[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 58 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3918-S3919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBERTS (for himself and Mr. Kerrey):
  S. 2545. A bill to provide for the enhancement to study, research, 
and other activities in the United States relating to information 
technology and information protection technology; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.


barry goldwater scholarship and excellence in education enhancement act

 Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce 
legislation to increase the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and 
Excellence in Education Foundation from the current $61 million to $81 
million. I am pleased to have the support and able assistance of the 
Senior Senator from Nebraska, Senator J. Robert Kerrey in joining me to 
introduce this bill. This increase allows the Foundation to add another 
100 young people to the 300 that they now support. This substantial 
increase will augment the influence the Foundation already has on 
American higher education.
  Goldwater scholarships are awarded to college juniors and seniors in 
math and science. The increased funding in this legislation is set 
aside for information technology students. Channeling these funds 
through the existing Goldwater framework will maximize the amount of 
money directly available to students. These students are selected on 
the basis of academic merit from a field of approximately 1,200 
mathematics, science and engineering students nominated by the 
faculties of colleges and universities from the fifty states and Puerto 
Rico. Since 1988, 2,711 scholarships have been awarded, providing about 
$28 million to outstanding scholars from colleges and universities 
throughout the United States.
  Goldwater Scholars are top notch. As evidence, I cite the large 
number of Goldwater Scholars who have been awarded prestigious graduate 
scholarships. Goldwater Scholars have won a total of 25 Rhodes 
Scholarships over the years. Last year alone, almost 20 percent of the 
awards--six out of 32--were Goldwater Scholars. Goldwater Scholars also 
populate the ranks of other distinguished fellowships. In the last 
eleven years, the scholars have won 19 Marshall, six Churchill, nine 
Fulbright, 23 Hughes, and 65 National Science Foundation fellowships.
  These are the students we need in our economy. For the U.S. to 
continue to be competitive and support our growing economy, we must 
encourage our young men and women to enter the high technology 
industry. America's explosive demand for highly skilled workers is 
creating a new labor shortage. Under current conditions, we do not have 
enough U.S. workers trained in high technology fields. This forces our 
local businesses to resort to immigration to make up for this 
shortfall. Highly skilled immigrants enter the country under the H1-B 
visa waiver program. To help meet the growing demand, Congress raised 
the cap on H1-B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 in FY 1999 and 2000, and 
107,500 in 2001. Unfortunately, even this increase is not enough. A 
tight labor market, increasing globalization and burgeoning economic 
growth continue to increase U.S. demands for highly skilled workers. 
The 1999 cap on H-1B visas was reached in June of last year and it is 
projected we will reach the cap even earlier this year. Later this 
month, we expect the Senate to consider another increase of H1-B visas 
to raise the cap to 195,000 a year for FY 2000, 2001 and 2002.
  As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate 
Select Committee on Intelligence, I firmly believe that we have the 
responsibility to adequately train our own labor force to meet the 
business and industry demands of today and tomorrow. We simply cannot 
rely on workers from other countries to do our sensitive technology 
work. As we saw in the Y2K reprogram with our great dependence on 
foreign security workers, we are sorely in need of a domestic 
technology workforce.
  Mr. President, I strongly encourage my colleagues to join me in 
support of this effort to expand the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and 
Excellence in Education Foundation and renew our commitment to 
educating young people in the fields of math and science. I ask 
unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2545

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS UNDER BARRY GOLDWATER 
                   SCHOLARSHIP AND EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION PROGRAM 
                   FOR STUDY RELATING TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
                   AND INFORMATION PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY.

       (a) Availability.--Section 1405(a) of the Barry Goldwater 
     Scholarship and Excellence in Education Act (title XIV of 
     Public Law 99-661; 20 U.S.C. 4704(a)) is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``science and mathematics'' and inserting ``science, 
     mathematics, and information technology and information 
     protection technology''; and
       (2) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ``mathematics 
     and the natural sciences'' and inserting ``mathematics, the 
     natural sciences, and information technology and information 
     protection technology''.
       (b) Funding.--(1) There is authorized to be appropriated 
     for fiscal year 2001, $20,000,000 for deposit in the Barry 
     Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Fund 
     established by section 1408(a) of the Barry Goldwater 
     Scholarship and Excellence in Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
     4707(a)).
       (2) Amounts deposited under paragraph (1) in the Fund 
     referred to in that paragraph shall be available for purposes 
     of providing scholarships and fellowships under section 
     1405(a) of that Act, as amended by subsection (a) of this 
     section, for persons pursuing study in the field of 
     information technology and information protection 
     technology.

  Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, in today's information age, the threat of 
electronic attack is more likely than a

[[Page S3919]]

nuclear attack. Words such as ``cyber-terrorism'' and ``hackers'' have 
crept into everyday talk, no longer confined to the world of computer 
nerds and geeks. Despite being one of the most technologically-advanced 
countries in the world, United States technology is not capable of 
keeping intruders out and secrets in. Flaws have been found in the 
computer systems of the Pentagon, IRS, bank networks, utility 
companies, and telecommunications providers, among others, making all 
of them vulnerable to attack.
  The question, then, is what can we do as a country to protect both 
the government and industries from electronic attack? I believe we need 
to start early to equip more people with technological skills needed to 
build and maintain secure information technology networks. Today, along 
with my good friend Senator Roberts from Kansas, I am pleased to be 
introducing legislation that will do just that.
  The vehicle we use to achieve this is the highly reputable Barry M. 
Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which 
currently awards scholarships to college juniors and seniors studying 
math and science. I doubt any of my colleagues would dispute the vast 
success of the Goldwater foundation. Nearly 20 percent of last year's 
Rhodes Scholars were Goldwater Scholars first; and in the last eleven 
years, Goldwater Scholars have won 19 Marshall, 6 Churchill, 9 
Fulbright, 23 Hughes, 65 NSF and numerous other fellowships.
  Our bill is simple: We increase funding for the Goldwater foundation 
by 20 million dollars, taking it from 61 to 81 million dollars. That 
money will go for scholarships to a new category of students, those 
studying ``information protection technology''. By training these young 
people, we can set up our technological infrastructure so it becomes 
safe from intruders.
  Let me paint you a picture. Fifty years ago we suffered a devastating 
attack on Pearl Harbor. The siege lasted five hours. 2403 lives were 
lost, as were twenty ships and 188 aircraft. That attack catapulted the 
United States into World War II. As a country, however, we emerged from 
the war more powerful than we had been entering it. Along with the 
Soviet Union, the U.S. was deemed a ``superpower,'' and we have yet to 
give up that title.
  A devastating attack today would take a much different form and have 
much more catastrophic consequences. We are not likely to be attacked 
by airplanes and ships. Rather, it is far more likely that we will be 
attacked through our technology systems. The attack can occur in as 
little as ten seconds, and the effects can devastate our whole 
industrial and governmental infrastructure. A cyber-terrorist can wipe 
out all financial records, plunge aircraft from the air with no 
warning, corrupt our entire national defense system, and render 
telecommunications useless. And it can happen in just seconds, 
virtually undetected. And we were worried about Y2K.
  If this scenario frightens you, good. These threats are very real, 
and with our growing dependence on informational systems, as a country 
we become more vulnerable every day. One needs to look no further than 
the now infamous ``I love you'' computer virus that swept this world 
last week to get a glimpse at how quickly this can occur, and how 
devastating such an attack can be.
  The Pentagon, other government agencies, and many industries have set 
up departments to handle cyber-security, but we need to do everything 
we can to ensure that these departments can be staffed by knowledgeable 
information-protection experts. Without skilled staff, these 
departments are useless. The Information Protection Technology 
Scholarships will help ensure that the students in college have the 
opportunity to learn as much as possible about protecting technology. 
In turn, these students will repay the nation by putting their skills 
to work to make our technological infrastructure more secure. Twenty 
million dollars is not much to ask for to protect the entire United 
States from the possibility of wide-ranging cyber-terrorism.
  One final note. With such a shortage of qualified American workers, 
America's high tech industry is hiring people from other countries to 
come to the United States and fill these jobs. Highly trained 
immigrants enter this country under the H1-B visa program. Congress 
raised the cap on H1-B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 for FY '99, and it 
wasn't enough: we reached that cap by June last year. Later this month, 
the Senate is expected to consider another increase of H1-B visas to 
195,000 per year for FY00, 01 and 02. I support this proposed increase; 
however, I firmly believe we must do everything in our power to grow 
our own labor force. That is why I intend to offer this bill as an 
amendment to S. 2045 when it is considered on the Senate floor.
                                 ______