SERVICE Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7156 To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a program to enhance the participation of Department of Defense contractors in science, tech- nology, engineering, and mathematics activities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2020 Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself, Ms. ESCOBAR, and Mrs. HARTZLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a pro- gram to enhance the participation of Department of De- fense contractors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities. 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 ‘‘STEM Education and 4 Recruitment by Valuing Increased Community Engage- 5 ment Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘SERVICE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7156.IH H7156 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7156 IH SEC. 2. ENHANCED PARTICIPATION OF DEPARTMENT OF 1 DEFENSE CONTRACTORS IN SCIENCE, TECH- 2 NOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS 3 ACTIVITIES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 5 (1) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Chapter 111 of title 6 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting 7 after section 2192b the following new section: 8 ‘‘§ 2192c. Program to enhance contractor participa- 9 tion in science, technology, engineering, 10 and mathematics activities 11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 12 carry out a program under which the Secretary shall seek 13 to enter into partnerships with Department of Defense 14 contractors to promote interest in careers in STEM dis- 15 ciplines. 16 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program 17 under subsection (a) are— 18 ‘‘(1) to maximize strategic partnerships between 19 institutions of higher education and private sector 20 organizations to build and strengthen communities 21 involved in STEM disciplines; 22 ‘‘(2) to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion 23 by providing access to career paths in STEM in his- 24 torically underserved and underrepresented commu- 25 nities; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7156.IH H7156 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7156 IH ‘‘(3) to encourage employers in STEM dis- 1 ciplines to establish work-based learning experiences 2 such as internships and apprenticeships. 3 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program under sub- 4 section (a), the Secretary of Defense shall seek to encour- 5 age and provide support to Department of Defense con- 6 tractors to enable such contractors to carry out activities 7 to promote interest in careers in STEM disciplines. Such 8 activities may include— 9 ‘‘(1) aiding in the development of educational 10 programs and curriculum in STEM disciplines for 11 students of elementary schools and secondary 12 schools; 13 ‘‘(2) establishing volunteer programs in elemen- 14 tary schools and secondary schools receiving assist- 15 ance under part A of title I of the Elementary and 16 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 17 et seq.) to enhance education in STEM disciplines. 18 ‘‘(3) enhancing education in STEM disciplines 19 at institutions of higher education by— 20 ‘‘(A) making personnel available to advise 21 and assist faculty at such institutions in the 22 performance of research and instruction in 23 STEM disciplines that are determined to be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7156.IH H7156 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7156 IH critical to the functions of the Department of 1 Defense; 2 ‘‘(B) awarding scholarships and fellowships 3 to students pursuing courses of study in STEM 4 disciplines; or 5 ‘‘(C) establishing cooperative work-edu- 6 cation programs in STEM disciplines for stu- 7 dents; or 8 ‘‘(4) enhancing education in STEM disciplines 9 at minority institutions by— 10 ‘‘(A) establishing partnerships between 11 offerors and such institutions for the purpose of 12 training students in STEM disciplines; 13 ‘‘(B) conducting recruitment activities at 14 such institutions; or 15 ‘‘(C) making internships or apprenticeships 16 available to students of such institutions. 17 ‘‘(d) ALLOWABILITY OF COSTS.—Activities described 18 in subsection (c) shall be considered as allowable commu- 19 nity service activities for the purposes of determining al- 20 lowability of cost on a government contract. 21 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘elementary school’ and ‘sec- 23 ondary school’ have the meanings given those terms 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jun 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7156.IH H7156 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7156 IH in section 8101 of the Higher Education Act of 1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 2 ‘‘(2) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 3 has the meaning given that term in section 101 of 4 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 5 1001). 6 ‘‘(3) The term ‘minority institution’ means— 7 ‘‘(A) a part B institution (as that term is 8 defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)); or 10 ‘‘(B) any other institution of higher edu- 11 cation (as that term is defined in section 101 12 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)) at which not less 13 than 50 percent of the total student enrollment 14 consists of students from ethnic groups that are 15 underrepresented in the fields of science and 16 engineering. 17 ‘‘(4) The term ‘STEM disciplines’ means dis- 18 ciplines relating to science, technology, engineering 19 and mathematics, including disciplines that are crit- 20 ical to the national security functions of the Depart- 21 ment of Defense and that are needed in the Depart- 22 ment of Defense workforce (as determined by the 23 Secretary of Defense under section 2192a(a)).’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7156.IH H7156 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7156 IH (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 1 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 2 by inserting after the item relating to section 2192b 3 the following new item: 4 ‘‘2192c. Program to enhance contractor participation in science, technology, en- gineering, and mathematics activities.’’. (b) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 862 of the Na- 5 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 6 (Public Law 112–81; 10 U.S.C. note prec. 2191) is re- 7 pealed. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jun 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7156.IH H7156 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS