mr. speaker , the issue of competition is one that is lived out and dealt with daily in my congressional district , silicon valley . 
as this resolution states , high-tech industries drive economic growth around the world . 
every day my constituents tell me that the united states is falling behind our competitors in europe and asia . 
this resolution identifies some of the challenges for u.s. competitiveness . 
but this is not enough . 
the resolution is not binding . 
it does not set into motion any legislative action to address the key issues relative to competition . 
one of the top issues in silicon valley today is stock options . 
broad-based employee stock options plans drive innovation and competitiveness . 
the house overwhelmingly passed legislation i authored with rep . 
baker to protect employee stock options almost a year ago , but the administration has refused to lift a finger to get this bill through the senate and to the president 's desk . 
for many , many years the high-tech industry has begged congress to make the r & amp ; d tax credit permanent . 
it has n't happened . 
what has happened is a decline in investment and a diminishment of innovation . 
the president has said that the u.s. should have universal broadband access by 2007 . 
we 've yet to see the administration 's plan for achieving this . 
today the united states has fallen to 16th in broadband penetration , down from 4th in 2001 . 
this resolution correctly points to education as a critical issue of competitiveness , but once again this administration and the congressional majority have underfunded critical education programs . 
no child left behind is funded $ 39 billion below its promised level . 
pell grants will be eliminated for 90 , 000 college students , and an additional 1.3 million students will have their scholarships reduced this year . 
these figures do not meet the standards of a great nation serious about her technological and competitive future . 
the resolution states that energy is a major problem , yet the department of energy 's independent analysts have said that the provisions in the house energy bill will have a `` negligible '' impact on prices , production , consumption , and imports of energy . 
the administration continues to underfund critical federal research programs , flat-funding civilian research and development and reducing total federal research by $ 400 million . 
this underfunds our collective future . 
what is missing in the congress is the commitment to reshape the critical policies which will renew our nation 's competitiveness in the 21st century . 
