[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2710 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2710

    To increase the participation of historically underrepresented 
demographic groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 
                        education and industry.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2016

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Heinrich, 
 Mrs. Murray, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Brown) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To increase the participation of historically underrepresented 
demographic groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 
                        education and industry.

    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 ``Women and Minorities in STEM Booster 
Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND 
              UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN STEM FIELDS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the National Academy of Sciences, STEM 
        education at the undergraduate level is vital to developing a 
        workforce that will allow the United States to remain the 
        leader in the 21st century global economy.
            (2) According to the 2013 American Community Survey Report 
        on disparities in STEM employment, women comprise about half of 
        the United States workforce but only make up 26 percent of STEM 
        workers.
            (3) According to the National Center of Education 
        Statistics, women were more likely than men to switch out of 
        STEM majors--32 percent vs. 26 percent.
            (4) According to the 2010 Association of American 
        University Women report ``Why So Few?'' approximately 52 
        percent of women in STEM fields quit their jobs about 10 years 
        into their careers. It is important for gender equality to 
        increase the retention of women in STEM fields, as women in 
        STEM careers earn 33 percent more than those in non-STEM jobs, 
        and have a smaller wage gap relative to men.
            (5) According to recent Census Bureau projections, 
        minorities will account for 57 percent of the United States 
        population by 2060. According to the National Action Council 
        for Minorities in Engineering, Inc., as the United States works 
        to remain competitive in the world of technological innovation, 
        the United States should address the need to increase the 
        number of individuals from underrepresented minority segments 
        of the population who work in engineering.
            (6) The Higher Education Research Institute at the 
        University of California, Los Angeles, found that, while 
        freshmen from underrepresented minority groups express an 
        interest in pursuing a STEM undergraduate degree at the same 
        rate as all other freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino 
        students, 18.4 percent of African-American students, and 18.8 
        percent of Native American students studying in STEM fields 
        complete their degree within 5 years, compared to an 
        approximate 33 percent and 42 percent 5-year completion rate 
        for White and Asian students, respectively.
            (7) According to the 2015 Asian Americans Advancing Justice 
        report ``Making America Work'', data on Asian Americans and 
        Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) on average hide the fact that some 
        subgroups are underrepresented in STEM fields. For example: 
        only 9 percent of Cambodian, 8 percent of Laotian, 8 percent of 
        Hmong, and 7 percent of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 
        workers hold STEM jobs, compared to 12 percent of the total 
        American population holding STEM jobs.
            (8) According to 3-year estimates from the 2013 American 
        Community Survey, Southeast Asian Americans and Pacific 
        Islanders have higher poverty rates and lower educational 
        attainment rates compared to the overall population. Fifteen 
        percent of the overall population lives below the Federal 
        poverty level, while 21 percent of Pacific Islanders, 21 
        percent of Cambodian, 26 percent of Hmong, 17 percent of 
        Laotian, and 16 percent of Vietnamese community members live in 
        poverty. Compared to 29 percent of the overall population with 
        a bachelor's degree or higher, members of Pacific Islanders, 
        Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese communities only have a 
        bachelor's degree or higher at rates of 15 percent, 16 percent, 
        16 percent, 13 percent, and 27 percent, respectively. Levels of 
        poverty and postsecondary educational attainment correlate with 
        these groups' underrepresentation in STEM employment. Other 
        Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups with similar 
        poverty and educational attainment rates are similarly 
        underrepresented in STEM employment.
            (9) A 2014 National Center for Education Statistics study 
        found that women and underrepresented minorities leave the STEM 
        fields at higher rates than their counterparts, leading to a 
        need to develop resources to retain these groups in the STEM 
        fields.
    (b) Program Authorized.--The Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall award grants to eligible entities, on a competitive 
basis, to enable such eligible entities to carry out the activities 
described in subsection (d), in order to increase the participation of 
women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics.
    (c) Application.--Each eligible entity that desires to receive a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the National 
Science Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Director of the National Science Foundation may 
reasonably require.
    (d) Authorized Activities.--An eligible entity that receives a 
grant under this section shall use such grant funds to carry out one or 
more of the following activities designed to increase the participation 
of women or minorities underrepresented in science and engineering, or 
both:
            (1) Online workshops.
            (2) Mentoring programs that partner science, technology, 
        engineering, or mathematics professionals with students.
            (3) Internships for undergraduate and graduate students in 
        the fields of science, technology, engineering, and 
        mathematics.
            (4) Conducting outreach programs that provide elementary 
        school and secondary school students with opportunities to 
        increase their exposure to the fields of science, technology, 
        engineering, or mathematics.
            (5) Programs to increase the recruitment and retention of 
        underrepresented faculty.
            (6) Such additional programs as the Director of the 
        National Science Foundation may determine.
    (e) Definitions.--In this Act--
            (1) the term ``minority'' means American Indian, Alaskan 
        Native, Black (not of Hispanic origin), Hispanic (including 
        persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central or South 
        American origin), Asian (including underrepresented subgroups), 
        Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander origin subgroup, or other 
        ethnic group underrepresented in science and engineering; and
            (2) the term ``underrepresented in science and 
        engineering'' means a minority group whose number of scientists 
        and engineers per 10,000 population of that group is 
        substantially below the comparable figure for scientists and 
        engineers who are White and not of Hispanic origin, as 
        determined by the Secretary of Education under section 637.4(b) 
        of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
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