From my colleague Janet Moore:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar has introduced bipartisan legislation that she says will help "revitalize America's innovative edge and ability to compete in the global economy."
The Minnesota Democrat said the legislation will help increase the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized businesses by helping to commercialize research and new technologies created at universities into new products, rewarding schools that focus on math and science and removing red tape and reducing production costs for manufacturing businesses.
Introduced along with Sen. Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican, the Innovate America Act calls for expanding tax credits for basic research to include all industry-funded university research, creating a flat 30-percent tax credit for companies donating equipment to high schools and technical and community colleges, funding 100 new science, technology engineering and math high schools, expanding undergraduate research opportunities, establishing a web site for technology commercialization ideas, removing regulatory barriers for top exporting industries, enforcing existing international exporting and importing laws, reducing unnecessary printing costs of government documents and eliminating bonuses for poor performance by government contractors.
AdvaMed, the Washington-based medical technology industry group, weighed in quickly today in support of the legislation. Stephen Ubl, the Minnesota native who serves as the group's president and CEO, said the bill "includes many thoughtful policies that will help maintain American competitiveness, including provisions to identify and remove regulatory barriers that undermine innovation and the growth of exporting industries like the medical technology industry."
