On the recordFebruary 26, 2015
Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague for offering this amendment, even though I am opposed to it. The Federal Government has taken a very active role in improving STEM education. In fact, in a count I took a couple of years ago, there were over 200 Federal STEM programs, but our multibillion-dollar investment is failing to produce strong results--not because of lack of funding, but because of too much bureaucracy. Let's stop throwing money at new programs and instead provide States and local districts the flexibility to invest in programs that produce more efficient and effective results instead of Washington's priorities. I agree with the importance of this issue for the future of our skilled workforce, but I have concerns that it introduces yet another Federal program. For these reasons, I oppose the amendment, but urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.
