Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1913-1915)
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 12, 2016
STEM Opportunities Act of 2016
This bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a STEM Inclusion Interagency Working Group which shall focus on the creation of a more diverse and inclusive STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) shall strengthen the goals and activities of the ADVANCE (Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers) program to focus on increasing the recruitment, retention, and success of all women in STEM, including minorities and persons with disabilities.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Read full official summaryShow less
The NSF shall:
award a grant for the establishment of at least one Center for Excellence for Inclusion in STEM;
collect institution-level data on the demographics of STEM faculty at different types of institutions of higher education;
award grants to institutions of higher education (or their consortia) to implement or expand evidence-based reforms for recruiting, retaining, and advancing students, fellows, trainees, and faculty from underrepresented groups in STEM; and
administer three specified Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring to recognize annually outstanding mentoring in STEM fields in primary, secondary, and higher education.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 12, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.2784 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.2784 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.2784 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.2784 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.