Bart Gordon

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of a valued staff member of the Committee on Science and Technology, my Chief of Staff, Louis Finkel. While Louis still has decisions to make about his future, I've already made my choice. He may remain with the Committee or with the House, but after next week, I no longer will and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank him for his service.

Louis worked for me in my personal office from 1996 to 2001 in several positions, including Legislative Director. He also worked in the office of former Representative Peter Deutsch (D-FL) and in the private sector, representing the interests of educational institutions, non-profits, and technology and energy companies.

Louis was one of the first hires I made when we took over the majority. I have always said I wanted this to be the Committee of ``good ideas and consensus;'' and Louis was key to implementing that pledge, with his balance of Hill and private sector experience. He was responsible for steering our committee agenda and organizing our efforts to reach out to folks interested in the business of the committee. He performed that exceedingly well, and when my long-time Chief of Staff retired, there was no one but Louis I could think of to fill the role. He was able to provide a seamless transition and we didn't miss a beat. It helped that he came into the Chief of Staff role with a deep knowledge of the Committee's work, as well as the respect of Members, staff, and the outside community.

The Chief of Staff is a challenging job: you need to not only be able to see the big picture, but also the details. Louis has the ability to row but also to steer. He has mastered the policy, politics and management aspects of the job.

Louis has said that there may be people that are smarter than his is, but there are few that are willing to work harder than he is. That drive and preparation has paid off, and I have been the beneficiary.

When he's not overachieving at work, he may be doing it in the kitchen, where he loves to impress family and friends with his command of the culinary arts.

Louis, I thank you for all your counsel and tireless efforts, and I thank Stacey, Max, and Caleb for their support. I will certainly miss working with you day to day.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of a valued staff member of the Committee on Science and Technology, Leigh Ann Brown. She can best be described as my 'right hand' and she has been with me almost as long.

Leigh Ann has literally worked with me from the beginning of my political career. We share the same hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Her work with me actually started as the fortunate result of my mother telling me that ``My good friend's daughter is interested in politics.'' So in 1984, as a high school senior, she worked on my first campaign; and every summer of college she either worked on my campaign or as an intern in my office.

After graduating from Vanderbilt University, she immediately joined my Washington, DC

staff. And following a period where she lived in Missouri, she returned to DC to work on the staff of the Committee on Science and Technology.

I have long been proud of the bipartisan nature of this Committee. Leigh Ann exemplifies this even in her home as she is happily married to John Cuaderes, the Republican Deputy Staff Director for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Outside of work, Leigh Ann is a dog-lover, a DC restaurant connoisseur, and she enjoys traveling.

Leigh Ann is known among staff as the person who gets things done. Throughout her career, staff have consistently relied on her sound judgment and thoughtful consideration on a countless number of projects. Beginning in 2007, the offices of the Committee on Science and Technology were renovated as the first House office space in the ``Green the Capitol Initiative.'' Leigh Ann managed and oversaw this vast project. She also coordinated the transition of our committee to the Majority in 2006.

Leigh Ann has long been a dedicated, loyal, and hard working member of my staff I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart for everything from volunteering as a teenager on my first campaign to her expertise in managing the office for the Committee on Science and Technology.

Leigh Ann, I cannot imagine my time in Congress without your steadfast service. I know that all the staff of the Committee on Science and Technology wish you well in the next phase of your life. We will miss you and cannot replace you.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1781, I call up the bill (H.R. 5116) to invest in innovation through research and development, to improve the competitiveness of the United States, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 5116.

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

On October 12, 2005, in response to a bipartisan request by the Science and Technology Committee and some of our colleagues in the Senate, Lamar Alexander and Jeff Bingaman, the National Academies released their report, ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.'' The distinguished panel painted a very scary picture. The report made it clear that, without action, the future was bleak for our children and grandchildren. This report was, without question, a call to arms.

September of this year, Norm Augustine released, ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5.'' The updated report highlights progress that has been made in the past 5 years, including enactment of the original America COMPETES Act, but he underscores that America's competitive position in the world now faces greater challenges and that research investments are even more critical today.

The message from the report is clear: We need to double-down on our investments in science and technology. The worst thing we could do would be to downshift while the rest of the world kicks it into high gear.

As chairman of the Gathering Storm Committee and former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, Norm Augustine said, in all the years he was an aircraft engineer and dealing with the common dilemma of trying to make an overweight aircraft fly, the solution was never to lop off an engine. Science funding is the engine of a knowledge-based economy. If we remove it, our economy will crash and burn.

More than half of our economic growth since World War II can be attributed to development and adoption of new technologies. These investments are the path towards sustained economic recovery and growth and the path toward prosperity for the next 50 years. There is an undeniable relationship between investment in R&D and the creation of jobs, the creation of companies, and economic growth.

The Science Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of the Nation's leading research universities, released a report entitled, ``Sparking Economic Growth: How Federally Funded University Research Creates Innovation, New Companies and Jobs.'' This report tells the stories of 100 companies, including Google, Cisco, SAS, Genentech, Orbital Sciences, Sun Power, Medtronic, Hewlett Packard, and many others, that were all created based on research funded with Federal dollars.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Council on Competitiveness, and the Task Force on American Innovation all understand the benefits to U.S. companies of making a sustained commitment to research and STEM education. We have a huge opportunity before us to make progress toward that goal.

While there have been concessions made in light of the economic environment, this bill preserves the intent of the ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm'' report and the original COMPETES. It keeps our basic research agencies on a doubling path. It continues to invest in high- risk, high-reward energy technology development. It will help improve STEM education, and it will help unleash the American spirit of innovation. COMPETES is, and will continue to be, a bipartisan, bicameral effort about which every Member can feel proud.

I applaud all of the people who have worked on this bill, including all the members of the Science and Technology Committee and my dear friend, Ralph Hall. This has been a team effort, across the aisle and across the Capitol.

I also want to take a moment to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the staff of the Committee on Science and Technology, both minority and majority. Their tireless efforts in crafting the House version of this legislation, working through the tough spots, and shepherding it to final passage today deserves special acknowledgment. Without them, this reauthorization of COMPETES would not have been possible.

We are all familiar with the legions of smart, talented professionals who grace the corridors of this institution, and I am sure each of us is impressed on a regular basis with the knowledge and expertise of the staff we work with most closely. However, I am always amazed by the wealth of knowledge lodged with the staff of the Science and Technology Committee. I simply can't say enough about the staff's talent, insight, and institutional knowledge. Their hard work has made the Science Committee more productive, and it has made me a better chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that, in the two terms that I have had the privilege to lead the Science and Technology Committee, the committee has had 151 bills and resolutions pass the House, all with bipartisan support. But there is nothing that I am more proud of than the America COMPETES Act. There is nothing that we have done that will have deeper, longer lasting, and more positive impacts on our Nation than this bill.

I cannot think of anything I would rather be doing, on what is likely my final act on this House floor after 26 years of service, than sending this bill to the President's desk. It's important to me personally because I have a 9-year-old daughter, and if we do not want our children and grandchildren to inherit a national standard of living less than their parents, a reversal of the American Dream, we need to support research, foster innovation, and improve education.

The business community has urged us to pass this bill to support research, foster innovation, and improve education. The academic community has urged us to pass this bill to support research, foster innovation, and improve education. The scientific community has urged us to pass this bill to support research, foster innovation, and improve education. And every one of our colleagues in the Senate has agreed that this bill needs to be sent to the President's desk so the U.S. can support research, foster innovation, and improve education and create 21st century jobs.

I urge my colleagues to stand with the business community, the academic community, the scientific community, and to send a strong message that the U.S. must maintain its scientific and economic leadership.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education.

Mr. Speaker, let me first congratulate Dr. Ehlers on a stellar congressional career. His contribution to the Science Committee was enormous, and he will be missed. And having spent as much time as I have on the Science Committee, you develop affection for the committee, for the people, for the Members, and for the staff.

So it is with, really, gratitude that I know that the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) is going to be the ranking member in the coming 112th Congress, and I yield to her 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of a unanimous consent request, I yield to a very important contributor to this bill, the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

(Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu), the subcommittee chairman on Technology and Innovation, someone who made a great contribution to this bill.

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to our resident authority on nuclear energy, the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the amount of time that is remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from Maryland (Ms. Edwards), who has been a very active and articulate member of our committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to another active member of our committee from Michigan (Mr. Peters), who has been very active particularly in advanced vehicle technology.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), who has brought his energy expertise to our committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to an alumnus of our committee, the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to our example of the benefits of STEM education, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our great majority leader and my great friend, Steny Hoyer.