Senator McConnell's Column on the America COMPETES Act
Statement
As a child, my parents encouraged me to do better in my math and science classes in school. I'll admit they weren't my best subjects. I just couldn't seeas a kidhow math and science would be that important to me in the future.
As a Senator, however, I've come to see how imperative it is for today's students to master math and science, so America can retain its competitive edge in the global economy of the 21st century.
America currently has the greatest scientific and technological enterprise in the world. We have the finest system of colleges and universities anywhere. But in many ways we have become complacent, while other countries are catching up.
They see that by investing in science and technology, and in the education of their citizens, they can attract jobs and create wealth. We must make the same investment in our future if we are to maintain our leadership through this century and beyond in the global marketplace.
A few years ago, realizing that America was falling behind, a group of Senators approached the National Academy of Sciences, a venerable organization bringing together the country's leading scientific minds.
We asked them a simple question: "What are the top 10 actions that policymakers in Washington could take to keep America in the lead in science and technology for the 21st Century?"
The Academy turned to its membersleaders of business, government, and academiaand came up with an answer. And the good news is that boosting the number of rocket scientistsalong with mathematicians, engineers and computer designersis not rocket science.
Many of the Academy's recommendations now form an important bill that the Senate is currently considering, the America COMPETES Act. It will help maintain and improve the United States' competitive edge over the next century by increasing our investment in basic research, strengthening educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math at all educational levels, and encouraging young people to pursue careers in those fields.
This fall, the Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, will open. It will bring together talented high-school students from all over the Commonwealth to study advanced math and science year-round for college credit.
The America COMPETES Act would provide federal support to advanced academies like the Kentucky Academy throughout the nation. It would also allow Kentucky to provide scholarships for students pursuing careers as math or science teachers, and hold summer academies for math and science teachers across the state to help them inspire their students.
At all the major centers for learning across our state, the faculty and administrators understand the importance of emphasizing math, science and engineering to keep Kentucky competitive with the rest of the country and the world.
The America COMPETES Act will help them do that by devoting more federal funding to research and development efforts at universities, creating hundreds of new opportunities for young scientists. These investments will eventually generate new discoveries, new high-tech companies, and new jobs.
America has led the world in innovation for over a century. From the light bulb to the airplane to the integrated circuit, we have given the world the tools to live happier, easier, and more productive lives.
But now countries like China and India are seeing the benefits of brainpower and what it can do to remake their economies. America's failure to value the importance of a scientific education has put us behind, and Congress can take the lead in beginning to solve it.
The America COMPETES Act is the best way to keep more of the jobs of the 21st Century right here in America, and in Kentucky. With it, we can ensure that our children have the skills to keep America at the forefront of innovation and discovery.
Senator McConnell is the Senate Republican Leader and only the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the U.S. Senate.
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