Last month, I shared with my colleagues the need to expand educational opportunities in these areas so that the youth of today can meet the challenges of tomorrow. The President, in his State of the Union address, said that America's ability to compete in global markets and to defend the nation against foreign threats depends on the strength of our educational system. On this point, he and I agree. Our future national and economic security are tied directly to our mathematical, scientific, and linguistic acumen.

For example, prior to 9/11, the Intelligence Community was not prepared to handle the challenge of translating the volumes of foreign language counter-terrorism intelligence it had collected. The Intelligence Community faced backlogs in material awaiting translation, a shortage of language specialists and language-qualified field officers, and a readiness level of only 30 percent in the most critical foreign languages. This news, however, was not new. In 2000, Ellen Laipson, Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, reported similar problems and said that thousands of technical papers providing details on foreign research and development in scientific or technical areas were not being translated because of the lack of personnel to interpret the material, which could lead to the possibility of "a technological surprise."

It is clear that our national security relies on having a workforce skilled in the areas of science, technology, engineering, math, and foreign languages. We need to take action to strengthen education in these areas so that the United States can compete, prosper, and be secure in the 21st Century. A major investment in America's education system is necessary to ensure that we can communicate with and understand the cultures of our world partners and competitors. In the words of the Committee for Economic Development, "we must redefine, as each generation has done, what it means to be an educated American in a changing world." Enactment of the Homeland Security Education Act provides the framework to enhance our education system to ensure that our nation's youth will have the skills needed for success.

Our education system must be reenergized and reinvigorated to meet the needs of our nation by preparing students to be proficient in foreign languages and leaders in the scientific and engineering fields. Our schools need the equipment and the materials to teach the critical STEM and foreign language courses and bring these subjects to life. To address these issues our bill would:

• Encourage public private partnerships to improve science and math curricula; upgrade laboratory facilities; provide scholarships for students to study math, science, or engineering at the university level; and establish internship and mentoring opportunities for students in grades K through 12;

• Develop cultural awareness and immersion programs in colleges and universities that combine science, technology, and engineering instruction with foreign language to expand international understanding and scientific collaboration; and

• Create language learning pathways to facilitate proficiency in critical foreign languages from Kindergarten through graduate school.

However, no amount of funding or new programs will address the problem if there are not enough teachers trained in these subjects. To address the shortage of STEM and foreign language teachers, our bill includes provisions to award scholarships in the amount of $15,000 to language-proficient individuals and practicing scientists and engineers to return to school and earn their degrees and become certified to teach these critical skills to students in high-need, low income schools. Our bill would also allow National Security Education Program scholarship and fellowship recipients to meet their service requirements by teaching in these critical areas if they cannot find a national security position in the federal government.

A key provision in the Homeland Security Education Act focuses on foreign language teacher training by awarding grants to facilitate partnerships between K through 12 schools and institutions of higher education to build professional development programs, summer workshops or institutes, and foreign language distance learning programs for elementary and secondary school teachers.

In addition to providing new programs and teachers, we must encourage students to study these subjects. The U.S. currently lags far behind other countries in the number of students majoring in these critical areas. We must reverse this trend if we are to ensure an adequate supply of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics expertise in the years ahead. For example, only 32 percent of undergraduates in the United States receive their degrees in science and engineering, compared to 59 percent in China and 66 percent in Japan. The statistics are even worse for foreign language education, where fewer than one in 10 college students enroll in a foreign language class. Our bill would provide financial incentives for students to take the tough classes, earn their degrees, and be trained in the skills that will help America succeed by providing them with $5,000 scholarships to earn degrees in STEM or a foreign language.

I am proud of my home state of Hawaii, which appreciates the importance of learning other languages and understanding other cultures and where high school seniors take Advanced Placement (AP) exams in calculus, chemistry, physics, and science at rates that are higher than, and in some cases nearly double, the national average. Still, there definitely is room for more students to take AP exams and excel in these important areas.

The Homeland Security Education Act would help make this a reality by complementing efforts such as the PACE bills, Senator Kennedy's legislation, and the President's education initiatives -- all of which I support because they are positive steps to increasing educational opportunities in critical STEM and foreign language studies.

Professor Richard Schmidt, Director of the National Foreign Language Resource Center at the University of Hawaii, said that "this legislation has strong potential to produce the kind of close articulation between K through 12 and higher education programs that has been very difficult in the past."

I wish to thank Professor Schmidt, the University of Hawaii College of Education, and the National Council for Languages and International Studies for supporting this bill. I ask unanimous consent that letters of support be included in the Record following my statement.

Mr. President, education serves as the catalyst to ensure our nation's long-term security. To remain a world leader we need Americans who are well-educated and who can communicate in the global marketplace. The bill we introduce today will help us meet these essential requirements.

I urge my colleagues to support the Homeland Security Education Act, and I look forward to working with them to strengthen our national security through enactment of our bill