Democrats Urge Backing for Science, Tech

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON - The federal government must make innovation in science and technology its top priority for economic growth, Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record) of California said Saturday in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address.

Drawing on President Kennedy's leadership in the race to send men to the moon, Miller said demonstrated leadership is vital to promote innovation that advances health care, education and technology breakthroughs, as well as maintaining the country's competitive advantage.

"America's leadership is being challenged today like never before," said Miller, senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee. "China, India, Korea and others are rapidly investing in education, research, science and technology because they recognize their economic success depends on it."

Miller discussed the Innovation Agenda, a Democratic plan to maintain America's leadership in innovation. It includes doubling basic research and development funding, graduating 100,000 scientists, engineers and mathematicians in the next four years and achieving energy independence within 10 years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/democrats_innovation

[truthisfreedom]

1. Democrats have ideas...

thugs have cronies.

[NC_Nurse]

2. That's going to be tough to do

if everybody's busy fighting over "Intelligent Design". How will the fundies push religion back into the schools if we're trying to focus on science and tech skills?

I think we're supposed to be waiting for Gawd to improve our economy and job outloook, right?

[countingbluecars]

3. I think this is an important message

right now. Hopefully it will make the regressive thinking of the right wing more transparent.

[Nay]

4. Again, it does no good to graduate thousands of people in science

and math if this country allows the shipping of hi-tech jobs overseas on the whim of the corporations. And that's exactly what's happening. Plenty of kids will follow those paths, but only if it is obvious that good jobs are at the end of that path. Right now, why would they do the work if they know the jobs are shipped away?

[teryang]

5. Absolutely true

At this point, education is not the solution to our economic problems, where industry and manufacturing are delivered overseas by American corporations. This is a long term trend marking our decline as a nation. Education alone will not fix it. Thinking that it will perpetuates a misunderstanding about what the problem really is.