PEABODY – As a senior member of the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney was quick to seize the value of three bills voted on by the House this week.All three bills were focused on addressing what Democrats have dubbed the Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness.Tierney, a Salem Democrat and longtime proponent of workforce training and higher education, elaborated on his views at a forum on graduate education and American competitiveness. The event, hosted by the Council of Graduate Schools, was held earlier this week at the Library of Congress.”We must take bold steps now to ensure that American students and workers are prepared for careers of the future and to better equip our nation to compete in the global economy,” said Tierney, reiterating that education initiatives are important to supporting the nation’s future workforce. “To build a prosperous economy, with high-paying jobs and a high standard of living, we need to support vigorous instructional and learning enterprises. A world- class workforce is the natural by-product of world-class education.”The congressman supported the bills that he deemed critical toward creating a sustained financial and intellectual investment in innovation. Among the bills voted were the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act, which takes steps to place highly-qualified teachers in math, science and technology K-12 classrooms.Another bill, the Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act, is designed to increase support for long-term scientific research, and to encourage young scientists and researchers to pursue high-risk and high-reward research.The third bill, the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007, is meant to strengthen access to capital programs for small businesses, offering them the tools for success.The Council of Graduate Schools addressed by the congressman is the only national organization dedicated to the improvement and advancement of graduate education. Its members are over 475 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada engaged in research, scholarship and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. These member institutions annually award more than 90 percent of all doctorates and 75 percent of all master’s degrees in the U.S.