Bush prods Congress on training, education

TUSKEGEE, Ala. --President Bush urged Congress yesterday to pass his job training and education accountability initiatives, saying they would keep the United States ahead of economic competition from India and China.

''The way to compete in the 21st century is to make sure our children have the skills to compete," Bush said at Tuskegee University, just east of Montgomery. Otherwise, ''these jobs are going to go somewhere else."

Bush was giving his second speech in as many days to highlight what he calls his ''American competitiveness initiative," which aims to retain the United States' status as the world's biggest economic power. He plans to make the same pitch tomorrow at Cisco Systems Inc. in San Jose, Calif.

The president is requesting $5.9 billion for fiscal year 2007 to increase investment in research and development and to improve education in math and science.

Bush is to meet today with President Hu Jintao of China in Washington, D.C. In addition to pushing China to let its currency trade more freely, the United States wants China to lift trade barriers and diversify its economy to allow more US imports. It also wants Beijing to crack down on the illegal reproduction of US software and other goods.

Acknowledging that competition from nations such as India and China has created anxiety, the president has warned against a rise in protectionism.

One way to make sure the United States can compete, Bush says, is to boost the education system, particularly in math and science.

''We understand the world the way it is, and we're confident in our capacity to shape the future," Bush said. ''Withdrawing and retreating is not the right thing to do in my judgment."

At the university's Center for Aerospace and Health Education, Bush outlined his competitiveness proposal from his Jan. 31 State of the Union address. Of the $5.9 billion, $4.6 billion would be used to extend a research tax credit that benefits companies such as Microsoft Corp., based in Redmond, Wash., and Boeing Co., which is based in Chicago.

Congress has not acted on Bush's request, which will be left to appropriators when they fund government programs for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

''Increasing spending in an election year is a pretty darn easy thing to do," said Brian Reidl, a budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington policy research institution that urges restraint in government spending.