American Manufacturing Leadership Act Introduced with Support of House Science Committee Leadership

Senator Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL) recently re-introduced the American Cures Act and the American Innovation Act, each of which provide funding authorizations for federal agencies engaged in research and development activities.

As Capitol Update previously reported, The American Cures Act seeks to provide an annual budget increase of five percent plus inflation to the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense Health Program, and the Veterans Medical and Prosthetics Research Program. Along with Senator Durbin, the legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). In the House, Representative Underwood (D-IL) is the lead sponsor, with Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL-11) also sponsoring.

The American Innovation Act, seeks to provide an annual budget increase of five percent for research at the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, the Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Scientific and Technical Research, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Science Directorate. This goal of these budget increases is to allow agencies to plan and manage strategic growth while maximizing efficiencies. Along with Senator Durbin, the legislation is also cosponsored by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Representative Foster is the lead sponsor of the legislation in the House, with Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), Bobby Rush (D-IL-01), Jim McGovern (D-MA-02), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) also sponsoring.

“This legislation will allow America’s smartest scientists and researchers to spend less time figuring out how to cut their budgets and more time finding new ways to produce clean energy and clean water, as well as develop new cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease,” said Durbin.  “In the last two centuries, U.S. government support for scientific research has helped split the atom, put a man on the moon, create the Internet, and map the human genome.  In order for the United States to keep up, it is crucial that we support our sciences for the betterment of our future.  The American Cures Act and American Innovation Act do just that.”

To view Capitol Update’s initial reporting of these pieces of legislation, click here:
https://www.asme.org/about-asme/advocacy-government-relations/policy-publications/capitol-update/april-19-2019-capitol-update#4