Stem Opportunities Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. 204, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for introducing this bill, which I am also proud to cosponsor.

I thank all of the Members on both sides of the aisle who have cosponsored the bill, the 25 organizations that have endorsed it, and the many more organizations and individuals who contributed to it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all the importance of a robust U.S. research enterprise. Not only has this been essential during the pandemic, it will continue to be crucial to maintaining U.S. global leadership in science and technology.

Unfortunately, this position of global leadership is eroding. To maintain our leadership position and to lead the world in the development of technologies that may dramatically reshape our lives, the U.S. needs a talented STEM workforce that is fully representative of our population.

We have a lot of work to do on that front. Women and people of color remain severely underrepresented in STEM. As we have learned from numerous studies, this underrepresentation results from numerous cultural and institutional barriers, as well as a lack of access to resources and adequate support. It is not because of a lack of talent or interest in STEM. We have made progress on increasing the diversity of the STEM fields in recent years, but it is nowhere near enough.

We must act now to address these inequities and begin building a more diverse STEM workforce for the 21st century.

The STEM Opportunities Act requires comprehensive data collection by Federal agencies so we can better understand the challenge we are facing. It also requires the development of consistent Federal policies for recipients of Federal research awards who have caregiving responsibilities, an issue the pandemic has brought into sharper focus.

The bill requires OSTP to develop consistent guidelines and best practices for grant reviewers and program officers, as well as universities and Federal laboratories. These guidelines and best practices will assist in reducing the effects of implicit bias and identifying barriers limiting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minorities in STEM.

The bill also authorizes the National Science Foundation to expand research aimed at improving the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minorities in STEM. NSF is also directed to award grants through the existing Tribal Colleges and Universities Program to support computer science education.

We cannot leave anybody behind in the STEM fields, and H.R. 204 will help. We give better decisions when we have people from all backgrounds around the table.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure this important bill is signed into law.

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, a few years ago, I held an innovation roundtable in northwest Oregon, and I remember clearly one very successful tech entrepreneur answered the question: What is the best thing we can do for innovation?

He said: We need to diversify the STEM workforce because people from different backgrounds and different experiences bring different perspectives and help identify problems that others may not.

This bill will help in that effort.

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