High-Tech Linkages Can Forge Strong Team

By Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY)

To better compete in a rapidly shrinking world, the people of western New York must realize that our futures are bound together so tightly that we will rise or fall together. Past rivalries must be replaced by a regional economic identity. Consequently, we must develop regional strategies for economic growth that will allow us to lead in the future, rather than fall behind.

High-technology research and development must be the force that produces the needed fusion between the individual elements of our region. The University of Rochester’s Medical Center is nationally renowned and is getting better ever year. The Rochester area boasts the federally funded Infotonics Center of Excellence, which brings together numerous high-tech industries under one roof.

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is home to the State University of New York at Buffalo’s Bioinformatics Center of Excellence.

These Centers of Excellence are integral to the success of our region and form a strong base from which our local tech-oriented organizations can spring to national prominence. Our entire region is teeming with a highly educated and motivated work force that has a longstanding historical connection to innovative technology fields.

But our work force’s full potential will only be truly realized if its members are connected as part of a comprehensive regional strategy for growth. Once such a connection occurs, the rewards will be substantial. High-tech industries improve the economies they touch, leading to greater investment in educational facilities, regional infrastructure and job creation.

But effective regional planning isn’t just a matter of maximizing our advantage; it is a necessary step for our survival in an increasingly competitive global market. Our region faces steep competition from numerous other areas around the country that already have united their common resources in the pursuit of key high-tech research and development funding.

In the past, I have worked to secure more than $12 million in federal dollars for the Infotonics Center and $1.6 million for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Despite these examples of government support, proposed cuts in President Bush’s budget to research and education programs will require our local universities to work more closely to maximize our regional competitiveness in the face of diminishing federal funding.

Western New Yorkers need to think and plan in regional terms. Only then will we be able to position this area as a national center for high-technology development and truly secure our economic future.

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