[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 25 (Thursday, February 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S799-S800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. Kaufman, Ms. Snowe, Ms. 
        Cantwell, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 3043. A bill to award planning grants and implementation grants to 
State educational agencies to enable the State educational agencies to 
complete comprehensive planning to carry out activities designed to 
integrate engineering education into K-12 instruction and curriculum 
and to provide evaluation grants to measure efficacy of K-12 
engineering education; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I am pleased to lead a bipartisan 
group of Senators today to introduce the Engineering Education for 
Innovation Act, also called the E\2\ for Innovation Act. Joining me in 
leading this are Senator Kaufman, Senator Snowe, Senator Murray, 
Senator Cantwell, and Senator Klobuchar. The intent of this legislation 
is to competitively award planning and implementation grants for State 
educational agencies to integrate engineering education into K-12 
curriculum and instruction to spark student interest in engineering 
through comprehensive K-12 engineering education including hands-on 
design and engineering components.
  The bill increases the availability of K-12 engineering education 
curriculum and teacher professional development programs, encourages 
broader participation of girls and underrepresented minorities in K-12 
engineering education, invests in afterschool engineering education 
programs, and the legislation also funds the research and evaluation of 
such efforts.
  Our Nation today faces pressing technological challenges in renewable 
energy, biotechnology, health care technology, material science, and 
information technology. According to the National Science Board's 2010 
Science and Engineering Indicators, only 5 percent of college graduates 
in the United States major in engineering, compared with 12 percent of 
European students, 20 percent of those in Asia and one-third in China. 
In addition, while women earn 58 percent of all bachelor's degrees, 
they constitute only 18.5 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded in 
engineering. African Americans hold only 4.6 percent and Hispanics hold 
only 7.2 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded in engineering.
  As a woman, I am a strong proponent of programs that support girls 
and underrepresented minorities. Many K-12 students, especially girls 
and students from underrepresented groups or who are economically 
disadvantaged, and their teachers have little knowledge about the 
engineering design process or the many career possibilities in 
engineering. Today, we continue to have an untapped pool of potential 
technical workers, and we must leverage the diversity of these 
individuals to fuel the innovation necessary for our future global 
competitiveness.
  I am committed to initiatives that enhance student participation in 
STEM, diversify the STEM pipeline and promote competence and confidence 
to teach engineering for preparing the next generation of our Nation's 
high tech workforce for a sustainable and competitive economy. Long 
term investments in STEM education will pay rich dividends to our 
future economy by building capacity to innovate.
  The introduction of engineering education has the potential to 
improve student learning and achievement in science and mathematics, 
increase awareness about what engineers do and of engineering as a 
potential career, and boost students' technological literacy. I want to 
thank all my colleagues for joining together to address the critical 
needs of our Nation in a bipartisan manner. I look forward to working 
together to move this legislation through this Congress.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to support the Engineering 
Education for Innovation Act, or E-squared for Innovation Act. I am 
proud to cosponsor this bill with Senator Gillibrand, introduced today, 
along with Senators Snowe, Cantwell, Klobuchar, and Murray. This bill 
will help us meet the engineering education challenges I have often 
spoken about on the Senate floor by awarding, planning, and 
implementation grants to States to integrate engineering education into 
their K-12 curriculum and instruction. It also funds the research and 
evaluation of all such efforts.
  I believe we are at a crucial moment for science, technology, 
engineering, and math, or STEM education. Today's engineers have a 
central role to play in developing the innovative technologies that 
will help our economy recover and promote real job growth. In turn, we 
must promote policies and programs that help to generate greater 
interest in STEM and actually lead to the production of a greater 
number of engineers.
  Last year, the National Academy of Engineering and National Research 
Council released their seminal report on engineering in K-12 education. 
According to their report, K-12 engineering education can improve 
student learning and performance in science and math and increases 
students' technological literacy. It can also increase awareness of the 
engineering profession and boost student interest in pursuing a career 
in the field.
  The report stressed the need for greater coordination among key 
stakeholders to develop common definitions and grade level appropriate 
goals for engineering education. It also emphasized the need for more 
research on the impacts of engineering education and potential models 
for implementation. The E-squared for Innovation Act seeks to address 
these recommendations in three ways.
  First, the legislation awards planning grants to State educational 
agencies to review any existing engineering education resources in the 
State and to develop implementation plans to integrate K-12 engineering 
education into curriculum and instruction. Grantees must coordinate 
these activities with a number of partners, including the Governor's 
office, institutions of higher education, teachers and administrators

[[Page S800]]

at public elementary and secondary schools, and other relevant players 
in the State.
  Second, the E-squared for Innovation Act provides implementation 
grants to State educational agencies to carry out a number of 
activities, including developing academic standards, curricula, and 
assessments that include engineering; recruiting and training qualified 
teachers to deliver engineering education; and investing in afterschool 
engineering education programs. Priority will be given to applicants 
who serve a significant percentage of student populations 
underrepresented in engineering.
  Third, the bill charges the Institute of Education Sciences with 
conducting research and evaluation on the grants awarded. These studies 
will determine the effectiveness of the programs and activities at 
improving student achievement in STEM education and assess how 
successful programs can be replicated.
  The E-squared for Innovation Act is supported by a diverse list of 77 
organizations. To name a few, supporters include the National Center 
for Technological Literacy, the American Society for Engineering 
Education, the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics 
Education, IBM, Intel, the University of California, the National 
Society of Black Engineers, and the American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers--just to name a few. I am truly amazed but genuinely pleased 
at the wide-reaching support for this bill.
  Norm Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, expressed strong 
support for the E-squared for Innovation Act, adding:

       One of the many reasons our nation does not seem to attract 
     young people into engineering is that many seem to have no 
     idea what an engineer does. Although we attempt to teach math 
     and science in K-12, seldom do we expose students to 
     engineering.

  Many in my home State recognize this problem and, consequently, 
support for STEM programs is growing in Delaware. Governor Jack Markell 
recently launched a STEM education council in Delaware to bring 
together teachers, business leaders, curriculum specialists, higher 
education representatives, and others to focus on innovative STEM 
programs and curricula that engage young people in Delaware in STEM 
education. The council will assist in Federal grant applications for 
STEM-related programs and support effective professional development 
programs in STEM areas.
  In STEM-focused schools across Delaware, students are learning how to 
extract DNA from fruit, build robots that can throw balls, perform 
forensic investigations, make ``slime'' and lip balm, and more. It is 
through these types of comprehensive, hands-on activities that we will 
get young people interested in tackling and learning STEM subjects and 
eventually pursuing engineering jobs. The E-squared for Innovation Act 
is just the kind of program we need to bolster these activities in 
Delaware and ensure more students nationwide have access to these 
exciting engineering opportunities.
  I cannot stress enough how much I believe this Nation is at a 
crossroads in STEM education and that this is our opportunity to push 
forward and create an environment that will cultivate and encourage our 
next generation of engineers. They will foster the research and 
innovation that will help us solve challenges such as clean drinking 
water, lifesaving cures for cancer and disease, renewable energy, 
affordable health care, and environmental sustainability.
  Our country is counting on these future engineers, and the E-squared 
for Innovation Act is a step in the right direction to support and 
encourage them.

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