IB 

Union Calendar No. 214 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4372 

[Report No. 116–269] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

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

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

NOVEMBER 5, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. TONKO, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. COHEN, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, Mr. 

BEYER, Mr. LUCAS, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. SWALWELL

of California, and Mr. DIAZ-BALART

NOVEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 18, 2019] 


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A BILL 

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 Achievement 

5 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 a 

11 deficit often referred to as a STEM skills shortage. 

12 (2) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

13 the United States will need one million additional 

14 STEM professionals than it is on track to produce in 

15 the coming decade. 

16 (3) STEM occupations offer higher wages, more 

17 opportunities for advancement, and a higher degree of 

18 job security than non-STEM occupations. 

19 (4) The composition of the STEM workforce does 

20 not reflect the current or projected diversity of the Na21 tion, with Hispanics, African Americans, and other 

22 racial and ethnic minorities, significantly underrep23 resented in the STEM workforce compared to their 

24 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 to 

3 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’’, two- and four-year minority serving institu9 tions enroll nearly 30 percent of all undergraduate 

10 students—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 success16 ful at educating underrepresented minority students 

17 in STEM fields and can serve as best practice models 

18 for other colleges and universities to further expand 

19 participation of underrepresented minorities in the 

20 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 of 

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

9 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 MSIs; 

14 (2) an assessment of Federal science agency out15 reach activities to increase the participation and 

16 competitiveness of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in the 

17 funding programs and initiatives identified in para18 graph (1); and 

19 (3) recommendations of the Comptroller General 

20 to increase the participation of and the rate of success 

21 of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in competitive funding 

22 programs offered by Federal science agencies. 

23 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 

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

25 Science Foundation shall award grants, on a competitive 


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1 basis, to institutions of higher education or nonprofit orga2 nizations (or consortia thereof) to— 

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

4 with respect to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 

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

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

7 graduate students who are competitive in attaining 

8 and advancing in the STEM workforce; 

9 (3) build the research capacity and competitive10 ness of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in STEM dis11 ciplines; and 

12 (4) identify and broadly disseminate effective 

13 models for programs and practices at HBCUs, TCUs, 

14 and MSIs that promote the education and workforce 

15 preparation of minority students pursuing STEM 

16 studies and careers in which such students are under17 represented. 

18 (b) RESEARCH.—Research described in this subsection 

19 is research on the contribution of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs 

20 to the education and training of underrepresented minority 

21 students in STEM fields and to the meeting of national 

22 STEM workforce needs, including— 

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

24 cultural differences, and institutional structure 


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1 among HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and any associated 

2 impact on education and research endeavors; 

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

4 MSIs and associated outcomes on student recruit5 ment, retention, and advancement in STEM fields, 

6 including the ability for students to compete for fel7 lowships, employment, and advancement in the work8 force; 

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

10 MSIs to local, regional, and national workforces; 

11 (4) the unique challenges and opportunities for 

12 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in attaining the resources 

13 needed for integrating effective practices in STEM 

14 education, including providing research experiences 

15 for underrepresented minority students; 

16 (5) the access of students at HBCUs, TCUs, and 

17 MSIs to STEM infrastructure and any associated 

18 outcomes for STEM competency; 

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

20 teaching successful at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs for 

21 increasing participation, retention, and success of 

22 underrepresented minority students; and 

23 (7) successful or promising partnerships between 

24 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and other institutions of 

25 higher education, private sector and non-profit orgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4372.RH H4372

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1 nizations, Federal laboratories, and international re2 search institutions. 

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

4 subsection include the design, development, implementation, 

5 expansion, and assessment of— 

6 (1) metrics of success to best capture the achieve7 ments of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and students of 

8 such institutions to account for institutional context 

9 and missions, faculty investment, student popu10 lations, student needs, and institutional resource con11 straints; 

12 (2) enhancements to undergraduate STEM cur13 riculum at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to increase the 

14 participation, retention, degree completion, and suc15 cess of underrepresented students; 

16 (3) professional development programs to in17 crease the numbers and the high-quality preparation 

18 of STEM faculty at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, in19 cluding programs to encourage STEM doctoral stu20 dents to teach at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; and 

21 (4) mechanisms for institutions of higher edu22 cation that are not HBCUs, TCUs, or MSIs to part23 ner with HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs on STEM edu24 cation, including the facilitation of student transfer, 

25 mentoring programs for students and junior faculty, 


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1 joint research projects, and student access to graduate 

2 education. 

3 (d) RESEARCH EXPERIENCES.—Grants under this sec4 tion may fund the development or expansion of opportuni5 ties for the exchange of students and faculty to conduct re6 search, including through partnerships with institutions of 

7 higher education that are not HBCUs, TCUs, or MSIs, pri8 vate sector and non-profit organizations, Federal labora9 tories, and international research institutions. 

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

11 section, the Director of the National Science Foundation 

12 shall— 

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

14 consortia thereof and partnerships with one or more 

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

16 (2) require proposals submitted in partnership 

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

18 plan for establishing a sustained partnership that is 

19 jointly developed and managed, draws from the ca20 pacities of each institution, and is mutually bene21 ficial; and 

22 (3) encourage proposals submitted in partner23 ship with the private sector, non-profit organizations, 

24 Federal laboratories, and international research insti25 tutions, as appropriate. 


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1 (f) MSI CENTERS OF INNOVATION.—Grants under this 

2 section may fund the establishment of no more than five 

3 MSI Centers of Innovation to leverage successes of HBCUs, 

4 TCUs, and MSIs in STEM education and research training 

5 of underrepresented minority students as models for other 

6 institutions, including both HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs and 

7 institutions of higher education that are not HBCUs, TCUs, 

8 or MSIs. Such centers will be located on campuses of se9 lected institutions of higher education and serve as incuba10 tors to allow institutions of higher education to experiment, 

11 pilot, evaluate, and scale up promising practices. 

12 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the Na14 tional Science Foundation $170,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2020, $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, $180,000,000 for 

16 fiscal year FY 2022, $185,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, and 

17 $190,000,000 fiscal year 2024 to carry out this section. 

18 SEC. 5. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with outside stake20 holders and the heads of the Federal science agencies, the 

21 Director shall develop a uniform set of policy guidelines for 

22 Federal science agencies to carry out a sustained program 

23 of outreach activities to increase clarity, transparency, and 

24 accountability for Federal science agency investments in 


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1 STEM education and research activities at HBCUs, TCUs, 

2 and MSIs. 

3 (b) OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—In developing policy 

4 guidelines under subsection (a) the Director shall include 

5 guidelines that require each Federal science agency— 

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

7 and MSIs responsible for— 

8 (A) enhancing direct communication with 

9 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to increase the Fed10 eral science agency’s understanding of the capac11 ity and needs of such institutions and to raise 

12 awareness of available Federal funding opportu13 nities at such institutions; 

14 (B) coordinating programs, activities, and 

15 initiatives while accounting for the capacity and 

16 needs of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 

17 (C) tracking Federal science agency invest18 ments in and engagement with HBCUs, TCUs, 

19 and MSIs; and 

20 (D) reporting progress toward increasing 

21 participation of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in 

22 grant programs; 

23 (2) to publish annual forecasts of funding oppor24 tunities and proposal deadlines, including for grants, 

25 contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative agreements; 


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1 (3) to conduct on-site reviews of research facili2 ties at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, as practicable, and 

3 make recommendations regarding strategies for be4 coming more competitive in research; 

5 (4) to hold geographically accessible or virtual 

6 workshops on research priorities of the Federal science 

7 agency and on how to write competitive grant pro8 posals; 

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

10 and MSIs to directly communicate with Federal 

11 science agency officials responsible for managing com12 petitive grant programs in order to receive feedback 

13 on research ideas and proposals, including guidance 

14 on the Federal science agency’s peer review process; 

15 (6) to foster mutually beneficial public-private 

16 collaboration among Federal science agencies, indus17 try, Federal laboratories, academia, and nonprofit or18 ganizations to— 

19 (A) identify alternative sources of funding 

20 for STEM education and research at HBCUs, 

21 TCUs, and MSIs; 

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

23 research experiences for students and faculty of 

24 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 


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1 (C) expand the professional networks of stu2 dents and faculty of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs; 

3 (D) broaden STEM educational opportuni4 ties for students and faculty of HBCUs, TCUs, 

5 and MSIs; and 

6 (E) support the transition of students of 

7 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs into the STEM work8 force; and 

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

10 account of Federal science agency investments in 

11 HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including data on the level 

12 of participation of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs as 

13 prime recipients/contractors or subrecipients/sub14 contractors. 

15 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

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

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in col18 laboration with the head of each Federal science agen19 cy, shall submit to Congress a report containing a 

20 strategic plan for each Federal science agency to in21 crease the capacity of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to 

22 compete effectively for grants, contracts, or coopera23 tive agreements and to encourage HBCUs, TCUs, and 

24 MSIs to participate in Federal programs. 


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1 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing a strategic 

2 plan under paragraph (1), the Director and each 

3 head of each Federal science agency shall consider— 

4 (A) issuing new or expanding existing fund5 ing opportunities targeted to HBCUs, TCUs, 

6 and MSIs; 

7 (B) modifying existing research and devel8 opment program solicitations to incentivize effec9 tive partnerships with HBCUs, TCUs, and 

10 MSIs; 

11 (C) offering planning grants for HBCUs, 

12 TCUs, and MSIs to develop or equip grant of13 fices with the requisite depth of knowledge to sub14 mit competitive grant proposals and manage 

15 awarded grants; 

16 (D) offering additional training programs 

17 and individualized and timely guidance to grant 

18 officers and faculty researchers at HBCUs, 

19 TCUs, and MSIs to ensure they understand the 

20 requirements for an effective grant proposal; and 

21 (E) other approaches for making current 

22 competitive funding models more accessible for 

23 under-resourced HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs. 

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

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


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1 thereafter, the Director shall report to Congress on the im2 plementation by Federal science agencies of the policy 

3 guidelines developed under this section. 

4 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol8 icy. 

9 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

10 laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in sec11 tion 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

12 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 

13 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Fed14 eral science agency’’ means any Federal agency with 

15 an annual extramural research expenditure of over 

16 $100,000,000. 

17 (4) HBCU.—The term ‘‘HBCU’’ has the mean18 ing given the term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 

19 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

20 1061). 

21 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

22 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean23 ing given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu24 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 


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1 (6) MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION.—The term 

2 ‘‘minority serving institution’’ or ‘‘MSI’’ means His3 panic-Serving Institutions as defined in section 502 

4 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C 

5 1101a); Alaska Native Serving Institutions and Na6 tive Hawaiian-Serving Institutions as defined in sec7 tion 317 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1059d); and Predominantly Black Institu9 tions, Asian American and Native American Pacific 

10 Islander-Serving Institutions, and Native American11 Serving Nontribal Institutions as defined in section 

12 371 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 1067q(c)). 

14 (7) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the meaning 

15 given the term in the STEM Education Act of 2015 

16 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.). 

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

18 given the term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ in sec19 tion 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1059c). 


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Union Calendar No. 214 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4372 

[Report No. 116–269] 

A BILL 

To direct Federal science agencies and the Office of 

and for other purposes. pacity at the Nation’s HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, STEM education and enhance the research cativities to improve the quality of undergraduate Science and Technology Policy to undertake acNOVEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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