[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8292-S8294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4717. Mr. BROWN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to 
the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 
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 appropriate place, insert the following:

                     TITLE __--STEM RESEARCH GAINS

     SEC. __01. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Strengthening the STEM 
     Research Workforce to Generate American Infrastructure for 
     National Security Act of 2021'' or the ``STEM Research GAINS 
     Act of 2021''.

     SEC. __02. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Covered field.--The term ``covered field'' means a 
     field in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics 
     research or development that is determined to be--
       (A) a subject area relating to the national security of the 
     United States;
       (B) a subject area relating to the United States' ability 
     to compete in an open, fair, and competitive international 
     market and achieve economic growth; or
       (C) a subject area that is in need of expanded and 
     strengthened academic pipelines to ensure a diverse 
     workforce.
       (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the National Science Foundation.
       (3) Federal science agency.--The term ``Federal science 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 103(f) of 
     the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 
     6623(f)).
       (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' means an institution of 
     higher education described in section 101 of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
       (5) Minority.--The term ``minority'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 365(2) of the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k(2)).
       (6) Minority-serving institution.--The term ``minority-
     serving institution'' means--
       (A) a part B institution (as defined in section 322 of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061));
       (B) a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in section 
     502 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a));
       (C) a Tribal College or University (as defined in section 
     316 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c));
       (D) an Alaska Native-serving institution (as defined in 
     section 317(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)));
       (E) a Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined in 
     section 317(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)));
       (F) a Predominantly Black Institution (as defined in 
     section 318 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059e));
       (G) an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-
     serving institution (as defined in section 320(b) of that Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b))); or
       (H) a Native American-serving, nontribal institution (as 
     defined in section 319 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059f)).
       (7) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means science, technology, 
     engineering, and mathematics, including computer science.
       (8) Underrepresented field.--The term ``underrepresented 
     field'' means a field in STEM in which the national rate of 
     representation of women among tenured, tenure-track faculty, 
     or nonfaculty researchers at doctorate-granting institutions 
     of higher education is less than 25 percent, according to the 
     most recent data available from the National Center for 
     Science and Engineering Statistics.
       (9) Underrepresented in science and engineering.--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, or similar successor regulations.

   Subtitle A--Expanding Pipeline Programs to Research Opportunities

     SEC. __11. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AREAS CRITICAL TO 
                   NATIONAL SECURITY.

       (a) Covered Fields.--The President shall conduct a study to 
     identify areas for research and development that are covered 
     fields.
       (b) Update.--Not less than once every 5 years, the 
     President shall reassess the covered fields.

     SEC. __12. INCREASING INVESTMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE 
                   PIPELINES.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     the National Science Foundation for fiscal year 2022 and for 
     each of the following 4 years, $750,000,000, which shall be 
     used by the Director for the following National Science 
     Foundation programs:
       (1) The Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
     Undergraduate Program.
       (2) The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation 
     program.
       (3) The Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
       (4) The Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
       (5) The Improving Undergraduates STEM Education: Hispanic-
     Serving Institutions Program.

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       (6) Other programs to broaden participation in 
     undergraduate STEM programs, as determined by the Director.
       (b) Supplement Not Supplant.--The amounts used under 
     subsection (a) shall supplement, and not supplant, any other 
     amounts used by the National Science Foundation for the 
     programs described in such subsection.

     SEC. __14. BOLSTERING STEM PIPELINES STRATEGIC PLAN.

       (a) Broadening Participation Strategic Plan.--Not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Subcommittee on Federal Coordination in Science, Technology, 
     Engineering, and Mathematics Education (FC-STEM) of the 
     Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and 
     Mathematics Education (CoSTEM) of the National Science and 
     Technology Council shall submit to Congress a report 
     containing the subcommittee's current strategic plan for 
     Federal science agencies to increase the capacity of STEM 
     programs carried out by Federal science agencies that are in 
     effect as of the date of the report to increase the 
     participation of individuals who are underrepresented in 
     science and engineering, women who are underrepresented in 
     STEM fields, and low-income and first-generation college 
     students, in order to broaden participation in grants and 
     programs carried out by the Federal science agencies. The 
     report shall include--
       (1) a description of how the grants and programs that are 
     carried out by the Federal science agencies, as of the time 
     of the report, are carried out in a manner that advances 
     diverse pipelines in STEM fields, and a description of how 
     the Federal science agencies can better advance such diverse 
     pipelines;
       (2) an analysis of the data collection that would allow for 
     meaningful goal setting and transparency relating to the 
     Federal science agencies' progress in broadening 
     participation of individuals from groups that are 
     underrepresented in science and engineering with respect to 
     those grants and programs;
       (3) an analysis of how the Federal science agencies can 
     meet goals related to broadening the participation of 
     individuals from groups that are underrepresented in science 
     and engineering by--
       (A) creating or expanding funding opportunities;
       (B) modifying existing research and development programs; 
     and
       (C) establishing coordination between existing programs 
     carried out by the Federal science agencies;
       (4) a description of the ways that the Federal science 
     agencies work with minority-serving institutions to--
       (A) enable those eligible institutions to compete 
     effectively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 
     carried out by the National Science Foundation;
       (B) encourage those eligible institutions to participate in 
     programs carried out by the Federal science agencies; and
       (C) encourage students and faculty, particularly minority 
     students and faculty and students and faculty in 
     underrepresented fields, at the eligible institution to apply 
     for and successfully earn graduate and professional 
     opportunities from programs supported by the Federal science 
     agencies;
       (5) an analysis of the best ways to share best practices 
     for institutions of higher education and Federal science 
     agencies interested in supporting individuals from groups 
     that are underrepresented in science and engineering;
       (6) an analysis of how the Federal science agencies can 
     work together to advance goals related to broadening the 
     participation of individuals from groups that are 
     underrepresented in science and engineering; and
       (7) an analysis of how to promote relationships between 
     institutions of higher education and high schools to enhance 
     the pipeline for high school students to undergraduate STEM 
     opportunities in covered fields and enhance the quality of 
     high school teachers in STEM fields.
       (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, 
     the Subcommittee on Federal Coordination in Science, 
     Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education of the 
     Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and 
     Mathematics Education of the National Science and Technology 
     Council shall report to Congress on the implementation by 
     Federal science agencies of the strategic plan developed 
     under this section.

     SEC. __15. RESEARCH PROGRAM CLEARINGHOUSE AND TECHNICAL 
                   ASSISTANCE CENTER.

       (a) Opportunities Clearinghouse.--The Subcommittee on 
     Federal Coordination in Science, Technology, Engineering, and 
     Mathematics Education of the Committee on Science, 
     Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education of the 
     National Science and Technology Council shall establish and 
     maintain a public clearinghouse (including by maintaining a 
     publicly available website) of all research programs 
     sponsored by Federal science agencies that are available to 
     individuals as undergraduate and graduate students.
       (b) Best Practices Clearinghouse.--The Director shall work 
     with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences of 
     the Department of Education to maintain the What Works 
     Clearinghouse to collect, analyze, identify, disseminate, and 
     make publicly available information about best practices for 
     institutions of higher education to strengthen the pipeline 
     of individuals pursuing careers in covered fields 
     (particularly for minority students pursuing those careers), 
     and particularly information to help address gaps identified 
     in the publication entitled ``Minority Serving Institutions: 
     America's Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM 
     Workforce'', published in 2019 by the National Academies of 
     Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
       (c) Technical Assistance.--The Director shall fund the 
     maintenance of existing (as of the date of the funding) 
     technical resource centers to enable the centers to work with 
     institutions of higher education seeking to implement 
     strategies to--
       (1) bolster and diversify the student body at the 
     institution that pursue STEM fields;
       (2) support students underrepresented in science and 
     engineering who are pursuing research-based STEM studies to 
     help those students continue and complete those studies; or
       (3) support other technical assistance activities 
     determined by the Director to be appropriate.

       Subtitle B--Increasing Transparency for Graduate Education

     SEC. __21. STRENGTHENING TRANSPARENCY.

       (a) Assessments.--The Director shall conduct regular 
     assessments of graduate research fellowship programs carried 
     out by the National Science Foundation and make additional 
     information publicly available about those programs, 
     including for each program--
       (1) the number of applications received, disaggregated by 
     undergraduate and graduate institution, race, gender, age, 
     and eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant;
       (2) the number of applications approved, disaggregated by 
     undergraduate and graduate institution, race, gender, age, 
     and eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant;
       (3) the number of students that are awarded grants to 
     develop a diverse STEM workforce, disaggregated by 
     undergraduate population, public or private institution, and 
     (in the case of a minority-serving institution) type of 
     minority-serving institutions;
       (4) an analysis of the recipients of scholarships and 
     fellowships awarded by institutions of higher education 
     through the graduate research fellowship programs, 
     disaggregated by race; and
       (5) the ratio of the number of individuals who participated 
     in the assessment from the program to the number of students 
     in the program.
       (b) Voluntarily Provided Data.--For purposes of subsection 
     (a), the Director shall base the assessments on, and make 
     information publicly available on, data voluntarily provided 
     by student applicants for the graduate research fellowship 
     program involved.
       (c) Reports.--The Director shall prepare and submit to 
     Congress, and make publicly available, annual reports that 
     show trends in how research fellowships and scholarships 
     supported by the National Science Foundation are awarded to 
     individuals from underrepresented groups, institutions of 
     higher education, and entities from different geographic 
     areas, in order to better show trends in the participation of 
     underrepresented groups in such research fellowships and 
     scholarships.

   Subtitle C--Strengthening the National Security Research Workforce

     SEC. __31. EARLY CAREER FACULTY SUPPORTS.

       (a) Rising Faculty Professional Advancement Program.--
       (1) Establishment of pilot program.--Not later than 1 year 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 
     select an organization to establish a 5-year pilot mentorship 
     program to be known as ``Rising Faculty Professional 
     Advancement Program'' (referred to in this section as the 
     ``program'') in order to increase the diversity of faculty in 
     STEM fields.
       (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Rising Faculty 
     Professional Advancement Program shall be--
       (A) to increase the number of doctoral-level professionals 
     from underrepresented groups in STEM fields who transition 
     into faculty positions at institutions of higher education; 
     and
       (B) to improve mentorship and training for researchers who 
     are navigating the transition in the research pipeline to 
     becoming faculty, which is a time when a significant decrease 
     in diversity often occurs.
       (b) Program Participants.--
       (1) Eligibility.--An individual shall be eligible to 
     participate in the program if the individual is a doctoral 
     degree holding researcher in a post-doctoral research 
     position or early-career faculty (defined as a faculty 
     researcher with a title of assistant professor or other non-
     tenured equivalent).
       (2) Outreach.--The organization shall conduct outreach to 
     encourage participation in the program by individuals 
     described in paragraph (1) who are from groups 
     underrepresented in STEM fields, including--
       (A) individuals from groups who are underrepresented in 
     science and engineering;
       (B) individuals holding doctoral degrees in covered fields 
     from or faculty positions at minority-serving institutions;
       (C) individuals holding doctoral degrees in covered fields 
     from institutions of higher education in the bottom 90 
     percent of research and development expenditures, as ranked 
     by the National Center for Science and Engineering 
     Statistics; and
       (D) individuals who are women and who hold positions from 
     underrepresented fields.
       (c) Activities.--

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       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the organization shall establish 
     program activities including--
       (A) training for Rising Faculty and mentors;
       (B) a program curriculum; and
       (C) support for existing (as of the date of provision of 
     the support) mentoring programs for mentor engagement.
       (2) Collaborative research.--The organization shall 
     encourage program mentors to network and enter into 
     collaboration on research projects with Rising Faculty and 
     other mentors within the program.
       (3) Survey.--Following the first year of program 
     enrollment, and on an annual basis during the program, the 
     organization shall--
       (A) conduct a survey of Rising Faculty and mentors to 
     determine best practices and outcomes achieved;
       (B) conduct a survey to collect information about the 
     demographics of the Rising Faculty and mentors; and
       (C) conduct additional surveys or other analyses of Rising 
     Faculty who completed the program to assess career 
     progression for not more than 5 years following the 
     completion of the program by Rising Faculty.
       (d) Assessment of the Pilot Program and Recommendations.--
     Not later than 180 days after the conclusion of the pilot 
     program, the Director shall provide a report to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress with respect to the pilot 
     program, which shall include--
       (1) a description and evaluation of the status and 
     effectiveness of the program, including a summary of survey 
     data collected;
       (2) an assessment of the success and utility of the pilot 
     program in meeting the purposes of this section;
       (3) a summary and analysis of the types and frequency of 
     activities and policies developed and carried out under the 
     pilot program; and
       (4) a recommendation about continuing the program on a 
     pilot or permanent basis.
                                 ______