(ii) individual employers or an em-
ployer consortia; 
(B) applications that demonstrate current 
and future workforce demand in occupations di-
rectly related to selected STEM fields; and 
(C) applications that include outreach 
plans and goals for recruiting and enrolling 
women and other populations historically under-
represented in STEM. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to 
awards described in this subsection, which shall in-
clude not less than $2,500,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2021, subject to the availability 
of appropriations, to come from amounts made avail-
able for the Education and Human Resources Direc-
torate. This subsection shall be carried out using 
funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
(e) GRANTS FOR COMPUTER-BASED AND ONLINE 
STEM EDUCATION COURSES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation shall award competitive grants 
to institutions of higher education or nonprofit orga-
nizations to conduct research on student outcomes 
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and determine best practices and scalability of com-
puter-based and online courses for technical skills 
training. 
(2) RESEARCH AREAS.—The research areas eli-
gible for funding under this subsection may in-
clude— 
(A) post-secondary courses for technical 
training for STEM occupations; 
(B) improving high-school level vocational 
training in STEM subjects; 
(C) encouraging and sustaining interest 
and achievement levels in STEM subjects 
among women and other populations histori-
cally underrepresented in STEM studies and 
careers; and 
(D) combining computer-based and online 
STEM education and training with traditional 
mentoring and other mentoring arrangements, 
apprenticeships, internships, and other applied 
learning opportunities. 
(3) FUNDING.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall devote not less than $10,000,000 to 
awards described in this subsection, which shall in-
clude not less than $2,500,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2021, subject to the availability 
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of appropriations, to come from amounts made avail-
able for the Education and Human Resources Direc-
torate. This subsection shall be carried out using 
funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON EFFICIENCY OF SKILLED TECH-
NICAL LABOR MARKETS. 
(a) EFFICIENCY
OF SKILLED TECHNICAL LABOR 
MARKETS.—The Directorate of Social, Behavioral & Eco-
nomic Sciences of the National Science Foundation, in co-
ordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall support re-
search that improves the efficiency of skilled technical 
labor markets in the United States, including research on 
labor market analysis innovations, data and information 
sciences, electronic information tools and methodologies, 
and metrics. 
(b) COMPARISON
OF
UNITED
STATES
WORK-
FORCE.— 
(1) RESEARCH.—The National Science Founda-
tion shall commission research that compares and 
contrasts skilled technical workforce development be-
tween the United States and other developed coun-
tries, including the diversity of skilled technical and 
professional workforces, to the extent feasible. 
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(2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the results of the study under 
paragraph (1). 
(c) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE.— 
(1) REVIEW.—The National Center for Science 
and Engineering Statistics of the National Science 
Foundation shall consult and coordinate with other 
relevant Federal statistical agencies to explore the 
feasibility of expanding its surveys to include the col-
lection of objective data on the skilled technical 
workforce. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation shall submit to Con-
gress a report containing the progress made in ex-
panding the National Center for Science and Engi-
neering Statistics surveys to include the skilled tech-
nical workforce. Such report shall include a plan for 
multi-agency collaboration in order to effect data 
collection and reporting of data on the skilled tech-
nical workforce. 
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SEC. 5. SPENDING LIMITATION. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be 
carried out using amounts otherwise available for such 
purpose. 
SEC. 6. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 
(a) EVALUATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 
the Foundation shall evaluate the grants and pro-
grams provided under this Act. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the evalua-
tion under paragraph (1), the Director shall use a 
common set of benchmarks and assessment tools to 
identify best practices and materials developed or 
demonstrated by the research conducted pursuant to 
such grants and programs. 
(b) REPORT ON EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 180 
days after the completion of the evaluation under sub-
section (a), the Director of the Foundation shall submit 
to Congress and make widely available to the public a re-
port that includes— 
(1) the results of the evaluation; and 
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(2) any recommendations for administrative 
and legislative action that could optimize the effec-
tiveness of the grants and programs under this Act. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 
Director of the Foundation shall consult the programs and 
policies of other relevant Federal agencies to avoid dupli-
cation with, and enhance the effectiveness of, the grants 
and programs under this Act. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics, including 
computer science. 
(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu-
nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 
and community college’’ in section 312 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(4) REGION.—The term ‘‘region’’ means a labor 
market area, as such term is defined in section 3 of 
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3102). 
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(5) SKILLED
TECHNICAL
WORKFORCE.—The 
term ‘‘skilled technical workforce’’ means workers 
with high school diplomas and two-year technical 
training or certifications who employ significant lev-
els of STEM knowledge in their jobs. 
(6) 
UNIVERSITY.—The 
term 
‘‘university’’ 
means a 4-year institution of higher education, as 
defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
Æ 
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