Political Quotes

“I appreciate the leadership role Senator Bingaman and Senator Alexander are playing on this critical bill, as well as Senator Domenici and others who have worked on putting together this legislation. It makes no sense to eliminate the Advanced Technology Program. In fact, the House is renaming it but extending the very same approach in terms of a partnership for the kind of research that takes place after basic research. I might say that 65 percent of the ATP awards have gone to small businesses, many of them small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The reality is that, yes, our large employers and small have joined together with universities, with the Federal Government, and with Federal labs to do partnerships where the Federal Government puts up half the money and they put up half the money to do the kinds of research to move the industry forward in order to be able to compete in a global economy. Frankly, this is one of the areas where we are woefully behind, I would suggest to my friend from Oklahoma. We are woefully behind. One example of this is in advanced battery technology. While we are developing the basic science in the United States, it is Japan and China and South Korea that are taking the next steps to make those batteries. A $50 million investment in Japan alone; a 5-year commitment from China of over $100 million; a 5-year commitment from South Korea of over $100 million.”