H.R. 210 — what changed
Rural STEM Education Research Act
From Introduced in House to Engrossed in House. 1 section amended between Introduced in House and Engrossed in House.
Sec. 3 NIST engagement with rural communities
MEP Outreach— Section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is amended—
in subsection (c)—
in paragraph (6), by striking “community colleges and area career and technical education schools” and inserting the following: “secondary schools (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), community colleges, and area career and technical education schools, including those in underserved and rural communities,”; and
in paragraph (7)—
changed
by striking “and local colleges” and inserting the following: “local high schools and local collseges, colleges, including those in underserved and rural communities,”; and
by inserting “or other applied learning opportunities” after “apprenticeships”; and
in subsection (d)(3) by striking “, community colleges, and area career and technical education schools,” and inserting the following: “and local high schools, community colleges, and area career and technical education schools, including those in underserved and rural communities,”.
Rural Connectivity Prize Competition—
Prize competition— Pursuant to section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719), the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology (referred to in this subsection as the “Secretary”), shall, subject to appropriations, carry out a program to award prizes competitively to stimulate research and development of creative technologies in order to deploy affordable and reliable broadband connectivity to underserved rural communities.
Plan for deployment in rural communities— Each proposal submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include a plan for deployment of the technology that is the subject of such proposal in an underserved rural community.
Prize amount— In carrying out the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary may award not more than a total of $5,000,000 to one or more winners of the prize competition.
Report— Not later than 60 days after the date on which a prize is awarded under the prize competition, the Secretary shall submit to the relevant committees of Congress a report that describes the winning proposal of the prize competition.
Consultation— In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary may consult with the heads of relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government.