WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), a member of the House Science Committee, successfully amended HR 2313, the Marine Renewable Energy Research Bill in the House Science Committee markup Wednesday. Congressman Akin's amendment seeks to eliminate redundancy in research and the prevention of federal spending on research already being undertaken by scientists using private sector funding.

The amendment clarifies that "when applying for a grant under this section, an applicant shall include a description of why Federal support is necessary for the Center, including evidence that the research of the Center will not be conducted in the absence of Federal support."

"Although I am committed to supporting scientific research, especially in the field of new sources of energy, Congress has a duty to demand that federally funded research is done in a fiscally responsible fashion and that it is not redundant and thus superfluous," said Akin.