04.29.10

Chairman Miller Praises Science Committee for Vote to Bolster U.S. Competitiveness

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee released the following statement after the House Science and Technology Committee voted last night to update and reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. Among other things, the COMPETES Act seeks to boost America’s competitiveness by strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. “As we rebuild our nation’s economy by putting Americans back to work, we must also strengthen our competitiveness for generations to come. Science, technology, mathematics and engineering are all fields that have a long history of spurring American innovation, and are fields that will continue to play an enormous role in both our national and global economies. By voting to pass the renewal of the COMPETES Act, the Science and Technology Committee took an important step toward building a stronger workforce by improving science, technology engineering, and mathematics education in colleges and universities across the U.S.

“This legislation rightly recognizes that today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators, and that our focus on job creation must be coupled with a focus on preparing our students for high-growth, high-demand jobs. It will increase the number of college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and help move us closer to achieving President Obama’s goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. I congratulate Chairman Gordon and all members of the committee for their work on this bill and look forward to its consideration by the full House.”

More information on the COMPETES Act