AEIC applauds House Science leadership for emphasizing the value of publicly-funded R&D and technology transfer

Last week, the House Committee for Science, Space, and Technology’s Research and Technology Subcommittee released a discussion draft of proposed legislation entitled, “Innovative Approaches to Technology Transfer Act of 2013.” The draft text would authorize federal agencies to direct a part of their research budgets to universities, research institutes, and national laboratories for novel approaches to technology transfer. This is particularly important for the Department of Energy and its national laboratories, whose science and R&D activities have been a critical part of clean energy technology innovation. AEIC staff research has found that the national laboratories have had major past successes in using grants for proof-of-concept and small-business technology transfer, such as in low-emissivity window technologies.

AEIC endorses these efforts, as they recognize and realize the value of federally-funded basic science and technology R&D. The letter that AEIC principals sent to the Republican and Democratic members of Congress working on the issue can be read here.