Noting past technological innovations as balloon catheters and the Internet that have been developed through federal funding, President George W. Bush recently announced a $136 billion initiative for research, innovation and education in math and the sciences.

The American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), Bush explained in his State of the Union Address, is designed to encourage domestic innovation in order to strengthen the United States’ competitiveness in the global economy. The initiative will commit $5.7 billion for investments in research and development, education and entrepreneurship in fiscal year 2007, and will add more than $136 billion over the next 10 years, doubling the budgets of federal agencies with research programs in engineering and the physical sciences.

Stanford’s faculty responded favorably to the new initiative, with President John Hennessy issuing a statement of praise for the policy.

“We are encouraged by the president’s leadership in recognizing the challenges the nation must address if we are to maintain our leadership in science and technology,” he said. “The proposals to increase the federal commitment to basic research in the physical sciences and enhance the teaching of math and science in high school are critical in this regard.”

School of Engineering Dean Jim Plummer echoed Hennessy’s sentiments, adding, “I think the things the president proposed to enhance our nation’s competitiveness are both important and necessary. The emphasis on science and math education in K-12 schools is very important to provide an educated workforce. The increase in research funding, especially for the physical sciences, is also a critical need and will better balance the federal research portfolio.”

Besides funding public research, the ACI proposes to stimulate research and development in the private sector by granting companies a permanent tax credit estimated at $86 billion over 10 years. The initiative would also create Career Advancement Accounts for up to 800,000 workers annually, allowing each worker to use up to $3,000 for training and other employment services, and more than tripling the number of workers trained in the current system.

Some students spoke out in support of the ACI for its attempt to drive American technological dominance.

“I think it’s clear that as America continues along the path to encouraging global trade, our workers can no longer compete in labor-intensive industries,” said sophomore Christine Su. “America’s competitive edge has always been technological innovation, and now the long-term strategy must be to bring our workforce up to par with the high-tech sector where we have a comparative advantage. The burden of keeping ahead is a heavy one, because the transfer of technology to other nations can be almost instantaneous, but at least a well-educated and entrepreneurial population will have the skills to continue adapting to this increasingly fast-paced economy.”

In addition to funding private and public sector research, the initiative also proposes $380 million in new federal support for math, science and technological education in K-12 schools. The money would expand low-income students’ access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses by training 70,000 additional teachers over five years, and would encourage math and science professionals to become adjunct high school teachers.

However, some students expressed dissatisfaction with the educational aspects of the initiative.

“It would be great if it worked,” said freshman Patrick Ardinger. “But for Bush to claim success on his past educational policies like the No Child Left Behind Act, he has to actually produce the funding for them. Bush needs to focus on actually devoting money toward improving the quality of education in public schools and increasing incentives to teach by offering teachers higher wages.”

In the meantime, however, educators remain hopeful that the initiative will succeed.