STEM Opportunities Act of 2019

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2528, the STEM Opportunities Act of 2019. As a cosponsor of the legislation with Chairwoman Johnson, I am pleased the House is taking this up for consideration today.

H.R. 2528 continues the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's long history of bipartisan support for STEM education.

The United States is in a race to remain the world's leader in science and technology. The only way we will win is by utilizing America's most valuable resources--our people. This means developing a diverse, STEM-capable workforce at every education level and from every background.

The administration has recognized this need, and the President's 5- year STEM strategic plan specifically calls for an increase of diversity, equality, and inclusion in STEM programs.

This legislation supports and builds upon that plan, authorizing activities at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation.

The U.S. invests over $1 billion a year in Federal STEM education programs, but we have not made enough progress in growing a STEM- capable workforce. One of the key provisions of H.R. 2528 is a requirement for more comprehensive data collection and analysis on the students, researchers, and faculty receiving Federal science grants.

This data will help us identify and reduce the barriers that prevent underrepresented groups from entering and advancing in STEM. It will also help us measure the success of Federal STEM programs.

The bill also includes a provision directing NSF to support computer science education through the existing Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.

Access to computer science resources and the development of computing skills is critical in today's economy. STEM employment in the U.S. continues to grow faster than any other sector. Employers in all sectors, including agriculture, energy, healthcare, and defense, are desperate for workers with STEM skills. In order to meet this demand, the development of talent from all groups is essential.

H.R. 2528 takes important steps to ensure we are fully engaging America's entire talent pool and maintaining our global leadership in science and technology.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas), the ranking member, and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson), the chairwoman, for introducing this great bill.

Today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2528, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Opportunities Act, introduced by those two great colleagues.

STEM fields provide a great opportunity for academic and professional advancement. According to the Department of Commerce, STEM occupations are projected to grow by close to 9 percent, compared to approximately 6 percent for non-STEM occupations.

On average, students with a STEM degree are expected to have greater job prospects and to earn close to 12 percent more in wages than their non-STEM counterparts.

We should expect this growing trend to continue, and, therefore, we need to ensure we bolster STEM capabilities in education and in the workforce to meet the demand for STEM professionals and remain at the forefront of scientific endeavors.

H.R. 2528 helps guarantee that the STEM community is diverse and representative of women, minorities, rural students, students with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

Specifically, this bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop best practices on how to support STEM researchers who are also caregivers, how to best reduce the impact of bias in the review of grant proposals, and how to better identify cultural and institutional barriers at science agencies and Federal labs.

It also requires Federal science agencies to collect demographic information on grant proposals, awards, and faculty, and it directs the National Science Foundation to support the research and dissemination of best practices to increase recruitment, retention, and advancement of underrepresented groups in STEM degree programs and research careers.

Puerto Rico has a strong STEM academic and professional sector as well. We even created a caucus with universities--the Arecibo Observatory, among others--to help bolster this area. I, myself, graduated from a STEM school. We have remarkable STEM students and researchers who are engaged with their communities and are ready to contribute to their fields by producing innovative work for the benefit of the island and for the Nation.

The objectives of this bill are key to increasing the scope of the scientific population and meeting the current demands and challenges in STEM.

I am a proud cosponsor of this bill, and I would like to thank Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for their leadership, not just in this area, but on many other important issues, and I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor.

I would also like to thank them for their leadership on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and for helping me and helping us harness the capabilities of the Federal Government for the advancement of science and technology on behalf of the American people.

Unfortunately, I will be parting with the committee. However, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on science and many other issues in the future.

I commend them both and their staffs for all their assistance during these months, and I wish them all the best as they continue their great work. I really enjoyed my stay with that committee.

First, let me take a moment to note that the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico will indeed be missed on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology--and I think I can say this about the beloved chair--is a committee that still reflects many of the traditions of this House: working together for the common good, trying to drive this great Nation and all of our good citizens forward.

So, hopefully, at some future time, the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico will have the opportunity to come rejoin us, and I look forward to that very day.

That said, in my closing remarks, I would like to thank Chairwoman Johnson and her staff for working in a bipartisan fashion on this legislation and for incorporating our feedback and ideas. I look forward to continuing to work with her to advance STEM education efforts in this Congress that will support, encourage, and develop the next generation of STEM workers.

Maintaining our global leadership in science and technology is critical to our economic and national security. We will not be able to lead without a STEM-capable workforce for the 21st century.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 2528, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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