IB 

Union Calendar No. 763 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5509 

[Report No. 115–975] 

To direct the National Science Foundation to provide grants for research 

about STEM education approaches and the STEM-related workforce, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2018 

Mr. MCCARTHY (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 

Additional sponsors: Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

MARSHALL, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. KNIGHT, Mrs. LESKO, and Mr. BALDERSON

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 

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 April 13, 2018] 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5509 RH

A BILL 

To direct the National Science Foundation to provide grants 

for research about STEM education approaches and the 

STEM-related workforce, and for other purposes. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5509 RH

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 ‘‘Innovations in Men5 toring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) To remain competitive in the global economy, 

9 foster greater innovation, and provide a foundation 

10 for shared prosperity, the United States needs a work11 force with the right mix of skills to meet the diverse 

12 needs of the economy. 

13 (2) Evidence indicates that the returns on invest14 ments in technical skills in the labor market are 

15 strong when students successfully complete their 

16 training and gain credentials sought by employers. 

17 (3) The responsibility for developing and sus18 taining a skilled technical workforce is fragmented 

19 across many groups, including educators; students; 

20 workers; employers; Federal, State, and local govern21 ments; labor organizations; and civic associations. 

22 Such groups need to be able to coordinate and cooper23 ate successfully with each other. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5509 RH

1 (4) Coordination among students, community 

2 colleges, secondary and post-secondary institutions, 

3 and employers would improve educational outcomes. 

4 (5) Promising experiments currently underway 

5 may guide innovation and reform, but scalability of 

6 some of those experiments has not yet been tested. 

7 (6) Evidence suggests that integration of aca8 demic education, technical training, and hands-on 

9 work experience improves outcomes and return on in10 vestment for students in secondary and post-sec11 ondary education and for skilled technical workers in 

12 different career stages. 

13 (7) Outcomes show that mentoring can increase 

14 STEM student engagement and the rate of completion 

15 of STEM post-secondary degrees. 

16 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION STEM INNOVA17 TION AND APPRENTICESHIP GRANTS. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National 

19 Science Foundation shall award competitive grants to eligi20 ble applicants in accordance with this section. 

21 (b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

22 Director shall consult and cooperate with the programs and 

23 policies of other relevant Federal agencies to avoid duplica24 tion with, and enhance the effectiveness of, the provision 

25 of grants under this section. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5509 RH

1 (c) GRANTS FOR ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAMS IN

2 STEM FIELDS.— 

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

4 Science Foundation shall award competitive grants to 

5 community colleges to develop or improve associate 

6 degree and certificate programs in STEM fields in 

7 which there is significant workforce demand in the re8 gion of the community college receiving the award 

9 and a need to strengthen the global competitiveness of 

10 affected companies. 

11 (2) APPLICATION.—In considering applications 

12 for grants under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

13 prioritize— 

14 (A) applicants that consist of a partnership 

15 between the applying community college and in16 dividual employers or an employer consortia, or 

17 industry or sector partnerships, and may include 

18 a university or other organization with dem19 onstrated expertise in academic program devel20 opment; 

21 (B) applications that demonstrate current 

22 and future workforce demand in occupations di23 rectly related to the proposed associate degree or 

24 certificate program. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5509 RH

1 (C) applications that include commitments 

2 by the partnering employers or employer con3 sortia, or industry or sector partnerships to offer 

4 apprenticeships, internships or other applied 

5 learning opportunities to students enrolled in the 

6 proposed associate degree program; and 

7 (D) applications that include outreach 

8 plans and goals for recruiting and enrolling 

9 women and other historically underrepresented 

10 individuals in STEM studies and careers in the 

11 proposed associate degree program. 

12 (3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda13 tion shall devote not less than $20,000,000 to awards 

14 described in this subsection, which shall include not 

15 less than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

16 through 2021, subject to the availability of appropria17 tions, to come from amounts made available for the 

18 Education and Human Resources Directorate. This 

19 subsection shall be carried out using funds otherwise 

20 appropriated by law after the date of enactment of 

21 this Act. 

22 (d) GRANTS FOR STEM DEGREE APPLIED LEARNING

23 OPPORTUNITIES.— 

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

25 Science Foundation shall award competitive grants to 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5509 RH

1 universities partnering with employers or employer 

2 consortia, or industry or sector partnerships that 

3 commit to offering apprenticeships, internships, re4 search opportunities, or applied learning experiences 

5 to enrolled university students in identified four-year 

6 STEM degree programs. 

7 (2) APPLICATION.—In considering applications 

8 for grants under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

9 prioritize— 

10 (A) applicants that consist of a partnership 

11 between— 

12 (i) the applying university; and 

13 (ii) individual employers or an em14 ployer consortia, or industry or sector part15 nerships; 

16 (B) applications that demonstrate current 

17 and future workforce demand in occupations di18 rectly related to selected STEM fields; and 

19 (C) applications that include outreach 

20 plans and goals for recruiting and enrolling 

21 women and other populations historically under22 represented in STEM. 

23 (3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda24 tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to awards 

25 described in this subsection, which shall include not 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5509 RH

1 less than $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

2 through 2021, subject to the availability of appropria3 tions, to come from amounts made available for the 

4 Education and Human Resources Directorate. This 

5 subsection shall be carried out using funds otherwise 

6 appropriated by law after the date of enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (e) GRANTS FOR COMPUTER-BASED AND ONLINE

9 STEM EDUCATION COURSES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

11 Science Foundation shall award competitive grants to 

12 institutions of higher education or nonprofit organi13 zations to conduct research on student outcomes and 

14 determine best practices and scalability of computer15 based and online courses for technical skills training. 

16 (2) RESEARCH AREAS.—The research areas eligi17 ble for funding under this subsection may include— 

18 (A) post-secondary courses for technical 

19 training for STEM occupations; 

20 (B) improving high-school level vocational 

21 training in STEM subjects; 

22 (C) encouraging and sustaining interest 

23 and achievement levels in STEM subjects among 

24 women and other populations historically under25 represented in STEM studies and careers; and 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5509 RH

1 (D) combining computer-based and online 

2 STEM education and training with traditional 

3 mentoring and other mentoring arrangements, 

4 apprenticeships, internships, and other applied 

5 learning opportunities. 

6 (3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda7 tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to awards 

8 described in this subsection, which shall include not 

9 less than $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

10 through 2021, subject to the availability of appropria11 tions, to come from amounts made available for the 

12 Education and Human Resources Directorate. This 

13 subsection shall be carried out using funds otherwise 

14 appropriated by law after the date of enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON EFFICIENCY OF SKILLED TECHNICAL 

17 LABOR MARKETS. 

18 (a) EFFICIENCY OF SKILLED TECHNICAL LABOR MAR19 KETS.—The Directorate of Social, Behavioral & Economic 

20 Sciences of the National Science Foundation, in coordina21 tion with the Secretary of Labor, shall support research that 

22 improves the efficiency of skilled technical labor markets in 

23 the United States, including research on labor market anal24 ysis innovations, data and information sciences, electronic 

25 information tools and methodologies, and metrics. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5509 RH

1 (b) COMPARISON OF UNITED STATES WORKFORCE.— 

2 (1) RESEARCH.—The National Science Founda3 tion shall commission research that compares and 

4 contrasts skilled technical workforce development be5 tween the United States and other developed coun6 tries, including the diversity of skilled technical and 

7 professional workforces, to the extent feasible. 

8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na10 tional Science Foundation shall submit to Congress a 

11 report on the results of the study under paragraph 

12 (1). 

13 (c) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE.— 

14 (1) REVIEW.—The National Center for Science 

15 and Engineering Statistics of the National Science 

16 Foundation shall consult and coordinate with other 

17 relevant Federal statistical agencies to explore the fea18 sibility of expanding its surveys to include the collec19 tion of objective data on the skilled technical work20 force. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na23 tional Science Foundation shall submit to Congress a 

24 report containing the progress made in expanding the 

25 National Center for Science and Engineering StatisVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Sep 25, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5509.RH H5509

tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5509 RH

1 tics surveys to include the skilled technical workforce. 

2 Such report shall include a plan for multi-agency col3 laboration in order to effect data collection and re4 porting of data on the skilled technical workforce. 

5 SEC. 5. SPENDING LIMITATION. 

6 No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated 

7 to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this 

8 Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be carried 

9 out using amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 

10 SEC. 6. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 

11 (a) EVALUATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

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

14 Foundation shall evaluate the grants and programs 

15 provided under this Act. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the evalua17 tion under paragraph (1), the Director shall use a 

18 common set of benchmarks and assessment tools to 

19 identify best practices and materials developed or 

20 demonstrated by the research conducted pursuant to 

21 such grants and programs. 

22 (b) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the completion of the evaluation under subsection 

24 (a), the Director of the Foundation shall submit to Congress 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5509 RH

1 and make widely available to the public a report that in2 cludes— 

3 (1) the results of the evaluation; and 

4 (2) any recommendations for administrative and 

5 legislative action that could optimize the effectiveness 

6 of the grants and programs under this Act. 

7 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

8 Director of the Foundation shall consult the programs and 

9 policies of other relevant Federal agencies to avoid duplica10 tion with, and enhance the effectiveness of, the grants and 

11 programs under this Act. 

12 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 

15 technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 

16 computer science. 

17 (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu18 nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 

19 and community college’’ in section 312 of the Higher 

20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 

21 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

22 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean23 ing given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5509 RH

1 (4) REGION.—The term ‘‘region’’ means a labor 

2 market area, as such term is defined in section 3 of 

3 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

4 U.S.C. 3102). 

5 (5) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE.—The 

6 term ‘‘skilled technical workforce’’ means workers 

7 with high school diplomas and two-year technical 

8 training or certifications who employ significant lev9 els of STEM knowledge in their jobs. 

10 (6) UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘university’’ means 

11 a 4-year institution of higher education, as defined in 

12 section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 763 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5509 

[Report No. 115–975] 

A BILL 

To direct the National Science Foundation to proand for other purposes. approaches and the STEM-related workforce, vide grants for research about STEM education 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 

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


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS