THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release August 12, 1993 STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY President Clinton's Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), a cornerstone of his defense reinvestment and conversion initiative, has drawn a powerful show of interest from American industry. Over 2,800 proposals, requesting $9.0 billion, were submitted in response to the offer of $472 million in matching federal grants from the TRP, which will announce the winners of its competition beginning in late September. The TRP includes funds for development of dual-use technologies that meet both defense and civilian needs, and for technology assistance to small firms, including defense firms making the transition to commercial manufacturing. "The enthusiastic response to the Technology Reinvestment Project demonstrates that the companies, large and small, that helped us win the Cold War are eager to compete and win in civilian markets," said Mr. Clinton, who announced the TRP in a speech at a defense plant outside Baltimore in March. "There appears to be no shortage of good ideas for turning swords into plowshares and bullets into bullet-trains. That means jobs for factory workers, engineers, and scientists alike, as we redeploy the people, skills and technologies that made our defense industry second to none to the commercial industries we'll need to compete in a global economy." The response to President Clinton's invitation came from companies, universities, and state and local governments, competing on a merit basis for grants from the Technology Reinvestment Project. The TRP requires successful applicants to match federal funds with their own money. Proposals were received from organizations located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The states with the highest number of proposals submitted were California, Massachusetts and New York. Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas also submitted large numbers of proposals. The TRP solicited proposals in three key areas: technology development, to create new technologies with the potential for commercialization within five years; technology deployment, to disseminate existing technology for near-term commercial and - more - - 2 - defense products; and manufacturing education and training, to strengthen engineering and work force capabilities necessary for a competitive industrial base. In the technology development category, the TRP received more than 1,900 proposals, requesting $7.0 billion. Technology deployment drew more than 550 proposals, requesting $1.5 billion. The manufacturing education and training category received more than 350 proposals, requesting $500 million. Within the technology development category, the largest number of proposals were received from companies interested in pursuing information technology, vehicle technology, environmental technology, health care technology, and advanced materials and structures. Other high-interest technology areas include electronics design and manufacturing, aeronautical technology, and mechanical design and manufacturing. The Administration actively publicized the Technology Reinvestment Project through a 1-800-DUAL-USE hotline and a series of regional briefings sponsored by the White House. Reflecting the keen interest of companies and state and local governments in the Project, the hotline received 34,000 calls, and the Project distributed 50,000 copies of its Program Information Package to callers and other requesters. Nearly 8,000 people attended fourteen briefings on the Project held throughout the country. The Departments of Defense, Commerce, Energy and Transportation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation are collaborating to implement the Technology Reinvestment Project. Technical evaluation teams from the six agencies will evaluate the merits of each proposal. The Technology Reinvestment Project includes $7.2 million that is being separately competed under the Small Business Innovation Research Program. Proposals for that money are due September 16. The Technology Reinvestment Project is part of the President's $1.7 billion Defense Reinvestment and Conversion Initiative. The initiative also includes funds for worker retraining and community economic redevelopment. # # #