Bill Gates speech to the House Science Committee
The 50th year anniversary of the House Science Committee in the US, which began life as a response to Russia’s launch of Sputnik, was addressed by Bill Gates, who warned that America's ‘position as the global leader in innovation is at risk’. During the last 50 years, the world has witnessed truly revolutionary advances in science and technology. In the speech, Bill Gates says ‘We as a nation [the USA] can take pride in knowing that American scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs have been at the forefront of many of these advances. Our unmatched ability to turn new ideas in science and technology into thriving businesses has been the engine of growth and job creation that has made our economy among the most dynamic and competitive in the world. He focused on four major themes, which are outlined in this report.
“If the United States truly wants to secure its global leadership in technology innovation, we must, as a nation, commit to a strategy for innovation excellence – a set of initiatives and policies that will provide the foundation for American competitive strength in the years ahead. Such a strategy cannot succeed without a serious commitment from – and partnership between – both the public and private sectors. It will also need to be flexible and dynamic enough to respond to rapid changes in the global economy.
I believe this strategy must place top priority on achieving four fundamental goals:
1. Strengthening educational opportunities, so that America’s students and workers have the skills they need to succeed in the technology- and information-driven economy of today and tomorrow;
2. Revamping immigration rules for highly skilled workers, so that U.S. companies can attract and retain the world’s best scientific talent;
3. Increasing federal funding for basic scientific research, to train the next generation of innovators and provide the raw material for further innovation and development by industry; and
4. Providing incentives for private-sector R&D, so that American businesses remain at the forefront in developing new technologies and turning them into new products and services.
I want to conclude by again congratulating this Committee on its 50th anniversary and commending the Committee for its tremendous efforts to advance the state of science and technology innovation in America. I am convinced that the U.S. IT industry – like many other innovative American industries – would not be the global leader it is today without the initiatives this Committee helped design and implement.”
His full testimony is available as a download click here.
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© Chilli Publishing Ltd 2008 |
13 APR 2008 |
