Business Issues at the Center of Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's Address to Region's Technology Business Executives at NVTC Presidential Series Breakfast
Herndon, VA, April 18, 2007 - Business issues affecting the technology industry were at the center of Governor Mitt Romney's keynote address before 411 executives at the Northern Virginia Technology Council's (NVTC) Presidential Series Breakfast this morning. The speech was Romney's first in the Commonwealth of Virginia during his campaign for the Republican nomination for President.To keep the United States innovative and competitive in the global economy, Romney said that investment in technology must be more robust. "I am concerned that we are disinvesting in technology," he said. Romney commented that, for the first time last year, U.S. corporations spent more money defending tort claims than on research and development. "How are you going to lead the world in innovation and technology if you are spending more money on tort claims than you are on research and development?" he questioned.
The nation's dependency on foreign oil sources must be decreased for the United States to remain competitive, according to Romney. "It makes no sense to me for this country with our capabilities, with our resources and with our technology to send $1 billion a day out of our economy to go to other countries to buy oil, some of whom are using that very money against us. We could be energy independent," he said to a loud round of applause from the audience. Romney later commented that all alternative energy sources must be explored and that energy is a "strategic imperative" for the United States.
Romney also stated that the nation's school systems need immediate attention, specifically regarding math and science education. Romney said that "the scores that compare our schools to OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] nations show our kids in math and science in the bottom 25 percent. I don't see how you can continue to lead the world indefinitely if the people ... develop[ing] the products are getting an education that is inferior." To help ensure the nation's future global competitiveness, the United States must offer solid educational opportunities for the brightest students, including instituting merit-based scholarships similar to the program he established in Massachusetts while governor and creating schools for students with demonstrated advanced academic performance, Romney said.
In addition, the United States must take "the emergence of Asia as a new competitor" very seriously, particularly since the number of knowledge workers across Asia is increasing, while the number in the United States is shrinking. "Fifteen years ago, all of Asia combined graduated the same number of PhDs as we did in math and physical science-roughly about 4,700 a year," Romney said. "We dropped to 4,400. They have gone to 24,900."
Likewise, the U.S. immigration system needs to be streamlined to encourage the valuable knowledge workers from around the world to come, work and stay in the United States, according to Romney. Today, "we have an immigration system that is completely broken in many respects," he said. The United States is "now in a global competitive battle ... we need all the brainpower and skill we can possibly muster" to remain at the top economically.
NVTC has extended invitations to Democratic and Republican presidential candidates to address the region's technology community at future NVTC Presidential Series events. The series began informally with Senator John McCain's NVTC Titans Breakfast speech in September 2006.
For more information on upcoming NVTC events, visit www.nvtc.org/events.
