House passes tech talent bill

The House of Representatives July 9 passed H.R. 3130, the Technology Talent Act of 2001, a bill to help increase the number of people holding engineering, mathematics, science and technology degrees.


This bill, sponsored by the chairman of the House Science Committee, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., would establish National Science Foundation grants for higher education institutions that pledge to increase the number of U.S. students obtaining degrees in science, mathematics, engineering or technology.


"This legislation is extremely important for the future work-force needs of the high-tech industry," said William Archey, president and chief executive officer of AeA, a tech industry trade group in Washington.



The number of engineering undergraduate degrees issued by U.S. colleges and universities declined 8 percent during the 1990s, Archey said. Engineering technology degrees declined 21 percent, mathematics and physics undergraduate degrees issued declined 20 percent, and electrical engineering degrees issued dropped 19 percent, he added.



"These trends need to be reversed if the high-tech industry is to maintain a work force capable of meeting the challenges of the global economy," Archey said.



The bill also would allow for consortia, such as the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium that involves private industry and institutions of higher education, to apply for the grants. AeA, which helped establish this program, said funding included in the tech talent bill could further leverage the private and state resources that are already being deployed to address this critical work-force issue.



A similar Senate bill, S. 1549, has been sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. It is being considered by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.