National Science Foundation for the Future Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2225, the National Science Foundation for the Future Act.

Mr. Speaker, I have been increasingly alarmed over the last few months at the foreign-based attacks on our Nation's infrastructure. Several weeks ago, the attack against Colonial Pipeline disrupted the supply of gasoline throughout the East Coast. Also several weeks ago, the computer attack against JBS meat processing threatened to disrupt our Nation's food supply.

Mr. Speaker, the reason these are particularly concerning to me as a computer scientist is the data that indicates that we have seriously underinvested in our computer science workforce over the last several decades, particularly compared with other countries.

This bill is a very meaningful step toward solving that problem. It would roughly double the NSF's investment in basic scientific research over the next few years, particularly in fields like computer science.

It includes a bill that I sponsored, H.R. 3844, the Fellowships and Traineeships for Early-Career AI Researchers Act, that would make meaningful investments in new fellowships and new traineeships to enable the next generation of Americans to become educated and skilled in the field of artificial intelligence.

Another bill that we are considering on the floor tonight, the Department of Energy Science for the Future Act, would continue those investments. It includes another piece of legislation that I authored, the Next Generation Computing Research and Development Act, that would make meaningful investments in exascale computing and next-generation computing capabilities.

Mr. Speaker, taken together, this legislation will attempt to address the problems that have plagued computer science and technical education in this country.

Mr. Speaker, no discussion of this legislation would be complete without some praise for the bipartisan path that this legislation has followed. This legislation is bipartisan. It includes meaningful contributions from both parties. It is deliberate. It has taken place over the course of more than a year.

Mr. Speaker, it is inclusive. It includes input from hundreds of different industry and academic institutions.

Mr. Speaker, this is the path that legislation in this Chamber should follow.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2225.

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