I
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4375
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 2017
Mrs. Comstock (for herself, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Smith of Texas, and Mr. Knight) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
A BILL
To provide for a study on broadening participation in certain National Science Foundation research and education programs, to collect data on Federal research grants to science agencies, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the STEM Research and Education Effectiveness and Transparency Act
.
Broadening participation in STEM program effectiveness study
In general
Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to Congress on the effectiveness of all National Science Foundation research and education programs for broadening the participation of women and other historically underrepresented individuals in STEM studies and careers, including—
development or identification of performance metrics to evaluate such programs;
information on student outcomes using all available data, including dropout rates, enrollment in graduate programs, internships or apprenticeships, and employment;
identification of any data gaps for evaluating the effectiveness and outcomes of National Science Foundation programs to broaden participation; and
recommendations for maintaining, translating, and disseminating outcomes data for STEM programs funded by the National Science Foundation.
Definition of STEM
In this section, the term STEM
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621 note).
Collection and reporting of data on Federal research grants
Collection of data
In general
Each Federal science agency shall collect standardized record-level annual information on demographics, primary field, award type, review rating, budget request, funding outcome, and awarded budget for all applications for merit-reviewed research and development grants to institutions of higher education and Federal laboratories supported by that agency.
Uniformity and standardization
The Director shall establish a policy to ensure uniformity and standardization of the data collection required under paragraph (1).
Record-level data
Requirement
On an annual basis, beginning with the deadline under subparagraph (C), each Federal science agency shall submit to the Director of the National Science Foundation record-level data collected under paragraph (1) in the form required by such Director.
Previous data
As part of the first submission under subparagraph (A), each Federal science agency, to the extent practicable, shall submit comparable record-level data for the 5 years preceding the deadline under subparagraph (C).
Deadline
The deadline under this paragraph is not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
Reporting of data
The Director of the National Science Foundation shall publish statistical summary data collected under this section, disaggregated and cross-tabulated demographically and by years since completion of doctoral degree, including in conjunction with the National Science Foundation’s report required by section 37 of the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d; Public Law 96–516).
Definitions
In this section:
Director
The term Director
means the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Federal laboratory
The term Federal laboratory
has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703).
Federal science agency
The term Federal science agency
means any Federal agency with at least $100,000,000 in research and development expenditures in fiscal year 2017.
Institution of higher education
The term institution of higher education
has the meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
