Paterson Great Falls National Park Act of 2006

Mr. President, families across America are facing serious challenges in today's global economy. The value of their wages is declining, the cost of living is going up, and many

of their jobs are being shipped overseas.

We must respond to this challenge to ensure that our citizens can achieve the American dream once again. We have the best workers in the world, and we must prepare them to compete and succeed in the global economy.

America has long been at the forefront in innovation, invention, and education. But other countries are catching up and surpassing us.

We are now ranked 28th out of 40 nations in math education.

Since 1975, we have dropped from 3rd to 15th in the world in producing scientists and engineers.

A recent report shows that high school and college graduation rates in the United States have dropped below the average for other developed countries.

Federal investment in research and development has been shrinking as a share of the economy, and government research programs at the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy all have less funding this year than they did three years ago.

At the same time, fast-growing countries like China, Ireland and South Korea are realizing the potential for economic growth that comes with investing in innovation. For example, China's total research and development investments rose from $12.4 billion in 1991 to $84.6 billion in 2003, an average increase of 17 percent a year. Over the same period, the increase in U.S. investment averaged only 4 to 5 percent annually.

Study after study tells us that we need major new investments in education and research and development to stay ahead. We cannot just tinker at the margins and expect to master our own destiny in the global economy. We have a responsibility to make the investments that are necessary to our progress--a responsibility to our families, to our economy, to our Nation, and to our national security.

Last year, the Council on Competitiveness urged a focus on lifelong skill development--through elementary, secondary and higher education, and workforce training and support, as essential to keeping America on the cutting edge of innovation.

The recent report by the National Academy of Sciences, ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' emphasized these recommendations. Two of the report's four major recommendations involved education as the solution to meeting the global challenge. The report set out a broad roadmap for keeping America competitive, but it prioritized investment in education over all other recommendations.

The National Association of Manufacturers also issued a report urging renewed focus on education and training to keep American businesses competitive.

It is clear that we must act, and today we are taking a step toward putting America back on the right track.

I am pleased to join with a bipartisan group of my colleagues today to introduce the National Competitiveness Investment Act. It is a modest proposal, but it represents an important down-payment on the commitment and sustained investment needed to keep America competitive in the years to come.

The legislation responds to many of the recommendations in the ``Gathering Storm'' and other recent reports and includes many provisions based on those in the Right TRACK Act, which I introduced earlier this year.

The bill takes important steps to encourage innovation in America as a way to create jobs and move our economy forward. It is often federally funded research that primes the pump for technological, medical and scientific breakthroughs, and the bill doubles basic research funding by the National Science Foundation over the next five years. It also puts us on a strong course to doubling basic research funding at the Department of Energy as well.

The legislation also creates a President's Council on Innovation and Competitiveness, based on successful models being used in established and emerging economies in Europe and Asia. The council will bring together the heads of Federal agencies with leaders in business and academia to develop a comprehensive agenda to promote innovation. Japan for some time has had a similar council, and Ireland, known as the Celtic Tiger, has already had success in expanding its R&D strength since it established its council last year.

The bill also strengthens programs at college and universities to encourage a renewed interest in nuclear science. Massachusetts has long been a leader in nuclear research. There are only three dozen licensed nuclear reactors in the United States, and three of them are located at Massachusetts universities--University of Massachusetts Lowell, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and MIT. These colleges will have a vital role as nuclear science expands, and this bill will help expand their programs and establish new ones to meet the growing demand.

These are important investments, but there is more we can do. We should act to renew the research and development tax credit as soon as possible. The incentive provided by the tax credit has led to quality jobs, better, safer products, greater productivity and a stronger, more robust national economy. A growing number of countries who recognize the importance of research and development spending to future economic growth now offer more generous R&D tax incentives than the United States. The top 6 pharmaceutical companies, and American high tech companies like Microsoft, Intel and GE have all opened advanced R&D facilities in India. We must give American companies the certainty that these incentives will continue to be there, so that they can choose to maintain these high-skilled jobs here at home, to keep America at the cutting edge as a leader in innovation in the global economy.

These investments also depend on a talented pool of well-trained individuals who can make discoveries and scientific breakthroughs. Jobs in science and engineering are expected to increase 70 percent faster than those in other fields over the next 6 years. To ensure Americans are prepared to hold these jobs, we must improve education at all levels--from the very early years in a child's life all the way through doctoral study and beyond--especially in math, science, engineering and technology.

Although international comparisons of student achievement show that the United States is slipping behind other countries, a closer look shows that the picture is more complex. The real problem lies in the serious and pervasive achievement gap in this country between higher income students and lower income students.

On the most recent test comparing student achievement in industrialized nations, white students in the United States performed better than the average for all countries in both math literacy and problem solving, while their Hispanic and African American peers did worse. Low-income students in the U.S. performed worse than their high- income peers, and also performed worse than other low-income students in over half of the developed countries surveyed.

If we close this achievement gap, and guarantee all children in this country a world-class education, we can put America back at the top of the list. To do so, we should fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act.

We must also invest in teachers. The National Competitiveness Investment Act recognizes and responds to the critical need to recruit and train high quality math, science, technology and engineering teachers to teach in the schools with the greatest need so that we can begin to close the achievement gap and ensure that all American students can compete on a level playing field with their peers in other nations.

Research shows that having a high quality teacher is one of the most important factors in a child's success in school. But almost half of math classes taught in high poverty and high minority schools are taught by teachers without a college major or minor in math or a related field, such as math education, physics or engineering. The problem is even more serious in middle schools--70 percent of math classes in these schools are taught by a teacher who doesn't even have a minor in math or a related field.

The bill provides a 10-fold increase in the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program at the National Science Foundation to recruit math, science, engineering and technology students and professionals to become teachers in high need school districts.

It provides grants to institutions of higher education to create undergraduate programs that integrate the study of math, science, engineering, or critical need foreign language with teacher education, modeled on the successful U-Teach program at the University of Texas. It also helps institutions create part-time master's degree programs to improve the content knowledge and teaching skills of current teachers. In both of these programs, universities would partner with high-need school districts to ensure that these resources will go where they are needed most.

The bill expands the Teacher Institutes for the 21st Century program at the National Science Foundation to provide cutting-edge summer professional development programs for teachers who teach in high-need schools. It also creates a summer institute program in the Department of Energy to strengthen the math and science teaching skills of elementary and secondary school teachers.

Recruitment and training are the first steps, but we must also do more to see that teachers have an incentive to stay in classrooms once they are there. We should provide financial incentives--through fellowships or salary increases--to teachers who commit to teach in the highest need schools, where the unique challenges make the schools the hardest to staff. I look forward to working with my colleagues as the bill moves forward to add this critical component to the effort.

In addition to providing a high quality teacher in every classroom, we must also ensure that children in low income school districts have access to the same college preparatory classes that more affluent school districts are able to provide--and, importantly, that they have the preparation they need to succeed in those classes. To do so, the bill expands access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes as well as pre-AP and pre-IB courses, especially in high need schools, and creates a program to improve instruction in math for elementary and middle school students and provide targeted help to students struggling with the subject.

The bill also addresses the critical need to ensure our education system is preparing students for the challenges they face after graduation from high school. According to a recent study, the Nation loses over $3.7 billion a year in the cost of remedial education and lost earning potential because students are not adequately prepared to enter college when they leave high school.

Many States have recognized the need to better align elementary and secondary school standards, curricula, and assessments with the demands of college, the 21st century workforce and the Armed Forces. This bill provides grants to assist States in those efforts. The grants would support state PreK-16 councils that bring together stakeholders from all levels of the education community, from the business sector, and from the military to improve the rigor of elementary and secondary education and prepare students for the postsecondary challenges they will face.

These provisions will help spur the development of more rigorous standards and innovative curricula that engages our children in learning to inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers. It will assist states in the work they are doing to create new disciplines in engineering and technology at the elementary school level that allow students to learn the practical applications of math and science. I am proud that the National Center for Technological Literacy at the Museum of Science, Boston is at the forefront of these efforts.

In addition to the education programs at the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, the legislation relies on the resources of the Department of Energy to assist in the effort to improve math and science education. The National Labs at the Department of Energy can have a critical role in these efforts, and so can the more than 300 colleges and universities across the country conducting research supported by the Department of Energy. I appreciate my colleagues' efforts to ensure that the resources of the Department of Energy are used to enhance educational opportunities for children not only in the states that host National Labs, but across the country.

It is also becoming increasingly important for students to become exposed to and immersed in critical foreign languages and cultures. In recent years, foreign language needs have significantly increased throughout the public and private sector due to the presence of a wider range of security threats, the emergence of new nation states, and the globalization of the U.S. economy. American businesses increasingly need employees experienced in foreign languages and international cultures to manage a culturally diverse workforce. But if students are to become proficient in these critical foreign languages, they must have access to a sustained course of study, beginning in the early grades.

To address these needs, the bill provides grants to enable institutions of higher education and local educational agencies working in partnership to create programs of study in critical foreign languages for students from elementary school through postsecondary education.

All of these programs and investments will help prepare our students to compete in the 21st century, but if we are serious about keeping America competitive, there is more we can and must--do.

A college degree is fast becoming the price of admission to participation in the global economy. Eighty percent of the fastest growing jobs in this country will require some postsecondary education. A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that in the United States, earnings of people with a post-secondary degree are 72 percent higher on average than for those with only a high school diploma.

But with soaring costs and stagnant financial aid, college is increasingly out of reach for students and families. Research shows that 400,000 students a year do not go to a four year college because they cannot afford it.

When our troops returned home from World War II, we created the GI Bill and sent them to college to learn the skills they would need in the changing world. The economy reaped an estimated $7 in benefit for every dollar invested in that effort.

In recent decades however, Federal grant aid has dwindled and the grants provided don't go as far as they used to. Thirty years ago, 77 percent of the federal assistance provided to students was in the form of grants, but in recent years it's 20 percent. The Pell Grant now covers less than 35 percent of the cost of attending college.

To ensure the prosperity of our families and the nation, we must open the doors of college to all by restoring the Pell Grant as the foundation of the student aid system.

Earlier this year, Congress squandered an opportunity to significantly increase aid for low income students. The Senate passed a bill that would have immediately increased the Pell grant from $4,050 to $4,500. But this increase was rejected, and the funds instead were used to pay for tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans.

I know many of my colleagues agree that higher education is the key to keeping America competitive, and I look forward to working with them to ensure that the cost of college is not a barrier to full participation in the new economy.

We must also do more to address the devastating impacts of the global economy on American workers and their families.

American workers are facing global competition that is fundamentally unfair, but this bill does nothing to level the playing field or to help ease the burden of their transition to the global economy. To truly improve our national competitiveness, we must address all aspects of this challenge. We cannot continue to ignore the plight of working Americans.

First, we need to level the playing field in the competition for good jobs. Americans have nothing to fear from competition that's fair. But it's not fair when Americans are competing with foreign workers who lack even basic labor standards, like child labor laws, a minimum wage, or the right to organize. And it's not fair when companies cut costs by exploiting and abusing foreign workers.

We need to exercise global leadership in promoting fair wages and safe working conditions for workers around the

world, reward companies that treat their foreign workforces fairly, and be a strong voice in sanctioning those countries that will not play by the rules

Beyond these basic steps to level the playing field, we owe a particular duty to those American workers who are losing their jobs because of trade. We all benefit from the lower prices and variety of products that globalization provides, but many of our most vulnerable workers are paying the price. In the manufacturing sector alone, we've lost nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2001, and service sector jobs are now moving overseas as well. These are good, middle-class jobs, with decent wages and benefits that form the core of the American middle class.

Our response to globalization must address the disappearance of good jobs. We must create the good jobs of the future. We must eliminate tax incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas. We must give workers who are at risk of losing their jobs to overseas competition fair warning so that they can plan for their futures. We must strengthen our commitment to help workers who lose their jobs adjust to the new economy, with well-funded training and income assistance programs that ease the transition to new employment.

Fulfilling our commitment to American workers also demands that we give them their fair share of the economic growth that globalization brings. We must raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, and give workers a stronger voice in the new economy by protecting their right to organize and form a union.

If we truly want to be competitive in the global economy, we need to address these challenges facing the American workforce head on, and give workers greater job security in the present, and better opportunities in the future. I hope that the same bipartisan coalition that has worked together so effectively on this bill can also work together to address these important issues for America's working families.

The legislation we are introducing today is not a complete package. It represents only the beginning of a strong commitment that we will need to build on and sustain if America is to remain competitive in the years ahead. I am proud that the bill has strong bipartisan support, and that support is critical to ensuring these proposals become a reality.

In 2001, there was strong bipartisan support to significantly increase funding to improve our schools through the No Child Left Behind Act. But President Bush's budget this year would mean a cumulative shortfall of $56 billion in funding since that bill was enacted, and this year he proposed cutting education funding by $2 billion.

In 2002, we promised to double NSF funding, but last year's appropriation was only two-thirds the level we agreed to four years ago--nearly $3 billion short of staying on track to that goal.

Words alone will not keep America competitive. This legislation must be more than a promise. I look forward to working with my colleagues as the bill moves forward to ensure that Congress provides the new investments needed to fully support these important proposals.

Americans know how to rise to challenges and come out ahead. We've done it before and we can do it again. When we were called into action in 1957 with the Soviet Sputnik launch, we rose to the challenge by passing the National Defense Education Act and inspiring the nation to ensure that the first footprint on the moon was by an American. We doubled the federal investment in education.

We need the same bold commitment to help the current generation meet and master the global challenges of today and tomorrow. The National Competitiveness Investment Act will start to put America back on track. I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve upon the bill as it moves forward and to expand on these efforts in the months to come.

Mr. President, several of my colleagues and I have joined with the Senate leadership today in introducing important legislation to address the challenges of innovation and competitiveness that our Nation faces. Among the provisions of this legislation is the recognition and expansion of the significant role that NASA plays in our Nation's search for knowledge and excellence.

NASA already has an outstanding track record of achievement in this area. That record exists because individuals and organizations within NASA have taken the initiative over the years to reach for excellence in their work, just as the agency has sought to reach the stars. I am especially proud that the Johnson Space Center in Houston has played a leading role in these efforts. We all know that it takes dedicated and inspired people to make things happen in any great undertaking.

I would like to recognize the dedicated efforts of one of those people, Gregory W. Hayes, who is retiring at the end of the month from NASA after nearly 34 years at the agency and nearly 25 years of supervisory and managerial experience at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Mr. Hayes has made significant and lasting contributions to the Nation's civilian space agency. A few examples will illustrate how the American taxpayer has benefited from Mr. Hayes' distinguished public service career:

His commitment to innovative management of the center's human resources over the decades, including the selection and recruitment of our astronauts as well as the pursuit of innovative workforce practices, has contributed to ensuring that JSC attracts the best and brightest from the Nation's technical talent pool.

His lifelong dedication to encouraging young people's interest in space exploration has taken many forms including partnering with a local Houston school district to develop a new program in which more than 100 JSC employees volunteer to serve as technical advisors to local schools for math, science, and technology.

His instrumental role in establishing the Aerospace Academy--a partnership among community educational systems that helps to increase the number of technical employees and the number of math and science teachers in the area.

His collaboration with the State of Texas to secure funding for the Texas Aerospace Scholars, a program designed to provide hands-on experience at JSC to high school and college students that will ensure the development of a technical workforce ready for the challenges of the 21st century.

Mr. Hayes also set a compelling example for his colleagues by reaching out to the local community. He served on the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership board for several years, as well as serving as an advisor on its various task forces; his work promoted the health of the community and the Nation's space program.

In recognition of Mr. Hayes' formidable leadership skills, it is not surprising that the Office of the NASA Administrator recruited him to take a leadership role in establishing and executing the agency's path- finding effort known as the Freedom to Manage, F2M, Task Force for Human Resources. That activity was designed to fulfill the President's Management Agenda charter to identify and remove impediments to efficient and effective ways of doing business. In the course of its work, the task force identified more than 100 potential areas for improvement in human resources--dozens of which were immediately implemented through changes to internal policies and practices.

In addition to his extraordinary contributions to the, human resources and education fields, Mr. Hayes, in his capacity as JSC Director of External Relations, demonstrated great initiative and vision in his efforts to proactively reach out to the emerging commercial space sector and seek innovative collaborative arrangements. Recent examples include his efforts to pursue cooperative agreements with companies such as Bigelow Aerospace, which this past summer launched a pioneering low earth orbiting expandable habitat and has opened a satellite office near JSC; as well as an engineering collaboration with SpaceX--one of the winners of the recently concluded COTS awards. These are but two examples of several other significant partnerships with the entrepreneurial space sector that Mr. Hayes has pursued.

These activities not only support the expanding efforts to enhance innovation and competitiveness but are also consistent with the NASA Authorization Act which I introduced last year and which was signed into law last December. This act strongly encourages

the pursuit of partnerships with the commercial space sector. Mr. Hayes has left a legacy for his successors as they continue policies of encouraging effective partnerships with the emerging commercial space industry.

Given his impressive record as public servant, it is not surprising that Mr. Hayes has been the recipient of the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award as well as NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal.

On the occasion of Mr. Hayes' departure from his beloved NASA, he can leave knowing that he has left a remarkable record of accomplishment. He serves as an inspiration to NASA's next generation of space leaders who will ensure that the agency utilizes the space shuttle and International Space Station to the fullest extent possible, while developing the next generation human space transportation system and laying the groundwork for the agency's new human space exploration goals of returning to the Moon and then moving on to Mars.

I know I speak for many of my colleagues in paying tribute to the kind of dedication and excellence Mr. Hayes has brought to his government service and in wishing him continued success as he enters a well-deserved new chapter in his remarkable life.

Mr. President, I am delighted to join our distinguished majority and minority leaders in introducing and cosponsoring the National Competitiveness Investment Act. This is an essential and important first step in addressing critical challenges facing our Nation in an increasingly competitive global economy. America must be a leader in scientific research and education. It is in the best interest of both our national and economic security.

This bill renews and expands our national focus on strengthening key areas of research, education, and innovation. It is the product of a truly bipartisan effort, undertaken with the blessing and encouragement of the Senate leadership and by the leadership of the three principal committees with jurisdiction over these matters: the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. I am proud to be part of this bipartisan initiative to provide new resources to support these competitiveness programs.

This legislation increases research investment by doubling the authorized funding levels for the National Science Foundation, NSF, from approximately $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2006 to $11.2 billion in fiscal year 2011. It doubles funding for the Department of Energy's Office of Science over 5 years, from $3.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2006 to over $5.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2011.

Another vital focus of the bill is to strengthen educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and critical foreign languages. It authorizes competitive grants to States to promote better coordination of elementary and secondary education with the knowledge and skills needed for success in postsecondary education, the workforce, and the U.S. Armed Forces. Another key emphasis is strengthening the skills of thousands of math and science teachers through support for the Teachers Institutes for the 21st Century Program at NSF.

As chair of the Science and Space Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, I am especially pleased that this legislation ensures that both NASA and NSF are able to expand their strong traditional roles in fostering technological and scientific excellence. The language we have crafted increases essential NASA funding to support basic research and foster new innovation by calling for full use of existing budget authority that we provided within the 2005 NASA Authorization Act. Under the terms of this legislation, the President could request an additional $1.4 billion dollars in Fiscal Year 2008 for application toward these activities. By directing NASA's full participation in interagency efforts for competitiveness and innovation--under the more widely known term of the American Competitiveness Initiative--this legislation points the way for the administration to now make use of that additional authority in supporting projects that can help meet these important competitiveness and innovation goals.

Mr. President, this bill represents an important first step in our efforts to meet the increasing challenges to our Nation's competitive posture. I encourage all of my colleagues to join in cosponsoring this bill and working with us at the appropriate time to ensure its passage by this body and its enactment into law.

Mr. President, I rise today with great pride to introduce legislation which would create a national park in my hometown, Paterson, NJ. The Paterson Great Falls National Park Act of 2006 would bring long-deserved recognition and accessibility to one of our Nation's most beautiful and historic landmarks. I am pleased that my colleague from New Jersey, Senator Menendez, is cosponsoring this legislation.

The Great Falls are located where the Passaic River drops nearly 80 feet straight down, on its course towards New York Harbor. It is one of the tallest and most spectacular waterfalls on the east coast, but the incredible natural beauty of the falls should not overshadow its tremendous importance as the powerhouse of industry in New Jersey and the infant United States. Indeed, in 1778, Alexander Hamilton visited the Great Falls and immediately realized the potential of the falls for industrial applications and development. Hamilton was instrumental in creating the planned community in Paterson--the first of its kind nationwide--centered on the Great Falls, and industry thrived on the power generated by the falls. Rogers Locomotive Works, the premier steam locomotive manufacturer of the 19th century, was located in the shadow of the falls, as were many other vitally important manufacturing enterprises.

President Ford recognized the importance of the area by declaring the falls and its surroundings a ``National Historic Landmark'' in 1976; he called the falls ``a symbol of the industrial might which helps to make the United States the most powerful nation in the world.'' Now, it is time that we recognize the importance of this historic area by making it New Jersey's first national park. This would be of special importance because so few of our national parks are in urban areas. I believe that it is time we acknowledge that many of our most significant national treasures are located in densely populated areas.

Mr. President, I grew up in Paterson, and I have appreciated the majesty and beauty of the Great Falls for many years. By creating a national park in Paterson, more Americans can be exposed to the exceptional cultural, natural, and historic significance of the Great Falls, and that is why I will passionately advocate for the passage of this bill. I have been delighted to work with my good friend, Congressman Bill Pascrell--another longtime resident of Paterson--on this issue and with a bipartisan group of lawmakers from my home State, all of whom believe strongly in this cause. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this legislation, which is so important to New Jersey and all of America.

Mr. President, I rise to talk about my bill to provide a temporary reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act.

I want to thank my colleagues, Senators Menendez, Clinton, Schumer, Obama, Durbin, and Bill Nelson, for cosponsoring this important and life-saving measure.

I was an original cosponsor of the Ryan White CARE Act and I have been an active supporter of this legislation for many years now. Never have I been as concerned about the future as I am right now.

The Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization legislation that has been proposed in both the House and the Senate actually attempts to shift already inadequate Ryan White money away from States like New Jersey, where the epidemic first appeared and the need is still growing, to States where the epidemic is emerging.

The Committee bill pits cities against cities, States against States, women against men, and urban areas against rural. This is not the way to go. We need to fully fund the Ryan White CARE Act to realize the promise of its original intentions.

Today I am introducing an alternative bill to reauthorize Ryan White. My bill has something for everyone in it. This legislation to reauthorize the Ryan White Care Act includes provisions that would help remedy funding disparities and permit a temporary extension to allow negotiations to continue.

My bill would simply extend current law through Fiscal Year 2007. Additionally it would provide for a 3.7 percent increase in authorizations over the 2006 amounts to account for inflation. Importantly, my bill also protects States

that have not yet transitioned to ``names based'' reporting for HIV cases by giving them an extra year to make that change. Without this protection these States would lose significant money.

Finally, I recognize the need of those States who have a growing incidence of HIV, which is why I include a one-time emergency authorization of $30 million to be distributed to those States who have unmet need and no Title I entities.

The original Ryan White CARE Act provides critical funding to help provide health care and support services for low-income individuals and families affected by HIV or AIDS. Since its enactment in 1990, Ryan White funds have helped millions of HIV/AIDS patients receive the care and treatment services they need to live healthy and productive lives.

The Senate and House bills to reauthorize the Ryan White Care Act are named the ``Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act.'' Ironically, it does not modernize the care of folks living with HIV/ AIDS in our communities. Rather, it will bring us back to the early 1990s when the disease was spreading even more rampantly than it is now, and people were dying quickly.

I know firsthand that many of the stakeholder groups, those people who are on the ground providing and receiving services funded by the Ryan White CARE Act, are terrified of what will happen to our system of care should this reauthorization move forward.

In my home State of New Jersey, we have the highest proportion of cumulative AIDS cases in women, and we rank third in cumulative pediatric AIDS cases. Furthermore, we have consistently ranked fifth in overall cumulative AIDS cases since the beginning of this epidemic. And yet, under the reauthorization proposal we stand to lose millions of dollars.

That is unacceptable. It is not acceptable for us simply to say that this is a formula fight and there will undoubtedly be winners and losers. With the Ryan White CARE Act, when we talk about losers, we are talking about lives being lost. I, for one, am not willing to settle for such an outcome.

It's not just my State that stands to lose money, either. New York, Florida, and Illinois all stand to lose millions of dollars under this proposal. All those states that have substantial need.

My bill is clearly not meant to be a permanent substitute for reauthorizing Ryan White. It is meant to give us all more time to continue our negotiations and try to work out a compromise that may keep all of our systems of care in tact.

I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the National Competitiveness Investment Act of 2006. Unfamiliar as it might sound to some, I am joined by the Democratic Leader, Senator Reid, on this important legislation.

This truly is a bipartisan bill. It reflects the fact that when it comes to our country's economic future, there is wide bipartisan support for those policies that will keep the United States competitive in this ever changing, dynamic, global economy of the 21st century.

The bill we are introducing today is a product of many Senators who have come together . . . who put aside political affiliations . . . to craft a broad comprehensive bill. The legislation has evolved over the course of the 109th Congress.

Two years ago, under the leadership of Senators Domenici, Alexander, and Bingaman, the Senate Energy Committee asked the National Academies what were those policies that--if enacted--would enhance the science and technology enterprise so that the United States could successfully compete, prosper, and be secure in this new century.

Out of that request, the National Academies created a high level committee of experts headed by the respected former CEO of Lockheed, Norm Augustine.

Chairman Augustine put the problem in stark terms when he wrote last December: ``In the five decades since I began working in the aerospace industry, I have never seen American business and academic leaders as concerned about this nation's future prosperity as they are today.''

The U.S. today has the strongest scientific and technological enterprise in the world, including the best research universities. But there is growing evidence and recognition that our educational system is failing in those areas that have directly underpinned our strength-- science, engineering, and mathematics. We must invest for the future in those areas if we are to maintain our technological edge in the world.

The Augustine report entitled ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm'' did identify four broad areas for policy action. These were: 1. Increase the talent pool by improving K-12 science and math education. 2. Strengthen the Nation's traditional commitment to reseaerch. 3. Increase the talent pool by improving higher education focus on training math and science teachers. 4. Improve incentives, primarily through the tax code, for innovation.

The President's budget also recognizes the need to target Federal resources on those areas that will allow the country to continue to lead in innovation.

The President's ``American Competitiveness Initiative'' similarly focuses on increasing resources for basic research and science, and by filling gaps in our education competitiveness agenda with expanded ``Math Now'', Adjunct Teacher Corps, and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.

Trying to put all this into one piece of legislation has been a challenge. Indeed, at least three different Senate Committees--Energy, Commerce, and HELP--all have jurisdiction over programs and policies in this area. This does not even address tax policies under the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee.

So in July I directed the three major Senate Committees with responsibility for authorizing legislation to combine their various proposals into one bill. The bill Senator Reid and I introduce today is the result of a lot of hard work over the summer and August recess month.

First I want to acknowledge the leadership of Senator Ensign, Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation, and Competitiveness in helping to produce this legislation.

Second, I thank the Chairmen and Ranking Members of Energy, Commerce, and the HELP Committees for their dedication to this project--Senators Domenici, Bingaman, Stevens, Inouye, Enzi, and Kennedy.

Finally, Senators Alexander, Lieberman, Hutchison, Nelson, and Mikulski have contributed their time and insights into this important legislation and I am sure there are others I have failed to mention.

While the legislation does not address all of the issues raised in the various studies--it is doubtful anyone piece of legislation could-- it nonetheless is a start, it is a good first step, and of course it is a bipartisan first step.

The legislation would, among other things: 1. Authorize a doubling of the funding for basic Federal research over the next 5 years at the National Science Foundation, and significantly expand funding for basic research at National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and NASA. 2. Recruit and train needed new math and science teachers. 3. Create new Teachers Institutes to improve the teaching techniques for math and science. 4. Create a DOE--DARPA dedicated to the goal of increasing innovation and competitive breakthroughs in technology. 5. Expand scholarship programs to recruit and train math and science teachers at the K-12 level. 6. Increase the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses and entering International Baccalaureate programs, and 7. Increase funding for ``early career'' researchers.

Authorizations for these programs would total $73 billion over the next five years, less than $2.0 billion above the President's request.

When we consider that over the next five years our economy will exceed $76 trillion--a 1 percent investment for the future seems a small price to pay for our continued economic security and leadership in the world.

This legislation is the correct thing to do for the country's future economic security.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today to join Senator Lautenberg, and Senators from New York, Illinois and Florida, in support of a one year reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, and to raise my serious reservations about the current committee proposal. I recognize and respect the dedication and hard work of Senators Enzi and Kennedy, Congressmen Barton and Dingell and their staff to reauthorization this vital program. But unfortunately, their proposal, as it currently stands, threatens lives by destroying networks of care in New Jersey and in other States across the country.

In reviewing the committee's proposal, I cannot help but wonder why we are not doing more and providing additional resources to address a growing need in our communities. More people are getting infected and more communities are having to provide care for individuals with HIV/ AIDS, which means we need more resources, not less. We need to address the growing need for care. Unfortunately, this legislation doesn't address the spread of the disease; it simply spreads already limited funding even thinner.

In New Jersey, we are still struggling with the HIV/AIDS battle and unfortunately, at this point, we are not winning the war. It is a sad reality, but New Jersey continues to rank fifth in the country for overall AIDS cases. We have the highest proportion of AIDS cases in women, and rank third in pediatric AIDS cases. We have not yet won the battle--we are still fighting. And we need weapons, in terms of funding, to win.

New Jersey has stepped-up to the plate to develop a comprehensive array of medical services, which are funded in part by the CARE Act. People infected with HIV/AIDS living in New Jersey have access to one of the most effective ADAP programs in the nation, as well as primary medical care, mental health service, substance abuse services, oral health, case management, and nutritional services. I'm proud of our State's networks of care, and recognize how important they are to the well-being of countless New Jerseyans. But in order to help this program to grow and be effective, we must maintain our Federal support.

During the debate surrounding the reauthorization some are saying we should cut funding for certain States and their HIV/AIDS services. I disagree and so do New Jerseyans. I am proud of the strong voice of New Jersey's advocates. Beneficiaries from across the State, members of our HIV Health Services Planning Councils from our eligible metropolitan areas or EMAs, representatives from all counties that are part of the Philadelphia EMA, and individuals from the consortiums of the remaining counties have been fully engaged in this reauthorization process.

Our elected officials, the Governor's office, and our entire New Jersey delegation have all been supportive of making sure New Jersey has the resources to continue fighting this battle. Our State--but apparently not this Congress--is united in providing care, saving lives and ending this epidemic once and for all.

Unfortunately, the committee's proposed reauthorization threatens to destroy and dismantle critical networks of care that are keeping people alive and healthy in New Jersey. With our current network of care, our healthcare providers have been instrumental in helping prevent people with HIV from developing full-blown AIDS. Without these services, the impact will be devastating for patients, their ability to work and provide for their families and most importantly, their lives.

My concerns continue to grow. Most recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended routine HIV testing for all Americans ages 13 to 64, saying that an HIV test should be as common as a cholesterol check. The CDC estimates 250,000 Americans are infected and don't even

know it. At a time when we are identifying more and more individuals with HIV, our country is destroying the very networks of care that will help educate and care for these individuals. We need testing, but we also need so much more.

That is why I propose that we try again--and this time, get it right. That we try to find a way to build on our networks of care, and provide the services that our entire Nation needs to win the war on HIV/AIDS.

Today, I join Senator Lautenberg in offering a proposal that would provide a 1-year reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act under current law. It would provide a 3.7 percent increase in authorization levels through 2007, while preventing funding from reverting back to the Treasury. This bill would provide a 1-year extension of the names- based reporting requirement set to go into effect beginning October 1, 2006. In addition, it would provide $30 million under Title II for States who have an ``unmet need'' and ``no title I entities.'' This proposal would help all States across the country without doing any harm. Instead of 5 years of a detrimental reauthorization, I support another year to get it right.

I believe America can do better, and today I am standing up for the HIV/AIDS community across the country. Today is a day to make our country's budget reflect our values by expanding funding for this important program. I call on my colleagues to save the Ryan White CARE Act. Wait to implement formula changes that could destroy existing networks of care, and instead, work out a solution that addresses the needs of the entire country. Please join me in supporting this legislation.