House Committee on Science Introduces Three Bills Focusing on Competitiveness, Education

Republican members of the House Committee on Science introduced last week three bills designed to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness by improving math and science education and research.



According to the Association of American Universities, the bills respond to several recent competitiveness reports, including the National Academies' Rising Above the Gathering Storm. The bills are: H.R. 5358, the Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act; H.R. 5356, the Early Career Research Act, and; H.R. 5357, the Research for Competitiveness Act.



The Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act emphasizes the importance of bolstering undergraduate math and science education programs, according to the House Committee on Science. Specifically, the bill would:

• Strengthen and expand the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which provides scholarships to students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who commit to teaching after graduation;
• Strengthen and focus NSF's Math and Science Partnership Program, which funds teacher training to improve math and science instruction at the elementary and secondary levels;
• Extend the authorization of and expand NSF’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program, which provides grants to colleges and universities to increase the number of students majoring in STEM fields;
• Ensure that funding for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program grows as NSF’s budget increases;
• Establish a program to fund Centers for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering at NSF to improve the quality of teaching and curricula in undergraduate classes in STEM fields; and,
• Authorize education programs at the Department of Energy (DOE) and require the agency to inventory and evaluate its education programs.

The Early Career Research Act would authorize NSF and DOE's Office of Science to provide grants to early career researchers and establish innovative research programs. The bill would set aside 3.5 percent of the agency's research funding to ensure that NSF's programs to fund young faculty increases as the budget grows. NSF would provide grants of at least $80,000 for up to five years to help researchers establish a lab and pursue "risky" research in emerging fields. Additionally, the legislation would authorize $25 million at DOE for fiscal years 2007-11 for a similar program to support research by new faculty.



The Research for Competitiveness Act would authorize NSF and DOE to provide grants to early career researchers to conduct high-risk, high-return research in areas relevant to industry. Under the bill, NSF and DOE would offer $50,000 grants for up to five years, and provide an additional $50,000 to researchers who raise one-to-one matching funds from private industry.



The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation praised the House Committee for introducing legislation to "strengthen the nation's competitiveness by improving science and math education and encouraging careers in science-related fields." According to the task force, the measures introduced complement the President's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), which is currently in the FY 07 appropriations process.



Last week, the Committee on Appropriations released the Chairman's markup of the FY 2007 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, which provides $24.4 billion for DOE - $299 million over the president's request. The bill fully funds the ACI for a total of $4.132 billion and supports the Advanced Energy Initiative by increasing funding for a variety of clean energy technologies, including biomass, hydrogen, solar, wind and clean coal.



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