I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6161 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
higher education to notify certain Federal agencies when principal inves-
tigators at such institutions engage in discrimination on the basis of 
sex, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCNERNEY, and Mr. RYAN of Ohio) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and 
Technology, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
institutions of higher education to notify certain Federal 
agencies when principal investigators at such institutions 
engage in discrimination on the basis of sex, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Funding Ac-
countability for Sexual Harassers Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 
EDUCATION. 
Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(30)(A) With respect to any individual whom, 
as a result of a grievance procedure described in sec-
tion 106.8(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (or successor regulations) carried out by the 
institution, is found by the institution to have en-
gaged in discrimination on the basis of sex while the 
individual was a principal investigator at the institu-
tion, the institution will report (not later than 1 
month after such finding) to each Federal depart-
ment and agency that has awarded such institution 
a competitive research and development grant on or 
after the date that is 10 years before such finding, 
the following information: 
‘‘(i) The name of the individual. 
‘‘(ii) The date and nature of the violation 
for which such determination was made. 
‘‘(iii) The findings of such determination. 
‘‘(iv) The remedy (such as corrective train-
ing or suspension) required by the institution 
after such determination. 
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‘‘(B) With respect to a formal complaint alleg-
ing discrimination on the basis of sex by a principal 
investigator at the institution, which was filed with 
such institution, but for which the institution has 
not carried out a grievance procedure described in 
section 106.8(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (or successor regulations) 6 months after the 
date on which such complaint was filed, the institu-
tion will report (not later than the date that is 7 
months after the date on which such complaint was 
filed) to each Federal department and agency that 
has awarded such institution a competitive research 
and development grant on or after the date that is 
10 years before such complaint was filed, the fol-
lowing information: 
‘‘(i) The current status of the complaint. 
‘‘(ii) The nature of the complaint. 
‘‘(iii) The date of the alleged violation. 
‘‘(iv) The reason why the institution has 
yet to complete the grievance procedure. 
‘‘(C) In the case of an institution that is re-
quired to report information— 
‘‘(i) under subparagraph (A) or (B), the 
institution will— 
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‘‘(I) ensure that such information is 
accurate; and 
‘‘(II) if errors are discovered in such 
information, report the corrected informa-
tion to each Federal department and agen-
cy described in such subparagraphs, as 
soon as practicable; or 
‘‘(ii) under subparagraph (B), the institu-
tion will not report any personally identifiable 
information with respect to individuals involved 
with the formal complaint on which the institu-
tion is reporting. 
‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
‘principal investigator’, when used with respect to an 
institution of higher education— 
‘‘(i) means an individual at and approved 
by such institution to be responsible for the sci-
entific or technical direction of a research and 
development grant awarded (or that may be 
awarded) to the institution by a Federal depart-
ment or agency; and 
‘‘(ii) includes an individual identified by 
such institution as a co-investigator, senior per-
sonnel, or an individual in an equivalent posi-
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tion at the institution with respect to such 
grant.’’. 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL DEPART-
MENTS AND AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal department or 
agency authorized to award research and development 
grants on a competitive basis— 
(1) when making the final decision of whether 
to award such a grant to an institution of higher 
education— 
(A) shall determine whether any reports 
have been filed under section 487(a)(30)(A) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(30)(A)), as added by section 2, on any 
individual who will be the principal investigator 
at the institution of higher education for such 
grant; and 
(B) if such a report has been filed, will 
consider the report when making such decision; 
and 
(2) shall keep each report received under such 
section 487(a)(30)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(30)(A)) 
on an individual— 
(A) in a case in which during the 10-year 
period beginning on the date of receipt of such 
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report no additional such report is filed on such 
individual, for such 10-year period; or 
(B) in a case in which during the 10-year 
period described in subparagraph (A) an addi-
tional such report is filed on such individual, 
for the 10-year period beginning on the date of 
receipt of such additional report; and 
(3) shall carry out the reporting requirements 
described in section 1105(a)(40) of title 31, United 
States Code, as added by section 4. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 102 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(2) 
PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR.—The 
term 
‘‘principal investigator’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 487(a)(30)(D), as added by section 
2. 
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FED-
ERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES. 
Section 1105(a)(40) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
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‘‘(40) in the case of a Federal department or 
agency authorized to award research and develop-
ment grants on a competitive basis— 
‘‘(A) the number of reports received under 
section 487(a)(30) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(30)), as added by 
the Federal Funding Accountability for Sexual 
Harassers Act, and disaggregated by reports re-
ceived under subparagraph (A) and by reports 
received under subparagraph (B) of such sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(B) the number of cases in which the de-
partment or agency recommended awarding 
such a grant for which the principal investi-
gator (as defined in section 3(b) of the Federal 
Funding Accountability for Sexual Harassers 
Act) was an individual on which a report under 
section 487(a)(30)(A) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(30)(A)) had 
been filed during the preceding fiscal year.’’. 
SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT. 
The Secretary of Education shall enter into a con-
tract with the National Academy of Sciences under which 
the National Academy of Sciences shall— 
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(1) conduct a comprehensive study on the prev-
alence and impact of sexual harassment in higher 
education in science, engineering, and medical de-
partments and programs, which shall include an 
evaluation of, and strategies to, address the legisla-
tive, administrative, educational, and cultural bar-
riers to reducing the negative impacts of such sexual 
harassment; and 
(2) not later than 3 years after the date of en-
actment of this Act, submit to the Secretary of Edu-
cation and make public a report on the results of 
such study, including— 
(A) an evaluation of the impact of sexual 
harassment on the academic careers of sci-
entists, engineers, and health care professionals; 
(B) a review of current institutional proce-
dures for preventing sexual harassment with an 
assessment of their efficacy, with comparisons 
to international programs and procedures if rel-
evant; and 
(C) recommendations for evidence-based 
strategies and policies that can reduce or elimi-
nate sexual harassment. 
Æ 
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