Federal
112th Congress Priorities
2011 Federal Priorities
INNOVATION
Prioritize and Protect Federal Funding for R&D
- Position: Support prioritizing and protecting federal funding for research above all else when exploring budgetary cuts to "discretionary" spending programs. Federal funding for research is only approximately 0.4% of the national budget but more than 25% of all R&D spending nationwide.
- Avoiding cuts to "basic" research funding in areas of advanced technology is paramount.
- Funding for research at the Department of Defense (DOD), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Energy's Office of Science (DOE SC) should be restored to FY2010 levels.
- Appropriate prioritizing includes designating funding for Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) programs that have not yet been appropriated monies. Federal programs that incorporate market principles and leverage public and private resources should be prioritized in a recovering economy.
Tax Structures that Encourage Innovation & Global Competitiveness
- Position: Support tax structures that increase the predictability and attractiveness of the American market by employing:
- Globally competitive tax rates.
- Permanent and longer-term tax credits to stabilize incentives for innovation, and
- Targeted incentives for high priority industries.
INTERNATIONAL
Support Free Trade Agreement Approval for Colombia, Panama, & South Korea- Position: Support Congressional approval of free trade agreements with the Republic of Korea, Colombia, and Panama and continued export growth through the implementation of free trade agreements.
- Position: Support the bi-partisan, "Creating American Jobs Through Exports Act of 2011" (S 98), that will both express Congress' support for passing the pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia , and Panama and extend President Obama's Trade Promotion Authority to strengthen the negotiating power of the United States.
- Position: Support increasing funding stability for U.S. Export Assistance Centers.
Access to a Skilled and STEM-Trained Global Workforce
Entrepreneur's Visa & Granting Green Cards to U.S.-Trained STEM Graduates**Note: As of August 25, 2011, the Austin Chamber is redirecting all advocacy support for both provisions to support for a comprehensive entrepreneur's bill called the "Startup Act" that will be introduced by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) soon – please see Innovation Priority #1: "High-Growth Entrepreneur's Bill"
- Position: Continue support for attracting and retaining innovative and talented foreign entrepreneurs to bring their intellectual capital to the US and create start-up businesses that generate new jobs and stimulate the U.S. economy:
- Through the creation of an entrepreneur's visa with no limit or a very high limit on the number of visas available, and
- By granting green cards to foreign nationals who earn a STEM degree of any level from a U.S. university.
2011 Priority Issues
- Entrepreneur's Bill / Startup Act
- Support federal policy that focuses on creating jobs by stimulating high-growth startup companies, the U.S. economy’s true and only substantial producer of new jobs. The Chamber supports the Kauffman Foundation’s Startup Act Proposal which incorporates established Austin Chamber priorities and takes steps toward creating an ecosystem in which high-growth firms and innovation can thrive.
- SBIR/STTR Reauthorization & VC Exclusion
- Primary: Support reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs.
Secondary: Support eliminating the SBIR restriction on the eligibility of majority VC-backed companies. Removing the restriction will allow highly innovative VC-backed small businesses to fully participate in the SBIR program. Strongly support Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s amendment (S.AMT 290) to the “SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act” (S 493) which would eliminate the exclusion and stop its arbitrary metrics from negatively impacting an applicant’s consideration.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing
- UPDATE: Congressman Lamar Smith accepted the Chamber’s request for his support of PACE on our behalf and officially became a cosponsor of the bill on July 28, 2011.
Support The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Assessment Protection Act of 2011 (HR 2599)and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) adoption of underwriting standards that are consistent with the ARRA PACE guidelines issued by DOE in May 2010. These guidelines will provide more stringent regulation of the program to improve the viability and safety of the program for both participants and lenders.
- NIST Technology Innovation Program (TIP)
- Support funding for new NIST Technology Innovation Program (TIP) awards in the FY2012 budget. Continue funding of on-going TIP and Advanced Technology Projects (ATP) projects.
- USPTO Funding & America Competes
- Support the USPTO gaining full access to the funding it earns from user fees to end the tax on innovation. Support the sections of the America Invents Act of 2011 (S.23) that address “the revolving fund”, establish the USPTO’s fee setting authority, and create 3 or more USPTO satellite offices.
The Greater Austin region includes some of the most innovative clean energy research facilities and business support networks in the Country. SustainLane Government ranks Austin as the top city in the county for cleantech incubation.
