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“PRESERVE TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Senate section on pages S1965-S1967 on March 13, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PRESERVE TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I strongly endorse the Hollings-
Daschle-Kerrey-Lieberman-Bingaman-Rockefeller-Kerry Amendment to H.R. 3019 that was debated last night, and to praise Senator Hollings for offering this amendment that I cosponsored. This amendment would have restored funds for three key Department of Commerce programs: the Advanced Technology Program, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program, and Technology Administration as well as funding for Educational and Environmental Technologies. Restoring these funds is essential to making progress in generating more jobs for Americans, a better education system, protecting the environment, and maintaining our Nation's ability to compete and excel in research.
As a nation, we have used the best mix of individual innovation and national cooperative efforts to develop the most advanced and most productive economy in the world. Cooperative government and industry investments have brought us computers, the Internet, new treatments for disease, a better environment, and the moon. And these investments have brought us new industries; high-quality, high-paying jobs; and an improved standard of living.
But today, Americans understand that the ground underneath them is shifting--they have seen their work and workplaces transformed by new technologies and global competition. These changes and their consequences are as profound as the economic shifts that moved us from farms to factories more than a century ago. Now, as then, there is no way to reverse the tide. Now, as then, the fortunes of working people are uncertain as the landscape around them is remade.
Working Americans have reason to be worried, reasons, even, to be angry. They are working harder than ever, but their jobs are less secure, their wages are stagnant, and their benefits and pensions are shrinking. All this when company profits and CEO salaries are rising.
Parents are putting in more hours at the office. Precious time taken from Little League games and PTA meetings and family dinners. And the strain--on families, schools, neighborhoods, on what makes a civil society--is all too apparent.
At the same time, Mr. President, ``Reaganomics'' can't seem to disappear for good, no matter how clear the evidence is from the 1980's that this is a dangerous course and bad economic policy. The Reagan manifesto might have been written for a Warren G. Harding campaign speech. Big tax breaks for top-income earners and corporations--a trickle from the top will grow jobs and wages. Drop safety standards and environmental safeguards--an invisible hand will protect workers and consumers. Push the disabled, elderly, and poor children off the wagon.
In a trance, Congress cooperated in the eighties when Reagan told them to cut taxes on the rich and corporations. In the last decade tax rates for top-income brackets were lowered from 70 percent to 40 percent. And, the share of the tax burden that corporations pay has been reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent over the last decade.
The minimum wage was stunted. And, domestic spending was cut from nearly 5 percent of the Federal budget to about 3\1/2\ percent since 1980.
To what end? Some people benefitted--some a whole lot. Since 1980, more than $800 billion was added to household incomes--but 98 percent of that money went to the richest 20 percent. That means all the rest, 80 percent of American households, shared just 2 percent of the gains. In fact, the average American family is now getting by on less than they had in 1980.
For a fortunate handful of Americans, the transformation from an industrial to an information economy offers unlimited opportunity and fantastic profit. But for most, right now, this new economy demands more and offers less--it demands more education, more skills, more flexibility, more time; but offers less pay, less benefits, and less security. Working families are running faster and losing ground--a raw deal that undermines the crucial link between work and personal progress, and breeds the anger and cynicism that are poisoning our society and our political debate.
I believe there are clear, common-sense, approaches that must be followed to enable all Americans to gain the fruits of our success.
Our trade and monetary policies must work for working people. We need trade agreements based on only giving access when we get exactly that for our products. We have to say no to agreements that push our jobs across our borders. Let's live in the real world, and demand other countries to live up to environmental and labor standards they avoid to get the upper hand.
The Fed should be as aggressive in promoting growth to benefit workers as they are with managing inflation to benefit bondholders.
And we must have investments in education, training, infrastructure, and technology that produce dividends for working people here at home. Investments in people are every bit as important as investment in equipment. But unless that's better known and understood, human investments will keep shriveling through the budget cuts already being made. Behind the banner of a balanced budget, we are in danger of surrendering what really spreads opportunity in America--the chance to learn, to train, and to excel.
Investments in science and technology are a key part of the solution. As the President's Council of Economic Advisors recently reported, investments in innovation have been responsible for almost one-half of the Nation's economic growth.
This Nation has had a 50-year consensus on investments in science in technology. We have made these investments to expand the basic store of knowledge both because of our exploring, inquisitive nature and because we know the benefits are unpredictable. We have invested in biological research that improves our ability to feed our people and attack disease. And we have invested in new technologies in support of Federal missions, technologies that created new industries and jobs in aviation, electronics, software, and communications.
But those very programs that are key to our technological progress are now under threat. If it had passed, our Hollings-Daschle-Kerry Amendment would have lessened that threat by restoring funds for technology programs that invest in new innovations with broad benefits for the Nation.
Recently, we have realized that with fierce global competition, this Nation must invest in innovation to advance economic growth. We are investing in the Advanced Technology Program with bipartisan support.
President Bush's science advisor, D. Allan Bromley, realized that we can support key technologies without intervening in the market's selection of winners and losers. The Advanced Technology Program was first funded in 1991 under President George Bush. This program is important because it invests in precompetitive or generic technologies, in the neglected zone between pure research and product development. These technologies are essential to technological progress for several industries or companies and are too risky for individual companies to fund on their own. The ATP will help to develop new technologies and new industries before other countries do.
We must keep investing in the Department of Commerce Technology Administration. This is the one office in the Federal Government that is dedicated to advancing national investments in technology in support of economic growth. TA works to develop policies and partnerships that assist industrial innovation. And the office is supporting cooperative technology ventures between United States and Israeli companies that will be a win-win effort for both nations. This commitment is especially crucial now, as Israel reels from a string of devastating terrorist attacks.
We must keep investing in educational technologies, technologies that will improve classroom learning and increase our student's chance to excel and succeed.
And we must invest in connecting schools, libraries, and hospitals to the world of the Internet. Funding grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration [NTIA] Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program
[TIIAP] will enable these institutions to develop new applications that will increase students skills, improve health care, and extend telephone service in rural areas. This is particularly important to my home State of West Virginia, a heavily rural State. A TIIAP grant to the State library system will give citizens of West Virginia access to information around the globe.
We must keep investing in new, innovative environmental technologies, that will result in higher levels of environmental protection at lower costs for industry. These new technologies offer U.S. companies opportunities for increased exports and more jobs here at home.
These programs are essential investments to our Nation's economic future. They mean new industries and high-quality, high-wage jobs. They mean an improved environment. They mean a better education and greater opportunities for students and workers.
Our Nation must act--if we do not, our competitors are ready to take advantage. While we are considering cutting our investments in nondefense R&D by 30 percent by 2002, Japan is about to double its Government's investments.
We cannot go back and we should not go back--old policies need to change to meet new needs. But we should hold on to what we learned in that earlier era, and carry those lessons into the 1990's and the 21st century. Lessons of hard work and fair play, of balance between business and worker, of investment in people and technology should guide us as we meet the challenges of today and the future.
With the continued leadership of Senator Hollings for America's economic strength and jobs, I will persist as well in pressing the case for the investments that our amendment attempted to rescue. We will not give up, because jobs for our people and the American dream are at stake.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. McCAIN). Without objection, it is so ordered.
unanimous-consent agreement
Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be the only remaining first-degree amendments in order to H.R. 3019, that they be subject to relevant second-degrees, and following the disposition of the amendments, the Senate proceed to vote on the Hatfield substitute, as amended, the bill then be read for the third time, and the Senate proceed to final passage of H.R. 3019, all without any intervening action or debate.
The list of amendments follows:
Republican Amendments
Jeffords--Technical to D.C. provisions.
Jeffords--Technical to D.C. provisions.
Jeffords--Relevant.
Faircloth--Bosnia funding.
Burns--Relevant.
Burns--Relevant.
Burns--Relevant.
Helms--International Family Planning/Abortion.
Helms--N.C. Hospital.
Helms--Waiver of authority.
Helms--Abortion.
Helms--Relevant.
Helms--Relevant.
Coverdell--Relevant.
Brown--Relevant.
Brown--Relevant.
Coats--Abortion accreditation.
McConnell--Mexico City policy.
Gramm--Emergency provisions.
Gramm--Housing.
Gramm--State Welfare Program.
Gramm--Contingency provisions.
Gramm--Legal Services.
Gramm--Community assistance.
Santorum--Emergency provisions.
Santorum--Offset disaster assistance.
Santorum--Offset disaster assistance/conferees.
Santorum--Funding cut in title I.
Santorum--Salary/expense cut in title I.
Hatch--Drug czar.
Craig--Legal Services Corp.
Shelby--Drug czar.
Hatfield--Relevant.
Hatfield--Relevant.
Hatfield--Amalgamated millsite.
Lott--Relevant.
Lott--Relevant.
Lott--Relevant.
Murkowski--Canned salmon.
Murkowski--Salmon.
Murkowski--Greens Creek.
Murkowski--Study.
Cohen--Legal Services.
Stevens--Relevant.
Stevens--Relevant.
Stevens--Sematech.
Stevens--R&D camera.
Stevens--Interior floods.
Gorton--Medical Center--VA.
Gorton--Administrative accounts adjustment.
Gorton--Relevant.
Kempthorne--Interior floods.
Grams--Lockbox.
McConnell--FBI.
Bond--Relevant.
Bond--Relevant.
Bond--Relevant.
Bond--Relevant.
Bond--Relevant.
Cochran--Relevant.
Dole--Relevant.
Dole--Relevant.
Cohen--DOD.
Chafee--Relevant.
McCain--(3)/Relevant.
Warner--Relevant.
Democratic amendments
Boxer--D.C. abortion funds.
Bradley--Relevant.
Bumpers--Legal Services.
Byrd:
(1) Relevant.
(2) Relevant.
(3) Relevant.
(4) Relevant.
(5) Relevant.
(6) Relevant.
Daschle:
(1) Inhalants.
(2) Crop insurance.
(3) Watertown SD.
(4) Relevant.
(5) Relevant.
(6) Relevant.
(7) Relevant.
(8) Relevant.
Dorgan--Defense (with/Conrad).
Harkin--Health care.
Kennedy--Drug exports.
Lautenberg:
(1) Environment.
(2) Environment.
(3) Relevant.
Mikulski--National service.
Murray--Timber sales.
Pryor--Drugs.
Ried--Relevant.
Simon:
(1) Literacy/longer schoolyear.
(2) National Secondary Education Program.
(3) Relevant.
Wellstone:
(1) SoS Liheap.
(2) Relevant.
Levin--Relevant.
Leahy--Relevant.
Johnston--Water Resources Den. Act.
Breaux--Relevant.
Lautenberg--FAA employee rights.
Baucus--Relevant.
Biden--Relevant.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate turn to the consideration, at 9:30, Thursday, of the Murray timber salvage amendment, and there be 2\1/2\ hours of debate, equally divided between Senators Murray and Hatfield, or his designee; further, that no second-degree amendments be in order to the amendment, and at the expiration or yielding back of debate time, the Senate proceed to a vote on or in relation to the Murray amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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