Skip to main content

Report on Recovery Act Impact on Innovation

Vice President Joe Biden today unveiled a new report, “The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation,” which finds that the Recovery Act’s $100 billion investment in innovation is not only transforming the economy and creating new jobs, but helping accelerate significant advances in science and technology that cut costs for consumers, save lives and help keep America competitive in the 21st century economy.

“From the beginning, we have been a nation of discovery and innovation – and today we continue in that tradition as Recovery Act investments pave the way for game-changing breakthroughs in transportation, energy and medical research,” said Vice President Biden. “We’re planting the seeds of innovation, but private companies and the nation’s top researchers are helping them grow, launching entire new industries, transforming our economy and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the process.”

According to this new analysis, the U.S. is now on-track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs thanks to Recovery Act investments that include cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015, (putting it on par with the cost of retail electricity from the grid); cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015 (putting the lifetime cost of an electric vehicle on-par with that of its non-electric counterpart); doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012 (a breakthrough that would not be possible without the Recovery Act), and bringing the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years, allowing researchers to sequence 50 human genomes for the same cost as sequencing just one today.

The report can be viewed in full here.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making.   The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks --  when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop...

ACA Health Care Operator Fired For Doing Her Job?

More woes for the Obama administration's roll out of HealthCare.gov .    During the president's weekly address he urged Americans to call a toll-free number to get help enrolling in a health care plan as the website continues to be 'improved'. Said the president, "But even as we improve the website, remember that the website isn’t the only way to apply for coverage under these new plans.  We’ve updated HealthCare.gov to offer more information about enrolling over the phone, by mail, or in person with a specially-trained navigator who can help answer your questions.  Just call 1-800-318-2596 or visit LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov .       No sooner than the president gives out the 800 number for Americans to speak to one of the 'specially-trained navigators', one of them  gets fired, perhaps loosing her own healthcare benefits. Her malfeasance?  Talking to talk show host Sean Hannity. Hannity called the 800 number with his...

Saying goodbye to Mrs. Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The woman who made her mark as grandma-in-chief when President Barack Obama was elected 44th president of the United States, passed Friday. The woman who was considered the backbone of the Obama household will be remembered as a family-oriented, kind person, who remained poised as she assumed the responsibility of helping raise her two beautiful granddaughters in an environment, and in a world, far from what she ever imagined. Mrs. Marian Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama,  waves to reporters during Easter egg hunt at the White House. (photo CD Brown) I recall seeing her that day in March during Women's History Month at the Smithsonian when her daughter's Inaugural gown, like all the other first lady inaugural gowns,  was being cemented in Smithsonian history . She was smiling as she walked alone prompting me to ask, "is there no security, no secret service, for the first grandmother?" ADVERTISEMENT CMB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS   I am also reminded of the time w...