US traditional advantages - in science, technology, higher education and human capital - “are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength…decisive action is needed now.” (Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid)

A bipartisan group of US senators introduced the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science) Act last Monday.  The legislative move is a bold response to recommendations in the National Academy of Sciences report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm (published earlier this year) which flagged up the serious need for American institutions to heavily improve competitiveness as China and India pose challenges in advancing science, technology and education.  The report sites some shocking statistics - in 2005, it says, more than 600,000 engineers graduated from higher educational institutions in China, and 350,000 in India but only 70,000 in the US.  America is now a net importer of high-technology products - in the ’90s it was a net exporter with a US$ 54 billion surplus.

The legislation is a protective measure, that’s for certain, but what’s more is that the world’s superpower is finally recognizing (and reacting to) the ability of China and India to achieve much more than it had ever expected - to become world leaders in human capital, a quintessential driving force behind the rise of economic power.  “There is no more important piece of legislation in Congress this year because it goes to the heart of how we keep our high standard of living” said Lamar Alexander, a Republican Senator from Tennessee who is said to be the mastermind behind the legislation.  “Our position of dominance has been lost today…we are challenged by emerging economies like India and China, where investment in basic research and subject areas as math and science continues to grow at a far greater pace than here in the United States” said Reid who is also a major driver of the legislation. The legislation follows a bill introduced at the end of last year by a group of Senate Leaders, it focuses on two main areas highlighting the importance for America to maintain and improve innovation in the global marketplace; increasing research investment, and strengthening education opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and maths from elementary through graduate-level academia.  The bill will be placed directly into the Senate calendar, a fast-track to congress decision-making (most bills are usually first referred to the Senate committee before debated and resolved).

Check out what others have to say on the Hill Blog.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 11th, 2007 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Politics, Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.