Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 36 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 24, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To provide for research to better understand the causes and consequences of sexual harassment affecting individ- uals in the scientific, technical, engineering, and mathe- matics workforce and to examine policies to reduce the prevalence and negative impact of such harassment, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 36 RFS 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Research grants. Sec. 5. Data collection. Sec. 6. Responsible conduct guide. Sec. 7. Interagency working group. Sec. 8. National academies assessment. Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 8 Congress makes the following findings: 9 (1) According to the report issued by the Na- 10 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med- 11 icine in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 12 Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Aca- 13 demic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’— 14 (A) sexual harassment is pervasive in insti- 15 tutions of higher education; 16 (B) the most common type of sexual har- 17 assment is gender harassment, which includes 18 verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey in- 19 sulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes about 20 members of one gender; 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 36 RFS (C) 58 percent of individuals in the aca- 1 demic workplace experience sexual harassment, 2 the second highest rate when compared to the 3 military, the private sector, and Federal, State, 4 and local government; 5 (D) women who are members of racial or 6 ethnic minority groups are more likely to expe- 7 rience sexual harassment and to feel unsafe at 8 work than White women, White men, or men 9 who are members of such groups; 10 (E) the training for each individual who 11 has a doctor of philosophy in the science, tech- 12 nology, engineering, and mathematics fields is 13 estimated to cost approximately $500,000; and 14 (F) attrition of an individual so trained re- 15 sults in a loss of talent and money. 16 (2) Sexual harassment undermines career ad- 17 vancement for women. 18 (3) According to a 2017 University of Illinois 19 study, among astronomers and planetary scientists, 20 18 percent of women who are members of racial or 21 ethnic minority groups and 12 percent of White 22 women skipped professional events because they did 23 not feel safe attending. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 36 RFS (4) Many women report leaving employment at 1 institutions of higher education due to sexual har- 2 assment. 3 (5) Research shows the majority of individuals 4 do not formally report experiences of sexual harass- 5 ment due to a justified fear of retaliation or other 6 negative professional or personal consequences. 7 (6) Reporting procedures with respect to such 8 harassment are inconsistent among Federal science 9 agencies and have varying degrees of accessibility. 10 (7) There is not adequate communication 11 among Federal science agencies and between such 12 agencies and grantees regarding reports of sexual 13 harassment, which has resulted in harassers receiv- 14 ing Federal funding after moving to a different in- 15 stitution. 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Academies’’ 19 means the National Academies of Sciences, Engi- 20 neering, and Medicine. 21 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 22 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 23 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 24 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 36 RFS with an annual extramural research expenditure of 1 over $100,000,000. 2 (4) FINDING OR DETERMINATION.—The term 3 ‘‘finding or determination’’ means the final disposi- 4 tion of a matter involving a violation of organiza- 5 tional policies and processes, to include the exhaus- 6 tion of permissible appeals, or a conviction of a sex- 7 ual offense in a criminal court of law. 8 (5) GENDER HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘gender 9 harassment’’ means verbal and nonverbal behaviors 10 that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or 11 second-class status about one’s gender, gender iden- 12 tity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, or preg- 13 nancy status. 14 (6) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means the 15 legal entity to which a grant is awarded and that is 16 accountable to the Federal Government for the use 17 of the funds provided. 18 (7) GRANT PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘grant per- 19 sonnel’’ means principal investigators, co-principal 20 investigators, postdoctoral researchers and other em- 21 ployees supported by a grant award, cooperative 22 agreement, or contract under Federal law. 23 (8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 24 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 36 RFS meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 1 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 2 (9) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 3 harassment’’ means conduct that encompasses— 4 (A) unwelcome sexual advances; 5 (B) unwanted physical contact that is sex- 6 ual in nature, including assault; 7 (C) unwanted sexual attention, including 8 sexual comments and propositions for sexual ac- 9 tivity; 10 (D) conditioning professional or edu- 11 cational benefits on sexual activity; and 12 (E) retaliation for rejecting unwanted sex- 13 ual attention. 14 (10) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means 15 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 16 including computer science. 17 SEC. 4. RESEARCH GRANTS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish a pro- 19 gram to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institu- 20 tions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or 21 consortia of such institutions or organizations)— 22 (1) to expand research efforts to better under- 23 stand the factors contributing to, and consequences 24 of, sexual harassment and gender harassment affect- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 36 RFS ing individuals in the STEM workforce, including 1 students and trainees; and 2 (2) to examine interventions to reduce the inci- 3 dence and negative consequences of such harass- 4 ment. 5 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities funded by a grant 6 under this section may include— 7 (1) research on the sexual harassment and gen- 8 der harassment experiences of individuals in under- 9 represented or vulnerable groups, including racial 10 and ethnic minority groups, disabled individuals, for- 11 eign nationals, sexual- and gender-minority individ- 12 uals, and others; 13 (2) development and assessment of policies, 14 procedures, trainings, and interventions, with respect 15 to sexual harassment and gender harassment, con- 16 flict management, and ways to foster respectful and 17 inclusive climates; 18 (3) research on approaches for remediating the 19 negative impacts and outcomes of such harassment 20 on individuals experiencing such harassment; 21 (4) support for institutions of higher education 22 to develop, adapt, and assess the impact of innova- 23 tive, evidence-based strategies, policies, and ap- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 36 RFS proaches to policy implementation to prevent and 1 address sexual harassment and gender harassment; 2 (5) research on alternatives to the hierarchical 3 and dependent relationships, including but not lim- 4 ited to the mentor-mentee relationship, in academia 5 that have been shown to create higher levels of risk 6 for sexual harassment and gender harassment; and 7 (6) establishing a center for the ongoing com- 8 pilation, management, and analysis of campus cli- 9 mate survey data. 10 SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION. 11 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 12 of this Act, the Director shall convene a working group 13 composed of representatives of Federal statistical agen- 14 cies— 15 (1) to develop questions on sexual harassment 16 and gender harassment in STEM departments to 17 gather national data on the prevalence, nature, and 18 implications of sexual harassment and gender har- 19 assment in institutions of higher education; and 20 (2) to include such questions as appropriate, 21 with sufficient protections of the privacy of respond- 22 ents, in relevant surveys conducted by the National 23 Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and 24 other relevant entities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 36 RFS SEC. 6. RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT GUIDE. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 2 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into 3 an agreement with the Academies to update the report en- 4 titled ‘‘On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Con- 5 duct in Research’’ issued by the Academies. The report, 6 as so updated, shall include— 7 (1) updated professional standards of conduct 8 in research; 9 (2) standards of treatment individuals can ex- 10 pect to receive under such updated standards of con- 11 duct; 12 (3) evidence-based practices for fostering a cli- 13 mate intolerant of sexual harassment and gender 14 harassment; 15 (4) methods, including bystander intervention, 16 for identifying and addressing incidents of sexual 17 harassment and gender harassment; and 18 (5) professional standards for mentorship and 19 teaching with an emphasis on preventing sexual har- 20 assment and gender harassment. 21 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In updating the report 22 under subsection (a), the Academies shall take into ac- 23 count recommendations made in the report issued by the 24 Academies in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 25 Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 36 RFS Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’ and other relevant 1 studies and evidence. 2 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the ef- 3 fective date of the contract under subsection (a), the Acad- 4 emies, as part of such agreement, shall submit to the Di- 5 rector and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 6 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 7 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 8 the report referred to in such subsection, as updated pur- 9 suant to such subsection. 10 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 12 Science and Technology Policy, acting through the Na- 13 tional Science and Technology Council, shall establish an 14 interagency working group for the purpose of coordinating 15 Federal science agency efforts to reduce the prevalence of 16 sexual harassment and gender harassment involving grant 17 personnel. The working group shall be chaired by the Di- 18 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (or 19 the Director’s designee) and shall include a representative 20 from each Federal science agency with annual extramural 21 research expenditures totaling over $1,000,000,000, a rep- 22 resentative from the Department of Education, and a rep- 23 resentative from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity 24 Commission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 36 RFS (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF WORKING GROUP.—The 1 interagency working group established under subsection 2 (a) shall coordinate Federal science agency efforts to im- 3 plement the policy guidelines developed under subsection 4 (c)(2). 5 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OSTP.—The Director of 6 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— 7 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of the 8 enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on 9 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 10 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate an inven- 12 tory of policies, procedures, and resources dedicated 13 to preventing and responding to reports of sexual 14 harassment and gender harassment at Federal agen- 15 cies that provide legal definitions to which institu- 16 tions of higher education must comply; and 17 (2) not later than 6 months after the date on 18 which the inventory is submitted under paragraph 19 (1)— 20 (A) in consultation with outside stake- 21 holders and Federal science agencies, develop a 22 uniform set of policy guidelines for Federal 23 science agencies; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.RFS H36 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 36 RFS (B) submit a report to the committees re- 1 ferred to in paragraph (1) containing such 2 guidelines; 3 (3) encourage and monitor efforts of Federal 4 science agencies to develop or maintain and imple- 5 ment policies based on the guidelines developed 6 under paragraph (2), including the extent to which 7 Federal science agency policies depart from the uni- 8 form policy guidelines; 9 (4) not later than 1 year after the date on 10 which the inventory under paragraph (1) is sub- 11 mitted, and every 5 years thereafter, the Director of 12 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall re- 13 port to Congress on the implementation by Federal 14 science agencies of the policy guidelines developed 15 under paragraph (2); and 16 (5) update such policy guidelines as needed. 17 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing policy guidelines 18 under subsection [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]