President
Bush,
warning
against
America
losing
its
technological
edge
in
the
world,
called
on
Congress
Friday
to
bolster
math
and
science
education
and
spend
more
money
to
nurture
innovation
at
business
and
government
laboratories.
"There's
a
certain
amount
of
uncertainty
among
some
in
America
that
we've
got
a
lot
of
competition,"
Bush
said,
backing
free
trade
and
denouncing
economic
isolationism.
"People
are
beginning
to
see
an
emerging
China
and
India
and
that
makes
people
uncertain."
But
a
bill
backed
by
New
Mexico's
two
senators
is
more
expansive
than
the
$5.9
billion
competitiveness
proposal
that
Bush
outlined
in
his
State
of
the
Union
address.
Appearing
at
Intel's
huge
computer
chip-making
plant
just
outside
Albuquerque
in
Rio
Rancho,
Bush
said
the
United
States
needs
to
stimulate
technological
innovation
by
reviving
a
business
tax
credit
for
innovation,
spend
more
money
on
basic
research
in
the
physical
sciences
and
strengthen
math
and
science
education.
New
Mexico
Sens.
Pete
Domenici,
the
Republican
chairman
of
the
Senate
Energy
and
Natural
Resources
Committee,
and
Jeff
Bingaman,
the
ranking
Democrat
on
the
panel,
joined
with
Sens.
Lamar
Alexander,
R-Tenn.,
and
Barbara
Mikulski,
D-Md.,
to
introduce
the
Protecting
America's
Competitive
Edge
Act,
or
PACE
Act,
which
calls
for
spending
$10 billion
the
first
year.
The
bipartisan
effort
was
crafted
to
implement
20
recommendations
outlined
in
"Rising
Above
the
Gathering
Storm:
Energizing
and
Employing
America
for
a
Brighter
Economic
Future,"
a
National
Academies
of
Science
report
issued
last
October.
For
math
and
science
research,
Bush's
plan
would
double
over
10
years
the
physical
science
research
budgets
at
three
agencies:
the
Department
of
Energy's
Office
of
Science,
the
National
Science
Foundation
and
the
National
Institutes
of
Standards
and
Technology.
The
Senate
bill
would
double
over
seven
years
the
physical
science
research
budgets
at
the
DOE
Office
of
Science,
NSF,
NASA
and
the
Defense
Department.
On
the
research
tax
credit
for
business,
both
proposals
call
for
making
it
permanent.
Although
Bush's
plan
calls
for
a
20
percent
credit,
the
Bingaman-Domenici
proposal
would
double
the
credit
to
40
percent.
To
bolster
math
and
science
education,
Bush
wants
to
train
70,000
teachers
over
five
years
to
lead
advanced-placement
courses
in
math
and
science
and
encourage
30,000
math
and
science
professionals
to
become
adjunct
high
school
teachers.
The
Domenici-Bingaman
proposal
also
calls
for
getting
more
students
to
study
math,
science
and
high
technology,
but
suggests
scholarships
for
college
students
majoring
in
math,
science
or
engineering,
and
offers
incentives
for
those
doing
graduate
work.
The
senators'
plan
wants
to
ease
visa
requirements
for
foreign
students
studying
these
subjects
and
provide
incentives
if
they
agree
to
stay
and
work
in
the
United
States.
On
Thursday,
Bush
urged
Congress
to
increase
the
number
of
visas
given
to
foreign
engineers,
scientists
and
other
high-tech
professionals.
Copyright
2005
Associated
Press.
All
rights
reserved.
This
material
may
not
be
published
broadcast,
rewritten,
or
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