John Sarbanes: “today, joined with Senator Lieberman, I am introducing legislation to provide our nation's workforce with the…”

“today, joined with Senator Lieberman, I am introducing legislation to provide our nation's workforce with the information technology and computer skills it needs to meet the emerging and rapidly changing requirements in our various technology sectors. I am delighted to have my distinguished colleague from Connecticut--whose efforts on behalf of the high technology sector and its workforce have been second to none--join as an original co-sponsor of the Technology Skills Partnership Act of 1998. The purpose of the Technology Skills Partnership Act is to establish regional initiatives to provide the skills that industry and workers require to remain competitive in the global, high technology marketplace. The United States is currently the world's science and technology leader. Technical innovation, which according to a 1995 report by the President's Council of Economic Advisors has been responsible for more than half of America's productivity growth over the past fifty years, has positioned us at the forefront of the global economy. In my view, we could not have achieved this status without the most skilled, innovative, and competitive workforce in the world. The high tech global economy is evolving at such a rapid pace however, that if we fail to keep our workforce honed and highly skilled --whether in advanced computer programming or computer based manufacturing technology --we risk losing this edge.”