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Brian J. Moran

Moran is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and previous recipient of the Tech-10 award from the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

In 1957, the Soviet Union sent a satellite into space and claimed the lead over the United States in the space race, but America and the American people rose to the challenge and won the race to the moon. During my visit to India last month on the governor's trade mission, I saw firsthand that this different kind of race in today's global economy provides a challenge that is no less daunting.

Nations across the world are racing to pass us as we enter the second lap of this 21st century, and the stakes are nothing short of the future of the American economy. In response to that little basketball-sized satellite in 1957, America launched an unprecedented investment in education, created a new generation of scientists and engineers, launched our competitive space program to the moon, and built the foundation of the 21st-century technology economy.

If we are to win today's global competition, we must make similar levels of investment in education and technology, in intellectual capital and in research and development.

Yet today our investment is far outpaced by nations around the world. As I sat with the students at the Indian Institute of Technology and they shared their hopes for top-quality technology-sector jobs, the reality of our new global economy leapt to life. Before the trade mission, the idea of a "flat world" was interesting night-table reading -- now it is a clear challenge and presents a myriad of opportunities.

It is clear that a new resolve is needed to meet new global economic challenges. The key to the global economy is the development of human capital -- the driving force behind our knowledge-based economy. Yet since 1995, China, Ireland, Israel, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan collectively increased their research and development investments by more than 214 percent. American investment increased only by 43 percent during that time. The federal government has become an unreliable partner in research funding. The National Academy of Science warns, "The scientific and technical building blocks of [America's] economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength."

Furthermore, China has unveiled a ground breaking blueprint for its scientific research for the next 15 years that will boost spending on R&D from $26 billion in 2004 to $110 billion in 2020. And an overwhelming 77 percent of new R&D sites planned over the next three years will be located in either India or China.

Our education system is simply not keeping pace with the challenges of the new economy. To succeed in this new economy, we must renew our focus on basic R&D -- the investments that produce huge rewards across dozens of industries.

We can begin that renewed focus right here in Virginia. Between each of our research universities we have tremendous potential for collaborative research, top-quality innovation and cutting-edge creativity.

Currently, less than one-fifth of American undergraduates receive degrees in natural sciences and engineering while one-third of Russians, four out of 10 South Koreans and more than half of Chinese undergraduates focus in these high-demand fields. We will graduate 70,000 engineers this year. India will graduate 350,000 engineers, while China will graduate 600,000. We are quickly losing our advantage in university research, and those students at the Indian Institute of Technology won't hesitate to step forward if we fall into second place.

While the rising global competition presents very real dangers to the future of American prosperity, it also provides opportunities to partner with other nations in a global economy, to open new markets to American goods, and to prove once again that American workers and America's entrepreneurial spirit can compete against the best and brightest across the globe.

While on our trip to India, we announced more than $100 million in new investments in Virginia's economy -- the first evidence of global cooperation building a better life here at home.

There is no question in my mind now that if we don't commit ourselves to prepare for this new global challenge, we will be left behind. No longer do the barriers of oceans and mountains separate our countries.

We are connected by a mere touch of a button. Internet service is readily available in the hotel lobbies of Bombay and the rural villages of southern India -- all connected, all wired and all competing in one global economy. India and other nations have laid down the gauntlet in the fight for leadership in this global competition, and America must respond.