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 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (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 increases in funding 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 agencies over seven years. Within DOE, the act would establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), designed to support transformational energy technology research projects with the goal of enhancing the economic and energy security of the United States. 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. 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 program 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 content and teaching skills. The act also authorizes a new program at NSF that would provide grants to institutions of higher education 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, so new programs established by the act will not be initiated, and increases in the authorization of appropriation level of existing programs may not occur, unless funded through subsequent appropriations. An issue for Congress was whether to fund America COMPETES Act programs at authorized funding levels. The 111th Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5) to supplement FY2009 funds. While some America COMPETES Act programs were funded at authorized levels, others were not. The following activities were funded at or above authorized levels: NIST Scientific & Technical Research and Services; NIST Construction & Maintenance; DOE Office of Science; NSF and its Research & Related Activities; Major Research Instrumentation; Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction; and its Professional Science Master's; Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship; and Graduate Research Fellowship programs. Other programs were funded either below authorized levels or not funded. The acts provide funding to establish DOE's ARPA-E and NSF's PSM program.