[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1986-S1987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBERTS (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 478. A bill to establish and expand programs relating to 
engineering, science, technology and mathematics education, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, today, even as I speak, the members of 
the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee are in the process 
of marking up the BEST bill. The BEST bill is an acronym describing an 
effort to try to put together the reauthorization of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act.
  I think without question, in poll after poll taken in America, trying 
to determine what the American citizenry is concerned about, every one 
of the polls show the No. 1 issue of concern on the minds of American 
citizens today is education.
  Today I am very proud to announce I am joined by my colleagues, 
Senator Bingaman and Senator Kennedy, and there will be other 
cosponsors as well, but they are the original cosponsors in introducing 
legislation I think without question addresses a very critical need 
within the American educational system, and also in regard to our 
national security, as well; that is, the need to improve math and 
science education.
  As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, 
I want to work with Members on both sides of the aisle. That is what we 
are attempting to do in the markup this morning: to address the 
immediate need to improve and enhance the 
K-through-12 math and science educational level in the United States.
  Simply put, the American educational system is not producing enough 
students with specialized skills in engineering, science, technology, 
and math to fill many of the jobs currently available that we need and 
that are vital to the United States. Other countries are simply 
outpacing us in the number of students in education in EMST, 
engineering, math, science, and technology study. As a result of this 
shortage of skilled workers, Congress had to increase the number of H-
1B visas by almost 300,000 from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2002.
  Now, the United States will need to produce four times as many 
scientists and engineers than we currently produce in order to meet our 
future demand. The technology community alone will add 20 million jobs 
in the next decade that require technical expertise. The U.S. has been 
a leader in technology for decades and the new economy has created and 
will continue to create an ample number of jobs that require this kind 
of skilled workforce.

[[Page S1987]]

  While increasing the number of visas will assist our American 
economies with their current labor shortage in specialty and technical 
areas, we need to focus on long-term solutions through the education of 
our children.
  Improving our students' knowledge of math and science and technology 
is not only a concern of American companies to remain competitive but 
should also be a concern of our U.S. national security. The 
distinguished acting Presiding Officer, the Senator from Oklahoma, has 
the privilege, along with me, to serve on the Senate Armed Services 
Committee. He is the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee. I am in 
charge of a subcommittee called Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
  Guess what is now a real threat, not an emerging threat. According to 
the latest reports on national security, the lack of engineering, 
science, technology, and math education, beginning at the K-through-12 
level, imposes a great security threat. We don't have the people to do 
the job to protect our country in regard to cyber threats and the many 
other threats that certainly threaten our national security.
  The report issued by the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 
21st century reports:

       The base of American national security is the strength of 
     the American economy.

  And our education system.

       Therefore, the health of the U.S. economy depends not only 
     on citizens that can produce and direct innovation, but also 
     on a populace that can effectively assimilate the new tools 
     and the technologies. This is critical not just for the U.S. 
     economy in general but specifically for the defense industry, 
     which simultaneously develops and defends against the same 
     technologies.

  This is not only true in regard to that commission report, what we 
call the Hart-Rudman report, but it is true in regard to the reports by 
the Bremer commission, by the Gilmore commission, and the CSIS study. 
Commission report after commission report says we are lacking in regard 
to this kind of expertise and this kind of skill.
  The EMST bill builds on several goals outlined in the National 
Commission on Mathematics and Science and Teaching of the 21st century. 
That is the rather famous and well-read report now called the Glenn 
report. These goals include:
  First, establishing an ongoing system to improve science and math 
education in K-12. The legislation we have introduced would accomplish 
this through afterschool and day-care opportunities for more hands-on 
learning and programming that is focused on math and science. It also 
strives to make all middle school graduates technology literate through 
a technology training program.
  Second, it does increase the number of math and science teachers and 
improve their preparation. EMST accomplishes this by several means, 
including intensive summer development institutes, grants for teacher 
technology training software and instructional materials, master 
teacher programs that aid other teachers and bring expertise in math, 
science, or technology. And finally, expansion of the Eisenhower 
National Clearinghouse to allow access via the Internet to real 
programs that effectively teach science and math.
  Third, the bill makes teaching science and math more attractive for 
teachers. The EMST bill provides mentoring for teachers to encourage 
them to stay in their profession, in addition to educating our high 
school students about the course of study to enter the science, math, 
and the teaching field.
  Mr. President, I encourage all my colleagues to support increasing 
our K-through-12 teachers' ability to teach math, science, and 
technology to our students and encourage these students to enter into 
EMST fields by supporting this legislation.
  I don't think it is an exaggeration to say our future depends on it.
                                 ______