Washington, DC (June6, 2006) – This week, Congressmen Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) and Silvestre Reyes (TX-16) sent a letter co-signed by 53 other members of Congress to Representatives Sherwood Boehlert and Bart Gordon, Chairman and Ranking Member respectively, for the House Science Committee expressing their concern with a series of bills slated for mark-up today.
The bills, H.R. 5358, the Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act of 2006; H.R. 5356, the Early Career Research Act of 2006; and, H.R. 5357, the Research for Competitiveness Act of 2006, aim to encourage American competitiveness. However, Congressmen Hinojosa and Reyes are concerned that the bills do not directly address increasing the participation of key
demographics, such as minority groups and women that have so far been underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This legislation, as proposed, does not increase the funding levels for the existing programs designed to increase participation in the STEM fields nor does it propose new initiatives focused on closing these gaps.
“Increasing the number of mathematicians, scientists, and engineers we produce in this country is not just a matter of maintaining our competitive edge, it is about our national security,” said Hinojosa. “As our country becomes more and more diverse, we have to ensure that the talented individuals pursing these challenging and crucial jobs reflect this diversity. We must work to close these gaps by increasing funding for these programs.”
Recent U.S. Census data shows that while minority groups make up a drastically increasing proportion of our country’s population (reaching 50 percent by 2050) and women attend college at a higher rate than men, both demographics remain under-represented in the STEM workforce. Yet, in 2000, only 4.4 percent of the science and engineering were held by African Americans, and only 3.4 percent by Hispanics. Women represent a little more than one-quarter of the science and engineering workforce, despite constituting more than half of the post-secondary students in the nation.
“It is encouraging that the Committee is considering legislation to promote innovation, but if we are truly going to invest in economic competitiveness and prosperity, we need to make sure we help those in under-represented communities,” said Reyes. “The resources to improve our nation’s competitiveness are sitting in classrooms across the country, and it is our responsibility to empower them. Congressman Hinojosa is a leader on education issues, and I am honored to work with him to provide all students with the tools they need to move our nation forward.”
In addition to this letter, Congressman Hinojosa has introduced H.R. 5106 the “Partnerships for Access to Laboratory Science Act (PALS).” This legislation will authorize $50 million for a matching grant program at the National Science Foundation that will leverage federal, state, local, and private resources to re-invigorate high school laboratories in high need and rural school districts.
(MORE)
Partners will include high need or rural school districts, a college or university and the private sector. Grants will be used to improve the teaching of science through the integration of hands-on learning into science education programs at high school laboratories as part of a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of science instruction and student learning outcomes.
According to the United States Government Accountability Office, it has been found that approximately 40 percent of those college students who left the science fields reported some problems related to high school science preparation. Cited problems included a lack of laboratory experience and no introduction to theoretical or to analytical modes of thought. The GAO also found that 49.1 percent of schools where the minority student population is greater than 50.5 percent reported not meeting functional requirements for laboratory science well or not at all.
The legislation is currently co-sponsored by 33 members of Congress and has the support of the American Chemical Society and the National Science Teachers Association.