Obama lauds Intel education funding

HILLSBORO, Ore. – President Barack Obama praised Intel’s commitment to education in Oregon during a visit to the manufacturer’s Hillsboro plant on Friday.

The president said Intel has invested $50 million in Oregon schools over the last decade and started programs to get children interested in science and technology as early as elementary school.

Speaking to a friendly but subdued crowd, Obama also highlighted the work of Nabil Mistkawi, an Intel scientist in Hillsboro who found a solution to a problem that had vexed engineers for months. Mistkawi found the solution in just three days drawing on knowledge from his doctoral studies at Portland State University.

“An investment in education paid off in a big way,” Obama said. “For Nabil. For Intel. For the millions of workers and consumers who benefited from that discovery.”

Before speaking to the crowd of 350 Intel workers, politicians and other dignitaries, Obama met with three boys from the Beaverton-Hillsboro Science Expo and six girls from Robert Gray Middle School who are members of Intel’s First Lego Robotics Team.

Obama said during his State of the Union address that science fair winners should be celebrated as much as Super Bowl winners. “They deserve our applause and our praise, and they make me optimistic about America’s future,” Obama said.

Oregon Republican Party Chairman Allen Alley said he’s “thrilled” Obama chose to come to Oregon, but he said Obama’s agenda spends too much money.

“The president and our federal and state leaders must commit to real reform now, or all the future promise of science and technology will be smothered by the debts we heap upon our young entrepreneurs,” Alley said.

Gov. John Kitzhaber spoke very briefly with the president before his speech. He told the Associated Press he brought up three issues: funding for a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River, waivers needed from the federal government to implement the governor’s health care agenda, and timber payments for rural counties.

Kitzhaber said the president’s visit is “just what we need right now” because it shines a spotlight on the state’s high-tech industry at a time when Oregon is trying to lure high-salary jobs.

Officials in Oregon and Washington have been trying for years to secure funding from the federal government and other sources to build a new bridge connecting the two states across the Columbia River. The existing bridge is too small and causes vehicle backups, especially during rush hour when residents of southwest Washington commute between their homes and jobs in the Portland area.