Donna Edwards: “I would like to first say thank you very much to our Chairman Gordon, who's been a really tremendous leader, and…”

“I would like to first say thank you very much to our Chairman Gordon, who's been a really tremendous leader, and especially as we move forward. What I think is-- I know it's the America COMPETES Act--but I think of it as the 21st-century America COMPETES Act. And it's also been quite a pleasure to work with Ranking Member Hall as well on getting this to the floor. I'm a strong supporter of America COMPETES, and it's pretty simple: either we're going to be in the 21st century competitive with nations around the world, or not. And I believe the America COMPETES Act, this en bloc amendment, and specifically several amendments, I think really strengthen what we've been able to achieve in our Science and Technology Committee. The COMPETES Act I think is one of the most important votes we're going to take in this Congress, and we're fortunate to be able to do work that really is about the future. Too often here in the Congress we have to do things that are just about the short term.”