II 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3830 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 23, 2010 Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish the Undergraduate Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Undergraduate Scholarship Awards in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics Act or the US-STEM Act.

2.

Scholarships for STEM

(a)

In general

The Director of the National Science Foundation (referred to in this section as the Director) shall award merit scholarships for study in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics to undergraduate scholars. (b)

Selection criteria

The Director shall determine selection criteria for awarding scholarships under this section. The criteria shall include the following requirements for each student: (1)The student shall be from a family whose taxable income for 2010 did not exceed $75,000. Such figure shall be adjusted annually for inflation. (2)The student shall attend a 4-year public or private, nonprofit institution of higher education. (3)The student shall maintain not less than a 3.0 grade point average, on a scale of a 4.0. If the school does not grade on a 4.0 scale, the Director may come up with a comparable rating. If the student has borne undue hardship, the school may write to the Director to explain the student’s circumstances and appeal this criterion. (4)The student shall be a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States. (5)The student shall not have been convicted of a felony. (c)

Scholarship awards

The Director shall— (1)award not more than 2,500 scholarships under this section annually beginning with the 2011–2012 academic year; (2)award scholarships under this section— (A)for a student’s final 2 years of undergraduate study at the 4-year public or private, nonprofit institution of higher education; and (B)in an amount equal to the full tuition and fees at the institution of higher education; (3)give notice to scholarship grantees on or before April 1st of the year preceding the academic year for which the scholarship is awarded; and (4)provide the scholarship funds directly to the institution of higher education at which the student is enrolled. (d)

Advisory board

(1)

In general

The Director shall establish an advisory board for the program established under this section. (2)

Duties of the board

The advisory board shall— (A)assist in determining the selection criteria described under subsection (b); and (B)provide guidance and oversight to the program established under this section. (e)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (1)$30,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; (2)$60,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; (3)$61,800,000 for fiscal year 2013; (4)$63,600,000 for fiscal year 2014; and (5)$65,500,000 for fiscal year 2015.