[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9580-H9581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN IN AEROSPACE EDUCATION ACT
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4254) to amend the
National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to strengthen the
aerospace workforce pipeline by the promotion of Robert Noyce Teacher
Scholarship Program and National Aeronautics and Space Administration
internship and fellowship opportunities to women, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Women in Aerospace Education
Act''.
SEC. 2. ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FELLOWSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES.
(a) In General.--The National Science Foundation
Authorization Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-368; 42 U.S.C.
1862n et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 10(a)(3)(A)(iv), by inserting ``, including
research experiences at national laboratories and NASA
centers'' before the semicolon; and
(2) in section 10A(c)(4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) providing internship opportunities for fellows,
including research experiences at national laboratories and
NASA Centers.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to grants awarded on or after
October 1, 2018.
SEC. 3. NASA INTERNSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
Not later than October 1, 2018, the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (in this
section referred to as ``NASA'') shall institute a process to
encourage the recruitment of qualified candidates who are
women or individuals who are underrepresented in the fields
of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
and computer science for internships and fellowships at NASA
with relevance to the aerospace sector and related fields.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith).
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
to include extraneous material on H.R. 4254, the bill now under
consideration.
[[Page H9581]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 4254, the Women in Aerospace Education
Act, as amended by the Senate. I speak on behalf of the bill's sponsor,
Representative Steve Knight, who could not be here this afternoon, but
he has worked for more than a year to get the bill across the finish
line.
H.R. 4254, directs NASA and the National Science Foundation, through
the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, to use their fellowships
and internships to encourage more women to get aerospace experience
while they are training to be science and mathematics teachers.
These teachers are then better equipped to educate and inspire
students to pursue studies and careers in aerospace.
Twenty percent of U.S. aerospace engineers are of retirement age
today. They are beginning to exit our workforce, which will create a
shortfall in our national security preparedness.
Meanwhile, women represent only about one-quarter of all science,
technology, engineering, and math, or STEM workers, and only about 15
percent of all aerospace engineers. We need to improve our STEM
education pipeline from ensuring STEM classes are available to students
at a young age to encouraging young Americans to pursue the completion
of a degree in STEM fields.
Attitudes about career paths are formed at a young age. The role
models and young leaders from which women learn have an enormous impact
on future decisionmaking.
The Women in Aerospace Education Act directs some of the Federal
Government's best teacher training programs to increase the number of
women teachers who can educate students about the Nation's leading
aerospace programs.
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Representative Steve Knight and
his cosponsors, Representative Elizabeth Esty, and Research and
Technology Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Comstock for advancing this
bipartisan legislation. We look forward to its being signed into law
soon.
If all goes well, it will be the 15th Science, Space, and Technology
Committee bill to be enacted into law this Congress, and one of 35
bills that the committee has passed in the House this year.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill and send it to
the President's desk, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4254, the Women in Aerospace
Education Act. I want to thank Mr. Knight and Ms. Esty for introducing
this very important piece of legislation.
Women continue to be underrepresented in the aerospace sector. For
example, a 2016 analysis revealed that over the past 15 years, women
have made up, on average, just 15 percent of NASA's planetary mission
science teams.
{time} 1615
While there has been increasing interest in supporting women's
advancement in all STEM fields, particularly on the Science, Space, and
Technology Committee, the low representation of women on NASA's
planetary science mission teams has remained largely unchanged. I am
heartened by recent efforts at NASA to tackle the issue of diversity on
its planetary science mission teams.
The 2016 New Frontiers 4 call for proposals included new language
highlighting the benefits of diverse and inclusive mission teams. I was
pleased to see that one of the finalists for this competition, the
Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan, is led by a woman.
Additionally, one of the two missions selected in 2017 for NASA's
Discovery Program, the Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid, is also
led by a woman. The principal investigator of the Psyche mission, Dr.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, is now the second woman to lead a competitive
planetary science mission for NASA.
Yesterday's successful landing of NASA's InSight spacecraft on the
surface of Mars offers another reason to feel optimistic. The team of
scientists and engineers that made the groundbreaking landing possible
included 135 women, or about 25 percent of the team. To build on this
progress, H.R. 4254 addresses the challenges in recruiting and
retaining talented women in aerospace by directing NASA to promote
internship and fellowship opportunities to women. The bill also directs
NSF to include research experiences at National Laboratories and NASA
centers in the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.
Research has shown that the best teams are those in which good ideas
are heard. Gender diversity on NASA's planetary science missions and in
the aerospace sector more broadly will lead to more diverse questions
and approaches to solutions. To get the best science, we need more
women in aerospace, and H.R. 4254 will help to get us there.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my fellow Members to support H.R. 4254, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 4254.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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