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Title IV — STEM Education Funding

S. 169 · 113th Congress · Jan 29, 2013 · Lineage

IV STEM Education Funding

Sec. 401 Funding for STEM education and training

(a)
Nonimmigrant fee adjustment and allocation— Section 214(c)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(9)) is amended—
(1)
by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:

“(B) The amount of the fee imposed under this paragraph shall be—

“(i) $1,250 for each such petition filed by an employer with not more than 25 full-time equivalent employees who are employed in the United States (determined by including any affiliate or subsidiary of such employer); and

“(ii) $2,500 for each such petition filed by an employer with more than 25 such employees.”

(2)
by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:

“(C) Fees collected under this paragraph shall be distributed as follows:

“(i) Of the amounts collected pursuant to subparagraph (B)(i)—

“(I) $750 shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(s); and

“(II) $500 shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(w).

“(ii) Of the amounts collected pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii)—

“(I) $1,500 shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(s); and

“(II) $1,000 shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(w).”

(b)
Conforming amendment— Section 286(s)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(s)(1)) is amended by striking the last sentence and inserting “There shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account a portion of the fees collected under paragraphs (9) and (11) of section 214(c).”.
(c)
Immigrant fee— Section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(7) Funding for STEM education and training—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall impose a fee of $1,000 on each I–140 immigrant visa petition filed under this subsection. Amounts collected under this paragraph shall be deposited into the Treasury in accordance with section 286(w).”

Sec. 402 Promoting American Ingenuity Account

Section 286 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(w) Promoting American Ingenuity Account

“(1) In general—There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the “Promoting American Ingenuity Account”. There shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the account fees collected under section 203(b)(7) and a portion of the fees collected under section 214(c)(9). Amounts deposited into the account shall remain available to the Secretary of Education until expended.

“(2) Purposes—The purposes of the Promoting American Ingenuity Account are to enhance the economic competitiveness of the United States by—

“(A) strengthening STEM education, including in computer science, at all levels;

“(B) ensuring that schools have access to well-trained and effective STEM teachers;

“(C) supporting efforts to strengthen the elementary and secondary curriculum, including efforts to make courses in computer science more broadly available; and

“(D) helping colleges and universities produce more graduates in fields needed by American employers.

“(3) Allocation of funds

“(A) National activities—The Secretary of Education may reserve up to 5 percent of the amounts deposited into the Promoting American Ingenuity Account for national research, development, demonstration, evaluation, and dissemination activities carried out directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, including—

“(i) activities undertaken jointly with other Federal agencies, such as STEM mission agencies; and

“(ii) grants to non-profit organizations for nationally significant activities consistent with the purposes of the Immigration Innovation Act of 2013.

“(B) Allocations to states

“(i) In general—Subject to clause (ii), the Secretary of Education shall proportionately allocate the remaining amounts deposited into the account to the States each fiscal year in an amount that bears the same relationship to the remainder as the amount the State received under subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.) for the preceding fiscal year bears to the amount all States received under that subpart for the preceding fiscal year.

“(ii) Minimum allocations—No State shall receive less than an amount equal to 0.5 percent of the total amount made available to all States from the Promoting American Ingenuity Account. If a State does not request an allocation from the Account for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reallocate the State's allocation to the remaining States in accordance with this section.”

Sec. 403 STEM education grant application process

(a)
Application— Each State desiring to receive an allocation from the Promoting American Ingenuity Account established under section 286(w) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(w)) submit an application to the Secretary of Education that describes how the State plans to improve STEM education to meet the needs of employers in the State, at such time, in such form, and including such information as the Secretary may prescribe.
(b)
Approval— The Secretary of Education shall approve any application submitted under subsection (a) that meets the requirements prescribed by the Secretary if the Secretary determines, after evaluating the recommendations of peer reviewers, that the State’s plan for the use of funds would be successful in making progress toward meeting the purposes set forth in section 286(w)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(w)(2)).

Sec. 404 Approved activities

A State or other entity that receives funding from the Promoting American Ingenuity Account may use such funding—
(1)
to strengthen the State’s academic achievement standards in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM);
(2)
to implement strategies for the recruitment, training, placement, and retention of teachers in STEM fields, including computer science;
(3)
to carry out initiatives designed to assist students in succeeding and graduating from postsecondary STEM programs;
(4)
to improve the availability and access to STEM-related worker training programs, including community college courses and programs; and
(5)
for other activities approved by the Secretary of Education to improve STEM education.

Sec. 405 National evaluation

(a)
In general— Using amounts reserved under section 286(w)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 402, the Secretary of Education shall conduct, directly or through a grant or contract, an annual evaluation of the implementation and impact of the activities funded by the Promoting American Ingenuity Account.
(b)
Annual Report— The Secretary shall submit a report describing the results of each evaluation conducted under subsection (a) to—
(1)
the President;
(2)
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(3)
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives;
(4)
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
(5)
the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.
(c)
Dissemination— The Secretary shall make the findings of the evaluation widely available to educators, the business community, and the public.

Sec. 406 Rule of construction

Nothing in this title may be construed to permit the Secretary of Education or any other Federal official to approve the content or academic achievement standards of a State.