Douglas Alexander: “Last week, while the media covered Iraq and U.S. attorneys, the Senate spent 3 days debating and passing perhaps the…”

“Last week, while the media covered Iraq and U.S. attorneys, the Senate spent 3 days debating and passing perhaps the most important piece of legislation of this 2-year session. Almost no one noticed. The America COMPETES Act, which was the name of the legislation, authorized $60 billion over 4 years to, among other things, double spending for physical sciences research, recruit 10,000 new math and science teachers, and retrain 250,000 more, provide grants to researchers, and invest more in high-risk, high-payoff research. These were recommendations of a National Academy of Sciences task force that had been asked to tell Congress--to tell us--exactly what we needed to do to help America keep its brainpower advantage so we can keep our jobs from going to China and India. Last year, the Senate--but not the House--enacted task force recommendations to encourage 'insourcing brainpower' by giving legal residency to skilled foreign students and researchers. Both Houses extended the research and development tax credit. The process for this legislation was as exemplary as the substance. Senators and their staffs worked across party lines for 2 years. Senior committee members, chairmen and ranking members, waived jurisdictional prerogatives. The administration participated in extensive homework sessions with Senators and outside experts.”