Report calls for investments in STEM education, broadband

The Commerce Department released a report on U.S. competitiveness Friday that highlights the need for federal investments in basic research, science education and infrastructure like broadband and the electric grid.

The comprehensive report on competitiveness was mandated as part of the reauthorization of the America Competes Act signed by President Obama one year ago. The report's key findings emphasize how federal investments can pay broad and unforeseen dividends, like the invention of the Internet.

“We need solutions to America’s economic competitiveness problems and this report is a good first step,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).

“Underinvestment in sectors like STEM education, high-tech research, and 21st century infrastructure has diminished the nation’s competitive edge. Sustained federal investment in these sectors will not just help grow today’s economy, but it will also lay the groundwork for generations to come.”

The report recommends federal funding for basic research be increased and the R&D tax credit for private sector companies be enhanced. It underscores the importance of education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM fields.

“This is a topic of pivotal importance,” Commerce Secretary John Bryson said. “Our ability to innovate as a nation will determine what kind of economy — what kind of country — our children and grandchildren will inherit, and whether it’s a country that holds the same promise for them as it did for our parents and grandparents.”

The report also notes 68 percent of American households have adopted broadband and highlights the Obama administration's efforts to open up spectrum for wireless communications.

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