WASHINGTON (May 4, 2015) – Originally developed out of the Manhattan Project at the end of World War II, today, America’s 17 national laboratories conduct research in a broad range of scientific and technological fields, from alternative energy to supercomputing, have been home to 113 Nobel Laureates and employ 20,000 scientists. However, while the pace of innovation and the complexity of national challenges have accelerated, the labs have not kept stride, slowing the transfer of research to market and decreasing the potential benefits for the economy and society.
In response, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have authored the America INNOVATES Act, which was reintroduced in the Senate today. It seeks to modernize the lab system and increase the translation of scientific discoveries into commercial breakthroughs. The legislation will also streamline the labs’ management structure and provide new flexibility to support innovation in partnership with both the private sector and U.S. universities.
“For decades, the labs have produced world leading science, but have under-performed at moving research into concrete societal applications,” says Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). “This legislation provides much needed flexibility in how the labs collaborate with industry, which will enhance innovation, technology transfer, and job creation. INNOVATES is also a model for the bipartisan, innovation-based institutional reforms that are desperately needed to re-shape America’s broader innovation enterprise.”
The America INNOVATES Act would:
- Integrate the management of the Department of Energy’s science and energy programs to create a vertically integrated research enterprise
- Direct the Department of Energy to implement best practices to improve operations and management across the National Lab complex
- Allow national labs to partner more effectively with the private sector to create new technologies and enhance technology commercialization
- Allow the Department of Energy more flexibility to support applied research and development activities conducted by universities and nonprofits
- Give startups more access to cutting-edge facilities at the national laboratories
The legislation was originally introduced by Senators Coons and Rubio in 2014. A companion House bill, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015, was reported out of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee on March 4. The bills are based in part on the policy report Turning the Page: Reimagining the National Labs in the 21st Century Innovation Economy, which was coauthored by ITIF, the Heritage Foundation and the Center for American Progress.
Read the full legislative text.
