Wolf Announces STEM Education Career Fair

Press Release

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), a longtime supporter of STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) education today announced a STEM Career Fair for area middle and high schools students September 27-28 at the Dulles Town Center in Loudoun County.

Wolf, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds many of the nation's science programs, is co-hosting the fair with the National Science Foundation (NSF).

More than 50 exhibitors have already committed to participating, including NOAA, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Institute of Health (NIH), NASA, the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ). The fair is free and open to the public. More information will be posted on wolf.house.gov as it becomes available.

"The fair is aimed at encouraging young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, which are the surest career paths to an exciting, successful career and a strong, competitive economy," Wolf said.

Wolf said the recently passed FY 2014 Commerce-Justice-Science bill includes $1 billion for STEM education programs across the NSF, NASA and NOAA.

The bill also again directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a single, comprehensive one-stop Web site where STEM curricula from all federal agencies could be consolidated and made free for the public. Wolf said this would improve the ability of teachers to identify and use existing data on effective STEM practices, an idea that grew out of a review of STEM instruction Congress required OSTP to conduct last year.

"Our plan to create a one-stop Web site is an important step forward for bolstering STEM education in America in order to educate our children to the fullest, boost our economy and remain competitive on a global stage," Wolf said.

The bill also provides $3.6 billion for NASA exploration and $4.8 billion for NASA science programs to work in a partnership with youth service organizations, including those with a nationwide footprint, to engage K-12 students in STEM-related activities and to help encourage those students to pursue future STEM careers in order to ensure a globally competitive economy. In order to broaden the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM programs and the STEM workforce, the bill provides funding for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.

Finally, it encourages NSF to promote partnership opportunities between STEM-focused schools and universities or non-profit institutions, and provides NSF with $7 billion to fund core research and education activities that are critical to innovation and U.S. economic competitiveness, including funds for an advanced manufacturing science initiative for research in cyber security and cyber infrastructure. The bill also provides the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with $784 million in funding to help advance U.S. competitiveness, innovation, and economic growth, a decrease of $25 million below last year's levels.

Wolf said that overall, the bill is 5.6 percent below fiscal year 2013 levels and 7.4 percent below the president's budget request. It terminates 39 programs, resulting in savings of more than $500 million from FY 2013. Since returning as a chairman of the CJS subcommittee in 2011, Wolf has reduced spending in the departments and agencies covered by the bill by more than $12 billion.

For more on Wolf's work on STEM education, click here.

For the bill text, click here: http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-113hr-sc-ap-fy2014-cjs-subcommitteedraft.pdf

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