Major Bills to Boost U.S. Competitiveness Advance

Aug 11, 03:40 AM

Current Headlines: By Anonymous

Congress appears poised to approve major legislation to boost U.S. economic competitiveness, with Senate approval of the America COMPETES Act (S. 761) and House passage of the 21st Century Competitiveness Act (H.R. 2272). Although there are major overlaps in the two bills, there are also differences that must be worked out in conference. Also, if a joint measure is finally approved, it is unclear whether appropriators will be able to find the money in a tight budget to fund the increases in spending that the bills authorize. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has expressed concern about the "dramatic increases" in authorized funding levels in the bills. H.R. 2272 bundles together a number of bills previously approved by the House, including a bill that would put the National Science Foundation (NSF) on track to double its budget in 10 years by authorizing increased funding during the next three years. NSF would be authorized to spend $21 billion during the fiscal years 2008 to 2010; $16.4 billion would be for research and $2.8 billion for education programs.

H.R. 2272 also includes the Sowing the Seeds through Science and Engineering Research Act (H.R. 363), which would allow NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide grants worth up to $80,000 a year to scientists and engineering researchers in the early stages of their careers. In addition, the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 362) authorizes more than $600 million over five years for NSF's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program for college students studying math and science who would like to pursue a teaching career. Eligible students would receive annual scholarships of $10,000 and would be obligated to teach at an elementary or secondary school for four years after graduation. The bill also requires the NSF director to establish a national panel of experts "to identify, collect, and recommend" K- 12 math and science teaching materials that have proven effective.

H.R. 2272 authorizes increases in the budget of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) over three years, putting the agency on a path to doubling its budget in 10 years. NIST would receive a total of $2.5 billion during fiscal years 2008 to 2010. NIST's beleaguered Advanced Technology Program (ATP) would be renamed the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and continue to allow national laboratories and universities to develop partnerships with industry and compete for program grants. TIP would be authorized at $400 million in fiscal year 2008. The Bush administration favors eliminating ATP.

The Senate's America COMPETES bill (America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act) would double NSF's budget by fiscal year (FY) 201 1, put DOE's Office of Science on track to double its budget in 10 years, and boost research at NIST laboratories. It would create an Advanced Research Projects Authority-Energy (ARPA- E) at DOE, similar to the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program at the Department of Defense. It expands funding for the Noyce Scholarship Program and invests in a range of education programs that range from Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses for high-school students to graduate fellowship programs.

However, the COMPETES bill also funds a host of other agency education programs that the House bill does not. For example, it funds grants for teacher training, Math Now programs, and foreign language education. It also includes provisions that touch a broader range of agencies. For example, although it does not authorize specific funding levels for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it does state that the agencies should be an integral part of the federal innovation strategy. Furthermore, it calls on NASA to create a Basic Research Council and coordinate with NSF, DOE, and the Department of Commerce on physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics basic research. The legislation also requests that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy hold another innovation summit and that the National Academy of Sciences conduct a study on barriers to innovation.

Although both chambers have made innovation and competitiveness a priority and have outlined their visions of how best to establish a national response, whether they will be able to reach a compromise during the conference process remains to be seen.

"From the Hill" is prepared by the Center for Science, Technology, and Congress at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (www.aaas.org/spp) in Washington, D.C., and is based on articles from the center's bulletin Science & Technology in Congress.

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