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The momentum for improving U.S. science and technology capabilities has been building across the country. This has been particularly apparent in the news, as more and more newspapers have been increasing their coverage of the issue. Use the links below to read more.
Editorial and Op-ed Support
September 07, 2010 — National Center for Policy Analysis (Opinion) — “Pamela Villarreal and Michael Barba: Don’t Let the R&D Tax Credit Slip Away”
Prior to the 1970s, there were barriers to foreign investment, such as laws limiting ownership of U.S. corporations. As trade barriers fell in the 1970s and the economies of countries in North America, Europe and Asia became more integrated, U.S. policymakers focused on incentives to attract foreign investment. Policymakers also created incentives for domestic companies to keep jobs and capital in America, rather than invest in foreign countries. One of these incentives is the research and development (R&D) tax credit. The R&D tax credit would contribute more to economic recovery and job creation if it were permanent, more generous and covered a wider variety of R&D.
September 03, 2010 — Huffington Post (Opinion) — “Jeffrey A. Joerres: Yes, the Height of Your Audacity Is Shocking”
… This brings me to the H1B Visa issue, which is a travesty and the U.S. is hindering one of our greatest sources of innovation by having too low a limit on the number of non-immigrant visas it issues. We are preventing the brightest minds from entering the country, which is nonsense given that the growth of this country came from people who arrived here from overseas with an idea, developed it and created employment. Two thirds of Silicon Valley companies were started by people born outside the U.S. If the brightest minds cannot come to the U.S., it will be our loss because there are plenty of other alternatives open to them in places like Shanghai, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. The modern labor market is truly global and to prevent workers with scarce skills coming here harms our competitiveness on the world stage.
September 03, 2010 — Idaho Statesman (Opinion) — “Peter Crabb: Why We Need Free International Trade in Workers”
… All the talk continues despite more findings by economic researchers that immigration is good for the U.S. and its workers. Giovanni Peri, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, and researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, found evidence that immigrants expand the economy’s productive capacity, stimulate new investment, and boost productivity. Peri’s study is unique in that he followed immigration patterns at the state, not national, level. States with higher immigrant worker populations have higher rates of output per worker. Economists have long known that higher productivity is the key to long run economic growth. Higher worker productivity lowers product costs and increases output, raising our standard of living.
September 01, 2010 — USA Today (Opinion) — “Darrell M. West: 7 Myths That Cloud Immigration Debate”
… Myth No. 4 — The United States makes a special effort to attract scientists, engineers and technological experts. Right now, we set aside only 65,000 of America's nearly 1 million visas each year for high-skilled workers. This is well below the 195,000 high-skilled visas that the U.S. allowed from 1999 to 2004. One study found that 25% of all the technology and engineering businesses launched in the USA from 1995 to 2005 had a foreign-born founder. In Silicon Valley, that number was 52.4%. … Given the importance of immigration to our economic growth, security and national identity, we need a new narrative. We should think about finding the next Albert Einstein, Sergey Brin, or Andrew Grove, future innovators who can start businesses and create high-paying jobs. An immigration policy based on an "Einstein Principle" would increase our odds for economic prosperity and enhance job creation and innovation.
August 24, 2010 — Murfreesboro Post (Opinion) — “Rep. Bart Gordon: Gordon Comments on 90th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage”
… As chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, it concerns me that women are underrepresented in technical fields. That’s why a bill I authored, the America COMPETES Act, includes educational resources for women in the sciences at all levels. Ensuring women and girls are not frozen out of science and technology professions is not just a matter of equity, it ensures our growing technology industries can draw on the broadest possible pool of talent our country has to offer.
News Coverage
September 06, 2010 — New York Times — “Obama to Propose Tax Write-Off for Business”
… The stimulus initiative … will have a provision to expand and make permanent a tax credit for corporations’ research and development expenses; for three decades, the credit has been enacted temporarily, given its revenue cost, and then always extended, but with frequent lapses that frustrate businesses.
September 06, 2010 — Local Tech Wire — “Lenovo Exec Says STEM is Vital to Today’s Workforce”
… In your view, how important is STEM to the U.S. economy overall? “STEM is critically important to workforce development and, thus, the economy in the United States. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the new vernacular for our increasingly interconnected world. Students must learn how to critically think about issues through these lenses in order to continue the great history of innovation which has so benefited the United States.”
September 06, 2010 — Reuters — “Obama Kicks Off Campaign With Infrastructure Plan”
… A centerpiece of his new plan is a proposal for the U.S. Congress to increase and permanently extend a tax credit for business research and development. The tax credit proposal, which was widely expected by investors, would cost $100 billion over 10 years.
September 05, 2010 — Associated Press — “Official: Obama Backing Research Tax Credits”
Seeking ways to spur economic growth ahead of the November elections, President Barack Obama will ask Congress to increase and permanently extend research and development tax credits for businesses, a White House official said Sunday. … Obama has proposed making the research and development tax credit permanent before, as part of the budget he submitted to Congress earlier this year. "That's where U.S. competitiveness lies in high-technology industries," Laura Tyson, a member of Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, said Sunday on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "I don't think this is something that has ... as immediate a job impact as, say, movement on the current tax credits for the unemployed or extending a payroll tax holiday of some sort. But I think it's very important in terms of job creation over the longer term," Tyson said.
September 05, 2010 — Washington Post — “Obama to Call for $100 Billion Business Tax Credit”
Under mounting pressure to intensify his focus on the economy ahead of the midterm elections, President Obama will call for a $100 billion business tax credit this week, using a speech in Cleveland on Wednesday to launch what administration officials said was a new policy push. The business proposal - what one aide called a key part of a limited economic package - would increase and permanently extend research and development tax credits for businesses, rewarding companies that develop new technologies domestically and preserve American jobs.
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