Research Excellence through STEM Inclusion Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3809 To direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a Chief Diversity Officer position and to develop a strategic plan to ensure participation in NSF activities by a diverse group of learners, research- ers, and institutions. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2021 Mr. BOWMAN (for himself, Mrs. KIM of California, and Mr. KHANNA) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To direct the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a Chief Diversity Officer position and to develop a strategic plan to ensure participation in NSF activities by a diverse group of learners, researchers, and institutions. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Research Excellence 4 through STEM Inclusion Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER OF THE NSF. 6 (a) CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:22 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3809.IH H3809 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3809 IH (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall appoint 1 a senior agency official within the Office of the Di- 2 rector as a Chief Diversity Officer. 3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Diversity Of- 4 ficer shall have significant experience, within the 5 Federal Government and the science community, 6 with diversity- and inclusion-related matters, includ- 7 ing— 8 (A) civil rights compliance; 9 (B) harassment policy, reviews, and inves- 10 tigations; 11 (C) equal employment opportunity; and 12 (D) disability policy. 13 (3) OVERSIGHT.—The Chief Diversity Officer 14 shall direct the Office of Diversity and Inclusion of 15 the Foundation and report directly to the Director 16 in the performance of the duties of the Chief Diver- 17 sity Officer under this section. 18 (b) DUTIES.—The Chief Diversity Officer is respon- 19 sible for providing advice on policy, oversight, guidance, 20 and coordination with respect to matters of the Founda- 21 tion related to diversity and inclusion, including ensuring 22 the geographic diversity of the Foundation programs. 23 Other duties may include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:22 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3809.IH H3809 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3809 IH (1) establishing and maintaining a strategic 1 plan that publicly states a diversity definition, vision, 2 and goals for the Foundation; 3 (2) defining a set of strategic metrics that 4 are— 5 (A) directly linked to key organizational 6 priorities and goals; 7 (B) actionable; and 8 (C) actively used to implement the stra- 9 tegic plan under paragraph (1); 10 (3) advising in the establishment of a strategic 11 plan for diverse participation by individuals and in- 12 stitutions of higher education, including community 13 colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, 14 Tribal colleges or universities, minority-serving insti- 15 tutions, institutions of higher education with an es- 16 tablished STEM capacity building program focused 17 on traditionally underrepresented populations in 18 STEM, including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, 19 and Indians, and institutions from jurisdictions eligi- 20 ble to participate under section 113 of the National 21 Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 (42 22 U.S.C. 1862g); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:22 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3809.IH H3809 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3809 IH (4) advising in the establishment of a strategic 1 plan for outreach to, and recruiting from, untapped 2 locations and underrepresented populations; 3 (5) advising on a diversity and inclusion strat- 4 egy for the Foundation’s portfolio of PreK–12 5 STEM education focused programs and activities, 6 including goals for addressing barriers to participa- 7 tion; 8 (6) advising on the application of the Founda- 9 tion’s broader impacts review criterion; and 10 (7) performing such additional duties and exer- 11 cise such powers as the Director may prescribe. 12 (c) FUNDING.—From any amounts appropriated for 13 the Foundation for each of fiscal years 2022 through 14 2026, the Director shall allocate $5,000,000 to carry out 15 this section for each such year. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:22 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3809.IH H3809 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS