We need more American scientists and engineers

OPINION:

During the American Revolution, an aging Benjamin Franklin looked towards the future with both optimism and melancholy.

“The rapid progress true science now makes, occasions my regretting sometimes that I was born so soon,” he wrote in 1780. “It is impossible to imagine the height to which may be carried, in a thousand years.”

He might have added that the driver of those great discoveries would be the imaginations of free men and women. By Americans. And his time frame, as it turned out, was conservative.

In the two-and-a-half centuries since he lived, Dr. Franklin’s countrymen have eradicated previously incurable disease, split the atom, traveled the skies and into space, and allowed the immediate transmission of information through the internet and global digital networks.

A large driver of these and other innovations is American ingenuity. Our world-class universities have trained generations of the brightest minds, while our free enterprise system has given them the opportunity create and build here.

There is no guarantee, though, that future breakthroughs will continue to be made by our citizens. Nor can we assume America will always lead in global innovation.

Competitors such as China are making major investments in their own scientific workforces, while temporary visa holders now earn a large share of U.S. STEM doctorates, including majorities in several critical fields like engineering. These trends coincide with a global race to develop emerging technologies that will prove essential to economic prosperity and national security, including AI, quantum science, biotechnology, and semiconductors.

Yet the United States enters this competition with a growing workforce challenge. Shortages of American scientists and engineers in critical fields could slow innovation, weaken our industrial base, and make it harder to compete with the Chinese Communist Party. And while international students make important contributions to our economy, the United States should not rely so heavily on other countries to supply the talent our economic strength and national security depend on. If we want America to lead in critical technologies, we must prioritize and invest in our own citizens.

To address this challenge, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and I have introduced the Promoting High-skilled Doctoral Talent (PHD Talent) Act, which will create direct pathways for American students to earn Ph.D.’s in critical technology fields by supporting accelerated bachelor’s-to-doctoral programs.

Our bill will also strengthen partnerships between universities, National Labs, and industry so students gain hands-on research experience and graduate ready to contribute to America’s innovation economy. Taxpayer-funded student support under this program is reserved for American citizens, U.S. nationals, and lawful permanent residents, ensuring federal resources are focused on our domestic STEM workforce. By reducing the time it takes to earn a STEM Ph.D., the bill will enable more highly skilled researchers to enter the workforce sooner, while still maintaining high academic standards.

President Donald Trump has set a goal of rebuilding America’s scientific workforce, investing in the next generation of researchers, and winning the technology race with China. His administration’s Genesis Mission is already bringing together AI, advanced computing, and National Lab resources to accelerate American discovery. The PHD Talent Act complements those efforts by building a deeper bench of American scientists and engineers prepared to carry that work forward.

It is critical that we provide American students a clearer path to advanced degrees and the confidence that the federal government is prepared to invest in their potential. To do so, Congress should pass the PHD Talent Act.

• Sen. Todd Young is the senior U.S. Senator from Indiana. He serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Finance; Commerce, Science & Transportation; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.