[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10212-10227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    AMERICA COMPETES ACT--Continued


 Amendments Nos. 915, as Modified; 916, as Modified; 924, as Modified; 
926, as Modified; 944, as Modified; 950, 951, 952, as Modified; 957, as 
  Modified; 958, 965, as Modified; 970, as Modified; 975, 977, and 980

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, we have a managers' package of 
amendments which have been cleared and which are at the desk. Some are 
in modified form. Let me go through the list and then ask consent for 
their approval:
  Amendment No. 915, as modified, by Senator Grassley; amendment No. 
916, as modified, by Senator Grassley; amendment No. 924, as modified, 
by Senator Obama; amendment No. 926, as modified, by Senator Menendez; 
amendment No. 944, as modified, by Senator Coleman; amendment No. 950 
by Senator Baucus; amendment No. 951 by Senator Baucus; amendment No. 
952, as modified, by Senator Baucus; amendment No. 957, as modified, by 
Senator Hatch; amendment No. 958 by Senator Dorgan; amendment No. 965, 
as modified, by Senator Murray; amendment No. 970, as modified, by 
Senator Feingold; amendment No. 975 by Senator Landrieu; amendment No. 
977 by Senator Murray; and amendment No. 980 by Senators Alexander and 
Bingaman.
  I ask unanimous consent that these amendments, as modified, if 
modified, be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments were agreed to, as follows:


                     amendment no. 915, as modified

       On page 120, strike lines 1 through 8, and insert the 
     following:
       (d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
       (1) are part of a statewide strategy for increasing the 
     availability of Advanced Placement or International 
     Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, and critical 
     foreign languages, and pre-Advanced Placement or pre-
     International Baccalaureate courses in such subjects, in 
     high-need schools; and
       (2) make Advanced Placement math, science, and critical 
     foreign language courses available to students who are 
     prepared for such work in earlier grades than traditionally 
     made available.
       On page 127, line 6, insert ``by the grade the student is 
     enrolled in,'' after ``subject,''.
       On page 127, line 12, insert ``by the grade the student is 
     enrolled in at the time of the examination'' before the 
     semicolon.


                     amendment no. 916, as modified

       On page 62, insert after line 14:
       (c) be of at least 2 weeks in duration.
       On page 63, after line 2 insert:
       (3) Student Achievement.--The Director may consider the 
     academic achievement of middle and secondary school students 
     in determining eligibility under this section, in accordance 
     with subsection (1) and (2).


                     amendment no. 924, as modified

       On page 145, between lines 13 and 14, insert the following:

     SEC. 3202. SUMMER TERM EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

       (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to create 
     opportunities for summer learning by providing students with 
     access to summer learning in mathematics, technology, and 
     problem-solving to ensure that students do not experience 
     learning losses over the summer and to remedy, reinforce, and 
     accelerate the learning of mathematics and problem-solving.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Educational service agency.--The term ``educational 
     service agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 7801).
       (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an 
     entity that--
       (A) desires to participate in a summer learning grant 
     program under this section by providing summer learning 
     opportunities described in subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii) to 
     eligible students; and
       (B) is--
       (i) a high-need local educational agency; or
       (ii) a consortium consisting of a high-need local 
     educational agency and 1 or more of the following entities:

       (I) Another local educational agency;
       (II) A community-based youth development organization with 
     a demonstrated record of effectiveness in helping students 
     learn;
       (III) An institution of higher education;
       (IV) An educational service agency; or
       (V) A for-profit educational provider, nonprofit 
     organization, science center, museum, or summer enrichment 
     camp, that has been approved by the State educational agency 
     to provide the summer learning opportunity described in 
     subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii).

       (3) Eligible student.--The term ``eligible student'' means 
     a student who--
       (A) is eligible for a free lunch under the Richard B. 
     Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 
     and
       (B) is served by a local educational agency identified by 
     the State educational agency in the application described in 
     subsection (c)(2).
       (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
       (5) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801).
       (6) High need local educational agency.--The term high-need 
     local educational agency means a local educational agency (as 
     defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965)--
       (A) that serves not less than 10,000 children from low-
     income families;
       (B) for which not less than 20 percent of the children 
     served by the agency are children from low-income families; 
     or
       (C) with a total of not less than 600 students in average 
     daily attendance at the schools that are served by the 
     agency, and all of whose schools are designated with a school 
     locale code of 6, 7, or 8 as determined by the Secretary of 
     Education.
       (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Education.
       (8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
     Commonwealth

[[Page 10213]]

     of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 
     Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 
     States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
       (9) State educational agency.--The term ``State educational 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801).
       (c) Demonstration Grant Program.--
       (1) Program authorized.--
       (A) In general.--From the funds appropriated under 
     subsection (f) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall carry 
     out a demonstration grant program in which the Secretary 
     awards grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational 
     agencies to enable the State educational agencies to pay the 
     Federal share of summer learning grants for eligible 
     students.
       (B) Number of grants.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary 
     shall award not more than 5 grants under this section.
       (2) Application.--A State educational agency that desires 
     to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 
     application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
     and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
     require. Such application shall identify the areas in the 
     State where the summer learning grant program will be offered 
     and the local educational agencies that serve such areas.
       (3) Award basis.--
       (A) Special consideration.--In awarding grants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall give special consideration to a 
     State educational agency that agrees, to the extent possible, 
     to enter into agreements with eligible entities that are 
     consortia described in subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii) and that 
     propose to target services to children in grades K-8.
       (B) Geographic distribution.--In awarding grants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall take into consideration an 
     equitable geographic distribution of the grants.
       (d) Summer Learning Grants.--
       (1) Use of grants for summer learning grants.--
       (A) In general.--Each State educational agency that 
     receives a grant under subsection (c) for a fiscal year shall 
     use the grant funds to provide summer learning grants for the 
     fiscal year to eligible students in the State who desire to 
     attend a summer learning opportunity offered by an eligible 
     entity that enters into an agreement with the State 
     educational agency under paragraph (4)(A).
       (B) Amount; federal and non-federal shares.--
       (i) Amount.--The amount of a summer learning grant provided 
     under this section shall be--

       (I) for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011, $1,600; 
     and
       (II) for fiscal year 2012, $1,800.

       (ii) Federal share.--The Federal share of each summer 
     learning grant shall be not more than 50 percent of the 
     amount of the summer learning grant determined under clause 
     (i).
       (iii) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of each 
     summer learning grant shall be not less than 50 percent of 
     the amount of the summer learning grant determined under 
     clause (i), and shall be provided from non-Federal sources.
       (2) Designation of summer scholars.--Eligible students who 
     receive summer learning grants under this section shall be 
     known as ``summer scholars''.
       (3) Selection of summer learning opportunity.--
       (A) Dissemination of information.--A State educational 
     agency that receives a grant under subsection (c) shall 
     disseminate information about summer learning opportunities 
     and summer learning grants to the families of eligible 
     students in the State.
       (B) Application.--The parents of an eligible student who 
     are interested in having their child participate in a summer 
     learning opportunity and receive a summer learning grant 
     shall submit an application to the State educational agency 
     that includes a ranked list of preferred summer learning 
     opportunities.
       (C) Process.--A State educational agency that receives an 
     application under subparagraph (B) shall--
       (i) process such application;
       (ii) determine whether the eligible student shall receive a 
     summer learning grant;
       (iii) coordinate the assignment of eligible students 
     receiving summer learning grants with summer learning 
     opportunities; and
       (iv) if demand for a summer learning opportunity exceeds 
     capacity, the State educational agency shall prioritize 
     applications to low-achieving eligible students.
       (D) Flexibility.--A State educational agency may assign a 
     summer scholar to a summer learning opportunity program that 
     is offered in an area served by a local educational agency 
     that is not the local educational agency serving the area 
     where such scholar resides.
       (E) Requirement of acceptance.--An eligible entity shall 
     accept, enroll, and provide the summer learning opportunity 
     of such entity to, any summer scholar assigned to such summer 
     learning opportunity by a State educational agency pursuant 
     to this subsection.
       (4) Agreement with eligible entity.--
       (A) In general.--A State educational agency shall enter 
     into an agreement with one or more eligible entities offering 
     a summer learning opportunity, under which--
       (i) the State educational agency shall agree to make 
     payments to the eligible entity, in accordance with 
     subparagraph (B), for a summer scholar; and
       (ii) the eligible entity shall agree to provide the summer 
     scholar with a summer learning opportunity that--

       (I) provides a total of not less than the equivalent of 30 
     full days of instruction (or not less than the equivalent of 
     25 full days of instruction, if the equivalent of an 
     additional 5 days is devoted to field trips or other 
     enrichment opportunities) to the summer scholar;
       (II) employs small-group, research-based educational 
     programs, materials, curricula, and practices;
       (III) provides a curriculum that--

       (aa) emphasizes mathematics, technology, engineering, and 
     problem-solving through experiential learning opportunities;
       (bb) is primarily designed to increase the numeracy and 
     problem-solving skills of the summer scholar; and
       (cc) is aligned with State academic content standards and 
     goals of the local educational agency serving the summer 
     scholar;

       (IV) measures student progress to determine the gains made 
     by summer scholars in the summer learning opportunity, and 
     disaggregates the results of such progress for summer 
     scholars by race and ethnicity, economic status, limited 
     English proficiency status, and disability status, in order 
     to determine the opportunity's impact on each subgroup of 
     summer scholars;
       (V) collects daily attendance data on each summer scholar;
       (VI) provides professional development opportunities for 
     teachers to improve their practice in teaching numeracy, and 
     in integrating problem-solving techniques into the 
     curriculum; and
       (VII) meets all applicable Federal, State, and local civil 
     rights laws.

       (B) Amount of payment.--
       (i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), a State 
     educational agency shall make a payment to an eligible entity 
     for a summer scholar in the amount determined under paragraph 
     (1)(B)(i).
       (ii) Adjustment.--In the case in which a summer scholar 
     does not attend the full summer learning opportunity, the 
     State educational agency shall reduce the amount provided to 
     the eligible entity pursuant to clause (i) by a percentage 
     that is equal to the percentage of the summer learning 
     opportunity not attended by such scholar.
       (7) Administrative costs.--A State educational agency or 
     eligible entity receiving funding under this section may use 
     not more than 5 percent of such funding for administrative 
     costs associated with carrying out this section.
       (e) Evaluations; Report; Website.--
       (1) Evaluation and assessment.--For each year that an 
     eligible entity enters into an agreement under subsection 
     (d)(4), the eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the 
     Secretary a report on the activities and outcomes of each 
     summer learning opportunity that enrolled a summer scholar, 
     including--
       (A) information on the design of the summer learning 
     opportunity;
       (B) the alignment of the summer learning opportunity with 
     State standards; and
       (C) data from assessments of student mathematics and 
     problem-solving skills for the summer scholars and on the 
     attendance of the scholars, disaggregated by the subgroups 
     described in subsection (d)(4)(A)(ii)(IV).
       (2) Report.--For each year funds are appropriated under 
     subsection (f) for this section, the Secretary shall prepare 
     and submit a report to the HELP Committee of the Senate and 
     the Education & Labor Committee of the House on the summer 
     learning grant programs, including the effectiveness of the 
     summer learning opportunities in improving student 
     achievement and learning.
       (3) Summer learning grants website.--The Secretary shall 
     make accessible, on the Department of Education website, 
     information for parents and school personnel on successful 
     programs and curricula, and best practices, for summer 
     learning opportunities.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may 
     be necessary for fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2012.


                     AMENDMENT NO. 926, AS MODIFIED

       (b) Grant Program.--Section 8(8) of the National Science 
     Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-368) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (F) as 
     clauses (i) through (vi), respectively, and indenting 
     appropriately;
       (2) by moving the flush language at the end 2 ems to the 
     right;
       (3) in the flush language at the end, by striking 
     ``paragraph'' and inserting ``subparagraph'';
       (4) by striking ``Initiative.--A program of'' and inserting 
     ``initiative.--
       ``(A) In general.--A program of''; and
       (5) by inserting at the end the following:
       ``(B) Pilot program.--

[[Page 10214]]

       ``(i) In general.--In accordance with subparagraph (A)(v), 
     the Director shall establish a pilot program designated as 
     `Partnerships for Access to Laboratory Science' to award 
     grants to partnerships to pay the Federal share of the costs 
     of improving laboratories and providing instrumentation as 
     part of a comprehensive program to enhance the quality of 
     mathematics, science, engineering, and technology instruction 
     at the secondary school level. Grants under this subparagraph 
     may be used for--

       ``(I) purchase, rental, or leasing of equipment, 
     instrumentation, and other scientific educational materials;
       ``(II) Acquire appropriate nanotechnology equipment and 
     software designed for teaching students about nanotechnology 
     in the classroom;
       ``(III) professional development and training for teachers 
     aligned with activities supported under section 2123 of the 
     ESEA of 1965;
       ``(IV) development of instructional programs designed to 
     integrate the laboratory experience with classroom 
     instruction and to be consistent with State mathematics and 
     science, and to the extent applicable, technology and 
     engineering, academic achievement standards;
       ``(V) training in laboratory safety for relevant school 
     personnel;
       ``(VI) design and implementation of hands-on laboratory 
     experiences to encourage the interest of individuals 
     identified in section 33 or 34 of the Science and Engineering 
     Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b) in 
     mathematics, science, engineering, and technology and help 
     prepare such individuals to pursue postsecondary studies in 
     these fields; and
       ``(VII) assessment of the activities funded under this 
     subparagraph.

       ``(ii) Partnership.--Grants awarded under clause (i) shall 
     be to a partnership that--

       ``(I) includes an institution of higher education or a 
     community college;
       ``(II) includes a high-need local educational agency;
       ``(III) includes a business or eligible nonprofit 
     organization; and
       ``(IV) may include a State educational agency, other public 
     agency, National Laboratory, or community-based organization.

       ``(iii) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of 
     activities carried out using amounts from a grant under 
     clause (i) shall not exceed 30 percent.''.
       (c) Report.--The Director of the National Science 
     Foundation shall evaluate the effectiveness of activities 
     carried out under the pilot projects funded by the grant 
     program established pursuant to the amendment made by 
     subsection (b) in improving student performance in 
     mathematics, science, engineering, and technology and 
     recommend whether such activities should continue. A report 
     documenting the results of that evaluation shall be submitted 
     to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and 
     the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology of the 
     House of Representatives not later than 3 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act. The report shall identify best 
     practices and materials for the classroom developed and 
     demonstrated by grant awardees.
       (d) Sunset.--The provisions of this section shall cease to 
     have force or effect at the beginning of fiscal year 2012.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the National Science Foundation to 
     carry out this section and the amendments made by this 
     section such sums for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 3 
     succeeding fiscal years.


                     AMENDMENT NO. 944, AS MODIFIED

       At the end of Division C, insert the following:

       TITLE _--MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP BONUS GRANTS.

     SEC. _01. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP BONUS GRANTS.

       (a) In General.--From amounts appropriated under subsection 
     (d), the Secretary of Education shall award a grant--
       (1) for each of the school years 2007-2008 through 2010-
     2011, to each of the 3 elementary schools and each of the 3 
     secondary schools each of which has a high concentration of 
     low income students as defined in section 1707(2) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6537(3)) in each State, whose students demonstrate the most 
     improvement in mathematics, as measured by the improvement in 
     the students' average score on the State's assessments in 
     mathematics for the school year for which the grant is 
     awarded, as compared to the school year preceding the school 
     year for which the grant is awarded; and
       (2) for each of the school years 2008-2009 through 2010-
     2011, to each of the 3 elementary schools and each of the 3 
     secondary schools each of which has a high concentration of 
     low income students as defined in section 1707(2) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6537(3)) in each State, whose students demonstrate the most 
     improvement in science, as measured by the improvement in the 
     students' average score on the State's assessments in science 
     for the school year for which the grant is awarded, as 
     compared to the school year preceding the school year for 
     which the grant is awarded.
       (b) Grant Amount.--The amount of each grant awarded under 
     this section shall be $50,000.

     SEC. _02. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     section such sums for fiscal years 2008 through 2011.


                           AMENDMENT NO. 950

(Purpose: To provide that 21st century learning skills are included in 
                  the alignment of education programs)

       On page 163, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following:
       (v) incorporating 21st century learning skills into the 
     State plan, which skills shall include critical thinking, 
     problem solving, communication, collaboration, global 
     awareness, and business and financial literacy.


                           amendment no. 951

 (Purpose: To allow distance learning projects as an optional activity 
             for the foreign language partnership program)

       On page 153, between lines 12 and 13, insert the following:
       (M) distance learning projects for critical foreign 
     language learning.

                     amendment no. 952, as modified

       At the end, add the following:

                     DIVISION E--GENERAL PROVISIONS

     SEC. 5001. COLLECTION OF DATA RELATING TO TRADE IN SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
     establish a program within the Bureau of Economic Analysis to 
     collect and study data relating to export and import of 
     services. As part of the program, the Secretary shall 
     annually--
       (1) provide data collection and analysis relating to export 
     and import of services;
       (2) collect and analyze data for service imports and 
     exports in not less than 40 service industry categories, on a 
     state-by-state basis;
       (3) include data collection and analysis of the employment 
     effects of exports and imports on the service industry; and
       (4) integrate ongoing and planned data collection and 
     analysis initiatives in research and development and 
     innovation.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce such sums 
     for each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, to 
     carry out the provisions of this section.


                     amendment no. 957, as modified

       On page 99, line 5, strike ``critical foreign language'' 
     and insert the following: ``a critical foreign language, or 
     on behalf of a department or school with a competency-based 
     degree program (in mathematics, engineering, science, or a 
     critical foreign language) that includes teacher 
     certification,''.
       Beginning on page 100, strike line 16 and all that follows 
     through page 101, line 3, and insert the following:
       (ii)(I)(aa) a department within the eligible recipient that 
     provides a program of study in mathematics, engineering, 
     science, or a critical foreign language; and
       (bb) a school or department within the eligible recipient 
     that provides a teacher preparation program, or a 2-year 
     institution of higher education that has a teacher 
     preparation offering or a dual enrollment program with the 
     eligible recipient; or
       (II) a department or school within the eligible recipient 
     with a competency-based degree program (in mathematics, 
     engineering, science, or a critical foreign language) that 
     includes teacher certification; and
       (iii) not less than 1 high-need local
       On page 103, line 13, insert before the semicolon the 
     following: ``or how a department or school participating in 
     the partnership with a competency-based degree program has 
     ensured, in the development of a baccalaureate degree program 
     in mathematics, science, engineering, or a critical foreign 
     language, the provision of concurrent teacher certification, 
     including providing student teaching and other clinical 
     classroom experiences''.
       On page 109, line 24, insert before the semicolon the 
     following: ``, or how a department or school with a 
     competency-based degree program has ensured, in the 
     development of a master's degree program, the provision of 
     rigorous studies in mathematics, science, or a critical 
     foreign language that enhance the teachers' content knowledge 
     and teaching skills''.


                           amendment no. 958

  (Purpose: To provide for a feasibility study with regard to a free 
                     online college degree program)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.  . FEASIBILITY STUDY ON FREE ONLINE COLLEGE DEGREE 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter 
     into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to 
     conduct and complete a feasibility study on creating a 
     national, free online college degree program that would be 
     available to all individuals described under section 
     484(a)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1091(a)(5)) who wish to pursue a degree in a field of 
     strategic importance to the United States and where expertise 
     is in demand, such as mathematics,

[[Page 10215]]

     sciences, and foreign languages. The study shall look at the 
     need for a free college degree program as well as the 
     feasibility of--
       (1) developing online course content;
       (2) developing sufficiently rigorous tests to determine 
     mastery of a field of study; and
       (3) sustaining the program through private funding.
       (b) Study.--The study described in subsection (a) shall 
     also include a review of existing online education programs 
     to determine the extent to which these programs offer a 
     rigorous curriculum in areas like mathematics and science and 
     the National Academy of Sciences shall make recommendations 
     for how online degree programs can be assessed and 
     accredited.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2008.


                     AMENDMENT NO. 965, AS MODIFIED

       At the end of title II of division C, insert the following:

     SEC. 3202. MATH SKILLS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS.

       (a) The purposes of this section are--
       (1) to provide assistance to State educational agencies and 
     local educational agencies in implementing effective 
     research-based mathematics programs for students in secondary 
     schools, including students with disabilities and students 
     with limited English proficiency;
       (2) to improve instruction in mathematics for students in 
     secondary school through the implementation of mathematics 
     programs and the support of comprehensive mathematics 
     initiatives that are based on the best available evidence of 
     effectiveness;
       (3) to provide targeted help to low-income students who are 
     struggling with mathematics and whose achievement is 
     significantly below grade level; and
       (4) to provide in-service training for mathematics coaches 
     who can assist secondary school teachers to utilize research-
     based mathematics instruction to develop and improve 
     students' mathematical abilities and knowledge, and assist 
     teachers in assessing and improving student academic 
     achievement.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Eligible local educational agency.--The term ``eligible 
     local educational agency'' means a local educational agency 
     that is eligible to receive funds, and that is receiving 
     funds, under part A of title I of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).
       (2) Mathematics coach.--The term ``mathematics coach'' 
     means a certified or licensed teacher, with a demonstrated 
     effectiveness in teaching mathematics to students with 
     specialized needs in mathematics and improving student 
     academic achievement in mathematics, a command of 
     mathematical content knowledge, and the ability to work with 
     classroom teachers to improve the teachers' instructional 
     techniques to support mathematics improvement, who works on 
     site at a school--
       (A) to train teachers to better assess student learning in 
     mathematics;
       (B) to train teachers to assess students' mathematics 
     skills and identify students who need remediation; and
       (C) to provide or assess remedial mathematics instruction, 
     including for--
       (i) students in after-school and summer school programs;
       (ii) students requiring additional instruction;
       (iii) students with disabilities; and
       (iv) students with limited English proficiency.
       (3) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' means 
     a school that provides secondary education, as determined 
     under State law.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Education.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as be 
     necessary for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 3 succeeding 
     fiscal years.
       (d) Grants Authorized.--
       (1) In general.--From funds appropriated under subsection 
     (c) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall establish a 
     program, in accordance with the requirements of this section, 
     that will provide grants on a competitive basis to State 
     educational agencies to award grants and subgrants to 
     eligible local educational agencies for the purpose of 
     establishing mathematics programs to improve the overall 
     mathematics performance of secondary school students in the 
     State.
       (2) Length of grant.--A grant to a State educational agency 
     under this section shall be awarded for a period of 4 years.
       (e) Reservation of Funds by the Secretary.--From amounts 
     appropriated under subsection (c) for a fiscal year, the 
     Secretary may reserve--
       (1) not more than 3 percent of such amounts to fund 
     national activities in support of the programs assisted under 
     this section, such as research and dissemination of best 
     practices, except that the Secretary may not use the reserved 
     funds to award grants directly to local educational agencies; 
     and
       (2) not more than \1/2\ of 1 percent of such amounts for 
     the Bureau of Indian Education of the Department of the 
     Interior to carry out the services and activities described 
     in subsection (l)(3) for Indian children.
       (f) Grant Formulas.--
       (1) Competitive grants to state educational agencies.--From 
     amounts appropriated under subsection (c) and not reserved 
     under subsection (e), the Secretary shall award grants, on a 
     competitive basis, to State educational agencies to enable 
     the State educational agencies to provide subgrants to 
     eligible local educational agencies to establish mathematics 
     programs for the purpose of improving overall mathematics 
     performance among students in secondary school in the State.
       (2) Minimum grant.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
     minimum grant made to any state educational agency under this 
     section shall be not less than $500,000.
       (g) Applications.--
       (1) In general.--In order to receive a grant under this 
     section, a State educational agency shall submit an 
     application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
     and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
     require. Each such application shall meet the following 
     conditions:
       (A) A State educational agency shall not include the 
     application for assistance under this section in a 
     consolidated application submitted under section 9302 of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7842).
       (B) The State educational agency's application shall 
     include assurances that such application and any technical 
     assistance provided by the State will be guided by a peer 
     review team, which shall consist of--
       (i) researchers with expertise in the pedagogy of 
     mathematics;
       (ii) mathematicians; and
       (iii) mathematics educators serving high-risk, high-
     achievement schools and eligible local educational agencies.
       (C) The State educational agency will participate, if 
     requested, in any evaluation of the State educational 
     agency's program under this section.
       (D) The State educational agency's application shall 
     include a program plan that contains a description of the 
     following:
       (i) How the State educational agency will assist eligible 
     local educational agencies in implementing subgrants, 
     including providing ongoing professional development for 
     mathematics coaches, teachers, paraprofessionals, and 
     administrators.
       (ii) How the State educational agency will help eligible 
     local educational agencies identify high-quality screening, 
     diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional mathematics 
     assessments.
       (iii) How the State educational agency will help eligible 
     local educational agencies identify high-quality research-
     based mathematics materials and programs.
       (iv) How the State educational agency will help eligible 
     local educational agencies identify appropriate and effective 
     materials, programs, and assessments for students with 
     disabilities and students with limited English proficiency.
       (v) How the State educational agency will ensure that 
     professional development funded under this section--

       (I) is based on mathematics research;
       (II) will effectively improve instructional practices for 
     mathematics for secondary school students;
       (III) will improve student academic achievement in 
     mathematics; and
       (IV) is coordinated with professional development 
     activities funded through other programs, including section 
     2113 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 6613).

       (vi) How funded activities will help teachers and other 
     instructional staff to implement research-based components of 
     mathematics instruction and improve student academic 
     achievement.
       (vii) The subgrant process the State educational agency 
     will use to ensure that eligible local educational agencies 
     receiving subgrants implement programs and practices based on 
     mathematics research.
       (viii) How the State educational agency will build on and 
     promote coordination among mathematics programs in the State 
     to increase overall effectiveness in improving mathematics 
     instruction and student academic achievement, including for 
     students with disabilities and students with limited English 
     proficiency.
       (ix) How the State educational agency will regularly assess 
     and evaluate the effectiveness of the eligible local 
     educational agency activities funded under this section.
       (h) State Use of Funds.--Each State educational agency 
     receiving a grant under this section shall--
       (1) establish a peer review team comprised of researchers 
     with expertise in the pedagogy of mathematics, 
     mathematicians, and mathematics educators from high-risk, 
     high-achievement schools, to provide guidance to eligible 
     local educational agencies in selecting or developing and 
     implementing appropriate, research-based mathematics programs 
     for secondary school students;
       (2) use 80 percent of the grant funds received under this 
     section for a fiscal year to fund high-quality applications 
     for subgrants to eligible local educational agencies having 
     applications approved under subsection (l); and

[[Page 10216]]

       (3) use 20 percent of the grant funds received under this 
     section--
       (A) to carry out State-level activities described in the 
     application submitted under subsection (g);
       (B) to provide--
       (i) technical assistance to eligible local educational 
     agencies; and
       (ii) high-quality professional development to teachers and 
     mathematics coaches in the State;
       (C) to oversee and evaluate subgrant services and 
     activities undertaken by the eligible local educational 
     agencies as described in subsection (l)(3); and
       (D) for administrative costs, of which not more than 5 
     percent of the grant funds may be used for planning, 
     administration, and reporting.
       (i) Notice to Eligible Local Educational Agencies.--Each 
     State educational agency receiving a grant under this section 
     shall provide notice to all eligible local educational 
     agencies in the State about the availability of subgrants 
     under this section.
       (j) Prohibitions.--
       (1) In general.--In implementing this section, the 
     Secretary shall not--
       (A) endorse, approve, or sanction any mathematics 
     curriculum designed for use in any school; or
       (B) engage in oversight, technical assistance, or 
     activities that will require the adoption of a specific 
     mathematics program or instructional materials by a State, 
     local educational agency, or school.
       (2) Conflict of interest.--Any federal employee, 
     contractor, or subcontractor involved in the administration, 
     implementation, or provision of oversight or technical 
     assistance duties or activities under this section shall--
       (A) disclose to the Secretary any financial ties to 
     publishers, entities, private individuals, or organizations 
     that will benefit from funds provided under this section; and
       (B) be prohibited from maintaining significant financial 
     interests in areas directly related to duties or activities 
     under this section, unless granted a waiver by the Secretary.
       (3) Reporting.--The Secretary shall report annually to the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
     Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House 
     of Representatives, on each of the waivers granted under 
     paragraph (2)(B).
       (4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to authorize or permit the Secretary, Department of 
     Education, or a Department of Education contractor, to 
     mandate, direct, control, or suggest the selection of a 
     mathematics curriculum, supplemental instructional materials, 
     or program of instruction by a State, local educational 
     agency, or school.
       (k) Supplement Not Supplant.--Each State educational agency 
     receiving a grant under this section shall use the grant 
     funds to supplement, not supplant, State funding for 
     activities authorized under this section or for other 
     educational activities.
       (l) Subgrants to Eligible Local Educational Agencies.--
       (1) Application.--
       (A) In general.--Each eligible local educational agency 
     desiring a subgrant under this subsection shall submit an 
     application to the State educational agency in the form and 
     according to the schedule established by the State 
     educational agency.
       (B) Contents.--In addition to any information required by 
     the State educational agency, each application under 
     paragraph (1) shall demonstrate how the eligible local 
     educational agency will carry out the following required 
     activities:
       (i) Development or selection and implementation of 
     research-based mathematics assessments.
       (ii) Development or selection and implementation of 
     research-based mathematics programs, including programs for 
     students with disabilities and students with limited English 
     proficiency.
       (iii) Selection of instructional materials based on 
     mathematics research.
       (iv) High-quality professional development for mathematics 
     coaches and teachers based on mathematics research.
       (v) Evaluation and assessment strategies.
       (vi) Reporting.
       (vii) Providing access to research-based mathematics 
     materials.
       (C) Consortia.--Consistent with State law, an eligible 
     local educational agency may apply to the State educational 
     agency for a subgrant as a member of a consortium of local 
     educational agencies if each member of the consortium is an 
     eligible local educational agency.
       (2) Award basis.--
       (A) Priority.--A State educational agency awarding 
     subgrants under this subsection shall give priority to 
     eligible local educational agencies that--
       (i) are among the local educational agencies in the State 
     with the lowest graduation rates, as described in section 
     1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)); and
       (ii) have the highest number or percentage of students who 
     are counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)).
       (B) Amount of grants.--Subgrants under this subsection 
     shall be of sufficient size and scope to enable eligible 
     local educational agencies to fully implement activities 
     assisted under this subsection.
       (3) Local use of funds.--Each eligible local educational 
     agency receiving a subgrant under this subsection shall use 
     the subgrant funds to carry out, at the secondary school 
     level, the following services and activities:
       (A) Hiring mathematics coaches and providing professional 
     development for mathematics coaches--
       (i) at a level to provide effective coaching to classroom 
     teachers;
       (ii) to work with classroom teachers to better assess 
     student academic achievement in mathematics;
       (iii) to work with classroom teachers to identify students 
     with mathematics problems and, where appropriate, refer 
     students to available programs for remediation and additional 
     services;
       (iv) to work with classroom teachers to diagnose and 
     remediate mathematics difficulties of the lowest-performing 
     students, so that those teachers can provide intensive, 
     research-based instruction, including during after-school and 
     summer sessions, geared toward ensuring that those students 
     can access and be successful in rigorous academic coursework; 
     and
       (v) to assess and organize student data on mathematics and 
     communicate that data to school administrators to inform 
     school reform efforts.
       (B) Reviewing, analyzing, developing, and, where possible, 
     adapting curricula to make sure mathematics skills are taught 
     within other core academic subjects.
       (C) Providing mathematics professional development for all 
     relevant teachers in secondary school, as necessary, that 
     addresses both remedial and higher level mathematics skills 
     for students in the applicable curriculum.
       (D) Providing professional development for teachers, 
     administrators, and paraprofessionals serving secondary 
     schools to help the teachers, administrators, and 
     paraprofessionals improve student academic achievement in 
     mathematics.
       (E) Procuring and implementing programs and instructional 
     materials based on mathematics research, including software 
     and other education technology related to mathematics 
     instruction with demonstrated effectiveness in improving 
     mathematics instruction and student academic achievement.
       (F) Building on and promoting coordination among 
     mathematics programs in the eligible local educational agency 
     to increase overall effectiveness in--
       (i) improving mathematics instruction; and
       (ii) increasing student academic achievement, including for 
     students with disabilities and students with limited English 
     proficiency.
       (G) Evaluating the effectiveness of the instructional 
     strategies, teacher professional development programs, and 
     other interventions that are implemented under the subgrant; 
     and
       (H) Measuring improvement in student academic achievement, 
     including through progress monitoring or other assessments.
       (4) Supplement not supplant.--Each eligible local 
     educational agency receiving a subgrant under this subsection 
     shall use the subgrant funds to supplement, not supplant, the 
     eligible local educational agency's funding for activities 
     authorized under this section or for other educational 
     activities.
       (5) New services and activities.--Subgrant funds provided 
     under this subsection may be used only to provide services 
     and activities authorized under this section that were not 
     provided on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
       (6) Evaluations.--Each eligible local educational agency 
     receiving a grant under this subsection shall participate, as 
     requested by the State educational agency or the Secretary, 
     in reviews and evaluations of the programs of the eligible 
     local educational agency and the effectiveness of such 
     programs, and shall provide such reports as are requested by 
     the State educational agency and the Secretary.
       (m) Matching Requirements.--
       (1) State educational agency requirements.--A State 
     educational agency that receives a grant under this section 
     shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 
     50 percent of the amount of the grant, in cash or in-kind, to 
     carry out the activities supported by the grant, of which not 
     more than 20 percent of such 50 percent may be provided by 
     local educational agencies within the State.
       (2) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive all or a portion of 
     the matching requirements described in paragraph (1) for any 
     fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that--
       (A) the application of the matching requirement will result 
     in serious hardship for the State educational agency; or
       (B) providing a waiver best serves the purpose of the 
     program assisted under this section.
       (n) Program Performance and Accountability.--
       (1) Information.--Each State educational agency receiving a 
     grant under this section shall collect and report to the 
     Secretary annually such information on the results of the

[[Page 10217]]

     grant as the Secretary may reasonably require, including 
     information on--
       (A) mathematics achievement data that show the progress of 
     students participating in projects under this section 
     (including, to the extent practicable, comparable data from 
     students not participating in such projects), based primarily 
     on the results of State, school districtwide, or classroom-
     based monitoring reports or assessments, including--
       (i) specific identification of those schools and eligible 
     local educational agencies that report the largest gains in 
     mathematics achievement; and
       (ii) evidence on whether the State educational agency and 
     eligible local educational agencies within the State have--

       (I) significantly increased the number of students 
     achieving at the proficient or advanced level on the State 
     student academic achievement standards in mathematics under 
     section 1111(b)(1)(D)(ii) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)(D)(ii));
       (II) significantly increased the percentages of students 
     described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) who are achieving proficiency or 
     advanced levels on such State academic content standards in 
     mathematics;
       (III) significantly increased the number of students making 
     significant progress toward meeting such State academic 
     content and achievement standards in mathematics; and
       (IV) successfully implemented this section;

       (B) the percentage of students in the schools served by the 
     eligible local educational agency who enroll in advanced 
     mathematics courses in grades 9 through 12, including the 
     percentage of such students who pass such courses; and
       (C) the progress made in increasing the quality and 
     accessibility of professional development and leadership 
     activities in mathematics, especially activities resulting in 
     greater content knowledge and expertise of teachers, 
     administrators, and other school staff, except that the 
     Secretary shall not require such information until after the 
     third year of a grant awarded under this section.
       (2) Reporting and disaggregation.--The information required 
     under paragraph (1) shall be--
       (A) reported in a manner that allows for a comparison of 
     aggregated score differentials of student academic 
     achievement before (to the extent feasible) and after 
     implementation of the project assisted under this section; 
     and
       (B) disaggregated in the same manner as information is 
     disaggregated under section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6311(h)(1)(C)(i)).


                     amendment no. 970, as modified

       On page 164, strike lines 11 through 22 and insert the 
     following:
       (C) Privacy and access to data.--
       (i) In general.--Each State that receives a grant under 
     subsection (c)(2) shall implement measures to--

       (I) limit the State's use of information in the statewide 
     P-16 education data system to the purposes and functions for 
     use of such information set forth in Federal or State law 
     regarding education and allow access to the information in 
     the statewide data system only to those State employees, and 
     only on such terms, as may be necessary to fulfill those 
     purposes and functions;
       (II) prohibit the disclosure of information in the 
     statewide P-16 education data system to any other person, 
     agency, institution, or entity, except to the extent 
     necessary to assist the State in fulfilling the purposes and 
     functions for use of such information set forth in Federal or 
     State law regarding education, and only if such party has 
     signed a data use agreement that--

       (aa) prohibits the party from further disclosing the 
     information;
       (bb) prohibits the party from using the information for any 
     purpose other than the purpose specified in the agreement, 
     which purpose must relate to assisting the State in carrying 
     out the purposes and functions for use of such information 
     set forth in Federal or State law regarding education; and
       (cc) requires the party to destroy the information when the 
     purpose for which the disclosure was made is accomplished;

       (III) keep an accurate accounting of the date, nature, and 
     purpose of each disclosure of information in the statewide P-
     16 education data system, and the name and address of the 
     person, agency, institution, or entity to whom the disclosure 
     is made, which accounting shall be made available on request 
     to parents of any student whose information has been 
     disclosed;
       (IV) maintain adequate security measures to ensure the 
     confidentiality and integrity of the data system;
       (V) ensure that the statewide P-16 education data system 
     meets any further requirements of the Family Educational 
     Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g);
       (VI) where rights are provided to parents under this 
     clause, provide those rights to the student instead of the 
     parent if the student has reached the age of 18 or is 
     enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution; and
       (VII) ensure adequate enforcement of the requirements of 
     this clause.

       (ii) Use of unique identifiers.--

       (I) Governmental use of unique identifiers.--It shall be 
     unlawful for any Federal, State, or local governmental agency 
     to use the unique identifiers employed in the statewide P-16 
     education data systems for any purpose other than as 
     authorized by Federal or State law regarding education, or to 
     deny any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided 
     by law because of such individual's refusal to disclose the 
     individual's unique identifier.
       (II) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall 
     promulgate regulations governing the use by governmental and 
     non-governmental entities of the unique identifiers employed 
     in statewide P-16 education data systems, including, where 
     necessary, regulations requiring States desiring grants for 
     statewide P-16 education data systems under this section to 
     implement specified measures, with the goal of safeguarding 
     individual privacy to the maximum extent practicable 
     consistent with the uses of the information authorized in 
     this Act or other Federal or State law regarding education.

       On page 169, strike lines 15 through 17 and insert the 
     following:
       (i) a description of the privacy protection and enforcement 
     measures that the State has implemented or will implement 
     pursuant to subparagraph (C), and assurances that these 
     measures will be in place prior to the establishment or 
     improvement of the statewide P-16 education data system; and


                           amendment no. 975

   (Purpose: To require the Secretary of Energy, acting through the 
Director of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education, to provide 
  grants to States to assist the States in establishing or expanding 
  programs to enhance the quality of science education in elementary 
 schools with respect to conventional and emerging energy sources and 
                                 uses)

       On page 78, strike line 21 and insert the following:
       ``(D) $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2011.

           ``CHAPTER 6--NATIONAL ENERGY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT

     ``SEC. 3195. NATIONAL ENERGY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT.

       ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to enable 
     all students to reach or exceed grade-level academic 
     achievement standards and to enhance the knowledge of the 
     students of the science of energy, the sources of energy, the 
     uses of energy in society, and the environmental consequences 
     and benefits of all energy sources and uses by--
       ``(1) improving instruction in science related to energy 
     for students in kindergarten through grade 9 through the 
     implementation of energy education programs and with the 
     support of comprehensive science education initiatives that 
     are based on the best available evidence of effectiveness; 
     and
       ``(2) providing professional development and instructional 
     leadership activities for teachers and, if appropriate, for 
     administrators and other school staff, on the implementation 
     of comprehensive mathematics initiatives designed--
       ``(A) to improve the understanding of students of the 
     scientific, economic, and environmental impacts of energy;
       ``(B) to improve the knowledge of teachers, administrators, 
     and other school staff related to the scientific content of 
     energy;
       ``(C) to increase the use of effective instructional 
     practices; and
       ``(D) to reflect science content that is consistent with 
     State academic achievement standards in mathematics described 
     in section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)).
       ``(b) Program.--The Secretary (acting through the Director) 
     (referred to in this section as the `Secretary') shall 
     provide grants to States to assist the States in establishing 
     or expanding programs to enhance the quality of science 
     education in elementary schools with respect to conventional 
     and emerging energy sources and uses.
       ``(c) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall use and coordinate with existing State and 
     national programs that have a similar mission.
       ``(d) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants, on a 
     competitive basis, under this section to States to pay the 
     Federal share of the costs of establishing or expanding high-
     quality energy education curricula and programs.
       ``(e) Programs.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary shall award grants to establish or expand programs 
     that enhance--
       ``(1) the quality of science education in elementary 
     schools with respect to conventional and emerging energy 
     sources and uses; and
       ``(2) the understanding of students of the science, 
     economics, and environmental impacts of energy production and 
     consumption.
       ``(f) Federal and Non-Federal Shares.--
       ``(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs of 
     carrying out a program under this section shall be 50 
     percent.

[[Page 10218]]

       ``(2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the 
     costs of carrying out a program under this section may be 
     provided in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, fairly 
     evaluated, including services.
       ``(g) Distribution.--In awarding grants under this section, 
     the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) ensure a wide, equitable distribution of grants among 
     States that propose to serve students from urban and rural 
     areas; and
       ``(2) provide equal consideration to States without 
     National Laboratories.
       ``(h) Uses of Funds.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), States, or 
     other entities through States, that receive grants under this 
     section shall use the grant funds to--
       ``(A) employ proven strategies and methods for improving 
     student learning and teaching regarding energy;
       ``(B) integrate into the curriculum of schools 
     comprehensive, science-based, energy education, including 
     instruction and assessments that are aligned with--
       ``(i) the academic content and student academic achievement 
     standards of the State (within the meaning of section 1111 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6311));
       ``(ii) classroom management;
       ``(iii) professional development;
       ``(iv) parental involvement; and
       ``(v) school management; and
       ``(C) provide high-quality and continuous teacher and staff 
     professional development.
       ``(2) Requirements.--Grant funds under this section may be 
     used for activities described in paragraph (1) only if the 
     activities are directly related to improving student academic 
     achievement related to--
       ``(A) the science of energy;
       ``(B) the sources of energy;
       ``(C) the uses of energy in society; and
       ``(D) the environmental consequences and benefits of all 
     energy sources and uses.
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--
       ``(1) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009; 
     and
       ``(2) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.''.


                           amendment no. 977

 (Purpose: To encourage members of the Armed Forces to participate in 
  programs for master's degrees in mathematics, science, or critical 
                      foreign languages education)

       On page 113, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:
       (B) members of the Armed Forces who are transitioning to 
     civilian life; and


                           amendment no. 980

(Purpose: To express the sense of Senate regarding policies related to 
                         deemed export control)

       At the appropriate place in the bill, add the following:

     ``SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       It is the Sense of Senate that--
       U.S. government policies related to deemed exports should 
     safeguard U.S. national security and protect fundamental 
     research;
       The Department of Commerce has established the Deemed 
     Export Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for 
     improving current controls on deemed exports;
       The Administration and Congress should consider the 
     recommendations of the Deemed Export Advisory Committee in 
     its development and implementation of export control 
     policies.''.


                           Amendment No. 921

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 
minutes of debate on amendment No. 921 offered by the Senator from 
Oklahoma.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, let me use the minute in opposition to 
the amendment. The Senator from Oklahoma may wish to speak in favor of 
his amendment.
  This is the amendment to strike the funding and the provisions in the 
bill for the Advanced Technology Program. In my view, this would be a 
very bad step for us to take. I know there are some Members who do not 
believe this is a worthwhile use of taxpayers' dollars. I am not one of 
those. I believe the Federal Government should partner with industry to 
assist in the early stages of technology development, and particularly 
that is important when we compete with other countries that spend 
heavily to assist their industrial sectors to compete in world markets.
  So I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, there is no question the ATP program has 
had some successes. The fact is that over $2.5 billion has gone to 
Fortune 500 companies over the last 14 years for research they would 
have done otherwise. This is a program which is outmoded. We have a way 
to help businesses do research and development. It is called the R&D 
tax credit. This is not effective. It is a poor way to spend our money.
  I yield back the remainder of my time. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 921. The clerk will call 
the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and 
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 39, nays 57, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 144 Leg.]

                                YEAS--39

     Alexander
     Allard
     Bennett
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Martinez
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Roberts
     Sanders
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sununu
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter

                                NAYS--57

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Clinton
     Coleman
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dole
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Tester
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Biden
     Brownback
     Johnson
     McCain
  The amendment (No. 921) was rejected.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and to lay 
that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 956

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, we inadvertently left a cleared 
amendment off the list I read describing the managers' package. I ask 
unanimous consent that amendment No. 956 be agreed to and that the 
motion to reconsider be laid on the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 956) was agreed to, as follows:

 (Purpose: To express the sense of the Senate regarding concerns that 
  United States capital markets are losing their competitive edge in 
intensifying global competition, and to recommend that Congress and the 
   Administration take the necessary steps to reclaim the preeminent 
    position of the United States in the global financial services 
                              marketplace)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING CAPITAL MARKETS.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) United States capital markets are losing their 
     competitive edge in the face of intensifying global 
     competition, posing a risk to economic growth, a problem that 
     is well-documented in initial public offerings (IPO), over-
     the-counter (OTC) derivatives, securitization, and 
     traditional lending;
       (2) according to the Senator Charles E. Schumer and Mayor 
     Michael R. Bloomberg report, entitled ``Sustaining New York's 
     and the U.S.'s Global Financial Services Leadership'', ``In 
     looking at several of the critical contested investment 
     banking and sales and trading markets--initial public 
     offerings (IPOs), over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, and 
     debt--it is clear that the declining position of the U.S. 
     goes beyond this natural market evolution to more 
     controllable, intrinsic issues of U.S. competitiveness. As 
     market effectiveness, liquidity and safety

[[Page 10219]]

     become more prevalent in the world's financial markets, the 
     competitive arena for financial services is shifting toward a 
     new set of factors--like availability of skilled people and a 
     balanced and effective legal and regulatory environment--
     where the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction.'';
       (3) further, the report referred to in paragraph (2) stated 
     that--
       (A) ``The IPO market also offers the most dramatic 
     illustration of the change in capital-raising needs around 
     the world, and U.S. exchanges are rapidly losing ground to 
     foreign rivals. When looking at all IPOs that took place 
     globally in 2006, the share of IPO volume attracted by U.S. 
     exchanges is barely one-third of that captured in 2001. By 
     contrast, the global share of IPO volume captured by European 
     exchanges has expanded by more than 30 percent over the same 
     period, while non-Japan Asian markets have doubled their 
     equivalent market share since 2001. When one considers mega-
     IPOs--those over $1 billion--U.S. exchanges attracted 57 
     percent of such transactions in 2001, compared with just 16 
     percent during the first ten months of 2006.''; and
       (B) ``London already enjoys clear leadership in the fast-
     growing and innovative over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives 
     market. This is significant because of the trading flow that 
     surrounds derivatives markets and because of the innovation 
     these markets drive, both of which are key competitive 
     factors for financial centers. Dealers and investors 
     increasingly see derivatives and cash markets as 
     interchangeable and are therefore combining trading 
     operations for both products. Indeed, the derivatives markets 
     can be more liquid than the underlying cash markets. 
     Therefore, as London takes the global lead in derivatives, 
     America's competitiveness in both cash and derivatives flow 
     trading is at risk, as is its position as a center for 
     financial innovation.'';
       (4) on March 13, 2007, the Department of the Treasury 
     convened a conference on United States capital markets 
     competitiveness, where--
       (A) key policymakers, consumer advocates, members of the 
     international community, business representatives, and 
     academic experts, each with different perspectives, discussed 
     ways to keep United States capital markets the strongest and 
     most innovative in the world; and
       (B) conference delegates examined the impact of the United 
     States regulatory structure and philosophy, the legal and 
     corporate governance environment, and the auditing profession 
     and financial reporting on United States capital markets 
     competitiveness;
       (5) the foundation of any competitive capital market is 
     investor confidence, and since 1930, the United States has 
     required some of the most extensive financial disclosures, 
     supported by one of the most robust enforcement regimes in 
     the world;
       (6) a balanced regulatory system is essential to protecting 
     investors and the efficient functioning of capital markets; 
     and
       (7) too much regulation stifles entrepreneurship, 
     competition, and innovation, and too little regulation 
     creates excessive risk to industry, investors, and the 
     overall system.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that--
       (1) Congress, the President, regulators, industry leaders, 
     and other stakeholders should take the necessary steps to 
     reclaim the preeminent position of the United States in the 
     global financial services marketplace;
       (2) the Federal and State financial regulatory agencies 
     should, to the maximum extent possible, coordinate activities 
     on significant policy matters, so as not to impose 
     regulations that may have adverse unintended consequences on 
     innovativeness with respect to financial products, 
     instruments, and services, or that impose regulatory costs 
     that are disproportionate to their benefits, and, at the same 
     time, ensure that the regulatory framework overseeing the 
     United States capital markets continues to promote and 
     protect the interests of investors in those markets; and
       (3) given the complexity of the financial services 
     marketplace today, Congress should exercise vigorous 
     oversight over Federal regulatory and statutory requirements 
     affecting the financial services industry and consumers, with 
     the goal of eliminating excessive regulation and problematic 
     implementation of existing laws and regulations, while 
     ensuring that necessary investor protections are not 
     compromised.

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleague Senator Crapo 
in offering our Sense of the Senate to express that the Congress and 
the administration take the necessary steps to sustain the United 
States' position as the global leader in financial services to S. 761.
  We can all agree that the U.S. is the financial capital of the world. 
Today, Wall Street is booming, and our Nation's short-term economic 
outlook is strong. But to maintain our success far into the future we 
must immediately address a real and growing concern: our global 
competitive position in the capital markets is being threatened.
  The evidence is quite clear.
  London, certainly our greatest competitor, has been working hard to 
gain on us in financial services in the last few years. And, although 
London has not overtaken us, it is no longer a distant second.
  While New York is still the dominant global exchange center, we have 
been losing ground as the leader in capital formation. In 2005, only 
one out of the top 24 IPOs was registered in the U.S. and four were 
registered in London.
  Sadly, the problem is not just IPOs. Our competitive position is 
being challenged in most businesses that are globally contestable.
  Today London leads in some of the fastest growing and innovative 
areas in the financial services. They account for 70 percent of the 
global secondary bond market, 40 percent of the derivatives market, 30 
percent of foreign exchange activity, and 30 percent of cross border 
equities trading.
  Why is this happening? Not because London is more innovative--New 
York City is and 49 percent of the top CEOs say so. But, what they also 
say is--given the risks associated with developing innovative financial 
instruments and the importance of attracting talent in finance--the 
U.S.'s legal, regulatory and immigration policies are not attractive 
and it only makes sense to pursue cutting edge activity overseas. To 
make matters even worse, it is not only London. As technology has 
virtually eliminated barriers to the flow of capital, it now freely 
flows to the most efficient markets, in all corners of the globe. So, 
in addition to London we're increasingly competing for position against 
cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bombay.
  My concern about this issue has been keeping me awake at night. For 
over a year now I have been racking my brain, trying to understand the 
causes and fixes needed to keep us No. 1.
  Well . . . that is precisely what Mayor Bloomberg and I set out to do 
in a more formal way when we commissioned McKinsey Consulting to 
conduct a study to examine the competitive position of New York City's 
financial services industry, specifically in comparison to London's. 
The study identified the drivers that might cause New York City to lose 
its competitive edge, but more importantly provided recommendations and 
an action plan to correct the problem.
  We gathered detailed analyses of market conditions here and abroad. 
McKinsey interviewed and consulted more than 50 respected leaders from 
the financial services industry, consumer and labor groups, and other 
stakeholders.
  Our report which was released in January illustrated the reality of 
the situation. The U.S., New York in particular, is in grave danger of 
losing its status as the financial capital of the world without a major 
change in policy and regulation. If we continue on with the status quo, 
within the next ten years we will go from being number one, to becoming 
a marginalized regional market--spelling disaster for New York and the 
entire country.
  Financial services comprise 8 percent of the U.S. economy--the third 
fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy. The industry also plays an 
important intermediary role in promoting economic activity and creating 
jobs (savings, investment, borrowing, capital formation, wealth 
accumulation, transactions). 1 in every 19 jobs in the U.S. is in 
financial services.
  This clearly is not just a New York issue. Many of you will be 
surprised to learn, just as I was--that seven states (Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Dakota), 
including New York, have more than 10 percent of their State's GDP 
devoted to financial services.
  Resolving this issue will require all hands on deck. In New York we 
already recognize that--the Mayor, the Governor, and I have already 
joined forces.
  I strongly believe that we are in a good position to act now in order 
to lessen the damage that could be waiting for us 10 years down the 
road.
  Cleary, this is an issue that will take some time to work through--
taking on our country's regulatory regime, legal system and immigration 
policies will

[[Page 10220]]

be no easy undertaking. In recognizing the complexities, our report 
focused on near term recommendations that are mostly administrative and 
the longer term recommendations that are legislative.
  I want to commend Secretary Paulson and the Department of Treasury 
for convening a conference on United States capital markets' 
competitiveness. I hope this will build more momentum for other 
financial services regulators and Congress to take action and sends a 
signal that we are in need of a renewed U.S. focus on competitiveness.
  We deed to take action to level the playing field for both domestic 
and foreign companies doing business in the United States, to address 
more complex policy, legal, regulatory and other structural issues 
affecting the U.S. position as the world's leading financial center. We 
must create a responsive, market-oriented regulatory framework, moving 
closer towards a fair and predictable legal environment, and provide 
access to skilled professionals from outside of the U.S.
  I want to thank my friend and colleague Senator Crapo for his 
commitment and leadership on this issue. I look forward to working with 
you over the next several months to protect our capital markets--this 
is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it's an American issue.
  The bottom line is that we, in New York and in the U.S., literally 
cannot afford to lose our place as the global leader in financial 
services and we must examine which factors impede our competitive 
standing.
  At the same time, we have to be smart, careful, and balanced as we 
seek to continue to redefine the exquisite balance of innovation and 
regulation as markets evolve internationally.
  We know that addressing these challenges and ensuring that we do so 
in a way that continues to offer strong protections to consumers and 
investors will be a huge undertaking. But if all stakeholders--
industry, consumer advocates, labor, and government--come together in 
the name of securing our economic future, we can do it.
  Failing to do so would be dereliction of duty.
  We must all commit to seeking a shift in national policy in a 
direction that will ensure that New York and America retain its 
leadership position in the financial services industry well into the 
21st Century.
  I thank my colleagues for joining us in support of this amendment.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today in support of this global 
competitiveness amendment with the senior Senator from New York to S. 
761 and to call attention to the challenges facing U.S. financial 
markets. I really appreciate the leadership role the senior Senator 
from New York has taken in the global capital markets competitiveness 
debate and I really appreciate our working relationship.
  The first part of the amendment highlights findings that U.S. capital 
markets are losing their competitive edge in the face of intensifying 
global competition in initial public offerings, IPOs, over-the-counter, 
OTC, derivatives, securitization, and traditional lending. The second 
half of the amendment expresses the sense of the Senate about what 
steps should be taken to bolster the competitiveness of this essential 
sector of the U.S. economy.
  According to the Schumer/Bloomberg report entitled Sustaining New 
York's and the U.S.' Global Financial Services Leadership, ``In looking 
at several of the critical contested investment banking and sales and 
trading markets--initial public offering, over-the-counter derivatives, 
and debt--it is clear that the declining position of the U.S. goes 
beyond this natural market evolution to more controllable, intrinsic 
issues of U.S. competitiveness. As market effectiveness, liquidity and 
safety become more prevalent in the world's financial markets, the 
competitive arena for financial services is shifting toward a new set 
of factors--like availability of skilled people and a balanced and 
effective legal and regulatory environment--where the U.S. is moving in 
the wrong direction.''
  This is a very alarming trend because IPOs and OTC derivatives 
contribute to a robust and dynamic capital market which is a 
tremendously beneficial force for our economy and an empowerment to our 
citizens. It is critical to ensuring economic growth, job creation, low 
costs of capital, innovation, entrepreneurship, and a strong tax base 
in key areas of the country. The U.S. financial sector acts as a 
catalyst for all other sectors in the U.S. economy. That is why the 
decline in global initial public offerings in the United States, and 
the fact that London already enjoys clear leadership in the fast 
growing OTC derivatives market, are such worrying trends.
  The report further states, ``The IPO market also offers the most 
dramatic illustration of the change in capital raising needs around the 
world, and the U.S. exchanges are rapidly losing ground to foreign 
rivals. When looking at all IPOs that took place globally in 2006, the 
share of IPO volume attracted by U.S. exchanges is barely one-third of 
that captured in 2001. By contrast, the global share of IPO volume 
captured by European exchanges has expanded by more than 30 percent 
over the same period, while non-Japan Asian markets have doubled their 
equivalent market share since 2001. When one considers mega IPOs--those 
over $1 billion--U.S. exchanges attracted 57 percent of such 
transactions in 2001, compared with just 16 percent during the first 
ten months of 2006.''
  It further notes: ``London already enjoys clear leadership in the 
fast-growing and innovative over-the-counter derivatives market. This 
is significant because of the trading flow that surrounds derivatives 
markets and because of the innovation these markets drive, both of 
which are key competitive factors for financial centers. Dealers and 
investors increasing use derivatives and cash markets as 
interchangeable and are therefore combining trading operations for both 
products. Indeed, the derivatives market can be more liquid than the 
underlying cash markets. Therefore, as London takes the global lead in 
derivatives, America's competitiveness in both cash and derivatives 
flow trading is at risk, as its position as a center for financial 
innovation.''
  One of the common themes we are seeing in terms of movement of 
business away from the United States to London and other capital 
markets are the regulatory burdens and the regulatory regime that we 
impose here in the United States. I do not think anybody would say that 
we should simply take down our regulatory position, because we do have 
one of the strongest markets in the world. But the question is are we 
over-regulating.
  Fortunately, academics, business leaders, and politicians are working 
together to study this issue. They have identified several specific 
problems that hinder the competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets 
and have issued reports outlining possible solutions:

       Interim Report of the Committee on Capital Markets 
     Regulation, November 2006; Schumer/Bloomberg report entitled: 
     ``Sustaining New York's and U.S.' Global Financial Services 
     Leadership, January 2007; Commission on the Regulations of 
     U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century, March 2007.

  I would especially like to commend the senior Senator from New York 
for his efforts in this project. All three reports add considerably to 
the understanding of the challenges that American capital markets face 
and offer solutions that could help American markets, companies, and 
workers to better compete.
  Additionally, on March 13, 2007, the Department of the Treasury 
convened a conference on United States capital markets competitiveness 
where conference delegates discussed ways to keep U.S. capital markets 
the strongest and most innovative in the world. This problem is well-
documented and it is time that we take the necessary steps to restore 
America's leadership position in the global financial services 
marketplace.
  This amendment states it is the sense of the Senate
  (1) Congress, the President, regulators, industry leaders, and other 
stakeholders should take the necessary steps to reclaim the preeminent 
position of the United States in the global financial services 
marketplace;

[[Page 10221]]

  (2) the Federal and State financial regulatory agencies should, to 
the maximum extent possible, coordinate activities on significant 
policy matters, so as not to impose regulations that may have adverse 
unintended consequences on innovativeness with respect to financial 
products, instruments, and services, or that impose regulatory costs 
that are disproportionate to their benefits, and, at the same time, 
ensure that the regulatory framework overseeing the United States 
capital markets continues to promote and protect the interests of 
investors in those markets;
  (3) given the complexity of the financial services marketplace today, 
Congress should exercise vigorous oversight over Federal regulatory and 
statutory requirements affecting the financial services industry and 
consumers, with the goal of eliminating excessive regulation and 
problematic implementation of existing laws and regulations, while 
ensuring that necessary investor protections are not compromised.
  This amendment is supported by the American Bankers Association, the 
Business Roundtable, United States Chamber of Commerce, Financial 
Services Forum, Investment Company Institute, International Swaps and 
Derivatives Association, Securities Industry and Financial Markets 
Association, NASDAQ, and NYSE.
  I also thank my colleagues for joining me in supporting this 
amendment, and I thank the senior Senator from New York for working 
with me on this amendment


                           Amendment No. 922

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 
minutes of debate on amendment No. 922, offered by the Senator from 
Oklahoma.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I wish to speak against this amendment. 
This amendment will increase the work of the inspector general because 
of its mandatory nature, but it will not add any additional results.
  Secondly, it provides that audits be posted on the Web within 60 days 
without any safeguards for proprietary information that may be gathered 
as a result of the audit, and it provides no protections under existing 
information privacy laws.
  Then there is the word ``conference,'' which I think is too broad and 
has implications for existing and future educational activities, which 
is the major part of the underlying bill.
  For this reason, and many others, I am opposed to it.
  I yield back my remaining time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Oklahoma wish to be 
heard?
  Mr. COBURN. I yield back my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 922.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and 
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cantwell). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 82, nays 14, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 145 Leg.]

                                YEAS--82

     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Bunning
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Lott
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--14

     Akaka
     Byrd
     Dodd
     Feingold
     Gregg
     Inouye
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Rockefeller
     Stevens

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Biden
     Brownback
     Johnson
     McCain
  The amendment (No. 922) was agreed to.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I voted against Senator Coburn's 
amendment, No. 922, because it will place a difficult burden on grant 
activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
NOAA. The amendment as drafted has disturbing privacy implications. The 
inspector general's audits must be posted on the Web within 60 days 
without any safeguards for proprietary information. Further, the 
amendment is drafted so broadly that some reasonable uses of grant 
awards would be jeopardized. Researchers might be restrained from 
attending peer conferences which are a part of the scientific process. 
NOAA awards grants throughout Michigan in order to protect and restore 
the Great Lakes, and I want to ensure that this amendment does not 
interfere with NOAA's mission in the Great Lakes and our Nation's 
waters. I support the goal of the amendment to provide for 
accountability and transparency, and I hope that my concerns with the 
amendment will be addressed in conference so that I can support the 
provision in the conference report.


                     Nanotechnology in the Schools

  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I would like to thank the distinguished 
Senator from New Mexico, Mr. Bingaman, and the distinguished Senator 
from Tennessee, Mr. Alexander, for their leadership in crafting the 
America COMPETES Act and managing it on the Senate floor. I would also 
like to thank Senator Inouye and Senator Kennedy for their roles in 
developing and moving this bill. It is a critical piece of legislation 
that will help ensure our great Nation remains competitive in the 
global economy.
  I would also like to thank my distinguished colleague from Oregon, 
Mr. Smith, the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry, and 
the distinguished Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Pryor, for working with me 
to draft language to enable high schools and colleges to purchase 
nanotechnology equipment through grants from the National Science 
Foundation. And I thank the distinguished Senator from New Jersey, Mr. 
Menendez, for working with us to add some of that language to his 
important amendment to this fine bill.
  Nanotechnology involves the understanding and control of matter at 
dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers--as small as a single 
molecule. At that scale, unique phenomena enable novel applications. 
The rapidly growing field of nanotechnology is generating scientific 
and technological breakthroughs that will benefit society by improving 
the way many things are designed and made. It will continue to be at 
the heart of innovation in a wide range of sectors for decades to come.
  With the inclusion of the language that we proposed, partnerships 
between low income school districts, colleges and universities, and 
businesses will be able to secure funds to purchase classroom versions 
of scanning electron microscopes and other tools that are fundamental 
to the study of nanotechnology.
  Mr. SMITH. Madam President, I thank my distinguished colleague and 
the Senators from New Mexico, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Arkansas, and 
New Jersey.
  Nanotechnology will have a significant, positive impact on the 
security, economic well-being, and health of Americans as fields 
related to nanotechnology expand. In order to maximize the benefits of 
nanotechnology to our citizens, the United States must maintain world 
leadership in the field.

[[Page 10222]]

  According to the National Science Foundation, foreign students on 
temporary visas earned 32 percent of all science and engineering 
doctorates awarded in the United States in 2003, the last year for 
which data is available. Foreign students earned 55 percent of the 
engineering doctorates. Many of these students expressed an intent to 
return to their country of origin after completing their study.
  To maintain world leadership in nanotechnology, the United States 
must make a long-term investment in educating U.S. students in high 
schools and colleges, so that our students are able to conduct 
nanoscience research and develop and commercialize nanotechnology 
applications.
  Preparing students for careers in nanotechnology requires they have 
access to the necessary scientific tools, including scanning electron 
microscopes designed for teaching, and involves training to enable 
teachers and professors to use the tools in classrooms and 
laboratories.
  Mr. WYDEN. I agree with my colleague. It is well documented that 
America needs to address the science, technology, engineering and math 
deficit--this entire bill is a reflection of that understanding. This 
deficit is possibly greatest in the Nation's poorest school districts. 
Yet these school districts also offer a reservoir of potential--
potential, if properly tapped, that could generate hundreds of 
thousands of scientists and engineers who can help ensure that America 
can compete in the global marketplace, and harness the economic 
promise--and good paying jobs--of emerging fields like nanotechnology.
  I have seen some of the nanotechnology equipment that folks will be 
able to use these funds to purchase. And honestly, it is exciting 
stuff. I expect that it will help generate the enthusiasm, as well as 
the knowledge and understanding, necessary to attract and retain 
America's future nanotechnologists.
  So I would urge the Director of the National Science Foundation, as 
he is implementing this program, to give special attention to grant 
proposals that include a nanotechnology element.
  Mr. SMITH. I agree with my colleague from Oregon and I also hope that 
the Director will give special attention to grant proposals that 
include a nanotechnology element. Nanotechnology is not a specific 
technology, but a descriptive term encompassing a range of fields from 
biology to computer science, and from medicine to engineering. This 
legislation will enable high schools and colleges, in partnership with 
local businesses, to purchase basic tabletop nanotechnology tools for 
classroom use--not laboratory use for research, but classroom use for 
education--to help create the next generation of scientists of all 
kinds, and to ensure that they will have the skills to apply 
nanotechnology to whatever specific scientific field they enter.
  Mr. WYDEN. I would like to make one last point--the 21st Century 
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act will come up for 
reauthorization next year. As one of the authors of the act, and as one 
of the cochairmen of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus, I am 
looking forward to hearing my colleagues' thoughts about how the act 
might be amended to further promote American competitiveness in the 
vitally important field of nanotechnology.


  authorization for department of energy basic research, section 2006

  Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I wish to commend the managers of the 
bill for continuing here on the floor the remarkable cooperative effort 
that characterized the development of this legislation by the three 
Senate committees. That said, I want to note that I think we need to 
give further consideration to the funding pattern for basic research 
within the Department of Energy in Section 2006. We have responded to 
the Augustine Report's call for increasing our commitment to basic 
research in the physical sciences by doubling funding over the next 
decade, but we need to make sure that those funds are distributed over 
the years in a manner that will maximize the effectiveness of those 
programs. I suggest that we need to increase and accelerate funding for 
these basic research programs. I request that the managers agree to 
work with me to accomplish that as this bill works its way through 
conference.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. I share my colleague's concern. We must ensure that the 
funding increases for the Office of Science at the Department of Energy 
are sufficient and that they are allocated to specific years so that 
there is a nexus between the needs of each of the various research 
programs and the amounts provided for each fiscal year. I will be 
pleased to work with my colleagues in conference to refine further 
these authorizations.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I thank the senior Senator from New Mexico for 
bringing this matter to our attention. I, too, recognize the 
significant contributions of the Department of Energy Office of Science 
to our Nation's commitment to basic research. It is the largest Federal 
funding source of basic research in the physical sciences. So it is, of 
course, extremely important that we get the funding right. I will also 
be pleased to work with my colleagues to make certain we provide 
optimal support for these programs.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank my colleagues for their willingness to work 
with me on this issue, and I am hopeful that the conference report we 
ultimately consider will have the best funding scenario we can provide 
for these basic research programs.


                    Authorization of the Atp Program

  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I had intended to call up amendment No. 
969 which sets forth authorization levels for the Advanced Technology 
Program, ATP, to restore the ATP program to its historic funding 
levels. The Senate's defeat of the Coburn amendment expresses the will 
of the Senate to support the ATP program. I am also confident that the 
chairman and the committee can accomplish in conference what this 
amendment intended to do.
  Again, by defeating the Coburn amendment to repeal the authorization 
for the Advanced Technology Program, ATP, the Senate has again 
expressed its support for ATP.
  This body understands the importance of this program. In the past the 
Senate has, on numerous occasions, supported amendments to the budget 
resolution to provide for ATP. Every time we have had an appropriations 
vote on this program we have retained funding for ATP.
  We have lost 3 million manufacturing jobs since January 2001. In the 
face of these losses and strong global economic competition, we should 
be doing all we can to promote programs that help create jobs and 
strengthen the technological innovation of American companies.
  The ATP is one of the key Federal programs available to help U.S. 
manufacturers remain competitive in a global economy.
  I have spoken with the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and I 
am confident he will support strong funding for the ATP program in 
conference.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. I will support efforts to authorize this important 
program which the Senate has so often voted to support, consistent of 
course with our ability to get a conference report that the Senate can 
pass.
  I thank Senator Levin for bringing this matter to the attention of 
the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, if all of the Members are here now, I want 
to express thanks--I think I speak for the whole Senate--for the work 
done by Senators Bingaman and Alexander. It is a very important piece 
of legislation. This is the fifth day we have worked on this piece of 
legislation; this is only the floor days. We spent hours and hours 
coming up with the idea, having meetings, meeting with individual 
Senators.
  It is a good piece of legislative work. As we know, legislation is 
the art of compromise. They have made the compromises which improved 
the legislation. They were assisted by the chair and ranking member of 
the HELP Committee, Kennedy and Enzi; Commerce Committee, Inouye and 
Stevens; and,

[[Page 10223]]

of course, Senator Bingaman's housemate from New Mexico, Senator 
Domenici, has been on the floor a lot these past few days. It is good 
to see him up around, back in his fighting form. He has done very good 
work as usual.
  I also express my appreciation to Senator McConnell for allowing us 
to move forward. This is a good bipartisan piece of legislation. I said 
when this legislation started we were going to do something on a 
bipartisan basis. Recognizing that although there was a little bit of 
downtime on a few occasions, I made the decision before we went to this 
bill there would be no procedural cloture votes filed. I thought it was 
good to let everybody know we can work through these bills if we have 
to with a little cooperation from everyone.
  Thank you very much.
  Let me finally say, the House is going to complete the work on the 
supplemental sometime late tonight. We will get that sometime late 
tomorrow. We are going to try to have the final passage of this about a 
quarter to 1 tomorrow. I am assuming it will be final passage: we will 
have the vote, anyway. Then that will be the last vote for this week.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, let me join my good friend the 
majority leader, and say this is a good example of the Senate, a broad 
bipartisan bill of consequence, with spectacular, widespread 
participation led by Senator Alexander, Senator Domenici, Senator 
Stevens, and others on this side; Senator Bingaman and others on that 
side. This is a proud moment for the Senate. I congratulate all of 
those who spent a couple of years crafting this measure and putting it 
together so it can enjoy this large vote it is about to receive.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.


                           Amendment No. 973

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, we did inadvertently leave one 
additional amendment off the list that I read describing the managers' 
package. I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 973 be agreed to, 
and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 973) was agreed to, as follows:

     (Purpose: To include the Administrator of the Small Business 
      Administration on the President's Council on Innovation and 
                            Competitiveness)

       On page 16, strike lines 15 and 16 and insert the 
     following:
       (P) The Small Business Administration.
       (Q) Any other department or agency designated by the 
     President.

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, let me say very briefly that I very 
much appreciate Senator Reid's leadership in setting time aside and 
making this a priority for the Senate, and Senator McConnell as well. 
And, of course, I acknowledge the great work Senator Alexander has done 
at every stage in this process. He has done a terrific job, and he has 
been the persistent impetus for getting this legislation to this point 
and deserves great credit for it. Senator Domenici does as well. He 
took a very strong leadership role in the last Congress and again in 
this Congress in getting this done.
  Of course, Senator Ensign and Senator Lieberman have been real 
leaders on the issue, and Senator Mikulski, Senator Inouye, Senator 
Stevens, Senator Hutchison, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Enzi. All of 
them have played a major part.
  This is multicommittee legislation and multi-Senator legislation. It 
is bipartisan, as was said. It is a good step for the Senate to be 
taking. I appreciate everyone's cooperation and help.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, out of respect to our colleagues, I 
am going to defer my remarks until after the vote except to say--all of 
the thank-yous, except to say one thing: There are a number of issues 
before this body that are too big for one party to solve. This has been 
one of them. But after 2 years of work across party lines, we ended up 
with 63 cosponsors, 208 pages of legislation. We dealt with 40 
amendments in the last 3 days without any cloture. I hope this sets an 
example for dealing with some of the other large issues we have that 
are too big for one party to solve.
  I thank my colleagues for working with us in this way. I will be more 
specific about those thanks to the leaders and the other Senators after 
the vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, fellow Senators, I have been involved 
in the last 2 years in two major legislative efforts; both of them have 
been bipartisan, extremely bipartisan. I don't know how far that will 
carry us, but it certainly is a good feeling. It is different to know 
that Senators on both sides of the aisle support the effort you are 
making when you work hard for something like we did for this one.
  The brain power of our youth is the salvation of our country. It is 
the source of innovation and the source of our economic power. It is 
failing because we are not educating our children properly. That is the 
heart of the recommendation given to us. It is the heart of what they 
gave us as their recommendations, the great American leaders who 
volunteered, and we were able to keep most of it regardless of how 
difficult the committee jurisdictions are. Three major committees 
getting together to fix this is pretty good work.
  I thank everyone. There are more that I want to thank one on one. I 
will thank them later. But it has been a great effort. I thoroughly 
enjoyed it after these many years of being a Senator. The last couple 
of years have been absolutely terrific when you can get a couple of 
major bills done with both sides of the aisle.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall it pass?
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden) and 
the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Delaware (Mr. Biden) would vote ``yea.''
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 88, nays 8, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 146 Leg.]

                                YEAS--88

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Grassley
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--8

     Allard
     Coburn
     DeMint
     Graham
     Gregg
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     Thomas

[[Page 10224]]



                             NOT VOTING--4

     Biden
     Brownback
     Johnson
     McCain
  The bill (S. 761), as amended, was passed.
  (The bill will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote and to 
lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, I speak today in support of the 
America Competes Act, ACA, a bill designed to increase math and science 
opportunities for our Nation's youth, an issue of great importance in 
our increasingly global economy. I have heard from Wisconsinites at the 
K-12 education level as well as members of my State's higher education 
community who have voiced support for the ACA and the boost it provides 
to math and science programming. I am particularly pleased the Senate 
accepted my amendment to improve education privacy protections in the 
P-16 database component of this legislation.
  For decades, America has dominated the science and technological 
fields both in the higher education community and the business sector. 
As the National Academy of Sciences', NAS, report ``Above the Gathering 
Storm: Energizing and Employing America for Brighter Future'' outlined, 
the United States is facing some important challenges that need to be 
addressed if our country wishes to remain the worldwide economic and 
scientific leader. The report made clear that the science and 
technology preeminence that we have enjoyed for decades should not be 
taken for granted and deserves serious attention.
  The NAS report also highlights the need for supporting basic and 
applied research as a foundation for America's continued competitive 
edge. The America COMPETES Act follows through on these suggestions by 
boosting funding for competitive basic research through the NSF and 
other agencies. I have long been a strong supporter of competitive 
research funding, cultivating young researchers, graduate students and 
professionals, and creating an overall environment that encourages 
innovation, so I was glad to see these provisions in the legislation. 
While this legislation provides a Federal emphasis, this effort is 
going to have to be a partnership with public and private universities 
and colleges to be successful. Knowing Wisconsin, I am sure our 
institutions and higher education and companies will step up to the 
plate and embrace this partnership.
  Keeping America competitive globally is particularly relevant as 
manufacturing and industrial plants have closed in the United States 
and been rebuilt in other nations where the cost of hiring technical 
experts like engineers and chemists are often one-fifth or even one-
tenth that in the US. While we need to boost education and employment 
training for these workers, I am concerned that retraining and major 
investment in the science and technology arena will not be enough to 
make a long-term difference without improved trade agreements. I 
continue to be troubled by the trade agreements into which our country 
has entered in recent years. Too often, they lack even the most basic 
labor and environmental standards needed to prevent a race to the 
bottom, and to ensure that our businesses and workers can compete on an 
equal footing. The unfortunate result of these flawed agreements has 
been the flight of jobs overseas and downward pressure on wages and 
benefits for those jobs that remain. If agreements such as these 
continue to be the rule, I am afraid that even with significant 
investment in science and technology our global position will continue 
to erode.
  While trade policy is an important aspect of our country's 
competitiveness, maintaining and strengthening America's 
competitiveness is a multi-disciplinary effort. I am pleased that the 
ACA includes funding for various important education programs including 
teacher professional development and summer learning institutes for K-
12 teachers, and expanded access to AP and IB courses for students in 
high-need schools. Providing training and support to America's teachers 
is an essential component of strengthening our nation's educational 
system and ensuring the educational growth of American students. 
Teacher quality is one of the biggest factors that impacts student 
achievement and too many students in our nation's most disadvantaged 
schools are taught by less experienced and less qualified teachers than 
their counterparts in our more advantaged schools. The programs 
provided in the ACA move our country in the right direction towards 
closing the gap in teacher quality and increasing the number of math 
and science teachers throughout the country.
  I am pleased the Senate adopted my amendment to strengthen the 
education privacy provisions in the title IV section of the bill which 
funds alignment of education programs. Under this section, States could 
apply for grants to improve alignment of the K-12 education standards 
with the skills that are needed for both the workforce and college. 
States could also use the grants to create P-16 databases which would 
compile information on students from kindergarten through college for 
the purposes of improving education policy in the States. While I fully 
support better alignment between the K-12 and higher education systems, 
I was concerned that the privacy provisions of the underlying bill were 
not strong enough to protect this important student data. As we have 
seen recently with the unauthorized uses of the federal National 
Student Loan Data System, these data systems are not completely secure 
and are potentially subject to abuse by those who have access to such 
data systems.
  My amendment adds some commonsense protections that States would have 
to comply with in order to receive Federal funding to create or improve 
education databases. States and third parties will only be able to use 
the data in the P-16 systems to fulfill purposes set out in State and 
Federal education law and third parties who access the data must sign a 
data use agreement prohibiting further disclosure or unauthorized uses. 
States will also have to account for all disclosures of data and make 
the accounting available to individuals whose data has been disclosed. 
Additionally, States must maintain adequate electronic security 
measures to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of the data. 
Databases established with these Federal grant dollars would be subject 
to the protections of the Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act. 
Finally, the underlying bill requires States to assign students unique 
identifiers in the State databases and my amendment would prohibit 
Federal, State, and local agencies from using the unique identifiers 
for any purposes except those allowed under Federal and State education 
law, as well as requiring the Secretary of Education to promulgate 
regulations to govern the use of unique identifiers in order to 
safeguard individual privacy.
  During consideration of the bill I supported several amendments that 
would impose greater fiscal responsibility, such as Senator DeMint's 
amendment opposing earmarks and Senator Coburn's amendment addressing 
the Advanced Technology Program. I did not support other amendments 
that, while well-intentioned, could have undermined the principles and 
purposes of the bill. I opposed Senator Coburn's amendment to sunset 
the provisions of the ACA and its amendments because of my concerns 
that this would nullify positive policy changes made by the ACA. I also 
opposed his amendment regarding the grant programs of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That amendment would have 
unduly interfered with grant recipients' ability to meet the objectives 
of their grants by prohibiting participation in conferences that, for 
example, could further scientific understanding. Grant recipients from 
all Federal agencies already must comply with regulations that prohibit 
the misuse of Federal funds on things such as entertainment and alcohol 
expenses.
  I am pleased we were able to work in a bipartisan manner to pass this 
important legislation. Improving math and

[[Page 10225]]

science programs for disadvantaged youth and strengthening professional 
development opportunities for America's teachers are critically 
important to our Nation's future. The United States has long been known 
for its leadership in scientific discoveries and achievement, but our 
country must continue to improve and strengthen our education programs 
related to math, science, and technology if the United States wants to 
remain the world's leader on these issues. I believe the America 
COMPETES Act moves our country in the right direction towards achieving 
these important goals.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, passing S. 761, the America COMPETES Act, 
is an important first step towards maintaining our country's 
competitive advantage in the global economy.
  This legislation was written with strong bipartisan cooperation and 
negotiation. Many competing interests and competing views were heard 
during an open amendment process with Senators free to offer their 
ideas for improving the legislation. And, in what I hope is a sign of 
things to come, we were not forced to file cloture to complete action 
on this bill. Over the past few days, the Senate worked just as it was 
designed to do.
  We would not have achieved this great bipartisan success were it not 
for the hard work of Senators Bingaman and Alexander. While many 
Senators played important roles in passing this bill, Senators Bingaman 
and Alexander were responsible for raising the awareness of our 
diminishing ability to compete, and for bringing a much-needed sense of 
urgency to this issue. I also want to recognize the hard work of a 
number of my colleagues, Senators Inouye, Stevens, Kennedy, Enzi, 
Lieberman, Ensign, Mikulski, and Hutchison, who were also instrumental 
in crafting and now passing this legislation.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that we follow 
through on the commitments and investments we made today in passing the 
America COMPETES Act. And I am hopeful that we can continue to work 
together in a bipartisan manner to move this country forward.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, let me speak again about the 
extraordinary effort that went into this legislation and talk 
particularly about the staff work that has brought us to this point.
  I think everyone involved in this legislation knows this represents 
many days and many nights of hard work by staff people in our personal 
offices as well as on committee staff. We have seen a great example of 
how the staffs of the various committees can come together and produce 
a good product.
  I will reiterate the leadership among Senators for this work. Senator 
Alexander, of course, deserves tremendous credit. Senator Domenici 
deserves tremendous credit. Senator Lieberman and Senator Ensign have 
both worked very hard on this legislation and deserve great credit as 
well. I know Senators Reid and McConnell acknowledged their good work. 
We also, of course, could not have done this without the leadership of 
Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi on the HELP Committee, and without the 
leadership of Senator Inouye, Senator Stevens, Senator Mikulski, and 
Senator Hutchison. There are several others I am sure I should have on 
the list as well because this was a combined effort.
  The three committees that put this legislation together were the 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, under the leadership 
of Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi; of course, the Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation Committee under Senator Inouye and Senator Stevens; 
and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The portion of this 
legislation that came from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee 
was reported out when Senator Domenici was the chairman in the last 
Congress. I was proud to work with him in doing that. I can recall the 
effort the three of us made--Senator Alexander, Senator Domenici, and 
myself--to persuade the President to make this a priority. He did make 
it a priority. Of course, he deserves credit for that as well.
  Let me also talk for a minute about individual staff members on both 
sides of the aisle who worked very hard to make this a success--from 
the Commerce Committee: Jean Toal-Eisen, Jason Mulvihill, Chan Lieu, 
Beth Bacon, Jeff Bingham, H.J. Derr, Floyd Deschamps, and Christine 
Kurth; from the HELP Committee: Missy Rohrbach, Lindsay Hunsicker, 
Michael Yudin; from my staff: Carmel Martin, David Cleary, Anne Clough, 
Beth Buehlman, Roberto Rodriguez, and Ilyse Schuman; from the Energy 
Committee: Bob Simon, staff director Jonathan Epstein, who has been 
working with me tirelessly on this legislation, Sam Fowler, and, of 
course, our general counsel, Kathryn Clay, and Melanie Roberts; on 
Senator Alexander's staff: Matt Sonnesyn and Jack Wells are the two 
with whom I am most familiar who have worked so hard; from Senator 
Lieberman's staff: Rachel Stotsky, Craig Robinson, and Colleen Shogan; 
and from on my staff: My legislative director Trudy Vincent has been 
extremely involved and helpful in getting this legislation completed. I 
wish to acknowledge the great work done by Jason Unger and Mark Wetjen 
on Senator Reid's staff and by Libby Jarvis on Senator McConnell's 
staff.
  This is legislation which could not have come together without the 
good work of all of these people whose names I have mentioned. They can 
be proud of their success in this venture.
  Of course, this is only one hurdle in the process. It seems, in the 
legislative process, no matter how many hurdles jumped, there is always 
another ahead. We now have to find a way to reconcile any differences 
we have with the House on this set of issues. We hope we can do that 
successfully in the near future and send the bill to the President.
  Again, I particularly congratulate Senator Alexander and Senator 
Domenici. I know Senator Alexander has some comments he wants to make.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I ask unanimous consent to add the following Senators 
as cosponsors of S. 761, the America COMPETES Act: Senators Snowe and 
Hatch.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, let me say to Senator Bingaman, I 
greatly appreciate working with him. I do not believe there will be a 
more important piece of legislation to come before Congress this year 
because it goes right to the heart of something every American 
understands, which is, How do we keep our jobs? This is the way we do 
it. We keep our brainpower advantage. We keep our jobs in competition 
with China and India. There are other factors as well, but what we know 
is--and we have a broad consensus in the Senate--that most of our 
remarkable standard of living, a situation where we have 30 percent of 
all the money in the world produced in this country for about 5 percent 
of the people, comes from our brainpower advantage, kindergarten 
through the twelfth grade, a wonderful higher education system, and our 
research institutes. That is the importance of this legislation.
  The second thing about the legislation is that, to a remarkable 
degree, we rely on the people we ought to rely on in giving the answer 
to the question, How do we keep our brainpower advantage? Senator 
Bingaman and I, with the encouragement and under the leadership of 
Senator Domenici, who last year was chairman of the Energy Committee, 
asked the National Academy of Sciences: Please tell us the 10 things we 
need to do in order to keep our brainpower advantage so we can keep our 
jobs.
  So they asked Norm Augustine, the former head of Lockheed Martin, to 
chair a distinguished group of about 21, and they gave up their summer 
2 years ago. They included three Nobel laureates, the former head of 
MIT, and others of that caliber, and they gave us 20--in priority 
order--things to do. At about that same time, the Council on 
Competitiveness had finished its work. Senator Lieberman and Senator 
Ensign had introduced their bill.
  That legislation, which was the Domenici-Bingaman legislation, after 
a

[[Page 10226]]

lot of work with the Bush administration, became the Frist-Reid bill 
toward the end of last year. Then, when we changed parties in the 
Senate, the very same bill became the Reid-McConnell bill. So we had 
worked closely together in a bipartisan way where we were able to 
overcome differences.
  I do not want the 88-to-8 vote to fool anybody. This was not that 
easy to do. This has been 2 years of work, with lots of different 
committees, many different ideas. But it has been a successful effort.
  As I said, briefly, just before the vote, it is a privilege always to 
be a Senator. It has especially been a privilege this week because the 
Senate is acting as the Senate should. We are dealing, first, with one 
of the biggest issues facing our country. Second, we are recognizing it 
is one of that handful of big issues that cannot be solved by one party 
alone. The Democrats could have charged up and down the hill all night 
long, and they could not have done it. The Republicans could have done 
the same, and we could not have done it. We could only have done it in 
the way we did it, and we did.
  There are other issues out there like that. I think of immigration, 
which the majority leader has said we will be moving to soon. There is 
the question of affordable health insurance for every American. There 
is the question of energy independence. I hope this is a model for how 
we can work together and avoid some of the petty bickering we sometimes 
fall into. I think the American people would appreciate that, and I 
hope they will appreciate this.
  I wish to thank especially the Senators whom Senator Bingaman talked 
about. He and his staff have been a delight to work with. Senator 
Domenici, of course, has been terrific to me as a junior member of his 
committee last year, allowing me to work on this. But when Senator 
Stevens and Senator Inouye and Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi, 
basically, lent their prestige and sense of urgency to this legislation 
and stepped back and allowed it to proceed and participated rather than 
claim some jurisdictional advantage, that is what really helped.
  Senator Ensign made a tremendous difference within the Republican 
caucus, and Senator Hutchison and Senator Bond, and Senator Mikulski on 
that side. Senator Chambliss and others from the very beginning have 
worked on this issue. That is why we had 70 Senators on the Domenici-
Bingaman bill last year--35 Republicans, 35 Democrats. And that is why 
we had 63 cosponsors of the Reid-McConnell bill.
  Finally, Senator Reid allowed this to come forward, and Senator 
McConnell worked with him in a way that permitted this environment. It 
is pretty remarkable. We have had nothing like this in the Senate this 
year. We had no cloture--not one bit of cloture. We had a very 
complicated bill. We dealt with 40 amendments, and we got it all done 
within a week--on one of the most important pieces of legislation. That 
is a significant achievement. We should not forget the role Senator 
Frist played last year in helping to move things along. So I thank my 
colleagues for the privilege of being a part of it.
  Senator Bingaman read the names, I believe, of all of the Democratic 
staff and Republican staff. I do not think he left anyone out. I want 
to especially, therefore, say--I hope this is appropriate to do--to 
Jonathan Epstein and Senator Bingaman's staff how much we appreciate 
all of them. They really have been indispensable to this effort. I also 
thank Matt Sonnesyn, who has been our lead. He has been indispensable, 
as well, and David Cleary; and Kathryn Clay on Senator Domenici's 
staff, who has been crucial to the effort. The staff have spent 
hundreds of hours, literally, in the last 2 years working carefully 
through the bill.
  I might say this, in conclusion--I know Senator Domenici has 
something to say--I took the legislation home over the weekend and 
reread it, all 208 pages. It is remarkably coherent, well written, and 
well organized. Maybe this process would be a good model for other 
legislation.
  The House of Representatives is already moving. Congressman Gordon 
and Congressman Boehlert joined Senator Bingaman and me in asking the 
National Academies for their recommendations 2 years ago. Those 
recommendations have been introduced in the House. It is my hope that 
after our legislation goes there, the House will act soon, and we will 
be able to send this legislation to the President.
  Senator Domenici took us to the White House last year to talk with 
the President about this issue. He secured the invitation, and it was 
not just a Republican Senator or another Republican Senator, it was a 
Republican senior Senator and a Democratic senior Senator meeting with 
the President. That is the way we worked on this issue. So we 
appreciate the President's attention and priority to this issue. It 
would not have happened without that, either.
  Thank you, Madam President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I will be very brief because so much 
has been said, I do not think I should repeat it. I think all of the 
people who deserve to be thanked have been thanked. I thank Senator 
Bingaman for being so gracious to all of those who worked on this 
legislation. I say to Senator Bingaman, you always do, and you made 
sure the Record reflects each of their names, including those of my 
staff. We all thank you for that act of courtesy.
  I just want to say, we all knew when we started we were addressing a 
very big problem. I am sure each of us from time to time has wondered 
whether what we were doing was going to have as big an effect as we 
hoped on our children in their ability to improve their brainpower, as 
we help teachers who teach them be better teachers of the hard subjects 
of math and science and the like.
  I am sure many times we wondered whether this was the right avenue 
and approach. But once we got into it, it was apparent we had not been 
led astray, that the leaders who put it together for us--and there is 
not a large group of them, but they are very talented, and they are 
very American--sought nothing but to give us the best recommendations 
for our country. That was a wonderful group in the Academies. Of 
course, their chairman, the former CEO of Lockheed Martin, just did a 
marvelous job.
  I am very hopeful, now that we have done this, we will get the money 
appropriated. I pledge here tonight I will do everything I can--and I 
hope we will muster more help as we go through appropriations--to see 
that we give this legislative thrust a chance. If you want a shell, you 
will get a shell. If you do not want to pay for these programs, you 
will not help your kids, because there is nothing mysterious about 
this. There is a huge amount of work that has to be done by people and 
institutions that have to be paid.
  This bill says how we are going to pay for it, but it is an 
authorizing bill. I told the Senate that, and I proved it, there is 
nothing we could do in terms of the Budget Act for those who wanted to 
stop it, because it does not spend money. It authorizes a series of new 
ideas as the program for the country. The program is immobile without 
the resources that are stated. As we look at it carefully, we might 
even see we did not put enough in certain areas. I am certainly going 
to go to conference and work on the Appropriations Committee with the 
full idea that we must fully fund this bill for the next 3 or 4 years 
if we are going to get what we want for our young people and the 
teachers and parents who so anxiously wait for something good and 
positive.
  This day has been a long time coming. For over a year, we have been 
working to pass a bill that will give America the brain power needed to 
compete in the global marketplace.
  This is a process that began in the Energy Committee, with a request 
to the National Academy of Sciences to put together a report that told 
us what needed to be done to help America compete. That report, 
``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' led by former Lockheed CEO Norm 
Augustine, serves as the basis for the legislation we just passed.
  Last year, the Energy Committee moved forward with legislation that

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utilizes the Department of Energy and its national labs to train our 
teachers and rekindle interest in math and science. We called that bill 
the PACE--Protecting America's Competitive Edge.
  At the end of last session, and again this year, we were able to 
partner with our leaders, Senator Reid and Senator McConnell, and our 
colleagues on the Commerce and HELP Committees, to put together the 
comprehensive America COMPETES Act.
  Less than 6 percent of high school seniors have plans to study 
engineering, but 50 percent of our current U.S. science and engineering 
workforce is approaching retirement age.
  By bringing our national labs into the classroom, we can begin to 
address this problem.
  Since the Augustine report emphasizes the need for a renewed focus on 
basic science and research, this bill authorizes doubling the funding 
for DOE's Office of Science.
  I look forward to working with the House in conference to pass a 
strong, bipartisan bill that will allow America to rise above the 
gathering storm and compete once again.
  With that, Madam President, once again, I thank Senator Bingaman. It 
has been a pleasure to get another bipartisan bill through with you. If 
we keep doing this, they are going to be mentioning the Senator from 
New Mexico so much--mentioning you and then me--they are going to think 
the whole place is full of Senators from New Mexico. We do not have to 
worry about that. We will take what we can get and do the best we can 
with it.
  I say to the Senator, thank you, Lamar, for coming to me and asking: 
Could I push this with you all? It was a pleasure--and under my 
chairmanship--to push it with you and for you. It came out very well.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I congratulate Senator Bingaman and Senator 
Alexander for the passage of America COMPETES, legislation which they 
crafted carefully to enhance American innovation and competitiveness. I 
also thank them for accepting three amendments which I offered, which 
will help expand the range of innovative possibilities by which America 
faces its competitive challenges.
  Let me explain this. The president of the National Academy of 
Engineering once said that innovation is a profoundly creative process, 
and that like other creative processes, it depends on the life 
experiences of the people involved. If we include a more diverse sample 
of our population, we will derive more varied and more innovative 
design options. We become more competitive by embracing our diversity, 
by involving a more representative cross-section of our populace in 
science, technology, and engineering endeavors.
  To increase participation, I have offered three amendments that have 
been accepted into America COMPETES. The first establishes a mentoring 
program to support women and underrepresented groups as they progress 
through science and technology education programs, increasing the 
likelihood of their success. I also propose that groups representing 
women and minority scientists and engineers be involved as strategies 
are developed to increase America's competitiveness.
  Also accepted was an amendment to increase the math and problem 
solving skills of young learners, by providing summer learning 
opportunities for students in elementary grades. This amendment springs 
from legislation I introduced earlier, with Senator Mikulski, the STEP 
UP Act, S. 116. This legislation responds to evidence showing that 
students may lose several months equivalent of math skills during the 
summer, if not provided learning opportunities when not in school. This 
is particularly important for children of poverty, for whom summer 
learning losses are greatest. Summer programs combat this loss in 
knowledge and skills, and well-designed programs can fuel the curiosity 
of children, helping them become active problem solvers and learners 
when they return to school in the fall.
  I thank my colleagues for their support of these amendments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Casey). The Senator from New Mexico.

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