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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 153 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.153

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twenty

                                 An Act

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

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers 
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of the 
    National Science Foundation.
        (2) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the National 
    Science Foundation.
        (3) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' has the meaning given the term in 
    section 2 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 
    U.S.C. 6621 note).
        (4) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given the 
    term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 3. SUPPORTING VETERANS IN STEM EDUCATION AND COMPUTER SCIENCE.
    (a) Supporting Veteran Involvement in Scientific Research and STEM 
Education.--The Director shall, through the research and education 
activities of the Foundation, encourage veterans to study and pursue 
careers in STEM and computer science, in coordination with other 
Federal agencies that serve veterans.
    (b) Veteran Outreach Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a plan 
for how the Foundation can enhance its outreach efforts to veterans. 
Such plan shall--
        (1) report on the Foundation's existing outreach activities;
        (2) identify the best method for the Foundation to leverage 
    existing authorities and programs to facilitate and support 
    veterans in STEM careers and studies, including teaching programs; 
    and
        (3) include options for how the Foundation could track veteran 
    participation in research and education programs of the Foundation, 
    and describe any barriers to collecting such information.
    (c) National Science Board Indicators Report.--The National Science 
Board shall provide in its annual report on indicators of the state of 
science and engineering in the United States any available and relevant 
data on veterans in science and engineering careers or education 
programs.
    (d) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Update.--Section 10 of 
the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
1862n-1) is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a)(5)--
            (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C) higher education programs that serve or support 
        veterans.'';
        (2) in subsection (b)(2)(F)--
            (A) by striking ``and students'' and inserting ``, 
        students''; and
            (B) by inserting ``, and veterans'' before the period at 
        the end;
        (3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ``and veterans'' before 
    the period at the end; and
        (4) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ``and veterans'' before 
    the period at the end.
    (e) National Science Foundation Teaching Fellowships and Master 
Teaching Fellowships Update.--Section 10A(d) of the National Science 
Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n-1a(d)) is 
amended--
        (1) in paragraph (3)(F)--
            (A) by striking ``and individuals'' and inserting ``, 
        individuals''; and
            (B) by inserting ``, and veterans'' before the period at 
        the end; and
        (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ``and veterans'' before 
    the period at the end.
    (f) National Science Foundation Computer and Network Security 
Capacity Building Grants Update.--Section 5(a) of the Cyber Security 
Research and Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(a)) is amended--
        (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and students who are 
    veterans'' after ``these fields''; and
        (2) in paragraph (3)--
            (A) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (B) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as subparagraph (K); 
        and
            (C) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
            ``(J) creating opportunities for veterans to transition to 
        careers in computer and network security; and''.
    (g) Graduate Traineeships in Computer and Network Security Research 
Update.--Section 5(c)(6)(C) of the Cyber Security Research and 
Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7404(c)(6)(C)) is amended by inserting ``or 
veterans'' after ``disciplines''.
    (h) Veterans and Military Families STEM Education Interagency 
Working Group.--
        (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
    Technology Policy shall establish, or designate, an interagency 
    working group to improve veteran and military spouse equity and 
    representation in STEM fields.
        (2) Duties of interagency working group.--An interagency 
    working group established under paragraph (1) shall develop and 
    facilitate the implementation by participating agencies of a 
    strategic plan, which shall--
            (A) specify and prioritize short- and long-term objectives;
            (B) specify the common metrics that will be used by Federal 
        agencies to assess progress toward achieving such objectives;
            (C) identify barriers veterans face in reentering the 
        workforce, including a lack of formal STEM education, career 
        guidance, and the process of transferring military credits and 
        skills to college credits;
            (D) identify barriers military spouses face in establishing 
        careers in STEM fields;
            (E) describe the approaches that each participating agency 
        will take to address administratively the barriers described in 
        subparagraphs (C) and (D); and
            (F) identify any barriers that require Federal or State 
        legislative or regulatory changes in order to be addressed.
        (3) Report.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
    Technology Policy shall--
            (A) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to Congress the strategic plan required under 
        paragraph (2); and
            (B) include in the annual report required by section 101(d) 
        of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 
        6621(d)) a description of any progress made in carrying out the 
        activities described in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
        (4) Sunset.--An interagency working group established under 
    paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after the 
    date that it is established.
SEC. 4. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES STUDY AND REPORT ON 
BARRIERS FACED BY STUDENT VETERANS PURSUING DEGREES IN SCIENCE, 
TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, OR MATH.
    (a) Study.--Not later than August 1, 2022, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall complete a study on academic success rates 
of student veterans pursuing covered degrees and barriers faced by such 
students in pursuing such degrees.
    (b) Elements.--The study required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
        (1) Assessment of available information on the percentage or 
    number of student veterans pursuing a covered degree with 
    educational assistance furnished under chapter 33 of title 38, 
    United States Code.
        (2) Assessment of available information on the percentage or 
    number of such students who pursue a covered degree and do not 
    obtain such degree in four or fewer academic years.
        (3) Identification of the reasons that such students do not 
    obtain such degree in four or fewer academic years and whether such 
    reasons are barriers to obtaining such degrees.
        (4) Development of recommendations for legislative or 
    administrative action to better align the educational assistance 
    furnished under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, with 
    the needs of such students and address the reasons identified under 
    paragraph (3).
    (c) Report.--Not later than August 1, 2022, the Comptroller General 
shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Comptroller 
General with respect to the study completed under subsection (a), along 
with recommendations for such legislative or administrative action as 
the Comptroller General considers appropriate.
    (d) Definition of Covered Degree.--In this section, the term 
``covered degree'' means a standard, undergraduate college degree in a 
field listed under section 3320(b)(4)(A)(i) of title 38, United States 
Code.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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