Labor, Education Secretaries Discuss Approaches to Enhancing American Competitiveness

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Testifying today before the U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings highlighted Bush Administration plans to enhance America’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.  Both Cabinet officials focused their testimony on President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative, which he unveiled during his State of the Union Address in January.  The initiative takes a broad approach to bolstering U.S. competitiveness, from workforce training to math and science education to private-public partnerships.

“As our country embarks on its third century, we are faced with the challenge of new realities that can only be addressed by enhancing our ability to compete,” said Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA).  “These realities include an economy that requires technology, innovation, and new ideas as engines of growth.  In many ways, we have left the age of the machine and have definitively entered the age of the mind.  The Education & the Workforce Committee is at the forefront in deciding what steps we must take next, and today’s hearing helped lay the groundwork for that.”

Labor Secretary Chao focused her testimony on the need for American workers to be both skilled and flexible in meeting the challenges created by a rapidly-changing 21st Century economy.

“When workers have the necessary skills, they become flexible enough to move relatively freely from job to job and place to place following the rhythms of the marketplace, businesses have workers they need to do the job, and workers have opportunities for career advancement,” noted Chao.  “Many of the fastest growing jobs of the future will need to be filled by ‘knowledge workers’ who have specialized skills and training.  These are the jobs that will drive innovation in the world economy and increase living standards.  Aligning the workforce investment system with new economic realities facing the United States is among the critical factors in the success of the American Competitiveness Initiative.”

Last year, the House backed Education & the Workforce Committee legislation – the Job Training Improvement Act (H.R. 27) – to respond to many of the challenges highlighted in Chao’s testimony.  The bill would strengthen federal worker training programs by streamlining bureaucracy; increasing cooperation among workforce development partners; creating personal reemployment accounts of up to $3,000 to help unemployed Americans purchase job training and other key services; and enhancing partnerships between local businesses, community colleges, and the local one-stop delivery system.  The Senate has yet to act on workforce training legislation of its own.

Education Secretary Spellings discussed with the Committee the new academic and technological challenges faced by U.S. students and workers as global competition intensifies. 

“While the United States is leading the world in science and technology and making strong reforms to its education system, the rest of the world is not standing still,” asserted Spellings.  “Inspired by our example, countries such as China, India, and South Korea have invested heavily in education, technology, and research and development.  Our educational leadership has been challenged as well, with many developed nations’ students outperforming ours in international tests, particularly in math and science – an ominous sign for many American schools.  According to some estimates, America’s share of the world’s science and engineering doctorates is predicted to fall to 15 percent by 2010.”

Last week, the House approved an Education & the Workforce Committee bill – the College Access & Opportunity Act (H.R. 609) – that responds to many of the challenges Spellings outlined, particularly with regard to math and science education.  Within the framework of current law, H.R. 609 establishes scholarships for students pursuing degrees in science, math, or engineering; provides student loan relief to individuals with degrees in science or math who serve as teachers or other professionals in those fields; and recruits well-qualified Americans to serve as adjunct teachers in high school math, science, and critical foreign language classes.  The Senate has yet to act on higher education reforms of its own.

“This multi-pronged, fiscally-responsible approach to strengthening American competitiveness is reflective of our consistent commitment on this issue,” concluded McKeon.  “Our Committee’s and our country’s ultimate success in impacting American competitiveness will be determined by what we do next, in the months and years to come.  I’m hopeful the Senate will act on both higher education and workforce training reforms very soon so we can begin taking the necessary steps toward improving our position against global competitors.”

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