Joseph Knollenberg: “I want to focus on the fact that in this appropriations bill, like any other appropriations bill, we did not simply…”

“I want to focus on the fact that in this appropriations bill, like any other appropriations bill, we did not simply spread the pain evenly among the programs in our jurisdiction. Instead, we prioritized spending program by program based on their efficiency and national importance. I would just tell my colleagues that I am encouraged by the committee's foresight to fund the basic research and development programs at the budget request level. Furthermore, the committee has reduced funding for those programs that simply give subsidies to corporations for product development. We have all heard of corporate welfare, and it seems to be in defiance of a free and open market. The market is the best indicator, of course, of the value of a product. Programs such as the international solar energy program and the renewable energy production incentive program are an example, I believe, of the Federal Government defying the market by holding otherwise noncompetitive corporations afloat with Federal subsidies.”