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WASHINGTON, DC -- At a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing today on American economic competitiveness, Representative George Miller (D-CA) said that Democrats want to work in a bipartisan way to keep America number one in the global economy. But Miller also said that the 2007 budget priorities of President Bush and House Republicans will undermine the foundation of American competitiveness.
“Democrats believe that only by making a renewed and sustained commitment to innovation will we be able to maintain our global economic leadership, protect our national security, and enjoy prosperity at home with good American jobs,” said Miller, the senior Democrat on the committee.
House Democrats unveiled their Innovation Agenda, a “commitment to competitiveness to keep America number one,” in November 2005. A witness at today’s hearings, Dr. James Simons, voiced strong support for the Innovation Agenda. Simons, who holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley, is the President of Renaissance Technologies Corp., a private investment firm with roughly $6 billion under management.
“Science and technology are the drivers for the world’s economic prosperity, and America must not only keep up but take the lead,” said Simons. “To make this happen, our federal government, and particularly the Congress, has a vital role to play and the House Democratic Innovation Agenda offers a strong model to follow.”
The goals of the Democrats’ Innovation Agenda are to:
- Graduate 100,000 new scientists, engineers and mathematicians in the next four years;
- Double funding for overall basic research and development;
- Make the miracle of broadband Internet technology affordable and accessible to all Americans within five years;
- Achieve real energy independence within 10 years; and,
- Support entrepreneurial small businesses.
Miller said that the nation’s ability to innovate also requires foundational investments in education and workforce development – investments that President Bush and the Republican Congress are now shortchanging. The House Republican budget for fiscal year 2007, which is being debated on the floor of the House this week, includes $45 billion in cuts to education, training and social services funding over the next five years.
Together, the proposed Bush and Republican 2007 budgets include cuts to job training programs, math and science achievement programs, incentives to improve teacher quality, financial aid for helping students pay for college, and initiatives that would encourage the pursuit of degrees in math, science and engineering.
“President Bush and Republican leaders in Congress say they are committed to keeping America competitive, but then they cut funding for critical education and job training programs,” said Miller. “The President’s competitiveness initiative proposes to boost students’ skills in math and science and increase job training resources for workers, but then cuts funding for programs that would achieve that goal.
“As we heard today from other expert witnesses, enhancements in math and science education, technological advancements, and funding for job training are all needed to keep America ahead of the pack. From preparing students for their futures with the best education possible, to making sure that our nation’s workforce has access to cutting edge innovations and technologies, Democrats are deeply committed to keeping our country competitive and to promoting new opportunities for Americans in an ever-changing global marketplace.”
For the analysis of President Bush’s Competitiveness Initiative, please visit:
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/budgetfy2007.pdf
For more on the Democratic Innovation Agenda, please visit:
http://www.housedemocrats.gov/news/librarydetail.cfm?library_content_id=557
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