Supporting Veterans in Stem Careers Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 425) to promote veteran involvement in STEM education, computer science, and scientific research, and for other purposes.
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Mr. LIPINSKI. 425, the bill now under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 425, the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act.
I want to thank Mr. Dunn and Mr. Lamb for introducing this important legislation.
Now, more than ever, U.S. global competitiveness depends on our ability to grow and sustain a STEM-capable workforce poised to meet the needs of the private sector. With an economy that is rapidly evolving and increasingly reliant on big data automation and advanced technologies, the workforce is struggling to keep up.
Although STEM careers offer good pay and job security, companies across all sectors report having difficulty recruiting workers with the skills that they need.
The good news is veterans and transitioning servicemembers represent a group of highly trained individuals with STEM knowledge base and skill sets employers need. The question is how to get more veterans to produce STEM degrees and join the STEM workforce.
H.R. 425 addresses this question by supporting research to identify and lower barriers for veterans transitioning from military to civilian work environments. The bill directs the National Science Foundation to develop a comprehensive plan for outreach to veterans with the goal of increasing veteran participation in the agency STEM education and research programs.
It also requires NSF, in its biennial Science and Engineering Indicators report, to publish available data on veterans in STEM studies and careers.
Further, the bill adds veterans as a target demographic for outreach under several existing NSF programs, including the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.
Finally, H.R. 425 creates an interagency committee on veterans in STEM and directs the creation of a strategic plan for transitioning and training veterans and military spouses into STEM careers.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 425 will help us cement our global leadership by ensuring more veterans with the STEM skills we need are able to translate their talent into STEM careers. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Dunn for introducing this bill again, and we will work hard to see this through to the end.
I thank Mr. Lamb for his comments. It is certainly something that I have experienced, which is employers needing to find more workers. The men and women who are coming out of our armed services have those skills that are needed. We just need to give them a little more help to get them connected. This bill does that.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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