Dick Durbin: “I ask him if he would draw a historical parallel to the situation we faced in the late fifties, when the Russians…”

“I ask him if he would draw a historical parallel to the situation we faced in the late fifties, when the Russians launched Sputnik and we, as a nation, decided to devote resources into a National Defense Education Act, so that we would have the scientists and engineers to be able to compete then with the Russians in the space race. President Kennedy followed on with our exploration into space. Aren't we facing a similar challenge today regarding whether we will be able to compete in the 21st century with the scientists and engineers and skilled employees with all the other nations competing for the very best jobs?”