WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today joined a bi-partisan group of Senators led by Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Harry Reid (D-NV) in cosponsoring the "National Competitiveness Investment Act," legislation to increase the nation’s investment in research, strengthen educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from elementary through graduate school, and develop an innovation infrastructure.

"This legislation provides a coordinated national strategy for the nation’s economic and homeland security," Senator Roberts said, "It echoes many of the priorities my Advisory Committee on Science, Technology and the Future has recommended for Kansas to be competitive and prosperous now, and into the future, in our developing global economy."

The following are key components of the "National Competitiveness Investment Act:"

• Doubles funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) from approximately $5.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2006 to $11.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2011.
• Establishes the Innovation Acceleration Research Program to direct federal agencies funding research in science and technology to set as a goal dedicating approximately 8% of their Research and Development budgets toward high-risk frontier research.
• Authorizes competitive grants to States to promote better alignment of elementary and secondary education with the knowledge and skills needed for success in postsecondary education, the 21st century workforce, and the Armed Forces.
• Strengthens the skills of thousands of math and science teachers by establishing training and education programs at summer institutes hosted at the National Laboratories and by increasing support for the Teacher Institutes for the 21^st Century program at NSF.
• Develops and implements programs for bachelor’s degrees in math, science, engineering, and critical foreign languages with concurrent teaching credentials and part-time master’s in education programs for math, science, and critical foreign language teachers to enhance both content knowledge and teaching skills.
• Expands programs to increase the number of students from elementary school through postsecondary education who study critical foreign languages and become proficient.
• Establishes a President’s Council on Innovation and Competitiveness to develop a comprehensive agenda to promote innovation and competitiveness in the public and private sectors.

"We now face an important challenge before us," Senator Roberts said, "We cannot simply stand by and watch other countries compete or even surpass the U.S. in producing qualified talent and in developing new technologies, cures, or innovations. With limited federal resources, it is imperative that we make smart investments and target funding to those areas that are critical to our nation's future."

Senator Roberts is Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a key member of the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions. He is an outspoken advocate for improvements to math and science education, for the development of research infrastructure and for efforts to encourage technological innovation as an investment in Kansas’ future.

Senator Roberts has been able to supplement state investment research projects by identifying targeted federal investment for these dynamic projects which include: $1.8 million in 2001 for the Hoglund Brain Imaging Center at the University of Kansas Medical School; $7.4 million in 2005 and $3.6 million in 2004 for the Kansas State University Biodefense facility; $7.3 million in 2005 for the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University; $2.4 million in 2004 for the University of Kansas for bioinformatics research on bioterrorism and other pathogens; and $500,000 in 2004 for the University of Kansas for equipment used in life sciences research.

In 2005, Senator Roberts introduced bipartisan legislation, The 21^st Century Federal Pell Grant Plus Act, which doubles the monetary amount for undergraduate students who pursue fields of study in math, science, or engineering - for those programs which are deemed critical to U.S. economic, national, and homeland security. Roberts also worked to develop the SMART Grant program that provides $4,000 in grant aid for undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds who major in math, science, engineering, or technology field. President Bush signed this program into law in early 2006.

For a more thorough look at the Pat Roberts Advisory Committee on Science, Technology and the Future, please see a special section of the Senator’s website at:

https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorRoberts.AdvisoryCommittee