[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 138 (Monday, October 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10703-S10707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Bond, Mr. Frist, 
        and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 1549. A bill to provide for increasing the technically trained 
workforce in the United States; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I am proud to join Senators Mikulski, 
Bond, Frist, and Domenici in introducing an innovative response to one 
of the greatest challenges to the growth of the Innovation Economy, 
America's widening talent gap.
  Our technological prowess is unequaled in the world today, which is 
why, despite our recent slowdown and the aftershocks of the September 
11 attacks, we still have the strongest, most vibrant economy on the 
planet, and we obviously have no deficit of ingenuity and 
inventiveness.
  But our long-term competitive standing and economic security could 
well be at risk if we do not address a troubling trendline in our 
workforce, the mismatch between the demand and supply of workers with 
science and engineering training.
  The fact is, the number of jobs requiring significant technical 
skills is projected to grow by more than 50 percent in the United 
States over the next ten years. But outside of the life sciences, the 
number of degrees awarded in science and engineering has been flat or 
declining.
  This has helped fuel a well-chronicled shortage of qualified New 
Economy workers. We have tried to temporarily plug this human capital 
hole with a stopgap of foreign workers. But there is a broad consensus 
among high-tech leaders and policymakers that it would be a serious 
mistake to prolong this dependence and essentially put our GDP at the 
mercy of H1B's.
  That may sound like a bit of an overstatement to some. But the 
reality is that technological innovation is now widely understood to be 
the major driver of economic growth, not to mention a critical factor 
in our military superiority. And it is widely understood that we cannot 
expand our economy in the future if we don't take steps now to expand 
our domestic pool of brainpower, the next generation of people who will 
incubate and implement the next generation of ideas.
  Now, most answers to serious economic challenges flow from the 
private sector, which is where growth ultimately occurs. But there are 
things that the federal government can do to help, particularly when it 
comes to educating and training our workforce. We can provide 
leadership, focus, and not least of all resources, and that is the 
purpose of the bill we are introducing today.
  Our plan aims to fix a critical link in this ``tech talent'' gap, 
undergraduate education in science, math, engineering, and technology. 
It would create a new competitive grant program within the National 
Science Foundation that would encourage institutions of higher 
learning, from universities to community colleges, to increase the 
number of graduates in these disciplines.
  This is not another scholarship program, but a targeted, results-
driven initiative that goes straight to the gatekeepers. We're not 
asking them to change their admissions policies, but, in effect, to 
design new ``e-missions'' policies. Come up with effective ideas, and 
we will provide the dollars to make them work.
  For example, institutions could propose to add or strengthen the 
interdisciplinary components of undergraduate science education. Or 
they could establish targeted support programs for women and 
minorities, who are 54 percent of our total workforce, but only 22 
percent of scientists and engineers, to increase enrollment in these 
fields. Or they could partner with local technology companies to 
provide summer industry internships for ongoing research experience.
  The pilot program is authorized at $25 million for Fiscal Year 2002, 
but our bipartisan coalition hopes the level will rise over the next 
several years to approximately $200 million annually, based upon pilot 
program results. With that kind of seed money, we're optimistic 
thousands of promising new scientists and engineers will soon bloom.
  We realize that solving the undergraduate problem is not going to 
singlehandedly close our talent gap. We must also dramatically reform 
our K-12 public education system, through innovative initiatives such 
as Congressman Boehlert's math and science partnerships bill, and 
strengthen our national investment in R&D. But it is a vitally 
important piece of the productivity puzzle.
  For evidence of that, just look at the collection of letters of 
support we have received from industry, academia, and professional 
organizations, including letters from TechNet, a national network of 
CEOs and senior executives from the leading technology and 
biotechnology companies; the National Alliance of Business; and STANCO 
25 Professor of Economics at Stanford University, Paul Romer, a leading

[[Page S10704]]

growth economist, whose pioneering research underscores the long-term 
talent crisis facing our Nation, and who helped us think through this 
bill.
  These industry, academic, and educational leaders recognize as do we, 
that in our knowledge-based economy, we must have people who know what 
they're doing, and that is why they have made this problem and our 
legislation a top priority. We are grateful for their knowledge and 
their support, and we look forward to working with them to better 
harvest the enormous potential of America's workforce.
  I ask unanimous consent that letters of support for the Tech Talent 
bill, from the following organizations and individuals, be printed in 
the Record: TechNet, Professor Paul Romer, National Alliance of 
Business, Semiconductor Industry Association, American Astronomical 
Society, K-12 Science, Mathematics, Engineering & Technology Coalition, 
General Electric, American Association of State Colleges and 
Universities, and the American Society for Engineering Education.
  There being no objection, the additional material was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:


                                                      TechNet,

                                   Palo Alto, CA, October 8, 2001.
     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Hon. Barbara Mikulski,
     Hon. Christopher S. ``Kit'' Bond,
     Hon. Pete Domenici,
     Hon. Sherwood Boehlert,
     Hon. John B. Larson.
       Dear Senators Lieberman, Frist, Mikulski, Bond, and 
     Domenici, and Representatives Boehlert, and Larson: On behalf 
     of TechNet's 250 technology industry executives, we are 
     writing to lend our strong endorsement and support for your 
     legislation to increase the technically trained workforce in 
     the United States: the Tech Talent Bill. TechNet considers 
     the lack of a highly skilled American workforce a serious 
     threat to our nation's future economic and technology growth.
       Recent economic studies have shown that technological 
     progress accounts for more then half of the U.S. economic 
     growth in the post-war period. Correspondingly, a workforce 
     highly trained in science, mathematics, engineering and 
     technology (SMET) is fundamental to our nation's ability to 
     remain competitive. Yet despite predictions that the number 
     of jobs requiring technical skills will grow by 51% over the 
     next decade, from the late 80's to the late 90's the number 
     of earned bachelor's degrees has decreased by 18% in 
     engineering and by 36% in math and computer science.
       We commend you for taking the lead with a bold and 
     innovative approach to reverse this perilous trend. The Tech 
     Talent bill would authorize funding for the National Science 
     Foundation (NSF) to distribute grants to colleges and 
     universities that agree to specific increases in the number 
     of students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents 
     obtaining degrees in science, math, engineering and 
     technology. The NSF would solicit and competitively award 
     grants, based on a peer-review evaluation, to proposals from 
     colleges and universities with promising and innovative 
     programs to increase the number of graduates in the specified 
     disciplines.
       A well-prepared workforce coupled with a strong emphasis on 
     R&D is the only way to ensure a healthier, economically 
     solid, and technologically advanced future for America. We 
     appreciate your steadfast support of policies toward this 
     end, and we urge you to press forward with this legislation 
     in both chambers. Please let us know how we can best support 
     a swift passage of the Tech Talent bill. Thank you for 
     considering our views on this important issue.
           Best regards,
       Jim Barksdale, Partner, The Barksdale Group.
       John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner, Perkins, Claufield, & Byers.
       Rick White, President & CEO, TechNet.
       Carol Bartz, CEO & Chairman of the Board, Autodesk, Inc.
       Craig Barrett, CEO, Intel Corporation.
       Eric Benhamou, Chairman, 3Com.
       Hale Boggs, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.
       Bob Brisco, CEO, CARSDIRECT.COM.
       Sheryle Bolton, Chairman & CEO, Scientific Learning 
     Corporation.
       Richard M. Burnes, Jr., Partner, Charles River Ventures.
       Daniel H. Case III, Chairman & CEO, JP Morgan H & Q.
       Bruce Claflin, President & CEO, 3Com.
       Ron Conway, Founder and General Partner, Angel Investors, 
     LLP.
       Joe Cullinane, CEO Telum Group, Inc.
       Dean DeBiase, Chairman Autoweb.
       Aart de Geus, CEO and Chairman, Synopsys.
       Paul Deninger, Chairman & CEO, Broadview International LLC.
       Gary Dickerson, Chief Operating Officer, KLA-Tencor 
     Corporation.
       William H. Draper III, General Partner, Draper Richards 
     L.P.
       Thomas J. Engibous, Chairman, President & CEO, Texas 
     Instruments.
       Carl Feldbaum, President, Biotechnology Industry 
     Organization.
       Boris Feldman, Partner, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.
       Ken Goldman, CFO, Siebel Systems.
       Christopher Greene, President & CEO, Greene Engineers.
       Michael D. Goldberg, Managing Director, JasperCapital.
       Nancy Heinen, Senior VP, General Counsel, Apple.
       Jeffrey O. Henley, Executive VP & CFO, Oracle Corporation.
       Bob Herbold, Executive Vice President & COO, Microsoft 
     Corporation.
       Casey Hoffman, CEO & Founder, Supportkids.com.
       Guy Hoffman, Venture Partner, TL Ventures.
       Kingdon R. Hughes, President, Rush Network.
       Scott Jones, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Escient.
       Nicholas Konidaris, CEO, Advantest America, Inc.
       David Lane, Partner, Diamondhead Venture Management LLC.
       Paul Lippe, CEO, SKOLAR.
       Arthur D. Levinson, PhD, Chairman & CEO, Genetech.
       Ken Levy, Chairman, KLA-Tencor Corporation.
       Lori P. Mirek, President & CEO, Currenex--Global Financial 
     Exchange.
       Henry Samueli, PhD, Co-Chairman & CTO, Broadcom 
     Corporation.
       Douglas G. Scrivner, General Counsel, Accenture.
       Stratton Sclavos, President & CEO, VeriSign Inc.
       Gary Shapiro, President & CEO, Consumer Electronics 
     Association.
       Rohit Shukla, President & CEO, LARTA.
       Gregory W. Slayton, President and CEO, ClickAction.
       Ted Smith, Chairman, FileNET.
       Robert W. Sterns, Principal, Sternhill Partners.
       George Sundheim III, President, Doty, Sundheim & Gilmore.
       John Young, Retired President & CEO, Hewlett Packard.
                                  ____

                                              Stanford University,


                                  Graduate School of Business,

                                   Stanford, CA, October 10, 2001.
     Senator Christopher Bond,
     Senator Pete Domenici,
     Senator William Frist,
     Senator Joseph Lieberman,
     Senator Barbara Mikulski,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Bond, Domenici, Frist, Lieberman, and 
     Mikulski: Your Tech Talent bill will reinvigorate one of the 
     most successful policies in the history of our nation--
     government support for broad undergraduate training in 
     science and engineering. Since the end of the 19th century, 
     people trained in these areas have turned scientific 
     opportunity into technological progress. With their help, we 
     harnessed the twin engines of the market and technology. 
     Together, these engines powered the United States into our 
     current position of unchallenged worldwide political and 
     economic leadership.
       Unfortunately, success breeds complacency. In recent 
     decades, our achievements in undergraduate science education 
     have fallen behind those in many other countries.
       In the domain of the market, our government fostered growth 
     by doing less. It stood aside and gave people the freedom to 
     start new ventures, introduce new products, and improve on 
     old ways of doing things. By contrast, in the domain of 
     technology, our government fostered growth by doing more, but 
     in a way that supported market competition. The Morrill Acts 
     of 1862 and 1890 created a new type of university, one 
     committed not to an elite study of art or science for its own 
     sake. Instead, these new institutions emphasized the 
     practical application of knowledge. They offered instruction 
     in the ``agricultural and mechanic arts'' and the various 
     branches of science, with ``special reference to their 
     application in the industries of life.'' The land grant 
     universities created and supported by these acts helped many 
     more farmers and miners, tinkerers and inventors, 
     entrepreneurs and managers, engineers and researchers compete 
     in the market by developing new technologies or applying 
     technologies developed by others.
       Since World War II, the federal government has wisely 
     increased its support for basic research by current 
     university professors and graduate training of future 
     professors. Unfortunately, this support seems to have come at 
     the expense of our early commitment to undergraduate 
     education in science and engineering. At the beginning of the 
     20th century, this commitment put us far ahead of the rest of 
     the world. At the beginning of the 21st century, we lag 
     behind many other countries according to such basic measures 
     as the fraction of all 24-year-olds who receive an 
     undergraduate degree in engineering or the natural sciences.
       Your bill can begin our return to worldwide leadership in 
     undergraduate science and engineering education. It will 
     reward colleges and universities that devote more effort to 
     teaching, that develop innovative instructional materials, 
     that pull students into science instead of ``weeding them 
     out.''
       If we can increase the number of undergraduates who receive 
     science and engineering degrees our companies will have more 
     highly skilled workers. Our schools will have more math and 
     science teachers. Our Ph.D.

[[Page S10705]]

     programs will have more qualified applicants. Our economy 
     will grow faster and our nation will be stronger.
           Sincerely yours,
     Paul M. Romer.
                                  ____

                                                  October 5, 2001.
     Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: We commend you for your leadership 
     in sponsoring the Technology Talent bill. This bill focuses 
     attention on an important workforce issue for business and 
     for America's growing knowledge-based economy--the need to 
     increase the number of U.S. students graduating with degrees 
     in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology from the 
     nation's universities and community colleges.
       American businesses face a constant challenge to find 
     sufficient numbers of professionals with proficiency in these 
     key disciplines. The number of students graduating with 
     degrees in these fields has both failed to keep pace with an 
     ever-increasing demand, and actually declined. Since 1990, 
     for example the number of bachelor degrees in electrical 
     engineering awarded at U.S. universities has declined 37 
     percent. We must address this need if the United States is to 
     maintain its economic and technological leadership.
       The demonstration grant program established by the Tech 
     Talent bill will provide new incentives for universities, 
     colleges, and community colleges to increase the number of 
     graduates with bachelor and associate degrees in science, 
     mathematics, engineering and technology. The bill also will 
     encourage mentoring, bridge programs from secondary to 
     postsecondary education, and creative approaches for 
     traditionally underrepresented groups to earn degrees in 
     these disciplines.
       We look forward to working with you and your colleagues to 
     secure enactment of this legislation.
           Sincerely,
         3M Company; AeA.; AT&T. Business-Higher Education Forum; 
           Compaq Computer Corporation; IBM Corporation; 
           Information Technology Association of America; Intel 
           Corporation; Minority Business RoundTable; Motorola; 
           National Alliance of Business; National Venture Capital 
           Association; Northern Virginia Technology Council; 
           SchoolTone Alliance; Semiconductor Industry 
           Association; Software and Information Industry 
           Association; TechNet; Texas Instruments; Verizon; and 
           Williams.
                                  ____



                                                          SIA,

                                    San Jose, CA, October 3, 2001.
     Re Tech Talent Act.

     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: The Semiconductor Industry 
     Association applauds your introduction of the Technology 
     Talent Act as an important action to expand the technically 
     trained workforce in the United States.
       Over the next five to fifteen years, the semiconductor 
     manufacturing process that the industry has used for the past 
     thirty years will have reached its physical limits. It will 
     take significant investments to develop the human resources 
     necessary to develop replacement processes and electronic 
     device structures. Absent these investments, the continued 
     productivity gains that our economy has enjoyed from 
     information technology advances will be lost.
       The demonstration program established by the Tech Talent 
     bill will provide incentive for universities, colleges and 
     community colleges to increase the number of graduates with 
     bachelors and associates' degrees in science, mathematics, 
     engineering and technology. We are pleased that the bill 
     encourages mentoring programs, bridge programs and other 
     innovative approaches to helping increase the number of U.S. 
     students graduating with degrees in these disciplines. That 
     should not only help to increase the supply by retaining more 
     of the students who are already enrolled, but also help 
     attract more students from traditionally under-represented 
     groups to pursue careers in our industry and other high tech 
     sectors.
       We look forward to working with you and your colleagues to 
     help ensure the legislation's swift and favorable 
     consideration. Thank you again for your leadership on this 
     issue.
           Sincerely,
                                                   George Scalise,
     President.
                                  ____



                                                          AAS,

                                 Pasadena, CA, September 10, 2001.
     Re Tech Talent Bill.

     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: I am writing to thank you and your 
     colleagues for introducing the ``Tech Talent Bill''. I will 
     work to support this legislation as it moves through 
     Congress.
       As you know, the decline in our technical workforce is 
     negatively affecting our national economy and worldwide 
     competitiveness. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has 
     tracked the number of students earning doctorates from U.S. 
     institutions in the physical sciences since 1962. Today, 
     roughly 1,350 doctorates are awarded each year. In 1970, this 
     number was nearly 1,600. Although this statistic does 
     fluctuate from year to year, it has steadily declined over 
     the last several years, dropping 11% between 1994 and 1998. 
     Additionally, the fraction of foreign students earning 
     doctorates has increased dramatically. According to AIP 
     statistics, 46% of physics doctorates are foreign nationals.
       The Administrator of NASA, Dan Goldin, highlighted this 
     problem in a recent article in the Atlantic magazine 
     (September 2001). In this article, he points out that due to 
     the small number of qualified engineers and physical 
     scientists, design, construction and operation of space 
     probes is becoming difficult. Although not for certain, he 
     suggests that this shortage may have played a role in the 
     recent failures of the Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate 
     Orbiter. According to Mr. Goldin, nearly as many students 
     earn undergraduate degrees in parks, recreation and leisure 
     as earn degrees in electrical engineering. This is a shocking 
     fact for a Nation built on technology and science.
       By motivating universities to increase the number of 
     students earning physical science degrees, this legislation 
     will have a direct impact on this problem. I strongly support 
     the ``Tech Talent Bill'' and hope to work with you to ensure 
     its passage in this Congressional term.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Anneila Sargent,
     President.
                                  ____

         K-12 Science, Mathematics, Engineering & Technology 
           Education Coalition,
                                                 October 15, 2001.
     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: The K-12 Science, Mathematics, 
     Engineering, and Technology Education Coalition commends you 
     and Senators Frist, Mikulski, and Bond for introducing the 
     ``Tech Talent'' bill, designed to increase the United States' 
     technically trained workforce. It is imperative to develop a 
     highly skilled workforce to maintain our national security 
     and foster future economic growth. We believe that the 
     journey begins before college.
       We are pleased that your legislation encourages 
     universities to partner with community colleges, industry 
     organizations, professional societies and local schools to 
     pave the way for students of all ages and backgrounds to 
     further their interests in science, mathematics, engineering 
     and technology (SMET) coursework and career paths.
       In October of this year, the deans of engineering and the 
     deans of education from 50 universities met in concert to 
     develop strategic collaborations to enhance K-12 teacher 
     preparation in SMET and to invigorate engineering education. 
     Collaborations of this type can and should be replicated by 
     more universities and across all science, mathematics, 
     engineering, and technological disciplines.
       This bill will assist in the development and implementation 
     of innovative approaches to increasing enrollments and 
     graduates in key SMET degrees, which is critical to our 
     economy, our national security, and the future job prospects 
     of our children. Providing incentives and rewards to 
     educational institutions for increasing SMET enrollments and 
     graduates is an excellent approach to jumpstart that process.
       We applaud your dedication and foresight in protecting and 
     enhancing America's future workforce.
       If we can be of further assistance, please contact Patti 
     Burgio at 202.785.7385.
                                  ____

         GE Corporate Research & Development, The General Electric 
           Company,
                                                 October 12, 2001.
     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: The General Electric Company highly 
     commends you, along with Senators Bond, Mikulski, Frist, and 
     Domenici and Representatives Boehlert and Larson, for 
     introducing the ``Tech Talent'' bill. We fully endorse and 
     support the revival of a highly technical workforce in the 
     United States.
       While our company embraces technical expertise from around 
     the globe, we believe it is vital to our nation's long-term 
     economic strength to grow and develop our domestic talent as 
     well. This legislation will create that strength without 
     discriminating against global technical talent.
       We applaud your approach to creating a grant program that 
     itself inspires colleges and universities to take a creative 
     and innovative approach to broadening science, mathematics, 
     engineering and technology enrollment. We believe that this 
     approach will not result in a one-time spike in enrollment, 
     instead it enables a fundamental change in philosophy for a 
     long-term increase in technical education.
       There is no better time for this legislation. Our nation's 
     economy is heavily dependent on a highly skilled workforce, 
     with more than 50 percent of our economic growth stemming 
     from technological progress. We look forward to assisting you 
     in any way possible with this legislation. Thank you for your 
     continued support of technology and innovation initiatives in 
     America.
           Sincerely,
                                                Scott C. Donnelly,
                                            Senior Vice President.

[[Page S10706]]

     
                                  ____
                                           American Association of


                              State Colleges and Universities,

                                 Washington, DC, October 12, 2001.
     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: On behalf of the American 
     Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) I am 
     writing to express our strong support for the, ``Technology 
     Talent Act of 2001.'' AASCU is comprised of more than 430 
     public colleges, universities and systems of public higher 
     education located throughout the United States and its 
     territories. Our Connecticut members include: Central 
     Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State 
     University, Southern Connecticut State University, Western 
     Connecticut State University and the Connecticut State 
     University System.
       AASCU truly appreciates your leadership in recognizing the 
     need to increase the nation's technically trained workforce, 
     as well as your commitment to address this need by 
     introducing legislation that will, if adequately funded, go a 
     long way towards achieving this goal. AASCU strongly supports 
     the legislation's requirement that at least one principal 
     investigator be in a position of administrative leadership at 
     the institution of higher education. This requirement will 
     ensure that the commitment for increasing the number of 
     bachelor's degrees will be institution wide. Additionally, we 
     believe the legislation's priority to award grants to 
     institutions that draw on previous and existing efforts in 
     improving undergraduate learning and teaching is right on 
     target.
       Again, thank you for your leadership on this issue. We look 
     forward to working with you as the ``Technology Talent Act of 
     2001'' progresses through the legislative process.
           Sincerely,

                                          Edward M. Elmendorf,

                                     Vice President for Government
     Relations and Policy Analysis.
                                  ____

                                              American Society for


                                        Engineering Education,

                                 Washington, DC, October 12, 2001.
     Hon. Joseph Lieberman,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lieberman: On behalf of the members of the 
     Engineering Deans Council (EDC) of the American Society for 
     Engineering Education (ASEE), we are writing to thank you for 
     introducing the Tech Talent bill, which is intended to 
     increase the technically trained workforce of our nation. Now 
     more than ever it is important for Americans to focus on 
     strengthening and increasing the science and technology 
     workforce of the United States.
       Engineering schools have a major role to play in efforts to 
     expand the nation's technical workforce. We are very 
     interested in examining the provisions of the competitive 
     grant program to be established at the National Science 
     Foundation. Those that are intended to increase the number of 
     U.S. citizens or permanent residents obtaining degrees in 
     science, mathematics, engineering or technology (SMET) can be 
     helpful to all of us in engineering education. The incentives 
     to degree-granting institutions to encourage creative ways of 
     recruiting students who may not earlier have felt they could 
     succeed in these fields will insure innovative, aggressive 
     program proposal submissions. We are glad to see that strong 
     emphasis will be placed on an evaluation of methods employed 
     in the grant activities.
       This legislation will provide an opportunity to build on 
     the activities that many of our colleges have underway, 
     including mentoring high school students and engaging them in 
     other activities designed to interest them in enrolling in 
     SMET programs. Earlier this year we held the first 
     Engineering Deans Council panel discussion on opportunities 
     for collaboration between engineering and education schools. 
     At the beginning of October pairs of deans of engineering and 
     deans of education met for the ``Deans Summit'' in Baltimore. 
     The purpose of this conference was to stimulate these deans 
     to develop collaborations, which would result in programs to 
     improve the quality of preparation of students for SMET 
     careers. As participants in the Deans Summit, we can testify 
     that many innovative programs were developed by pairs of 
     deans from the institutions represented. We think this 
     legislation will be very helpful to these collaborations. 
     Many of the institutions will be very eager to develop 
     proposals in response to its provisions. The incentives 
     provided in this bill will certainly attract attention, and 
     we think will achieve the purpose of increasing enrollments 
     as well as improve the quality of preparation.
       The Engineering Deans Council of the American Society for 
     Engineering Education (ASEE) is the leadership organization 
     of the more than 300 deans of engineering in the United 
     States. Founded in 1893, ASEE is a nonprofit association 
     dedicated to the improvement of engineering and engineering 
     technology education.
       We greatly appreciate your strong and continuing interest 
     in and support for the development of our nation's scientific 
     and technical workforce. If we can be of further assistance, 
     please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
           Sincerely,
     Carl E. Locke, Jr.,
       Dean of Engineering, University of Kansas-Lawrence, Chair, 
     Engineering Deans Council.
     David N. Wormley,
       Dean of Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, Vice 
     Chair, Engineering Deans Council.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am proud to join Senators Lieberman, 
Mikulski, Bond and Domenici in introducing the Tech Talent bill. This 
legislation will build on and compliment legislation I introduced 
earlier this year, the Math and Science Partnership Act.
  Today, we are talking about college math and science majors and their 
role in our economic and scientific future. But, precollege science and 
math instruction has an important relationship to the future supply of 
U.S. scientific and technological personnel as well. For example, 
students who take rigorous mathematics and science courses in high 
school are much more likely to go on to college than those who do not.
  Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study reveal that 83 
percent of students who took algebra I and geometry, and nearly 89 
percent of students who took chemistry, went on to college, compared to 
only 36 percent of students who did not take algebra and geometry and 
43 percent of students who did not take chemistry. Yet 31 percent of 
our college bound high school seniors did not take four years or more 
of mathematics, and 51 percent of college bound high school seniors did 
not take four years or more of science.
  There is another link between precollege and college math and science 
instruction: before you can major in science or math in college, you 
must have a strong understanding of the basics. Yet, the most recent 
NAEP science assessments showed that only approximately one-third of 
our 4th, 8th and 12th grade students were performing at the basic 
level. And only 3 percent of the students at all three grade levels 
reached the advanced level of scientific proficiency.
  The Math and Science Partnership program, which is now part of the 
education reform bill, authorizes $900 million in 2002 to enhance K-12 
math and science education. It will help more of our children learn the 
basics of math and science and encourage more of them to go to college.
  The Tech Talent Bill will make sure that once they get to college, 
they are encouraged to complete the loop: major in science, engineering 
or computer science so that we can fill the high tech jobs that are 
fundamental to our nation's future prosperity and to our ability to 
remain competitive in an increasingly global marketplace.
  The Tech Talent Bill rewards colleges and universities that increase 
the number of math and science majors that graduate. And the bill lets 
the universities figure out the best way to do so. It will not stifle 
creativity. Our economy needs a workforce highly trained in science, 
mathematics, engineering and technology, and that is why I believe this 
bill is very important, and should be a top priority.
  I am proud to support this bill, and I commend Senator Lieberman for 
his leadership on this issue.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, innovation drives a significant part of 
our domestic economy; it's absolutely vital in maintaining our standard 
of living. Estimates are that at least half of our economic growth in 
the post-WWII period was driven by advanced technologies.
  Innovation is especially critical today at a time when our economy 
has shown significant weaknesses. We need to continue to look toward 
our ability to innovate, to bring new products and processes to the 
market place, to help spur recovery.
  Innovation depends on many factors, ranging from the research done in 
our superb universities and laboratories to the flow of capital 
investments into entrepreneurial start-up companies. One of the very 
key factors is the existence of a well qualified workforce, ready to 
support high technology industries. Increasingly, preparation of that 
workforce is at risk in the United States, this should be cause for 
great concern.
  That's why I welcome this opportunity to join with Senators 
Lieberman, Bond, Mikulski, and Frist, as well as with Congressmen 
Boehlert and Larson, to provide my support as an original co-sponsor of 
the

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Tech Talent Bill. This bill can help to reverse disturbing trends in 
the technical credentials of our future workforce.
  Studies show that the number of jobs requiring technical training 
will increase by 51 percent over the next decade. Six million new 
technical openings are projected to be needed by 2008. But the trend is 
exactly the opposite, our number of bachelor's degrees has dropped 21 
percent in engineering and 32 percent in math and computer science over 
the last decade.
  In the last few years, we've filled many technical positions with 
foreign workers, and we've heard repeated cries from our high tech 
industries about their need for larger visa programs to allow these 
workers to enter the country. In addition, increasing numbers of our 
undergraduate and graduate students are citizens of another country.
  Frequently, both foreign students who have completed technical 
studies in the United States and foreign technical workers admitted 
under special visas return to their native lands. That fuels a 
continuing outflow of technical expertise from our country.
  That's good for other countries, who are striving to build up their 
technical capabilities, but it sure isn't good for the United States. 
The trend is ominous. In 1985, we led most countries in the number of 
research personnel as a percent of our workforce. In 1998, we were well 
behind countries like Japan.
  This trend is even worse if we look at young technical workers, 
because much of our strength is from older workers from past years when 
technical education was more popular here. If we look at the fraction 
of 24 year-old workers with technical training, the U.S. lags behind 
many countries including Japan, Korea, Germany, Ireland, Canada, France 
and the United Kingdom.
  This problem is even more evident if we look at the fraction of 
bachelor-level degrees awarded in science and engineering. In the 
United States, the figure is about one-third. But in China, our one-
third is replaced by their 72 percent, and Japan, Russia and Brazil 
exceed 60 percent. In all of Asia, 47 percent of all degrees are in 
science and engineering. It's even worse if we focus on engineering, 
where 5 percent of our bachelor's degrees are awarded. In China, that 
figure is 46 percent. And that figure is 30 or more percent in 
countries like Germany, Russia, Singapore, and Finland, and over 20 
percent in many countries including Japan, France and Sweden.
  Traditionally, the United States has led the world in patents. But if 
we look at the growth in patenting in the U.S. and elsewhere, the trend 
is serious. Countries like Japan have higher growth rates in patenting 
then we do.
  I already noted the importance of innovation in driving our economic 
growth. We don't compete well in the international marketplace on 
manufacture of low-tech goods. In fact, where a product has been on the 
market for awhile, other countries tend to capture the manufacturing 
market. That's why it's so critical that we maintain a strong flow of 
innovative products it's in the newest, highest technology, products 
that we are most competitive.
  We can't afford to maintain some of the current trends. We were 
graduating about 18,000 students a year with bachelor's degrees in the 
physical sciences in the 1970s, today that figure is around 15,000. As 
another bad example, our graduates in mathematics have fallen to about 
half the 25,000 graduates per year in the 1970s.
  We need to reverse these trends. We need to excite more students to 
pursue technical careers. We need to do far better at showing students 
the opportunities that can open for them if they pursue technical paths 
in their education.
  This bill will help in this quest. By providing grants to schools and 
community colleges to increase their production of technical workers, 
we are providing direct motivation to the schools which have a 
significant hand in guiding students into various fields. These grants 
will serve to challenge schools to find better, more convincing, 
approaches to encourage student behavior.
  It was particularly important to me that this bill offer these 
incentives at the community college level. Students are increasingly 
finding that these institutions offer the best match to their 
educational needs. It will be at the community college level that we 
can excite many new students who might have chosen other specialities.
  Reversing the trends I've described won't happen overnight, it will 
take many years. But the future benefits to our your people and to our 
nation are immense. I'm pleased to join the co-sponsors of this 
important bill in seeking to address this very real issue.

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