America Competes Act

Floor Speech

AMERICA COMPETES ACT -- (Senate - April 20, 2007)

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank my good friend, the majority leader, for his remarks and indicate that even though this is a Reid-McConnell bill, the true inspirations for this measure being on the Senate floor right now are Senator Alexander from Tennessee and Senator Bingaman from New Mexico.

They made an extraordinary contribution in pulling together a disparate group of Senators from different committees to produce an extremely important piece of legislation.

The America COMPETES Act is vitally important legislation that this Senate must pass to ensure America retains its competitive edge in the global economy of the 21st century.

This bill, sponsored by my good friend and counterpart on the other side of the aisle, Senator Reid, also enjoys broad bipartisan support, as I just indicated. Our two parties' cooperation shows how we can and should work together to accomplish important things for the American people.

The story of this bill began 2 years ago, when Senators Alexander and Bingaman, from the Energy Committee, with then-Chairman Pete Domenici's blessing, asked the National Academy of Sciences a simple question: What are the top 10 actions that policymakers in Washington could take to keep America in the lead in science and technology for the 21st century?

That was the question. The National Academies turned to leaders of business, government, and academia for an answer, including three Nobel prize winners and a university president who is now the Secretary of Defense.

The respected former CEO of Lockheed Martin, Norm Augustine, headed the panel and produced the report we have all heard so much about, titled ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.''

Mr. Augustine summed up the problem we face when he wrote in that report:

In the five decades since I began working in the aerospace industry, I have never seen American business and academic leaders as concerned about this nation's future prosperity as they are today.

However, his report also specifically recommended to us how we attack this problem, and maintain America's lead in science and innovation.

Additional recommendations were made by the Council on Competitiveness and by the President in his American Competitiveness Initiative.

The good news is, boosting the number of rocket scientists--along with mathematicians, engineers, and computer designers--is not rocket science. We currently have the greatest scientific and technological enterprise in the world.

We have the finest system of colleges and universities anywhere. But in many ways we have become complacent, while other countries are catching up.

They see by investing in science and technology and in the education of their citizens, they can attract jobs and create wealth. We must make the same investment in our future if we are to maintain our leadership through this century and beyond in the global marketplace.

This bill, S. 761, will help maintain and improve the competitive edge of the United States over the next century by increasing our investment in basic research, strengthening educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math at all educational levels, and encouraging young people to pursue careers in those fields.

From my home State of Kentucky, that means scholarships for future math and science teachers. It means increased research and development at our State universities, which could lead to new discoveries, new high-tech companies, and, of course, new jobs.

This fall, Kentucky will open the Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at Western Kentucky University, located in Bowling Green. Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Julia Roberts, director of the Center for Gifted Studies at WKU, the academy will bring together talented high-school students from all over the Commonwealth to study advanced math and science year-round--year-round--for college credit.

This bill will provide Federal support to advanced academies such as the Kentucky Academy throughout the Nation. A good friend of mine at the University of Kentucky, its president, Lee Todd, has also been working for decades to highlight the importance of math, science, and engineering in keeping Kentucky competitive. In a letter he recently sent me, President Todd wrote:

The National Academies' report ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm'' has the wrong title. The ``storm'' is not gathering--it is already here. ..... We are putting our economic future at risk. We must do better.

Now, President Todd knows what he is talking about. Prior to assuming the presidency of one of the State's flagship institutions of higher learning, he was a highly regarded engineer and successful entrepreneur. He has built technology companies that compete in the global economy, and he understands the challenges we face.

The America COMPETES Act will make it easier for leaders like him to create more opportunities for technical learning and careers. I want to commend him for all the hard work he has done, and I ask unanimous consent his entire letter be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

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Mr. McCONNELL. Finally, Mr. President, I especially want to commend, once again, as I did at the outset of my remarks, my good friend from the neighboring State of Tennessee, Senator Alexander, for his extraordinary leadership in building the case for this legislation, helping to craft its various components, and shepherding it through each stage of the process to this point.

It was Senator Alexander who, 2 years ago, along with Senator Bingaman, asked the National Academy of Sciences the question that led to their recommendations, and sparked this entire process.

Their inquiry led to the release of the Academy's report, which made plain for all that the leadership of the United States in science and technology is eroding, with serious consequences for our workers, our jobs, our economy, and our very way of life.

Three different committees contributed titles to this bill--the Energy, Commerce and HELP Committees--so I also want to thank those committees' leaders--Senators Inouye and Stevens, Senators Domenici and Bingaman, and Senators Kennedy and Enzi--for their cooperation and hard work on this important bipartisan bill.

In a sign of how cooperative their efforts have been, this bill was actually assembled last year when Republicans held the majority, but it was created in such a bipartisan fashion that we are bringing the very same bill up today under a Democratic majority.

That is a credit to the Republican leaders of these three committees, who worked closely with their Democratic counterparts every step of the way to craft this important legislation.

I also want to recognize the efforts of my friend and predecessor as Republican leader, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee. Senator Frist invested a great deal of time and energy last year to bring these three committees together, and he was the primary sponsor of the bill last year, along with Senator Reid.

America has led the world in innovation for over a century. From the light bulb, to the airplane, to the integrated circuit, America has given the world the tools to live happier, easier, and more productive lives.

Now the rest of the world is beginning to catch up. Nations such as China and India are seeing the benefits of brainpower and what it can do to remake their economies.

The America COMPETES Act is the best way to keep more of the jobs of the 21st century right here in America, and the best way to ensure that our children have the skills to keep America at the forefront of innovation and discovery.

Once again, I thank all of my colleagues for working on this comprehensive, bipartisan solution to reinvigorate scientific exploration and invention at home. This bill is an investment in our children, our schools, and in the future of America.

It is a bill this Senate can pass and the President can sign into law. With my colleagues' support, I hope to see exactly that in the very near future.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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