STEM Opportunities Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2528 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 15, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Tech- nology Policy to carry out programs and activities to ensure that Federal science agencies and institutions of higher education receiving Federal research and develop- ment funding are fully engaging their entire talent pool, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 2528 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; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘STEM Opportunities 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; findings. Sec. 2. Purposes. Sec. 3. Federal science agency policies for caregivers. Sec. 4. Collection and reporting of data on Federal research grants. Sec. 5. Policies for review of Federal research grants. Sec. 6. Collection of data on demographics of faculty. Sec. 7. Cultural and institutional barriers to expanding the academic and Fed- eral STEM workforce. Sec. 8. Research and dissemination at the National Science Foundation. Sec. 9. Research and related activities to expand STEM opportunities. Sec. 10. Tribal Colleges and Universities Program. Sec. 11. Report to Congress. Sec. 12. Merit review. Sec. 13. Definitions. (c) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Many reports over the past decade have 9 found that it is critical to our Nation’s economic 10 leadership and global competitiveness that the 11 United States educates and trains more scientists 12 and engineers. 13 (2) Research shows that women and minorities 14 who are interested in STEM careers are dispropor- 15 tionately lost at nearly every educational transition 16 and at every career milestone. 17 (3) The National Center for Science and Engi- 18 neering Statistics at the National Science Founda- 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 2528 RFS tion collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes data 1 on the demographics of STEM degrees and STEM 2 jobs in the United States. 3 (4) Women now earn nearly 37 percent of all 4 STEM bachelor’s degrees, but major variations per- 5 sist among fields. In 2017, women earned only 20 6 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in engi- 7 neering and 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees award- 8 ed in computer sciences. Based on Bureau of Labor 9 Statistics data, jobs in computing occupations are 10 expected to account for nearly 60 percent of the pro- 11 jected annual growth of newly created STEM job 12 openings from 2016 to 2026. 13 (5) In 2017, underrepresented minority groups 14 comprised 39 percent of the college-age population 15 of the United States, but only 18 percent of stu- 16 dents who earned bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields. 17 The Higher Education Research Institute at the 18 University of California, Los Angeles, found that, 19 while freshmen from underrepresented minority 20 groups express an interest in pursuing a STEM un- 21 dergraduate degree at the same rate as all other 22 freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 23 percent of African-American students, and 18.8 per- 24 cent of Native American students studying in STEM 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 2528 RFS fields complete their degree within 5 years, com- 1 pared to approximately 33 percent of White students 2 and 42 percent of Asian students who complete their 3 degree within 5 years. 4 (6) In some STEM fields, including the com- 5 puter sciences, women persist at about the same rate 6 through doctorate degrees. In other STEM fields, 7 women persist through doctorate degrees at a lower 8 rate. In mathematics, women earn just 26 percent of 9 doctorate degrees compared with 42 percent of un- 10 dergraduate degrees. Overall, women earned 38 per- 11 cent of STEM doctorate degrees in 2016. The rate 12 of minority students earning STEM doctorate de- 13 grees in physics is 9 percent, compared with 15 per- 14 cent for bachelor’s degree. Students from underrep- 15 resented minority groups accounted for only 11.5 16 percent of STEM doctorate degrees awarded in 17 2016. 18 (7) The representation of women in STEM 19 drops significantly from the doctorate degree level to 20 the faculty level. Overall, women hold only 26 per- 21 cent of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 27 22 percent of full professor positions in STEM fields in 23 our Nation’s universities and 4-year colleges. Black 24 and Hispanic faculty together hold about 6.8 percent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 2528 RFS of all tenured and tenure-track positions and 7.5 1 percent of full professor positions. Many of the num- 2 bers in the American Indian or Alaskan Native and 3 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander cat- 4 egories for different faculty ranks were too small for 5 the National Science Foundation to report publicly 6 without potentially compromising confidential infor- 7 mation about the individuals being surveyed. 8 (8) The representation of women is especially 9 low at our Nation’s top research universities. Even 10 in the biological sciences, in which women now earn 11 more than 50 percent of the doctorates and passed 12 the 25 percent level 37 years ago, women make up 13 only 25 percent of the full professors at the approxi- 14 mately 100 most research-intensive universities in 15 the United States. In the physical sciences and 16 mathematics, women make up only 11 percent of full 17 professors, in computer sciences only 10 percent, 18 and across engineering fields only 7 percent. The 19 data suggest that approximately 6 percent of all ten- 20 ure-track STEM faculty members at the most re- 21 search-intensive universities are from underrep- 22 resented minority groups, but in some fields the 23 numbers are too small to report publicly. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 2528 RFS (9) By 2050, underrepresented minorities will 1 comprise 52 percent of the college-age population of 2 the United States. If the percentage of female stu- 3 dents and students from underrepresented minority 4 groups earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields 5 does not significantly increase, the United States 6 will face an acute shortfall in the overall number of 7 students who earn degrees in STEM fields just as 8 United States companies are increasingly seeking 9 students with those skills. With this impending 10 shortfall, the United States will almost certainly lose 11 its competitive edge in the 21st century global econ- 12 omy. 13 (10) According to a 2014 Association for 14 Women in Science survey of over 4,000 scientists 15 across the globe, 70 percent of whom were men, 16 STEM researchers face significant challenges in 17 work-life integration. Researchers in the United 18 States were among the most likely to experience a 19 conflict between work and their personal life at least 20 weekly. One-third of researchers surveyed said that 21 ensuring good work-life integration has negatively 22 impacted their careers, and, of researchers intending 23 to leave their current job within the next year, 9 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 2528 RFS percent indicated it was because they were unable to 1 balance work and life demands. 2 (11) Female students and students from under- 3 represented minority groups at institutions of higher 4 education who see few others ‘‘like themselves’’ 5 among faculty and student populations often do not 6 experience the social integration that is necessary for 7 success in all disciplines, including STEM. 8 (12) One in five children in the United States 9 attend school in a rural community. The data shows 10 that rural students are at a disadvantage with re- 11 spect to STEM readiness. Among STEM-interested 12 students, 17 percent of students in rural high 13 schools and 18 percent of students in town-located 14 high schools meet the ACT STEM Benchmark, com- 15 pared with 33 percent of students in suburban high 16 schools and 27 percent of students in urban high 17 schools. 18 (13) A substantial body of evidence establishes 19 that most people hold implicit biases. Decades of 20 cognitive psychology research reveal that most peo- 21 ple carry prejudices of which they are unaware but 22 that nonetheless play a large role in evaluations of 23 people and their work. Unintentional biases and out- 24 moded institutional structures are hindering the ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 2528 RFS cess and advancement of women, minorities, and 1 other groups historically underrepresented in STEM. 2 (14) Workshops held to educate faculty about 3 unintentional biases have demonstrated success in 4 raising awareness of such biases. 5 (15) In 2012, the Office of Diversity and Equal 6 Opportunity of the National Aeronautics and Space 7 Administration (in this Act referred to as ‘‘NASA’’) 8 completed a report that— 9 (A) is specifically designed to help NASA 10 grant recipients identify why the dearth of 11 women in STEM fields continues and to ensure 12 that it is not due to discrimination; and 13 (B) provides guidance that is usable by all 14 institutions of higher education receiving sig- 15 nificant Federal research funding on how to 16 conduct meaningful self-evaluations of campus 17 culture and policies. 18 (16) The Federal Government provides 55 per- 19 cent of research funding at institutions of higher 20 education and, through its grant-making policies, 21 has had significant influence on institution of higher 22 education policies, including policies related to insti- 23 tutional culture and structure. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 2528 RFS SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 2 (1) To ensure that Federal science agencies and 3 institutions of higher education receiving Federal re- 4 search and development funding are fully engaging 5 the entire talent pool of the United States. 6 (2) To promote research on, and increase un- 7 derstanding of, the participation and trajectories of 8 women, minorities, and other groups historically 9 underrepresented in STEM studies and careers, in- 10 cluding persons with disabilities, older learners, vet- 11 erans, and rural, poor, and tribal populations, at in- 12 stitutions of higher education and Federal science 13 agencies, including Federal laboratories. 14 (3) To raise awareness within Federal science 15 agencies, including Federal laboratories, and institu- 16 tions of higher education about cultural and institu- 17 tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 18 promotion, and other indicators of participation and 19 achievement of women, minorities, and other groups 20 historically underrepresented in academic and Gov- 21 ernment STEM research careers at all levels. 22 (4) To identify, disseminate, and implement 23 best practices at Federal science agencies, including 24 Federal laboratories, and at institutions of higher 25 education to remove or reduce cultural and institu- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 2528 RFS tional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, 1 and success of women, minorities, and other groups 2 historically underrepresented in academic and Gov- 3 ernment STEM research careers. 4 (5) To provide grants to institutions of higher 5 education to recruit, retain, and advance STEM fac- 6 ulty members from underrepresented minority 7 groups and to implement or expand reforms in un- 8 dergraduate STEM education in order to increase 9 the number of students from underrepresented mi- 10 nority groups receiving degrees in these fields. 11 SEC. 3. FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY POLICIES FOR CARE- 12 GIVERS. 13 (a) OSTP GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in 15 consultation with relevant agencies, shall provide guidance 16 to each Federal science agency to establish policies that— 17 (1) apply to all— 18 (A) research awards granted by such agen- 19 cy; and 20 (B) principal investigators of such research 21 who have caregiving responsibilities, including 22 care for a newborn or newly adopted child and 23 care for an immediate family member who is 24 sick or disabled; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 2528 RFS (2) provide— 1 (A) flexibility in timing for the initiation of 2 approved research awards granted by such 3 agency; 4 (B) no-cost extensions of such research 5 awards; 6 (C) grant supplements, as appropriate, to 7 research awards for research technicians or 8 equivalent positions to sustain research activi- 9 ties conducted under such awards; and 10 (D) any other appropriate accommodations 11 at the discretion of the director of each such 12 agency. 13 (b) UNIFORMITY OF GUIDANCE.—In providing guid- 14 ance under subsection (a), the Director shall encourage 15 uniformity and consistency in the policies established pur- 16 suant to such guidance across all Federal science agencies. 17 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICIES.—Consistent with 18 the guidance under subsection (a), Federal science agen- 19 cies shall— 20 (1) maintain or develop and implement policies 21 for individuals described in paragraph (1)(B) of 22 such subsection; and 23 (2) broadly disseminate such policies to current 24 and potential grantees. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Oct 15, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2528.RFS H2528 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 2528 RFS (d) DATA ON US [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]