[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 35 (Friday, February 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2582-S2583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SUPPORTING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, America's economy is in crisis. We can 
either drown under the weight of the problem, or we can ride the wave 
of opportunity that it offers.
  To do that, we must put science, engineering, and innovation back in 
their rightful place in our economy.
  If every cloud has a silver lining, this economic crisis can benefit 
America, we use this opportunity to restore our leadership in the 
world, if we create anew the industries, businesses and products that 
will shape the new economy.
  As the only Senator holding an engineering degree, I remember when 
engineering ranked far ahead of business administration as the premier 
college degree for those who had ambition and the determination to 
succeed.
  After the Soviet Union's 1957 surprise launch of Sputnik 1, American 
leaders spurred the Nation to catch up, to increase our national 
commitment to science.
  The Sputnik crisis led to the creation of NASA and other government 
research agencies, as well as an increase in U.S. Government spending 
on scientific research and higher education.
  It doensn't seem that long ago, but I was one of the young students 
who were drawn by Sputnik and our leaders' call to seek an engineering 
degree.
  More recently, though, more and more of America's best and brightest 
college students opted instead to take their ``quant'' skills in math 
and analysis to Wall Street.

[[Page S2583]]

  From what I understand, of all the undergraduate majors in the 2008 
class at the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology, 11.4 percent took 
jobs in finance. This is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, our 
leading engineering school, sending over 10 percent of its graduates to 
Wall Street.
  The stark truth is that during the go-go years on Wall Street, 
America's engineering and innovation expertise declined.
  And it is not just that engineers have been choosing finance over 
traditional engineering careers; fewer students having been choosing to 
study engineering, period.
  Back in 1986--not that long ago--engineering and engineering 
technology students earned close to 10 percent of U.S. bachelor's 
degrees. Despite attractive starting salaries, often above $50,000 a 
year, the percentage today is only about 5 percent.
  Only about 121,000 people earned degrees in engineering in 2007, and 
that includes bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.
  Today's financial crisis has given our young people an opportunity to 
take a hard look at how they want to spend their lives.
  It gives America's political and educational leaders an opportunity 
to reorder their resources, to open a pipeline to produce students 
skilled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM.
  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 80 percent of the 
new jobs created in the next 10 years will require these critical STEM 
skills.
  While America must remain a leader in finance, it is clear we must 
also be a world leader in energy, biotech, biomed and many other 
industries based on science, technology, and mathematical skills.
  Here is what we should do right away:
  We need to find more and better ways to marry public policy and 
engineering. Many universities have begun to do this, but we also must 
act on a national level, with the support and coordination of national 
policies.
  To take one key example, our Nation, and indeed our planet, is facing 
a potential crisis in the supply and demand for clean energy and water.
  How these issues are resolved will define our children's future. 
These problems require technical solutions, designed by scientists and 
engineers who also have an understanding of cultures, religions, and 
policy.
  We also need to develop programs that allow students to ``make a 
difference,'' to tap the idealism our young people are eager to 
express.
  For example, we should create an engineering jobs corps--similar to 
the Peace Corps or Teach for America--to help channel the young talent 
emerging from our engineering schools.
  The fields of biotech and biomed, energy and environment should 
attract socially conscious students who want to improve the quality of 
life for us all.
  Prior to graduating, engineering students typically must write a 
final paper addressing a problem to solve. We should make those papers 
part of our national dialogue, publish them, and make them available to 
government and to the business community, with authors' rights kept 
secure.
  Finally, we need to reach out to women and other students who have 
traditionally been underrepresented in engineering.
  The United States cannot maintain its position as a technological 
leader nor can we solve the problems we face without the perspectives 
and participation of all members of our society.
  We are in a struggle to define our nation's future. We must recruit 
all of the talent we can find.
  We know our competitors in countries like China are throwing their 
resources into science and engineering. We can do no less.
  When I went to college I wanted to be an engineer, in part because 52 
years ago the United States was supporting science and engineering on 
an unprecedented level. America's competitive spirit helped us meet the 
challenges of those times.
  Thousands of technical innovations created new products, new jobs, 
new industries, and new levels of economic productivity. We can do this 
again.
  The financial crisis--and our recognition of the misplaced priorities 
and resources that created it--can help lead a cultural shift back to 
the strong foundations of innovation and know-how that have always been 
the American way.
  The Federal Government can and should lead in supporting the basic 
scientific, medical and engineering research that will spur discoveries 
and innovations.
  Our entrepreneurs have always been ready to build on those 
foundations, to create millions of new jobs and shape a bright American 
future.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues and the administration 
to restore the prestige and leadership of science and engineering in 
our country.

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