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STEM Bill Passes House

On May 4, the House approved, 378-2, a resolution recognizing the need to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and supporting the ideals of National Lab Day (H. Res. 1213).

Sponsored by Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), the resolution includes a number of findings, including:

  • National Lab Day is a nationwide initiative to foster community-based collaborations between educators, STEM professionals, and other volunteers across the country to support high-quality, hands-on, discovery-based laboratory experiences for students;
  • Many STEM occupations do not have representation of women and underrepresented minorities proportional to these groups in the population or their enrollment in higher education;
  • The president has launched an “Educate to Innovate campaign,” which aims to increase STEM literacy so that all students can learn deeply and think critically in STEM, to move American students from the middle of the pack to the top in the next decade, and to expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and girls; and
  • Increasing the number of students pursuing careers in STEM fields is vital to the global competitiveness of the United States.

The resolution “calls upon the [White House] Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation to continue fostering partnerships, such as those involved in National Lab Day,” and “encourages scientists, volunteers, and educators to participate in National Lab Day.”

Speaking in support of the resolution, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) said, “A central piece of this effort must be to encourage girls and underrepresented minorities to be involved in STEM at the K-12, undergrad, and graduate levels so they can, if they choose, turn their educations into careers…That is why I sponsored the Patsy T. Mink Fellowships, which President Bush signed into law in 2008 as part of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act. The Patsy T. Mink Fellowships provide encouragement for women and minorities to go into the graduate programs where they are [underrepresented], such as into the STEM programs, and then to move into teaching in these fields. I am also preparing to reintroduce a bill – Go Girl, as it has been previously entitled for the many, many years that I’ve been here – which will provide grants to schools to promote STEM education for girls, and we have included underrepresented minorities for K-12 students. Mr. Speaker, helping young women and minorities go into these STEM fields is an investment in our future as a country, so I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H. Res. 1213.”