II 

Calendar No. 570 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4323 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2017 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT 

To promote veteran involvement in STEM education, computer science, and scientific research, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Veterans 

5 in STEM Careers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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

2 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

3 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

4 means the National Science Foundation. 

5 (3) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 2 of the America COM7 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

8 6621 note). 

9 (4) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

11 United States Code. 

12 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING VETERANS IN STEM EDUCATION AND 

13 COMPUTER SCIENCE. 

14 (a) SUPPORTING VETERAN INVOLVEMENT IN SCI15 ENTIFIC RESEARCH AND STEM EDUCATION.—The Di16 rector shall, through the research and education activities 

17 of the Foundation, encourage veterans to study and pur18 sue careers in STEM and computer science, in coordina19 tion with other Federal agencies that serve veterans. 

20 (b) VETERAN OUTREACH PLAN.—Not later than 90 

21 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

22 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

23 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 


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1 Senate a plan for how the Foundation can enhance its out2 reach efforts to veterans. Such plan shall— 

3 (1) report on the Foundation’s existing out4 reach activities; 

5 (2) identify the best method for the Foundation 

6 to leverage existing authorities and programs to fa7 cilitate and support veterans in STEM careers and 

8 studies, including teaching programs; and 

9 (3) identify a method for the Foundation to 

10 track veteran participation in research and edu11 cation programs of the Foundation, and describe 

12 any barriers to collecting such information. 

13 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD INDICATORS RE14 PORT.—The National Science Board shall provide in its 

15 annual report on indicators of the state of science and en16 gineering in the United States any available and relevant 

17 data on veterans in science and engineering careers or 

18 education programs. 

19 (d) ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PRO20 GRAM UPDATE.—Section 10 of the National Science 

21 Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n– 

22 1) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)(5)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(C) higher education programs that serve 

5 or support veterans.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(F)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘and students’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘, students’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and veterans’’ before 

10 the period at the end; 

11 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘and vet12 erans’’ before the period at the end; and 

13 (4) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘and vet14 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

15 (e) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TEACHING

16 FELLOWSHIPS AND MASTER TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS

17 UPDATE.—Section 10A(d) of the National Science Foun18 dation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n– 

19 1a(d)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3)(F)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and individuals’’ and in22 serting ‘‘, individuals’’; and 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and veterans’’ before 

24 the period at the end; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘and vet2 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

3 (f) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION COMPUTER

4 AND NETWORK SECURITY CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS

5 UPDATE.—Section 5(a) of the Cyber Security Research 

6 and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and stu8 dents who are veterans’’ after ‘‘these fields’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

11 at the end; 

12 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

13 subparagraph (K); and 

14 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(J) creating opportunities for veterans to 

17 transition to careers in computer and network 

18 security; and’’. 

19 (g) GRADUATE TRAINEESHIPS IN COMPUTER AND

20 NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH UPDATE.—Section 

21 5(c)(6)(C) of the Cyber Security Research and Develop22 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(c)(6)(C)) is amended by insert23 ing ‘‘or veterans’’ after ‘‘disciplines’’. 

24 (h) VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES STEM 

25 EDUCATION INTERAGENCY SUBCOMMITTEE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

2 Science and Technology Policy shall establish a sub3 committee under the Committee on STEM Edu4 cation of the National Science and Technology 

5 Council (established under section 101 of the Amer6 ica COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010) to 

7 coordinate Federal programs and policies for 

8 transitioning and training veterans and military 

9 spouses for STEM careers. 

10 (2) DUTIES OF SUBCOMMITTEE.—The sub11 committee established under paragraph (1) shall— 

12 (A) coordinate Federal agency STEM out13 reach activities and programs for veterans and 

14 military spouses; and 

15 (B) develop and facilitate the implementa16 tion by participating agencies of a strategic 

17 plan, which shall— 

18 (i) specify and prioritize short- and 

19 long-term objectives; 

20 (ii) specify the common metrics that 

21 will be used by Federal agencies to assess 

22 progress toward achieving such objectives; 

23 (iii) identify barriers veterans face in 

24 reentering the workforce, including a lack 

25 of formal STEM education, career guidVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H4323.RS H4323

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1 ance, and the process of transferring mili2 tary credits and skills to college credits; 

3 (iv) identify barriers military spouses 

4 face in establishing careers in STEM 

5 fields; 

6 (v) describe the approaches that each 

7 participating agency will take to address 

8 administratively the barriers described in 

9 clauses (iii) and (iv); and 

10 (vi) identify any barriers that require 

11 Federal or State legislative or regulatory 

12 changes in order to be addressed. 

13 (3) DUTIES OF OSTP.—The Director of the Of14 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall encour15 age and monitor the efforts of the Federal agencies 

16 participating in the subcommittee to ensure that the 

17 strategic plan required under paragraph (2)(B) is 

18 developed and executed effectively and that the ob19 jectives of such strategic plan are met. 

20 (4) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of 

21 Science and Technology Policy shall— 

22 (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 

23 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the 

24 strategic plan required under paragraph (2)(B); 

25 and 


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1 (B) include in the annual report required 

2 by section 101(d) of the America COMPETES 

3 Reauthorization Act a description of any 

4 progress made in carrying out the activities de5 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection. 

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Veterans 

8 in STEM Careers Act’’. 

9 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

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

12 Director of the National Science Foundation. 

13 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

14 means the National Science Foundation. 

15 (3) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the meaning 

16 given the term in section 2 of the America COM17 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621 

18 note). 

19 (4) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

20 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

21 United States Code. 

22 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING VETERANS IN STEM EDUCATION AND 

23 COMPUTER SCIENCE. 

24 (a) SUPPORTING VETERAN INVOLVEMENT IN SCI25 ENTIFIC RESEARCH AND STEM EDUCATION.—The Director 


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1 shall, through the research and education activities of the 

2 Foundation, encourage veterans to study and pursue careers 

3 in STEM and computer science, in coordination with other 

4 Federal agencies that serve veterans. 

5 (b) VETERAN OUTREACH PLAN.—Not later than 180 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech8 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

10 a plan for how the Foundation can enhance its outreach 

11 efforts to veterans. Such plan shall— 

12 (1) report on the Foundation’s existing outreach 

13 activities; 

14 (2) identify the best method for the Foundation 

15 to leverage existing authorities and programs to fa16 cilitate and support veterans in STEM careers and 

17 studies, including teaching programs; 

18 (3) include options for how the Foundation will, 

19 to the extent practicable, track veteran participation 

20 in research and education programs of the Founda21 tion; and 

22 (4) describe any barriers to collecting the infor23 mation described in paragraph (3). 

24 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD INDICATORS RE25 PORT.—The National Science Board shall provide in its anVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Sep 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4323.RS H4323

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1 nual report on indicators of the state of science and engi2 neering in the United States any available and relevant 

3 data on veterans in science and engineering careers or edu4 cation programs. 

5 (d) ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PRO6 GRAM UPDATE.—Section 10 of the National Science Foun7 dation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)(5)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

11 at the end; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

13 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) higher education programs that serve 

16 or support veterans.’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(F)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and students’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘, students’’; and 

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and veterans’’ before the 

21 period at the end. 

22 (e) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TEACHING FEL23 LOWSHIPS AND MASTER TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS UP24 DATE.—Section 10A(d) of the National Science Foundation 


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1 Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1a(d)) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (3)(F)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and individuals’’ and in5 serting ‘‘, individuals’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and veterans’’ before the 

7 period at the end; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘and vet9 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

10 (f) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION COMPUTER AND

11 NETWORK SECURITY CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS UP12 DATE.—Section 5(a) of the Cyber Security Research and 

13 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and students 

15 who are veterans’’ after ‘‘these fields’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

18 at the end; 

19 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

20 subparagraph (K); and 

21 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(J) creating opportunities for veterans to 

24 transition to careers in computer and network 

25 security; and’’. 


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1 (g) GRADUATE TRAINEESHIPS IN COMPUTER AND

2 NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH UPDATE.—Section 

3 5(c)(6)(C) of the Cyber Security Research and Development 

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(c)(6)(C)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

5 veterans’’ after ‘‘disciplines’’. 

6 (h) VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES STEM EDU7 CATION INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

9 Science and Technology Policy shall establish or des10 ignate an interagency working group to coordinate 

11 Federal programs and policies for transitioning and 

12 training veterans and military spouses for STEM ca13 reers. 

14 (2) DUTIES OF INTERAGENCY WORKING

15 GROUP.—The interagency working group under para16 graph (1) shall— 

17 (A) coordinate any Federal agency STEM 

18 outreach activities and programs for veterans 

19 and military spouses; and 

20 (B) develop and facilitate the implementa21 tion by participating agencies of a strategic 

22 plan, which shall— 

23 (i) specify and prioritize short- and 

24 long-term objectives; 


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1 (ii) specify the common metrics that 

2 will be used by Federal agencies to assess 

3 progress toward achieving such objectives; 

4 (iii) identify barriers veterans face in 

5 reentering the workforce, including a lack of 

6 formal STEM education, career guidance, 

7 and the process of transferring military 

8 credits and skills to college credits; 

9 (iv) identify barriers military spouses 

10 face in establishing careers in STEM fields; 

11 (v) describe the approaches that each 

12 participating agency will take to address 

13 administratively the barriers described in 

14 clauses (iii) and (iv); and 

15 (vi) identify any barriers that require 

16 Federal or State legislative or regulatory 

17 changes in order to be addressed. 

18 (3) DUTIES OF OSTP.—The Director of the Office 

19 of Science and Technology Policy shall encourage and 

20 monitor the efforts of the Federal agencies partici21 pating in the interagency working group to ensure 

22 that the strategic plan required under paragraph 

23 (2)(B) is developed and executed effectively and that 

24 the objectives of such strategic plan are met. 


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1 (4) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of 

2 Science and Technology Policy shall— 

3 (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 

4 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the 

5 strategic plan required under paragraph (2)(B); 

6 and 

7 (B) include in the annual report required 

8 by section 101(d) of the America COMPETES 

9 Reauthorization Act a description of any 

10 progress made in carrying out the activities de11 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection. 

12 (5) SUNSET.—The interagency working group 

13 under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that 

14 is 5 years after the date that it is established. 


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Calendar No. 570 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4323 

AN ACT 

To promote veteran involvement in STEM eduand for other purposes. cation, computer science, and scientific research, 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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