Political Quotes

“I offer this amendment, along with my colleague, Representative Woodall of Georgia, and my colleague, Representative Polis of Colorado. It would increase funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, otherwise known as ARPA-E. The bill provides only $50 million for ARPA-E, a reduction of $215 million, or 81 percent, from fiscal year 2013. Moreover, the bill would reduce ARPA-E by 87 percent compared to the 2014 budget request. This amendment would increase the funding by $20 million, with the increase offset by a reduction in the Department Administration account. This is a very modest investment for an agency whose work has the potential to remake our economy. While the amendment would leave us a long way short of where the funding for this program should be, as well as where it is in the Senate bill and in the President's budget, passing it would send a strong signal that there's bipartisan support for this kind of research. In 2011, I offered a similar amendment to restore funding to ARPA-E, which was adopted by a bipartisan majority in the House. Started in 2009, ARPA-E is a revolutionary program that advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private sector investment. This is an innovative agency modeled on DARPA, which has spearheaded incredible breakthroughs in the Defense Department, with both military and civilian applications.…”