Congressional Record, Volume 153 Issue 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)

[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5057-S5072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

AMERICA COMPETES ACT--Continued

Amendments Nos. 915, as Modified; 916, as Modified; 924, as Modified;
926, as Modified; 944, as Modified; 950, 951, 952, as Modified; 957, as
Modified; 958, 965, as Modified; 970, as Modified; 975, 977, and 980

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, we have a managers' package of
amendments which have been cleared and which are at the desk. Some are
in modified form. Let me go through the list and then ask consent for
their approval:
Amendment No. 915, as modified, by Senator Grassley; amendment No.
916, as modified, by Senator Grassley; amendment No. 924, as modified,
by Senator Obama; amendment No. 926, as modified, by Senator Menendez;
amendment No. 944, as modified, by Senator Coleman; amendment No. 950
by Senator Baucus; amendment No. 951

[[Page S5058]]

by Senator Baucus; amendment No. 952, as modified, by Senator Baucus;
amendment No. 957, as modified, by Senator Hatch; amendment No. 958 by
Senator Dorgan; amendment No. 965, as modified, by Senator Murray;
amendment No. 970, as modified, by Senator Feingold; amendment No. 975
by Senator Landrieu; amendment No. 977 by Senator Murray; and amendment
No. 980 by Senators Alexander and Bingaman.
I ask unanimous consent that these amendments, as modified, if
modified, be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon
the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendments were agreed to, as follows:

amendment no. 915, as modified

On page 120, strike lines 1 through 8, and insert the
following:
(d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
(1) are part of a statewide strategy for increasing the
availability of Advanced Placement or International
Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, and critical
foreign languages, and pre-Advanced Placement or pre-
International Baccalaureate courses in such subjects, in
high-need schools; and
(2) make Advanced Placement math, science, and critical
foreign language courses available to students who are
prepared for such work in earlier grades than traditionally
made available.
On page 127, line 6, insert ``by the grade the student is
enrolled in,'' after ``subject,''.
On page 127, line 12, insert ``by the grade the student is
enrolled in at the time of the examination'' before the
semicolon.

amendment no. 916, as modified

On page 62, insert after line 14:
(c) be of at least 2 weeks in duration.
On page 63, after line 2 insert:
(3) Student Achievement.--The Director may consider the
academic achievement of middle and secondary school students
in determining eligibility under this section, in accordance
with subsection (1) and (2).

amendment no. 924, as modified

On page 145, between lines 13 and 14, insert the following:

SEC. 3202. SUMMER TERM EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to create
opportunities for summer learning by providing students with
access to summer learning in mathematics, technology, and
problem-solving to ensure that students do not experience
learning losses over the summer and to remedy, reinforce, and
accelerate the learning of mathematics and problem-solving.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Educational service agency.--The term ``educational
service agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an
entity that--
(A) desires to participate in a summer learning grant
program under this section by providing summer learning
opportunities described in subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii) to
eligible students; and
(B) is--
(i) a high-need local educational agency; or
(ii) a consortium consisting of a high-need local
educational agency and 1 or more of the following entities:

(I) Another local educational agency;
(II) A community-based youth development organization with
a demonstrated record of effectiveness in helping students
learn;
(III) An institution of higher education;
(IV) An educational service agency; or
(V) A for-profit educational provider, nonprofit
organization, science center, museum, or summer enrichment
camp, that has been approved by the State educational agency
to provide the summer learning opportunity described in
subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii).

(3) Eligible student.--The term ``eligible student'' means
a student who--
(A) is eligible for a free lunch under the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);
and
(B) is served by a local educational agency identified by
the State educational agency in the application described in
subsection (c)(2).
(4) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(5) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(6) High need local educational agency.--The term high-need
local educational agency means a local educational agency (as
defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965)--
(A) that serves not less than 10,000 children from low-
income families;
(B) for which not less than 20 percent of the children
served by the agency are children from low-income families;
or
(C) with a total of not less than 600 students in average
daily attendance at the schools that are served by the
agency, and all of whose schools are designated with a school
locale code of 6, 7, or 8 as determined by the Secretary of
Education.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United
States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
(9) State educational agency.--The term ``State educational
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(c) Demonstration Grant Program.--
(1) Program authorized.--
(A) In general.--From the funds appropriated under
subsection (f) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall carry
out a demonstration grant program in which the Secretary
awards grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational
agencies to enable the State educational agencies to pay the
Federal share of summer learning grants for eligible
students.
(B) Number of grants.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall award not more than 5 grants under this section.
(2) Application.--A State educational agency that desires
to receive a grant under this section shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,
and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may
require. Such application shall identify the areas in the
State where the summer learning grant program will be offered
and the local educational agencies that serve such areas.
(3) Award basis.--
(A) Special consideration.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Secretary shall give special consideration to a
State educational agency that agrees, to the extent possible,
to enter into agreements with eligible entities that are
consortia described in subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii) and that
propose to target services to children in grades K-8.
(B) Geographic distribution.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Secretary shall take into consideration an
equitable geographic distribution of the grants.
(d) Summer Learning Grants.--
(1) Use of grants for summer learning grants.--
(A) In general.--Each State educational agency that
receives a grant under subsection (c) for a fiscal year shall
use the grant funds to provide summer learning grants for the
fiscal year to eligible students in the State who desire to
attend a summer learning opportunity offered by an eligible
entity that enters into an agreement with the State
educational agency under paragraph (4)(A).
(B) Amount; federal and non-federal shares.--
(i) Amount.--The amount of a summer learning grant provided
under this section shall be--

(I) for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011, $1,600;
and
(II) for fiscal year 2012, $1,800.

(ii) Federal share.--The Federal share of each summer
learning grant shall be not more than 50 percent of the
amount of the summer learning grant determined under clause
(i).
(iii) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of each
summer learning grant shall be not less than 50 percent of
the amount of the summer learning grant determined under
clause (i), and shall be provided from non-Federal sources.
(2) Designation of summer scholars.--Eligible students who
receive summer learning grants under this section shall be
known as ``summer scholars''.
(3) Selection of summer learning opportunity.--
(A) Dissemination of information.--A State educational
agency that receives a grant under subsection (c) shall
disseminate information about summer learning opportunities
and summer learning grants to the families of eligible
students in the State.
(B) Application.--The parents of an eligible student who
are interested in having their child participate in a summer
learning opportunity and receive a summer learning grant
shall submit an application to the State educational agency
that includes a ranked list of preferred summer learning
opportunities.
(C) Process.--A State educational agency that receives an
application under subparagraph (B) shall--
(i) process such application;
(ii) determine whether the eligible student shall receive a
summer learning grant;
(iii) coordinate the assignment of eligible students
receiving summer learning grants with summer learning
opportunities; and
(iv) if demand for a summer learning opportunity exceeds
capacity, the State educational agency shall prioritize
applications to low-achieving eligible students.
(D) Flexibility.--A State educational agency may assign a
summer scholar to a summer learning opportunity program that
is offered in an area served by a local educational agency
that is not the local educational agency serving the area
where such scholar resides.
(E) Requirement of acceptance.--An eligible entity shall
accept, enroll, and provide the summer learning opportunity
of such entity to, any summer scholar assigned to such

[[Page S5059]]

summer learning opportunity by a State educational agency
pursuant to this subsection.
(4) Agreement with eligible entity.--
(A) In general.--A State educational agency shall enter
into an agreement with one or more eligible entities offering
a summer learning opportunity, under which--
(i) the State educational agency shall agree to make
payments to the eligible entity, in accordance with
subparagraph (B), for a summer scholar; and
(ii) the eligible entity shall agree to provide the summer
scholar with a summer learning opportunity that--

(I) provides a total of not less than the equivalent of 30
full days of instruction (or not less than the equivalent of
25 full days of instruction, if the equivalent of an
additional 5 days is devoted to field trips or other
enrichment opportunities) to the summer scholar;
(II) employs small-group, research-based educational
programs, materials, curricula, and practices;
(III) provides a curriculum that--

(aa) emphasizes mathematics, technology, engineering, and
problem-solving through experiential learning opportunities;
(bb) is primarily designed to increase the numeracy and
problem-solving skills of the summer scholar; and
(cc) is aligned with State academic content standards and
goals of the local educational agency serving the summer
scholar;

(IV) measures student progress to determine the gains made
by summer scholars in the summer learning opportunity, and
disaggregates the results of such progress for summer
scholars by race and ethnicity, economic status, limited
English proficiency status, and disability status, in order
to determine the opportunity's impact on each subgroup of
summer scholars;
(V) collects daily attendance data on each summer scholar;
(VI) provides professional development opportunities for
teachers to improve their practice in teaching numeracy, and
in integrating problem-solving techniques into the
curriculum; and
(VII) meets all applicable Federal, State, and local civil
rights laws.

(B) Amount of payment.--
(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), a State
educational agency shall make a payment to an eligible entity
for a summer scholar in the amount determined under paragraph
(1)(B)(i).
(ii) Adjustment.--In the case in which a summer scholar
does not attend the full summer learning opportunity, the
State educational agency shall reduce the amount provided to
the eligible entity pursuant to clause (i) by a percentage
that is equal to the percentage of the summer learning
opportunity not attended by such scholar.
(7) Administrative costs.--A State educational agency or
eligible entity receiving funding under this section may use
not more than 5 percent of such funding for administrative
costs associated with carrying out this section.
(e) Evaluations; Report; Website.--
(1) Evaluation and assessment.--For each year that an
eligible entity enters into an agreement under subsection
(d)(4), the eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the
Secretary a report on the activities and outcomes of each
summer learning opportunity that enrolled a summer scholar,
including--
(A) information on the design of the summer learning
opportunity;
(B) the alignment of the summer learning opportunity with
State standards; and
(C) data from assessments of student mathematics and
problem-solving skills for the summer scholars and on the
attendance of the scholars, disaggregated by the subgroups
described in subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii)(IV).
(2) Report.--For each year funds are appropriated under
subsection (f) for this section, the Secretary shall prepare
and submit a report to the HELP Committee of the Senate and
the Education & Labor Committee of the House on the summer
learning grant programs, including the effectiveness of the
summer learning opportunities in improving student
achievement and learning.
(3) Summer learning grants website.--The Secretary shall
make accessible, on the Department of Education website,
information for parents and school personnel on successful
programs and curricula, and best practices, for summer
learning opportunities.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may
be necessary for fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2012.

AMENDMENT NO. 926, AS MODIFIED

(b) Grant Program.--Section 8(8) of the National Science
Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-368) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (F) as
clauses (i) through (vi), respectively, and indenting
appropriately;
(2) by moving the flush language at the end 2 ems to the
right;
(3) in the flush language at the end, by striking
``paragraph'' and inserting ``subparagraph'';
(4) by striking ``Initiative.--A program of'' and inserting
``initiative.--
``(A) In general.--A program of''; and
(5) by inserting at the end the following:
``(B) Pilot program.--
``(i) In general.--In accordance with subparagraph (A)(v),
the Director shall establish a pilot program designated as
`Partnerships for Access to Laboratory Science' to award
grants to partnerships to pay the Federal share of the costs
of improving laboratories and providing instrumentation as
part of a comprehensive program to enhance the quality of
mathematics, science, engineering, and technology instruction
at the secondary school level. Grants under this subparagraph
may be used for--

``(I) purchase, rental, or leasing of equipment,
instrumentation, and other scientific educational materials;
``(II) Acquire appropriate nanotechnology equipment and
software designed for teaching students about nanotechnology
in the classroom;
``(III) professional development and training for teachers
aligned with activities supported under section 2123 of the
ESEA of 1965;
``(IV) development of instructional programs designed to
integrate the laboratory experience with classroom
instruction and to be consistent with State mathematics and
science, and to the extent applicable, technology and
engineering, academic achievement standards;
``(V) training in laboratory safety for relevant school
personnel;
``(VI) design and implementation of hands-on laboratory
experiences to encourage the interest of individuals
identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering
Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) in
mathematics, science, engineering, and technology and help
prepare such individuals to pursue postsecondary studies in
these fields; and
``(VII) assessment of the activities funded under this
subparagraph.

``(ii) Partnership.--Grants awarded under clause (i) shall
be to a partnership that--

``(I) includes an institution of higher education or a
community college;
``(II) includes a high-need local educational agency;
``(III) includes a business or eligible nonprofit
organization; and
``(IV) may include a State educational agency, other public
agency, National Laboratory, or community-based organization.

``(iii) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of
activities carried out using amounts from a grant under
clause (i) shall not exceed 30 percent.''.
(c) Report.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall evaluate the effectiveness of activities
carried out under the pilot projects funded by the grant
program established pursuant to the amendment made by
subsection (b) in improving student performance in
mathematics, science, engineering, and technology and
recommend whether such activities should continue. A report
documenting the results of that evaluation shall be submitted
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of
the Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology of the
House of Representatives not later than 3 years after the
date of enactment of this Act. The report shall identify best
practices and materials for the classroom developed and
demonstrated by grant awardees.
(d) Sunset.--The provisions of this section shall cease to
have force or effect at the beginning of fiscal year 2012.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the National Science Foundation to
carry out this section and the amendments made by this
section such sums for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 3
succeeding fiscal years.

AMENDMENT NO. 944, AS MODIFIED

At the end of Division C, insert the following:

TITLE _--MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP BONUS GRANTS.

SEC. _01. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP BONUS GRANTS.

(a) In General.--From amounts appropriated under subsection
(d), the Secretary of Education shall award a grant--
(1) for each of the school years 2007-2008 through 2010-
2011, to each of the 3 elementary schools and each of the 3
secondary schools each of which has a high concentration of
low income students as defined in section 1707(2) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6537(3)) in each State, whose students demonstrate the most
improvement in mathematics, as measured by the improvement in
the students' average score on the State's assessments in
mathematics for the school year for which the grant is
awarded, as compared to the school year preceding the school
year for which the grant is awarded; and
(2) for each of the school years 2008-2009 through 2010-
2011, to each of the 3 elementary schools and each of the 3
secondary schools each of which has a high concentration of
low income students as defined in section 1707(2) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6537(3)) in each State, whose students demonstrate the most
improvement in science, as measured by the improvement in the
students' average score on the State's assessments in science
for the school year for which the grant is awarded, as
compared to the school year preceding the school year for
which the grant is awarded.
(b) Grant Amount.--The amount of each grant awarded under
this section shall be $50,000.

SEC. _02. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section such sums for fiscal years 2008 through 2011.

[[Page S5060]]

AMENDMENT NO. 950

(Purpose: To provide that 21st century learning skills are included in
the alignment of education programs)

On page 163, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:
(v) incorporating 21st century learning skills into the
State plan, which skills shall include critical thinking,
problem solving, communication, collaboration, global
awareness, and business and financial literacy.

amendment no. 951

(Purpose: To allow distance learning projects as an optional activity
for the foreign language partnership program)

On page 153, between lines 12 and 13, insert the following:
(M) distance learning projects for critical foreign
language learning.

amendment no. 952, as modified

At the end, add the following:

DIVISION E--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 5001. COLLECTION OF DATA RELATING TO TRADE IN SERVICES.

(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall
establish a program within the Bureau of Economic Analysis to
collect and study data relating to export and import of
services. As part of the program, the Secretary shall
annually--
(1) provide data collection and analysis relating to export
and import of services;
(2) collect and analyze data for service imports and
exports in not less than 40 service industry categories, on a
state-by-state basis;
(3) include data collection and analysis of the employment
effects of exports and imports on the service industry; and
(4) integrate ongoing and planned data collection and
analysis initiatives in research and development and
innovation.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce such sums
for each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, to
carry out the provisions of this section.

amendment no. 957, as modified

On page 99, line 5, strike ``critical foreign language''
and insert the following: ``a critical foreign language, or
on behalf of a department or school with a competency-based
degree program (in mathematics, engineering, science, or a
critical foreign language) that includes teacher
certification,''.
Beginning on page 100, strike line 16 and all that follows
through page 101, line 3, and insert the following:
(ii)(I)(aa) a department within the eligible recipient that
provides a program of study in mathematics, engineering,
science, or a critical foreign language; and
(bb) a school or department within the eligible recipient
that provides a teacher preparation program, or a 2-year
institution of higher education that has a teacher
preparation offering or a dual enrollment program with the
eligible recipient; or
(II) a department or school within the eligible recipient
with a competency-based degree program (in mathematics,
engineering, science, or a critical foreign language) that
includes teacher certification; and
(iii) not less than 1 high-need local
On page 103, line 13, insert before the semicolon the
following: ``or how a department or school participating in
the partnership with a competency-based degree program has
ensured, in the development of a baccalaureate degree program
in mathematics, science, engineering, or a critical foreign
language, the provision of concurrent teacher certification,
including providing student teaching and other clinical
classroom experiences''.
On page 109, line 24, insert before the semicolon the
following: ``, or how a department or school with a
competency-based degree program has ensured, in the
development of a master's degree program, the provision of
rigorous studies in mathematics, science, or a critical
foreign language that enhance the teachers' content knowledge
and teaching skills''.

amendment no. 958

(Purpose: To provide for a feasibility study with regard to a free
online college degree program)

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. . FEASIBILITY STUDY ON FREE ONLINE COLLEGE DEGREE
PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter
into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to
conduct and complete a feasibility study on creating a
national, free online college degree program that would be
available to all individuals described under section
484(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1091(a)(5)) who wish to pursue a degree in a field of
strategic importance to the United States and where expertise
is in demand, such as mathematics, sciences, and foreign
languages. The study shall look at the need for a free
college degree program as well as the feasibility of--
(1) developing online course content;
(2) developing sufficiently rigorous tests to determine
mastery of a field of study; and
(3) sustaining the program through private funding.
(b) Study.--The study described in subsection (a) shall
also include a review of existing online education programs
to determine the extent to which these programs offer a
rigorous curriculum in areas like mathematics and science and
the National Academy of Sciences shall make recommendations
for how online degree programs can be assessed and
accredited.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $500,000 for
fiscal year 2008.

AMENDMENT NO. 965, AS MODIFIED

At the end of title II of division C, insert the following:

SEC. 3202. MATH SKILLS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS.

(a) The purposes of this section are--
(1) to provide assistance to State educational agencies and
local educational agencies in implementing effective
research-based mathematics programs for students in secondary
schools, including students with disabilities and students
with limited English proficiency;
(2) to improve instruction in mathematics for students in
secondary school through the implementation of mathematics
programs and the support of comprehensive mathematics
initiatives that are based on the best available evidence of
effectiveness;
(3) to provide targeted help to low-income students who are
struggling with mathematics and whose achievement is
significantly below grade level; and
(4) to provide in-service training for mathematics coaches
who can assist secondary school teachers to utilize research-
based mathematics instruction to develop and improve
students' mathematical abilities and knowledge, and assist
teachers in assessing and improving student academic
achievement.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible local educational agency.--The term ``eligible
local educational agency'' means a local educational agency
that is eligible to receive funds, and that is receiving
funds, under part A of title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).
(2) Mathematics coach.--The term ``mathematics coach''
means a certified or licensed teacher, with a demonstrated
effectiveness in teaching mathematics to students with
specialized needs in mathematics and improving student
academic achievement in mathematics, a command of
mathematical content knowledge, and the ability to work with
classroom teachers to improve the teachers' instructional
techniques to support mathematics improvement, who works on
site at a school--
(A) to train teachers to better assess student learning in
mathematics;
(B) to train teachers to assess students' mathematics
skills and identify students who need remediation; and
(C) to provide or assess remedial mathematics instruction,
including for--
(i) students in after-school and summer school programs;
(ii) students requiring additional instruction;
(iii) students with disabilities; and
(iv) students with limited English proficiency.
(3) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' means
a school that provides secondary education, as determined
under State law.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as be
necessary for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 3 succeeding
fiscal years.
(d) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--From funds appropriated under subsection
(c) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall establish a
program, in accordance with the requirements of this section,
that will provide grants on a competitive basis to State
educational agencies to award grants and subgrants to
eligible local educational agencies for the purpose of
establishing mathematics programs to improve the overall
mathematics performance of secondary school students in the
State.
(2) Length of grant.--A grant to a State educational agency
under this section shall be awarded for a period of 4 years.
(e) Reservation of Funds by the Secretary.--From amounts
appropriated under subsection (c) for a fiscal year, the
Secretary may reserve--
(1) not more than 3 percent of such amounts to fund
national activities in support of the programs assisted under
this section, such as research and dissemination of best
practices, except that the Secretary may not use the reserved
funds to award grants directly to local educational agencies;
and
(2) not more than \1/2\ of 1 percent of such amounts for
the Bureau of Indian Education of the Department of the
Interior to carry out the services and activities described
in subsection (l)(3) for Indian children.
(f) Grant Formulas.--
(1) Competitive grants to state educational agencies.--From
amounts appropriated under subsection (c) and not reserved
under subsection (e), the Secretary shall award grants, on a
competitive basis, to State educational agencies to enable
the State educational agencies to provide subgrants to
eligible local educational agencies to establish mathematics
programs for the purpose of improving overall mathematics
performance among students in secondary school in the State.
(2) Minimum grant.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
minimum grant made to any

[[Page S5061]]

state educational agency under this section shall be not less
than $500,000.
(g) Applications.--
(1) In general.--In order to receive a grant under this
section, a State educational agency shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,
and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may
require. Each such application shall meet the following
conditions:
(A) A State educational agency shall not include the
application for assistance under this section in a
consolidated application submitted under section 9302 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7842).
(B) The State educational agency's application shall
include assurances that such application and any technical
assistance provided by the State will be guided by a peer
review team, which shall consist of--
(i) researchers with expertise in the pedagogy of
mathematics;
(ii) mathematicians; and
(iii) mathematics educators serving high-risk, high-
achievement schools and eligible local educational agencies.
(C) The State educational agency will participate, if
requested, in any evaluation of the State educational
agency's program under this section.
(D) The State educational agency's application shall
include a program plan that contains a description of the
following:
(i) How the State educational agency will assist eligible
local educational agencies in implementing subgrants,
including providing ongoing professional development for
mathematics coaches, teachers, paraprofessionals, and
administrators.
(ii) How the State educational agency will help eligible
local educational agencies identify high-quality screening,
diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional mathematics
assessments.
(iii) How the State educational agency will help eligible
local educational agencies identify high-quality research-
based mathematics materials and programs.
(iv) How the State educational agency will help eligible
local educational agencies identify appropriate and effective
materials, programs, and assessments for students with
disabilities and students with limited English proficiency.
(v) How the State educational agency will ensure that
professional development funded under this section--

(I) is based on mathematics research;
(II) will effectively improve instructional practices for
mathematics for secondary school students;
(III) will improve student academic achievement in
mathematics; and
(IV) is coordinated with professional development
activities funded through other programs, including section
2113 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6613).

(vi) How funded activities will help teachers and other
instructional staff to implement research-based components of
mathematics instruction and improve student academic
achievement.
(vii) The subgrant process the State educational agency
will use to ensure that eligible local educational agencies
receiving subgrants implement programs and practices based on
mathematics research.
(viii) How the State educational agency will build on and
promote coordination among mathematics programs in the State
to increase overall effectiveness in improving mathematics
instruction and student academic achievement, including for
students with disabilities and students with limited English
proficiency.
(ix) How the State educational agency will regularly assess
and evaluate the effectiveness of the eligible local
educational agency activities funded under this section.
(h) State Use of Funds.--Each State educational agency
receiving a grant under this section shall--
(1) establish a peer review team comprised of researchers
with expertise in the pedagogy of mathematics,
mathematicians, and mathematics educators from high-risk,
high-achievement schools, to provide guidance to eligible
local educational agencies in selecting or developing and
implementing appropriate, research-based mathematics programs
for secondary school students;
(2) use 80 percent of the grant funds received under this
section for a fiscal year to fund high-quality applications
for subgrants to eligible local educational agencies having
applications approved under subsection (l); and
(3) use 20 percent of the grant funds received under this
section--
(A) to carry out State-level activities described in the
application submitted under subsection (g);
(B) to provide--
(i) technical assistance to eligible local educational
agencies; and
(ii) high-quality professional development to teachers and
mathematics coaches in the State;
(C) to oversee and evaluate subgrant services and
activities undertaken by the eligible local educational
agencies as described in subsection (l)(3); and
(D) for administrative costs, of which not more than 5
percent of the grant funds may be used for planning,
administration, and reporting.
(i) Notice to Eligible Local Educational Agencies.--Each
State educational agency receiving a grant under this section
shall provide notice to all eligible local educational
agencies in the State about the availability of subgrants
under this section.
(j) Prohibitions.--
(1) In general.--In implementing this section, the
Secretary shall not--
(A) endorse, approve, or sanction any mathematics
curriculum designed for use in any school; or
(B) engage in oversight, technical assistance, or
activities that will require the adoption of a specific
mathematics program or instructional materials by a State,
local educational agency, or school.
(2) Conflict of interest.--Any federal employee,
contractor, or subcontractor involved in the administration,
implementation, or provision of oversight or technical
assistance duties or activities under this section shall--
(A) disclose to the Secretary any financial ties to
publishers, entities, private individuals, or organizations
that will benefit from funds provided under this section; and
(B) be prohibited from maintaining significant financial
interests in areas directly related to duties or activities
under this section, unless granted a waiver by the Secretary.
(3) Reporting.--The Secretary shall report annually to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House
of Representatives, on each of the waivers granted under
paragraph (2)(B).
(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to authorize or permit the Secretary, Department of
Education, or a Department of Education contractor, to
mandate, direct, control, or suggest the selection of a
mathematics curriculum, supplemental instructional materials,
or program of instruction by a State, local educational
agency, or school.
(k) Supplement Not Supplant.--Each State educational agency
receiving a grant under this section shall use the grant
funds to supplement, not supplant, State funding for
activities authorized under this section or for other
educational activities.
(l) Subgrants to Eligible Local Educational Agencies.--
(1) Application.--
(A) In general.--Each eligible local educational agency
desiring a subgrant under this subsection shall submit an
application to the State educational agency in the form and
according to the schedule established by the State
educational agency.
(B) Contents.--In addition to any information required by
the State educational agency, each application under
paragraph (1) shall demonstrate how the eligible local
educational agency will carry out the following required
activities:
(i) Development or selection and implementation of
research-based mathematics assessments.
(ii) Development or selection and implementation of
research-based mathematics programs, including programs for
students with disabilities and students with limited English
proficiency.
(iii) Selection of instructional materials based on
mathematics research.
(iv) High-quality professional development for mathematics
coaches and teachers based on mathematics research.
(v) Evaluation and assessment strategies.
(vi) Reporting.
(vii) Providing access to research-based mathematics
materials.
(C) Consortia.--Consistent with State law, an eligible
local educational agency may apply to the State educational
agency for a subgrant as a member of a consortium of local
educational agencies if each member of the consortium is an
eligible local educational agency.
(2) Award basis.--
(A) Priority.--A State educational agency awarding
subgrants under this subsection shall give priority to
eligible local educational agencies that--
(i) are among the local educational agencies in the State
with the lowest graduation rates, as described in section
1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)); and
(ii) have the highest number or percentage of students who
are counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)).
(B) Amount of grants.--Subgrants under this subsection
shall be of sufficient size and scope to enable eligible
local educational agencies to fully implement activities
assisted under this subsection.
(3) Local use of funds.--Each eligible local educational
agency receiving a subgrant under this subsection shall use
the subgrant funds to carry out, at the secondary school
level, the following services and activities:
(A) Hiring mathematics coaches and providing professional
development for mathematics coaches--
(i) at a level to provide effective coaching to classroom
teachers;
(ii) to work with classroom teachers to better assess
student academic achievement in mathematics;
(iii) to work with classroom teachers to identify students
with mathematics problems and, where appropriate, refer
students to available programs for remediation and additional
services;
(iv) to work with classroom teachers to diagnose and
remediate mathematics difficulties of the lowest-performing
students, so that those teachers can provide intensive,
research-based instruction, including during

[[Page S5062]]

after-school and summer sessions, geared toward ensuring that
those students can access and be successful in rigorous
academic coursework; and
(v) to assess and organize student data on mathematics and
communicate that data to school administrators to inform
school reform efforts.
(B) Reviewing, analyzing, developing, and, where possible,
adapting curricula to make sure mathematics skills are taught
within other core academic subjects.
(C) Providing mathematics professional development for all
relevant teachers in secondary school, as necessary, that
addresses both remedial and higher level mathematics skills
for students in the applicable curriculum.
(D) Providing professional development for teachers,
administrators, and paraprofessionals serving secondary
schools to help the teachers, administrators, and
paraprofessionals improve student academic achievement in
mathematics.
(E) Procuring and implementing programs and instructional
materials based on mathematics research, including software
and other education technology related to mathematics
instruction with demonstrated effectiveness in improving
mathematics instruction and student academic achievement.
(F) Building on and promoting coordination among
mathematics programs in the eligible local educational agency
to increase overall effectiveness in--
(i) improving mathematics instruction; and
(ii) increasing student academic achievement, including for
students with disabilities and students with limited English
proficiency.
(G) Evaluating the effectiveness of the instructional
strategies, teacher professional development programs, and
other interventions that are implemented under the subgrant;
and
(H) Measuring improvement in student academic achievement,
including through progress monitoring or other assessments.
(4) Supplement not supplant.--Each eligible local
educational agency receiving a subgrant under this subsection
shall use the subgrant funds to supplement, not supplant, the
eligible local educational agency's funding for activities
authorized under this section or for other educational
activities.
(5) New services and activities.--Subgrant funds provided
under this subsection may be used only to provide services
and activities authorized under this section that were not
provided on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
(6) Evaluations.--Each eligible local educational agency
receiving a grant under this subsection shall participate, as
requested by the State educational agency or the Secretary,
in reviews and evaluations of the programs of the eligible
local educational agency and the effectiveness of such
programs, and shall provide such reports as are requested by
the State educational agency and the Secretary.
(m) Matching Requirements.--
(1) State educational agency requirements.--A State
educational agency that receives a grant under this section
shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to
50 percent of the amount of the grant, in cash or in-kind, to
carry out the activities supported by the grant, of which not
more than 20 percent of such 50 percent may be provided by
local educational agencies within the State.
(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive all or a portion of
the matching requirements described in paragraph (1) for any
fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that--
(A) the application of the matching requirement will result
in serious hardship for the State educational agency; or
(B) providing a waiver best serves the purpose of the
program assisted under this section.
(n) Program Performance and Accountability.--
(1) Information.--Each State educational agency receiving a
grant under this section shall collect and report to the
Secretary annually such information on the results of the
grant as the Secretary may reasonably require, including
information on--
(A) mathematics achievement data that show the progress of
students participating in projects under this section
(including, to the extent practicable, comparable data from
students not participating in such projects), based primarily
on the results of State, school districtwide, or classroom-
based monitoring reports or assessments, including--
(i) specific identification of those schools and eligible
local educational agencies that report the largest gains in
mathematics achievement; and
(ii) evidence on whether the State educational agency and
eligible local educational agencies within the State have--

(I) significantly increased the number of students
achieving at the proficient or advanced level on the State
student academic achievement standards in mathematics under
section 1111(b)(1)(D)(ii) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)(D)(ii));
(II) significantly increased the percentages of students
described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) who are achieving proficiency or
advanced levels on such State academic content standards in
mathematics;
(III) significantly increased the number of students making
significant progress toward meeting such State academic
content and achievement standards in mathematics; and
(IV) successfully implemented this section;

(B) the percentage of students in the schools served by the
eligible local educational agency who enroll in advanced
mathematics courses in grades 9 through 12, including the
percentage of such students who pass such courses; and
(C) the progress made in increasing the quality and
accessibility of professional development and leadership
activities in mathematics, especially activities resulting in
greater content knowledge and expertise of teachers,
administrators, and other school staff, except that the
Secretary shall not require such information until after the
third year of a grant awarded under this section.
(2) Reporting and disaggregation.--The information required
under paragraph (1) shall be--
(A) reported in a manner that allows for a comparison of
aggregated score differentials of student academic
achievement before (to the extent feasible) and after
implementation of the project assisted under this section;
and
(B) disaggregated in the same manner as information is
disaggregated under section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(h)(1)(C)(i)).

amendment no. 970, as modified

On page 164, strike lines 11 through 22 and insert the
following:
(C) Privacy and access to data.--
(i) In general.--Each State that receives a grant under
subsection (c)(2) shall implement measures to--

(I) limit the State's use of information in the statewide
P-16 education data system to the purposes and functions for
use of such information set forth in Federal or State law
regarding education and allow access to the information in
the statewide data system only to those State employees, and
only on such terms, as may be necessary to fulfill those
purposes and functions;
(II) prohibit the disclosure of information in the
statewide P-16 education data system to any other person,
agency, institution, or entity, except to the extent
necessary to assist the State in fulfilling the purposes and
functions for use of such information set forth in Federal or
State law regarding education, and only if such party has
signed a data use agreement that--

(aa) prohibits the party from further disclosing the
information;
(bb) prohibits the party from using the information for any
purpose other than the purpose specified in the agreement,
which purpose must relate to assisting the State in carrying
out the purposes and functions for use of such information
set forth in Federal or State law regarding education; and
(cc) requires the party to destroy the information when the
purpose for which the disclosure was made is accomplished;

(III) keep an accurate accounting of the date, nature, and
purpose of each disclosure of information in the statewide P-
16 education data system, and the name and address of the
person, agency, institution, or entity to whom the disclosure
is made, which accounting shall be made available on request
to parents of any student whose information has been
disclosed;
(IV) maintain adequate security measures to ensure the
confidentiality and integrity of the data system;
(V) ensure that the statewide P-16 education data system
meets any further requirements of the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g);
(VI) where rights are provided to parents under this
clause, provide those rights to the student instead of the
parent if the student has reached the age of 18 or is
enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution; and
(VII) ensure adequate enforcement of the requirements of
this clause.

(ii) Use of unique identifiers.--

(I) Governmental use of unique identifiers.--It shall be
unlawful for any Federal, State, or local governmental agency
to use the unique identifiers employed in the statewide P-16
education data systems for any purpose other than as
authorized by Federal or State law regarding education, or to
deny any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided
by law because of such individual's refusal to disclose the
individual's unique identifier.
(II) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall
promulgate regulations governing the use by governmental and
non-governmental entities of the unique identifiers employed
in statewide P-16 education data systems, including, where
necessary, regulations requiring States desiring grants for
statewide P-16 education data systems under this section to
implement specified measures, with the goal of safeguarding
individual privacy to the maximum extent practicable
consistent with the uses of the information authorized in
this Act or other Federal or State law regarding education.

On page 169, strike lines 15 through 17 and insert the
following:
(i) a description of the privacy protection and enforcement
measures that the State has implemented or will implement
pursuant to subparagraph (C), and assurances that these
measures will be in place prior to the

[[Page S5063]]

establishment or improvement of the statewide P-16 education
data system; and

amendment no. 975

(Purpose: To require the Secretary of Energy, acting through the
Director of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education, to provide
grants to States to assist the States in establishing or expanding
programs to enhance the quality of science education in elementary
schools with respect to conventional and emerging energy sources and
uses)

On page 78, strike line 21 and insert the following:
``(D) $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2011.

``CHAPTER 6--NATIONAL ENERGY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT

``SEC. 3195. NATIONAL ENERGY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT.

``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to enable
all students to reach or exceed grade-level academic
achievement standards and to enhance the knowledge of the
students of the science of energy, the sources of energy, the
uses of energy in society, and the environmental consequences
and benefits of all energy sources and uses by--
``(1) improving instruction in science related to energy
for students in kindergarten through grade 9 through the
implementation of energy education programs and with the
support of comprehensive science education initiatives that
are based on the best available evidence of effectiveness;
and
``(2) providing professional development and instructional
leadership activities for teachers and, if appropriate, for
administrators and other school staff, on the implementation
of comprehensive mathematics initiatives designed--
``(A) to improve the understanding of students of the
scientific, economic, and environmental impacts of energy;
``(B) to improve the knowledge of teachers, administrators,
and other school staff related to the scientific content of
energy;
``(C) to increase the use of effective instructional
practices; and
``(D) to reflect science content that is consistent with
State academic achievement standards in mathematics described
in section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)).
``(b) Program.--The Secretary (acting through the Director)
(referred to in this section as the `Secretary') shall
provide grants to States to assist the States in establishing
or expanding programs to enhance the quality of science
education in elementary schools with respect to conventional
and emerging energy sources and uses.
``(c) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall use and coordinate with existing State and
national programs that have a similar mission.
``(d) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants, on a
competitive basis, under this section to States to pay the
Federal share of the costs of establishing or expanding high-
quality energy education curricula and programs.
``(e) Programs.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall award grants to establish or expand programs
that enhance--
``(1) the quality of science education in elementary
schools with respect to conventional and emerging energy
sources and uses; and
``(2) the understanding of students of the science,
economics, and environmental impacts of energy production and
consumption.
``(f) Federal and Non-Federal Shares.--
``(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs of
carrying out a program under this section shall be 50
percent.
``(2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the
costs of carrying out a program under this section may be
provided in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, fairly
evaluated, including services.
``(g) Distribution.--In awarding grants under this section,
the Secretary shall--
``(1) ensure a wide, equitable distribution of grants among
States that propose to serve students from urban and rural
areas; and
``(2) provide equal consideration to States without
National Laboratories.
``(h) Uses of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), States, or
other entities through States, that receive grants under this
section shall use the grant funds to--
``(A) employ proven strategies and methods for improving
student learning and teaching regarding energy;
``(B) integrate into the curriculum of schools
comprehensive, science-based, energy education, including
instruction and assessments that are aligned with--
``(i) the academic content and student academic achievement
standards of the State (within the meaning of section 1111 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311));
``(ii) classroom management;
``(iii) professional development;
``(iv) parental involvement; and
``(v) school management; and
``(C) provide high-quality and continuous teacher and staff
professional development.
``(2) Requirements.--Grant funds under this section may be
used for activities described in paragraph (1) only if the
activities are directly related to improving student academic
achievement related to--
``(A) the science of energy;
``(B) the sources of energy;
``(C) the uses of energy in society; and
``(D) the environmental consequences and benefits of all
energy sources and uses.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--
``(1) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009;
and
``(2) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.''.

amendment no. 977

(Purpose: To encourage members of the Armed Forces to participate in
programs for master's degrees in mathematics, science, or critical
foreign languages education)

On page 113, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:
(B) members of the Armed Forces who are transitioning to
civilian life; and

amendment no. 980

(Purpose: To express the sense of Senate regarding policies related to
deemed export control)

At the appropriate place in the bill, add the following:

``SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

It is the Sense of Senate that--
U.S. government policies related to deemed exports should
safeguard U.S. national security and protect fundamental
research;
The Department of Commerce has established the Deemed
Export Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for
improving current controls on deemed exports;
The Administration and Congress should consider the
recommendations of the Deemed Export Advisory Committee in
its development and implementation of export control
policies.''.

Amendment No. 921

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate on amendment No. 921 offered by the Senator from
Oklahoma.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, let me use the minute in opposition to
the amendment. The Senator from Oklahoma may wish to speak in favor of
his amendment.
This is the amendment to strike the funding and the provisions in the
bill for the Advanced Technology Program. In my view, this would be a
very bad step for us to take. I know there are some Members who do not
believe this is a worthwhile use of taxpayers' dollars. I am not one of
those. I believe the Federal Government should partner with industry to
assist in the early stages of technology development, and particularly
that is important when we compete with other countries that spend
heavily to assist their industrial sectors to compete in world markets.
So I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, there is no question the ATP program has
had some successes. The fact is that over $2.5 billion has gone to
Fortune 500 companies over the last 14 years for research they would
have done otherwise. This is a program which is outmoded. We have a way
to help businesses do research and development. It is called the R&D
tax credit. This is not effective. It is a poor way to spend our money.
I yield back the remainder of my time. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 921. The clerk will call
the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 39, nays 57, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 144 Leg.]

YEAS--39

Alexander
Allard
Bennett
Bunning
Burr
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Craig
Crapo
DeMint
Domenici
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Kyl
Lott
Martinez
McConnell
Murkowski
Roberts
Sanders
Sessions
Shelby
Sununu
Thomas
Thune
Vitter

[[Page S5064]]

NAYS--57

Akaka
Baucus
Bayh
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown
Byrd
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Clinton
Coleman
Conrad
Dodd
Dole
Dorgan
Durbin
Feinstein
Harkin
Inouye
Kennedy
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCaskill
Menendez
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Obama
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Salazar
Schumer
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Tester
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--4

Biden
Brownback
Johnson
McCain
The amendment (No. 921) was rejected.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay
that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Amendment No. 956

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, we inadvertently left a cleared
amendment off the list I read describing the managers' package. I ask
unanimous consent that amendment No. 956 be agreed to and that the
motion to reconsider be laid on the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 956) was agreed to, as follows:

(Purpose: To express the sense of the Senate regarding concerns that
United States capital markets are losing their competitive edge in
intensifying global competition, and to recommend that Congress and the
Administration take the necessary steps to reclaim the preeminent
position of the United States in the global financial services
marketplace)

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING CAPITAL MARKETS.

(a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
(1) United States capital markets are losing their
competitive edge in the face of intensifying global
competition, posing a risk to economic growth, a problem that
is well-documented in initial public offerings (IPO), over-
the-counter (OTC) derivatives, securitization, and
traditional lending;
(2) according to the Senator Charles E. Schumer and Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg report, entitled ``Sustaining New York's
and the U.S.'s Global Financial Services Leadership'', ``In
looking at several of the critical contested investment
banking and sales and trading markets--initial public
offerings (IPOs), over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, and
debt--it is clear that the declining position of the U.S.
goes beyond this natural market evolution to more
controllable, intrinsic issues of U.S. competitiveness. As
market effectiveness, liquidity and safety become more
prevalent in the world's financial markets, the competitive
arena for financial services is shifting toward a new set of
factors--like availability of skilled people and a balanced
and effective legal and regulatory environment--where the
U.S. is moving in the wrong direction.'';
(3) further, the report referred to in paragraph (2) stated
that--
(A) ``The IPO market also offers the most dramatic
illustration of the change in capital-raising needs around
the world, and U.S. exchanges are rapidly losing ground to
foreign rivals. When looking at all IPOs that took place
globally in 2006, the share of IPO volume attracted by U.S.
exchanges is barely one-third of that captured in 2001. By
contrast, the global share of IPO volume captured by European
exchanges has expanded by more than 30 percent over the same
period, while non-Japan Asian markets have doubled their
equivalent market share since 2001. When one considers mega-
IPOs--those over $1 billion--U.S. exchanges attracted 57
percent of such transactions in 2001, compared with just 16
percent during the first ten months of 2006.''; and
(B) ``London already enjoys clear leadership in the fast-
growing and innovative over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives
market. This is significant because of the trading flow that
surrounds derivatives markets and because of the innovation
these markets drive, both of which are key competitive
factors for financial centers. Dealers and investors
increasingly see derivatives and cash markets as
interchangeable and are therefore combining trading
operations for both products. Indeed, the derivatives markets
can be more liquid than the underlying cash markets.
Therefore, as London takes the global lead in derivatives,
America's competitiveness in both cash and derivatives flow
trading is at risk, as is its position as a center for
financial innovation.'';
(4) on March 13, 2007, the Department of the Treasury
convened a conference on United States capital markets
competitiveness, where--
(A) key policymakers, consumer advocates, members of the
international community, business representatives, and
academic experts, each with different perspectives, discussed
ways to keep United States capital markets the strongest and
most innovative in the world; and
(B) conference delegates examined the impact of the United
States regulatory structure and philosophy, the legal and
corporate governance environment, and the auditing profession
and financial reporting on United States capital markets
competitiveness;
(5) the foundation of any competitive capital market is
investor confidence, and since 1930, the United States has
required some of the most extensive financial disclosures,
supported by one of the most robust enforcement regimes in
the world;
(6) a balanced regulatory system is essential to protecting
investors and the efficient functioning of capital markets;
and
(7) too much regulation stifles entrepreneurship,
competition, and innovation, and too little regulation
creates excessive risk to industry, investors, and the
overall system.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) Congress, the President, regulators, industry leaders,
and other stakeholders should take the necessary steps to
reclaim the preeminent position of the United States in the
global financial services marketplace;
(2) the Federal and State financial regulatory agencies
should, to the maximum extent possible, coordinate activities
on significant policy matters, so as not to impose
regulations that may have adverse unintended consequences on
innovativeness with respect to financial products,
instruments, and services, or that impose regulatory costs
that are disproportionate to their benefits, and, at the same
time, ensure that the regulatory framework overseeing the
United States capital markets continues to promote and
protect the interests of investors in those markets; and
(3) given the complexity of the financial services
marketplace today, Congress should exercise vigorous
oversight over Federal regulatory and statutory requirements
affecting the financial services industry and consumers, with
the goal of eliminating excessive regulation and problematic
implementation of existing laws and regulations, while
ensuring that necessary investor protections are not
compromised.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleague Senator Crapo
in offering our Sense of the Senate to express that the Congress and
the administration take the necessary steps to sustain the United
States' position as the global leader in financial services to S. 761.
We can all agree that the U.S. is the financial capital of the world.
Today, Wall Street is booming, and our Nation's short-term economic
outlook is strong. But to maintain our success far into the future we
must immediately address a real and growing concern: our global
competitive position in the capital markets is being threatened.
The evidence is quite clear.
London, certainly our greatest competitor, has been working hard to
gain on us in financial services in the last few years. And, although
London has not overtaken us, it is no longer a distant second.
While New York is still the dominant global exchange center, we have
been losing ground as the leader in capital formation. In 2005, only
one out of the top 24 IPOs was registered in the U.S. and four were
registered in London.
Sadly, the problem is not just IPOs. Our competitive position is
being challenged in most businesses that are globally contestable.
Today London leads in some of the fastest growing and innovative
areas in the financial services. They account for 70 percent of the
global secondary bond market, 40 percent of the derivatives market, 30
percent of foreign exchange activity, and 30 percent of cross border
equities trading.
Why is this happening? Not because London is more innovative--New
York City is and 49 percent of the top CEOs say so. But, what they also
say is--given the risks associated with developing innovative financial
instruments and the importance of attracting talent in finance--the
U.S.'s legal, regulatory and immigration policies are not attractive
and it only makes sense to pursue cutting edge activity overseas. To
make matters even worse, it is not only London. As technology has
virtually eliminated barriers to the flow of capital, it now freely
flows to the most efficient markets, in all corners of the globe. So,
in addition to London we're increasingly competing for position against
cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bombay.
My concern about this issue has been keeping me awake at night. For
over a year now I have been racking my brain, trying to understand the
causes and fixes needed to keep us No. 1.
Well . . . that is precisely what Mayor Bloomberg and I set out to do
in

[[Page S5065]]

a more formal way when we commissioned McKinsey Consulting to conduct a
study to examine the competitive position of New York City's financial
services industry, specifically in comparison to London's. The study
identified the drivers that might cause New York City to lose its
competitive edge, but more importantly provided recommendations and an
action plan to correct the problem.
We gathered detailed analyses of market conditions here and abroad.
McKinsey interviewed and consulted more than 50 respected leaders from
the financial services industry, consumer and labor groups, and other
stakeholders.
Our report which was released in January illustrated the reality of
the situation. The U.S., New York in particular, is in grave danger of
losing its status as the financial capital of the world without a major
change in policy and regulation. If we continue on with the status quo,
within the next ten years we will go from being number one, to becoming
a marginalized regional market--spelling disaster for New York and the
entire country.
Financial services comprise 8 percent of the U.S. economy--the third
fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy. The industry also plays an
important intermediary role in promoting economic activity and creating
jobs (savings, investment, borrowing, capital formation, wealth
accumulation, transactions). 1 in every 19 jobs in the U.S. is in
financial services.
This clearly is not just a New York issue. Many of you will be
surprised to learn, just as I was--that seven states (Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Dakota),
including New York, have more than 10 percent of their State's GDP
devoted to financial services.
Resolving this issue will require all hands on deck. In New York we
already recognize that--the Mayor, the Governor, and I have already
joined forces.
I strongly believe that we are in a good position to act now in order
to lessen the damage that could be waiting for us 10 years down the
road.
Cleary, this is an issue that will take some time to work through--
taking on our country's regulatory regime, legal system and immigration
policies will be no easy undertaking. In recognizing the complexities,
our report focused on near term recommendations that are mostly
administrative and the longer term recommendations that are
legislative.
I want to commend Secretary Paulson and the Department of Treasury
for convening a conference on United States capital markets'
competitiveness. I hope this will build more momentum for other
financial services regulators and Congress to take action and sends a
signal that we are in need of a renewed U.S. focus on competitiveness.
We deed to take action to level the playing field for both domestic
and foreign companies doing business in the United States, to address
more complex policy, legal, regulatory and other structural issues
affecting the U.S. position as the world's leading financial center. We
must create a responsive, market-oriented regulatory framework, moving
closer towards a fair and predictable legal environment, and provide
access to skilled professionals from outside of the U.S.
I want to thank my friend and colleague Senator Crapo for his
commitment and leadership on this issue. I look forward to working with
you over the next several months to protect our capital markets--this
is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it's an American issue.
The bottom line is that we, in New York and in the U.S., literally
cannot afford to lose our place as the global leader in financial
services and we must examine which factors impede our competitive
standing.
At the same time, we have to be smart, careful, and balanced as we
seek to continue to redefine the exquisite balance of innovation and
regulation as markets evolve internationally.
We know that addressing these challenges and ensuring that we do so
in a way that continues to offer strong protections to consumers and
investors will be a huge undertaking. But if all stakeholders--
industry, consumer advocates, labor, and government--come together in
the name of securing our economic future, we can do it.
Failing to do so would be dereliction of duty.
We must all commit to seeking a shift in national policy in a
direction that will ensure that New York and America retain its
leadership position in the financial services industry well into the
21st Century.
I thank my colleagues for joining us in support of this amendment.
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today in support of this global
competitiveness amendment with the senior Senator from New York to S.
761 and to call attention to the challenges facing U.S. financial
markets. I really appreciate the leadership role the senior Senator
from New York has taken in the global capital markets competitiveness
debate and I really appreciate our working relationship.
The first part of the amendment highlights findings that U.S. capital
markets are losing their competitive edge in the face of intensifying
global competition in initial public offerings, IPOs, over-the-counter,
OTC, derivatives, securitization, and traditional lending. The second
half of the amendment expresses the sense of the Senate about what
steps should be taken to bolster the competitiveness of this essential
sector of the U.S. economy.
According to the Schumer/Bloomberg report entitled Sustaining New
York's and the U.S.' Global Financial Services Leadership, ``In looking
at several of the critical contested investment banking and sales and
trading markets--initial public offering, over-the-counter derivatives,
and debt--it is clear that the declining position of the U.S. goes
beyond this natural market evolution to more controllable, intrinsic
issues of U.S. competitiveness. As market effectiveness, liquidity and
safety become more prevalent in the world's financial markets, the
competitive arena for financial services is shifting toward a new set
of factors--like availability of skilled people and a balanced and
effective legal and regulatory environment--where the U.S. is moving in
the wrong direction.''
This is a very alarming trend because IPOs and OTC derivatives
contribute to a robust and dynamic capital market which is a
tremendously beneficial force for our economy and an empowerment to our
citizens. It is critical to ensuring economic growth, job creation, low
costs of capital, innovation, entrepreneurship, and a strong tax base
in key areas of the country. The U.S. financial sector acts as a
catalyst for all other sectors in the U.S. economy. That is why the
decline in global initial public offerings in the United States, and
the fact that London already enjoys clear leadership in the fast
growing OTC derivatives market, are such worrying trends.
The report further states, ``The IPO market also offers the most
dramatic illustration of the change in capital raising needs around the
world, and the U.S. exchanges are rapidly losing ground to foreign
rivals. When looking at all IPOs that took place globally in 2006, the
share of IPO volume attracted by U.S. exchanges is barely one-third of
that captured in 2001. By contrast, the global share of IPO volume
captured by European exchanges has expanded by more than 30 percent
over the same period, while non-Japan Asian markets have doubled their
equivalent market share since 2001. When one considers mega IPOs--those
over $1 billion--U.S. exchanges attracted 57 percent of such
transactions in 2001, compared with just 16 percent during the first
ten months of 2006.''
It further notes: ``London already enjoys clear leadership in the
fast-growing and innovative over-the-counter derivatives market. This
is significant because of the trading flow that surrounds derivatives
markets and because of the innovation these markets drive, both of
which are key competitive factors for financial centers. Dealers and
investors increasing use derivatives and cash markets as
interchangeable and are therefore combining trading operations for both
products. Indeed, the derivatives market can be more liquid than the
underlying cash markets. Therefore, as London takes the global lead in
derivatives, America's competitiveness in both cash and derivatives
flow trading is at risk, as its position as a center for financial
innovation.''
One of the common themes we are seeing in terms of movement of
business away from the United States to

[[Page S5066]]

London and other capital markets are the regulatory burdens and the
regulatory regime that we impose here in the United States. I do not
think anybody would say that we should simply take down our regulatory
position, because we do have one of the strongest markets in the world.
But the question is are we over-regulating.
Fortunately, academics, business leaders, and politicians are working
together to study this issue. They have identified several specific
problems that hinder the competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets
and have issued reports outlining possible solutions:

Interim Report of the Committee on Capital Markets
Regulation, November 2006; Schumer/Bloomberg report entitled:
``Sustaining New York's and U.S.' Global Financial Services
Leadership, January 2007; Commission on the Regulations of
U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century, March 2007.

I would especially like to commend the senior Senator from New York
for his efforts in this project. All three reports add considerably to
the understanding of the challenges that American capital markets face
and offer solutions that could help American markets, companies, and
workers to better compete.
Additionally, on March 13, 2007, the Department of the Treasury
convened a conference on United States capital markets competitiveness
where conference delegates discussed ways to keep U.S. capital markets
the strongest and most innovative in the world. This problem is well-
documented and it is time that we take the necessary steps to restore
America's leadership position in the global financial services
marketplace.
This amendment states it is the sense of the Senate
(1) Congress, the President, regulators, industry leaders, and other
stakeholders should take the necessary steps to reclaim the preeminent
position of the United States in the global financial services
marketplace;
(2) the Federal and State financial regulatory agencies should, to
the maximum extent possible, coordinate activities on significant
policy matters, so as not to impose regulations that may have adverse
unintended consequences on innovativeness with respect to financial
products, instruments, and services, or that impose regulatory costs
that are disproportionate to their benefits, and, at the same time,
ensure that the regulatory framework overseeing the United States
capital markets continues to promote and protect the interests of
investors in those markets;
(3) given the complexity of the financial services marketplace today,
Congress should exercise vigorous oversight over Federal regulatory and
statutory requirements affecting the financial services industry and
consumers, with the goal of eliminating excessive regulation and
problematic implementation of existing laws and regulations, while
ensuring that necessary investor protections are not compromised.
This amendment is supported by the American Bankers Association, the
Business Roundtable, United States Chamber of Commerce, Financial
Services Forum, Investment Company Institute, International Swaps and
Derivatives Association, Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association, NASDAQ, and NYSE.
I also thank my colleagues for joining me in supporting this
amendment, and I thank the senior Senator from New York for working
with me on this amendment

Amendment No. 922

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate on amendment No. 922, offered by the Senator from
Oklahoma.
Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I wish to speak against this amendment.
This amendment will increase the work of the inspector general because
of its mandatory nature, but it will not add any additional results.
Secondly, it provides that audits be posted on the Web within 60 days
without any safeguards for proprietary information that may be gathered
as a result of the audit, and it provides no protections under existing
information privacy laws.
Then there is the word ``conference,'' which I think is too broad and
has implications for existing and future educational activities, which
is the major part of the underlying bill.
For this reason, and many others, I am opposed to it.
I yield back my remaining time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Oklahoma wish to be
heard?
Mr. COBURN. I yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 922.
Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cantwell). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 82, nays 14, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 145 Leg.]

YEAS--82

Alexander
Allard
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown
Bunning
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Clinton
Coburn
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Corker
Cornyn
Craig
Crapo
DeMint
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Graham
Grassley
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Lott
Martinez
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Obama
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Salazar
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Sununu
Tester
Thomas
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NAYS--14

Akaka
Byrd
Dodd
Feingold
Gregg
Inouye
Kennedy
Kerry
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
Rockefeller
Stevens

NOT VOTING--4

Biden
Brownback
Johnson
McCain
The amendment (No. 922) was agreed to.
Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I voted against Senator Coburn's
amendment, No. 922, because it will place a difficult burden on grant
activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
NOAA. The amendment as drafted has disturbing privacy implications. The
inspector general's audits must be posted on the Web within 60 days
without any safeguards for proprietary information. Further, the
amendment is drafted so broadly that some reasonable uses of grant
awards would be jeopardized. Researchers might be restrained from
attending peer conferences which are a part of the scientific process.
NOAA awards grants throughout Michigan in order to protect and restore
the Great Lakes, and I want to ensure that this amendment does not
interfere with NOAA's mission in the Great Lakes and our Nation's
waters. I support the goal of the amendment to provide for
accountability and transparency, and I hope that my concerns with the
amendment will be addressed in conference so that I can support the
provision in the conference report.

Nanotechnology in the Schools

Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I would like to thank the distinguished
Senator from New Mexico, Mr. Bingaman, and the distinguished Senator
from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, for their leadership in crafting the
America COMPETES Act and managing it on the Senate floor. I would also
like to thank Senator Inouye and Senator Kennedy for their roles in
developing and moving this bill. It is a critical piece of legislation
that will help ensure our great Nation remains competitive in the
global economy.
I would also like to thank my distinguished colleague from Oregon,
Mr. Smith, the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry, and
the distinguished Senator from Arkansas, Mr.

[[Page S5067]]

Pryor, for working with me to draft language to enable high schools and
colleges to purchase nanotechnology equipment through grants from the
National Science Foundation. And I thank the distinguished Senator from
New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, for working with us to add some of that
language to his important amendment to this fine bill.
Nanotechnology involves the understanding and control of matter at
dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers--as small as a single
molecule. At that scale, unique phenomena enable novel applications.
The rapidly growing field of nanotechnology is generating scientific
and technological breakthroughs that will benefit society by improving
the way many things are designed and made. It will continue to be at
the heart of innovation in a wide range of sectors for decades to come.
With the inclusion of the language that we proposed, partnerships
between low income school districts, colleges and universities, and
businesses will be able to secure funds to purchase classroom versions
of scanning electron microscopes and other tools that are fundamental
to the study of nanotechnology.
Mr. SMITH. Madam President, I thank my distinguished colleague and
the Senators from New Mexico, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Arkansas, and
New Jersey.
Nanotechnology will have a significant, positive impact on the
security, economic well-being, and health of Americans as fields
related to nanotechnology expand. In order to maximize the benefits of
nanotechnology to our citizens, the United States must maintain world
leadership in the field.
According to the National Science Foundation, foreign students on
temporary visas earned 32 percent of all science and engineering
doctorates awarded in the United States in 2003, the last year for
which data is available. Foreign students earned 55 percent of the
engineering doctorates. Many of these students expressed an intent to
return to their country of origin after completing their study.
To maintain world leadership in nanotechnology, the United States
must make a long-term investment in educating U.S. students in high
schools and colleges, so that our students are able to conduct
nanoscience research and develop and commercialize nanotechnology
applications.
Preparing students for careers in nanotechnology requires they have
access to the necessary scientific tools, including scanning electron
microscopes designed for teaching, and involves training to enable
teachers and professors to use the tools in classrooms and
laboratories.
Mr. WYDEN. I agree with my colleague. It is well documented that
America needs to address the science, technology, engineering and math
deficit--this entire bill is a reflection of that understanding. This
deficit is possibly greatest in the Nation's poorest school districts.
Yet these school districts also offer a reservoir of potential--
potential, if properly tapped, that could generate hundreds of
thousands of scientists and engineers who can help ensure that America
can compete in the global marketplace, and harness the economic
promise--and good paying jobs--of emerging fields like nanotechnology.
I have seen some of the nanotechnology equipment that folks will be
able to use these funds to purchase. And honestly, it is exciting
stuff. I expect that it will help generate the enthusiasm, as well as
the knowledge and understanding, necessary to attract and retain
America's future nanotechnologists.
So I would urge the Director of the National Science Foundation, as
he is implementing this program, to give special attention to grant
proposals that include a nanotechnology element.
Mr. SMITH. I agree with my colleague from Oregon and I also hope that
the Director will give special attention to grant proposals that
include a nanotechnology element. Nanotechnology is not a specific
technology, but a descriptive term encompassing a range of fields from
biology to computer science, and from medicine to engineering. This
legislation will enable high schools and colleges, in partnership with
local businesses, to purchase basic tabletop nanotechnology tools for
classroom use--not laboratory use for research, but classroom use for
education--to help create the next generation of scientists of all
kinds, and to ensure that they will have the skills to apply
nanotechnology to whatever specific scientific field they enter.
Mr. WYDEN. I would like to make one last point--the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act will come up for
reauthorization next year. As one of the authors of the act, and as one
of the cochairmen of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus, I am
looking forward to hearing my colleagues' thoughts about how the act
might be amended to further promote American competitiveness in the
vitally important field of nanotechnology.

authorization for department of energy basic research, section 2006

Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I wish to commend the managers of the
bill for continuing here on the floor the remarkable cooperative effort
that characterized the development of this legislation by the three
Senate committees. That said, I want to note that I think we need to
give further consideration to the funding pattern for basic research
within the Department of Energy in Section 2006. We have responded to
the Augustine Report's call for increasing our commitment to basic
research in the physical sciences by doubling funding over the next
decade, but we need to make sure that those funds are distributed over
the years in a manner that will maximize the effectiveness of those
programs. I suggest that we need to increase and accelerate funding for
these basic research programs. I request that the managers agree to
work with me to accomplish that as this bill works its way through
conference.
Mr. BINGAMAN. I share my colleague's concern. We must ensure that the
funding increases for the Office of Science at the Department of Energy
are sufficient and that they are allocated to specific years so that
there is a nexus between the needs of each of the various research
programs and the amounts provided for each fiscal year. I will be
pleased to work with my colleagues in conference to refine further
these authorizations.
Mr. ALEXANDER. I thank the senior Senator from New Mexico for
bringing this matter to our attention. I, too, recognize the
significant contributions of the Department of Energy Office of Science
to our Nation's commitment to basic research. It is the largest Federal
funding source of basic research in the physical sciences. So it is, of
course, extremely important that we get the funding right. I will also
be pleased to work with my colleagues to make certain we provide
optimal support for these programs.
Mr. DOMENICI. I thank my colleagues for their willingness to work
with me on this issue, and I am hopeful that the conference report we
ultimately consider will have the best funding scenario we can provide
for these basic research programs.

Authorization of the Atp Program

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I had intended to call up amendment No.
969 which sets forth authorization levels for the Advanced Technology
Program, ATP, to restore the ATP program to its historic funding
levels. The Senate's defeat of the Coburn amendment expresses the will
of the Senate to support the ATP program. I am also confident that the
chairman and the committee can accomplish in conference what this
amendment intended to do.
Again, by defeating the Coburn amendment to repeal the authorization
for the Advanced Technology Program, ATP, the Senate has again
expressed its support for ATP.
This body understands the importance of this program. In the past the
Senate has, on numerous occasions, supported amendments to the budget
resolution to provide for ATP. Every time we have had an appropriations
vote on this program we have retained funding for ATP.
We have lost 3 million manufacturing jobs since January 2001. In the
face of these losses and strong global economic competition, we should
be doing all we can to promote programs that help create jobs and
strengthen the technological innovation of American companies.
The ATP is one of the key Federal programs available to help U.S.
manufacturers remain competitive in a global economy.

[[Page S5068]]

I have spoken with the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and I
am confident he will support strong funding for the ATP program in
conference.
Mr. BINGAMAN. I will support efforts to authorize this important
program which the Senate has so often voted to support, consistent of
course with our ability to get a conference report that the Senate can
pass.
I thank Senator Levin for bringing this matter to the attention of
the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
Mr. REID. Madam President, if all of the Members are here now, I want
to express thanks--I think I speak for the whole Senate--for the work
done by Senators Bingaman and Alexander. It is a very important piece
of legislation. This is the fifth day we have worked on this piece of
legislation; this is only the floor days. We spent hours and hours
coming up with the idea, having meetings, meeting with individual
Senators.
It is a good piece of legislative work. As we know, legislation is
the art of compromise. They have made the compromises which improved
the legislation. They were assisted by the chair and ranking member of
the HELP Committee, Kennedy and Enzi; Commerce Committee, Inouye and
Stevens; and, of course, Senator Bingaman's housemate from New Mexico,
Senator Domenici, has been on the floor a lot these past few days. It
is good to see him up around, back in his fighting form. He has done
very good work as usual.
I also express my appreciation to Senator McConnell for allowing us
to move forward. This is a good bipartisan piece of legislation. I said
when this legislation started we were going to do something on a
bipartisan basis. Recognizing that although there was a little bit of
downtime on a few occasions, I made the decision before we went to this
bill there would be no procedural cloture votes filed. I thought it was
good to let everybody know we can work through these bills if we have
to with a little cooperation from everyone.
Thank you very much.
Let me finally say, the House is going to complete the work on the
supplemental sometime late tonight. We will get that sometime late
tomorrow. We are going to try to have the final passage of this about a
quarter to 1 tomorrow. I am assuming it will be final passage: we will
have the vote, anyway. Then that will be the last vote for this week.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, let me join my good friend the
majority leader, and say this is a good example of the Senate, a broad
bipartisan bill of consequence, with spectacular, widespread
participation led by Senator Alexander, Senator Domenici, Senator
Stevens, and others on this side; Senator Bingaman and others on that
side. This is a proud moment for the Senate. I congratulate all of
those who spent a couple of years crafting this measure and putting it
together so it can enjoy this large vote it is about to receive.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.

Amendment No. 973

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, we did inadvertently leave one
additional amendment off the list that I read describing the managers'
package. I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 973 be agreed to,
and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 973) was agreed to, as follows:

(Purpose: To include the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration on the President's Council on Innovation and
Competitiveness)

On page 16, strike lines 15 and 16 and insert the
following:
(P) The Small Business Administration.
(Q) Any other department or agency designated by the
President.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, let me say very briefly that I very
much appreciate Senator Reid's leadership in setting time aside and
making this a priority for the Senate, and Senator McConnell as well.
And, of course, I acknowledge the great work Senator Alexander has done
at every stage in this process. He has done a terrific job, and he has
been the persistent impetus for getting this legislation to this point
and deserves great credit for it. Senator Domenici does as well. He
took a very strong leadership role in the last Congress and again in
this Congress in getting this done.
Of course, Senator Ensign and Senator Lieberman have been real
leaders on the issue, and Senator Mikulski, Senator Inouye, Senator
Stevens, Senator Hutchison, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Enzi. All of
them have played a major part.
This is multicommittee legislation and multi-Senator legislation. It
is bipartisan, as was said. It is a good step for the Senate to be
taking. I appreciate everyone's cooperation and help.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, out of respect to our colleagues, I
am going to defer my remarks until after the vote except to say--all of
the thank-yous, except to say one thing: There are a number of issues
before this body that are too big for one party to solve. This has been
one of them. But after 2 years of work across party lines, we ended up
with 63 cosponsors, 208 pages of legislation. We dealt with 40
amendments in the last 3 days without any cloture. I hope this sets an
example for dealing with some of the other large issues we have that
are too big for one party to solve.
I thank my colleagues for working with us in this way. I will be more
specific about those thanks to the leaders and the other Senators after
the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, fellow Senators, I have been involved
in the last 2 years in two major legislative efforts; both of them have
been bipartisan, extremely bipartisan. I don't know how far that will
carry us, but it certainly is a good feeling. It is different to know
that Senators on both sides of the aisle support the effort you are
making when you work hard for something like we did for this one.
The brain power of our youth is the salvation of our country. It is
the source of innovation and the source of our economic power. It is
failing because we are not educating our children properly. That is the
heart of the recommendation given to us. It is the heart of what they
gave us as their recommendations, the great American leaders who
volunteered, and we were able to keep most of it regardless of how
difficult the committee jurisdictions are. Three major committees
getting together to fix this is pretty good work.
I thank everyone. There are more that I want to thank one on one. I
will thank them later. But it has been a great effort. I thoroughly
enjoyed it after these many years of being a Senator. The last couple
of years have been absolutely terrific when you can get a couple of
major bills done with both sides of the aisle.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall it pass?
Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Delaware (Mr. Biden) would vote ``yea.''
Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 88, nays 8, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 146 Leg.]

YEAS--88

Akaka
Alexander
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bingaman

[[Page S5069]]

Bond
Boxer
Brown
Bunning
Burr
Byrd
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Clinton
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Corker
Cornyn
Craig
Crapo
Dodd
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Grassley
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hutchison
Inouye
Isakson
Kennedy
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
Martinez
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Obama
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Salazar
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Sununu
Tester
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NAYS--8

Allard
Coburn
DeMint
Graham
Gregg
Inhofe
Kyl
Thomas

NOT VOTING--4

Biden
Brownback
Johnson
McCain
The bill (S. 761), as amended, was passed.
(The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote and to
lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, I speak today in support of the
America Competes Act, ACA, a bill designed to increase math and science
opportunities for our Nation's youth, an issue of great importance in
our increasingly global economy. I have heard from Wisconsinites at the
K-12 education level as well as members of my State's higher education
community who have voiced support for the ACA and the boost it provides
to math and science programming. I am particularly pleased the Senate
accepted my amendment to improve education privacy protections in the
P-16 database component of this legislation.
For decades, America has dominated the science and technological
fields both in the higher education community and the business sector.
As the National Academy of Sciences', NAS, report ``Above the Gathering
Storm: Energizing and Employing America for Brighter Future'' outlined,
the United States is facing some important challenges that need to be
addressed if our country wishes to remain the worldwide economic and
scientific leader. The report made clear that the science and
technology preeminence that we have enjoyed for decades should not be
taken for granted and deserves serious attention.
The NAS report also highlights the need for supporting basic and
applied research as a foundation for America's continued competitive
edge. The America COMPETES Act follows through on these suggestions by
boosting funding for competitive basic research through the NSF and
other agencies. I have long been a strong supporter of competitive
research funding, cultivating young researchers, graduate students and
professionals, and creating an overall environment that encourages
innovation, so I was glad to see these provisions in the legislation.
While this legislation provides a Federal emphasis, this effort is
going to have to be a partnership with public and private universities
and colleges to be successful. Knowing Wisconsin, I am sure our
institutions and higher education and companies will step up to the
plate and embrace this partnership.
Keeping America competitive globally is particularly relevant as
manufacturing and industrial plants have closed in the United States
and been rebuilt in other nations where the cost of hiring technical
experts like engineers and chemists are often one-fifth or even one-
tenth that in the US. While we need to boost education and employment
training for these workers, I am concerned that retraining and major
investment in the science and technology arena will not be enough to
make a long-term difference without improved trade agreements. I
continue to be troubled by the trade agreements into which our country
has entered in recent years. Too often, they lack even the most basic
labor and environmental standards needed to prevent a race to the
bottom, and to ensure that our businesses and workers can compete on an
equal footing. The unfortunate result of these flawed agreements has
been the flight of jobs overseas and downward pressure on wages and
benefits for those jobs that remain. If agreements such as these
continue to be the rule, I am afraid that even with significant
investment in science and technology our global position will continue
to erode.
While trade policy is an important aspect of our country's
competitiveness, maintaining and strengthening America's
competitiveness is a multi-disciplinary effort. I am pleased that the
ACA includes funding for various important education programs including
teacher professional development and summer learning institutes for K-
12 teachers, and expanded access to AP and IB courses for students in
high-need schools. Providing training and support to America's teachers
is an essential component of strengthening our nation's educational
system and ensuring the educational growth of American students.
Teacher quality is one of the biggest factors that impacts student
achievement and too many students in our nation's most disadvantaged
schools are taught by less experienced and less qualified teachers than
their counterparts in our more advantaged schools. The programs
provided in the ACA move our country in the right direction towards
closing the gap in teacher quality and increasing the number of math
and science teachers throughout the country.
I am pleased the Senate adopted my amendment to strengthen the
education privacy provisions in the title IV section of the bill which
funds alignment of education programs. Under this section, States could
apply for grants to improve alignment of the K-12 education standards
with the skills that are needed for both the workforce and college.
States could also use the grants to create P-16 databases which would
compile information on students from kindergarten through college for
the purposes of improving education policy in the States. While I fully
support better alignment between the K-12 and higher education systems,
I was concerned that the privacy provisions of the underlying bill were
not strong enough to protect this important student data. As we have
seen recently with the unauthorized uses of the federal National
Student Loan Data System, these data systems are not completely secure
and are potentially subject to abuse by those who have access to such
data systems.
My amendment adds some commonsense protections that States would have
to comply with in order to receive Federal funding to create or improve
education databases. States and third parties will only be able to use
the data in the P-16 systems to fulfill purposes set out in State and
Federal education law and third parties who access the data must sign a
data use agreement prohibiting further disclosure or unauthorized uses.
States will also have to account for all disclosures of data and make
the accounting available to individuals whose data has been disclosed.
Additionally, States must maintain adequate electronic security
measures to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of the data.
Databases established with these Federal grant dollars would be subject
to the protections of the Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act.
Finally, the underlying bill requires States to assign students unique
identifiers in the State databases and my amendment would prohibit
Federal, State, and local agencies from using the unique identifiers
for any purposes except those allowed under Federal and State education
law, as well as requiring the Secretary of Education to promulgate
regulations to govern the use of unique identifiers in order to
safeguard individual privacy.
During consideration of the bill I supported several amendments that
would impose greater fiscal responsibility, such as Senator DeMint's
amendment opposing earmarks and Senator Coburn's amendment addressing
the Advanced Technology Program. I did not support other amendments
that, while well-intentioned, could have undermined the principles and
purposes of the bill. I opposed Senator Coburn's amendment to sunset
the provisions of the ACA and its amendments because of my concerns
that this would nullify positive policy changes made by the ACA. I also
opposed his

[[Page S5070]]

amendment regarding the grant programs of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. That amendment would have unduly interfered
with grant recipients' ability to meet the objectives of their grants
by prohibiting participation in conferences that, for example, could
further scientific understanding. Grant recipients from all Federal
agencies already must comply with regulations that prohibit the misuse
of Federal funds on things such as entertainment and alcohol expenses.
I am pleased we were able to work in a bipartisan manner to pass this
important legislation. Improving math and science programs for
disadvantaged youth and strengthening professional development
opportunities for America's teachers are critically important to our
Nation's future. The United States has long been known for its
leadership in scientific discoveries and achievement, but our country
must continue to improve and strengthen our education programs related
to math, science, and technology if the United States wants to remain
the world's leader on these issues. I believe the America COMPETES Act
moves our country in the right direction towards achieving these
important goals.
Mr. REID. Madam President, passing S. 761, the America COMPETES Act,
is an important first step towards maintaining our country's
competitive advantage in the global economy.
This legislation was written with strong bipartisan cooperation and
negotiation. Many competing interests and competing views were heard
during an open amendment process with Senators free to offer their
ideas for improving the legislation. And, in what I hope is a sign of
things to come, we were not forced to file cloture to complete action
on this bill. Over the past few days, the Senate worked just as it was
designed to do.
We would not have achieved this great bipartisan success were it not
for the hard work of Senators Bingaman and Alexander. While many
Senators played important roles in passing this bill, Senators Bingaman
and Alexander were responsible for raising the awareness of our
diminishing ability to compete, and for bringing a much-needed sense of
urgency to this issue. I also want to recognize the hard work of a
number of my colleagues, Senators Inouye, Stevens, Kennedy, Enzi,
Lieberman, Ensign, Mikulski, and Hutchison, who were also instrumental
in crafting and now passing this legislation.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that we follow
through on the commitments and investments we made today in passing the
America COMPETES Act. And I am hopeful that we can continue to work
together in a bipartisan manner to move this country forward.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, let me speak again about the
extraordinary effort that went into this legislation and talk
particularly about the staff work that has brought us to this point.
I think everyone involved in this legislation knows this represents
many days and many nights of hard work by staff people in our personal
offices as well as on committee staff. We have seen a great example of
how the staffs of the various committees can come together and produce
a good product.
I will reiterate the leadership among Senators for this work. Senator
Alexander, of course, deserves tremendous credit. Senator Domenici
deserves tremendous credit. Senator Lieberman and Senator Ensign have
both worked very hard on this legislation and deserve great credit as
well. I know Senators Reid and McConnell acknowledged their good work.
We also, of course, could not have done this without the leadership of
Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi on the HELP Committee, and without the
leadership of Senator Inouye, Senator Stevens, Senator Mikulski, and
Senator Hutchison. There are several others I am sure I should have on
the list as well because this was a combined effort.
The three committees that put this legislation together were the
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, under the leadership
of Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi; of course, the Commerce, Science,
and Transportation Committee under Senator Inouye and Senator Stevens;
and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The portion of this
legislation that came from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee
was reported out when Senator Domenici was the chairman in the last
Congress. I was proud to work with him in doing that. I can recall the
effort the three of us made--Senator Alexander, Senator Domenici, and
myself--to persuade the President to make this a priority. He did make
it a priority. Of course, he deserves credit for that as well.
Let me also talk for a minute about individual staff members on both
sides of the aisle who worked very hard to make this a success--from
the Commerce Committee: Jean Toal-Eisen, Jason Mulvihill, Chan Lieu,
Beth Bacon, Jeff Bingham, H.J. Derr, Floyd Deschamps, and Christine
Kurth; from the HELP Committee: Missy Rohrbach, Lindsay Hunsicker,
Michael Yudin; from my staff: Carmel Martin, David Cleary, Anne Clough,
Beth Buehlman, Roberto Rodriguez, and Ilyse Schuman; from the Energy
Committee: Bob Simon, staff director Jonathan Epstein, who has been
working with me tirelessly on this legislation, Sam Fowler, and, of
course, our general counsel, Kathryn Clay, and Melanie Roberts; on
Senator Alexander's staff: Matt Sonnesyn and Jack Wells are the two
with whom I am most familiar who have worked so hard; from Senator
Lieberman's staff: Rachel Stotsky, Craig Robinson, and Colleen Shogan;
and from on my staff: My legislative director Trudy Vincent has been
extremely involved and helpful in getting this legislation completed. I
wish to acknowledge the great work done by Jason Unger and Mark Wetjen
on Senator Reid's staff and by Libby Jarvis on Senator McConnell's
staff.
This is legislation which could not have come together without the
good work of all of these people whose names I have mentioned. They can
be proud of their success in this venture.
Of course, this is only one hurdle in the process. It seems, in the
legislative process, no matter how many hurdles jumped, there is always
another ahead. We now have to find a way to reconcile any differences
we have with the House on this set of issues. We hope we can do that
successfully in the near future and send the bill to the President.
Again, I particularly congratulate Senator Alexander and Senator
Domenici. I know Senator Alexander has some comments he wants to make.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. ALEXANDER. I ask unanimous consent to add the following Senators
as cosponsors of S. 761, the America COMPETES Act: Senators Snowe and
Hatch.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, let me say to Senator Bingaman, I
greatly appreciate working with him. I do not believe there will be a
more important piece of legislation to come before Congress this year
because it goes right to the heart of something every American
understands, which is, How do we keep our jobs? This is the way we do
it. We keep our brainpower advantage. We keep our jobs in competition
with China and India. There are other factors as well, but what we know
is--and we have a broad consensus in the Senate--that most of our
remarkable standard of living, a situation where we have 30 percent of
all the money in the world produced in this country for about 5 percent
of the people, comes from our brainpower advantage, kindergarten
through the twelfth grade, a wonderful higher education system, and our
research institutes. That is the importance of this legislation.
The second thing about the legislation is that, to a remarkable
degree, we rely on the people we ought to rely on in giving the answer
to the question, How do we keep our brainpower advantage? Senator
Bingaman and I, with the encouragement and under the leadership of
Senator Domenici, who last year was chairman of the Energy Committee,
asked the National Academy of Sciences: Please tell us the 10 things we
need to do in order to keep our brainpower advantage so we can keep our
jobs.
So they asked Norm Augustine, the former head of Lockheed Martin, to
chair a distinguished group of about 21, and they gave up their summer
2 years

[[Page S5071]]

ago. They included three Nobel laureates, the former head of MIT, and
others of that caliber, and they gave us 20--in priority order--things
to do. At about that same time, the Council on Competitiveness had
finished its work. Senator Lieberman and Senator Ensign had introduced
their bill.
That legislation, which was the Domenici-Bingaman legislation, after
a lot of work with the Bush administration, became the Frist-Reid bill
toward the end of last year. Then, when we changed parties in the
Senate, the very same bill became the Reid-McConnell bill. So we had
worked closely together in a bipartisan way where we were able to
overcome differences.
I do not want the 88-to-8 vote to fool anybody. This was not that
easy to do. This has been 2 years of work, with lots of different
committees, many different ideas. But it has been a successful effort.
As I said, briefly, just before the vote, it is a privilege always to
be a Senator. It has especially been a privilege this week because the
Senate is acting as the Senate should. We are dealing, first, with one
of the biggest issues facing our country. Second, we are recognizing it
is one of that handful of big issues that cannot be solved by one party
alone. The Democrats could have charged up and down the hill all night
long, and they could not have done it. The Republicans could have done
the same, and we could not have done it. We could only have done it in
the way we did it, and we did.
There are other issues out there like that. I think of immigration,
which the majority leader has said we will be moving to soon. There is
the question of affordable health insurance for every American. There
is the question of energy independence. I hope this is a model for how
we can work together and avoid some of the petty bickering we sometimes
fall into. I think the American people would appreciate that, and I
hope they will appreciate this.
I wish to thank especially the Senators whom Senator Bingaman talked
about. He and his staff have been a delight to work with. Senator
Domenici, of course, has been terrific to me as a junior member of his
committee last year, allowing me to work on this. But when Senator
Stevens and Senator Inouye and Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi,
basically, lent their prestige and sense of urgency to this legislation
and stepped back and allowed it to proceed and participated rather than
claim some jurisdictional advantage, that is what really helped.
Senator Ensign made a tremendous difference within the Republican
caucus, and Senator Hutchison and Senator Bond, and Senator Mikulski on
that side. Senator Chambliss and others from the very beginning have
worked on this issue. That is why we had 70 Senators on the Domenici-
Bingaman bill last year--35 Republicans, 35 Democrats. And that is why
we had 63 cosponsors of the Reid-McConnell bill.
Finally, Senator Reid allowed this to come forward, and Senator
McConnell worked with him in a way that permitted this environment. It
is pretty remarkable. We have had nothing like this in the Senate this
year. We had no cloture--not one bit of cloture. We had a very
complicated bill. We dealt with 40 amendments, and we got it all done
within a week--on one of the most important pieces of legislation. That
is a significant achievement. We should not forget the role Senator
Frist played last year in helping to move things along. So I thank my
colleagues for the privilege of being a part of it.
Senator Bingaman read the names, I believe, of all of the Democratic
staff and Republican staff. I do not think he left anyone out. I want
to especially, therefore, say--I hope this is appropriate to do--to
Jonathan Epstein and Senator Bingaman's staff how much we appreciate
all of them. They really have been indispensable to this effort. I also
thank Matt Sonnesyn, who has been our lead. He has been indispensable,
as well, and David Cleary; and Kathryn Clay on Senator Domenici's
staff, who has been crucial to the effort. The staff have spent
hundreds of hours, literally, in the last 2 years working carefully
through the bill.
I might say this, in conclusion--I know Senator Domenici has
something to say--I took the legislation home over the weekend and
reread it, all 208 pages. It is remarkably coherent, well written, and
well organized. Maybe this process would be a good model for other
legislation.
The House of Representatives is already moving. Congressman Gordon
and Congressman Boehlert joined Senator Bingaman and me in asking the
National Academies for their recommendations 2 years ago. Those
recommendations have been introduced in the House. It is my hope that
after our legislation goes there, the House will act soon, and we will
be able to send this legislation to the President.
Senator Domenici took us to the White House last year to talk with
the President about this issue. He secured the invitation, and it was
not just a Republican Senator or another Republican Senator, it was a
Republican senior Senator and a Democratic senior Senator meeting with
the President. That is the way we worked on this issue. So we
appreciate the President's attention and priority to this issue. It
would not have happened without that, either.
Thank you, Madam President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I will be very brief because so much
has been said, I do not think I should repeat it. I think all of the
people who deserve to be thanked have been thanked. I thank Senator
Bingaman for being so gracious to all of those who worked on this
legislation. I say to Senator Bingaman, you always do, and you made
sure the Record reflects each of their names, including those of my
staff. We all thank you for that act of courtesy.
I just want to say, we all knew when we started we were addressing a
very big problem. I am sure each of us from time to time has wondered
whether what we were doing was going to have as big an effect as we
hoped on our children in their ability to improve their brainpower, as
we help teachers who teach them be better teachers of the hard subjects
of math and science and the like.
I am sure many times we wondered whether this was the right avenue
and approach. But once we got into it, it was apparent we had not been
led astray, that the leaders who put it together for us--and there is
not a large group of them, but they are very talented, and they are
very American--sought nothing but to give us the best recommendations
for our country. That was a wonderful group in the Academies. Of
course, their chairman, the former CEO of Lockheed Martin, just did a
marvelous job.
I am very hopeful, now that we have done this, we will get the money
appropriated. I pledge here tonight I will do everything I can--and I
hope we will muster more help as we go through appropriations--to see
that we give this legislative thrust a chance. If you want a shell, you
will get a shell. If you do not want to pay for these programs, you
will not help your kids, because there is nothing mysterious about
this. There is a huge amount of work that has to be done by people and
institutions that have to be paid.
This bill says how we are going to pay for it, but it is an
authorizing bill. I told the Senate that, and I proved it, there is
nothing we could do in terms of the Budget Act for those who wanted to
stop it, because it does not spend money. It authorizes a series of new
ideas as the program for the country. The program is immobile without
the resources that are stated. As we look at it carefully, we might
even see we did not put enough in certain areas. I am certainly going
to go to conference and work on the Appropriations Committee with the
full idea that we must fully fund this bill for the next 3 or 4 years
if we are going to get what we want for our young people and the
teachers and parents who so anxiously wait for something good and
positive.
This day has been a long time coming. For over a year, we have been
working to pass a bill that will give America the brain power needed to
compete in the global marketplace.
This is a process that began in the Energy Committee, with a request
to the National Academy of Sciences to put together a report that told
us what needed to be done to help America compete. That report,
``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' led by former Lockheed CEO Norm
Augustine, serves as the basis for the legislation we just passed.

[[Page S5072]]

Last year, the Energy Committee moved forward with legislation that
utilizes the Department of Energy and its national labs to train our
teachers and rekindle interest in math and science. We called that bill
the PACE--Protecting America's Competitive Edge.
At the end of last session, and again this year, we were able to
partner with our leaders, Senator Reid and Senator McConnell, and our
colleagues on the Commerce and HELP Committees, to put together the
comprehensive America COMPETES Act.
Less than 6 percent of high school seniors have plans to study
engineering, but 50 percent of our current U.S. science and engineering
workforce is approaching retirement age.
By bringing our national labs into the classroom, we can begin to
address this problem.
Since the Augustine report emphasizes the need for a renewed focus on
basic science and research, this bill authorizes doubling the funding
for DOE's Office of Science.
I look forward to working with the House in conference to pass a
strong, bipartisan bill that will allow America to rise above the
gathering storm and compete once again.
With that, Madam President, once again, I thank Senator Bingaman. It
has been a pleasure to get another bipartisan bill through with you. If
we keep doing this, they are going to be mentioning the Senator from
New Mexico so much--mentioning you and then me--they are going to think
the whole place is full of Senators from New Mexico. We do not have to
worry about that. We will take what we can get and do the best we can
with it.
I say to the Senator, thank you, Lamar, for coming to me and asking:
Could I push this with you all? It was a pleasure--and under my
chairmanship--to push it with you and for you. It came out very well.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Casey). The Senator from New Mexico.

____________________