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Summary:
The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) responds to concerns that the United States may not be able to compete economically with other nations in the future due to insufficient investment today in science and technology research and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. A similar concern led President Bush to announce the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) in January 2006. In March 2008, both the House and Senate included in their budget resolutions support for the America COMPETES Act. The act authorizes increases in the nation's investment in science and engineering research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. In addition, the act authorizes new STEM education programs at NSF, DOE, and the Department of Education (ED) and enhances the funding of some existing programs at NSF including the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. A concern to some policymakers is whether federal appropriations will meet the act's authorized levels. The act also establishes within DOE the Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy (ARPA-E) and Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes. ARPA-E is designed to support transformational energy technology research projects with the goal of enhancing the nation's economic and energy security. An issue for Congress is whether to appropriate funds to ARPA-E. The President's FY2009 budget does not request appropriations for ARPA-E. Instead, it requests funding of six new technology transfer collaborations that integrate basic and applied research. The Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes are multidisciplinary research institutes, located at DOE National Laboratories, that would apply fundamental science and engineering discoveries to technological innovations. The President's FY2009 budget would not establish these institutes. The Administration proposes instead to establish Energy Frontier Research Centers (ERFCs) at universities focused on transformative research. In STEM education, the act authorizes ED and NSF programs to encourage STEM degree majors and professionals to become K-12 STEM teachers. At ED, an issue for Congress is that although the Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow program is appropriated for FY2008, the Administration proposes to eliminate it for FY2009. At NSF, the FY2009 budget justification provides a FY2008 budget estimate less than Congress appropriated for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program and requests FY2009 funding at approximately 10% of that authorized in the act. At DOE, an issue is the degree to which DOE has taken actions to establish the new DOE STEM education initiatives authorized in the act. The DOE FY2009 budget justification notes the America COMPETES Act and mentions many DOE STEM education programs, but it does not identify any specific America COMPETES Act initiatives. As a result, the status of these programs is unclear.
