Craig Swaisgood 0

Roosevelt Scholars Act

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We, the undersigned, would like to express our strong support for the Roosevelt Scholars Act. This important piece of legislation will better enable the federal government to recruit a new generation of leaders to fill critical positions in federal service. The Roosevelt Scholars program will help to attract top students from our nation's leading universities to solve some of the most difficult challenges facing America and the world today. There are numerous benefits to this proposal: -- Roosevelt Scholars will help government attract mission-critical talent by financing education in key fields. Roughly one-third of the government's top scientists, engineers, physicians, mathematicians, economists and other highly specialized professionals will retire in the next five years. The market for highly-skilled workers continues to tighten, and the federal government must compete with other sectors for the same, limited talent pool. -- Roosevelt Scholars will make government service possible for more Americans. Rising education costs are pricing our most talented and highly-educated citizens out of public service jobs. Tuition assistance is perhaps the most straightforward, proven instrument in the government's recruiting toolbox. -- Roosevelt Scholars will build upon a proven model of excellence from the military. A combined two-fifths of U.S. military officers are products of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and receive federal support for education in exchange for their military service. The Roosevelt Scholars program brings a similar commitment to and investment in our civilian service. -- Roosevelt Scholars will help re-brand government service. Ultimately, the Roosevelt Scholarship and the efforts of the Roosevelt Scholars Foundation will draw greater attention to the importance of federal work and restore prestige to federal service. We believe Roosevelt Scholars is an innovative initiative with exciting potential, and we urge Congress to promptly pass the Roosevelt Scholars Act.

Sponsor

The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works. The Partnership supports the Roosevelt Scholars Act, which would create a scholarship program to fund graduate-level education in mission-critical fields (e.g., engineering, information technology, foreign languages and public health, among others) in exchange for a federal service commitment. The Act would establish a small foundation to administer the scholarships of up to $60,000 per year, for a maximum of five years, for students to complete an advanced degree in high-demand, high-need fields. In return, these scholars will commit to three to five years of service in a federal government agency.

Links

http://www.ourpublicservice.org http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/governmentaffairs/rooseveltscholars.shtml
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