Credit Where Credit is Due
Senate passage of a bill is a long and tedious process, usually taking many years. Most bills are never given a hearing, and far fewer are ever passed. Earlier this month, the Senate passed S. 2217, calling for a doubling of the authorization for federal civilian R&D spending over twelve years. Laying the groundwork for this bill were S. 124 and S. 1305.
Much credit should be given to these three bills’ original sponsors, original cosponsors, and their staffs. Additional cosponsors were an important demonstration of support. Without these individuals, the Federal Research Investment Act would not have been passed by the Senate. The senators, listed alphabetically by date of cosponsorship, follow:
S. 124, NATIONAL RESEARCH INVESTMENT ACT OF 1997
Sponsor: Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Original Cosponsors: Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Connie Mack (R-FL)
Cosponsors: Conrad Burns (R-MT), Thad Cochran (R-MS)
S. 1305, NATIONAL RESEARCH INVESTMENT ACT OF 1998
Sponsor: Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Original Cosponsors: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Pete Domenici (R-NM), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
Cosponsors: Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Conrad Burns (R-MT), Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Glenn (D-OH), Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Lauch Faircloth (R-NC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL), Susan Collins (R-ME), Max Cleland (D-GA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), James Jeffords (R-VT), Wayne Allard (R-CO)
S. 2217, FEDERAL RESEARCH INVESTMENT ACT
Sponsor: Bill Frist (R-TN)
Original Cosponsors: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), John Breaux (D-LA), Conrad Burns (R-MT), Pete Domenici (R-NM), Phil Gramm (R-TX), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), John D. Rockefeller (D-WV)
Cosponsors: Max Cleland (D-GA), Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), John Kerry (D-MA), Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL), Spencer Abraham (R-MI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Lauch Faircloth (R-NC), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), John Ashcroft (R-MO), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), John Warner (R-VA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Fred Thompson (R-TN), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Paul Coverdell (R-GA), Charles Robb (D-VA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Pat Roberts (R-KS)
The address format for senators is:
The Honorable _____________ U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
