America COMPETES

America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act, S. 761, passed the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2007, after several days of debate. I voted in favor of the bill, which passed on a vote of 88 to 8. I joined with New York Senator Chuck Schumer to offer a successful amendment to call attention to the challenges facing the U.S. financial markets. It points out that U.S. capital markets are losing their competitive edge in the face of intensifying global competition and encourages the Senate to take steps to bolster the competitiveness of the financial sector of the U.S. economy. That amendment was adopted and became part of the bill that passed the Senate. Please click on the link to the right to read the text of the amendment.

Studies show that global competition and rapid advances in science and technology will require a workforce that is more scientifically and technically proficient. It is reported that science and engineering occupations are projected to grow by 21.4 percent by 2014, compared with a growth rate of 13 percent in all occupations during the same time period.

However, the United States is lagging behind other countries in turning out trained undergraduates in natural science and engineering fields. According to "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," a report conducted by the National Academies on this issue, "in South Korea, 38 percent of all undergraduates receive their degrees in natural science or engineering. In France, the figure is 47 percent; in China, 50 percent; and in Singapore, 67 percent. In the United States, the corresponding figure is 15 percent."

When you view those statistics along with a report by the Council on Competitiveness, "Innovate America," it is clear that we must focus our education efforts to encourage science and math studies.

The measure significantly increases federal investment in basic research, fosters an innovation infrastructure, improves the teaching of math, science, engineering and techonology at the K-12 level, and encourages individuals to pursue careers in these fields.

Highlights of the bill include:

• Doubling the investment in basic research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy's Office of Science (DOE-SC) over five to ten years.
• Improving teacher training in math and science through summer institutes hosted by the NSF and DOE-SC, and grants to increase university degree programs that combine math and science study with concurrent teacher certification programs.
• Increasing support for Advanced Placement programs to expand access for low-income students to take and succeed in college preparatory courses.
• Putting the Department of Energy’s Office of Science on track to double in funding over ten years;
• Authorizing increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
• Providing grants to improve elementary and middle school math instruction and assist students who are struggling with math;
• Expanding National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship and traineeship programs; and
• Increasing the number of students who study critical foreign languages.

In the links listed in the box at the top of the page are a couple of good resources, the National Academies report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," and the "Innovate America" report put together by the Council on Competitiveness, to learn more about this issue. I would also recommend reading Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East , by Clyde Prestowitz , and The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century , by Thomas L. Friedman.

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