[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9638-S9639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BAUCUS:
  S. 3902. A bill to provide for education competitiveness; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, in August of 1802, from his desk in 
Monticello, President Thomas Jefferson glimpsed the future of the young 
American economy. He was shaken by what he saw.
  Jefferson had just finished reading a book published a year earlier 
in London. The slim volume was the travel account of Alexander 
MacKenzie, a young Scotsman working in Great Britain's Canadian 
colonies.
  In June of 1793, MacKenzie had crossed the Continental Divide at a 
place where it was just 3,000 feet high and easily portaged. Two weeks 
later, he reached the Pacific Ocean. Using a makeshift paint of 
vermilion and grease, Mackenzie inscribed his name on a rock to 
memorialize his discovery, and to claim it for Great Britain.
  The economic implications of MacKenzie's discovery were enormous. In 
his book, MacKenzie urged the British to build on his discovery and 
develop a passage to the Pacific. Such a passage would give Great 
Britain control over much of North America's lucrative fur trade and 
access to the world's markets. Worse, MacKenzie's discovery threatened 
to stunt America's economic growth in its infancy.
  MacKenzie's book lit a fire under Jefferson. That summer, he talked 
of little else. He enlisted the most qualified man he knew. And with 
him, Jefferson devised a plan for action. It was a plan to counter the 
economic threat from the north. It was a plan to safeguard America's 
economic future.
  That December, President Jefferson presented his plan to Congress. It 
was America's first economic competitiveness plan. It called for one 
officer, a dozen soldiers, and $2,500.
  Thomas Jefferson's economic competitiveness plan of 1802 has become 
better known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Today, we see that 
expedition as one of our Nation's great displays of ambition and 
courage. And today, we see that it laid the foundation of the United 
States as we know it.
  Today, America faces a new competitive challenge. Our challenge is 
not over control of the fur trade. It comes not from an imperial power 
or its colony. It is not a race for territory in unexplored lands. Our 
challenge is far more complex. And the need to act is even more urgent.
  America today faces a world more integrated, more interdependent, and 
more intensely competitive than ever in our history. In this world, it 
is our challenge to succeed. It is our challenge to leave our children 
and grandchildren an economy that is better than the one that we 
inherited.
  We seek an economy that is not laden with debt, but bursting with 
opportunity. We seek an economy that plants the seeds of innovation and 
education today, knowing that generations far in the future will 
harvest their bounty. We seek an economy whose workers are increasingly 
productive, and whose skills are continuously sharpened.
  Our challenge is to create an economy in which investment in our 
workers is our greatest asset, not our heaviest burden. Our challenge 
is to create an economy known for what it will be, rather than for what 
it was.
  To realize this competitive economy, we must--like Jefferson--rise to 
the challenge. We must--like Jefferson--look to unknown horizons and 
march out to meet them. We must call upon our greatest minds and set 
them to creating a plan. And we must dedicate the resources necessary 
to implement that plan.
  I have spent much of the past year planning a comprehensive 
competitiveness agenda. In February, I introduced the Trade 
Competitiveness Act, a bill to open markets and keep a level playing 
field for America's ranchers, farmers, and businesses.
  In March, I introduced the Energy Competitiveness Act, to fund 
cutting edge research in energy while making alternative energies more 
affordable.
  In April, I introduced the Savings Competitiveness Act, to create 
savings today, so that we may invest and innovate tomorrow.
  In May, I introduced the Research Competitiveness Act, to give start-
ups and universities better access to capital for research and 
development, and to improve and make permanent the R&D tax credit.
  Today, I am introducing the fifth in this series of bills: the 
Education Competitiveness Act of 2006. Just as education is the 
foundation of a competitive economy, this legislation is the foundation 
of my competitiveness agenda.

[[Page S9639]]

  Thomas Jefferson knew that it was not enough to send Lewis and Clark 
to the Pacific Ocean without the means to return. Lewis and Clark knew 
that the discoveries and contacts that they made had to be lasting to 
make a difference for our economy.
  The Education Competitiveness Act is also designed to have a lasting 
effect. This legislation embraces education in its earliest stages, 
following through to continuing education and worker training. Each 
provision is designed with maximum flexibility to meet our States' 
unique needs. It is a bill that recognizes excellence, welcomes 
innovation, and rewards ambition.
  The Education Competitiveness Act has seven important components.
  First, it recognizes that our Nation needs to continue to bring 
quality teachers into the classroom. The bill funds 100,000 
scholarships for future teachers of languages, early education, and 
science. It creates incentives for teachers to serve in rural and 
underserved areas. And it rapidly expands funding to advanced placement 
and international baccalaureate programs.
  Second, the bill recognizes that early education is widely considered 
to be one of the best education investments that money can buy. The 
bill creates a flexible program of matching grants to build a national 
system of universal, voluntary prekindergarten. The bill sets out 
benchmarks for quality and provides help for States to make sure that 
their teachers are the best that they can be.
  Third, the bill helps students to go the extra mile in their studies, 
by offering States the means to expand afterschool programs in 
everything from college test preparation to drug prevention. Summer 
programs get students out of the classroom for hands-on experience in 
science, technology, mathematics, and engineering.
  Fourth, the bill looks to the needs of tomorrow's workforce. That 
workforce will increasingly demand technical skills based in math, 
science, and engineering. The bill provides a free college education to 
any student wishing to study science, technology, math, or engineering. 
In return, the student must work 4 years in that field of study. The 
bill offers States matching grants to establish and expand specialty 
math, science, and technology schools. And the bill makes young 
promising scientists eligible for cash grants to continue their 
research.
  Fifth, the bill addresses the chronic neglect of our Nation's Indian 
education. The bill fully funds Indian colleges and makes a real 
commitment to the Johnson O'Malley program. The bill also increases the 
Pell grant to $6,000. Eighty percent of Montana's students rely on 
financial aid, including Pell grants.
  Sixth, the Education Competitiveness Act allows American workers to 
continue learning. The bill funds programs to link businesses and 
schools, to give workers the skills that they need. Where universities 
and community colleges are too far away, distance learning grants will 
help bridge that gap.
  Finally, the bill's tax provisions grant greater access to education. 
The bill starts by simplifying confusing tax credits and combining them 
into a single refundable higher education credit of up to $2,000 per 
student. The bill eases the burden of loan repayment by permitting 
graduates to deduct more of the interest paid on their student loans. 
And the bill increases the deductions for charitable contributions to 
schools as well as teachers' expenses in classrooms.
  Taken together, these seven components form a bill that is both 
comprehensive and responsible. It is a bill that would help to secure a 
more competitive American economy.
  I look forward to returning to the floor to describe each title in 
greater detail. I also look forward to discussing these proposals with 
my colleagues.
  The Education Competitiveness Act sets out a bold agenda, to be sure. 
Some of its rewards may only be reaped decades from now. Some of its 
benefits may only be realized by our grandchildren. But I firmly 
believe that this is an agenda that we must begin to implement today.
  Like the journey of Lewis and Clark 200 years ago, this is an agenda 
that portends discovery and rewards for America. It is an agenda that 
promises a passage to a new nation. I urge my colleagues to join me as 
we advance to this future, and join me in sponsoring the Education 
Competitiveness Act.

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