Mass. High Tech Council Backs Sen. Brown's Innovation Bill (Mass High Tech)

Monday, February 7, 2011
By James M. Connolly

The Massachusetts High Tech Council said today that it is endorsing a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown that would attempt to accelerate growth throughout the innovation economy.

Brown’s bill is called the Innovate America Act and is co-sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Brown has said the bill would provide schools and businesses with tools and incentives to spur innovation, including research and development tax credits and funding for 100 new high schools focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The council, which represents Massachusetts’ major technology employers, said through council president Christopher Anderson that Congress not only should pass the bill but should fully fund related provisions in America COMPETES Act, which was passed in December, which keeps federal scientific research funding on a path to be doubled and similarly promotes technology transfer, increases STEM programs in schools and grows regional innovation clusters.