[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2297-S2298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SUPPORT HOMELAND SECURITY AND EDUCATION

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleges to 
support the Homeland Security Education Act. This bill encourages 
initiatives to increase the number of Americans trained in science, 
technology, engineering, math, and foreign languages.
  Our security and economic future depends on the next generation of 
workers and their ability not just to keep up, but to innovate. Science 
and technology are the engines of economic

[[Page S2298]]

growth. We must invest in our students and our educational system by 
providing the training and resources needed in science, technology, 
engineering, mathematics, and foreign languages.
  The United States graduates some of the world's best engineers, 
scientists and mathematicians; however, China, India, South Korea, and 
Japan are educating a higher proportion of their people in technology, 
science, and math. According to the National Science Board, in 2004, 59 
percent of undergraduates in China and 66 percent of Japanese 
undergraduates received a degree in science and engineering. In the 
United States, only 32 percent of the undergraduate degrees awarded 
were in science and engineering. In 2004, China and India graduated 
over 600,000 and 350,000 engineers, respectively, while the United 
States graduated about 70,000 engineers.
  In an increasingly global economy and an atmosphere of heightened 
security, we also need people who can speak a foreign language, 
particularly less commonly taught languages such as Arabic, Farsi, 
Chinese, and Korean. Al-Qaida operates in more than 75 countries where 
hundreds of languages and dialects are spoken. Half of all European 
citizens speak another language. In contrast, only 9 percent of 
American students enroll in a foreign language course in college. Even 
though enrollment in Arabic classes has increased, it represents less 
than 1 percent of all foreign language enrollments in institutions of 
higher education.
  According to the National Education Association, while student 
enrollments in education are rising rapidly, more than a million 
veteran teachers are nearing retirement. Almost a third of our new 
teachers leave the profession after only 3 years. About half exit after 
five. We will need more than 2 million new teachers in the next decade. 
We are feeling this teacher recruitment challenge most acutely in high-
need subject areas such as special education, math, science, 
engineering, and critical foreign languages.
  The Homeland Security Education Act encourages the smart and eager 
students in our country to seek degrees in science, technology, 
engineering, math, and foreign languages by providing $5,000 
scholarships to undergraduate students who obtain such degrees. 
Scientists, engineers, technology professionals and those fluent in 
foreign languages are encouraged to return to the classroom through 
$15,000 scholarships. New grant programs encourage educational 
institutions, public entities, and businesses to enter into 
partnerships that improve math and science curricula, establish 
programs that promote students' foreign language proficiency along with 
their science and technological knowledge, and create and establish 
foreign language pathways from elementary school through college.
  The technological challenge to our country has been explored from 
many different angles--from the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, and 
the chairman of Intel, Craig Barrett, to the journalist and writer Tom 
Friedman and the National Academies of Science. The need to strengthen 
our students' proficiency in science, technology, engineering, math, 
and foreign languages is well documented. We can't afford not to invest 
in thoughtful Federal initiatives that foster the kind of technological 
innovation this country has grown up on. Research and development is 
critical, but it all starts in the schools. The Homeland Security 
Education Act will help put our resources where they are needed most.

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