Congresswoman Lofgren Applaudes Passage Of The Tech Talent Bill

Statement of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren on the passage of H.R. 3130

“HR 3130, the Tech Talent Bill addresses the decline in our technical workforce and aims to improve undergraduate math and science education in our nation. This bill establishes a competitive grant program administered by the National Science Foundation for undergraduate institutions that pledge to increase the number of US citizens or permanent residents seeking to obtain degrees in the science, math, engineering and technology fields.

“The University of California is currently undertaking efforts to address this challenge. The University of California Engineering and Computing Sciences Initiative began in 1997-98. In the academic year 2002-03, the University has already met its 8-year enrollment increase target of 24,000 Students system-wide. This year there will be some 26,000 students enrolled in this program.

“One important difference between the University of California’s efforts and this bill is that California’s initiative has been working to increase both graduate and undergraduate enrollment. While Congress should consider expanding this program to include graduate studies, HR 3130 is still a useful effort worthy of our support.”