Lucas: U.S. must go on offensive as science, technology leader

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) on Jan. 28 led almost a dozen Republican members in unveiling sweeping legislation that would stake America’s claim as the global leader in science and technology.

“If China surpasses us in critical technologies like quantum information science, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, it will have significant implications for our national security, for our economic competitiveness, and for our way of life,” Rep. Lucas said. “The United States must go on the offensive to maintain our scientific and technological leadership.”

The congressman sponsored the Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act of 2020, H.R. 5685, with 11 original cosponsors including U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), to create a long-term strategy for investment in basic research and infrastructure that would protect the economic and national security of the United States.

The measure would address two main challenges the United States faces to its competitiveness and growth: Chinese threats to American science and technology leadership and a changing climate, according to a legislative summary provided by Rep. Lucas’ office.

Regarding climate, the U.S. “must respond to a changing climate and develop next-generation technologies to understand it, address it, and mitigate it,” according to the summary.

“As a farmer and rancher, I have seen firsthand the impact of the changing climate,” said Rep. Lucas. “Our continued economic growth requires us to address it. But we have to do so in a way that doesn’t raise energy prices and hurt American families and businesses.”

For instance, he said the nation must “invest in research that produces next-generation technologies, ensuring America is the leader in producing cleaner and more affordable energy for the world.”

If enacted, H.R. 5685 would double basic research funding over 10 years at the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the summary, and also would create a national science and technology strategy; authorize investments in American research facilities and the infrastructure needed to maintain them; develop and grow the nation’s STEM workforce; and reform regulations.

“For more than a century, America has produced breakthrough technologies and led the world in pioneering research and scientific discovery,” Rep. Lucas said. “This bill gives us the resources needed to maintain that legacy and lead the next generation of innovations.”