I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2695 

To provide for research to better understand the causes and consequences 

of sexual harassment affecting individuals in the scientific, technical, 

engineering, and mathematics workforce and to examine policies to reduce the prevalence and negative impact of such harassment, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2021 

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

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

A BILL 

To provide for research to better understand the causes 

and consequences of sexual harassment affecting individuals in the scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics workforce and to examine policies to reduce the 

prevalence and negative impact of such harassment, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Research grants. 

Sec. 5. Data collection. 

Sec. 6. Responsible conduct guide. 

Sec. 7. Interagency working group. 

Sec. 8. National academies assessment. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) According to the report issued by the Na6 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med7 icine in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 

8 Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Aca9 demic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’— 

10 (A) sexual harassment is pervasive in insti11 tutions of higher education; 

12 (B) the most common type of sexual har13 assment is gender harassment, which includes 

14 verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey in15 sulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes about 

16 members of one gender; 

17 (C) 58 percent of individuals in the aca18 demic workplace experience sexual harassment, 

19 the second highest rate when compared to the 

20 military, the private sector, and Federal, State, 

21 and local government; 


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1 (D) women who are members of racial or 

2 ethnic minority groups are more likely to expe3 rience sexual harassment and to feel unsafe at 

4 work than White women, White men, or men 

5 who are members of such groups; 

6 (E) the training for each individual who 

7 has a doctor of philosophy in the science, tech8 nology, engineering, and mathematics fields is 

9 estimated to cost approximately $500,000; and 

10 (F) attrition of an individual so trained re11 sults in a loss of talent and money. 

12 (2) Sexual harassment undermines career ad13 vancement for women. 

14 (3) According to a 2017 University of Illinois 

15 study, among astronomers and planetary scientists, 

16 18 percent of women who are members of racial or 

17 ethnic minority groups and 12 percent of White 

18 women skipped professional events because they did 

19 not feel safe attending. 

20 (4) Many women report leaving employment at 

21 institutions of higher education due to sexual har22 assment. 

23 (5) Research shows the majority of individuals 

24 do not formally report experiences of sexual harassVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2695.IH H2695

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1 ment due to a justified fear of retaliation or other 

2 negative professional or personal consequences. 

3 (6) Reporting procedures with respect to such 

4 harassment are inconsistent among Federal science 

5 agencies and have varying degrees of accessibility. 

6 (7) There is not adequate communication 

7 among Federal science agencies and between such 

8 agencies and grantees regarding reports of sexual 

9 harassment, which has resulted in harassers receiv10 ing Federal funding after moving to a different in11 stitution. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Academies’’ 

15 means the National Academies of Sciences, Engi16 neering, and Medicine. 

17 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

18 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 

19 (3) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY.—The term 

20 ‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 

21 with an annual extramural research expenditure of 

22 over $100,000,000. 

23 (4) FINDING OR DETERMINATION.—The term 

24 ‘‘finding or determination’’ means the final disposi25 tion of a matter involving a violation of organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2695.IH H2695

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1 tional policies and processes, to include the exhaus2 tion of permissible appeals, or a conviction of a sex3 ual offense in a criminal court of law. 

4 (5) GENDER HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘gender 

5 harassment’’ means verbal and nonverbal behaviors 

6 that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or 

7 second-class status about one’s gender, gender iden8 tity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, or preg9 nancy status. 

10 (6) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means the 

11 legal entity to which a grant is awarded and that is 

12 accountable to the Federal Government for the use 

13 of the funds provided. 

14 (7) GRANT PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘grant per15 sonnel’’ means principal investigators, co-principal 

16 investigators, postdoctoral researchers and other em17 ployees supported by a grant award, cooperative 

18 agreement, or contract under Federal law. 

19 (8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

20 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

21 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High22 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

23 (9) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 

24 harassment’’ means conduct that encompasses— 

25 (A) unwelcome sexual advances; 


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1 (B) unwanted physical contact that is sex2 ual in nature, including assault; 

3 (C) unwanted sexual attention, including 

4 sexual comments and propositions for sexual ac5 tivity; 

6 (D) conditioning professional or edu7 cational benefits on sexual activity; and 

8 (E) retaliation for rejecting unwanted sex9 ual attention. 

10 (10) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means 

11 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 

12 including computer science. 

13 SEC. 4. RESEARCH GRANTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish a pro15 gram to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institu16 tions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or 

17 consortia of such institutions or organizations)— 

18 (1) to expand research efforts to better under19 stand the factors contributing to, and consequences 

20 of, sexual harassment and gender harassment affect21 ing individuals in the STEM workforce, including 

22 students and trainees; and 

23 (2) to examine interventions to reduce the inci24 dence and negative consequences of such harass25 ment. 


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1 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities funded by a grant 

2 under this section may include— 

3 (1) research on the sexual harassment and gen4 der harassment experiences of individuals in under5 represented or vulnerable groups, including racial 

6 and ethnic minority groups, disabled individuals, for7 eign nationals, sexual- and gender-minority individ8 uals, and others; 

9 (2) development and assessment of policies, 

10 procedures, trainings, and interventions, with respect 

11 to sexual harassment and gender harassment, con12 flict management, and ways to foster respectful and 

13 inclusive climates; 

14 (3) research on approaches for remediating the 

15 negative impacts and outcomes of such harassment 

16 on individuals experiencing such harassment; 

17 (4) support for institutions of higher education 

18 to develop, adapt, and assess the impact of innova19 tive, evidence-based strategies, policies, and ap20 proaches to policy implementation to prevent and 

21 address sexual harassment and gender harassment; 

22 (5) research on alternatives to the hierarchical 

23 and dependent relationships, including but not lim24 ited to the mentor-mentee relationship, in academia 


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1 that have been shown to create higher levels of risk 

2 for sexual harassment and gender harassment; and 

3 (6) establishing a center for the ongoing com4 pilation, management, and analysis of campus cli5 mate survey data. 

6 SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION. 

7 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Director shall convene a working group 

9 composed of representatives of Federal statistical agen10 cies— 

11 (1) to develop questions on sexual harassment 

12 and gender harassment in STEM departments to 

13 gather national data on the prevalence, nature, and 

14 implications of sexual harassment and gender har15 assment in institutions of higher education; and 

16 (2) to include such questions as appropriate, 

17 with sufficient protections of the privacy of respond18 ents, in relevant surveys conducted by the National 

19 Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and 

20 other relevant entities. 

21 SEC. 6. RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT GUIDE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into 

24 an agreement with the Academies to update the report en25 titled ‘‘On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2695.IH H2695

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1 duct in Research’’ issued by the Academies. The report, 

2 as so updated, shall include— 

3 (1) updated professional standards of conduct 

4 in research; 

5 (2) standards of treatment individuals can ex6 pect to receive under such updated standards of con7 duct; 

8 (3) evidence-based practices for fostering a cli9 mate intolerant of sexual harassment and gender 

10 harassment; 

11 (4) methods, including bystander intervention, 

12 for identifying and addressing incidents of sexual 

13 harassment and gender harassment; and 

14 (5) professional standards for mentorship and 

15 teaching with an emphasis on preventing sexual har16 assment and gender harassment. 

17 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In updating the report 

18 under subsection (a), the Academies shall take into ac19 count recommendations made in the report issued by the 

20 Academies in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 

21 Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic 

22 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’ and other relevant 

23 studies and evidence. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the ef25 fective date of the contract under subsection (a), the AcadVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2695.IH H2695

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1 emies, as part of such agreement, shall submit to the Di2 rector and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech3 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

4 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

5 the report referred to in such subsection, as updated pur6 suant to such subsection. 

7 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

9 Science and Technology Policy, acting through the Na10 tional Science and Technology Council, shall establish an 

11 interagency working group for the purpose of coordinating 

12 Federal science agency efforts to reduce the prevalence of 

13 sexual harassment and gender harassment involving grant 

14 personnel. The working group shall be chaired by the Di15 rector of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (or 

16 the Director’s designee) and shall include a representative 

17 from each Federal science agency with annual extramural 

18 research expenditures totaling over $1,000,000,000, a rep19 resentative from the Department of Education, and a rep20 resentative from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity 

21 Commission. 

22 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF WORKING GROUP.—The 

23 interagency working group established under subsection 

24 (a) shall coordinate Federal science agency efforts to imVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2695.IH H2695

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1 plement the policy guidelines developed under subsection 

2 (c)(2). 

3 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OSTP.—The Director of 

4 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall— 

5 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on 

7 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate an inven10 tory of policies, procedures, and resources dedicated 

11 to preventing and responding to reports of sexual 

12 harassment and gender harassment at Federal agen13 cies that provide legal definitions to which institu14 tions of higher education must comply; and 

15 (2) not later than 6 months after the date on 

16 which the inventory is submitted under paragraph 

17 (1)— 

18 (A) in consultation with outside stake19 holders and Federal science agencies, develop a 

20 uniform set of policy guidelines for Federal 

21 science agencies; and 

22 (B) submit a report to the committees re23 ferred to in paragraph (1) containing such 

24 guidelines; 


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1 (3) encourage and monitor efforts of Federal 

2 science agencies to develop or maintain and imple3 ment policies based on the guidelines developed 

4 under paragraph (2), including the extent to which 

5 Federal science agency policies depart from the uni6 form policy guidelines; 

7 (4) not later than 1 year after the date on 

8 which the inventory under paragraph (1) is sub9 mitted, and every 5 years thereafter, the Director of 

10 the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall re11 port to Congress on the implementation by Federal 

12 science agencies of the policy guidelines developed 

13 under paragraph (2); and 

14 (5) update such policy guidelines as needed. 

15 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing policy guidelines 

16 under subsection (c)(2), the Director of the Office of 

17 Science and Technology Policy shall include guidelines 

18 that require— 

19 (1) grantees to submit to the Federal science 

20 agency or agencies from which the grantees receive 

21 funding reports relating to— 

22 (A) administrative action, related to an al23 legation against grant personnel of any sexual 

24 harassment or gender harassment, as set forth 

25 in organizational policies or codes of conduct, 


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1 statutes, regulations, or executive orders, that 

2 affects the ability of grant personnel or their 

3 trainees to carry out the activities of the grant; 

4 and 

5 (B) findings or determinations against 

6 grant personnel of sexual harassment or gender 

7 harassment, as set forth in organizational poli8 cies or codes of conduct, statutes, regulations, 

9 or executive orders, including any findings or 

10 determinations related to reports submitted 

11 under subparagraph (A) and any disciplinary 

12 action that was taken; 

13 (2) the sharing, updating, and archiving of re14 ports of sexual harassment and gender harassment 

15 from grantees submitted under paragraph (1)(B) 

16 with relevant Federal science agencies on a quarterly 

17 basis; and 

18 (3) to the extent practicable, ensure consistency 

19 among Federal agencies with regards to the policies 

20 and procedures for receiving reports submitted pur21 suant to paragraph (1), which may include the des22 ignation of a single agency to field reports so sub23 mitted. 

24 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing policy guide25 lines under subsection (c)(2), the Director of the Office 


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1 of Science and Technology Policy shall consider guidelines 

2 that require or incentivize— 

3 (1) grantees to periodically assess their organi4 zational climate, which may include the use of cli5 mate surveys, focus groups, or exit interviews; 

6 (2) grantees to publish on a publicly available 

7 internet website the results of assessments con8 ducted pursuant to paragraph (1), disaggregated by 

9 gender and, if possible, race, ethnicity, disability sta10 tus, and sexual orientation; 

11 (3) grantees to make public on an annual basis 

12 the number of reports of sexual harassment and 

13 gender harassment at each such institution; 

14 (4) grantees to regularly assess and improve 

15 policies, procedures, and interventions to reduce the 

16 prevalence of sexual harassment and gender harass17 ment; 

18 (5) each grantee to demonstrate in its proposal 

19 for a grant award, cooperative agreement, or con20 tract that a code of conduct is in place for maintain21 ing a healthy and welcoming workplace for grant 

22 personnel and their trainees; 

23 (6) the diffusion of the hierarchical and depend24 ent relationships between grant personnel and their 

25 trainees; 


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1 (7) each grantee and Federal science agency to 

2 have in place mechanisms for the re-integration of 

3 individuals who have experienced sexual harassment 

4 and gender harassment; and 

5 (8) grantees to work to create a climate intoler6 ant of sexual harassment and gender harassment. 

7 (f) FEDERAL SCIENCE AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 Each Federal science agency shall— 

9 (1) develop or maintain and implement policies 

10 with respect to sexual harassment and gender har11 assment that are consistent with policy guidelines 

12 under subsection (c)(2) and that protect the privacy 

13 of all parties involved in any report and investigation 

14 of sexual harassment and gender harassment, except 

15 to the extent necessary to carry out an investigation; 

16 and 

17 (2) broadly disseminate such policies to current 

18 and potential recipients of research grants, coopera19 tive agreements, or contracts awarded by such agen20 cy. 

21 (g) FERPA.—The Director of the Office of Science 

22 and Technology Policy shall ensure that such guidelines 

23 and requirements are consistent with the requirements of 

24 section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 


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1 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Family Edu2 cational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’). 

3 (h) SUNSET.—The interagency working group estab4 lished under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date 

5 that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act. 

7 SEC. 8. NATIONAL ACADEMIES ASSESSMENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into 

10 an agreement with the Academies to undertake a study 

11 of the influence of sexual harassment and gender harass12 ment in institutions of higher education on the career ad13 vancement of individuals in the STEM workforce. The 

14 study shall assess— 

15 (1) the state of research on sexual harassment 

16 and gender harassment in such workforce; 

17 (2) whether research demonstrates a change in 

18 the prevalence of sexual harassment and gender har19 assment in such workforce; 

20 (3) the progress made with respect to imple21 menting recommendations promulgated in the Acad22 emies consensus study report entitled ‘‘Sexual Har23 assment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Con24 sequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and 

25 Medicine’’; and 


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1 (4) where to focus future efforts with respect to 

2 decreasing sexual harassment and gender harass3 ment in such institutions. 

4 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Direc6 tor to carry out this Act, $17,500,000. 

Æ 


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