LegiStorm

Summary:

The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) became law on August 9, 2007. The act 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 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development. The America COMPETES Act is intended to increase the nation's investment in science and engineering research and in STEM education from kindergarten to graduate school and postdoctoral education. It is designed to focus on two perceived concerns believed to influence future U.S. competitiveness: inadequate research and development funding to generate sufficient technological progress, and inadequate numbers of American students proficient in science and mathematics or interested in science and engineering careers relative to international competitors. The act authorizes funding increases for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science over FY2008-FY2010. If maintained, the increases would double the budgets of those entities over seven years. The act establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) within DOE, designed to support transformational energy technology research projects with the goal of enhancing U.S. economic and energy security. A new program, Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes, would establish multidisciplinary institutes at DOE National Laboratories to "apply fundamental science and engineering discoveries to technological innovations," according to the act. Among the act's education activities, many of which are focused on high-need school districts, are programs to recruit new K-12 STEM teachers, enhance existing STEM teacher skills, and provide more STEM education opportunities for students. The new Department of Education (ED) Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow and existing NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship programs provide opportunities, through institutional grants, for students pursuing STEM degrees and STEM professionals to gain teaching skills and teacher certification, and for current STEM teachers to enhance their teaching skills and understanding of STEM content. The act also authorizes a new program at NSF that would provide grants to create or improve professional science master's degree (PSM) programs that emphasize practical training and preparation for the workforce in high-need fields. The America COMPETES Act is an authorization act. New programs established by the act will not be initiated and authorized increases in appropriations for existing programs will not occur unless funded through subsequent appropriation acts. The 110th Congress provided FY2008 appropriations to establish ED's Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow program, and NIST's Technology Improvement Program (TIP), which replaced the existing Advanced Technology Program. The 111th Congress provided FY2009 appropriations to establish DOE's ARPA-E and NSF's PSM program. Although some America COMPETES Act research and STEM education programs received appropriations at or above authorized levels in FY2009, others did not. As Congress deliberates the FY2010 budget, an issue for Congress is what level, if any, will it provide America COMPETES Act programs an appropriation, and whether or not the President's budget request will propose to do so. Several programs newly authorized in the act have never been appropriated funds. An issue for these programs is whether or not they will receive the funding necessary to establish them. The America COMPETES Act provides authorization levels only through FY2010.