[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H11474-H11477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SUPPORTING COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMPUTING CAREERS AMONG THE PUBLIC AND 
                               IN SCHOOLS

  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 558) supporting the increased 
understanding of, and interest in, computer science and computing 
careers among the public and in schools, and to ensure an ample and 
diverse future technology workforce through the designation of National 
Computer Science Education Week, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 558

       Whereas computing technology has become an integral part of 
     culture and is transforming how people interact with each 
     other and the world around them;
       Whereas computer science is transforming industry, creating 
     new fields of commerce, driving innovation in all fields of 
     science, and bolstering productivity in established economic 
     sectors;
       Whereas the field of computer science underpins the 
     information technology sector of our economy, which is a 
     significant contributor to United States economic output;
       Whereas the information technology sector is uniquely 
     positioned to help with economic recovery through the 
     research and development of new innovations;
       Whereas National Computer Science Education Week can inform 
     students, teachers, parents, and the general public about the 
     crucial role that computer science plays in transforming our 
     society and how computer science enables innovation in all 
     science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines 
     and creates economic opportunities;
       Whereas providing students the chance to participate in 
     high-quality computer science activities, including through 
     science scholarships, exposes them to the rich opportunities 
     the field offers and provides critical thinking skills that 
     will serve them throughout their lives;
       Whereas all students deserve a thorough preparation in 
     science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, 
     including access to the qualified teachers, technology, and 
     age-appropriate curriculum needed to learn computer science 
     at the elementary and secondary levels of education;
       Whereas these subjects provide the critical foundation to 
     master the skills demanded by our 21st century workforce;
       Whereas computer science education has challenges to 
     address, including distinguishing computer science from 
     technology literacy and providing adequate professional 
     development for computer science teachers;
       Whereas the field of computer science has significant 
     equity barriers to address, including attracting more 
     participation by females and underrepresented minorities to 
     all levels and branches;
       Whereas Grace Murray Hopper, one of the first females in 
     the field of computer science, engineered new programming 
     languages and pioneered standards for computer systems which 
     laid the foundation for many advancements in computer 
     science; and
       Whereas the week of December 7, in honor of Grace Hopper's 
     birthday, is designated as ``National Computer Science 
     Education Week'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the designation of National Computer Science 
     Education Week;
       (2) encourages schools, teachers, researchers, 
     universities, and policymakers to identify mechanisms for 
     teachers to receive cutting edge professional development to 
     provide sustainable learning experiences in computer science 
     at all educational levels

[[Page H11475]]

     and encourage students to be exposed to computer science 
     concepts;
       (3) encourages opportunities, including through existing 
     programs, for females and underrepresented minorities in 
     computer science; and
       (4) supports research in computer science to address what 
     would motivate increased participation in this field.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GORDON 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 H. Res. 558, the 
resolution now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is considering H. Res. 558. 
I would like to thank my good friend from Michigan, Dr. Vern Ehlers, 
for his leadership on STEM education generally and for his resolution 
highlighting computer science education. I would also like to thank the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for his work on the resolution.
  Today's world is run by computers. From communications, to finance, 
to transportation and national defense, almost every facet of the 
modern world is tied to computers.
  As we move forward in the 21st century, the country that leads in 
innovation in the computing and IT fields will very likely lead in 
productivity and economic growth. If we want America to be the leader, 
it is vitally important that we train the next generation of IT and 
computing professionals to provide this spark to our economy.
  This resolution recognizes the importance of computer science 
education to our country, and encourages increased efforts and 
participation in this field. I want to highlight the attention this 
resolution pays to the important issue of increasing the involvement of 
women and underrepresented minorities in the computer science field.
  If we want to be truly successful in our efforts to maintain an 
innovative economy, we need everyone in our country involved in the 
effort. This is true across the STEM fields, where the problem of 
underrepresentation of certain groups persists.
  I want to once again thank Dr. Ehlers and Mr. Polis for introducing 
this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 558, supporting 
computer science and the designation of National Computer Science 
Education Week, and I yield myself so much time as I may consume.
  The purpose of this particular resolution is multifold. One, it's to 
recognize the importance of computer science and computer science 
education. Secondly, it is to recognize that we are falling behind as a 
nation in the number of computer scientists that we graduate. I had no 
idea of this until last year when I was visited by one of my 
constituents. The purpose of this resolution is also to honor that 
constituent, as well as Dr. Grace Hopper.
  The constituent who took the time to visit me was Professor Joel 
Adams. He is the Chair of the Computer Science Department at Calvin 
College, a stellar liberal arts college located in my district in Grand 
Rapids, Michigan. He pointed out to me something that I was totally 
unaware of, even though I thought I kept up with all the problems in 
science. He told me he was very concerned about the small number of 
computer scientists that we are graduating, and was particularly 
concerned about the lack of students entering into computer science, 
either taking computer science courses in high school or majoring in 
computer sciences in their college or university careers.
  Without the students enrolling in this field we are, of course, going 
to have a shortage of individuals in the future to develop computer 
science theory and practice in the United States of America. Therefore, 
I commend Professor Adams for bringing this to my attention. I also 
will commend in a few moments Dr. Hopper, who has been very effective 
in bringing computer science down to the level of elementary students.
  I am very pleased today that we are considering this resolution, 
which turns our attention to the issue of computer science education. 
As you know, I have spent much time in Congress fighting for research 
in education, particularly education in the areas of science, 
technology, engineering, mathematics, all of which are collectively 
called STEM.
  I believe these STEM subjects hold special promise for the future of 
our Nation, and that it is very critical that all of our Nation's 
students receive a foundation in STEM. This helps develop well-rounded 
citizens and also may prepare some students to become the innovators of 
tomorrow.
  As a former teacher, I always enjoy speaking to students in high 
schools, and I always have a little bit of fun with them, too, because 
high school students, out of custom, I think, tend not to want to study 
too hard and tend not to want to study too much science. Some people 
would say those go hand in hand.
  But I always remind them of one thing. I ask them a question, first 
of all, who is the richest person in the world? Well, they all know 
that. Bill Gates.
  How did he start out? Computer science.
  Is he a nerd? No, he's not a nerd.
  I said, Yes, he is. I know him personally, and he is a nerd of the 
first order. I say it's very important what courses you take in high 
school, because I can tell you one thing. When you get out and start 
looking for a job, you either are going to be a nerd or you are going 
to work for a nerd. Now which would you rather do?
  Of course at that point they say, Well, I guess I'd rather be a nerd.
  At any rate, somehow we have to reach the high school students and 
make them recognize that these issues are very important to their 
future.

                              {time}  1515

  It is very nice to have acronyms to catch these general areas, as we 
do in talking about STEM education, but the lines between these 
disciplines blur quickly when you step into the classroom and into the 
real world. One of the areas where we are facing a really unique 
challenge is in computer science.
  It is very important that students in K-12 are exposed to computer 
science, and we have a shortage of teachers in high schools who are 
able to teach it in a meaningful way. Many students do not get a chance 
to learn about it in school, and even when they have a chance, they may 
not learn it as well as they should. The lack of understanding of 
computer science and how it fuels innovation in STEM disciplines 
contributes to a lack of interest in computing careers, especially 
among women and underrepresented minorities, whose participation rates 
in computer science are among the lowest of any scientific field.
  By introducing students to computer science at an early age and 
providing them with learning experience in computer science at all 
educational levels, we can reverse this trend and expand and diversify 
our technology workforce.
  Computing technology and the innovation it yields are transforming 
our world and are critical to our global competitiveness, particularly 
our economic competitiveness. However, we are not preparing an adequate 
and diverse workforce to meet the ever-growing demand for the 
information technology sector, which includes some of the country's 
most innovative and successful companies.
  A 2009 Computer Science Teachers Association study shows that even in 
schools which employ computer science teachers, only a little more than 
half of the schools offer introductory courses in computer science, and 
the number of course offerings are declining. Given the enormous 
importance of these skills, we need to understand how to attract more 
students to these courses early in their education.
  To raise awareness about the challenges facing computer science 
education, the resolution before us today

[[Page H11476]]

designates National Computer Science Education Week. The week of 
December 7 has been chosen to honor the birthday of Grace Murray 
Hopper, one of the first female computer scientists.
  Dr. Hopper is best known for her 1953 invention of the compiler, the 
intermediate computer language that translates English language 
instructions into computer language. She came up with the compiler, she 
said, because she was ``lazy'' and hoped that ``the programmer may 
return to being a mathematician.'' Her work on compilers and getting 
machines to understand language instructions ultimately resulted in the 
COBOL business language.
  I can say from personal experience I deeply appreciate the work she 
did, because when I first started using computers in 1957, I was 
writing programs in assembly language. It is just one step above the 
computer language itself. It was laborious, painstaking work to try to 
get the computer to understand what I was trying to do. Today, of 
course, we program in English or some other language and are able to 
accomplish much more as a result.
  A mathematician by training, Dr. Hopper taught mathematics, served in 
the military, and held a vast variety of positions throughout her life 
in both the public and private sector. Her pioneering work, 
particularly in computer languages, underpins many of the tools used in 
today's digital computing.
  I would like to share a quick anecdote about Dr. Hopper, as recounted 
by Merry Maisel of the San Diego Supercomputer Center.
  ``Most of us remember seeing Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper on 
television. We recall a charming, tiny white-haired lady in a Navy 
uniform with a lot of braid, admonishing a class of young naval 
officers to remember their nanoseconds. The `nanoseconds' she handed 
out were lengths of wire, cut to not quite 12 inches in length, equal 
to the distance traveled by electromagnetic waves along the wire in the 
space of a nanosecond--one billionth of a second. In teaching efficient 
programming methods, Rear Admiral Hopper wanted to make sure her 
students ``would not waste nanoseconds,'' and we are talking about the 
nanoseconds of computer operation.
  ``Occasionally, to make the demonstration even more powerful, she 
would bring to class an entire `microsecond,' a coil of wire nearly 
1,000 feet long that the rear admiral, herself tough and wiry, would 
brandish with a sweeping gesture and a steady wrist.''
  Dr. Hopper passed away in 1992. I am glad to honor her legacy with 
the designation of National Computer Science Education Week, as I also 
honor Professor Adams for calling to my attention the current shortfall 
in computer scientists.
  This resolution also promotes cutting-edge professional development 
for teachers in order to encourage students to be exposed to computer 
science concepts and support researching ways to increase participation 
in this field. Without professional development, we will not train and 
retrain the necessary workforce to provide the education students need 
in computer science.
  I hope my colleagues will join me today in recognizing the importance 
of computer science education and honoring the memory of Grace Murray 
Hopper. I would particularly like to thank my distinguished colleague 
from Colorado, Mr. Polis, for his early and steadfast support for this 
resolution and his work on it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Ehlers for 
standing up for us nerds of America, as he does so well.
  I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis).
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, in today's knowledge-based economy, 
technological breakthroughs and innovations are the keys to economic 
growth and prosperity. As a former Internet entrepreneur myself, I know 
firsthand how computer technology is transforming people's lives 
throughout the world and represents a critical strategy for ensuring 
our Nation's global competitiveness.
  The applications of computing innovations are present in every aspect 
of our lives and are fueling major changes in our society, from 
communications, to education, to health care, to defense, to how we 
interact with each other every day and conduct our transactions.
  To maintain America's leadership and ensure that we remain at the 
forefront of cutting-edge technology advancements, we need to prepare 
and train a highly skilled and diverse workforce that can effectively 
meet the needs of the information technology sector, which includes 
some of the country's most innovative and successful companies.
  In my Second Congressional District alone, we have IBM, Google, 
Qualcomm, Sun and Avaya. A forthcoming report by the National Center 
for Women & Information Technology, NCWIT, based at the University of 
Colorado at Boulder, clearly demonstrates the ever-growing demand.
  Computing professions rank among the top 10 fastest-growing 
professions. By 2016, there will be more than 1.5 million computer 
specialist jobs available. And yet the talent pool shrinks as the 
industry is failing to attract and retain an ample and diverse 
technology workforce. If current trends continue, the IT industry will 
only be able to fill half of its available jobs. By 2016, U.S. 
universities will produce only half of the computer science bachelor's 
degrees that are needed.
  Obviously, this shortage requires a bold vision for, and major 
investments in, education. And while such an effort should permeate the 
entire spectrum of lifelong learning, the K-12 school system represents 
the most important area to provide students with a solid grounding in 
computer science and spark their interest in rewarding careers in 
information technology.
  But, unfortunately, too many students don't get a chance to learn 
about computer science in schools today, especially women and under-
represented minorities, whose participation rates in computer science 
are among the lowest in any scientific field.
  Consider these facts. High school girls represent only 17 percent of 
computer science advanced placement test takers. Only 18 percent of 
computer and information science degrees were awarded to women in 2008, 
down from 37 percent in 1985. While women comprise almost half of the 
workforce, they hold less than a quarter of our Nation's IT-related 
professional jobs, down from 36 percent in 1991. Finally, only about 10 
percent of the 2005 computer and information science graduates were 
African American and 6 percent Latino.
  During my six year tenure on the Colorado State Board of Education 
and then as a charter school superintendent, I saw how a lack of 
understanding of computer science and its critical role in science, 
technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM disciplines, 
contributes to lack of interest in computing careers. For example, in a 
recent survey among college freshman in the school district I live in, 
only 1 percent of them responded that they intend to major in computer 
science, double our State average, but still very discouraging.
  There is some good news. The good news is we can reverse this trend 
and expand and diversify our technology workforce by introducing 
students to computer science at an early age and providing them with a 
learning experience in computer science at all educational levels.
  Through cutting-edge professional development, we can assist teachers 
to encourage students to be exposed to computer science concepts. 
Through high quality computer science activities, including science 
scholarships, we can provide students with the critical thinking skills 
that will serve them throughout their lives. And by researching and 
implementing the best practices to increase participation in the field, 
we can begin to lay the groundwork for preparing and encouraging 
diverse students to join the workforce that will launch a new era of 
innovation and economic growth.
  That is why I urge my colleagues to join me in approving this 
bipartisan resolution that raises awareness about these important 
issues by supporting the designation of the week of December 7th as the 
National Computer Science Education Week, which honors the birthday of 
Grace Murray Hopper, one of the first female computer scientists.

[[Page H11477]]

  As my colleague Mr. Ehlers said, it is better that our students 
become nerds than work for them.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I will make some closing comments.
  I thank the gentleman from Colorado for his comments. He knows 
whereof he speaks. He did a lot of good work in this area before he 
came to the Congress. He has been very helpful in the Education 
Committee in addressing these issues, and I appreciate that effort.
  I think the key is to get children started in computer science at an 
early age. They love to deal with computers when they are doing video 
games and things of that sort. It is not too much of a leap to get them 
thinking about programming the computers, and that is the kind of 
knowledge that we need to develop in this Nation if we are going to 
remain competitive in the years ahead on the international scene.
  So, I am delighted to recognize computer scientists in general, and I 
hope we do a better job of producing more and better computer 
scientists in this Nation so that we indeed will remain competitive and 
continue to lead the world in this particular area.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I want to once 
again thank Dr. Ehlers for his leadership in this area. It has been 
very evident by his conversation today of his passion that he brings to 
this important subject.
  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. Gordon) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 558, as amended.
  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. GORDON 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.

                          ____________________