Innovation strategy plan revealed

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The White House unveiled its plan to stimulate the economy and enhance U.S. competitiveness Friday in a new report on how it hopes to push innovation.

The report, "A Strategy for American Innovation: Securing Our Economic Growth and Prosperity," updates the administration innovation report from September 2009 and outlines the importance of investing in innovation to grow the economy, create jobs and win the future, themes in President Obama's State of the Union address last week, the White House said in a release.

To "win the future," Obama said last week, the United States must "out-innovate, out-educate and out-build" the rest of the world, seeking out ideas, businesses and industry that will raise the standard of living, create quality jobs, and maintain U.S. leadership in the world economy.

The "Strategy for American Innovation" memorialized several measure Obama discussed during his State of the Union, including:

-- An initiative that would help businesses reach 98 percent of Americans with high-speed wireless access within five years.

-- Reforming the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to overcome a huge backlog and improve patent quality.

-- A commitment to clean energy leadership, including proposals that would help the United States reach a goal of delivering 80 percent of its electricity from clean sources by 2035 and the goal of 1 million advanced technology vehicles on the road by 2015.

-- New commitments to improve K-12 education, emphasizing science and math skills, including initiatives that would train 100,000 new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers in the next decade.

-- The "Startup America" initiative designed to facilitate entrepreneurship and increase the success of high-growth startups that create economic growth and quality jobs.

The "Strategy for American Innovation" also tracks progress of existing efforts, updating and extending the administration's 2009 innovation strategy document.