[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3290-H3292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORTING DESIGNATION OF PI DAY

  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 224) supporting the designation of Pi 
Day, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 224

       Whereas the Greek letter (Pi) is the symbol for the ratio 
     of the circumference of a circle to its diameter;
       Whereas the ratio Pi is an irrational number, which will 
     continue infinitely without repeating, and has been 
     calculated to over one trillion digits;
       Whereas Pi is a recurring constant that has been studied 
     throughout history and is central in mathematics as well as 
     science and engineering;
       Whereas mathematics and science are a critical part of our 
     children's education, and children who perform better in math 
     and science have higher graduation and college attendance 
     rates;
       Whereas aptitude in mathematics, science, and engineering 
     is essential for a knowledge-based society;
       Whereas, according to the 2007 Trends in International 
     Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) survey done by the 
     National Center for Education Statistics, American children 
     in the 4th and 8th grade were outperformed by students in 
     other countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, England, 
     South Korea, Latvia, and Japan;
       Whereas since 1995 the United States has shown only minimal 
     improvement in math and science test scores;
       Whereas by the 8th grade, American males outperform females 
     on the science portion of the TIMSS survey, especially in 
     Biology, Physics, and Earth Science, and the lowest American 
     scores in math and science are found in minority and 
     impoverished school districts;
       Whereas America needs to reinforce mathematics and science 
     education for all students in order to better prepare our 
     children for the future and in order to compete in a 21st 
     Century economy;
       Whereas the National Science Foundation has been driving 
     innovation in math and science education at all levels from 
     elementary through graduate education since its creation 59 
     years ago;
       Whereas mathematics and science can be a fun and 
     interesting part of a child's education, and learning about 
     Pi can be an engaging way to teach children about geometry 
     and attract them to study science and mathematics; and
       Whereas Pi can be approximated as 3.14, and thus March 14, 
     2009, is an appropriate day for ``National Pi Day'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the designation of a ``Pi Day'' and its 
     celebration around the world;
       (2) recognizes the continuing importance of National 
     Science Foundation's math and science education programs; and
       (3) encourages schools and educators to observe the day 
     with appropriate activities that teach students about Pi and 
     engage them about the study of mathematics.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun) each 
will control 20 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on House Resolution 224, the 
resolution now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?

[[Page H3291]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 224, supporting the 
designation of Pi Day. This Saturday is March 14. The Greek letter pi--
the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its 
diameter--is rounded to 3.14.
  I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage our Nation's students 
of all ages, schools, and teachers, to observe Pi Day with fun math and 
science activities and events.
  This is a lighthearted event with serious goals. Math and science 
underpin our Nation's economic competitiveness and national security. 
By engaging in fun math and science activities from a young age, we are 
setting our students on a path towards science and math literacy, and 
opening the door to rewards and promising careers.
  Research has shown that most students who are not comfortable with 
math and science by junior high remain intimidated or uninterested 
throughout their education careers.
  On Pi Day, we want students to have fun with math and science. 
Second-graders could calculate the area of a pizza pie at a Pi Day 
pizza party. Sixth graders could learn about Newton's Laws of Motion 
from a game of boccie ball. Tenth-graders could learn about the 
hyperbolic functions by shooting Nerf rockets in the park.
  I leave the specifics to the schools, but my advice is to go and have 
some fun. Let the students see firsthand how math and science is fun 
and relevant. Let them see that it does apply to them. Let them 
discover that they really do like math and they really do like science.
  This is a lighthearted event, but the underlying problems we have in 
America are serious. The President of the United States stood in this 
room a few weeks ago and told us that ``the countries that out-teach us 
today will out-compete us tomorrow.''
  According to the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and 
Science, a survey done by the National Center for Education Statistics, 
American children in the fourth and eighth grades were outperformed by 
students in other countries, including Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, 
England, South Korea, Latvia, and Japan. Other students have been 
making improvements since the 1995 TIMSS, but they still are not 
achieving their potential. It doesn't matter to them as individuals 
but, boy, does it matter to our Nation as a whole.
  The 2005 National Academics Report, ``Rising Above the Gathering 
Storm,'' looked at our economic competitiveness and showed us a blank 
and bleak future--a stagnating U.S. economy, an ill-equipped 
educational system, and the U.S. losing its place as a scientific world 
leader.
  The recommendations contained in the ``Rising Above the Gathering 
Storm'' report were meant to pull us off the path we were on. They were 
signed into law in 2007 as part of the America COMPETES Act, and fell 
basically into three categories: Investments in basic research; 
innovation as the path toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil; 
and improving science, technology, engineering, and math education.

                              {time}  1130

  Our students' education, especially in science and math, will be a 
key component of our national economic competitiveness. We need to 
ensure not only that the Nation produces the top scientists, 
mathematicians, and engineers, but that every student is prepared for 
the high-paying technical jobs of the 21st century. We need the 
engineers that will invent the next new things; we need the 
manufacturers to design it, and an educated workforce to produce it. We 
cannot, and would not want to, compete globally on wages alone. We need 
to operate at a much higher level in this country.
  Given the current economic crisis, our economic competitiveness is 
more important than ever before. We have been trying to create jobs 
immediately, which we need to do, absolutely; but we also need to look 
down the road. If we do not take action to strengthen our Nation's 
economic competitiveness now, including improving science and math 
education, we could create jobs now, only to lose them in the future to 
foreign competition.
  We need to make sure that our children are prepared, and a strong 
foundation in math and science education is an essential part of that 
preparation. One of the best ways we can prepare our students is by 
encouraging their interest in math and science. So I am asking our 
Nation's students and teachers, for all of our sake, to go out and have 
fun around Pi Day.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 224. 
Improving math and science curriculum in our schools is great and 
admirable, as well as an absolute necessity, for our undertaking as 
Nation, and it is one that is long overdue. While our students have 
continued to improve in these fields over the course of the past few 
years, America is still being outperformed by students in many other 
countries.
  This is not a problem that can be simply fixed by this resolution. 
Nonetheless, every step must be taken with an aim to addressing this 
shortcoming in our school systems, and this resolution is undoubtedly a 
part of that. So I appreciate and thank Chairman Gordon and Ranking 
Member Hall for bringing this important piece of legislation to the 
floor in the hopes of drawing even more attention to an area of 
critical need in our Nation's education system.
  For our children and grandchildren to be able to compete in a global 
world, we must refocus on math and science and inspire our children in 
these fields at an early age, and House Resolution 224 helps us to do 
just that. Therefore, I support this resolution and the goals and 
ideals that it means to attain, and I urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  I want to congratulate my dear friend from Tennessee (Mr. Davis) on 
his remarkable opening remarks, and I want to associate myself with 
those remarks.
  Math and science are absolutely critical for us to be able to compete 
in a global economy, to be able to compete against nations all over 
this world. We are lacking in math and science; we are lacking in the 
subjects that are so critically important to this Nation for us to have 
our children be able to compete in that global economy.
  As a physician, I believe in science, of course. But it is much more 
than that. We have seen a degradation of the quality of education of 
our children. No Child Left Behind has been an absolute disaster. In 
fact, I have talked to educator after educator for the last several 
years since I have been here in Congress or running for Congress, and I 
have not found one who likes No Child Left Behind, because teachers are 
having to teach to the test, having to teach to these national 
standards, which have led the teachers away from actually teaching kids 
how to think, how to calculate, how to utilize the scientific method to 
investigate new things. This resolution helps to place a focus upon 
that, to help us to bring forth science as being a critical issue for 
our Nation. And it is a critical issue.
  I would like to see No Child Left Behind go away. I would like to see 
us stop teaching in schools things that are not as important and things 
that should be taught at home in intact families. So we need to rebuild 
families and encourage families to do that, instead of continuing this 
huge leap to a welfare state, a huge leap towards bigger government, a 
huge leap towards removing responsibility for the individuals and 
building a bigger government, a bigger socialistic society.
  We need to empower teachers, we need to empower educators at all 
levels to teach math and science, English and history. We need to have 
English as the official language of America. We need to have the basic 
tenets of education, reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history, 
English, be absolutely the important focus of education in America 
today. This bill focuses on one part of that that we need to bring 
forth, and I gladly support this House resolution.
  I thank my colleague from Tennessee for his remarks, and I do 
associate myself with those remarks. They were great. With that, I 
encourage every Member of this body to support this resolution.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H3292]]

  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Obviously, the gentleman from Georgia is a good friend and a 
neighbor. Each of us recognizes the need to train the young minds who 
will be the entrepreneurs, the inventors, those who will be bringing to 
the table new inventions that will help America's economy not only be 
competitive, but America's economy be the one that achieves and perhaps 
even brings this world out of what we see today as an economic 
recession.
  Years ago, in the 1970s, we established legislation on the national 
level that brought to rural areas in my congressional district and the 
gentleman from Georgia's congressional district special education, 
where we literally focused on young minds that were maybe not as 
capable of reaching the higher achievements, or they may not ever reach 
college. But some of the instructions that we gave them, some of the 
special attention we gave through special education has actually 
presented some of those individuals the opportunity where some have 
attended college. But it has also given them an opportunity to be 
competitive in our economy and to be a part of our society. We must do 
the same thing for the best and brightest as well. It is my hope that, 
as we engage in K-12, that we continue to focus on science, math, and 
technology, and to challenge the bright young minds that we have not 
been challenging in the past.
  We have been fortunate in this country through our higher educational 
system, which is, in my opinion and as scored by many throughout the 
world, the best higher educational system in the world. It is a merit-
based system. In many of the countries throughout the world, their K-12 
is also merit-based, and we have been getting some of those best and 
brightest from some of the K-12 educational systems to come to our 
colleges and retain them here in our economy, and they have been a part 
of America's economic growth.
  We are losing those students today. We cannot depend on other 
countries' best and brightest. We have got to be sure that we train our 
best and brightest. And by challenging our teachers, our school 
systems, and youngsters to become involved in this fun day could maybe 
encourage them to realize they can be competitive and become the 
entrepreneurs and inventors of the future for America.
  It is my privilege to manage the bill today, and certainly to manage 
it with my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Broun).
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 224.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________