Chris Van Hollen: “in 2005, the National Academies released a report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. Its authors, a team of scientists…”

“in 2005, the National Academies released a report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. Its authors, a team of scientists, academic leaders, and business executives, gave Congress a strong warning--unless we take comprehensive action, America will lose its competitive edge in the world economy. Today, I am proud to join my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to respond to that call to action with the 21st Century Competitiveness Act. This bill addresses this century's challenges with new investments in education, research, and small businesses. It is a comprehensive way to ensure that America remains at the forefront of discovery and innovation. We recognize the need to foster student potential and encourage them to enter the fields of science, math, technology and engineering. This bill invests in 25,000 new teachers, helping them pay for school and training them to enter our nation's classrooms and engage students in math and science. It increases the number of teachers who can teach Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes and push our students to work with more challenging curricula. It puts new science and math teachers in high-needs schools so we can reach more students. And it establishes public-private partnerships so business and community leaders can identify high-needs fields and help students pursue innovative careers. We recognize the need to push the boundaries of current research, explore new ideas, and foster innovation.”