[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2428 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2428

To direct the Secretary of Education to establish and maintain a public 
   website through which individuals may find a complete database of 
 available scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of financial 
   assistance in the study of science, technology, engineering, and 
                              mathematics.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 6, 2007

Mr. Reid (for Mr. Obama (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. 
   Coleman)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish and maintain a public 
   website through which individuals may find a complete database of 
 available scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of financial 
   assistance in the study of science, technology, engineering, and 
                              mathematics.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National STEM Scholarship Database 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL DATABASE ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR STUDY OF SCIENCE, 
              TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS.

    (a) Establishment and Maintenance of Database.--
            (1) Database.--The Secretary of Education shall establish 
        and maintain, on the public website of the Department of 
        Education, a database consisting of information on 
        scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of financial 
        assistance available from public and private sources for the 
        study of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics at 
        the post-secondary and post-baccalaureate levels.
            (2) Presentation of information.--The information 
        maintained on the database established under this section shall 
        be displayed on the website in the following manner:
                    (A) Separate information shall be provided for each 
                of the fields of study referred to in paragraph (1) and 
                for post-secondary and post-baccalaureate programs of 
                financial assistance.
                    (B) The database shall provide specific information 
                on any programs of financial assistance which are 
                targeted to individuals of a particular gender, 
                ethnicity, or other demographic group.
                    (C) If the sponsor of any program of financial 
                assistance included on the database maintains a public 
                website, the database shall provide hyperlinks to the 
                website.
                    (D) In addition to providing the hyperlink to the 
                website of a sponsor of a program of financial 
                assistance as required under subparagraph (C), the 
                database shall provide general information that an 
                interested person may use to contact the sponsor, 
                including the sponsor's electronic mail address.
                    (E) The database shall have a search capability 
                which permits an individual to search for information 
                on the basis of each category of the information 
                provided and on the basis of combinations of categories 
                of the information provided, including whether the 
                scholarship is need- or merit-based and by relevant 
                academic majors.
                    (F) The database shall include a recommendation 
                that students and families should carefully review all 
                of the application requirements prior to applying for 
                aid, and a disclaimer that the scholarships presented 
                in the database are not provided or endorsed by the 
                Department of Education or the Federal Government.
    (b) Dissemination of Information on Database.--The Secretary shall 
take such actions as may be necessary on an ongoing basis, including 
sending notices to secondary schools and institutions of higher 
education, to disseminate information on the database established and 
maintained under this Act and to encourage its use by interested 
parties.
    (c) Use of Vendor To Obtain Information.--In carrying out this Act, 
the Secretary of Education shall enter into a contract with a private 
entity under which the entity shall furnish and regularly update all of 
the information required to be maintained on the database established 
under this section.
    (d) Encouraging the Provision of Information.--In carrying out this 
Act, the Secretary of Education and the contracted entity shall consult 
with public and private sources of scholarships and make easily 
available a process for such entities to provide regular and updated 
information.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
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