[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14661-14665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL STEM SCHOLARSHIP DATABASE ACT

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1051) to direct the Secretary of Education to establish and 
maintain a public website through which individuals may find a complete 
database of available scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of 
financial assistance in the study of science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1051

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National STEM Scholarship 
     Database Act''.

[[Page 14662]]



     SEC. 2. NATIONAL DATABASE ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR STUDY 
                   OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND 
                   MATHEMATICS.

       (a) Establishment and Maintenance of Database.--
       (1) Database.--The Secretary of Education shall establish 
     and maintain, on the public website of the Department of 
     Education, a database consisting of information on 
     scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of financial 
     assistance available from public and private sources for the 
     study of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics at 
     the post-secondary and post-baccalaureate levels.
       (2) Presentation of information.--The information 
     maintained on the database established under this section 
     shall be displayed on the website in the following manner:
       (A) Separate information shall be provided for each of the 
     fields of study referred to in paragraph (1) and for post-
     secondary and post-baccalaureate programs of financial 
     assistance.
       (B) The database shall provide specific information on any 
     programs of financial assistance which are targeted to 
     individuals of a particular gender, ethnicity, or other 
     demographic group.
       (C) If the sponsor of any program of financial assistance 
     included on the database maintains a public website, the 
     database shall provide hyperlinks to the website.
       (D) In addition to providing the hyperlink to the website 
     of a sponsor of a program of financial assistance as required 
     under subparagraph (C), the database shall provide general 
     information that an interested person may use to contact the 
     sponsor, including the sponsor's electronic mail address.
       (E) The database shall have a search capability which 
     permits an individual to search for information on the basis 
     of each category of the information provided and on the basis 
     of combinations of categories of the information provided, 
     including whether the scholarship is need- or merit-based and 
     by relevant academic majors.
       (F) The database shall include a recommendation that 
     students and families should carefully review all of the 
     application requirements prior to applying for aid, and a 
     disclaimer that the scholarships presented in the database 
     are not provided or endorsed by the Department of Education 
     or the Federal Government.
       (b) Dissemination of Information on Database.--The 
     Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary on an 
     ongoing basis, including sending notices to secondary schools 
     and institutions of higher education, to disseminate 
     information on the database established and maintained under 
     this Act and to encourage its use by interested parties.
       (c) Use of Vendor To Obtain Information.--In carrying out 
     this Act, the Secretary of Education shall enter into a 
     contract with a private entity under which the entity shall 
     furnish and regularly update all of the information required 
     to be maintained on the database established under this 
     section.
       (d) Encouraging the Provision of Information.--In carrying 
     out this Act, the Secretary of Education and the contracted 
     entity shall consult with public and private sources of 
     scholarships and make easily available a process for such 
     entities to provide regular and updated information.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2008 
     through 2012.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Holt) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I request that there be 5 legislative days 
during which Members may insert material relevant to H.R. 1050 into the 
Record, and I ask unanimous consent that Members be allowed to revise 
and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. This is an important piece of all of 
the work that we have to do to improve our science, engineering, 
technology and mathematics capability here in the United States. 
Specifically, this bill establishes a complete database of all 
available scholarships from public and private sources, fellowships, 
and other programs of financial assistance for the study of science, 
technology, engineering and mathematics.
  The Act, specifically known as the National STEM Scholarship Database 
Act, directs the Secretary of Education to establish and maintain a 
public Web site through which individuals may find a complete database 
of available scholarships, fellowships and financial assistance.
  The Secretary of Education will also, under this legislation, 
disseminate information about the database to secondary schools and to 
colleges and universities, institutions of higher education. It will 
serve as a one-stop shop for financial aid information for those who 
want to study in the STEM fields.
  Now, it may be surprising to my colleagues that this doesn't already 
exist. But it does not. Although there are many things that we need to 
do to improve science and math teaching in elementary and secondary 
schools and in higher education, and encourage students toward science 
and technology fields, this is one important thing we can accomplish 
today.
  We all know that higher education is expensive. In fact, many 
students are deterred from studying these important fields because of 
the cost.
  Yet, at the same time, some of the opportunities for financial 
assistance go unused, and, students, however motivated they may be, 
often don't know where to start to look for financial assistance. 
Certainly in high school, school counselors are overloaded with 
typically 400 students each, and as a college student is trying to 
decide on a major and a specific field of engineering, for example, 
it's hard to know where to turn for financial assistance.
  This simple straightforward database available through a Web site 
will greatly, I think, facilitate the student's ability to go into 
these STEM fields. It will serve all students at all levels as they are 
thinking about going into college, as they are thinking about choosing 
a major in college, as they are thinking about going to graduate 
school, as they are thinking about whether or not to teach in a science 
or engineering or mathematics area.
  This is an important and straightforward piece of legislation that 
will assist our nation's students in studying science and math, and 
will assist our country in our efforts to be more competitive 
internationally.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1051, which is a bill to 
establish a public Web site through which individuals may find a 
database of available scholarships and fellowships and other programs 
of financial assistance for the study of science and technology and 
engineering and math.
  Before I begin, I just want to commend the gentleman from New Jersey 
for introducing this piece of legislation and for his leadership in 
this area. I also want to commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Ehlers) for his leadership, as well as Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mrs. 
Biggert and others for their support of this bill itself.
  I am a strong proponent, strong proponent of STEM education programs. 
Anything that Congress can do to strengthen interest in these fields is 
wholeheartedly welcome.
  As a physician, I understand and appreciate the challenge that our 
Nation has in maintaining its preeminence in these fields. Encouraging 
our best and brightest and interested young people to choose this field 
of study is a positive step, and I believe this bill is a step in that 
direction.
  As we continue to discuss new ideas for the reauthorization of the 
Higher Education Act, it's important that we develop proposals that 
will ensure students are informed about their options for financial 
aid, both from the Federal Government and from the private sector. In 
fact, the House has already taken one step in that direction, included 
in H.R. 890, the Student Loan Sunshine Act, which passed last month, 
was a proposal that was offered by Representative Keller, that would 
make it easier for students to get information on their options for 
Federal financial aid.
  This proposal would launch a single Web site for opportunities for 
financial aid in fellowships and scholarships being offered by any 
agency within the Federal Government.

[[Page 14663]]

  This bill simply takes this idea one step further by making sure that 
information about scholarships and fellowships and other forms of 
private financial aid is readily available to students interested in 
pursuing their opportunities in education and science, technology, 
engineering and math. As we continue to examine proposals to increase 
America's competitiveness, it's helpful for us to equip students 
interested in pursuing careers in these fields with the information 
that they need that might assist them in financing their education.
  For these reasons and others, I respectfully ask my colleagues to 
support H.R. 1051.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1040

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Price, who is an original 
cosponsor of this legislation, along with many others from the 
Education Committee, from the Science Committee, and from elsewhere 
here in Congress.
  And, with that, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas, my colleague on the committee on Education and Labor, Mr. 
Hinojosa.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1051, the 
National STEM Scholarship Database Act. I would like to commend the 
work of my good friend and colleague from New Jersey, Congressman Rush 
Holt, for bringing this bill forward and for all of his efforts to 
ensure that our Nation stays at the forefront of the STEM fields. I 
share his commitment to mobilizing our resources at all levels to 
expand the pool of opportunities in these career fields that are 
critical to our future security and prosperity.
  It is no secret that we are losing our competitive edge in producing 
experts in science, technology, math and engineering. Of the 42 
countries that granted more than 20,000 university degrees in 2002, the 
United States is in the bottom quartile in the ratio of STEM college 
degrees awarded.
  Our pool of future STEM professionals can be found in our public 
schools in America. The 2007 ``Condition of Education'' reminds us that 
a growing percentage of these students are minorities, with a growing 
percentage from low-income families. These are the students that will 
rely on college scholarships and college financial aid to achieve the 
dream of a college education.
  The National STEM Scholarship Database will be an invaluable tool to 
help our young people to find the resources they need to finance 
college education in the STEM fields.
  As the chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, I believe 
this legislation will also underscore that a STEM career is possible, 
an essential message for our young people to hear.
  This is a real service to our young people and to our Nation. I thank 
the gentleman from New Jersey for his efforts, and urge all my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to yield 5 
minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, who has been pivotal in this 
area, in this field, Mr. Ehlers.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National STEM 
Scholarship Database Act, H.R. 1051. I thank my friend and fellow 
physicist, Congressman Rush Holt, for introducing this important 
legislation; and I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this excellent bill.
  For several years, Congressman Holt and I have worked tirelessly to 
improve our Nation's math and science education. It has been wonderful 
to have a Member from the other party sharing my concern about the 
quality of math and science education in this country and the limited 
number of young people who are pursuing math and science-related 
degrees. In fact, I'm very pleased that Representative Holt and 115 
other Members have joined the STEM Education Caucus that I founded in 
2004.
  Of course, I'm sure by now everyone knows that STEM stands for 
science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It's very important 
to make that clear, because tomorrow we'll be debating a few stem-cell 
issue bills on the floor, and this bill has nothing to do with that.
  This year, an estimated 111,000 students in Michigan will graduate 
from high school and may face the pricey but critical investment in 
their future known as paying college tuition and fees. In Michigan, the 
average cost of tuition fees is about $6,200 per year at a 4-year 
public university and $13,250 at a 4-year private university, according 
to the Chronicles of Higher Education.
  Unfortunately, data have shown that some students do not attend 
college or graduate school because they think they cannot afford it. 
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, science and 
engineering students who had taken out loans as undergraduates were 
more likely to indicate a cost-related reason for not applying to 
graduate school, compared to students who had never borrowed funds.
  Unbeknownst to some students, significant financial aid resources are 
available. The Federal Government alone provided about $80 billion in 
student financial aid this fiscal year, with States providing almost $8 
billion in additional financial aid. Also, the private sector provides 
significant financial aid resources.
  The National STEM Scholarship Database Act will provide students with 
better information about available financial aid resources related to 
the STEM fields. It simply establishes a database to be accessed on the 
U.S. Department of Education's Website. I am very hopeful that this 
database will link students with available financial aid resources, and 
I particularly hope this will encourage more students to enter STEM-
related careers by entering graduate schools related to the STEM 
fields.
  This is an excellent bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I again thank Congressman Holt for his work on improving STEM 
education and urge all of our colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his 
support and also for pointing out that this has nothing to do with 
pleuropotent stem cells but has to do with what is generally known as 
STEM education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics 
education.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm now pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois, my colleague on the Education Committee, Mr. Hare, who 
understands that financial assistance is necessary for nearly two-
thirds of undergraduates and most graduate students, and anything we 
can do to help them take advantage of available financial aid will 
improve their lives and our society. Mr. Hare.
  Mr. HARE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today as a cosponsor and a 
very strong supporter of H.R. 1051, the National STEM Scholarship 
Database Act. I want to commend my friend, Congressman Rush Holt, with 
whom I serve on the Education and Labor Committee, for introducing this 
vital piece of legislation.
  America's global competitiveness will increasingly depend on our 
ability to attract more of our best and brightest students into 
technological careers.
  Sadly, the U.S. is growing reliant on foreign talents to fulfill its 
science and engineering workforce needs. According to the National 
Science Foundation, 25 percent of all college-educated professionals in 
science and engineering occupations in the United States are foreign 
born.
  The National STEM Scholarship Database addresses this problem by 
directing the Secretary of Education to establish a database on the 
Department's Web site with information on financial assistance for 
postsecondary and graduate programs in science, technology, engineering 
and mathematics. This important database will help capable students who 
are interested in STEM careers find scholarships to support their 
studies.
  We all know the cost of higher education is very expensive. In fact, 
two-thirds of undergraduate students are on some form of financial aid. 
Therefore, identifying funding opportunities is critical to the 
recruitment of aspiring STEM students.
  H.R. 1051 is endorsed by all sectors of the technological workforce, 
and I urge

[[Page 14664]]

my colleagues to help the U.S. stay globally competitive by voting for 
this bill.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I'm now pleased to yield 2 minutes 
to my good friend from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) who's been a leader in 
this field as well.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, the science and technology and math 
education fields, they are inseparable, tremendous assets to our 
economic strength and national security. These disciplines are critical 
to ensuring our global competitiveness, and the demand for knowledge-
based jobs is growing.
  From 1994 to 2003, the proportion of the work force working in STEM 
fields jumped from 17 percent to 23 percent. Furthermore, if trends in 
manufacturing continue, over 40 percent of factory jobs will require 
postsecondary education by 2012.

                              {time}  1050

  I spend at least half of my time in Congress working on manufacturing 
issues, one of the founders of the manufacturing caucus, and serve as 
co-chairman, along with Congressman Tim Ryan from the State of Ohio, 
and this is obviously a bipartisan effort in order to encourage more 
education of people who will be qualified to play a more meaningful 
role in the field of manufacturing.
  The skyrocketing cost of college education have made access to this 
type of education more and more difficult for many of our brightest 
students. This bill seeks to correct the problem. It creates a web 
portal of public and private science, technology, math education 
scholarships, loans, and grants that are available. And the database 
would be searchable by field of study, demographics, and level of 
study. By placing all of these scholarships in one easily accessible 
location, H.R. 1051 greatly increases the chances that our students 
will be able to pursue these valuable opportunities.
  It is not without coincidence this bill comes up 3 to 4 weeks after 
the missed reauthorization wherein we set aside a certain amount of 
money to complete the huge web portal that would replace what agencies 
are doing in manufacturing and what programs are available. So this 
fits very tidily into that program, and I would encourage that the 
House adopt it.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from New York, my colleague on the Committee on Education 
and Labor (Mrs. McCarthy), who also understands the importance of this 
legislation to individual students as well as to our economy at large.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding, and I would like to thank my colleague from the Education 
Committee, Congressman Holt, for bringing this measure to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1051, the Science, 
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarship Database Act. This 
legislation will help students become more competitive in science and 
math and allow them to find the scholarship that is right for them.
  Mr. Speaker, in the audience today we have many young students. This 
is the future of this country. And we have to do everything that we can 
to encourage our young people to go into the sciences, math, and 
engineering. Last year the Education Committee went to China and we 
spoke with many students there and the minister of education. And their 
effort, and certainly on what they are pushing their young people to 
do, is to go into the math and sciences.
  This country has an obligation to give our young people the ability 
to compete in the future. This kind of legislation is going to help in 
so many ways as far as our country on our economy. But more than that, 
our young people deserve this opportunity.
  When you think back to the 1960s when we were looking at the moon and 
having programs that were putting us into space, those were kids' 
dreams. We need to reunite that dream, to have people understand that 
engineering and math is exciting. The last several years Mr. Holt and 
Mr. Ehlers have been talking about science and math in our committee; 
so it is right that at this time we are pushing to encourage our young 
people, saying if these are the careers that you want to go into, we 
are going to help you between a private partnership and certainly with 
the government's helping. This is a great piece of legislation. We 
should be seeing more and more of this. This is only the beginning.
  And I have to say last week I had a field hearing back in my 
district, and the issue had to do with gangs. And we had testimony from 
all the experts. But even those young people that had gotten into 
gangs, all they were asking for were opportunities to better 
themselves. This young fellow did go back to college. He did start 
studying science and math, and now he is reaching out. Education is the 
most important thing that we can do for our young people and for this 
country.
  So, again, I thank my colleague Mr. Holt for bringing this, and I 
encourage certainly all of my colleagues to support this legislation 
H.R. 1051. This is only the beginning. We must do more things like 
this.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind all Members to 
refrain from references to persons in the gallery.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to close and commend 
once again my good friend Mr. Holt for introducing this legislation and 
for moving this forward.
  I think the discussion that we have had has been good. I think that 
the breadth of individuals that have signed on as cosponsors to this 
legislation, as well as the diversity of the background of those 
Members who have come to the floor today to speak on behalf of this 
legislation, give testimony to the importance of moving forward and 
having this kind of information available.
  So I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1051.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  As I said earlier, it may come as a surprise to my colleagues that 
this single database where any student who might be interested in 
science, technology, engineering, or mathematics could go might, they 
might be surprised that it doesn't already exist. In fact, it doesn't.
  This is straightforward legislation that will make it easier for 
students to pursue a line of study or one of a number of lines of study 
that are critically important not only for their personal development, 
but for our economy and our society, our international competitiveness, 
indeed, the future of our country.
  This is only one piece of the many things that we need to do that you 
have heard from other speakers about this morning. It is a 
straightforward, simple thing that we can do, that is not expensive. If 
we could, through this inexpensive method, encourage eight or ten or 
twelve more students to go into science, that would be wonderful. 
Instead, I expect we will get hundreds, if not thousands, who will find 
their way into these critical fields because of the existence of a 
database that gives them a place to start as they look to their future.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 1051, as amended.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
National STEM Scholarship Database Act. In a time of global economic 
and scientific competition, we must ensure that our brightest young 
people have the resources to pursue careers in science, technology, 
engineering, and math.
  When students graduate from American universities with undergraduate 
degrees, they graduate with on average, $20,000 in debt. This 
undergraduate debt is a significant factor in a student's decision to 
pursue graduate school. And among science and engineering students, 
those who had debt from their undergraduate education were more likely 
to say they could not afford graduate school.
  We cannot afford to limit the potential of these students, or those 
who find the cost of even an undergraduate education prohibitive. We 
cannot afford to have ambitious students with interest and aptitude in 
science or math or engineering shut out of our colleges. We

[[Page 14665]]

need Americans with advanced degrees in the STEM fields to propel our 
Nation forward in discovery and innovation.
  This bill makes it easier for students to find scholarships and 
grants to finance their educations. It does not require a significant 
investment from the Federal Government--although I believe we should 
make the investment in more Federal loans in the future. It simply 
creates a central location where students can learn about their 
options.
  This is a common sense way to help students pursue careers in 
science, technology, engineering, and math. It is a simple, low-cost 
part of our competitiveness agenda, and I urge my colleagues to vote 
for it today.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1051, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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