,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #behg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #bh1 #bjac ,mr4
 ,connolly 7for himself and ,mr4        
,kilmer7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,oversight and ,government ,reform1 and 
in addition to the ,committee on        
,education and the ,workforce1 for a    
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
provide for ,federal agencies and       
employees to support science1           
technology1 engineering1 and mathematics
 7,,stem7 activities in classrooms4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,planting ,,stem in the ,classroom 
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress     
finds the following3  7#a7 ,the ,united 
,states has traditionally produced the  
world's leading innovators in the       
science1 technology1 engineering1 and   

math 7,,stem7 fields4  7#b7 ,numerous   
studies show that ,,stem-related        
innovations fueled more than half of the
 ,nation's economic growth over the past
 half century4  7#c7 ,the number of     
,,stem-related jobs grew #c times as    
fast as non-,,stem-related jobs during  
the past #aj years and is forecast to   
grow twice as fast over the next decade4
  7#d7 ,recent reports on standardized  
testing show ,united ,states students   
performing below average or average in  
mathematics and science when compared   
with their international peers4  7#e7   
,president ,obama has established the   
goal for the ,united ,states to have the
 highest proportion of college graduates
 in the world by #bjbj1 which will      
require the ,federal ,government to work
 with education partners to improve the 
quality of ,,stem education at all      
levels to help increase the number of   
well-prepared graduates with ,,stem     
degrees by one-third over the next #aj  
years1 resulting in an additional #a    

million graduates with ,,stem degrees4  
7#f7 ,president ,obama has called for   
recruiting more teachers and mentors in 
the ,,stem fields to better engage      
students1 particularly young women and  
minorities1 and encourage them to pursue
 degrees and careers in the ,,stem      
fields so the ,united ,states can       
maintain its competitiveness in the     
global economy4  7#g7 ,the ,federal     
,government employs and supports through
 research grants many of the world's    
leading scientists1 mathematicians1 and 
engineers in every ,state4  #c4         
,providing volunteer opportunities for  
,federal employees engaged in ,,stem    
activities ,the ,office of ,personnel   
,management1 in consultation with the   
,office of ,science and ,technology     
,policy and the ,department of          
,education1 shall develop a policy to-- 
7#a7 increase volunteerism in ,,stem    
education activities by encouraging     
,federal employees engaged in ,,stem    
activities1 including scientists1       

engineers1 and cybersecurity specialists
 engaged in nonmilitary activities1 from
 ,federal agencies and the federally    
funded research and development centers 
supported by those agencies1 to         
volunteer in ,,stem education activities
 by providing administrative leave and  
support for such employees to engage in 
such volunteerism2 and  7#b7 support    
increased communication and partnerships
 between scientists and engineers from  
,federal science agencies conducting    
nonmilitary scientific research and     
development1 including scientists and   
engineers of the federally funded       
research and development centers        
supported by those agencies1 and        
elementary and secondary schools and    
teachers through volunteerism in ,,stem 
education activities4  #d4 ,conducting  
outreach to underrepresented communities
 ,each ,federal science agency shall    
report to ,congress the approaches that 
it will take to conduct outreach        
designed to promote widespread public   

understanding of career opportunities in
 the ,,stem fields specific to the      
workforce needs of that agency1         
including outreach to women1 ,latinos1  
,african-,americans1 ,native ,americans1
 and other students from groups         
underrepresented in ,,stem fields4  #e4 
,annual report ,not later than ,june #a1
 #bjad1 and annually thereafter1 the    
,secretary of ,education shall transmit 
a report to ,congress detailing--  7#a7 
the number of volunteers and volunteer  
hours resulting from this ,act2  7#b7   
the number of schools1 teachers1 and    
students engaged thereby2 and  7#c7 the 
methods of outreach used under this ,act
 to serve underrepresented communities4