Bill Frist has been touting
SMART grants at colleges. The purpose of these grants are for "national security", but Frist says publically they are to make America competitive with China and India.
With the "reform" of Pell grants, SMART grants look like a "smart" way to funnel students into military and defense jobs.
More on the flip.
A friend connected the dots for me. What follows is a combo of our discussion on this issue.
Frist came to our university and said:
"(SMART Grants are) paid for by deficiencies that are gained in the education spending around the country," Frist explained after the meeting. "By getting more value out of each dollar invested, we are able to get about $3 billion to the SMART Grant program."
The SMART grant bill was introduced by Senator Frist on December 19, 2005, and amended into the Deficit Reduction Act without Senate debate. George W. Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act on February 8, 2006, authorizing $3 billion for SMART grants.
The purpose of the SMART grants is "national security." The bill specifies that eligible students must be pursuing a major in physical, life, computer sciences, mathematics, technology or engineering "as determined by the Secretary pursuant to regulations" OR a foreign language that the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, determines is critical to the national security.
Senator Frist has been saying that the SMART grants are important to stay competitive with India and China, yet he does not mention that they are tied to national security.
I helped create SMART Grants to help bright students from all backgrounds to learn the skills most vital to our country. The future of our nation's global leadership depends on America's ability to produce more graduates with degrees in science and engineering. Once they understand it, I believe that America's great colleges and universities will welcome the SMART Grant program with open arms.
From 2001 to 2004, George W. Bush continually cut the maximum amount of Pell grants making them the weakest in 30 years. The Pell grants are not tied to increasing student enrollment in studies that are critical to "national security." They are based on need.
Is Bush's reduction in Pell grants part of a greater plan to fund SMART grants that will direct poor students to military or other government service? Military recruitment is down, and this new grant program looks to be a trick to snare more unsuspecting fresh bodies. Or, might the intended recipients actually be pre-chosen students who already favor curricula that meet "national security" requirements?
Although it sounds diabolical, it might explain why criteria based on "need" was eliminated from SMART grants yet remain in the devalued Pell grants. Furthermore, Senator Frist says that his new grants will provide money on top of Pell grants. But Pell grants were reduced, and unless a student's course of study meets national security criteria, that is a joke.
Could this be a new strategy to entice poorer students across our nation into the military or other national defense service without talking about a draft?
Although these are grants, are any strings attached? Is education money being siphoned off for military recruitment?