Technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases. Legislative activity over the past 25 or more years has created a policy for technology development. Because of the lack of consensus on the scope and direction of a national policy, Congress has taken an incremental approach aimed at creating new mechanisms to facilitate technological advancement in particular areas and making changes and improvements as necessary. Contents of this report: (1) Technol. and Competitive.; (2) The Fed. Role in Technology Development; (3) Legislative Initiatives and Current Programs: Increased R&D Spending: Industry-Univ. Coop. Efforts; Joint Industrial Research; Commercializing Federally Funded R&D; Different Approach?