STEM scholarship added to immigration bill

The Senate on Friday adopted an amendment to the pending Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation that would create and fund a large STEM scholarship program at the National Science Foundation. Under the proposal, advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the H-1B Visa system would be modified to include an additional $3,500 fee, which would support an “American Competitiveness Scholarship” program. The scholarships would be merit-based and provide $15,000 for undergraduate or graduate education per student per year for up to four years. Under the proposed legislation, the number of H-1B visas granted each year would climb from 65,000 to 115,000 or 180,000, which would provide between $400 and $630 million annually for the scholarship.

The H-1B visa is a visa category that allows American companies and universities to seek temporary help from skilled foreign workers. The demand for H-1B visas is incredibly high, particularly in technology companies; the number of applications submitted each year far exceeds the number of available visas. The visa currently costs a company $1,500 and lasts three years. The Sanders amendment would raise the fee to $5,000, but continue to provide cost exemptions for small businesses.

Sanders and three others, including senators from both parties, spoke in favor of the amendment on the floor of the Senate. Sanders called the vote, “a vote for preserving American competitiveness in the 21st century” and “for giving our children a brighter future.” Sanders and others framed the amendment as a way to ensure a supply of skilled American labor for American companies. No senator spoke against the amendment, No. 1223, and it was adopted by a 59 to 35 vote. (Roll call vote No. 179: See how your Senators voted.)

The text of the amendment is available under item 18, page S6618, in the congressional record for Friday, May 24th.

House Merges S&T Legislation to Mirror Senate Bill

On Monday, May 21, the House Science and Technology Committee merged the committee’s previous S&T legislation into a new bill, H.R. 2272, to mirror comprehensive legislation passed by the Senate. The House S&T Committee’s bills, as five separate pieces of legislation, would have been at a disadvantage in conference committee when compared to the Senate’s single, inclusive America COMPETES Act, (S. 761.) H.R. 2272 only includes programs at the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, as the House has yet to pass authorizing legislation for STEM programs in the Department of Education. The House Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Education, is preoccupied with No Child Left Behind reauthorization. The original bills had passed with large, bipartisan majorities; the composite bill passed by a voice vote.

The aggregated legislation, as related to STEM education, includes:

• 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds (Previously H.R. 362): The act expands funding and relaxes requirements for the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program at NSF, which supports undergraduates who agree to teach K-12 science upon graduation; creates a new component of the Noyce Program that gives scholarships to STEM professionals enrolled in teacher certification programs; directs the STEM Talent Expansion Program to sponsor research into undergraduate STEM curriculum and teaching; initiates a pilot program to introduce laboratory science to secondary schools; and revises the Math and Science Partnership program at NSF to prioritize applications that focus on teacher training and to require that the program fund partnerships to develop master’s programs in STEM education for in-service teachers.


• Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Act of 2007 (Previously H.R. 363): The act authorizes grants to early-career scientists and engineers through the NSF and Department of Energy. It also authorizes at more than $30 million, an NSF scholarship program for undergraduate STEM scholars, to be called US-STEM.

H.R. 2272 also incorporates the House authorizations for the NSF and NIST, both of which put research funding on pace to double within ten years. The text of the act can be found on THOMAS.

Authorizing legislation does not provide actual funding for the programs; rather, it sets upper limits for later appropriations. Although the House has expressed strong, bipartisan support for STEM education this session and has increased authorized funding levels, historically many of these programs have been funded below authorized levels. The appropriations process should begin in June and future Legislative Updates will include more information on appropriation.

Senate Passes America COMPETES Act; Addresses STEM Policy With Single, Multi-Faceted Bill

On April 25, the Senate passed the America COMPETES Act, Senate Bill S. 761, by a vote of 88-8; the legislation had 69 co-sponsors. It is the Senate’s response to a series of reports, such as the National Academies’ “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” report, that call for a reinvestment in science and technology innovation and education. "If we are to maintain our competitive edge, we must improve the education our students receive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics," said Senator Ted Stevens. "We must equip our teachers with the resources and skills that they need." The act addresses STEM education in programs at the Department of Energy , the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). A summary of the larger provisions relating to education is as follows:

• In the Department of Energy, S. 761 creates the position of Director of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education; authorizes grants for states to establish or expand public, statewide schools specializing in STEM; and requires that each national laboratory establish: a summer internship program for middle and secondary students, an internship program for teachers, and a “STEM Center of Excellence” partnership with a high-need local education agency.
  


• In the Department of Education, S. 761 authorizes grants for programs that award simultaneous degrees in STEM fields and education; expands scholarships for teachers to study for master’s degrees in STEM education; encourages the teaching of AP and IB curriculum in high-need schools; authorizes the Department to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to convene a national panel on best practices in STEM education; creates a Math Now program to provide grants for improving math teaching in elementary and middle schools; and authorizes grants for states to create P-16 councils to coordinate, integrate and improve STEM education from preschool through college.


• At the National Science Foundation, S. 761 authorizes grants to facilitate creation of master’s degree programs at four-year institutions of higher education; authorizes the STEM Talent Expansion program but does not expand its mission like H.R. 2272; and expands the Robert Noyce Teacher Program similarly to H.R. 2272. S. 761 would double NSF funding in five years.

The text of the act can be read on THOMAS.

No Child Left Behind reauthorization progressing; draft bill expected in June

President Bush and Congressional leaders from both parties continue to express their desire to reauthorize the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act before the August congressional recess. The House and Senate education committees have been actively holding hearings on NCLB this spring, and a draft bill is expected to start the negotiations in earnest sometime in June. Among other provisions, the proposal will likely include language incorporating science testing in the calculation of Adequate Yearly Progress beginning in the 2008-09 school year. Conventional wisdom holds that the spending bills will dominate the fall Congressional session, so if Congress fails to reauthorize NCLB before the August recess the process may be pushed into 2008 or beyond.

Discussions are ongoing and progressing rapidly, so Triangle Coalition members who have particular concerns about NCLB are encouraged to contact their representatives in Congress. Contact Congress.

Acronym Glossary

For legislative-related acronyms not defined here, or for further detail on Congressional terminology, check one of these two Congressional glossaries, here and here.

ACC -- Academic Competitiveness Council
ACS -- American Chemical Society
AIP -- American Institute of Physics
AYP -- Adequate Yearly Progress
CCRA -- College Cost Reduction Act
CCSSO -- Council of Chief State School Officers
CEP -- Center on Education Policy
CGCS -- Council of Great City Schools
CJS -- Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees
CR -- Continuing resolution
CRS -- Congressional Research Service
DOE -- Department of Energy
DoEd -- Department of Education (Also: ED)
ED -- Department of Education (Also: DoEd)
ESEA -- Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Also: the 2002 reauthorization of ESEA is known as NCLB)
FAFSA -- Free Application for Federal Student Aid
HJ. Res. -- House Joint Resolution
HR -- House of Representatives, as used in bill numbers (e.g., H.R. 1.)
HEA -- Higher Education Act
HELP (Committee) -- Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
HHS -- Department of Health and Human Services
IHEs -- Institutions of higher education
LEA -- Local Educational Agency (or School District)
LHHS -- Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees
MSP -- Math and Science Partnership Program (May refer to either ED or NSF program)
NAEP -- National Assessment of Educational Progress
NAGB -- National Assessment Governing Board
NASA -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASBE -- National Association of State Boards of Education
NCLB -- No Child Left Behind (Also: ESEA as reauthorized in 2002)
NCTM -- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
NIH -- National Institutes of Health
NIST -- National Institute of Standards and Technology
NOAA -- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
NSB -- National Science Board (governing body of NSF)
NSF -- National Science Foundation
NSTA -- National Science Teachers Association
NSTC -- National Science and Technology Council
R&D -- Research and Development
S -- Senate, as used in bill numbers (e.g., S. 1.)
SJ. Res. -- Senate Joint Resolution
S&T -- Science and Technology
SEA -- State Educational Agency
STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
TC -- Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education