,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcff ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #f1 #bjba,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 and ,ms4 ,strickland7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology ,a ,,bill ,to increase the participation of historically underrepresented demographic groups in science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics education and industry4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,women and ,minorities in ,,stem ,booster ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,grant program to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in stem fields 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,according to the ,national ,academy of ,sciences1 ,,stem education is critical to ensuring the ,united ,states maintains a diverse and competitive workforce4 7#b7 ,according to the ,united ,states ,census ,bureau1 women were still vastly underrepresented in the ,,stem workforce in #bjai3 comprising nearly half of the ,united ,states workforce 7#dh percent71 but only slightly more than a quarter of ,,stem workers 7#bg percent74 7#c7 ,according to the ,national ,science ,foundation1 women only represent #bh percent of all science and engineering workers3 comprising #bi percent of physical scientists1 #be percent of computer and mathematical scientists1 and #ac percent of engineers4 7#d7 ,according to the ,national ,center of ,education ,statistics 7,,nces71 women are more likely than men to switch out of ,,stem majors3 #cb percent1 compared to #bf percent4 ,,nces has also found that while a higher percentage of bachelor's degrees are awarded to females than males 7#eh percent1 compared to #db percent71 within ,,stem fields a lower percentage of bachelor's degrees were awarded to females than males 7#cf percent1 compared to #fd percent74 7#e7 ,according to the ,national ,action ,council for ,minorities in ,engineering1 ,inc41 the ,united ,states needs to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who become engineers in order to remain competitive in a world of technological innovation4 7#f7 ,according to ,asian ,americans ,advancing ,justice 7,,aajc71 data on ,asian ,americans and ,pacific ,islanders 7,a,a,p,is7 tend to hide the fact that certain ,,aapi subgroups are still underrepresented in ,,stem3 with ,cambodian 7#i percent71 ,laotian 7#h percent71 ,hmong 7#h percent71 and ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islander 7#g percent7 workers significantly underrepresented compared to other workers in the ,united ,states 7#ab percent74 7#g7 ,data also tend to hide the fact that certain subgroups are underrepresented in postsecondary education3 with ,cambodian 7#ah percent71 ,hmong 7#ag percent71 ,laotian 7#af percent71 and ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islander 7#ae percent7 students receiving a bachelor's degree or higher at lower rates than other students 7#cj percent74 ,furthermore1 certain subgroups also experience poverty at higher rates3 with ,hmong 7#bh percent71 ,cambodian 7#ba percent71 ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islanders 7#bj percent71 and ,laotian 7#ag percent7 households living below the ,federal poverty level at significantly higher rates than the overall population 7#ae percent74 7#h7 ,finally1 ,,nces has found that women and underrepresented minorities leave ,,stem at higher rates than their counterparts1 leading to a need to develop resources to retain these groups in ,,stem4 7b7 ,program authorized ,the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation shall award grants to eligible entities1 on a competitive basis1 to enable such eligible entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 7d71 in order to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics4 7c7 ,application ,each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the ,national ,science ,foundation at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation may reasonably require4 7d7 ,authorized activities ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use such grant funds to carry out one or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women or minorities underrepresented in science and engineering1 or both3 7#a7 ,online workshops4 7#b7 ,mentoring programs that partner science1 technology1 engineering1 or mathematics professionals with students4 7#c7 ,internships for undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics4 7#d7 ,conducting outreach programs that provide elementary school and secondary school students with opportunities to increase their exposure to the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 or mathematics4 7#e7 ,programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty4 7#f7 ,such additional programs as the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation may determine4 7e7 ,definitions ,in this ,act-- 7#a7 the term minority means ,american ,indian1 ,alaskan ,native1 ,black 7not of ,hispanic origin71 ,hispanic 7including persons of ,mexican1 ,puerto ,rican1 ,cuban1 and ,central or ,south ,american origin71 ,asian 7including underrepresented subgroups71 ,native ,hawaiian1 ,pacific ,islander origin subgroup1 or other ethnic group underrepresented in science and engineering2 and 7#b7 the term underrepresented in science and engineering means a minority group whose number of scientists and engineers per #aj1jjj population of that group is substantially below the comparable figure for scientists and engineers who are ,white and not of ,hispanic origin1 as determined by the ,secretary of ,education under section #fcg4d7;b7 of title #cd1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ae1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbb1 #bjbc1 #bjbd1 #bjbe1 and #bjbf4