CHAIRWOMAN JOHNSON AND RANKING MEMBER LUCAS PASS LEGISLATION TO STRENGTHEN U.S. STEM WORKFORCE

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed five bills introduced by House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (OK-03) that will make significant advancements to improve and strengthen the U.S. STEM workforce pipeline.

The bills that passed in the House of Representatives were H.R. 210, the Rural STEM Education Research Act; H.R. 144, the Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act; H.R. 204, the STEM Opportunities Act; H.R. 2027, the MSI STEM Achievement Act; and H.R. 2695, the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act.

“We are proud that the House has passed five bipartisan bills addressing different aspects of our STEM talent pipeline and workforce,” said Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Ranking Member Frank Lucas. “We can no longer take for granted our country’s global leadership in science and innovation, or the economic and national security advantages that come with such leadership. And we can no longer assume that we will maintain leadership while we continue to leave out and leave behind the majority of our population. Students from racial and ethnic minority groups, rural students, and women may face different challenges in access to high-quality STEM education and inclusion in our science and engineering research enterprise, but the consequences are the same. We are not tapping into the full breadth of our nation’s talent and the diverse perspectives and insights they bring. In the current moment, we also face the risk of significant loss of those who are already in the STEM research pipeline due to the impacts of the COVID pandemic, with a disproportionate impact on women and minority researchers. The five bills developed by the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and passed by the House today are integral to shoring up our current STEM talent pipeline and strengthening it for the future.”