[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 45 (Friday, April 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E660-E661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MATH AND SCIENCE INCENTIVE ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2005

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday I introduced with Congressmen 
Ehlers and Boehlert, H.R. 1547, the Math and Science Incentive Act of 
2005. This legislation would pay--over the life of the loan up to 
$10,000--the interest on the undergraduate student loans of math, 
science or engineering majors who agree to work five years in their 
respective fields. The idea for this legislation came from my friend 
Newt Gingrich's book, Winning the Future. America's dominance in 
science and innovation is slipping, but this legislation can help 
combat this trend.
  We are facing today a critical shortage of science and engineering 
students in the United States. Unfortunately, there is little public 
awareness of this trend or its implications for jobs, industry or 
national security in America's future. We need to make sure we have 
people who can fill these science and engineering positions. In an era 
in which students are graduating college with record levels of debt, I 
am hopeful that this incentive will be a significant motivator in 
attracting or retaining math, science and engineering students.
  How do we know that our nation is slipping in the areas of math, 
science, engineering and technology? Americans, for decades, led the 
world in patents. But we can no longer claim that lead. The percentage 
of U.S. patents has been steadily declining as foreigners, especially 
Asians, have become more active and in some fields have seized the 
innovation lead. The United States share of its own industrial patents 
now stands at only 52 percent. Foreign advances in basic science now 
often rival or even exceed America's. Published research by Americans 
is lagging.
  Physical Review, a series of top physics journals, last year tracked 
a reversal in which American scientific papers, in two decades, dropped 
from the most published to minority status. In 2003--the most recent 
year statistics are available--the total number of American papers 
published was just 29 percent, down from 61 percent in 1983.
  Another measuring stick: Nobel prizes. From the 1960s through the 
1990s, American scientists dominated. Now the rest of the world has 
caught up. Our scientists win now about half of the Nobel prizes, the 
rest go to Britain, Japan, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and New 
Zealand. According to the National Science Foundation, the United 
States has a smaller share of the worldwide total of science and 
engineering doctoral degrees awarded than both Asia and Europe.
  This is a real problem. In 2000, Asian universities accounted for 
almost 1.2 million of the world's science and engineering degrees. 
European universities (including Russia and eastern Europe) accounted 
for 850,000.
  North American universities accounted for only about 500,000. Since 
1980, science and engineering positions in the U.S. have grown at five 
times the rate of positions in the civilian workforce as a whole.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this legislation to 
help America continue to be the innovation leader of the world. The 
text of H.R. 1547 follows:

                               H.R. 1547

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Math and Science Incentive 
     Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The United States can have a secure and prosperous 
     future only by having a robust and inventive scientific and 
     technical enterprise.
       (2) Such an enterprise will require the United States to 
     produce more scientists and engineers.
       (3) The United States education system must do more to 
     encourage students at every level to study science and 
     mathematics and to pursue careers related to those fields.
       (4) The current performance of United States students in 
     science and math lags behind their international peers, and 
     not enough students are pursuing science and mathematics.
       (5) The United States is still reaping the benefits of past 
     investments in research and development and education, but we 
     are drawing down that capital.
       (6) The United States needs to recommit itself to 
     leadership in science, mathematics and engineering, 
     especially as advances are being made in such areas as 
     nanotechnology.
       (7) A program of loan forgiveness designed to attract 
     students to careers in science, mathematics, engineering and 
     technology, including teaching careers, can help the United 
     States maintain its technological leadership.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

       (a) Program.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program of 
     assuming the obligation to pay, pursuant to the provisions of 
     this Act, the interest on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed 
     under part B or D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965.
       (2) Eligibility.--The Secretary may assume interest 
     payments under paragraph (1) only for a borrower who--
       (A) has submitted an application in compliance with 
     subsection (d);
       (B) obtained one or more loans described in paragraph (1) 
     as an undergraduate student;
       (C) is a new borrower (within the meaning of section 103(7) 
     of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C 1003(7)) on or 
     after the date of enactment of this Act;
       (D) is a teacher of science, technology, engineering or 
     mathematics at an elementary or secondary school, or is a 
     mathematics, science or engineering professional; and
       (E) enters into an agreement with the Secretary to complete 
     5 consecutive years of service in a position described in 
     subparagraph (D), starting on the date of the agreement.
       (3) Prior interest limitations.--The Secretary shall not 
     make any payments for interest that--
       (A) accrues prior to the beginning of the repayment period 
     on a loan in the case of a loan made under section 428H or a 
     Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan; or
       (B) has accrued prior to the signing of an agreement under 
     paragraph (2)(E).
       (4) Initial selection.--In selecting participants for the 
     program under this Act, the Secretary--
       (A) shall choose among eligible applicants on the basis 
     of--
       (i) the national security, homeland security and economic 
     security needs of the United States, as determined by the 
     Secretary, in consultation with other Federal agencies, 
     including the Departments of Labor, Defense, Homeland 
     Security, Commerce, and Energy, the Central Intelligence 
     Agency and the National Science Foundation; and
       (ii) the academic record or job performance of the 
     applicant; and
       (B) may choose among eligible applicants on the basis of--
       (i) the likelihood of the applicant to complete the five-
     year service obligation;

[[Page E661]]

       (ii) the likelihood of the applicant to remain in science, 
     mathematics or engineering after the completion of the 
     service requirement; or
       (iii) other relevant criteria determined by the Secretary.
       (5) Availability subject to appropriations.--Loan interest 
     payments under this Act shall be subject to the availability 
     of appropriations. If the amount appropriated for any fiscal 
     year is not sufficient to provide interest payments on behalf 
     of all qualified applicants, the Secretary shall give 
     priority to those individuals on whose behalf interest 
     payments were made during the preceding fiscal year.
       (6) Regulations.--The Secretary is authorized to prescribe 
     such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the 
     provisions of this section.
       (b) Duration and Amount of Interest Payments.--The period 
     during which the Secretary shall pay interest on behalf of a 
     student borrower who is selected under subsection (a) is the 
     period that begins on the effective date of the agreement 
     under subsection (a)(2)(E), continues after successful 
     completion of the service obligation, and ends on the earlier 
     of--
       (1) the completion of the repayment period of the loan;
       (2) payment by the Secretary of a total of $10,000 on 
     behalf of the borrower;
       (3) if the borrower ceases to fulfill the service 
     obligation under such agreement prior to the end of the 5-
     year period, as soon as the borrower is determined to have 
     ceased to fulfill such obligation in accordance with 
     regulations of the Secretary; or
       (4) 6 months after the end of any calendar year in which 
     the borrower's gross income equals or exceeds 4 times the 
     national per capita disposable personal income ( current 
     dollars) for such calendar year, as determined on the basis 
     of the National Income and Product Accounts Tables of the 
     Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce, as 
     determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by 
     the Secretary.
       (c) Repayment to Eligible Lenders.--Subject to the 
     regulations prescribed by the Secretary by regulation under 
     subsection (a)(6), the Secretary shall pay to each eligible 
     lender or holder for each payment period the amount of the 
     interest that accrues on a loan of a student borrower who is 
     selected under subsection (a).
       (d) Application for Repayment.--
       (1) In general.--Each eligible individual desiring loan 
     interest payment under this section shall submit a complete 
     and accurate application to the Secretary at such time, in 
     such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
     may require.
       (2) Failure to complete service agreement.--Such 
     application shall contain an agreement by the individual 
     that, if the individual fails to complete the 5 consecutive 
     years of service required by subsection (a)(2)(E), the 
     individual agrees to repay the Secretary the amount of any 
     interest paid by the Secretary on behalf of the individual.
       (e) Treatment of Consolidation Loans.--A consolidation loan 
     made under section 428C of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 
     or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan made under part D of 
     title IV of such Act, may be a qualified loan for the purpose 
     of this section only to the extent that such loan amount was 
     used by a borrower who otherwise meets the requirements of 
     this section to repay--
       (1) a loan made under section 428 or 428H of such Act; or
       (2) a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct 
     Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, made under part D of title IV of 
     such Act.
       (f) Prevention of Double Benefits.--No borrower may, for 
     the same service, receive a benefit under both this section 
     and--
       (1) any loan forgiveness program under title IV of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965; or
       (2) subtitle D of title I of the National and Community 
     Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.).

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act--
       (1) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
     Education; and
       (2) the term ``mathematics, science, or engineering 
     professional'' means a person who--
       (A) holds a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree (a 
     combination thereof) in science, mathematics or engineering; 
     and
       (B) works in a field the Secretary determines is closely 
     related to that degree, which shall include working as a 
     professor at a two or four-year institution of higher 
     education.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006 and 
     for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

                          ____________________