FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | January 25, 2011

Response to the 2011 State of the Union Address

Comments by Nancy B. Jackson, Ph.D.
President, American Chemical Society

“This evening, President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union Address, underscored the critical crossroads we face to improve our economic health and develop new, high-value technologies and innovations that will create jobs for all Americans.”

“At the American Chemical Society, we believe the most promising way to ensure our nation’s competitiveness in the global arena is to leverage our strong, national background in science and technology to pioneer breakthrough products that can be commercialized in the private sector. Our history shows that such economic ingenuity creates new jobs in emerging, exciting fields. Our business leaders are among the most talented in the world at translating ingenuity into growth and innovation to prosperity. As chemists and business leaders, we stand poised to put these values to work on behalf of all Americans.”

“We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to craft public policies that will enable businesses to research, discover and innovate. These sensibilities have been backed by bipartisan efforts to bolster education and economic policies and were advanced by both Presidents Bush and Obama. When it comes to economic security, our nation’s leaders are clear: Nurturing the roots of innovation and enhancing our nation’s global competitiveness is not just a bi-partisan endeavour, but an American priority and imperative.”

“The ACS recently adopted a policy statement entitled, “A Competitive U.S. Business Climate: the Role of Chemistry,” that outlines policy recommendations in the areas of tax and trade; intellectual property; technology transfer/commercialization and small business and entrepreneurship that if adopted would help create a more favorable environment for the creation of new science-based jobs here in the U.S.”

ACS Competitiveness Policy: ACS policy

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