I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5328 

To require certain information be reported with respect to principal investigators who have discriminated, including harassed, on the basis of sex 

(including gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, parental status, and 

sex stereotype), and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

KHANNA, Ms. SLOTKIN, and Ms. DEAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in 

addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, and Science, 

Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require certain information be reported with respect to 

principal investigators who have discriminated, including 

harassed, on the basis of sex (including gender identity, 

sexual orientation, pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, parental status, and sex stereotype), and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Funding Ac3 countability for Sexual Harassers Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Discrimination on the basis of sex remains 

7 pervasive in the academic workplace and especially 

8 in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine. 

9 (2) According to a study conducted by the Na10 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med11 icine in 2018— 

12 (A) academic workplaces have a rate of 

13 sexual harassment equal to 58 percent, which is 

14 second only to the military, which has a rate of 

15 sexual harassment equal to 69 percent; 

16 (B) more than 50 percent of female faculty 

17 and staff and an estimated 20 to 50 percent of 

18 female students encounter or experience sexual 

19 harassment in academia; 

20 (C) in a survey of undergraduate and 

21 graduate students, 1 in 5 female science stu22 dents, 1 in 4 female engineering students, and 

23 2 in 5 female medical students experienced sex24 ual harassment from faculty and staff; 


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1 (D) with respect to sexual harassment, 

2 sexual and racial minorities are disproportion3 ately targeted; 

4 (E) in a study of employees in higher edu5 cation, nearly 77 percent of sexual minorities of 

6 both genders experienced gender harassment 

7 compared to 30 percent of heterosexuals; 

8 (F) women of color and racial or ethnic 

9 minorities experience harassment differently 

10 from other populations given their intersectional 

11 identities; and 

12 (G) policies and procedures in effect as of 

13 the date of enactment of this Act often protect 

14 the liability of institutions of higher education 

15 but are not effective in preventing sexual har16 assment. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that academic institutions and the Federal Govern19 ment should work together to meaningfully address the 

20 issue of sexual harassment by ensuring a culture of ac21 countability, transparency, and inclusion. 


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1 SEC. 3. UNIQUE IDENTIFIER REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIN2 CIPAL INVESTIGATORS. 

3 Section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and 

4 Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (6) 

8 through (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), re9 spectively; and 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (5), the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(6) PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OR PROGRAM

13 DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Principal Investigator or 

14 Program Director’— 

15 ‘‘(A) means an individual— 

16 ‘‘(i) designated by the entity receiving 

17 the award to direct or lead the project, 

18 program, or activity being supported by 

19 the grant; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) responsible and accountable to 

21 the entity receiving the award for the prop22 er conduct of the project, program, or ac23 tivity; and 

24 ‘‘(B) includes an individual identified by 

25 such institution as a co-principal investigator 

26 with respect to such grant.’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(E)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘award and’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘award,’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and the Principal In5 vestigator or Program Director’’ after ‘‘another 

6 entity’’. 

7 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 

8 EDUCATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 487(a) of the Higher 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(30)(A) With respect to any individual who, as 

13 a result of a grievance procedure described in section 

14 106.8(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

15 successor regulations) and carried out by the institu16 tion, is found by the institution to have engaged in 

17 discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of 

18 sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, 

19 pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to 

20 pregnancy and childbirth, parental status, and sex 

21 stereotype) while the individual was a principal in22 vestigator at the institution, the institution will re23 port (not later than 1 month after the final disposi24 tion of such grievance procedure)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to the Federal clearinghouse des2 ignated by the Director of the Office of Man3 agement and Budget under section 7504 of title 

4 31, United States Code, the information speci5 fied in subclauses (I) through (VI) of clause 

6 (ii); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) to each Federal department and agen8 cy that has awarded such institution a competi9 tive research and development grant on or after 

10 the date that is 10 years before such finding, 

11 the following information: 

12 ‘‘(I) The unique identifier of such in13 dividual. 

14 ‘‘(II) The date and nature of the vio15 lation for which such determination was 

16 made. 

17 ‘‘(III) A list of competitive research 

18 grants (including identifying numbers) for 

19 which the individual was a principal inves20 tigator. 

21 ‘‘(IV) The findings of such determina22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(V) The remedy (such as corrective 

24 training or suspension) required by the in25 stitution after such determination. 


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1 ‘‘(VI) Whether findings of discrimina2 tion, including harassment, on the basis of 

3 sex (including gender identity, sexual ori4 entation, pregnancy, childbirth, medical 

5 conditions related to pregnancy and child6 birth, parental status, and sex stereotype) 

7 have been found against such an investi8 gator previously. 

9 ‘‘(B) With respect to a complaint alleging dis10 crimination, including harassment, on the basis of 

11 sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, 

12 pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to 

13 pregnancy and childbirth, parental status, and sex 

14 stereotype) by a principal investigator at the institu15 tion, which was filed with such institution, but for 

16 which the institution has not completed a grievance 

17 procedure described in section 106.8(b) of title 34, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula19 tions) 6 months after the date on which such com20 plaint was filed, the institution will report (not later 

21 than the date that is 7 months after the date on 

22 which such complaint was filed)— 

23 ‘‘(i) to the Federal clearinghouse des24 ignated by the Director of the Office of Man25 agement and Budget under section 7504 of title 


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1 31, United States Code, the information speci2 fied in subclauses (I) through (VI) of clause 

3 (ii); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) to each Federal department and agen5 cy that has awarded such institution a competi6 tive research and development grant on or after 

7 the date that is 10 years before such complaint 

8 was filed, the following information: 

9 ‘‘(I) The current status of the com10 plaint. 

11 ‘‘(II) The nature of the complaint. 

12 ‘‘(III) The date of the alleged viola13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(IV) The reason why the institution 

15 has yet to complete the grievance proce16 dure. 

17 ‘‘(V) Whether findings of discrimina18 tion, including harassment, on the basis of 

19 sex (including gender identity, sexual ori20 entation, pregnancy, childbirth, medical 

21 conditions related to pregnancy and child22 birth, parental status, and sex stereotype) 

23 have been found, against such an investi24 gator previously. 


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1 ‘‘(C) In the case of an institution that is re2 quired to report information— 

3 ‘‘(i) under subparagraph (A), the institu4 tion will— 

5 ‘‘(I) ensure that such information is 

6 accurate; and 

7 ‘‘(II) if errors are discovered in such 

8 information— 

9 ‘‘(aa) report the corrected infor10 mation to each Federal department 

11 and agency described in such subpara12 graph, as soon as practicable; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) submit, as soon as prac14 ticable, to the Federal clearinghouse 

15 designated by the Director of the Of16 fice of Management and Budget under 

17 section 7504 of title 31, United States 

18 Code, a request to correct such infor19 mation; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) under subparagraph (B), the institu21 tion will not report any personally identifiable 

22 information with respect to individuals involved 

23 with the formal complaint on which the institu24 tion is reporting. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Upon receiving a request described in sub2 paragraph (C)(i)(II)(bb), the Federal clearinghouse 

3 designated by the Director of the Office of Manage4 ment and Budget under section 7504 of title 31, 

5 United States Code, shall modify or remove informa6 tion reported under subparagraph (A), as applicable. 

7 ‘‘(E) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 

8 ‘principal investigator’ has the meaning given the 

9 term in paragraph (6) of section 2(a) of the Federal 

10 Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 

11 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note). 

12 ‘‘(31) The institution will disclose in any appli13 cation for a Federal award (as defined in section 2 

14 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Trans15 parency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note)) sub16 mitted by such institution whether, with respect to 

17 such Federal award, a principal investigator (as de18 fined in paragraph (30)(D))— 

19 ‘‘(A) is, at the time such application is 

20 submitted, subject to a grievance procedure de21 scribed in section 106.8(b) of title 34, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(B) has been found by the institution to 

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1 assment, on the basis of sex (including gender 

2 identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, child3 birth, medical conditions related to pregnancy 

4 and childbirth, parental status, and sex stereo5 type) while the individual was a principal inves6 tigator at the institution.’’. 

7 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion, or the amendments made by this section, shall be 

9 construed to require that an institution of higher edu10 cation make a legal determination that title IX of the Edu11 cation Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) has 

12 been violated in order to conclude that discrimination, in13 cluding harassment, on the basis of sex (including gender 

14 identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, childbirth, medical 

15 conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, parental 

16 status, and sex stereotype) has occurred. 

17 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL DEPART18 MENTS AND AGENCIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal department or 

20 agency authorized to award research and development 

21 grants on a competitive basis— 

22 (1) when making the final decision of whether 

23 to award such a grant to an institution of higher 

24 education— 


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1 (A) shall determine whether any reports 

2 have been obtained by the Federal clearing3 house designated by the Director of the Office 

4 of Management and Budget under section 7504 

5 of title 31, United States Code; 

6 (B) shall determine whether any reports 

7 have been filed under paragraph (30)(A) of sec8 tion 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as added by section 

10 3, on any individual who will be the principal 

11 investigator at the institution of higher edu12 cation for such grant; and 

13 (C) if such a report has been filed, will 

14 consider the report when making such decision; 

15 and 

16 (2) shall keep each report received under such 

17 paragraph on an individual— 

18 (A) in a case in which during the 10-year 

19 period beginning on the date of receipt of such 

20 report no additional such report is filed on such 

21 individual, for such 10-year period; or 

22 (B) in a case in which during the 10-year 

23 period described in subparagraph (A) an addi24 tional such report is filed on such individual, 


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1 for the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

2 receipt of such additional report; and 

3 (3) may condition such grant award on the pro4 hibition of the individual for which a report has been 

5 filed under such paragraph from using the grant 

6 award or carrying out activities under the grant. 

7 (b) REPORTS.—Each Federal department or agency 

8 authorized to award research and development grants on 

9 a competitive basis shall annually submit a report to Con10 gress that includes— 

11 (1) the number of reports submitted under 

12 paragraph (30)(A) of section 487(a) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as 

14 added by section 3, and disaggregated by reports re15 ceived under clause (i) of such paragraph and by re16 ports received under clause (ii) of such paragraph; 

17 and 

18 (2) the number of cases in which the depart19 ment or agency recommended awarding such a grant 

20 for which the principal investigator was an indi21 vidual on which a report under such paragraph had 

22 been filed during the preceding fiscal year and the 

23 reasons for each such recommendation. 

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High4 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

5 (2) PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR.—The term 

6 ‘‘principal investigator’’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in paragraph (6) of section 2(a) of the Federal 

8 Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 

9 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note). 

10 SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT. 

11 The Secretary of Education shall enter into a con12 tract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer13 ing, and Medicine under which the National Academies 

14 of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall, not later 

15 than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

16 and every 5 years thereafter, conduct a comprehensive 

17 study that includes— 

18 (1) a summary of the implementation of the 

19 recommendations from the 2018 study of such Na20 tional Academies entitled ‘‘The Sexual Harassment 

21 of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in 

22 Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’ in— 

23 (A) institutions of higher education; 


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1 (B) Federal agencies that provide competi2 tively awarded grants for research and develop3 ment; 

4 (C) nonprofit organizations; and 

5 (D) other appropriate entities identified by 

6 such National Academies; 

7 (2) with respect to the implementation de8 scribed in paragraph (1), an analysis of the effect of 

9 such implementation on addressing and preventing 

10 sexual harassment; 

11 (3) a summary of the strategies employed by 

12 the entities described in subparagraphs (A) through 

13 (D) of paragraph (1) to address and prevent sexual 

14 harassment; 

15 (4) an analysis of the extent to which such 

16 strategies have been researched and evaluated; 

17 (5) with respect to the strategies described in 

18 paragraph (3), an analysis of the effect of such 

19 strategies on addressing and preventing sexual har20 assment; and 

21 (6) a description of— 

22 (A) the legislative, administrative, edu23 cational, and cultural barriers to implementing 

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1 ing the negative impacts of sexual harassment; 

2 and 

3 (B) the strategies for overcoming such bar4 riers. 

Æ 


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