Immigration and education policy experts gathered on Capitol Hill today to address the impact of policies related to U.S. medical innovation. The briefing, titled Education & Immigration: The Building Blocks of Innovation, was sponsored by the Council for American Medical Innovation as the first in a three-part series, Recovery Through Discovery, which examines medical innovation as a driver of U.S. economic recovery and enhanced global leadership in science.
"Education and immigration are among the most fundamental policy areas related to maintaining U.S. leadership in science and discovery," said Debra Lappin, president of the Council for American Medical Innovation. "Training the next generation of scientists is an important part of our economic recovery, as is attracting and retaining talented innovators from around the world. The Council for American Medical Innovation is committed to understanding and supporting education and immigration policies that will keep the wheels of innovation turning, and keep the U.S. competitive."
There is a "reverse brain drain" happening in United States medical innovation. Skilled scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers are being turned away by U.S. immigration policies. They are among the more than one million skilled immigrant workers who are competing for 120,000 permanent U.S. resident visas each year, creating a sizeable imbalance and a situation where skilled workers return to their home country.
Simultaneously, the American education system is facing a math and science crisis. While the U.S. is one of the world leaders in education investment, American elementary and secondary students continue to fall behind students in other developed countries. Only 39% of U.S. fourth graders and 31% of U.S. eighth graders tested at or above the proficient level in an international math test in 2007.
The Council for American Medical Innovation came together this year, its members sharing a common goal of adopting and promoting a national policy agenda aimed at preserving U.S. leadership in medical innovation. As part of its national agenda, the Council is advocating for policy improvements that will ensure an increasingly skilled and trained work force in the United States - including: