[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 133 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION DIGITAL AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY 
                        OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. J. RANDY FORBES

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2007

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 694, the 
Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology 
Opportunity Act of 2007, and I would start by thanking House Science 
Committee Chairman Bart Gordon and Ranking Member Ralph Hall for their 
work to pass this bill. Additionally, Representative Ed Towns has been 
a tireless advocate in moving this bill forward and it has been a 
pleasure working with him to pass this legislation.
  This bill would establish a new grant program to provide funding of 
specific technologies to help ensure institutions like historically 
Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and 
tribal colleges have the tools necessary to prepare their students to 
engage and participate in the increasingly global and competitive 
economy.
  Now, more than ever, we are seeing other countries become 
increasingly competitive with the United States, with science and math 
scores equaling or exceeding average scores for American students.
  Additionally, another example of the nature of the problem we face 
globally can be seen in the engineering field. By 2008, India is 
expected to increase to a little over 700,000 young engineering 
professionals and China is expected to increase to 2.1 million. 
Conversely, the U.S. is predicated to stay stagnate at 700,000 
engineering young professionals by 2008 and other fields like life 
sciences are declining. This is a trend that cannot be allowed to 
continue if the United States wants to maintain its leadership role in 
the future global economy and graduate students that have the capacity 
to be this world's best and brightest.
  One of the realities that we need to address in order to ensure this 
happens is to make sure all populations in this country have access to 
basic technologies, something that is currently not the case for all 
segments of the American population. Although 55 percent of the U.S. 
population has internet access at home overall, only 36 percent of 
African-American and Hispanic households do, according to a U.S. Census 
report issued in October 2005.
  This bill would work to eliminate this ``digital divide'' by 
establishing a new grant program within the Department of Commerce to 
strengthen the ability of minority-serving institutions to purchase 
infrastructure and provide technology education services, providing 
students with the same access to technology as their peers at other 
colleges and universities.
  This legislation is about even more than just equality in education; 
it is about economic advancement and ensuring that America retains its 
edge in the math, science and technology fields--a critically important 
requirement in today's global economy.




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