[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MSI STEM ACHIEVEMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 2021

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce 
the MSI STEM Achievement Act, which is cosponsored by Mr. Waltz.
  There is no denying the fact that our success as a nation is closely 
tied to our capacity to build and sustain a highly-skilled workforce, 
one that is equipped to take on the pressing challenges of the 21st 
century and to maintain our leadership in the global economy.
  Today we are facing grave challenges on many fronts. We are battling 
a deadly pandemic and a severe economic downturn. We are racing to find 
sustainable sources of energy and working to mitigate the destructive 
impacts of climate change. We are fighting against attempts to 
undermine our democracy by threats both foreign and domestic. Our 
future prosperity and security are further threatened as competitors 
like China outpace our investment in scientific research and make rapid 
advances in critical technologies like advanced communications, quantum 
computing, and artificial intelligence.
  To solve these problems, we need a cadre of trained scientists and 
engineers pushing the boundaries of what we know and what we can 
achieve. We need computer scientists and economists, biologists and 
mathematicians, engineers, chemists, and social scientists. So far, we 
have gotten by with a STEM workforce that does not represent the 
diversity of our nation. However, that is not a sustainable path 
forward.
  Compared with their proportions in the U.S. population, members of 
racial and ethnic minority groups are significantly underrepresented 
among STEM degree earners. Less than 25 percent of all bachelor's 
degrees and 9 percent of doctorates in STEM are earned by 
underrepresented minority students. Despite representing 18 percent of 
the U.S. population, just 9 percent of bachelor's degrees in 
mathematics and physics are earned by Hispanics. In nearly all STEM 
fields, the proportion of STEM bachelor's degrees earned by Black 
students has either stagnated or declined since 1996. Black students 
earned only 4.8 percent of bachelor's degrees in engineering in 1996. 
Today, that share is 3.9 percent. In the past two decades, 
representation of Black students among bachelor's degree earners in 
computer science has fallen from 9.9 percent to 8.7 percent.
  The challenges we face today demand a dramatic expansion of the STEM 
workforce, one that is inclusive of talented students of all races, 
ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Fortunately, the nation's 
minority serving institutions (MSIs) have paved the way with proven 
approaches for the recruitment and retention of students from 
marginalized groups in STEM studies. The National Academy of Sciences 
released a report in 2018 highlighting the outsized contributions made 
by MSIs, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
(HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and 
Universities (TCUs). For instance, HBCUs make up only 3 percent of the 
nation's colleges and universities, but graduate 28 percent of African 
American students earning bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences, 
26 percent in mathematics, and 25 percent in the biological sciences. 
However, these institutions have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis 
and more investment and targeted outreach is needed to enable MSIs to 
fully realize their potential to contribute to the STEM workforce.
  The bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to 
compile an inventory of competitive funding programs at Federal science 
agencies targeted to MSIs and recommend steps for agencies to increase 
the participation and the rate of success of MSIs in these programs. 
The National Science Foundation is directed to support research to 
better understand the contributions of MSIs, disseminate and scale up 
successful models, and identify effective approaches to building the 
STEM education and research capacity of under-resourced MSIs. The 
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is directed to issue 
policy guidance to Federal science agencies for outreach to raise 
awareness of funding opportunities and provide guidance on competing 
for funding. OSTP is also directed to develop a strategic plan to 
increase the capacity of MSIs to compete for federal research and STEM 
education funding.
  Our STEM skills shortage is holding us back. As Chairwoman of the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology I am determined to change 
that situation. The way I see it, we have two possible futures: one in 
which we rise to the moment and leverage all of our human capital, and 
one in which our capacity for innovation and our standing in the world 
continue to erode. I know which future I want to see happen, and I urge 
my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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