I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 36 

To provide for research to better understand the causes and consequences 

of sexual harassment affecting individuals in the scientific, technical, 

engineering, and mathematics workforce and to examine policies to reduce the prevalence and negative impact of such harassment, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Ms. JOHNSON of Texas (for herself and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for research to better understand the causes 

and consequences of sexual harassment affecting individuals in the scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics workforce and to examine policies to reduce the 

prevalence and negative impact of such harassment, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2019’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Research grants. 

Sec. 5. Data collection. 

Sec. 6. Responsible conduct guide. 

Sec. 7. Interagency working group. 

Sec. 8. National academies assessment. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) According to the report issued by the Na6 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med7 icine in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 

8 Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Aca9 demic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’— 

10 (A) sexual harassment is pervasive in insti11 tutions of higher education; 

12 (B) the most common type of sexual har13 assment is gender harassment, which includes 

14 verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey in15 sulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes about 

16 members of one gender; 

17 (C) 58 percent of individuals in the aca18 demic workplace experience sexual harassment, 

19 the second highest rate when compared to the 

20 military, the private sector, and Federal, State, 

21 and local government; 


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1 (D) women who are members of racial or 

2 ethnic minority groups are more likely to expe3 rience sexual harassment and to feel unsafe at 

4 work than White women, White men, or men 

5 who are members of such groups; 

6 (E) the training for each individual who 

7 has a doctor of philosophy in the science, tech8 nology, engineering, and mathematics fields is 

9 estimated to cost approximately $500,000; and 

10 (F) attrition of an individual so trained re11 sults in a loss of talent and money. 

12 (2) Sexual harassment undermines career ad13 vancement for women. 

14 (3) According to a 2017 study led by Dr. Kath15 ryn Clancy at the University of Illinois, among as16 tronomers and planetary scientists, 18 percent of 

17 women who are members of racial or ethnic minority 

18 groups and 12 percent of White women skipped pro19 fessional events because they did not feel safe at20 tending. 

21 (4) Many women report leaving employment at 

22 institutions of higher education due to sexual har23 assment. 

24 (5) Research shows the majority of individuals 

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1 ment due to a justified fear of retaliation or other 

2 negative professional or personal consequences. 

3 (6) Reporting procedures with respect to such 

4 harassment are inconsistent among Federal science 

5 agencies and have varying degrees of accessibility. 

6 (7) There is not adequate communication 

7 among Federal science agencies and between such 

8 agencies and grantees regarding reports of sexual 

9 harassment, which has resulted in harassers receiv10 ing Federal funding after moving to a different in11 stitution. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Academies’’ 

15 means the National Academies of Sciences, Engi16 neering, and Medicine. 

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

18 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

19 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

20 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

21 with an annual extramural research expenditure of 

22 over $100,000,000. 

23 (4) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means the 

24 legal entity to which a grant is awarded and that is 


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1 accountable to the Federal Government for the use 

2 of the funds provided. 

3 (5) GRANT PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘grant per4 sonnel’’ means principal investigators, co-principal 

5 investigators, other personnel supported by a grant 

6 award under Federal law, and their trainees. 

7 (6) 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 (7) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 

12 harassment’’ means conduct that encompasses— 

13 (A) verbal and nonverbal behaviors that 

14 convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or 

15 second-class status about one’s gender, gender 

16 identity, or gender presentation; 

17 (B) unwelcome sexual advances; 

18 (C) unwanted physical contact that is sex19 ual in nature, including assault; 

20 (D) unwanted sexual attention, including 

21 sexual comments and propositions for sexual ac22 tivity; 

23 (E) conditioning professional or edu24 cational benefits on sexual activity; and 


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1 (F) retaliation for rejecting unwanted sex2 ual attention. 

3 SEC. 4. RESEARCH GRANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish a pro5 gram to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institu6 tions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or 

7 consortia of such institutions or organizations)— 

8 (1) to expand research efforts to better under9 stand the factors contributing to, and consequences 

10 of, sexual harassment affecting individuals in the 

11 scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics 

12 workforce, including students and trainees; and 

13 (2) to examine interventions to reduce the inci14 dence and negative consequences of such harass15 ment. 

16 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities funded by a grant 

17 under this section may include— 

18 (1) research on the sexual harassment experi19 ences of individuals in underrepresented or vulner20 able groups, including racial and ethnic minority 

21 groups, disabled individuals, foreign nationals, 

22 sexual- and gender-minority individuals, and others; 

23 (2) development and assessment of policies, 

24 procedures, trainings, and interventions, with respect 

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1 vention of incivility, and ways to foster respectful 

2 and inclusive climates; 

3 (3) research on approaches for remediating the 

4 negative impacts and outcomes of such harassment 

5 on individuals experiencing such harassment; 

6 (4) support for institutions of higher education 

7 to develop, adapt, implement, and assess the impact 

8 of innovative, evidence-based strategies, policies, and 

9 approaches to policy implementation to prevent and 

10 address sexual harassment; 

11 (5) research on alternatives to the hierarchical 

12 and dependent relationships in academia that have 

13 been shown to create higher levels of risk for sexual 

14 harassment; and 

15 (6) establishing a center for the ongoing com16 pilation, management, and analysis of campus cli17 mate survey data. 

18 SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Director shall convene a working group 

21 composed of representatives of Federal statistical agen22 cies— 

23 (1) to develop questions on sexual harassment 

24 in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

25 departments to gather national data on the prevaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Jan 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.IH H36

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1 lence, nature, and implications of sexual harassment 

2 in institutions of higher education; and 

3 (2) to include such questions as appropriate, 

4 with sufficient protections of the privacy of respond5 ents, in relevant surveys conducted by the National 

6 Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and 

7 other relevant entities. 

8 SEC. 6. RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT GUIDE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into 

11 an agreement with the Academies to update the report en12 titled ‘‘On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Con13 duct in Research’’ issued by the Academies. The report, 

14 as so updated, shall include— 

15 (1) updated professional standards of conduct 

16 in research; 

17 (2) standards of treatment individuals can ex18 pect to receive under such updated standards of con19 duct; 

20 (3) evidence-based practices for fostering a cli21 mate intolerant of sexual harassment; 

22 (4) methods, including bystander intervention, 

23 for identifying and addressing incidents of sexual 

24 harassment; and 


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1 (5) professional standards for mentorship and 

2 teaching with an emphasis on preventing sexual har3 assment. 

4 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In updating the report 

5 under subsection (a), the Academies shall take into ac6 count recommendations made in the report issued by the 

7 Academies in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 

8 Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic 

9 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’ and other relevant 

10 studies and evidence. 

11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 16 months after the ef12 fective date of the contract under subsection (a), the Acad13 emies, as part of such agreement, shall submit to the Di14 rector and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech15 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

17 the report referred to in such subsection, as updated pur18 suant to such subsection. 

19 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

21 Science and Technology Policy, acting through the Na22 tional Science and Technology Council, shall establish an 

23 interagency working group for the purpose of coordinating 

24 Federal science agency efforts to reduce the prevalence of 

25 sexual harassment involving grant personnel. The working 


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1 group shall be chaired by the Director of the Office of 

2 Science and Technology Policy (or the Director’s designee) 

3 and shall include a representative from each Federal 

4 science agency with annual extramural research expendi5 tures totaling over $1,000,000,000. 

6 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF WORKING GROUP.—The 

7 interagency working group established under subsection 

8 (a) shall coordinate Federal science agency efforts to im9 plement the policy guidelines developed under subsection 

10 (c)(2). 

11 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OSTP.—The Director of 

12 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— 

13 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on 

15 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

16 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate an inven18 tory of Federal science agency policies, procedures, 

19 and resources dedicated to preventing and respond20 ing to reports of sexual harassment; and 

21 (2) not later than 6 months after the date on 

22 which the inventory is submitted under paragraph 

23 (1)— 


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1 (A) in consultation with outside stake2 holders, develop a uniform set of policy guide3 lines for Federal science agencies; and 

4 (B) submit a report to the committees re5 ferred to in paragraph (1) containing such 

6 guidelines; 

7 (3) encourage and monitor efforts of Federal 

8 science agencies to develop or maintain and imple9 ment policies based on the guidelines developed 

10 under paragraph (2); 

11 (4) not later than 1 year after the date on 

12 which the inventory under paragraph (1) is sub13 mitted, and every 5 years thereafter, the Director of 

14 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall re15 port to Congress on the implementation by Federal 

16 science agencies of the policy guidelines developed 

17 under paragraph (2); and 

18 (5) update such policy guidelines as needed. 

19 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing policy guidelines 

20 under subsection (c)(2), the Director of the Office of 

21 Science and Technology Policy shall include guidelines 

22 that require— 

23 (1) grantees to submit to the Federal science 

24 agency or agencies from which the grantees receive 

25 funding reports relating to— 


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1 (A) findings or determinations of sexual 

2 harassment; and 

3 (B) any decisions made to place grant per4 sonnel on administrative leave or impose any 

5 administrative action on grant personnel related 

6 to any sexual harassment investigation; 

7 (2) the sharing and archiving of reports of sex8 ual harassment from grantees submitted under para9 graph (1) with relevant Federal science agencies on 

10 a quarterly basis; and 

11 (3) to the extent practicable, ensure consistency 

12 among relevant Federal agencies with regards to the 

13 policies and procedures for receiving reports sub14 mitted pursuant to paragraph (1), which may in15 clude the designation of a single agency to field re16 ports so submitted. 

17 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing policy guide18 lines under subsection (c)(2), the Director of the Office 

19 of Science and Technology Policy shall consider guidelines 

20 that— 

21 (1) require grantees to periodically assess their 

22 organizational climate using climate surveys, focus 

23 groups, and exit interviews; 

24 (2) require grantees to publish on a publicly 

25 available internet website the results of assessments 


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1 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), disaggregated 

2 by gender and, if possible, race, ethnicity, disability 

3 status, and sexual orientation; 

4 (3) require grantees to make public on an an5 nual basis the number of reports of sexual harass6 ment at each such institution; 

7 (4) require grantees to regularly assess and im8 prove policies, procedures, and interventions to re9 duce the prevalence of sexual harassment; 

10 (5) require each grantee to describe in its grant 

11 proposal a code of conduct for maintaining a healthy 

12 and welcoming workplace for grant personnel; and 

13 (6) reward and incentivize grantees working to 

14 create a climate intolerant of sexual harassment. 

15 (f) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION.— 

16 Each Federal science agency shall— 

17 (1) develop or maintain and implement policies 

18 with respect to sexual harassment that are con19 sistent with policy guidelines under subsection (c)(2) 

20 and that protect the privacy of all parties involved 

21 in any report and investigation of sexual harass22 ment, except to the extent necessary to carry out an 

23 investigation; and 


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1 (2) broadly disseminate such policies to current 

2 and potential recipients of research grants awarded 

3 by such agency. 

4 (g) SUNSET.—The interagency working group estab5 lished under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date 

6 that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 SEC. 8. NATIONAL ACADEMIES ASSESSMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into 

11 an agreement with the Academies to undertake a study 

12 of the influence of sexual harassment in institutions of 

13 higher education on the career advancement of individuals 

14 in the scientific, engineering, technical, and mathematics 

15 workforce. The study shall assess— 

16 (1) the state of research on sexual harassment 

17 in such workforce; 

18 (2) whether research demonstrates a decrease 

19 in the prevalence of sexual harassment in such work20 force; 

21 (3) the progress made with respect to imple22 menting recommendations promulgated in the Acad23 emies consensus study report entitled ‘‘Sexual Har24 assment of Women: Climate, Culture, and ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Jan 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H36.IH H36

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1 sequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and 

2 Medicine’’; 

3 (4) the degree to which Federal science agen4 cies have implemented the policy guidelines devel5 oped under section 7(c)(2) and the effectiveness of 

6 that implementation; and 

7 (5) where to focus future efforts with respect to 

8 decreasing sexual harassment in such institutions. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Direc11 tor to carry out this Act, $17,400,000. 

Æ 


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