WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion Subcommittee hearing today titled Innovation in America: Opportunities and Obstacles.

Witness List:

Panel I

The Honorable Aneesh P. Chopra, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

Panel II

Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Mr. Stephen J. Ubl, President and Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Medical Technology Association

Mr. Andrew M. Weiss, President and Chief Executive Officer, CoAxia, Inc.

Mr. Rhys L. Williams, President, New World Angels, Inc.

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“We have a responsibility to ask whether our nation has the programs and policies in place to support innovation and stay competitive. I firmly believe in strengthening the roles of the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and other federal agencies. I plan to introduce the America COMPETES reauthorization bill very soon to promote basic research programs and maintain and strengthen America’s science, technology, engineering, and math education. With the right support, strategy, and investment, I know that the 21st century can be yet another amazing century of American innovation.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV 

“If our businesses, small and large, are going to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy, we need to do everything we can to support rather than stifle innovation. We need to shift our focus away from consuming and importing and back to producing and exporting. These are principles that made America strong in the first place, and these are the principles that will drive economic development and job creation.”

Senator Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion

“America has always been a nation built on hope – hope that we can build a prosperous, healthy world for ourselves and for our children. These long-standing American aspirations depend critically on our far-sighted investments in science, technology and innovation that are the ultimate act of hope and will create the most important legacies we can leave.”

The Honorable Aneesh P. Chopra, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

“At a time when America‘s historic lead in innovation has evaporated and its relative innovation competitiveness continues to shrink, when more and more high-productivity industries are in play globally, and when other nations are using explicit public policies to foster innovation, the United States cannot afford to remain complacent. Relying solely on firms acting on their own will increasingly cause the United States to lose out in the global competition for high-value added technology and knowledge-intensive production. Congress has an opportunity to take steps now to stop and reverse this slide.”

Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation 

“Small, venture capital funded firms are particularly critical to the future of U.S. scientific and technology leadership, because they are the source of most of the breakthrough technologies that drive medical practice and industry growth. The National Venture Capital Association has developed an impressive list of breakthrough medical devices and diagnostics that were initially developed by venture capital funded start-ups, ranging from Doppler ultrasound to implantable defibrillators to pulse oximeters.”

Mr. Stephen J. Ubl, President and Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Medical Technology Association

“Medical device innovation is a positive, valuable resource for the United States. It is threatened by the combined forces of the financial market’s instability, lack of clarity and administrative burden from existing regulations and uncertainty about regulatory reform, patent reform, access to physicians and university resources, and clarity and speed in insurance coverage and reimbursement. The industry welcomes congressional review and visibility into these diverse issues in order to continue to prosper and to provide innovative medical therapies, jobs and positive export trade balances for America.”

Mr. Andrew M. Weiss, President and Chief Executive Officer, CoAxia, Inc.

“Early stage investment in high-growth, technology-based ventures is critical to commercializing technological innovations, to promoting our nation’s competitiveness, and to robust job creation. For the 25 year period from 1980 to 2005, firms less than 5 years old accounted for all net job growth in the U.S.”

Mr. Rhys L. Williams, President, New World Angels, Inc.

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