FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

SEC. 6002. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings.— The Congress finds that— (1) the relationship between a strong and vibrant educational system and a healthy national economy is inseparable in an era in which economic growth is dependent on technology and is imperiled by increased foreign competition; (2) our Nation’s once undisputed preeminence in international commerce is facing unprecedented challenges from competitor nations who have given priority to the relationship between education and economic growth in areas such as high technology industries; (3) our standing in the international marketplace is being further eroded by the presence in the workforce of millions of Americans who are functionally or technologically illiterate or who lack the mathematics, science, foreign language, or vocational skills needed to adapt to the structural changes occurring in the global economy; (4) our competitive position is also being eroded by declines in the number of students taking advanced courses in mathematics, science, and foreign languages and by the lack of102 STAT. 1470 modern technical and laboratory equipment in our educational institutions; (5) restoring our competitiveness and enhancing our productivity will require that all workers possess basic educational skills and that many others possess highly specific skills in mathematics, science, foreign languages, and vocational areas; and (6) our Nation must recognize the substantial impact that an investment in human capital will have on increasing productivity. (b) Purpose.— It is therefore the purpose of this title to establish programs designed— (1) to enhance ongoing efforts in elementary and secondary education; (2) to improve our productivity and competitive position by investing in human capital; (3) to assist out-of-school youth and adults who are functionally illiterate in obtaining the basic skills needed for them to become productive workers in a competitive economy; (4) to help educational institutions prepare those engaged in work relating to mathematics, science, and foreign languages by improving and expanding instruction in those areas and by modernizing laboratory and technical equipment; (5) to enhance the skills of workers affected, or about to be affected, by economic change, in order to prevent dislocation within existing industries and to strengthen emerging domestic industries; and (6) to accomplish such purposes without impairing the availability of funds to carry out existing programs that address the needs of dislocated workers, such as previously authorized education programs.