IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2027 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To direct Federal science agencies and the Office of Science 

and Technology Policy to undertake activities to improve 

the quality of undergraduate STEM education and enhance the research capacity at the Nation’s HBCUs, 

TCUs, and MSIs, and for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘MSI STEM Achieve5 ment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Evidence suggests that the supply of STEM 

9 workers is not keeping pace with the rapidly evolving 

10 needs of the public and private sector, resulting in 

11 a deficit often referred to as a STEM skills short12 age. 

13 (2) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis14 tics, the United States will need one million addi15 tional STEM professionals than it is on track to 

16 produce in the coming decade. 

17 (3) STEM occupations offer higher wages, more 

18 opportunities for advancement, and a higher degree 

19 of job security than non-STEM occupations. 

20 (4) The composition of the STEM workforce 

21 does not reflect the current or projected diversity of 

22 the Nation, with Hispanics, African Americans, and 

23 other racial and ethnic minorities, significantly 

24 underrepresented in the STEM workforce compared 

25 to their presence in the workforce more generally. 


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1 (5) A stronger national commitment to increas2 ing the diversity of the STEM workforce is needed 

3 to help address the STEM skills shortage. 

4 (6) According to a 2019 National Academies of 

5 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report entitled 

6 ‘‘Minority Serving Institutions: America’s Underuti7 lized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Work8 force’’, 2- and 4-year minority serving institutions 

9 enroll nearly 30 percent of all undergraduate stu10 dents—a percentage that is expected to grow in the 

11 coming years—in the United States higher education 

12 system and play a critical role in providing impor13 tant pathways to STEM-related education, training, 

14 and careers for students of color. 

15 (7) HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs are highly suc16 cessful at educating underrepresented minority stu17 dents in STEM fields and can serve as best practice 

18 models for other colleges and universities to further 

19 expand participation of underrepresented minorities 

20 in the STEM workforce. 

21 (8) Increased investment in STEM infrastruc22 ture at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs has the potential 

23 to increase these institutions’ ability to educate even 

24 more students in the STEM disciplines. 


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1 (9) With the demand for STEM skills exceeding 

2 the supply of STEM graduates, success of HBCUs, 

3 TCUs, and MSIs in educating and training science 

4 and engineering leaders is increasingly important for 

5 United States economic growth and competitiveness. 

6 SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW. 

7 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

9 shall report to Congress— 

10 (1) an inventory of competitive funding pro11 grams and initiatives carried out by Federal science 

12 agencies that are targeted to HBCUs, TCUs, and 

13 MSIs or partnerships with HBCUs, TCUs, and 

14 MSIs; 

15 (2) an assessment of Federal science agency 

16 outreach activities to increase the participation and 

17 competitiveness of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in the 

18 funding programs and initiatives identified in para19 graph (1); and 

20 (3) recommendations of the Comptroller Gen21 eral to increase the participation of and the rate of 

22 success of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in competitive 

23 funding programs offered by Federal science agen24 cies. 


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1 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

3 Science Foundation shall award grants, on a competitive 

4 basis, to institutions of higher education or nonprofit orga5 nizations (or consortia thereof) to— 

6 (1) conduct research described in subsection (b) 

7 with respect to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 

8 (2) conduct activities described in subsection (c) 

9 to build the capacity of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs 

10 to graduate students who are competitive in attain11 ing and advancing in the STEM workforce; 

12 (3) build the research capacity and competitive13 ness of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in STEM dis14 ciplines; and 

15 (4) identify and broadly disseminate effective 

16 models for programs and practices at HBCUs, 

17 TCUs, and MSIs that promote the education and 

18 workforce preparation of minority students pursuing 

19 STEM studies and careers in which such students 

20 are underrepresented. 

21 (b) RESEARCH.—Research described in this sub22 section is research on the contribution of HBCUs, TCUs, 

23 and MSIs to the education and training of underrep24 resented minority students in STEM fields and to the 

25 meeting of national STEM workforce needs, including— 


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1 (1) the diversity with respect to local context, 

2 cultural differences, and institutional structure 

3 among HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and any associ4 ated impact on education and research endeavors; 

5 (2) effective practices at HBCUs, TCUs, and 

6 MSIs and associated outcomes on student recruit7 ment, retention, and advancement in STEM fields, 

8 including the ability for students to compete for fel9 lowships, employment, and advancement in the 

10 workforce; 

11 (3) contributions made by HBCUs, TCUs, and 

12 MSIs to local, regional, and national workforces; 

13 (4) the unique challenges and opportunities for 

14 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in attaining the resources 

15 needed for integrating effective practices in STEM 

16 education, including providing research experiences 

17 for underrepresented minority students; 

18 (5) the access of students at HBCUs, TCUs, 

19 and MSIs to STEM infrastructure and any associ20 ated outcomes for STEM competency; 

21 (6) models of STEM curriculum, learning, and 

22 teaching successful at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs for 

23 increasing participation, retention, and success of 

24 underrepresented minority students; and 


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1 (7) successful or promising partnerships be2 tween HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and other institu3 tions of higher education, private sector and non4 profit organizations, Federal laboratories, and inter5 national research institutions. 

6 (c) CAPACITY BUILDING.—Activities described in this 

7 subsection include the design, development, implementa8 tion, expansion, and assessment of— 

9 (1) metrics of success to best capture the 

10 achievements of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and stu11 dents of such institutions to account for institutional 

12 context and missions, faculty investment, student 

13 populations, student needs, and institutional re14 source constraints; 

15 (2) enhancements to undergraduate STEM cur16 riculum at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to increase the 

17 participation, retention, degree completion, and suc18 cess of underrepresented students; 

19 (3) professional development programs to in20 crease the numbers and the high-quality preparation 

21 of STEM faculty at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, in22 cluding programs to encourage STEM doctoral stu23 dents to teach at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; and 

24 (4) mechanisms for institutions of higher edu25 cation that are not HBCUs, TCUs, or MSIs to partVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2027.RFS H2027

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1 ner with HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs on STEM edu2 cation, including the facilitation of student transfer, 

3 mentoring programs for students and junior faculty, 

4 joint research projects, and student access to grad5 uate education. 

6 (d) RESEARCH EXPERIENCES.—Grants under this 

7 section may fund the development or expansion of oppor8 tunities for the exchange of students and faculty to con9 duct research, including through partnerships with institu10 tions of higher education that are not HBCUs, TCUs, or 

11 MSIs, private sector and non-profit organizations, Federal 

12 laboratories, and international research institutions. 

13 (e) PARTNERSHIPS.—In awarding grants under this 

14 section, the Director of the National Science Foundation 

15 shall— 

16 (1) encourage HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and 

17 consortia thereof and partnerships with one or more 

18 HBCU, TCU, or MSI, to submit proposals; 

19 (2) require proposals submitted in partnership 

20 with one or more HBCU, TCU, or MSI include a 

21 plan for establishing a sustained partnership that is 

22 jointly developed and managed, draws from the ca23 pacities of each institution, and is mutually bene24 ficial; and 


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1 (3) encourage proposals submitted in partner2 ship with the private sector, non-profit organiza3 tions, Federal laboratories, and international re4 search institutions, as appropriate. 

5 (f) MSI CENTERS OF INNOVATION.—Grants under 

6 this section may fund the establishment of no more than 

7 five MSI Centers of Innovation to leverage successes of 

8 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in STEM education and re9 search training of underrepresented minority students as 

10 models for other institutions, including both HBCUs, 

11 TCUs, and MSIs and institutions of higher education that 

12 are not HBCUs, TCUs, or MSIs. Such centers will be lo13 cated on campuses of selected institutions of higher edu14 cation and serve as incubators to allow institutions of 

15 higher education to experiment, pilot, evaluate, and scale 

16 up promising practices. 

17 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the 

19 National Science Foundation $170,000,000 for fiscal year 

20 2022, $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, $180,000,000 

21 for fiscal year 2024, $185,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, 

22 and $190,000,000 fiscal year 2026 to carry out this sec23 tion. 


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1 SEC. 5. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with outside 

3 stakeholders and the heads of the Federal science agen4 cies, the Director shall develop a uniform set of policy 

5 guidelines for Federal science agencies to carry out a sus6 tained program of outreach activities to increase clarity, 

7 transparency, and accountability for Federal science agen8 cy investments in STEM education and research activities 

9 at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs. 

10 (b) OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—In developing policy 

11 guidelines under subsection (a) the Director shall include 

12 guidelines that require each Federal science agency— 

13 (1) to designate a liaison for HBCUs, TCUs, 

14 and MSIs responsible for— 

15 (A) enhancing direct communication with 

16 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to increase the Fed17 eral science agency’s understanding of the ca18 pacity and needs of such institutions and to 

19 raise awareness of available Federal funding op20 portunities at such institutions; 

21 (B) coordinating programs, activities, and 

22 initiatives while accounting for the capacity and 

23 needs of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 

24 (C) tracking Federal science agency invest25 ments in and engagement with HBCUs, TCUs, 

26 and MSIs; and 


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1 (D) reporting progress toward increasing 

2 participation of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in 

3 grant programs; 

4 (2) to publish annual forecasts of funding op5 portunities and proposal deadlines, including for 

6 grants, contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative 

7 agreements; 

8 (3) to conduct on-site reviews of research facili9 ties at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, as practicable, 

10 and make recommendations regarding strategies for 

11 becoming more competitive in research; 

12 (4) to hold geographically accessible or virtual 

13 workshops on research priorities of the Federal 

14 science agency and on how to write competitive 

15 grant proposals; 

16 (5) to ensure opportunities for HBCUs, TCUs, 

17 and MSIs to directly communicate with Federal 

18 science agency officials responsible for managing 

19 competitive grant programs in order to receive feed20 back on research ideas and proposals, including 

21 guidance on the Federal science agency’s peer review 

22 process; 

23 (6) to foster mutually beneficial public-private 

24 collaboration among Federal science agencies, indusVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2027.RFS H2027

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1 try, Federal laboratories, academia, and nonprofit 

2 organizations to— 

3 (A) identify alternative sources of funding 

4 for STEM education and research at HBCUs, 

5 TCUs, and MSIs; 

6 (B) provide access to high-quality, relevant 

7 research experiences for students and faculty of 

8 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 

9 (C) expand the professional networks of 

10 students and faculty of HBCUs, TCUs, and 

11 MSIs; 

12 (D) broaden STEM educational opportuni13 ties for students and faculty of HBCUs, TCUs, 

14 and MSIs; and 

15 (E) support the transition of students of 

16 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs into the STEM 

17 workforce; and 

18 (7) to publish an annual report that provides an 

19 account of Federal science agency investments in 

20 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including data on the 

21 level of participation of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs 

22 as prime recipients/contractors or subrecipients/sub23 contractors. 

24 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in 

3 collaboration with the head of each Federal science 

4 agency, shall submit to Congress a report containing 

5 a strategic plan for each Federal science agency to 

6 increase the capacity of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs 

7 to compete effectively for grants, contracts, or coop8 erative agreements and to encourage HBCUs, 

9 TCUs, and MSIs to participate in Federal programs. 

10 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing a stra11 tegic plan under paragraph (1), the Director and 

12 each head of each Federal science agency shall con13 sider— 

14 (A) issuing new or expanding existing 

15 funding opportunities targeted to HBCUs, 

16 TCUs, and MSIs; 

17 (B) modifying existing research and devel18 opment program solicitations to incentivize ef19 fective partnerships with HBCUs, TCUs, and 

20 MSIs; 

21 (C) offering planning grants for HBCUs, 

22 TCUs, and MSIs to develop or equip grant of23 fices with the requisite depth of knowledge to 

24 submit competitive grant proposals and manage 

25 awarded grants; 


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1 (D) offering additional training programs 

2 and individualized and timely guidance to grant 

3 officers faculty and postdoctoral researchers at 

4 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to ensure they un5 derstand the requirements for an effective grant 

6 proposal; and 

7 (E) other approaches for making current 

8 competitive funding models more accessible for 

9 under-resourced HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs. 

10 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years 

12 thereafter, the Director shall report to Congress on the 

13 implementation by Federal science agencies of the policy 

14 guidelines developed under this section. 

15 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

18 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

19 Policy. 

20 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed21 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 

22 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno23 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

24 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

25 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 


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1 with an annual extramural research expenditure of 

2 over $100,000,000. 

3 (4) HBCU.—The term ‘‘HBCU’’ has the mean4 ing given the term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 

5 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1061). 

7 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

9 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High10 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

11 (6) MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

12 term ‘‘minority serving institution’’ or ‘‘MSI’’ means 

13 Hispanic-Serving Institutions as defined in section 

14 502 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

15 U.S.C. 1101a); Alaska Native Serving Institutions 

16 and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions as defined 

17 in section 317 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1059d); and Predominantly Black Insti19 tutions, Asian American and Native American Pa20 cific Islander-Serving Institutions, and Native Amer21 ican-Serving Nontribal Institutions as defined in sec22 tion 371 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1067q(c)). 


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1 (7) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the mean2 ing given the term in the STEM Education Act of 

3 2015 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.). 

4 (8) TCU.—The term ‘‘TCU’’ has the meaning 

5 given the term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ in sec6 tion 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1059c). 

Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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