Chris Van Hollen: “just 35 days ago I attended the President's State of the Union address with other Members of Congress right here in this…”

“just 35 days ago I attended the President's State of the Union address with other Members of Congress right here in this Chamber. And that night I was very much pleased to hear the President talk about the importance of maintaining America's competitive edge in an era of increasing global economic competition. This is an urgent issue facing our Nation and one on which I think there should be strong bipartisan support. In fact, many of us in this House have been working for some time on what we call an ``innovation agenda'' to ensure that America stays number one when it comes to international economic competition. Indeed, last fall House Democrats unveiled a blueprint for an innovation agenda. So I was pleased with many of my colleagues to hear the President join this effort in the State of the Union address. He said this was going to be a priority. In fact, that night he told the American people, ``Tonight I announce an American competitiveness initiative to encourage innovation throughout our economy and give our Nation's children a firm grounding in math and science.'' He went on to talk about the importance of the No Child Left Behind Initiative and proposed an increase in training teachers for math and sciences. Now, a few days after the State of the Union address, the President sent his budget to Congress. Now, we all know that the budget is what is a true reflection of the President's real priorities.…”