President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed an executive order to boost innovation, technology and jobs by signing a bill that provides $2.1 trillion in spending for innovation, investment, and infrastructure.
The President also signed a bill to boost manufacturing and exports by $500 billion, and the Transportation Security Administration and the National Institutes of Health will receive $250 million to expand and modernize research and development.
The spending package includes:The $2,000,000 investment for advanced manufacturing and the $250,000 for research and trainingIn his State of the Union address, President Obama announced $2 billion in federal spending for advanced technologies that will create jobs, improve the health of our communities and reduce the cost of doing business.
The bill includes $250 billion for advanced technology, including:More than $2 million for the Transportation and Communications Technology Administration to increase its research and testing capabilities in areas like self-driving cars and robotics.
The $250-million for research on advanced sensors, such as radar, to better protect our Nation and the world from cyber-attacks and other threats.
The White House also announced $250 millions for the National Science Foundation to support innovative research and the development of new tools to make the Nation safer and more resilient.
More than one-third of the money will be used to help the Department of Veterans Affairs develop new technologies to reduce veterans’ wait times for care, and $250million will go to improve the nation’s energy infrastructure.
“The next generation of leaders will be prepared to lead on issues of innovation, and it’s up to the next generation to make sure they have the tools and the know-how to do it,” Obama said.
Obama signed the $2-trillion-plus spending bill as he signed the Veterans Affairs spending bill, which was signed by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.
The $250M for research to develop new tools will be available to the Department for the first time, and funding will be given to the Energy Department to develop “smart energy” and “smart grids” that will help address the climate crisis.
“We are going to spend our time, our energy and our resources on the most important issues facing our country,” Obama told a crowd in the Capitol.
“In the next year and a half, the American people will choose their leaders.
That’s what this is all about,” he said.
