National STEM Week Act
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The bill would direct the National Science and Technology Council's STEM committee to designate a National STEM Week each year, encouraging schools, families, and industry to promote science, technology, engineering, and math education.
The designation and related activities would expire five years after enactment, and the committee would report annually to Congress on participation and outcomes.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 to require the committee on STEM (part of the National Science and Technology Council) to designate a week each calendar year as "National STEM Week." During that week, the committee would encourage elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to participate; encourage families of participating students to engage in STEM activities; and encourage STEM industries to offer mentorship, site visits, and guest lectures, and to support STEM education through funding, resources, and expertise.
The bill would also require the committee to include a description of National STEM Week activities—participation summaries, an impact analysis, and recommendations—in its existing annual report to Congress. The authority to designate the week and carry out these activities would expire five years after enactment. The bill does not create new funding, mandates, or enforcement mechanisms; participation by institutions, families, and industry would remain voluntary.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the STEM committee to designate a week each calendar year as National STEM Week, in consultation with stakeholders
- 2Would direct the committee to encourage educational institutions to participate in National STEM Week
- 3Would direct the committee to encourage families of participating students to engage in STEM activities
- 4Would direct the committee to encourage STEM industries to provide mentorship, site visits, guest lectures, funding, resources, and expertise
- 5Would require an annual report to Congress describing National STEM Week participation, impact, and recommendations
- 6Would sunset the National STEM Week designation authority five years after enactment
Who would be affected
Elementary schools, secondary schools, and colleges and universities nationwide; families of students at those institutions; STEM-industry businesses and nonprofits considering mentorship or support roles; and the National Science and Technology Council's STEM committee, which would carry out the designation and reporting duties.
Why it matters
If enacted, the designation could raise national visibility for STEM education and prompt voluntary school, family, and industry participation, but it creates no funding, requirements, or penalties. Its practical effect depends on how actively the committee and outside institutions choose to engage during the designated week over the five-year authorization.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 6621) (Sec. 3)
Adds authority and duties for the STEM committee to designate National STEM Week, define terms, set purposes, and require related annual reporting, expiring after 5 years.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Authority to designate National STEM Week and carry out related activities
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that implementing the National STEM Week Act would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026–2030 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that S. 1070 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the federal deficit over the 2026–2035 period. The bill's only budgetary impact is a small discretionary cost — less than $500,000 over 2026–2030 — tied to the National Science and Technology Council's work to establish a National STEM Week; that spending would depend on future appropriations. The bill would not increase on-budget deficits in any future ten-year window, and CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates.
How implementation would work
The STEM committee under the National Science and Technology Council would choose a week each year, in consultation with stakeholders, and use existing outreach channels to encourage participation by schools, families, and industry—there is no grant program or new agency created. The committee would fold a description of that year's activities, an impact analysis, and improvement recommendations into its existing annual report to Congress. The whole framework, including the designation authority, would automatically expire five years after enactment unless renewed.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Held at the desk.
Official CRS summary
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This bill requires the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on STEM to designate a week each calendar year as National STEM Week. (STEM refers to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.)
During this established week, the committee must encourage educational institutions (i.e., elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education) to participate in the week and also encourage families of students attending these educational institutions to participate in STEM activities. Additionally, the committee must encourage STEM industries to (1) engage with students enrolled in educational institutions by providing mentorship programs, site visits, and guest lectures; and (2) support STEM education initiatives at these educational institutions through funding, resources, and expertise.
The committee must annually report to Congress on the activities conducted during the established week.
Legislative subjects
Community life and organization; Congressional oversight; Education; Education programs funding; Educational guidance; Science and engineering education
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-110