The federal government spends almost $80 billion a year in research
and development of new technologies, but “the lion’s
share of this funding goes to western states like California,”
complained Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa.
Large states such as California have 52 members of Congress, in
addition to its two senators, so they tend to have more influence
with government agencies and, therefore, win more federal research
contracts, Weldon said during the Tech Trends conference, in Atlantic
City, N.J.
A new coalition comprised of members of the House and Senate from
the Delaware Valley Region (New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and
Delaware) is trying to compete for those federal dollars by pooling
their political clout. The four-state region constitutes what Weldon
called a “Smart Region” and is represented by 43 members
of Congress and eight senators. Such a coalition, said Weldon, has
more power as a group than as individual states. The Tech Trends
conference was designed to showcase the technological capabilities
of the Delaware Valley, Weldon said, “so we are better prepared
to compete for, and develop, technology that will drive our future
economy.” Institutions within the region will “have
the ability to share information and collaborate on projects that
benefit all involved,” he said.
The annual Tech Trends conference was first held in Philadelphia
in 2000, and this year moved to Atlantic City. It was organized
by the National Defense Industrial Association, the New Jersey Technology
Council and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology,
along with the Congressional delegations of New Jersey, Maryland,
Pennsylvania and Delaware. Next year, the Tech Trends conference
will be held in Baltimore, Md.
New technologies being developed in the Delaware Valley region
are “mind-boggling, great and fantastic,” said Rep.
Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. “These may not be politically
correct words, but that is what I feel is going on here.”