600 HISTORY OP THH COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



I believe that a new partnership between American industry and American 

 government is essential for us to maintain the Nation's capacity to innovate. 



Pease stated on June 5: 



Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to talk with two graduating classes as 

 their commencement speaker and took the occasion to contrast the world which they 

 face as high school graduates in 1979 with the world that their parents faced in the 

 1950's, making comparisons with unemployment rates, inflation rates, productivity 

 rates, and lots of other things affecting their lives. 



In almost all of the cases, the problems were tied in in one way or another to 

 productivity. The U.S. simply has lost the dominating technological lead that it had 

 in the 1950's. I think this committee needs to find out why that is the case. 



It may be perfectly understandable and perfectly natural, but we need to iind that 

 out. And we also need to find out ways to encourage greater productivity gains and 

 innovation in the 1980's. 



During June and July, the Brown subcommittee held joint hear- 

 ings with the Scheuer Consumer Protection and Finance Subcommittee 

 of the House Commerce Committee on the Food and Drug Administra- 

 tion's methods for approving new drugs. Brown stated that one of the 

 several purposes of the hearings was to "give us an understanding of 

 several factors affecting innovation and productivity as may relate to 

 the approval of new drugs in America." 



When Representative Paul Simon (Democrat of Illinois) wrote to 

 Fuqua to inform him that he was heading a Budget Committee Task; 

 Force on inflation, Fuqua offered his cooperation. On June 26, 1979, 

 Fuqua wrote Simon, expressing his interest in "the interrelations of 

 inflation with innovation and productivity." Brown then teamed up 

 with Simon to schedule a one-day hearing on the subject on July 23, 

 1979. Brown and Simon commented: 



We want to take a look at areas of technology that hold promise for improving 

 productivity. A slowdown in productivity gains has contributed to inflation. Our 

 hearing will focus on the effects of research and development on productivity and their 

 resultant effects on inflation. In addition, we want to find out how inflation itself has 

 affected efforts to increase productivity. 



During June and July 1979, related hearings were held by the 

 subcommittee on the role of the Federal laboratories in technology 

 transfer to the private sector and on university-Federal laboratory 

 technology transfer efforts. Watkins headed up a subcommittee task 

 force and chaired the July hearings, as well as exploring indepth the 

 issues raised. One issue explored was the commercialization programs 

 at Federal laboratories, and the extent to which the business com- 

 munity was taking advantage of these programs. 



At the end of July and early August 1979, the subcommittee 

 focused on how closer cooperation between industry and the academic 

 community would enhance innovative capability in industry. Later, 



