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Are we losing what made America great?
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The Top American Science Questions: 2012
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Innovation |
Climate Change | Research and the Future |
Education |
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| 1. Innovation and the Economy. Science and technology have been responsible for over half of the growth of the U.S. economy since WWII, when the federal government first prioritized peacetime science mobilization. But several recent reports question America’s continued leadership in these vital areas. What policies will best ensure that America remains a world leader in innovation? |
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Before I became Speaker of the House in 2007, we listened to the experts who contributed to the National Academies of Science’s report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, and we heard from scientific leaders at universities and innovative entrepreneurs across the country. We took their advice and worked with Congressional leaders to spearhead our Innovation Agenda: enact the America COMPETES Act, to help ensure our nation’s global economic competitiveness for generations to come—through a new emphasis on math, science, engineering, and technology education, and a renewed commitment to basic research. That bill increased funding for the National Institute of Science and Technology, National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. It trained more of our students in math, science, engineering, and technology, to turn ideas into innovative technologies to boost our economy and create good American jobs. It created or expanded many competitive, merit-based grants and fellowships. It increased manufacturing research and education and created a STEM Training Grant program to increase the number of teachers in those fields. It funded regional innovation clusters and science and research parks. Our reauthorization of the bill in 2010 built on those successes and went further, allowing any federal agency to come up with prize competitions.
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| 2. Climate Change. The Earth’s climate is changing and there is concern about the potentially adverse effects of these changes on life on the planet. What is your position on cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, and other policies proposed to address global climate change—and what steps can we take to improve our ability to tackle challenges like climate change that cross national boundaries? |
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| Did not answer. | |||
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| 3. Research and the Future. Federally funded research has helped to produce America’s major postwar economies and to ensure our national security, but today the UK, Singapore, China, and Korea are making competitive investments in research. Given that the next Congress will face spending constraints, what priority would you give to investment in research in your upcoming budgets? |
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| Americans have two choices for the direction our country should move forward in the future. Democrats set out our preferred path in the America COMPETES Act, which grows scientific investments commensurate with their importance to our nation’s future. Sadly, Republicans in the House passed the Ryan budget, which will slash about $800 billion in investment in education and skills training, science and technology research and development, and transportation infrastructure between 2013 and 2022. | |||
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| 4. Education. Increasingly, the global economy is driven by science, technology, engineering and math, but a recent comparison of 15-year-olds in 65 countries found that average science scores among U.S. students ranked 23rd, while average U.S. math scores ranked 31st. In your view, why have American students fallen behind over the last three decades, and what role should the federal government play to better prepare students of all ages for the science and technology-driven global economy? |
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| Actually, rather than “falling behind,” what has happened over the last 20 years is that the performance of U.S. students in math and science has stayed the same (rather than improved) while the performance of students in many other nations has grown exponentially, outdistancing our students. This is because over the last 20 years a number of countries have focused national attention on their students excelling in the areas of math and science education as a way for their country to create a highly-skilled workforce, allowing the country to compete in the increasingly competitive global economy. Unfortunately, the United States has only recently begun focusing our national attention and our national resources on the importance of our students excelling in math and science education.
I believe the federal government needs to play a collaborative role with the states in better preparing students for the 21st century economy. That is why, as Speaker, we enacted the America COMPETES Act of 2007, which placed a new emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math education, including creating scholarships for tens of thousands of new highly-qualified math and science teachers; and the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which created programs to bolster students’ interest in science and technology through collaborations with businesses and other stakeholders and focused on recruiting teachers in high-demand science and technology fields. |
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| 5. Energy. Many policymakers and scientists say energy security and sustainability are major problems facing the United States this century. What policies would you support to meet the demand for energy while ensuring an economically and environmentally sustainable future? |
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| House Democrats support an “all-of-the-above” approach that embraces all domestic energy supplies in a safe and responsible way. This includes working to create jobs by expanding affordable clean energy. When we passed the America COMPETES Act, we bolstered basic funding at the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and we created ARPA-E, an innovative program, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to encourage the pursuit of high-risk, high-reward renewable, clean energy technology development. In the bipartisan 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, we increased new fuel economy standards for vehicles, along with other provisions to increase energy efficiency, save drivers money, reduce pollution, and strengthen our security by making America less dependent on foreign oil. President Obama has built on that work – taking additional steps to strengthen our economy, support the auto industry, and create good-paying American jobs. Thanks to policies like those contained in the 2007 law, dependence on foreign oil has dropped by 25 percent since President Obama entered office. Meanwhile, our domestic oil and gas production is at record levels. But there is more to do.
We must also become energy independent while still protecting the pocketbooks of America’s families. We can lower the price at the pump by taking action to stop Wall Street price manipulation; including fully funding the CFTC that polices Wall Street speculators and ending the unwarranted tax breaks for Big Oil companies. We should encourage the development of the oil and gas leases on federal land that companies already own before leasing them new land and we should call on oil companies to use American oil -- produced in the U.S. on public lands and offshore -- to meet energy needs here at home. Third, we should implement the recommendations of the BP / Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Commission to ensure safety. Finally, we should drive demand for cleaner fuels like natural gas and other domestic fuels where appropriate, and incentivize new pumps and charging stations to support cleaner cars. |
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| 6. Fresh Water. Less than one percent of the world’s water is liquid fresh water, and scientific studies suggest that a majority of U.S. and global fresh water is now at risk because of increasing consumption, evaporation and pollution. What steps, if any, should the federal government take to secure clean, abundant fresh water for all Americans? | |||
| Did not answer. | |||
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| 7. The Internet. The Internet plays a central role in both our economy and our society. What role, if any, should the federal government play in managing the Internet to ensure its robust social, scientific, and economic role? |
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| No longer are we in a world where we must only listen to what others say. We can now create our own content and share it with audiences large and small, so we should worry about anyone who aims to stand in the way of the transmission of free speech -- just as we would worry about someone who would try to block you from telephoning a friend, or using a fax machine to send them a document. That is why I stand with the President and support open internet protections at the FCC, which empower consumers to enjoy the internet content of their choice on the devices of their choice.
More airwaves must be dedicated to wireless services, but as reallocate them from other, older uses, we must also ensure spectrum for wireless innovation, like Wi-Fi, and promote spectrum sharing between users. Wi-Fi has been beneficial to consumers, carriers and businesses big and small. The next generations of Wi-Fi won’t need federal funding, but they will need government support. |
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| 8. Science in Public Policy. We live in an era when science and technology affect every aspect of life and society, and so must be included in well-informed public policy decisions. How will you ensure that policy and regulatory decisions are fully informed by the best available scientific and technical information, and that the public is able to evaluate the basis of these policy decisions? |
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| Did not answer. |
