Bob Menendez: “I rise in support of S. 761, the America COMPETES Act. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, which…”

“I rise in support of S. 761, the America COMPETES Act. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, which takes important steps to make sure we are preparing our young people to be competitive and working to secure our Nation's future in a global economy. That need has never been more urgent than today, when globalization and technology are tearing down the walls of geography, language, and income. Globalization has brought increased educational, technological, and societal advances to regions that only once dreamed of innovation. Today, as nations abroad are gaining a competitive edge, our younger generations are at risk of falling behind. For a nation with endless resources at its fingertips, it is inexplicable that the United States continues to fall far below other nations when it comes to higher achievement. Yet this is the reality. On international assessments, our young people score below the average compared to other developed nations on math tests. Even when we just look at the highest achieving students, the United States still ranks near the bottom. In the global race to have the most trained, highly-skilled, best prepared workforce, we are losing ground. And we are especially losing ground in fields that are the source of innovation and technology, which will increasingly become a key sector of the global economy.”