[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 91 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4635. Mr. BROWN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle B of title VIII, add the following:

     SEC. 829K. PREFERENCE FOR POTENTIAL DEFENSE CONTRACTORS THAT 
                   CARRY OUT CERTAIN STEM-RELATED ACTIVITIES.

       (a) In General.--In evaluating offers submitted in response 
     to a solicitation for contracts, the Secretary of Defense 
     shall provide a preference to any offeror that--
       (1) establishes or enhances undergraduate, graduate, and 
     doctoral programs in science, technology, engineering, and 
     mathematics (in this section referred to as ``STEM'' 
     disciplines);
       (2) makes investments, such as programming and curriculum 
     development, in STEM programs within elementary and secondary 
     schools, including those that support the needs of military 
     children;
       (3) encourages employees to volunteer in schools eligible 
     for assistance under part A of title I of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) in 
     order to enhance STEM education and programs;
       (4) makes personnel available to advise and assist faculty 
     at colleges and universities in the performance of STEM 
     research and disciplines critical to the functions of the 
     Department of Defense;
       (5) establishes partnerships between the offeror and 
     historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and 
     other minority-serving institutions for the purpose of 
     training students in scientific disciplines;
       (6) awards scholarships and fellowships, and establishes 
     cooperative work-education programs in scientific 
     disciplines;
       (7) attracts and retains faculty involved in scientific 
     disciplines critical to the functions of the Department of 
     Defense;
       (8) conducts recruitment activities at universities and 
     community colleges, including HBCUs, or offers internships or 
     apprenticeships; or
       (9) establishes programs and outreach efforts to strengthen 
     STEM.
       (b) Consideration of Evaluation Factors and Effect on Small 
     Business Concerns.--In prescribing regulations to carry out 
     this section, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that all 
     award decisions are based on evaluation factors and 
     significant subfactors that are tailored to the acquisition, 
     and that small business concerns are not unduly adversely 
     affected.
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