Congress looks to address United States competitiveness in recent legislative effort

In early May, congress officially took the biggest step in negotiating a competitiveness bill by naming 107 members of congress (26 Senators and 71 House members) to the conference committee charged with reconciling differences between the House’s COMPETES Act and the Senate’s USICA legislation. The legislation spans a number of areas that aim to address the United States’ competitiveness in the technology and trade industry, from increasing semiconductor production to addressing regulations around trade. What’s also been included in both the House and Senate bills are provisions addressing STEM education, particularly informal STEM opportunities like those available in afterschool and summer programs.

Advancing STEM education is an important strategy to address the challenges that face the United States, and increasing support for afterschool and summer STEM programs can lead to greater student interest in STEM and a greater diversity of young people pursuing these careers. These outcomes will be a key part of addressing America’s competitiveness in technology. Currently, there are three provisions in the two versions of the legislation that support afterschool STEM programs.

Rural STEM Education Research Act 

This provision, included in both the House and Senate legislation authorizes the National Science Foundation to support research to improve STEM teaching in rural schools, including through youth-serving organizations like afterschool and summer programs, and improve participation and advancement of rural students in STEM studies.

Hands-on Learning Program

The House and Senate bills each include a version of the Hands-on Learning Program, which authorizes a new grant program for supporting hands-on learning opportunities in STEM education, including via afterschool activities and innovative learning opportunities such as robotics competitions. The Senate version of this provision expands eligibility to more programs, including smaller or more rural organizations, across the country.

Pre-K-12 STEM Education

Finally, the last STEM education provision is currently only included in the House legislation. The Pre-K-12 STEM Education section would support a decadal survey to be carried out by the National Academies to identify research priorities in Pre-K-12 STEM education and an additional study on barriers to the widespread implementation of STEM education innovations. It would also establish a program to fund multidisciplinary research and translation centers to scale STEM education innovations in both formal and informal learning settings.

With the recent passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Congress can now turn it’s attention back to other legislative efforts, including the competitiveness bill. July will be an important month for wrapping up negotiations before Congress goes on recess for August and campaigns kick into full swing in the fall. If the bill does not pass before August, there’s a chance it could pass after the elections in November and before the end of the year.