Four members of Congress have sent a letter asking the National Academies to appoint a national commission to identify the "top 10 actions" that Congress, state governments and others could take to strengthen the international competitive position of American research universities, saying: "We are concerned that they are at risk." The signers were Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Reps. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) and Ralph Hall (R-Texas).