Congress Pushes For More Tech Education, R&D Programs

[OhioChick]

The bill authorizes funding of $43.3 billion from 2008 to 2010 for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research and education programs at the federal level, including scholarship and grant programs.

By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
InformationWeek
August 2, 2007 03:00 PM


Looks like Congress is close to passing legislation to boost funding of educational programs for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies, as well as research and development initiatives.
Earlier this week, joint-committee leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate reached an agreement on a version of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science, or the Competes Act (H.R. 2272). The bill could go up for a vote in the House and Senate before the August recess begins this weekend.

The bill authorizes funding of $43.3 billion from 2008 to 2010 for STEM research and education programs at the federal level, including scholarship and grant programs for students and teachers, as well as R&D money for small and midsize businesses.

Among its provisions, the Competes Act authorizes $2.65 billion in funding from 2008 to 2010 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for labs and other programs.

In addition, the compromise bill would authorize NIST to create the Technology Innovation Program, or TIP, which would provide funding for small and medium-sized tech firms, as well as universities, involved with "high-risk, high-reward, pre-competitive technology developments."

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201202670

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