America COMPETES Act and the FY2010 Budget
September 16, 2010 - R40519
The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) became law on August 9, 2007. The act is intended to increase the nation's investment in research and development (R&D), and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. It is intended to address two concerns believed to influence U.S. competitiveness: the adequacy of R&D funding to generate sufficient technological progress, and the adequacy of the number of American students proficient in STEM or interested in STEM careers relative to other countries. The act authorizes funding increases for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories, and the Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE SC) over FY2008-FY2010. If the rate of increase provided for in the act were maintained, funding for these agencies would double, in nominal terms, in seven years. The act establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency ΠEnergy (ARPA-E) within DOE to support transformational energy technology research projects to enhance U.S. economic and energy security. A new program, Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes, is intended to support the establishment of multidisciplinary institutes at DOE national laboratories to apply fundamental science and engineering discoveries to technological innovations. Among the act's education activities, many of which ...