[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 5, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E5-E6]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         STEM OPPORTUNITIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 5, 2021

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to be joined 
by Ranking Member Lucas in introducing the STEM Opportunities Act.
  The need for full engagement in science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics (STEM) by women and other underrepresented groups goes 
beyond enabling individuals to fulfill their dreams of becoming a 
scientist. As the global competition in science and technology 
continues to intensify, the lack of diversity in the U.S. STEM 
workforce creates a significant drag on our own capacity to innovate. 
Our future prosperity depends on what we do now to nurture the STEM 
talent that will be necessary to keep pace with our competitors and 
deliver benefits to all Americans.
  Study after study has shown that the underrepresentation of women, 
and racial and ethnic minorities is not attributable to a lack of 
interest or talent. Institutional and cultural barriers, including 
discrimination, harassment, unconscious bias in hiring and promotion, 
limited access to the internet, poor mentoring, and limited support 
networks serve to disadvantage, marginalize, and push talented 
individuals at all education and career levels to abandon their 
interest in pursuing STEM careers. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis 
has only exacerbated these challenges.
  The goal of the STEM Opportunities Act is to develop and implement 
evidence-based policies to promote the advancement of women, 
minorities, and other groups underrepresented in STEM studies and 
research careers. This bill is focused on identifying and lowering 
barriers for those who have already chosen a STEM path. First, so that 
we better understand the nature and scope of the challenges, the STEM 
Opportunities Act requires more comprehensive demographic data 
collection on the recipients of federal research awards and on STEM 
faculty at U.S. universities. These data would be available to 
researchers to study the participation and trajectories of women and 
underrepresented minorities in STEM so that policy makers can design 
more effective policies and practices to reduce barriers.
  Next, this bill requires the development of consistent federal 
policies, such as no-cost award extensions, for recipients of federal 
research awards who have caregiving responsibilities, including care 
for a newborn or newly adopted child and care for a sick family member. 
The bill also requires consistent federal guidance to grant reviewers 
and program officers on best practices to minimize the effects of 
implicit bias in the review of federal research grants. It requires 
OSTP to develop guidance for universities and Federal laboratories to 
aid them in identifying any cultural

[[Page E6]]

and institutional barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, and 
achievement of women, minorities, rural students, and other 
underrepresented groups in academic and government STEM research 
careers and in developing and implementing current best practices for 
reducing such barriers. Finally, the legislation authorizes NSF to 
award grants to universities to implement or expand research-based 
practices targeted specifically at increasing the recruitment and 
retention of minority students and faculty.
  The STEM Opportunities Act has been a priority of mine for well over 
a decade. Every Congress since 2007 I have worked to raise awareness 
among my colleagues about the urgent challenges this bill addresses. 
While we were successful in passing this bill out of the House last 
year, we have yet to garner the necessary support to advance this bill 
in the Senate. I am hopeful that this year will be different. I am 
honored to be joined by my good friend, Ranking Member Lucas, again in 
this effort and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 
Senate to get this bill to the President's desk.
  I want to thank Ranking Member Lucas for his continued partnership in 
advancing thoughtful solutions to the challenges we face in maintaining 
our standing as the global leader in science and innovation. The STEM 
workforce is the bedrock of this effort and, in the wake of the COVID-
19 crisis, the need to act is more urgent than ever. I encourage the 
rest of our colleagues to join us and to help us move this bill forward 
into law.

                          ____________________