II 

Calendar No. 314 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 153 

[Report No. 116–164] 

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

scientific research, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 16, 2019 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. DAINES, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. 

ROUNDS, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mrs. 

FISCHER, Mr. PETERS, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 in STEM Careers Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

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

9 means the National Science Foundation. 

10 (3) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the mean11 ing given the term in section 2 of the America COM12 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

13 6621 note). 

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

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

16 United States Code. 

17 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING VETERANS IN STEM EDUCATION AND 

18 COMPUTER SCIENCE. 

19 (a) SUPPORTING VETERAN INVOLVEMENT IN SCI20 ENTIFIC RESEARCH AND STEM EDUCATION.—The Di21 rector shall, through the research and education activities 

22 of the Foundation, encourage veterans to study and pur23 sue careers in STEM and computer science, in coordina24 tion with other Federal agencies that serve veterans. 

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

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


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

2 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

4 Senate a plan for how the Foundation can enhance its out5 reach efforts to veterans. Such plan shall— 

6 (1) report on the Foundation’s existing out7 reach activities; 

8 (2) identify the best method for the Foundation 

9 to leverage existing authorities and programs to fa10 cilitate and support veterans in STEM careers and 

11 studies, including teaching programs; and 

12 (3) include options for how the Foundation 

13 could track veteran participation in research and 

14 education programs of the Foundation, and describe 

15 any barriers to collecting such information. 

16 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD INDICATORS RE17 PORT.—The National Science Board shall provide in its 

18 annual report on indicators of the state of science and en19 gineering in the United States any available and relevant 

20 data on veterans in science and engineering careers or 

21 education programs. 

22 (d) ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PRO23 GRAM UPDATE.—Section 10 of the National Science 

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

25 1) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(5)— 

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

3 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

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

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

7 ‘‘(C) higher education programs that serve 

8 or support veterans.’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(F)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘and students’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘, students’’; and 

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

13 the period at the end; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘and vet15 erans’’ before the period at the end; and 

16 (4) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘and vet17 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

18 (e) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TEACHING

19 FELLOWSHIPS AND MASTER TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS

20 UPDATE.—Section 10A(d) of the National Science Foun21 dation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n– 

22 1a(d)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3)(F)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘and individuals’’ and in25 serting ‘‘, individuals’’; and 


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

2 the period at the end; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘and vet4 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

5 (f) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION COMPUTER

6 AND NETWORK SECURITY CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS

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

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

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and stu10 dents who are veterans’’ after ‘‘these fields’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

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

13 at the end; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

15 subparagraph (K); and 

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

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(J) creating opportunities for veterans to 

19 transition to careers in computer and network 

20 security; and’’. 

21 (g) GRADUATE TRAINEESHIPS IN COMPUTER AND

22 NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH UPDATE.—Section 

23 5(c)(6)(C) of the Cyber Security Research and Develop24 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(c)(6)(C)) is amended by insert25 ing ‘‘or veterans’’ after ‘‘disciplines’’. 


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1 (h) VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES STEM 

2 EDUCATION INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

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

4 Science and Technology Policy shall establish an 

5 interagency working group to coordinate Federal 

6 programs and policies for transitioning and training 

7 veterans and military spouses for STEM careers. 

8 (2) DUTIES OF INTERAGENCY WORKING

9 GROUP.—The interagency working group established 

10 under paragraph (1) shall— 

11 (A) coordinate any Federal agency STEM 

12 outreach activities and programs for veterans 

13 and military spouses; and 

14 (B) develop and facilitate the implementa15 tion by participating agencies of a strategic 

16 plan, which shall— 

17 (i) specify and prioritize short- and 

18 long-term objectives; 

19 (ii) specify the common metrics that 

20 will be used by Federal agencies to assess 

21 progress toward achieving such objectives; 

22 (iii) identify barriers veterans face in 

23 reentering the workforce, including a lack 

24 of formal STEM education, career guidVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Dec 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S153.RS S153

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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 interagency working group to 

17 ensure that the strategic plan required under para18 graph (2)(B) is developed and executed effectively 

19 and that the objectives of such strategic plan are 

20 met. 

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

22 Science and Technology Policy shall— 

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

24 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the 


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

2 and 

3 (B) include in the annual report required 

4 by section 101(d) of the America COMPETES 

5 Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 

6 6621(d)) a description of any progress made in 

7 carrying out the activities described in para8 graph (2)(B) of this subsection. 

9 (5) SUNSET.—The interagency working group 

10 established under paragraph (1) shall terminate on 

11 the date that is 5 years after the date that it is es12 tablished. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

15 in STEM Careers Act’’. 

16 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

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

19 Director of the National Science Foundation. 

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

21 means the National Science Foundation. 

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

23 given the term in section 2 of the America COM24 PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621 

25 note). 


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

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

3 United States Code. 

4 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING VETERANS IN STEM EDUCATION AND 

5 COMPUTER SCIENCE. 

6 (a) SUPPORTING VETERAN INVOLVEMENT IN SCI7 ENTIFIC RESEARCH AND STEM EDUCATION.—The Director 

8 shall, through the research and education activities of the 

9 Foundation, encourage veterans to study and pursue careers 

10 in STEM and computer science, in coordination with other 

11 Federal agencies that serve veterans. 

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

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

14 shall submit to 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 a plan for how the Foundation can enhance its outreach 

18 efforts to veterans. Such plan shall— 

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

20 activities; 

21 (2) identify the best method for the Foundation 

22 to leverage existing authorities and programs to fa23 cilitate and support veterans in STEM careers and 

24 studies, including teaching programs; and 


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1 (3) include options for how the Foundation could 

2 track veteran participation in research and education 

3 programs of the Foundation, and describe any bar4 riers to collecting such information. 

5 (c) NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD INDICATORS RE6 PORT.—The National Science Board shall provide in its an7 nual report on indicators of the state of science and engi8 neering in the United States any available and relevant 

9 data on veterans in science and engineering careers or edu10 cation programs. 

11 (d) ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PRO12 GRAM UPDATE.—Section 10 of the National Science Foun13 dation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–1) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(5)— 

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

17 at the end; 

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

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

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

21 ‘‘(C) higher education programs that serve 

22 or support veterans.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(F)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘and students’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘, students’’; and 


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

2 period at the end; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘and vet4 erans’’ before the period at the end; and 

5 (4) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘and vet6 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

7 (e) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TEACHING FEL8 LOWSHIPS AND MASTER TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS UP9 DATE.—Section 10A(d) of the National Science Foundation 

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

11 amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (3)(F)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and individuals’’ and in14 serting ‘‘, individuals’’; and 

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

16 period at the end; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘and vet18 erans’’ before the period at the end. 

19 (f) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION COMPUTER AND

20 NETWORK SECURITY CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS UP21 DATE.—Section 5(a) of the Cyber Security Research and 

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

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

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

25 (2) in paragraph (3)— 


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

2 at the end; 

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

4 subparagraph (K); and 

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

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(J) creating opportunities for veterans to 

8 transition to careers in computer and network 

9 security; and’’. 

10 (g) GRADUATE TRAINEESHIPS IN COMPUTER AND

11 NETWORK SECURITY RESEARCH UPDATE.—Section 

12 5(c)(6)(C) of the Cyber Security Research and Development 

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

14 veterans’’ after ‘‘disciplines’’. 

15 (h) VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES STEM EDU16 CATION INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

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

18 Science and Technology Policy shall establish, or des19 ignate, an interagency working group to improve vet20 eran and military spouse equity and representation 

21 in STEM fields. 

22 (2) DUTIES OF INTERAGENCY WORKING

23 GROUP.—An interagency working group established 

24 under paragraph (1) shall develop and facilitate the 


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1 implementation by participating agencies of a stra2 tegic plan, which shall— 

3 (A) specify and prioritize short- and long4 term objectives; 

5 (B) specify the common metrics that will be 

6 used by Federal agencies to assess progress to7 ward achieving such objectives; 

8 (C) identify barriers veterans face in reen9 tering the workforce, including a lack of formal 

10 STEM education, career guidance, and the proc11 ess of transferring military credits and skills to 

12 college credits; 

13 (D) identify barriers military spouses face 

14 in establishing careers in STEM fields; 

15 (E) describe the approaches that each par16 ticipating agency will take to address adminis17 tratively the barriers described in subparagraphs 

18 (C) and (D); and 

19 (F) identify any barriers that require Fed20 eral or State legislative or regulatory changes in 

21 order to be addressed. 

22 (3) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of 

23 Science and Technology Policy shall— 

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

25 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the 


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1 strategic plan required under paragraph (2); 

2 and 

3 (B) include in the annual report required 

4 by section 101(d) of the America COMPETES 

5 Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621(d)) 

6 a description of any progress made in carrying 

7 out the activities described in paragraph (2) of 

8 this subsection. 

9 (4) SUNSET.—An interagency working group es10 tablished under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the 

11 date that is 3 years after the date that it is estab12 lished. 

13 SEC. 4. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 

14 STUDY AND REPORT ON BARRIERS FACED BY 

15 STUDENT VETERANS PURSUING DEGREES IN 

16 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, OR 

17 MATH. 

18 (a) STUDY.—Not later than August 1, 2022, the Comp19 troller General of the United States shall complete a study 

20 on academic success rates of student veterans pursuing cov21 ered degrees and barriers faced by such students in pur22 suing such degrees. 

23 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required by subsection (a) 

24 shall include the following: 


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1 (1) Assessment of available information on the 

2 percentage or number of student veterans pursuing a 

3 covered degree with educational assistance furnished 

4 under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code. 

5 (2) Assessment of available information on the 

6 percentage or number of such students who pursue a 

7 covered degree and do not obtain such degree in four 

8 or fewer academic years. 

9 (3) Identification of the reasons that such stu10 dents do not obtain such degree in four or fewer aca11 demic years and whether such reasons are barriers to 

12 obtaining such degrees. 

13 (4) Development of recommendations for legisla14 tive or administrative action to better align the edu15 cational assistance furnished under chapter 33 of title 

16 38, United States Code, with the needs of such stu17 dents and address the reasons identified under para18 graph (3). 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than August 1, 2022, the 

20 Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on 

21 the findings of the Comptroller General with respect to the 

22 study completed under subsection (a), along with rec23 ommendations for such legislative or administrative action 

24 as the Comptroller General considers appropriate. 


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1 (d) DEFINITION OF COVERED DEGREE.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘‘covered degree’’ means a standard, under3 graduate college degree in a field listed under section 

4 3320(b)(4)(A)(i) of title 38, United States Code. 


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Calendar No. 314 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 153 

[Report No. 116–164] 

A BILL 

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

DECEMBER 5, 2019 

Reported with an amendment 


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