Economists beginning with Robert Solow in the 1950s have shown that a major portion of the nation’s economic growth over the past century is the result of technological advancement. The contributions of these government investments to the US economy and national security have been enormous. In addition, the government has served as a valuable early customer for industry-developed technologies, including integrated circuits, solar cells, and communications satellites. Consider a few of the technologies that federal research and development agencies and the engineering teams they fund have created: advanced jet aircraft, atomic energy, mass production of antibiotics, digital computers, the internet, the Global Positioning System, and biotechnology. This is exactly the right place to start. Schumer (D-NY) and Todd Young (R-IN), and Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI), have recognized that government investments in advanced technologies are good for the United States. The authors of the bill, Senators Charles E. Does this legislation move the nation in the right direction? Key provisions of the bill would create a new directorate at the National Science Foundation to support fundamental research at universities to help catalyze the next generation of valuable new technologies, with $100 billion in expenditures authorized over five years. The Endless Frontier Act, with bipartisan sponsors in both the House and Senate, is a new legislative initiative aimed at helping the United States stay ahead of foreign competitors.
In an increasingly competitive global economy, America’s leadership in technological innovation is no longer assured. Here’s why-and how the United States can maintain its leadership in the development and commercialization of important new technologies. Proposed legislation to catalyze technological innovation is unlikely to succeed.
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