0.14 The bush-43 years: 2001-09  (Page 4/5)

Examples he gave of foreign competition included the following:

• U.S. companies each morning receive software that was written in India overnight in time to be tested in the U.S. and returned to India for further production that same evening.
• Drawings for American architectural firms are produced in Brazil.
• U.S. firms’ call centers are based in India—where employees are now being taught to speak with a Midwestern accent.
• U.S. hospitals have X-ray and CAT scans read by radiologists in Australia and India.

Augustine and his colleagues emphasized that the United States could compete in the global marketplace in the realm of “knowledge capital.” Encouraging the development of ideas and accelerating their conversion into products and processes would require additional federal investment in research and development, and stronger partnerships between the federal government, state and local governments, academia, and private industry—including venture capital companies. Augustine’s committee viewed the issue of competitiveness not simply in terms of science policy, but in terms of the U.S. National Innovation System. This was made abundantly clear in the four sets of recommendations in their report:

• “Ten Thousand Teachers, Ten Million Minds”—which addresses America’s K-12 education system.
• “Sowing the Seeds”—which addresses America’s research base.
• “Brightest and Best”—which addresses higher education.
• “Incentives for Innovation”—in which we address the innovation environment itself.

American competitiveness initiative

Evidently, Bush was listening. In his 2006 State of the Union message, he announced that he would ask Congress to enact an American Competitiveness Initiative. On August 7, 2007, he signed into law the America Competes Act of 2007. During his first term, Bush had not been receptive to pleas for increased R&D support. But in his press conference following the signing of the America Competes Act into law, Bush noted that in his previous State of the Union speech he had asked Congress to “expand America’s investments in basic research, so we can support our nation’s most creative minds as they explore new frontiers in nanotechnology or supercomputing or alternative energy sources. I asked Congress to strengthen math and science education so our children have the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future. I asked Congress to make permanent the research and development tax credit, so we can encourage bolder private-sector initiatives in technology.”

Congress, however, did not appropriate funds to support Bush’s objectives. Although the administration continued to pursue its American Competitiveness Initiative in subsequent budget requests, appropriations enacted by the Congress fell short of meeting such objectives as doubling the budget of the NSF. On the other hand, appropriations for the NSF, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the DoE’s Science Office did increase substantially over previous years. During the Reagan Administration, the mandate of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) was expanded and rechristened as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).