Lamar Smith: “First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) for taking the initiative on this innovation…”

“First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) for taking the initiative on this innovation bill. And I am also pleased that the ranking member, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), is a cosponsor of H.R. 5312, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act of 2016. Mr. Speaker, in this digital age, advancing and protecting our Nation's computing and networking systems is more important than ever. This legislation ensures that Federal science agencies focus on networking and information technology priorities that are in the national interest, and it provides the coordinating R&D efforts necessary to improve cyber and data security nationwide. Better network security promotes U.S. competitiveness, enhances national security, and creates high-tech jobs. The NITRD Modernization bill is an update to the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991. The authorized program represents the Federal Government's main R&D portfolio for unclassified advanced networking, computing, software, cybersecurity, and related information technologies. Currently, 21 Federal agencies are contributing members of NITRD, with many additional agencies participating in the program. This bill serves as the mechanism for interagency coordination of R&D to produce a tighter focus without wasteful duplication of research efforts among Federal agencies or the private sector. This will help save taxpayers' dollars.…”