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June 08, 2009

E&E Subcommittee Chairman Baird’s Floor Speech H. R. 1709, the STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009

 

Over the past decade, report after report has come out highlighting the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to our Nation’s competitiveness in the rapidly changing 21st century economy.
 
The National Academies’ Rising Above the Gathering Storm report sent up a red flag that our nation's standing as the global leader is at risk if we do not improve STEM education in the country. The first and highest priority recommendation of the Gathering Storm report was – and I quote – “Increase America’s talent pool by vastly improving K–12 science and mathematics education."
 
My colleagues and I on the Science and Technology Committee are passionate about this issue. Over the course of the last two years, the Committee held several hearings with STEM educators and agency representatives to explore what role the federal government can play in improving STEM education. A key recommendation that came up time and time again was the need for interagency coordination of federal STEM education activities, and improved dissemination of these activities to practitioners.
 
It will undoubtedly require strong commitment and leadership at the local and State levels to address the shortcomings of our Nation’s science and math education system, but the Federal government also has a role to play because of the richness of the S&T resources in our Federal agencies. 
 
There are already many valuable programs being funded through the Federal agencies that could play an important role in sharing knowledge and passion for STEM with students, teachers, and the general public. Unfortunately, many of the agencies have had difficulty evaluating their programs and building awareness of those programs among teachers.
 
In order to make the most effective use of our federal investment in STEM education, it is crucial that the agencies have a forum where they can come together to discuss tools for improved dissemination, share research findings, and create common metrics for evaluation. 
 
H.R. 1709 would establish a committee on STEM education under the National Science and Technology Council at the Office of Science and Technology Policy. This committee would be charged with coordinating the STEM education programs and activities being funded through the Federal R&D mission agencies. This bill also requires that the committee establish and maintain a comprehensive inventory of federally sponsored STEM education activities. This will be a valuable database that will help STEM educators across the country learn of the resources the Federal government has to offer.
 
This is a strong bipartisan bill and I want to commend Chairman Gordon, Mr. Hall, Dr. Lipinski, and Dr. Ehlers for introducing it, and for their continued leadership on this issue. I’d also like to thank Chairman Miller of the Education and Labor Committee for working with us to bring this bill to the floor, and I’d like to insert an exchange of letters between Chairman Gordon and Chairman Miller into the record at this time.
 
It’s also important to acknowledge the hard work of staff on this bill and I’d like to thank Dahlia Sokolov and Bess Caughran (Kaw-rin) on the majority staff and Mele Williams on the minority staff. I’d also like to thank the former staff director of the Research and Science Education Subcommittee, Jim Wilson, for his important work on this topic before he retired last year.
 
H.R. 1709 has the support of many scientific societies, businesses, and education organizations, including the National Science Teachers Association, the Business-Higher Education Forum, the American Chemical Society and the Triangle Coalition.
 
I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I reserve the balance of my time.