II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3495 

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

to designate certain research and extension grants to increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics as ‘‘Jeannette Rankin Women 

and Minorities in STEM Fields Grants’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 5, 2016 

Mr. DAINES (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 

Act of 1990 to designate certain research and extension 

grants to increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science, technology, 

engineering, and mathematics as ‘‘Jeannette Rankin 

Women and Minorities in STEM Fields Grants’’. 

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 ‘‘100 Years of Women 

5 in Congress Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The first woman elected to Congress, Rep4 resentative Jeannette Rankin from the State of 

5 Montana, was elected on November 7, 1916, almost 

6 4 years before the ratification of the 19th Amend7 ment to the Constitution of the United States, which 

8 gave women the right to vote. 

9 (2) Jeannette Rankin was not only a pioneer in 

10 national electoral politics, she was also a pioneer as 

11 a woman in science, graduating from the University 

12 of Montana in 1902 with a Bachelor of Science de13 gree in biology. 

14 (3)(A) 100 years after the election of Jeannette 

15 Rankin, 108 women serve in the 114th Congress, 

16 more than at any other time in the history of the 

17 United States. 

18 (B) While that accomplishment is commend19 able, women hold only 20 percent of the seats in 

20 Congress, far below the relative share of women in 

21 the electorate of the United States. 

22 (4) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis23 tics— 

24 (A) women make up 47 percent of the 

25 total workforce of the United States; and 


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1 (B) gains have been made for women in 

2 the science, technology, engineering, and mathe3 matics (referred to in this section as ‘‘STEM’’) 

4 fields over time, but women still comprise 

5 only— 

6 (i) 39 percent of chemists and mate7 rial scientists; 

8 (ii) 28 percent of environmental sci9 entists and geoscientists; 

10 (iii) 16 percent of chemical engineers; 

11 and 

12 (iv) 12 percent of civil engineers. 

13 (5) More must be done to encourage women to 

14 run for elected office and to enter the STEM fields. 

15 SEC. 3. JEANNETTE RANKIN WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN 

16 STEM FIELDS GRANTS. 

17 Section 1672(d)(7) of the Food, Agriculture, Con18 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(d)(7)) 

19 is amended— 

20 (1) by striking the paragraph heading and in21 serting ‘‘JEANNETTE RANKIN WOMEN AND MINORI22 TIES IN STEM FIELDS GRANTS’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘Research’’ and inserting the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Research’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION.—Any grant made 

3 under subparagraph (A) shall be known as a 

4 ‘Jeannette Rankin Women and Minorities in 

5 STEM Fields Grant’.’’. 

Æ 


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