[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3087-H3090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SUPPORTING THE IDEALS OF NATIONAL LAB DAY

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1213) recognizing the need to improve the 
participation and performance of America's students in Science, 
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, supporting the 
ideals of National Lab Day, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1213

       Whereas in 2005 the National Academy of Sciences published 
     a report entitled ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm'', which 
     estimated that in the United States innovations generated by 
     the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 
     fields account for nearly half of the growth in gross 
     domestic product;
       Whereas in 2006 only 4.5 percent of college graduates in 
     the United States received a diploma in engineering, compared 
     with 25.4 percent in South Korea, 33.3 percent in China, and 
     39.1 percent in Singapore;
       Whereas increasing the number of students pursuing careers 
     in STEM fields is vital to the global competitiveness of the 
     United States;
       Whereas many STEM occupations do not have representation of 
     women and underrepresented minorities proportional to these 
     groups in the population or their enrollment in higher 
     education;
       Whereas strengthening partnerships between the Federal and 
     State governments, the private sector, nonprofit 
     organizations, professional societies, and the education 
     community will improve STEM education in our Nation's 
     schools;
       Whereas the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that science 
     and engineering occupations are projected to grow by 21.4 
     percent from 2004 to 2014, compared to a projected growth of 
     13 percent in all occupations during the same time period;
       Whereas an understanding of science and mathematics is 
     necessary not only for those who will enter STEM fields as 
     majors but for all citizens to understand scientific and 
     technical issues that affect their lives;
       Whereas scientific and technical skills are a requirement 
     for an increasingly wide range of occupations and hands-on 
     inquiry-based learning in the STEM fields is an essential 
     element of a well-rounded education;
       Whereas the President has launched an ``Educate to Innovate 
     campaign'' which aims to increase STEM literacy so that all 
     students can learn deeply and think critically in STEM, to 
     move American students from the middle of the pack to the top 
     in the next decade, and to expand STEM education and career 
     opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women 
     and girls;
       Whereas National Lab Day is a nationwide initiative to 
     foster community-based collaborations between educators and 
     STEM professionals and other volunteers across the country to 
     support high-quality, hands-on, discovery-based laboratory 
     experiences for students;
       Whereas more than 200 business, science and technology, and 
     education organizations have declared their support for 
     National Lab Day; and
       Whereas schools and educators across the country will 
     celebrate the first National Lab Day during the first week of 
     May at a time of their own choosing: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the ideals of National Lab Day;
       (2) calls upon the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
     and the National Science Foundation to continue fostering 
     partnerships such as those involved in National Lab Day; and
       (3) encourages scientists, volunteers, and educators to 
     participate in National Lab Day.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Fudge) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous material on H. Res. 1213.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H3088]]

  Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1213 recognizes the need to improve the 
performance of American students in the science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics fields. This resolution support the ideals 
of National Lab Day, a nationwide effort to connect students, STEM 
educators, and volunteers in order to build the STEM community.
  All children have an innate curiosity about the world around them. 
Research shows students begin to lose this inquisitiveness as early as 
middle school. During National Lab Day, students in all grades 
participate in hands-on scientific educational projects to demonstrate 
real-life applications of the STEM fields. For example, a teacher in my 
district posted a project requesting a scientist to illustrate how 
chemistry is used in real-world applications and careers. The National 
Lab Day Web site will connect this teacher with a professional 
scientist to perform experiments and talk to students about careers in 
chemistry. These activities keep students interested and engaged in 
math and science throughout primary and secondary school. We hope that 
by keeping children interested early in life more American students 
will enter STEM fields.
  America has a rich history as a leader in technology and information. 
However, we are at serious risk of losing our world status if we don't 
train and encourage and engage our youth. Research shows that the 
United States is graduating significantly lower percentages of students 
in STEM fields than other nations. In 2006, for example, a little over 
4 percent of American students received undergraduate degrees in 
engineering compared to 33 percent in China. We can change this trend.
  Last week, I was visited by a constituent named Sheari Rice. Sheari 
is a full-time engineer working toward a Ph.D. at Cleveland State 
University in my district. She is a strong, powerful role model for 
female minority students and said she would be thrilled to volunteer 
for National Lab Day. People like Sheari will make this initiative 
successful and teach our children that careers such as hers are within 
their reach.
  There are Shearis in every district, and I hope my colleagues will 
join me in reaching out to these role models. Tell them they can visit 
www.nationallabday.org to sign up for projects in their communities. I 
look forward to seeing successful lab days all around the Nation and 
eventually a more technologically competitive America.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I thank Ms. Fudge for her good presentation, and I rise in 
support of H. Res. 1213, supporting the ideals of National Lab Day.
  H. Res. 1213 recognizes the need to improve the participation and 
performance of America's students in science, technology, engineering, 
and math fields, or STEM fields. In order for America to continue its 
competitive edge in technology and innovation, a solid foundation in 
STEM education for our students is very vital. Without early exposure 
to science in the classroom, students will either lack the interest to 
pursue a career in STEM fields, or will lack the preparation and skills 
required to be successful.
  H. Res. 1213 puts one step forward to ensuring that our children and 
grandchildren, the innovators of tomorrow, have the well-rounded 
education they need if they are to become the leading minds of 
America's future.
  National Lab Day's purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of 
STEM education by creating a ``nationwide initiative to build local 
communities of support that will foster ongoing collaboration among 
volunteers, students and educators. Volunteers, university students, 
scientists, engineers, other STEM professionals and, more broadly, 
members of the community are working together with educators and 
students to bring discovery-based science experiences to students in 
grades K-12.''
  I applaud those efforts that do not rely on the Federal Government 
but engage our communities to become more involved in improving lab 
experiences for students in kindergarten through high school, and hope 
my colleagues will join me today in recognizing the importance of what 
National Lab Day presents.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Harman).
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and 
commend her leadership. As a former member of the Science Committee 
myself, I think this is a very important resolution which highlights an 
issue that directly impacts not just national security but employment 
in my district and many others.
  Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are the backbone of 
California's 36th District economy. We are the home to the Los Angeles 
Air Force Base Space and Missile Systems Center and to large facilities 
of all of the major aerospace firms, as well as critically important 
innovative second and third tier suppliers. As I am fond of saying, my 
district is the aerospace center of the universe.
  L.A. County's unemployment rate is over 13 percent, but the 36th 
Congressional District's unemployment is half that, almost entirely 
because of science and technology jobs, especially in the aerospace 
industry. But the industry faces a coming ``gray wave.'' Some 60 
percent of aerospace workers are over age 50, and almost 26 percent are 
already eligible for retirement. Not enough young scientists and 
engineers are coming out of college to fill their ranks.
  Mr. Speaker, we can't build rockets without rocket scientists, and 
other countries know that. The United States graduates about 70,000 
engineers annually, a meager 15 percent. China graduates over half a 
million engineers every year. We not only need the next generation of 
spacecraft to reach Mars and beyond; we need the next generation of 
space engineers to get us there. And if we are to maintain space 
dominance when others, especially China, challenge us, we need more 
engineers.
  While we are struggling to educate enough engineers to assume the 
torch from those retiring, we are also losing many of them to the sexy 
new world of Internet technology. Building rockets is losing luster to 
Facebook, eBay, Google and other IT firms. If we want to continue to be 
the world's leader in space, we have to get our young people dreaming 
bigger, literally dreaming out of this world. We need to inspire our 
young people the same way President Kennedy did 50 years ago when he 
committed the United States to winning the space race.
  STEM education is the key, Mr. Speaker. I urge our colleagues to 
support this worthy resolution.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. 
Res. 1213, a resolution supporting the ideals of National Lab Day.
  I would also like to commend the two principal sponsors of this 
legislation, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge) and the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), for their continued leadership on the 
promotion of STEM education.
  And I want to join my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Harman), and I too am a former member of the Science Committee, and I 
agree completely with her remarks on this issue.
  Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, better known as 
STEM, education is instrumental to our ability to stay on the cutting 
edge of the global economy. Yet the United States is indeed falling 
behind the rest of the world in the number of students that are 
graduating from STEM fields.
  Mr. Speaker, according to a 2006 Association of American Universities 
study that is noted in the findings of H. Res. 1213, 33.3 percent of 
students in China receive their undergraduate degrees in engineering; 
in Singapore, that number is 39.1 percent; and 25.4 percent of South 
Korea's graduates fall into these fields. Unfortunately, the United 
States is lagging so far behind with a staggering 4.5 percent of 
graduates in engineering. In order for us to remain competitive in a 
global marketplace, it is imperative that we find ways to increase the 
number of students coming out of college with a degree in a STEM-
related field. That means that we need to build the interest level 
within STEM education for students at all levels.

[[Page H3089]]

  Mr. Speaker, as a graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in 
chemistry, STEM education is an issue that is near and dear to me, and 
I am very happy to see that this body consider in a bipartisan way a 
resolution that supports National Lab Day. This is a nationwide 
initiative that provides a forum for scientists to work directly with 
students in a hands-on learning experience. By allowing students the 
opportunity to collaborate with scientists in this way, National Lab 
Day can provide them with the tools to keep them engaged in STEM 
fields, with the hope that those students will pursue higher education 
opportunities and careers in these cutting-edge fields.
  During the 110th Congress, I believe our Nation took a very crucial 
step, due in large part to the leadership of Chairman Bart Gordon and 
Ranking Member Ralph Hall of the Science Committee, to address this 
issue in the America COMPETES Act, and that was passed in a bipartisan 
way in 2007 and signed into law by former President Bush.

                              {time}  1430

  As the former ranking member of the Science Committee's Technology 
and Innovation Subcommittee, I was so proud to support that important 
legislation, which will make STEM education a priority both now and in 
the future.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. As we likely consider the reauthorization of 
the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act next week, I hope this body 
will approach this legislation in the same manner.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this great resolution, H. Res. 
1213.
  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey).
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment our chairman, Bart 
Gordon, and I would like to compliment Congresswoman Fudge and our 
ranking member, Mr. Hall, for this resolution because it is greatly 
important.
  I support H. Res. 1213, a resolution in support of improving 
participation in the STEM fields, STEM--Science, Technology, 
Engineering, and Mathematics.
  As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and of the 
House Science and Technology Committee, it is absolutely clear to me 
that our country's ability to develop, to prosper, and to compete will 
depend upon investing in our children's educations and in the 
scientific community.
  A central piece of this effort must be to encourage girls and 
underrepresented minorities to be involved in STEM at the K-12 
undergrad and graduate levels so they can, if they choose, turn their 
educations into careers. They don't have to take the careers of STEM, 
but they have to be prepared to make those choices by the time they get 
to college.
  That is why I sponsored the Patsy T. Mink Fellowships, which 
President Bush signed into law in 2008 as part of the Higher Education 
Reauthorization Act. The Patsy T. Mink Fellowships provide 
encouragement for women and minorities to go into the graduate programs 
where they are represented, such as into the STEM programs, and then to 
move into teaching in these fields.
  I am also preparing to reintroduce a bill, Go Girl, as it has been 
previously entitled for the many, many years that I've been here, which 
will provide grants to schools to promote STEM education for girls, and 
we have included underrepresented minorities for K-12 students.
  Mr. Speaker, helping young women and minorities go into these STEM 
fields is an investment in our future as a country, so I urge my 
colleagues to join me in voting for H. Res. 1213.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
support of H. Res. 1213 to support the goals and ideals of National Lab 
Day.
  I want to commend National Lab Day and its partners for their efforts 
to ensure America's workforce is proficient in Science, Technology, 
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In order to keep the United States 
at the leading edge of discovery, it will take committed partnerships 
with volunteers, university students, scientists, engineers, other STEM 
professionals, and communities to inspire and cultivate our youth.
  I strongly believe that in order for a child to believe, they must 
first see. Today, our children are in desperate need of positive role 
models. When STEM professionals enter the classroom and work with 
children, they are providing an example of what one day they too can 
become. We need to increase professional involvement with our youth 
throughout our educational pipeline. Efforts such as National Lab Day 
will help bring about positive change for our country.
  It is no mystery that STEM professionals will cure the next epidemic 
and invent the next technological breakthrough. Ultimately, a nation 
that graduates a high amount of STEM professionals will be a nation 
that will thrive in the 21st century. These fields are among the 
highest paying and the most stable. Their rate of growth is increasing 
exponentially as our society grows increasingly technological and our 
world becomes more interconnected.
  Mr. Speaker, the time to act is now. I ask my fellow colleagues today 
to join me in honoring National Lab Day and efforts that will raise 
standards, improve teaching, and motivate more students to pursue 
careers in science and math.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as a former member of the 
Science Committee and a strong supporter of education, I rise in strong 
support of this resolution Recognizing the need to improve the 
participation and performance of America's students in Science, 
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.
  This legislation recognizes the importance of equipping young minds 
with the technological and scientific knowledge necessary to compete in 
a globalized economy. Further, within the context of globalization, I 
strongly believe that this country's ability to achieve and maintain a 
high standard of living is dependent on the extent to which it can 
harness science and technology. Thus, in order to enhance the 
international competitiveness of the country, it is critical for us to 
promote and support students pursuing careers in meteorology, 
climatology and atmospheric research.
  From Ben Franklin to NASA to Silicon Valley, America has a great 
history of scientific innovation. In recent years, however, we have 
diverged from this path and have endangered our reputation as a nation 
at the forefront of science and technology. In 2006 only 4.5 percent of 
college graduates in the United States received a diploma in 
engineering, compared with 25.4 percent in South Korea, 33.3 percent in 
China, and 39.1 percent in Singapore. Today, American students rank 
21st out of 30 in scientific literacy among students from developed 
countries, and 25th out of 30 in math literacy.
  If this trend continues, there are dire consequences for our children 
and our economy. As this bill notes, ``In 2005 the National Academy of 
Sciences published a report entitled `Rising Above the Gathering 
Storm', which estimated that in the United States innovations generated 
by the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields 
account for nearly half of the growth in gross domestic product.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is essential that we invest in a workforce ready for 
global competition by creating a new generation of innovators and make 
a sustained commitment to federal research and development. We need to 
spur and expand affordable access to broadband, achieve energy 
independence, and provide small business with tools to encourage 
entrepreneurial innovation.
  The establishment and maintenance of a capable science and 
technological workforce remains an important facet of U.S. efforts to 
maintain economic competitiveness. Pre-college instruction in 
mathematics and scientific fields is crucial to the development of U.S. 
science and technological personnel, as well as our overall scientific 
literacy as a nation. The value of education in science and mathematics 
is not limited to those students pursuing a degree in one of these 
fields, and even students pursuing nonscientific and nonmathematical 
fields are likely to require basic knowledge in these subjects.
  In particular, there is a need to extend access to mathematics and 
scientific education to a number of specific groups. Even as certain 
minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, and Native 
Americans, comprise an increasingly large proportion of the U.S. 
population, they continue to be underrepresented in science and 
engineering disciplines. Together, these three groups comprise over 25 
percent of the population, but earn only 16.2 percent of the bachelor 
degrees, 10.7 percent of the masters degrees, and 5.4 percent of the 
doctorate degrees in these fields.
  Mr. Speaker, as we develop the reauthorization of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (ESEA), we must fully integrate and fund STEM 
education programs. Such programs are vital to the future of our 
nation.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H3090]]

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would ask that my colleagues 
support H. Res. 1213.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1213.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. FUDGE. 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.

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