dr. bob ballard. many of you may remember, dr. ballard was the famed underwater explorer who found the die titanic. dr. ballard has a real passion for children and educating the next generation. i've had the opportunity to work with dr. ballard who is now at the university of rhode island, on science education issues, and i'm grateful for his work to establish the jason project and his dedication to training and inspiring future scientists. as congress addresses today's economic challenge we must be vigilant in giving our future generations the tools they need to succeed. the gentleman from arizona noted the deficit that our country faces. well, how are we going to get out of our deficit and ensure that we are creating wealth for the future, that we are creating prosperity for our country if we don't invest in our young people if we don't investigation in our future. that's what stem -- that's what the science technology education mathematic programs do they make sure we're educating young people who are going to be the job creator