S. HRG. 113–641 AMERICA COMPETES: SCIENCE AND THE U.S. ECONOMY HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION NOVEMBER 6, 2013 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 94–535 PDF WASHINGTON : 2015 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:57 May 14, 2015 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\DOCS\94535.TXT JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman BARBARA BOXER, California JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Ranking BILL NELSON, Florida ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi MARIA CANTWELL, Washington ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARK PRYOR, Arkansas MARCO RUBIO, Florida CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota DEAN HELLER, Nevada MARK WARNER, Virginia DAN COATS, Indiana MARK BEGICH, Alaska TIM SCOTT, South Carolina RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut TED CRUZ, Texas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii DEB FISCHER, Nebraska EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin CORY BOOKER, New Jersey ELLEN L. DONESKI, Staff Director JAMES REID, Deputy Staff Director JOHN WILLIAMS, General Counsel DAVID SCHWIETERT, Republican Staff Director NICK ROSSI, Republican Deputy Staff Director REBECCA SEIDEL, Republican General Counsel and Chief Investigator (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:57 May 14, 2015 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\94535.TXT JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on November 6, 2013 ........................................................................ 1 Statement of Senator Rockefeller ........................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Thune ................................................................................... 33 Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 67 Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 69 Statement of Senator Johnson ................................................................................ 71 Statement of Senator Scott ..................................................................................... 73 Statement of Senator Blumenthal .......................................................................... 75 Statement of Senator Schatz .................................................................................. 77 Statement of Senator Markey ................................................................................. 79 WITNESSES Hon. Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senator from Tennessee ......................................... 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 Open letter dated October 9, 2013 to Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV and Hon. John Thune .......................................................................................... 6 Dr. Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Vice President for Research, Regents’ Professor of Meteorology and Weathernews Chair Emeritus, University of Oklahoma, and Vice Chairman, National Science Board ..................................................... 35 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 37 Dr. Saul Perlmutter, Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley; Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ............................... 42 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 43 Dr. Maria M. Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College ........................................ 51 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 52 Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., MBA, President and CEO, University City Science Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ................................................................... 57 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Kelvin K. Droegemeier by: Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV ............................................................................ 85 Hon. Mark Warner ........................................................................................... 89 Hon. Roger F. Wicker ....................................................................................... 94 Hon. Deb Fischer .............................................................................................. 95 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Saul Perlmutter by: Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV ............................................................................ 98 Hon. Mark Warner ........................................................................................... 98 Hon. Deb Fischer .............................................................................................. 100 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Maria M. Klawe by: Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV ............................................................................ 100 Hon. Amy Klobuchar ........................................................................................ 101 Hon. Mark Warner ........................................................................................... 102 Hon. Deb Fischer .............................................................................................. 103 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Stephen S. Tang by: Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV ............................................................................ 104 Hon. Mark Warner ........................................................................................... 105 Hon. Deb Fischer .............................................................................................. 107 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:57 May 14, 2015 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\94535.TXT JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:57 May 14, 2015 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\94535.TXT JACKIE AMERICA COMPETES: SCIENCE AND THE U.S. ECONOMY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:34 p.m. in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA The CHAIRMAN. Ladies and gentlemen, this hearing will come to order. And the vast attendance, let it fool you not, people will be coming in. That I’m on time is something of a miracle. [Laughter.] The CHAIRMAN. Much less other members. I have no way of expressing how happy I am to welcome Senator Lamar Alexander. I’m making, I just made the point to the Honorable Senator Thune that you and my son’s wife’s father were roommates at law school; is that correct? Senator ALEXANDER. That’s correct. The CHAIRMAN. Was that Georgetown? Senator ALEXANDER. NYU. The CHAIRMAN. That’s what I said. And you, sir, have been a champion of this program from the very, very beginning. And I know that you have to leave right after your presentation, but we very much look forward to it. And so you’re on. Senator ALEXANDER. Well, thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Give us history. Senator ALEXANDER. I thought I’d have the privilege of listening to you and Senator Thune before, but I’ll be glad to go ahead. The CHAIRMAN. We’ll go right after you. Senator ALEXANDER. All right. Thanks very much. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. STATEMENT OF HON. LAMAR ALEXANDER, U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE Senator ALEXANDER. Thanks, Mr. Chairman, and Senator Rank- ing Member Thune, distinguished Senators. Thanks for letting me come by. (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:57 May 14, 2015 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\DOCS\94535.TXT JACKIE 2 I’ll try to keep my remarks to five minutes. I think that’s what has been suggested to me. But let me start with exactly what I’m asking you to consider doing, and that is to authorize the appro- priations committees to finish the job that the Congress started in an overwhelming remarkable bipartisan way in 2007 to double the research budgets of our—to double the budgets of our major re- search institutions in the Federal Government. That’s what I am here to support. And at the same time as you reauthorize America COMPETES, look for duplicate programs, look for waste; this is a time when we don’t have any money to waste; and reauthorize the necessary pro- grams that were authorized in 2007 and 2010. But the main goal is to finish the job stated in 2007 by legislation that was sponsored by the majority leader and by the minority leader and at one time, based on my memory, had 35 Republican sponsors and 35 Demo- cratic sponsors. We’d never seen anything quite like it. And then when the Senate changed hands and we went from a Republican to a Democratic Senate, the principle sponsors just switched positions and sponsors became Senator Reed and Senator McConnell. So that’s the history of the American COMPETES leg- islation. Now. Let me