38 U.S.C. § 3320 (VETERANS’ BENEFITS)
§ 3320. Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship
(a) In General.—
Subject to the limitation under subsection (f), the Secretary shall provide additional benefits to eligible individuals selected by the Secretary under this section. Such benefits shall be known as the “Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship”.
(b) Eligibility.—
For purposes of this section, an eligible individual is an individual—
(1) who is or was entitled to educational assistance under section 3311 of this title;
(2) who has used all of the educational assistance to which the individual is entitled under this chapter or will, based on the individual’s rate of usage, use all of such assistance within 180 days of applying for benefits under this section;
(3) who applies for assistance under this section; and
(4) who—
(A) is an individual who—
(i) is enrolled in a program of education leading to a post-secondary degree that, in accordance with the guidelines of the applicable regional or national accrediting agency, requires at least the standard 120 semester (or 180 quarter) credit hours for completion in a standard, undergraduate college degree in—
(I) biological or biomedical science;
(II) physical science;
(III) science technologies or technicians;
(IV) computer and information science and support services;
(V) mathematics or statistics;
(VI) engineering;
(VII) engineering technologies or an engineering-related field;
(VIII) a health profession or related program;
(IX) a medical residency program;
(X) an agriculture science program or a natural resources science program; or
(XI) other subjects and fields identified by the Secretary as meeting national needs;
(ii) has completed at least 60 standard semester (or 90 quarter) credit hours in a field referred to in clause (i); or
(B) is an individual who has earned a post-secondary degree in a field referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) and is enrolled in a program of education leading to a teaching certification.
(c) Priority.—
In selecting eligible individuals to receive additional benefits under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to the following individuals:
(1) Individuals who require the most credit hours described in subsection (b)(4).
(2) Individuals who are entitled to educational assistance under this chapter by reason of paragraph (1), (2), (8), or (9) of section 3311(b) of this title.
(d) Amount of Assistance.—
(1) The Secretary shall pay to each eligible individual who receives additional benefits under this section the monthly amount payable under section 3313 of this title for not more than 9 months of the program of education in which the individual is enrolled (adjusted with respect to the individual pursuant to section 3313(c), as appropriate), except that the aggregate amount paid to an individual under this section may not exceed $30,000.
(2) The Secretary may not pay to such an individual an amount in addition to the amount payable under paragraph (1) by reason of section 3317 of this title.
(3) An individual who receives additional benefits under this section may also receive amounts payable by a college or university pursuant to section 3317 of this title.
(e) Prohibition on Transfer.—
An individual who receives additional benefits under this section may not transfer any amount of such additional benefits under section 3319 of this title.
(f) Maximum Amount of Total Assistance.—
The total amount of benefits paid to all eligible individuals under this section may not exceed—
(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2019;
(2) $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2022; and
(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each subsequent fiscal year.
(g) Congressional Notice.—
If the Secretary identifies a new subject or field pursuant to subsection (b)(4)(A)(i)(XI) as meeting a national need, the Secretary shall submit to Congress notice of such identification at least 90 days before conferring eligibility on any individual for purposes of this section on the basis of such identification, including any analysis of labor market supply and demand used in identifying the new subject or field, as applicable.
(Added Pub. L. 115–48, title I, § 111(a), Aug. 16, 2017, 131 Stat. 982; amended Pub. L. 116–36, § 1, July 31, 2019, 133 Stat. 1048.)
heading: Amendments
text: 2019—Subsec. (b)(4)(A)(i). Pub. L. 116–36 substituted “at least the standard 120 semester (or 180 quarter) credit hours” for “more than the standard 128 semester (or 192 quarter) credit hours” in introductory provisions.
heading: Effective Date
text: Pub. L. 115–48, title I, § 111(c), Aug. 16, 2017, 131 Stat. 983, provided that: “Section 3320 of title 38, United States Code, shall take effect on August 1, 2019.”