Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Hillary Clinton's Innovation Agenda: Rebuilding the Road to the Middle Class

Merrimack, New Hampshire – Today, Hillary Clinton laid out innovation policies that will create the jobs of the future, stimulate economic growth, and ensure American leadership in new industries. Hillary's speech builds on the innovation agenda she announced earlier in the year, which will be critical to creating new, high-wage jobs in our global economy. Innovation is part of the economic blueprint for the 21st Century that Hillary is laying out this week to rebuild America's middle class.

"Americans are concerned about the global economy – and the policies of this administration have only made matters worse. I believe we need a new beginning to the 21st century, and a new economic blueprint. The core of my plan is creating the high wage jobs of the future – and we'll do that by restoring our role as the world's innovation superpower. That's what America does best. This country was built on innovation," Clinton said.

"As president, I will lead our nation to create millions of new jobs by investing in clean energy and doubling investments in basic and applied research. I'll implement a national strategy to bring broadband – and the information economy – to every corner of our country. I'll improve math and science education, and open up science and engineering to more of our people. And I'll end the assault on science waged by the Bush Administration.

"As we enter this new world of economic, technological, and social change – our dedication to innovation will be more important than ever. It will be the key to creating new jobs, to harnessing globalization and to rebuilding the road to middle class prosperity."

Hillary's Innovation Agenda Will:

• Establish a national broadband strategy called Connect America
• Create a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund
• Double the budget for basic and applied research at major federal agencies, and encourage more high-risk, high-reward projects
• Strengthen education from pre-K to post-graduate study
• Make the R&E tax credit permanent
• Restore integrity to science policy by ending the Bush Administration's war on science

The Challenges:

Other nations are increasingly investing in their innovation infrastructure, positioning themselves to challenge our leadership. In the last 12 years, China has doubled the percentage of GDP dedicated to R&D, and over that same period GDP itself doubled. Also, our share of the world's scientists and engineers is declining, and too few American college students are preparing themselves for these careers. Fewer than 20% of American undergraduates are earning degrees in science or engineering, compared with more than 50% in China. Between 1970 and 2000, our global share of PhDs in science and engineering declined from 40% to 20%. And today, our global ranking in broadband has deteriorated to 25th.

The Innovation Agenda:

Hillary Clinton has a plan to renew the nation's commitment to research; help create a skilled workforce; and upgrade our innovation infrastructure. As President, Hillary will:

[1] Establish a national broadband strategy called Connect America. Hillary will strengthen tax incentives for extending broadband to underserved areas. She will support state and local broadband initiatives, from new wireless technologies to high-speed fiber optics. And she will change the FCC rules so we that we finally have an accurate, detailed picture of broadband deployment and penetration rates. At present, the FCC data is unreliable because it is based on loose estimates and outdated standards. Hillary will also create a new public private partnership, modeled on the successful ConnectKentucky program which has dramatically improved broadband access. The initiative has stimulated significant private investment and has increased the state's broadband coverage rate to over 90%.

[2] Create a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund. The Fund will finance an energy research agency that gathers the best minds from academia, the private sector, and government to devise ways to make the United States energy independent and reduce the threat of global warming. Oil companies would have the choice of either investing in alternative energy or contributing a portion of their earnings into the Fund. The Fund would also provide tax incentives for homeowners and businesses to make their houses and offices more energy efficient; provide gas station owners a tax credit for installing E85 (ethanol) pumps; provide loan guarantees for the commercialization of cellulosic biofuels; and providing incentives for the development of new technologies that contribute to a cleaner environment. Investments in clean, renewable energy have the potential to create millions of new jobs.

[3] Double the budget for basic and applied research at major federal agencies, and encourage more high-risk, high-reward projects. Hillary will double, over 10 years, the research budgets at the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the Defense Department, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It is critical that government support basic research that ultimately produces the new tools, new products, and new jobs that benefit our nation. It is especially important to reverse the Bush administration's poor record of funding the NIH. Unpredictable and declining resources have meant halted construction at new labs, fewer grants, and disincentives for young researchers.

Hillary will also:

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• Increase focus on multidisciplinary research. This is an area where America has a built-in advantage given our skills across different fields.
• Strengthen investment in the Technology Innovation Program. TIP, in partnership with the private sector, supports high-risk, high-reward R&D projects at small and mid-sized businesses. TIP promotes both innovation and entrepreneurship. Current TIP-supported projects include sequencing a person's entire genome in a matter of hours at a low cost, and producing electronic components that improve the fuel efficiency in hybrid vehicles. Hillary will double the TIP budget.
• Create the Services Science Initiative. The services sector now accounts for approximately 80% of the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, innovation is rarely associated with the generation and delivery of services. Companies are increasingly carrying out service R&D, but there is no discipline that promotes innovation and productivity in the services sector in the same way that electrical engineering, for example, has led to technological advances in the development of the computer chip. Accordingly, Hillary will create a Services Science Initiative. Modeled on the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the federal government will help support R&D in services; support and encourage cross-disciplinary research that draws on fields such as computer science, management, operations, and organizational behavior; and also facilitate the dissemination of knowledge. The Services Science Initiative will help improve the competitiveness of American business, and in the process, create jobs.
• Direct the federal research agencies to make greater use of competitive prizes. The federal agencies should regularly use prizes to encourage innovation when there is a clearly defined goal and when there are multiple technological paths for achieving that goal. Prizes can attract non-traditional participants and stimulate the development of useful but under-funded technology. Hillary will make prizes a part of the budgets at the research agencies.

[4] Strengthen education from pre-K to post-graduate study. Education is the ultimate innovation prerequisite, but we are ceding ground to other nations. For example, 50% of undergraduates in China are earning degrees in science and engineering, but in America the rate is less than 20%. Our global share of PhDs in these fields has declined from 40% in 1970 to less than 20% today. At the same time, skyrocketing cost has made college unaffordable for too many young people. To address these issues, Hillary will:

• Make college affordable. On Thursday, Hillary will lay out a plan to make college more affordable and accessible for all people who want to attend.
• Bring more women and minorities into the math, science, and engineering professions. Increasing the educational attainment of women and minorities, particularly in math, science and engineering, is critical to our future as an innovative nation. Women comprise 43% of the workforce but only 23% of scientists and engineers. Blacks and Hispanics represent 30% of the workforce, but only 7% of scientists and engineers. Unless women and underrepresented minorities develop strong math, science, and engineering skills, the average educational attainment of the American worker will decline. Hillary will direct the federal agencies to adopt criteria that take diversity into account when awarding education and research grants. She also proposes that the federal government provide financial support to college and university programs that encourage women and minorities to study math, science, and engineering.
• Triple the number of NSF fellowships and increase the size of each award by 33 percent. At present, the NSF offers approximately 1,000 fellowships per year. This number is not much changed from the 1960s, although the number of college students graduating with science and engineering degrees has grown three fold. The NSF fellowship is the key financial resource for science and engineering graduate students. Hillary will increase the number of fellowships to 3,000 per year. She will also increase each award from $30,000 to $40,000 per year (simultaneously, she will increase the NSF award to each recipient's school from $10,500 per recipient to $14,000 per recipient to help cover educational costs).

[5] Make the R&E tax credit permanent. The 20% incremental tax credit should be made permanent. Since its introduction in 1981, the credit has been extended 12 times and allowed to lapse once. A permanent credit would make the U.S. a more attractive location for R&D facilities, increasing the likelihood that high-paying research jobs will be created here rather than abroad. Hillary will make the tax credit permanent in order to eliminate uncertainty, and to make it easier for companies to plan their R&D budgets. This will also make America a more attractive location for high-paying jobs.

[6] Restore integrity to science policy by ending the Bush administration's war on science. One of Hillary's first acts as President will be to issue an Executive Order to end the politicization of science by the Bush administration and restore a climate of scientific integrity and innovation. The order will lift the ban on ethical stem cell research; reverse the president's recent directive which expands the power of political appointees while reducing the role of experts; and will commit her administration to carrying out a national assessment on climate change that goes above and beyond any requirement in the law. Hillary will also appoint an advisor for science who reports directly to the President and work to restore the Office of Technology Assessment in Congress. Her administration will seek and listen to the best scientific advice. Scientists, engineers, and health professionals will be appointed to federal advisory committees based on their expertise and integrity. Hillary's administration will have a commitment to free and open scientific inquiry.

Hillary will finance her investments in innovation without increasing the deficit by devoting a portion of the revenue from ending tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas.