Rick Allen: “before I get into the third branch of Government, I want to remark and associate myself with many of the comments that…”

“before I get into the third branch of Government, I want to remark and associate myself with many of the comments that were stated by Senator Alexander of Tennessee. I do believe this country, for its long-term competitiveness, must interest and encourage more young people to get involved in science, engineering, and technology. The fact is, 40 to 50 percent of our students in engineering schools are from overseas. That is good. America ought to be a magnet for the best brains in the world. I want this country to be the world capital of innovation, and to be the world capital of innovation, we need more young people interested in engineering, technology, and science. I have a great concern that we are not matriculating sufficient numbers of students in this country in areas where new inventions and innovations and intellectual property will be created. We have about-- and I think the Senator from Tennessee will corroborate this--50,000 engineers graduating every year. India has about 150,000 engineers graduating every year. The People's Republic of China has 250,000 engineers graduating every year. There are a variety of things we must do in this country to be more competitive, to make sure young people are getting a good quality education and also develop an interest in science, technology, and engineering. These are great-paying jobs that are important for the security of this country, our standard of living, and our competitiveness.…”