COMMITTEE REPORTS OUT MANUFACTURING/COMPUTING/ENERGY
BILLS
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 16, 2004
At a four hour markup today, the House Science
Committee reported out four bills: H.R. 3598, Manufacturing
Technology Competitiveness Act of 2004; H.R. 3890,
To reauthorize the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation
and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988; H.R. 4218,
High Performance Computing Revitalization Act of 2004;
and H.R. 4516, Department of Energy High-End Computing
Revitalization Act of 2004.
Once again, weve come with a good set of
bipartisan bills that prepare out nation for the future,
said Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY). We have Ms. Harts metals bill,
which will help our nation save energy and help the
steel and aluminum industry remain competitive while
helping our nation become less dependent of foreign
sources of energy. We have Mrs. Biggerts computing
bills, which will revitalize our high performance computing
efforts, enabling our scientists and computing industry
to excel as they face new challenges abroad. And we
have Mr. Ehlers manufacturing bill, which will
help our smaller manufacturers stay up-to-date and competitive.
By a vote of 19-13, the Committee passed H.R. 3598,
the Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of
2004. The bill, which is sponsored by Environment,
Technology, and Standards Subcommittee Chairman Vernon
Ehlers (R-MI), would help improve the competitiveness
of U.S. manufacturers by providing grants to help develop
new manufacturing technologies; establishing a fellowship
program for manufacturing sciences postdoctoral and
senior research fellows; and reauthorizing and strengthening
the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program
to help small and medium-sized manufacturers respond
the to extraordinary challenges they face from globalization.
Todays action clearly shows how important
MEP is to Congress and to America, said Ehlers.
This bill fosters innovation, which is critical
to ensure that Americas manufacturing sector can
not only survive, but thrive in todays global
economy. Manufacturing is the base of our economic strength,
and we must meet and exceed the manufacturing challenges
from other countries. This bill will help us do that.
The Committee approved the following amendments:
- By a voice vote, a substitute amendment by Mr. Ehlers
that made changes to the legislation to reflect negotiations
with the Administration;
- By a voice vote, an amendment by Representative
Mark Udall (D-CO), as amended by Chairman Boehlert,
that would authorize appropriations for the National
Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST)
laboratories;
- By a voice vote, an amendment by Ranking Minority
Member Bart Gordon (D-TN) that would ensure that new
manufacturing programs do not eat into the base MEP
program; and
- By a voice vote, an amendment by Representative
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), as amended by Chairman
Boehlert, that would prohibit a general competition
among MEP centers in any year that the MEP program
receives at least $106,000,000.
The Committee defeated the following amendments:
- By a vote of 15-15, an amendment by Mr. Udall that
would have established a Presidential Council on Manufacturing
to advise the Interagency Committee on manufacturing
issues;
- By a vote of 15-18, an amendment by Mr. Udall that
would have authorized manufacturing activities in
the National Science Foundations (NSF) Advanced
Technological Education (ATE) Program;
- By a voice vote, an amendment by Representative
Nick Smith (R-MI) that would have reduced the rate
of increase in the MEP authorization from $5 million
per year to the rate of inflation;
- By a vote of 14-18, an amendment by Representative
Michael Honda (D-CA) that would have authorized $169
million for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP);
- By a vote of 13-16, an amendment by Representative
Jerry Costello (D-IL) that would have required a study
on outsourcing, foreign investment, and reemployment;
- By a vote of 10-12, an amendment by Representative
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) that would have reauthorized
the Enterprise Integration Act, which expires in 2005;
- By a vote of 11-15, an amendment by Representative
John Larson (D-CT) that would have created an Undersecretary
of Commerce for Manufacturing and Technology;
- By a vote of 14-16, an amendment by Representative
David Wu (D-OR) that would have allowed the federal
cost-share for fiscal-year (FY) 2005 for the MEP program
to increase from one-third to one-half on a case-by-case
basis; and
- By a vote of 14-16, an amendment by Mr. Larson that
would have reauthorized the Industries Future program
within the Department of Energy (DOE).
H.R. 3890, sponsored by Representative Melissa Hart
(R-PA), was passed by a voice vote. The bill would
reauthorize through 2009 the Steel and Aluminum Energy
Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988
and would make minor modifications to the law including
provisions that would: include the potential for technologies
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a consideration
in research planning; repeal a section related to programs
at NIST that have been inactive; and requires and updated
management plan for the program and a report to Congress
on that plan.
Hart said, The Metals Initiative has helped
push private research investments to pursue public goals.
This bill is right for the industry, good for energy
consumption and good for the environment.
The Committee adopted by voice vote a substitute amendment
by Ms. Hart and an amendment by Representative Gil Gutknecht
(R-MN) that would limit authorization levels in FY 2005
to no more than appropriated levels in FY 2004.
By a voice vote, the Committee passed H.R. 4218, the
High-Performance Computing Revitalization Act of 2004.
The bill, which is sponsored by Energy Subcommittee
Chairman Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Representative
Lincoln Davis (D-TN), would strengthen U.S. supercomputing
capabilities by requiring NSF and DOE to ensure U.S.
researchers access to high-performance computers, and
prescribing a comprehensive, balanced approach to the
nations computing strategy. It would also place
responsibility with the Director of the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure a
coordinated, on-going effort among the federal agencies
that have a role in high-performance computing. The
bill was endorsed by the Bush Administration at a May
13, 2004 Full Committee hearing.
High-performance computers are central to maintaining
U.S. leadership in many scientific fields, said
Biggert. Thats why we must commit
to providing sustained support for high-performance
computers at our federal civilian science agencies.
Davis said, H.R. 4218 revitalizes national
high end computing efforts. It calls for more effective
planning, prioritization, and inter-agency coordination
of efforts to ensure that scientists have access to
the most advanced computing systems in the world. Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, future home of the worlds
most powerful supercomputer, will cause todays
supercomputing dreams to become tomorrows reality.
The Committee also approved by voice vote H.R. 4516,
the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization
Act of 2004. Sponsored by Biggert and Davis, the bill
would establish a research and development program within
DOE to develop more-advanced computers and would authorized
DOE to establish supercomputer user facilities that
would be available for use to U.S. researchers on a
competitive, peer-review basis.
Biggert said, By renewing our commitment
to high-end computing research and development at the
Department of Energy, the United States can regain its
distinction as home to the worlds most powerful
computer.
In response to the need for greater resources
and focus on high-end computing H.R. 4516 authorizes
activities at the Department of Energy to advance high-end
computing, said Davis. DOE has taken
a leadership position in attempting to advance high-end
computing as is evident from the recent award to Oak
Ridge National Laboratory to lead a partnership to build
the worlds most powerful supercomputer by 2007.
By a voice vote, the Committee agreed to a substitute
amendment to H.R. 4516 offered by Mrs. Biggert.
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