Sec. 2. Findings

376 words·~2 min read·/bill/116/s/3832/is/section-2

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Congress finds the following: For over 70 years, the United States has been the unequivocal global leader in scientific and technological innovation, and as a result the people of the United States have benefitted through good-paying jobs, economic prosperity, and a higher quality of life. Today, however, this leadership position is being eroded and challenged by foreign competitors, some of whom are stealing intellectual property and trade secrets of the United States and aggressively investing in fundamental research and commercialization to dominate the key technology fields of the future.

While the United States once led the world in the share of our economy invested in research, our Nation now ranks 9th globally in total research and development and 12th in publicly financed research and development. Without a significant increase in investment in research, education, technology transfer, and the core strengths of the United States innovation ecosystem, it is only a matter of time before the global competitors of the United States overtake the United States in terms of technological primacy.

The country that wins the race in key technologies—such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced communications, and advanced manufacturing—will be the superpower of the future. The Federal Government must catalyze United States innovation by boosting fundamental research investments focused on discovering, creating, commercializing, and producing new technologies to ensure the leadership of the United States in the industries of the future. The distribution of innovation jobs and investment in the United States has become largely concentrated in just a few locations, while much of the Nation has been left out of growth in the innovation sector.

More than 90 percent of the Nation’s innovation sector employment growth in the last 15 years was generated in just 5 major cities. The Federal Government must address this imbalance in opportunity by partnering with the private sector to build new technology hubs across the country, spreading innovation sector jobs more broadly, and tapping the talent and potential of the entire Nation to ensure the United States leads the industries of the future. Since its inception, the National Science Foundation has carried out vital work supporting basic research and people to create knowledge that is a primary driver of the economy of the United States and enhances the Nation’s security.