technologies, measurement methods, and standards.

Today, I am pleased to have the opportunity to honor the work of these scientists representing academia and research labs from across the globe.

It is my hope that the passage of this bill and continued support for the Nobel Prizes in the fields of chemistry and physics will inspire a new generation of students to eagerly pursue careers in math and science.

Additionally, I believe we must continue our investment in our research infrastructure if we hope to take advantage of the innovative potential emerging from our basic research laboratories.

I am happy that the Optical Society of America, the American Chemical Society and other organizations have supported this bill. These organizations provide a vital service in supporting peer collaboration and career development important for scientific advances and innovation.

I would like to particularly thank our chairman, Chairman Boehlert, and Ranking Member Gordon for their support and assistance on this bill, as well as my colleagues Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Holt and Mr. Wu for their cosponsorship.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H. Res. 541 and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting and honoring the 2005 Nobel Laureates.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. Speaker, I would close my comments by sharing with Dr. Ehlers the observation of how important this research is. Our Nation, as a whole, just celebrated the men's and women's Final Four, and I am sure many Americans could list the names of who hit the final jump shot and who the star players were. That is fitting and appropriate. But on a daily basis, our lives are affected far more by the basic research conducted by the individuals we are honoring today, as Dr. Ehlers so eloquently put it.

When the GPS system helps keep an aircraft on track, when radar works more efficiently, when medical devices work more successfully, when environmental applications are more efficient, all of that derives from the kinds of basic research that we are acknowledging and recognizing today. And while I think it is unrealistic to expect most Members of this Chamber, or certainly the general public, to know the names or the accomplishments of these individuals, it is absolutely fitting that this body recognize these individuals, and I think especially because some of them are Federal Government employees who well deserve our recognition and our honor.

And so I join Chairman Ehlers in celebrating them, and I thank him for his support on this and for his leadership in the committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 541 commends the great American ingenuity and level of excellence represented by our National Laboratories, particularly the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), whose work is so consistently stellar that it is often taken for granted.

American John Hall, who is one of the three scientists sharing the Nobel Prize for Physics, is the third NIST scientist to win a Nobel Prize. He is sharing the Prize for Physics with American Roy J. Glauber and German Theodor W. Haensch. Their studies reversed the earlier belief that the quantum theory of the behavior of particles did not describe the behavior of particles of light. These scientists, in fact, have changed the modern understanding of the behavior of light. Their discoveries could allow better GPS systems, better space navigation, and even better digital animation.

The 2005 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was won by American Robert H. Grubbs, from Southern California's California Institute of Technology, American Richard R. Schrock, and Frenchman Yves Chauvin. They made great breakthroughs in their work with olefin metathesis. This is a chemical reaction describing the changing of bonds between atoms.

Their work has great commercial potential in areas like pharmaceuticals, the biotechnology industry, and the foodstuff industry. The great work that these scientists produce contributes to our competitiveness and to our great standard of living.

I want to commend all of these outstanding scientists for their contributions to physics and chemistry and to the Royal Swedish Academy of Scientists for their recognition of their achievements, and to NIST and its laboratories who have supported research that strengthens our global competitiveness through the development of groundbreaking technologies.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Chair and the ranking member for this opportunity to speak and thank them for bringing this resolution forward.

I think it is important that this Congress take a stand and make noteworthy the achievements of many men and women of science who in this case have been accorded the highest award of a Nobel Prize in physics and in chemistry. It is manifestly clear that this country needs to put forth an emphasis on scientific achievement.

It is this emphasis on scientific achievement which characterized the Kennedy administration, which gave America vision to shoot for the stars, and it is an emphasis on scientific achievement which will cause more Nobel Prize winners in future to come forward from the United States, not only in physics and chemistry but in economics and literature.

We need to emphasize our quest for knowledge, and in this resolution we are helping to confirm our belief that the quest for knowledge needs to be recognized nationally.

I want to add one more note. Recently the Nobel Prize winner for economics and peace a few years ago, Joseph Stiglitz, made an assessment of what the economic cost would be of the United States' continued presence in Iraq. I think that we need to look at what our Nobel Prize winners tell us about the world in which we live.

They have achieved a level of excellence which can be communicated to Members of Congress and our constituents. They have achieved the level of credibility which we should give credence to, which we are doing this evening with this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today supporting H. Res. 541, legislation honoring the 2005 winners of the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry.

The Nobel Prize represents the pinnacle of achievement in any academic area.

The 2005 Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists in the field of optics.

Dr. Roy Glauber was awarded half of the Prize for his theoretical description of the behavior of light particles.

Drs. John Hall and Theodor Haensch share the other half of the Physics Prize for their development of laser-based precision spectroscopy.

The work has enabled the determination of the color of the light of atoms and molecules with great precision.

The 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was shared by Drs. Yves Chauvin, Richard Schrock and Robert Grubbs for their work in the area of metathesis.

Metathesis is important to the chemical industry, mainly in the development of medicines and of certain types of plastic materials.

The Nobel Laureates' work has enabled chemical synthesis to be simpler, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the recipients of the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry and urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 541.