Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 5.djvu/607

 PUBLIC LAW 100-697—NOV. 19, 1988

102 STAT. 4613

Public Law 100-697 100th Congress An Act To establish a national Federal program effort in close collaboration with the private sector to develop as rapidly as possible the applications of superconductivity to enhance the Nation's economic competitiveness and strategic well-being, and for other purposes.

Nov. 19, 1988 [H.R. 3048]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, National SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "National Superconductivity and Competitiveness Act of 1988". SEC. 2. ^ INDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— (1) recent discoveries of high-temperature superconducting materials could result in significant new applications of these materials in such areas as microelectronics, computers, power systems, transportation, medical imaging, and nuclear fusion, yet most potential applications may well lie beyond our ability to predict them; (2) full application of the new superconductors is expected to require 10 to 20 years, thus calling for long-term commitments by the public and private sector to appropriate research and development programs; (3) the Nation's economic competitiveness and strategic wellbeing depend greatly on the development and application of critical advanced technologies such as those anticipated to evolve from the new superconducting materials; (4) the United States manufacturing industries confront strong competition in both domestic and world markets as other countries are increasingly taking advantage of modern technology and production techniques and innovative management focused on quality; (5) whereas we have as a Nation been highly successful in the conduct of basic research in a variety of scientific areas, including superconductivity, other nations have been highly successful in the commercial and military application of the results of such fundamental research; (6) if the United States is to begin its competitive advantage, it must commit sufficient long-term resources to solving processing and manufacturing problems in parallel with basic research and development; (7) Federal agencies have responded aggressively to this exciting challenge by reprogramming funds to basic superconductivity research while informally coordinating their efforts to avoid unnecessary duplication; and further commitment of Federal funding and efforts directed to developing manufacturing, materials processing, and fabrication tech-

Superconductivity and Competitiveness Act of 1988. 15 USC 5201 note. 15 USC 5201.

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