Congressman Fattah Believes Federal Laboratories Key to Job Creation

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and related agencies subcommittee, commends the Administration on its new efforts to speed up the commercial application of federally funded research. The plan supports two Fattah initiatives that improve the way federally funded research is transferred to the private sector.

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In that effort the President is issuing two directives: The first will speed the transfer of federal research and development findings from the laboratory to the marketplace. The second to create www.Business.USA.gov, a virtual one-stop shop for information regarding federal programs and services relevant to businesses that want to begin or increase exporting opportunities.

As the senior Democrat on CJS, the subcommittee which oversees federal research, Fattah has been a leading advocate in the effort to connect Federal research and development to production of commercial goods. He has introduced legislation, H.R. 2015, The American Discoveries - American Jobs Commission Act of 2011 which calls for a commission to assess the benefits of collecting royalties from government subsidized research that leads to the commercialization of products. The fees would be reinvested in the federal agencies for future discoveries. The commission would consider ways that products developed with federal research funds must be manufactured in the United States.

Fattah also introduced House Resolution 210, calling for the creation of a clear vision for the United States to be the world leader in innovation and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and to ensure that at least 3% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is dedicated to research and development.

"An incredible $147 billion a year is invested by the Federal government in research and development," said Fattah. "That research has led to new products such as antibiotics, plastics, airplanes, computers, microwaves, and bioengineered drugs.

"Innovations like these are responsible for up to one-half the growth of the U.S. economy and are the principal driving force in the nation's long-term economic prosperity. The new directives from the President will help to advance new businesses, develop new technologies and create more jobs. I pledge to work with the Administration on the upcoming Appropriations legislation to propel this initiative forward."

Fattah has a longtime commitment to improving the transfer of research from Federal laboratories.  He met this week with Dr. Paul Alivisatos; Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, which is a cornerstone of the nation's science and technology infrastructure. Additionally, over the last six months Fattah has visited four of the nation's leading laboratories:

Los Alamos National Laboratory – Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is one of the largest science and technology institutions in the world, and conducts multidisciplinary research in fields such as national security, space exploration, nuclear energy, renewable energy, medicine, nanotechnology, and supercomputing.

Sandia National Laboratories – Albuquerque, New Mexico
The primary mission at Sandia is to develop, engineer, and test the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons.

Argonne National Laboratory – Chicago, Illinois
Argonne is one of the nation's lead laboratories for research in advanced energy storage technologies, hybrid power-trains, and fuel-efficient technologies.

Fermilab – Chicago, Illinois
Fermilab serves as the host laboratory for more than 1,000 U.S. scientists.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

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