On the recordMay 19, 2015
I thank Mr. Beyer for yielding and for his introduction, his authorship of this bill on prize competitions. I want to add my voice in strong support of this bill. I have long been a strong supporter of prize competitions to spur innovation not as a substitute for Federal grants in other aid, but as an additional tool. Back in 2007, I wrote language in the Energy Independence and Security Act that directed DOE to create a hydrogen energy prize, a competition now called the H-Prize that is currently ongoing and, hopefully, will yield some results in innovation in using hydrogen as a transportation fuel. In the 2010 COMPETES bill, I added language to that bill that authorized prize competitions at the National Science Foundation. I believe that these prize competitions are an excellent way to unlock the innovative potential of researchers, the private sector, and even hobbyists working in a garage, all while protecting taxpayer dollars. This bill will clarify prize competition authority so that more agencies of the Federal Government will be able to run competitions. It is a good bill. I thank Mr. Beyer, again, for introducing it; I thank Chairman Smith for moving it and Ranking Member Johnson for moving it. I urge my colleagues to support it.
