Rare Accord on Need to Compete

By calling for new education and research programs to bolster U.S. competitiveness, President Bush achieved a surprising thing in his State of the Union address: He won bipartisan praise, a rare accomplishment in today’s polarized climate in Washington.

Bush embraced key elements of proposals pushed hard by a cadre of Republicans and Democrats to boost funding for research and education in mathematics and science to help address concerns that the United States was falling behind its global competitors.

He called for training more teachers for advanced high school math and science, making permanent the tax credits for research and development, and increasing the funding for physical sciences research. The White House put the cost of the initiatives at more than $136 billion over 10 years -- most of which would go to the tax credits, which Bush has previously supported.

Still, that is a tidy sum in a tight budget year, and some Democrats questioned whether other education programs would suffer to help cover the cost.

The proposals closely track the recommendations of a well-received recent report by the National Academy of Sciences addressing competitiveness.

The education and research initiative was just one part of a broader focus in Bush’s speech on keeping America competitive. He also argued that his proposals to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and to make healthcare more affordable would help the U.S. compete against other countries.

“The American economy is preeminent, but we cannot afford to be complacent,” Bush said. “In a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors like China and India.”

Concern about the U.S. economy’s international standing has surged on Capitol Hill recently, especially after the science academy’s report highlighted the problem. Among the worrisome findings: U.S. high school seniors performed below the international average on a test of math and science; the U.S. has become a net importer of high-technology products; and of the 120 chemical plants built around the world for $1 billion or more, one is in the U.S. and 50 are in China.

For Bush, competitiveness is not just an economic challenge; it is a political issue as well. Recent polling by Democrat Peter Hart and Republican David Winston found that although a majority of Americans believed the U.S. had the strongest economy in the world, a plurality of voters believed China would surpass the U.S. in 20 to 30 years. Such a gloomy outlook -- far bleaker than when a similar question was asked in 1997 -- compounds other economic anxieties voters describe as they see their jobs moving overseas, pensions being frozen and health benefits cut.

That is not good news for Republicans, who want voters to feel confident about the economy and their future when they vote this November in the 2006 congressional elections. But by taking on the problem in his speech, Winston said, Bush is addressing voter anxieties in an upbeat way. “It ends up being a positive economic message: We are addressing the future,” Winston said.

Bush said his education and research initiative would enable the U.S. to “continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity.” He called for:

* Making permanent the tax credit now allowed for research and development expenses -- a popular break that expired at the end of 2005 but is expected to be renewed by Congress. At a cost of $86 billion over 10 years, it accounts for about three-quarters of the $136 billion Bush is pledging.

* Doubling the federal commitment to physical sciences research and development. That, the White House says, would provide $50 billion in new funding for three federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation.

* Establishing a program to train 70,000 teachers for Advanced Placement high school classes in science and math, as well as bringing 30,000 math and science professionals into schools to teach. The White House says it will request $380 million in 2007 for the program.

Many Democrats are skeptical of Bush’s commitment to follow through on that proposal, noting that he has not made good on past promises to improve science and math education or to adequately fund teacher training.

But his high-profile endorsement of the initiative was greeted by others as a boost to efforts in Congress to draw attention to the issue -- an effort led by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a former secretary of Education. Others involved in the effort were Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Sens. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), as well as the bipartisan leadership of the House Science Committee.

In May, Alexander and Bingaman asked the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering to study America’s ability to compete in the global economy. Similar issues are being examined by an Education Department panel on higher education.

The panel issued a report in October warning of a decline in U.S. competitiveness. It called for a commitment of roughly $10 billion a year over seven years to recruit better math and science teachers for elementary and secondary schools, increase spending on basic research, provide scholarships for math and science college students and other tools to boost research.

A first step toward those goals was taken in a recent budget bill, which was passed by the Senate in December and is expected to clear the House today. That bill included nearly $4 billion over five years in new grants for college students who major in science and math, as well as for students who graduate from high schools with a rigorous math and science program.

Colleges and universities, while supporting the goal of the program, have objected to the bill because it would put the federal government for the first time in the position of judging the quality of high school curricula.

But that measure was not enough for Alexander and other legislators seeking a broader initiative. They labored to persuade the administration to embrace their plan and include it in Bush’s State of the Union address. Frist, Alexander, Bingaman and Domenici in December met with Bush to urge him to elevate the issue.

On Friday, when about two dozen GOP senators met with Bush, Alexander made one last pitch for his competitiveness initiative. He was delighted that Bush went along.

“Tonight, the president put the issue of competitiveness front and center on the nation’s agenda,” Alexander said. “This represents a giant step forward.”