[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 93 (Thursday, June 11, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H4166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRESS MUST SUPPORT PROBLEM-SOLVERS OF TOMORROW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, recently, I visited Warrenton High School 
in a small coastal community in my district in beautiful northwest 
Oregon.
  I met with students who were working on an underwater robotics team. 
These talented students are running simulation experiments in a pool in 
preparation for the Marine Advanced Technology Education competition.
  This year, students were asked to maneuver their underwater robots to 
retrieve items like algae and sea urchins from the ocean floor. This 
hands-on learning fosters collaboration and creativity in students and 
helps them see the connections between what is in their textbook and 
how it translates to practical work that can make a difference for our 
planet.
  Perhaps more importantly, this kind of activity builds problem-
solving skills and shows students that trial and error is a natural 
part of growth and discovery and learning.
  After visiting the underwater robotics team, I joined students at 
their school's fish hatchery, where they raise salmon for release into 
local waterways. This program provides opportunities for students to 
develop skills in biology, water chemistry, engineering, and natural 
resources management and contributes to our ability to sustain an 
economically and culturally important fishery; importantly, it also 
gives them valuable skills and leadership in management.
  In the United States, we face a growing shortage of innovative 
workers, people who are prepared to tackle the challenges of the 
future. This is an especially serious problem because we absolutely 
must grapple with one of the greatest environmental threats this Nation 
has faced, climate change.
  Today, too many students, particularly young women and minorities, 
lack access and opportunities to engage in this hands-on kind of STEM 
learning occurring at Warrenton High School. Here in Congress, we must 
be doing more to foster and support students who have become the 
problem-solvers of tomorrow. Doing so makes economic sense and 
environmental sense.
  We need smart, passionate students to help understand environmental 
challenges and changes, to develop the technology to address our 
growing impact on our planet, and to find more sustainable practices.
  Oregon is home to some excellent research universities. The 
University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Oregon Health & 
Science University are all working on a wide range of research and 
development programs to help combat and adapt to climate change.
  These universities are conducting the basic science we need to 
understand and anticipate changes and trends, as well as the applied 
science to help use existing information to develop practical tools and 
technologies to meet the challenges presented by climate change.
  They model changes caused by sea level rise; they help shellfish 
hatcheries adapt to ocean acidification, or they develop new types of 
biofuel. This is exciting, important research; and we need smart, 
passionate young people to take up this mantle.

                              {time}  1030

  June is National Oceans Month. This month, we recognize the value of 
our oceans, lakes, and coastline, and we recommit to protecting these 
bodies of water.
  I would also like to recommit to developing and investing in 
technologies to help stop and begin to repair the damage we have done 
to our oceans, our coasts, and our ecosystems. Improved and innovative 
technology development in areas such as renewable energy and water 
conservation have the power to make a real difference for our planet 
and for current and future generations, but we can't do it without 
people like smart, skilled students who will become the workers in the 
workforce of tomorrow.
  Those students in Warrenton, Oregon, and others like them are our 
future leaders and problem-solvers. Let's help do all we can to make 
sure that they have the tools and the resources they need today as 
students and tomorrow as scientists, engineers, and innovators who can 
meet the complex challenges ahead and turn them into productive 
opportunities that will better their communities, their States, our 
country, and the world.

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