We salute Congress for its passage of the America Competes Act, a bold piece of bipartisan legislation with much needed increases in funding for basic research and math and science education that will go a long way toward maintaining and strengthening America's advantages in the global marketplace and our pre-eminence in science and technology.

This legislation reflects many of the recommendations of the National Academies' congressionally mandated report Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of the study committee, led by Norman Augustine, that authored our report. We also want to thank the many public policy and business groups who highlighted the urgent need to take action. And our thanks to President Bush for calling the nation’s attention to the importance of international competitiveness in his 2006 State of the Union address.