President Bush Signs H.R. 2272 COMPETES Bill

On Monday I here wrote about the H.R. 2272: The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (COMPETES) bill. Well.... before heading off for his one-month vacation - President Bush signed it today! Here's a couple of quotes from President Bush's morning press conference:

"The bill I will sign today will help ensure that we do remain the most competitive and innovative nation in the world. I thank members of Congress from both parties who worked hard to secure its passage. I particularly want to thank Senators Pete Domenici, Jeff Bingaman, Lamar Alexander and John Ensign, as well as Congressmen Bart Gordon and Vern Ehlers".

"You know, this bill shows that we can work together to make sure we're a competitive nation. There's a lot of areas where we can seek common ground coming this fall, and I'm looking forward to working with members of both parties to do that".

Below are the basic bullet items from the white House fact sheet:

The President Appreciates Congress' Bipartisan Response To The Competitiveness Challenge Since He Announced ACI In January 2006. He appreciates House and Senate appropriators' support for funding for ACI basic research programs starting in FY 2007 and commends them thus far in the appropriations process for fully funding his corresponding FY 2008 budget request for the National Science Foundation, the Energy Department's Office of Science, and the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology.

As The President Proposed, The Act Supports Doubling Funding For Basic Research Programs In Physical Sciences. This increased funding will encourage scientists to explore promising and critical areas such as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources.

The Act Authorizes The President's Math Now Proposal To Improve Instruction In Mathematics. The programs will give teachers research-based tools and professional development to improve elementary, and middle school students' achievement in math.

The Act Authorizes The President's Proposed Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate (AP/IB) Program. This program would expand low-income students' access to AP/IB coursework by training more high school teachers to lead AP/IB courses in math, science, and critical foreign languages in high-need schools.

White House video, audio and text related to this bill are linked here.