America has updated its competitiveness strategy

The America Competes legislation recently signed into law includes a provision I authored to require the preparation of an updated national competitiveness and innovation strategy - its first update since 1978.

Every other country in the industrialized world has figured out what works and what doesn't in support of their national goals. China, for instance, set a goal of filing 2 million patents by 2015, easily surpassing the 456,000 patents filed in the United States this year.

In today's tight budget environment, and with increased global competition, the United States must be smart about how we compete - and ultimately win - in today's global marketplace.

We should look at our economic infrastructure the same way President Dwight Eisenhower looked to strengthen our physical infrastructure more than 60 years ago by creating a national interstate highway system.

Broadband is the new highway for our economy, bridging time and distance, so access to reliable broadband service is no longer a luxury, especially for rural America.

In addition, our schools and workforce training programs must be updated to reflect this new reality: America's value-add in the 21st century will not be based on the strength of our backs, but on the power of our strategic vision and innovative creations.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, was elected to the Senate from Virginia in 2008.

This article appeared on page A - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle