202 
SEC. 708. EPSCOR. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress 
that— 
(A) since maintaining the Nation’s sci-
entific and economic leadership requires the 
participation of talented individuals nationwide, 
EPSCoR investments into State research and 
education capacities that are in the Federal in-
terest and should be sustained; and 
(B) EPSCoR should maintain its experi-
mental component by supporting innovative 
methods for improving research capacity and 
competitiveness. 
(2) DEFINITION
OF
EPSCOR.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘‘EPSCoR’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 502 of the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 1862p 
note). 
(b) UPDATE OF EPSCOR.—Section 517(f)(2) of the 
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 
U.S.C. 1862p–9(f)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(C) to increase the capacity of rural com-
munities to provide quality STEM education 
and STEM workforce development program-
ming to students, and teachers; and’’. 
SEC. 709. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title, unless expressly provided otherwise: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the National Science Foundation. 
(2) FEDERAL
SCIENCE
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘Federal science agency’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 103 of the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6623). 
(3) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 
means the National Science Foundation. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
TITLE VIII—STEM WORKFORCE 
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY 
SEC. 801. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Many reports over the past decade have 
found that it is critical to our Nation’s economic 
leadership and global competitiveness that the 
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United States educates and trains more scientists 
and engineers. 
(2) Worldwide demand for STEM-capable 
workers keeps growing, driven by international op-
portunities and competition, and by the rapid in-
creases in the number of jobs that require STEM 
skills, including in lines of work that historically did 
not require STEM knowledge. 
(3) By 2026 science and engineering jobs are 
predicted to grow by 13 percent compared with 7 
percent growth in the overall United States work-
force. 
(4) A recent report by ACT, the scholastic test-
ing service, found that only 20 percent of United 
States students in the 2016 ACT-tested high school 
graduating class were ready for first-year STEM 
college courses. 
(5) Out of the 79 countries that participate in 
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and De-
velopment’s Programme for International Student 
Assessment, the United States ranks 18th in science 
and 37th in mathematics. 
(6) The Federal Government spends over $3 
billion annually on STEM education related re-
search, programs and activities, but encouraging 
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STEM education activities beyond the scope of the 
Federal Government is crucial to the future tech-
nical and economic competitiveness of the United 
States. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the Nation’s future economic and national 
security relies on building a STEM-capable work-
force in order to remain competitive in the global 
economy, foster greater innovation, and provide a 
foundation for shared prosperity; 
(2) the Federal Government plays a key role in 
developing and sustaining a STEM-capable work-
force by working with stakeholders at all levels, in-
cluding researchers, practitioners, industry, and 
State and local governments to support and promote 
evidence-based approaches to modernize elementary, 
secondary, and post-secondary STEM education, and 
support the reskilling and upskilling that workers 
will need throughout their careers; 
(3) applying a more holistic view of the STEM 
workforce that moves beyond academic degrees and 
occupations will highlight the contributions and op-
portunities for workers at all education levels; 
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(4) increasing the diversity and inclusion in the 
STEM workforce is needed to help address the 
STEM skills shortage; 
(5) supporting an interdisciplinary approach to 
STEM learning, where academic concepts are cou-
pled with real-world applications and students use 
STEM in contexts that make connections between 
school, community, work, and the wider world will 
improve outcomes for students in elementary, sec-
ondary and post-secondary education and for skilled 
technical workers in different career stages; 
(6) leveraging private and nonprofit invest-
ments in STEM education will be essential to 
strengthening the Federal STEM portfolio; 
(7) deepening partnerships between educational 
institutions and the business sector will be critical in 
preparing Americans for the industries of the future 
and support reskilling and upskilling of incumbent 
workers so that they can better navigate rapid 
changes in the world of work; and 
(8) coordinating STEM programs and activities 
across the Federal Government in order to limit du-
plication and engage stakeholders in STEM pro-
grams and related activities for which objective out-
comes can be measured will bolster results of Fed-
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