Supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineeers Week, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 59) supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 59, the resolution now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support H. Res. 59, supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week.

National Engineers Week takes place this year February 18 through February 24. This is not a random week that is chosen; it is chosen because this is the week that we celebrate George Washington's birthday. George Washington is widely recognized as our Nation's first engineer.

Engineers have helped make our country great from their service in the American Revolution to developing key modern industries, such as aerospace and energy. I would like to honor and recognize the more than 2 million engineers in the United States and the contributions that they have made to our country.

Engineers are at the forefront of human advances because engineers combine imagination and creativity, with math and science training to solve problems. Engineers are not just builders, as they are sometimes envisioned; they are problem solvers. This is one of the first things I was taught when I was a graduate student at Stanford University in the department of engineering economic systems.

Engineers in the past have helped build the boats to cross the seas, railroads to take us west, and the Internet to communicate with the world. We need the innovative capability of engineers to confront the problems and challenges before us today. Engineers will help Americans develop energy independence, find solutions to confront global climate change, and make our Nation more secure.

I have a unique perspective as only one of a handful of engineers in Congress. Besides my Master's degree from Stanford, I earned a Bachelor's degree

from Northwestern University in mechanical engineering. I have seen that America is falling behind other countries in this discipline. U.S. students continue to score below international averages on math and science tests. It has been reported that in 2004 China graduated more than six times the number of engineers that graduated in the U.S.

On a recent tour of Northern Illinois University's college of engineering and engineering technology, I again heard how few Americans are getting engineering degrees, especially graduate degrees. It is great that America has such top universities that we are attracting some of the brightest minds from around the world to come to study here, but we are beginning to lose more and more of these students when they graduate and they go back home. This is harmful to America's future.

In 2005, the National Academy of Sciences released a report entitled, ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' which raised questions about America's future technological competitiveness. This report echoed by the President of the United States in the State of the Union address last year emphasized the need for government to take a number of actions, including addressing the potential for a shortage of engineers.

We must act quickly to take up this challenge. We cannot let another year go by and we cannot afford to let our economic future falter, and that future requires continuing technological innovation supplied by our Nation's engineers.

National Engineers Week seeks to raise public awareness about engineers' contributions to society and our quality of life. It has inspired future engineers for more than 50 years. Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, including more than 100 society, government, and business sponsors and affiliates, including Boeing, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Council of Engineering Companies, National Engineers Week draws upon local and regional experts to promote high levels of math, science, and technology literacy. Annually, it reaches thousands of parents, teachers, and students in communities across the country.

From national and regional engineering competitions such as the Future City Competition, to events such as Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, this week helps inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists.

If we are going to produce more American engineers, one needed step is to improve STEM education, that is science, technology, engineering and math education. But we must also do more to inspire our children to become interested in engineering.

When I was growing up in Chicago, I was fascinated in learning how things work, as most kids are. I remember it was Father Fergus who taught me physics in high school at St. Ignatius, and in that class he took my childhood fascination with how things worked and got me interested in engineering. He spurred me to follow up on that when I went to college.

We need events such as National Engineers Week and things that go on within the week to help encourage and inspire more kids to go into engineering. We have to do everything we can to inspire future engineers so that America continues its leadership in this increasingly competitive world.

I would like to thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Inglis) for his involvement also with this National Engineers Week resolution. And I would like to especially thank the engineers that contributed so much to America and to honor them for their commitment to continue working to better our society.

I ask my colleagues to support H. Res. 59 in its deserved recognition.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), the distinguished plasma physicist.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California, a new member of the Science Committee and an engineer himself, Mr. McNerney.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. We have no more speakers besides myself.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank Mr. Inglis, Mr. Gingrey and Mr. Hall for their support on this resolution. As an engineer but also as a former political science professor, I do not want to disparage political science whatsoever. However, it is clear that America does need more engineers, and to do this we have to value engineers and engineering much more in this country.

I am very hopeful that this resolution is going to be the first step that this Congress takes to not only honor our current engineers but also inspire more American children to become engineers and to find the solutions to the challenges that we face today.

We need to do more. We need to take more steps. We need to improve science, technology, engineering, math, known as STEM education. We need more R&D funding; but today, let us just take this first step and urge my colleagues to take this first step. Vote for H. Res. 59 and honor engineers during National Engineers Week.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I thought it would be appropriate to make a comment or two about engineering because I was trained as an engineer. I must not have been much of one because I ended up in politics. It doesn't happen that often that people who have an engineering background end up in the political sector; but it is quite common in engineering for people to get the undergraduate degree and then to move into other kinds of areas, and the engineering background gives them a tremendous problem-solving basis to be able to be quite effective in various other kinds of careers.

It is a national concern to us as Americans that we are producing fewer and fewer engineers. What happened was, in the era of Sputnik when I was a kid, everybody realized we were technologically behind, particularly behind the Soviet Union, and realized the urgency in having people develop an interest and background in science and engineering. At that time, we produced a good number of engineers, and they were fine engineers. They now work for many of our household-name large corporations, certainly many in my own district, Boeing Corporation, for example.

These engineers have also started all kinds of different businesses and been very successful, and have been very successful in producing a lot of the technology that keeps our young men and women safe on the battlefields. It also is technology that has given us a wonderfully high standard of living and has allowed America to prosper in many ways.

Unfortunately, now there is a tremendous dearth of engineers. We have a number of small companies that produce products that are related to the defense industry that I know of in the St. Louis area, just as an example, and they are saying that we would give anything to be able to hire engineers. We just can't get any of them. The only engineers we can get are coming out of India or some other country far away, and our own students, Americans, are not choosing careers in engineering. That is distressing.

I suppose that there are reasons for why this is going on. Perhaps one of them is the malaise and the very lukewarm kind of results that we are getting out of secondary education in America. The SAT scores are continuously changed year to year, and they can be adjusted downward. Engineering is very rigorous. It requires an understanding of mathematics, and it is a very hard undergraduate degree. Many people that start in engineering end up in something like political science. It is far easier than engineering.

But there are rewards in engineering, and if there are young people that are paying attention to what we are discussing here on the floor of the U.S. Congress today, I would encourage them that engineering is a fantastic undergraduate choice, and it doesn't have to end up behind a drawing board. It ends up in all kinds of positions and opportunities to those who have a disciplined mind and are capable of understanding basic principles of how things work.

I have to say, in Congress it is tremendously helpful. I serve on the Committee on Armed Services, and we are constantly getting involved in technical kinds of questions, things like armor on Humvees, body armor, how to defeat IEDs, all of the technology of software and people tapping into databases. On the Science Committee, as well, we deal with all kinds of areas, everything from exploration of space to the simple use of materials.

I would encourage all young people to seriously consider engineering.

Madam Speaker, I proudly rise in strong support of H. Res. 59 which supports the goals and ideas of National Engineer Week. As you know, new discoveries and technologies are changing the way Americans live and work. Through dedicated research and development, engineers expand our knowledge and lay the foundation for the progress of our country. This week is an opportunity to recognize engineers for their many contributions to our way of life and to encourage young people to pursue their curiosity by studying math and science.

Engineering education began in America under circumstances that differ substantially from those of the other leading professions. Medical schools, for example, were established by individual physicians, and then loosely affiliated with universities.

By contrast, engineers were first trained by apprenticeship, particularly on canal construction projects. This tradition was perpetuated on railroad construction projects, and later in factories and machine shops, long after college engineering programs were established. Eventually, engineering schools in the United States were sponsored by the Federal Government, the U.S. Military Academy in 1802, and the land-grant colleges beginning in 1862. They were also fostered by public-spirited citizens who fostered the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and from within established universities in response to interest or demand.

The engineering workforce is the driver of society's technological engine, an awesome responsibility. We will not be able to address this responsibility without diversifying the pool of science and engineering talent. This broadening of participation must come from the Land of Plenty, mostly untapped potential of underrepresented minorities and women--America's ``competitive edge'' for the 21st century.

We know that more than any other species, humans are configured to be the most flexible learners. Humans are intentional learners, proactive in acquiring knowledge and skills. And, it turns out that we are more successful learners if we are mindful or cognizant of ourselves as learners and thinkers.

To date, our knowledge of the science of learning, is just the tip of the iceberg of what we have yet to learn. Our ultimate goal is truly not to waste a single child and to teach and train a workforce that is well prepared and can adapt and change.

The revolution in information technologies connected and integrated researchers and research fields in a way never before possible. The Nation's IT capability has acted like adrenaline to all of science and engineering. A next step is to build the most advanced computer- communications infrastructure for researchers to use, while simultaneously broadening its accessibility.

Madam Speaker, I wanted to let the majority know that I have no other speakers requesting time, and I will just reserve the balance of my time for my closing remarks.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to thank the Chair for allowing me to manage the remaining time on our side in the absence of the ranking member, Mr. Hall, who had a very important meeting before the Rules Committee, and I thank the Chair for allowing that.

Madam Speaker, I am not an engineer but I went to an engineering school. In fact, I went to one of the very best engineering schools in this country. I am a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a heck of an engineer and actually not an engineer but a chemist. I look forward to the next bill as we honor Dr. Julian.

But engineering, Madam Speaker, is a profession in this country that is very, very important to us, to our ability to compete in this global economy, and as we all know, we are losing unfortunately far too many engineers to retirement and not replacing them. If we are going to remain competitive in this country, and I know the work of the Education and Labor Committee of this House and Chairman Miller and before him Chairman McKeon and Chairman Boehner, we have addressed these issues in our reauthorization of higher education and how important it is; and I know that Chairman Miller, as we go forward to reauthorizing No Child Left Behind and highly qualified teachers and special incentives for math and science teachers at elementary, middle and high school levels so that we do stimulate more bright young minds in this country, and yes, many more women than may be traditionally would select engineering as a professional track, as a career, because this is the only way we are going to be able to compete in this global economy.

I love sports, Madam Speaker, and I know we all do and we honor sports teams all the time up here, whether it is basketball, football, hockey. You name it, we are doing these resolutions, but I like to see more and more of this kind of activity where we are supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineering Week with H. Res. 59 to say, look, what is really important in this country is not games. Games are fun and games are a diversion, but this is about life and the success of our individual young students and, indeed, our country.

So to have an opportunity to stand here and have the closing remarks on supporting H. Res. 59, I commend the majority and my friend Representative Lipinski and others that have brought this, Representative Johnson and other members of the Science Committee. I think this is a wonderful opportunity to salute our engineers and the profession.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois.

Madam Speaker, as one who has taught engineers earlier in my career, I am delighted to rise in support of this legislation that will recognize National Engineers Week and, through that, highlight the contributions made to society by engineers.

The programs that fit under National Engineers Week are broad. They will include such activities as Introduce a Girl to Engineering that will encourage women to pursue engineering and recognize those who do.

Other initiatives will include competitions and online exhibits, as well as

television programs. It will highlight that engineering is critical to the security of our country, certainly through developing sustainable energy production and use, in preventing and mitigating natural and man-made disasters, and to make our world work better and to contribute to the livability of our society.

Now Congress can pass this legislation supporting the excellent programming of National Engineers Week. Congress can also ensure that we make the best decisions based on the best information related to science, engineering and technology, such as we used to do with the help of the Office of Technology Assessment.

Congress can pass legislation to ensure that students nationwide are taught technical skills, that they are taught the importance of those skills as well, and to make sure that there are no financial obstacles for individuals who seek to pursue higher education in engineering and related fields. And Congress can ensure that federally funded research and development is not neglected as we put together the budget.

This is good legislation that highlights important work. I am pleased to support it.