United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. Army Rangers Veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
Coordinated Action To Capture Harmful Emissions Act This bill increases the applicable dollar amount of the carbon oxide sequestration tax credit for taxable years after 2021.
Air America Act of 2021 This bill establishes the service of Air America employees as qualifying service for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement System. (Air America was a government-owned airline that provided air transport for certain covert operations in Southeast Asia, including Laos and Vietnam, between 1950 and 1976.) The bill applies to U.S. citizens who were employees of Air America or another affiliated company, as specified, between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1976. Benefit applications must be filed within two years of the date of enactment of this bill.
Agricultural Security Risk Review Act This bill expands the membership of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to include the Secretary of Agriculture. (The committee reviews the national security implications of certain foreign investments in U.S. businesses or real estate, including critical infrastructure or technologies.)
Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act This bill revises the requirements for the verification of prescriptions related to the purchase of contact lenses. Specifically, online sellers of prescription contact lenses must provide consumers with a method to transmit a digital copy of their prescriptions to such sellers. Online sellers also must encrypt protected health information they send by email. Additionally, the bill prohibits any seller of prescription contact lenses from using telephone calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice (i.e., robocalls) to verify a consumer's prescription.
Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act This bill addresses sexual harassment and gender harassment in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields by supporting research regarding such harassment and efforts to prevent and respond to such harassment. (Sec. 4) This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award grants to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or their consortia) to expand research into sexual harassment and gender harassment in the STEM workforce, including students and trainees; and examine interventions for reducing the incidence and negative consequences of such harassment. (Sec. 5) The NSF must convene a working group composed of representatives of federal statistical agencies to develop questions on sexual harassment and gender harassment in STEM departments in order to gather national data on the prevalence, nature, and implications of such harassment in institutions of higher education. (Sec. 6) The NSF shall enter into agreements with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to (1) update a responsible conduct guide issued by the National Academies to include, among other things, updated professional standards of conduct in research and evidence-based practices for fostering a climate that is intolerant of sexual harassment and gender harassment; and (2) study the influence of such harassment in institutions of higher education on the career advancement of individuals in the STEM workforce. (Sec. 7) The National Science and Technology Council shall establish an interagency working group to coordinate the federal science agencies' efforts to reduce the prevalence of sexual harassment and gender harassment involving grant personnel. The Office of Science and Technology Policy must develop a uniform set of policy guidelines for such agencies to prevent and respond to reports of sexual harassment and gender harassment.
MSI STEM Achievement Act (Sec. 4) This bill supports efforts to increase science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at minority-serving institutions of higher education (IHEs), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges or Universities. The bill requires the National Science Foundation to award grants for purposes including building the capacity of such IHEs to increase the number and success of their students in the STEM workforce. (Sec. 5) The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) shall develop a uniform set of policy guidelines for federal science agencies to carry out a program of outreach activities to increase clarity, transparency, and accountability for federal science agency investments in STEM education and research activities at minority-serving IHEs. The OSTP shall submit to Congress a report containing a strategic plan for each federal science agency to increase the capacity of minority-serving IHEs to compete for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements and to encourage such IHEs to participate in federal programs.
Rural STEM Education Research Act This bill specifies federal scientific research and development efforts towards STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) workforce development and rural STEM education. (Sec. 3) The bill amends the objectives of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to include the provision to secondary schools of information about the job skills needed in manufacturing companies, and the promotion and expansion of certification systems offered through local high schools. The activities of a manufacturing extension center are expanded to include local high schools in the facilitation of collaborations and partnerships between manufacturing companies and schools to help those entities better understand the specific needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers better understand the skill sets that students learn in school programs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) must award prizes to stimulate research and development of creative technologies in order to deploy affordable and reliable broadband connectivity to underserved rural communities. NIST may award not more than a total of $5 million in prizes. (Sec. 4) The Office of Science and Technology Policy must establish a broadband research and development working group to address national research challenges and opportunities for improving broadband access and adoption across the United States. (Sec. 5) The National Science Foundation (NSF) shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences under which the National Academy of Sciences agrees to evaluate aspects of STEM education and workforce development in rural areas. (Sec. 6) The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study on the engagement of rural populations in federal STEM programs. (Sec. 7) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) programs shall consider modifications to award structures to increase the capacity of rural communities to provide quality STEM education and STEM workforce development programming to students and teachers. (Sec. 8) The NSF must award grants to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations for (1) research and development to advance innovative approaches to support and sustain high-quality STEM teaching in rural schools, (2) research and development of programming to identify the barriers rural students face in accessing high-quality STEM education, (3) development of innovative solutions to improve the participation and advancement of rural students in grades Pre-K through 12 in STEM studies, and (4) research on online STEM education courses for rural communities. The NSF may establish a pilot program of regional cohorts in rural areas to provide peer support, mentoring, and hands-on research experiences for rural STEM educators of students in grades Pre-K through 12 in order to build an ecosystem of cooperation among educators, researchers, academia, and local industry.
STEM Opportunities Act This bill provides for guidance, data collection, and grants for groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at institutions of higher education (IHEs) and at federal science agencies. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to provide specified guidance related to such groups to federal science agencies and IHEs. Each federal science agency must collect comprehensive demographic data on recipients of merit-reviewed research and development grants given to IHEs and federal laboratories supported by that agency. Each agency must also implement recommendations from the OSTP report titled Reducing the Impact of Bias in the STEM Workforce . In addition, each agency must carry out a pilot program and implement evidence-based policies and practices to minimize the effect of implicit bias in the grant review process. The National Science Foundation (NSF) must carry out and publish a survey to collect data on the demographics of STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at different types of IHEs. The NSF must also carry out a variety of grant programs, including grants for increasing (1) the recruitment, retention, and advancement of individuals from underrepresented minority groups in STEM careers; (2) the recruitment and retention of minority students who are underrepresented in STEM fields; and (3) student participation in computer science and computational thinking education programs at tribal colleges and universities.
Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act This bill authorizes the National Science Foundation to establish a two-year pilot program to award grants to highly qualified early-career investigators to carry out an independent research program at the institution of higher education chosen by such investigator, to last for a period not greater than two years. The NSF shall select grantees from among citizens, nationals, and lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens of the United States. The NSF shall conduct program outreach to recruit fellowship applicants (1) from all regions of the country; (2) from historically underrepresented populations in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); and (3) who graduate from or intend to carry out research at a variety of types of institutions of higher education, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
