Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am pleased to lead a bipartisan group of Senators today to introduce the Engineering Education for Innovation Act, also called the E\2\ for Innovation Act. Joining me in leading this are Senator Kaufman, Senator Snowe, Senator Murray, Senator Cantwell, and Senator Klobuchar. The intent of this legislation is to competitively award planning and implementation grants for State educational agencies to integrate engineering education into K-12 curriculum and instruction to spark student interest in engineering through comprehensive K-12 engineering education including hands-on design and engineering components. The bill increases the availability of K-12 engineering education curriculum and teacher professional development programs, encourages broader participation of girls and underrepresented minorities in K-12 engineering education, invests in afterschool engineering education programs, and the legislation also funds the research and evaluation of such efforts. Our Nation today faces pressing technological challenges in renewable energy, biotechnology, health care technology, material science, and information technology. According to the National Science Board's 2010 Science and Engineering Indicators, only 5 percent of college graduates in the United States major in engineering, compared with 12 percent of European students, 20 percent of those in Asia and one-third in China.…”