Bush May Propose Math, Science Spending

By BEN FELLER

WASHINGTON – President Bush, heeding dire talk about U.S. science and math, will propose more money and advanced teachers as a way to boost the nation’s economic power.

In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Bush is expected to propose greater federal spending on basic science research and more money for math and science education.

He is to propose training 70,000 teachers to lead advanced math and science classes in high schools, said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Science Committee.

Boehlert was briefed on Bush’s plans Tuesday by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and John Marburger, who directs science and technology policy at the White House.

“He appreciates that his signature domestic issue has been the No Child Left Behind law, which is a great start,” Boehlert said about Bush. “But he’s going to build upon that.”

Bush’s ideas track those presented in “Rising Above The Gathering Storm,” an economic blueprint put together last fall by an esteemed advisory panel at the request of Congress.

That report warns that “for the first time in generations, the nation’s children could face poorer prospects than their parents and grandparents did.”

But budget realities will limit any action. The report’s ideas would cost tens of billions of dollars, and the federal trend has been to cut back on education and research.

Boehlert said Bush’s ideas will be backed up with specific budget proposals next week.

The White House declined to discuss Bush’s math and science agenda. He is expected to fold it into a broader theme in his speech – improving U.S. competitiveness across the globe.

Math, science and technology are considered the nation’s economic backbone. They influence research, job creation, innovation and the ability of workers to handle blue-collar and white-collar jobs.

Warning signs are clear. In many ways that the U.S. compares itself to peers – such as test scores by high school students, bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering, exports of high-tech products – the nation is being outperformed by China, India and others.

Rumbles about slipping U.S. competitiveness in math and science have become a drumbeat, pounded home in reports by corporate leaders, universities and scientific groups.

“We could very easily lose the fragile lead we now have if we don’t make the critical investments right now,” said Alan Leshner, chief executive officer of The American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Everyone else is doing it.”

One report that clearly got the attention of the White House was the one about the “Gathering Storm.” The panel that wrote the report was led by Norman Augustine, retired chairman of the Lockheed Martin Corp., and a member of Bush’s science advisory council.

It says the “scientific and technical blocks of our economic leadership are eroding.” And it calls for expanding math and science scholarships, offering new research grants and reforming visa rules for foreign students, among other ideas.

In response, Congress has bipartisan bills ready to go. Yet money remains the dominant obstacle in a time of war and deficit spending.

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