U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is proposing several ways to rebuild New York's economy by encouraging students to study math and science while providing incentives for employers to create more well-paying jobs.
Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Tuesday she hopes the bills are included in two laws that could go before the Senate next year. While her office has yet to sum up the cost of the bills, they are worth the investment, she said.
"Investments in education are some of the wisest investments you can make for the U.S. economy," Gillibrand told reporters during a conference call.
Gillibrand pointed to the difference in the median income of a person with a bachelor's degree and one with a high school degree. For instance, in Warren County, a person with at least a bachelor's degree earns a median salary of $44,000, compared to $26,000 for someone who has a high school degree, according to Gillibrand's office.
Gillibrand's plan aims to entice more people to enroll in state schools and eventually find jobs in New York.
In the Roosevelt Scholars Act, a bill Gillibrand wrote and which has received bipartisan support, someone who pursues a public job would receive full tuition at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To be eligible, students would have to concentrate on critical fields such as science, engineering, public health, information technology, foreign language and law.
Under the Undergraduate Scholarships for Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics Act, students who pursue math or science could earn up to $2,500 in scholarships per year during their last two years at a state college.
Another proposal would extend federal tax cuts of up to $4,000 on college tuition for an additional year.
Gillibrand said she's also pushing a bill that would award grants from $250,000 to $2.5 million for economic development. The funds would target areas with a cluster of development projects, such as Tech Valley in the Capital Region.
Gillibrand also proposes to fund business incubators, especially those in areas with high unemployment, and provide grants and loans to build new science parks and expand existing ones.
In addition, she wants to provide five-year grants to high schools in areas of high poverty to help them increase the number of their students who attend college.
Other proposals are designed to provide grants to school districts for the creation of engineering programs, and to encourage students to become teachers in science, technology, math or engineering by giving them tax credits to cover 10 percent of their college tuition.
On Tuesday, Gillibrand, along with other lawmakers and education Secretary Arne Duncan, held a summit in Washington D.C. where the proposals were discussed with nearly 80 presidents from New York's colleges and universities.
Ronald Heacock, president of Adirondack Community College, said the proposals would help poor students receive funding for college and give them a place to work once they earned their degrees.
Heacock, who attended the summit, said Gillibrand's plan would help colleges as they search for ways to respond to the economic crisis.
"We tried to get an incubator in the North Country, but we couldn't get the funding to keep it alive," he said.
Gillibrand hopes to include the proposals in two federal bills: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which will replace the No Child Left Behind Act; and the America Competes Act, which aims to create jobs, said Bethany Lesser, a Gillibrand spokeswoman.
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Sure someone with a bachelors would have the ability to make more money than someone with a high school deploma. That is to say if we had the jobs. People are still dealing with the pay freezes due to the ,"economy bandwagon". People moving from NY. Jobs moving from NY. What exactley makes her think that employers want to shell out more money? Those degrees are going to do a world of good in the fast food industry.
The rest of the world is racing to better educate their children in science and technology as we continue to ignore these issues. We can choose to educate our up-and-comers and compete on a world scale, or settle for third-world standards of living as we go forward. Senator Gillibrand has some good ideas here. If we choose to ignore this, the rest of the world, especially China, will simply pass us by in economic power, and all we will be able to do is watch and lament.
"In the Roosevelt Scholars Act, a bill Gillibrand wrote and which has received bipartisan support, someone who pursues a public job would receive full tuition at the undergraduate and graduate levels."
Scam to increase the numbers working for the government (and in unions) - at the taxpayer's expense.
She's desperate to "pay off' the teachers union so they will help her win this fall...problem is she insists to pay them with our money!
Look on Monster or any of the other job sites for the Capital District. You'll notice that jobs for engineers are plentiful. People with a strong technical background easily transition into business and management if they so choose. That's where the six figure salaries are, even in the GF area. These jobs are not in liberal arts. Most kids don't choose engineering because courses like calculus and thermodynamics don't sound like fun. They'd rather spend four years taking pictures and playing with clay. Then they complain when they can't make their student loan payments.
2nd attempt at a post.
As an elected official Gillibrand took an oath to uphold the US Constitution. One would think that she would have read it at some point but it obvious she has not. If she had she would have come across the Bill of Rights and the 10th amendment which reads: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people."
EDUCATION is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution and is therefore not in the feds jurisdiction.
"someone who pursues a public job would receive full tuition at the undergraduate and graduate levels."
Why am I not surprised that a liberal Dem is trying to pass legislation that would create more "high paying" government jobs?
I don't know why it's believed that having a science degree will ensure one a science field job with high pay. I have a bachelor's of science and have struggled since graduating two years ago from college to find anything in my field and at times have been unemployed. It sure does not help that the state budget influenced the cutting of a LOT of science-related jobs.
Hopefully Gillibrand is done in Nov. After the insider trading scandal she does not deserve the position.
Enough...and others,
The Preamble states a purpose "...promote the general welfare," and Art. I, Sec. 8/ 18, "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper..."
Neither you nor I get to decide what's constitutional. As it turns out, since Marbury vs. Madison (1803) the Supreme Court established its jurisdiction on constitutionality.
Turns out that the conservatives on the Court recently ruled that one's "free" speech extends to the depth of one's wallet. Perfect for the owners of power (wealth) - a disaster for the increasingly poorer working class. (The vote was 5-4 w/ liberal voices objecting to this obvious extention of the sad truth. MONEY RULES, or "Money talks, s%!+ walks.")
Prediction: The ruling class (moneyed) will contribute most to Republican "conservatives." This fall. "Obamacare," banking reform, and tax reform from Democrats will do nothing for the rich - and Joe 6-pk. will again be "swift boated," into the wrong (FOR HIM) tent.
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