Washington, DC – Today bipartisan initiatives by Rep. Young Kim (CA-39) to promote access to STEM educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds were passed by the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
The Innovations in Informal STEM Learning Act (H.R. 3859), led by Rep. Kim to support informal STEM programs, was added as an amendment to the National Science Foundation for the Future Act, which passed out of the committee and now heads to the House floor for a vote.
The Research Excellence through STEM Inclusion Act (H.R. 3809), which Rep. Kim introduced with Reps. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) and Ro Khanna (CA-17), was also added as an amendment to the final bill.
“Bridging the gap in STEM education for students of all backgrounds will help create opportunities for our future generations to succeed, cultivate a skilled workforce, grow our economy and boost U.S. competitiveness on the world stage. These bipartisan initiatives take important, practical steps to promote STEM educational opportunities,” said Kim. “I’m proud to help pass the NSF for the Future Act that will help our economy and national security and thank my colleagues for including my bills in the final package. I look forward to supporting this bill on the House floor soon.”
Rep. Kim introduced H.R. 3859 to create a merit-based grant program to support informal STEM programs that engage students outside of the classroom. Rep. Kim was joined by House Science, Space and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (OK-03), Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) and Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04) to introduce the bill.
Rep. Kim worked with Reps. Bowman and Khanna to introduce H.R. 3809 to help grow and diversify our STEM workforce by creating a Chief Diversity Officer at the National Science Foundation.
Rep. Kim is committed to supporting access to STEM education and has cosponsored and supported many initiatives to expand STEM opportunities for students and early-career researchers during COVID-19, such as:
