MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — For President Bush, Thursday was a day of prayer and Post-its.
By the time it was over, he had heard a polite pitch from rock star Bono to expand U.S. aid to the world's poor, and had made a pitch himself to expand high-tech research.
The president encountered U2's Irish frontman at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.
He then traveled here, seeking support at 3M Co. -- manufacturer of products such as Scotch tape and Post-its -- for policy initiatives built around what he is presenting as the reality of the changing global economy: that competition is coming from new corners, and that a surge in scientific education is necessary to guarantee continued U.S. leadership.
And with more high-tech jobs available in the United States than people to fill them, Bush said, the country should admit more foreigners seeking jobs in those fields.
He called for expanding the H-1B visa program -- which allows a specified number of foreign scientists and high-tech specialists to take jobs that Americans haven't filled -- a position Bush has taken since the 2000 presidential campaign, but one that he has not addressed frequently.
"There's a lot of bright engineers and chemists and physicists from other lands that are either educated here or received an education elsewhere but want to work here," Bush said to about 500 engineers, chemists and other employees.
He said Congress should "be realistic and reasonable" and raise the cap on H-1B visas.
"It's a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled in America," Bush said.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it received sufficient applications by August 2005 to meet the 2006 cap of 65,000 H1-B visas -- and that it also received enough petitions for 20,000 more for people who met specific education requirements that would allow exemption from the cap.
The president is in the midst of three days of travel -- his customary journey to politically sensitive quarters after delivering the State of the Union address -- as he seeks to boost support for the policies unveiled in the annual message.
On Wednesday, he spoke in Nashville; today, he is scheduled to speak in Albuquerque and visit a math class in Dallas. He plans to spend the weekend at his Texas ranch.
