Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 321) to inspire women to enter the aerospace field, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, through mentorship and outreach.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 321, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise to offer H.R. 321, the INSPIRE Act. I am pleased to lead this effort along with the chairman and ranking member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Lamar Smith and Eddie Bernice Johnson, as well as Congresswoman Esty.

We did pass this bill last year and now we are revisiting it since it didn't get through the Senate.

Recently, the movie, ``Hidden Figures,'' was released detailing a few of the unsung heroes of NASA. This movie highlights the moving story of a group of African American women who worked at NASA at a historic time in the 1960s as mathematicians during the space race.

Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson were featured in the movie for their work that launched America into space.

In a recent interview with the LA Times, Ms. Johnson, who is still living, was asked: ``At the time, did you know that John Glenn asked for `the girl' (which would be you) to check the numbers before he took his landmark flight into space? Did it heighten the stakes for you?''

Ms. Johnson's response: ``I knew they asked me to check the numbers. That was what I did. They knew my record for accuracy. I knew and had confidence in my math, so I did it. I always did my best.''

Mr. Speaker, I didn't know the story of these women growing up, even though they were doing these things at a time when we were all watching these things happen. But now today's young women well know that story. It is an inspiring story. It is one of those movies Ms. Esty and I were speaking about yesterday that were on our list of must-sees.

These women were critical to the success of our astronauts and our space program that would eventually put a man on the Moon. Now is the time to pass this legislation that will afford opportunities to a future generation of women leaders who will have a similar impact on our Nation's history, and maybe, one day, put a woman on Mars.

The INSPIRE Act authorizes the NASA administrator to encourage young women to study mathematics, known as the STEM fields, and to pursue careers that will further advance America's space science and exploration efforts through support of NASA initiatives such as NASA GIRLS, Aspire 2 Inspire, and the Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research--SISTER.

The goal of NASA GIRLS is to create a virtual mentoring project that offers a one-of-a-kind experience to middle school students using online capabilities.

NASA's vision for Aspire 2 Inspire was to reach out to young girls and present some of the STEM career opportunities through the real lives and jobs of early career women at NASA.

The SISTER program is designed to increase awareness of and provide an opportunity for female middle school students to be exposed to and explore nontraditional career fields with Goddard Space Flight Center women engineers, mathematicians, scientists, technicians, and researchers. According to NASA, 58 women have traveled in space. Forty- nine of those have flown with NASA.

Of course, there are so many other careers available for women in NASA, and we want to make sure all of those are available for them. We know the stories of women like Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, but, ironically, we didn't know these hidden figures that are behind the scene. So now, as we move forward under this program, we hope everyone will know about the many women and the many careers open to both men and women in this NASA program.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello).

Mr. Speaker, we have had over 65 cosponsors this year on the bill, as was mentioned by my colleague. It had strong bipartisan support last year and it has also been introduced now in the Senate, so we certainly hope it will move through quickly.

Eileen Collins, who became the first female to command and pilot a spacecraft, was asked to give advice to future astronauts. She stated:

My advice to young people is to go into the field you are

most interested in. If you love your job, you will do well in

your job.

I think what we have all discussed here today is, when you can see that job and when you can see people who look like you--see women and people from all walks of life in those positions--and the Internet allows us to do that now, then you can really have that kind of exposure, which is quite exciting.

I appreciate the opportunity to, once again, present this bill, and I ask my colleagues to join me in support.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 321, the INSPIRE Women Act.

This bill calls on the NASA administrator to support initiatives that encourage girls and young women to study STEM fields and pursue careers in aerospace. Unfortunately, women are woefully underrepresented in many STEM fields, including aeronautics and aerospace. One of the key barriers to women entering technical fields is self-selection out of STEM degrees due to a lack of role models.

In the words of longtime children's advocate and activist, Marian Wright Edelman: ``You can't be what you can't see.''

Too many girls and young women decide not to pursue studies in technical fields such as science, engineering, and aerospace because they look at their teachers and their role models and they see no one who looks like them.

When students are able to visualize themselves working in technical fields, they gain the confidence they need to take the first step in pursuit of a challenging and rewarding STEM career, to their benefit and to the benefit of society as a whole.

NASA, with its extraordinary STEM workforce, is in a unique position to help close this gap. The agency has access to a diverse group of current and retired women astronauts, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and innovators whose accomplishments and career paths are just the sort of inspiration that girls and young women need.

Astronaut Kate Rubins broke barriers and boundaries when she became the first person to ever sequence DNA in space during her spaceflight last year.

Just last Friday, Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station, completed her seventh space walk.

Vera Rubin's recent passing reminded us of her trailblazing career in astronomy in which she made the groundbreaking discovery of dark matter.

As has already been mentioned by my friend and colleague, Barbara Comstock, the newly released movie, ``Hidden Figures,'' highlights through the pioneering story of early NASA mathematicians and engineers Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson that women have been instrumental to our aerospace enterprise since its inception.

NASA has developed a number of programs aimed at leveraging its inspirational workforce to encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM degrees and STEM careers. This includes the NASA GIRLS program, the Aspire 2 Inspire program, and the Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research, or SISTER program.

H.R. 321 instructs the NASA administrator to continue supporting these and other programs that encourage women and girls to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as to pursue careers in aerospace.

Additionally, the bill calls on NASA to develop a plan for how it can best facilitate and support current and retired astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators to engage with K-12 female STEM students.

Although retired engineers, astronauts, scientists, and engineers are invaluable to inspiring the next generation of NASA scientists, I am especially glad and thankful to my colleague for including early career female astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators in this plan. It is very important for America's young girls to have experiences interacting with young women who look like them in the STEM fields.

I thank my Science, Space, and Technology Committee colleague, Representative Comstock, for her leadership on the bill, as well as our esteemed chairman, Lamar Smith, and our wonderful ranking member, Eddie Bernice Johnson.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), my ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my esteemed colleagues for their leadership on this, in particular, Representative Comstock from Virginia and the ranking member.

This is a very laudable bill that plays an important role in inspiring the next generation of STEM engineers and scientists, and I am pleased that we are able to offer this again. This did pass in the last Congress. Unfortunately, it did not make it through the Senate. I am delighted that we are moving early in this session and would urge all of my colleagues to swiftly pass this, to send it to the Senate, and to get it on the President's desk and make sure these important programs are supported long into the future.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 321, the INSPIRE Women, Act.

I support this legislation because Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution states our duty ``To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries . . .''

This includes the education of our next generation of women considering participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to pursue careers in aerospace.

Statistics show that women remain underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce, although to a lesser degree than in the past, with the greatest disparities occurring in engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2014).

1. Female scientists and engineers are concentrated in different occupations than are men, with relatively high shares of women in the social sciences (58 percent)

2. biological and medical sciences (48 percent)

3. relatively low shares in engineering (13 percent)

4. computer and mathematical sciences (25 percent) (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2014).

Women make up 47 percent of the total U.S. workforce, but are much less represented in particular science and engineering occupations (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook, 2014):

1. 39 percent of chemists and material scientists are women;

2. 27.9 percent of environmental scientists and geoscientists are women;

3. 15.6 percent of chemical engineers are women;

4. 12.1 percent of civil engineers are women;

5. 8.3 percent of electrical and electronics engineers are women;

6. 17.2 percent of industrial engineers are women; and

7. 7.2 percent of mechanical engineers are women.

These statistics show that measures need to be taken in order to promote women participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to pursue careers in aerospace.

H.R. 321 will support NASA GIRLS and NASA BOYS, virtual mentoring programs using commercially available video chat programs, to pair National Aeronautics and Space Administration mentors with young students anywhere in the country.

NASA GIRLS and NASA BOYS give young students the opportunity to interact and learn from real engineers, scientists, and technologists.

H.R. 321 will also support the ``Aspire to Inspire'' Program (A2I), which engages young girls to present science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career opportunities through the real lives and jobs of early career women at NASA.

H.R. 321 also promotes the Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research (SISTER) program at the Goddard Space Flight Center designed to increase awareness of, and provide an opportunity for, female middle school students to be exposed to and explore nontraditional career fields with Goddard Space Flight Center women engineers, mathematicians, scientists, technicians, and researchers.

Let me close by urging all Members to join me in voting to pass H.R. 321.

Mr. Speaker, science, technology, engineering and math are critical to America's future prosperity.

Women are unfortunately underrepresented in STEM careers. Despite representing nearly half of the college-educated and total U.S. workforce, women account for less than 25 percent of America's STEM workforce.

Supporting women's involvement in the fields of aerospace and space exploration should be an important part of NASA's mission.

Current NASA programs such as NASA GIRLS and NASA BOYS are important and give young students the opportunity to interact and learn from real NASA engineers, scientists, and technologists.

They provide virtual mentoring that use commercially available video chat programs to pair NASA innovators with young students across the country.

H.R. 321 builds upon this success. It leverages NASA's talent pool of current and retired astronauts, and early career female scientists, engineers, and innovators to inform and inspire young women to pursue their dreams in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. One day, these young people will push the boundaries of space.

Space can be a catalyst for inspiring young girls to enter the STEM fields. By doing our part to support their engagement in space with this legislation, we are investing in the futures of our daughters, nieces, and grandchildren.

I again want to thank the bill sponsor, Research and Technology Subcommittee Chairwoman Comstock for her leadership on this topic. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 321, the INSPIRE Women Act, and commend the leadership of Congresswoman Comstock and Congresswoman Esty on this bill, which I am pleased to also cosponsor.

We should be doing all we can to encourage young women who wish to study or follow a STEM career path, and Congresswoman Comstock has introduced this commonsense bill to achieve that goal.

H.R. 321 would require NASA to support astronauts, scientists, and engineers who have retired in their efforts to encourage young women who are interested in studying or working in a STEM field.

Mr. Speaker, innovative thinkers are critical to our country's success in the modern global workforce. But we have heard the statistics. Women make up half of the U.S. workforce and half of the college educated workforce. Yet, only 25 percent of women who attain degrees in the STEM field actually end up working in STEM jobs.

That is why I support this bill and that is why I think the aims of this bill are very laudable and could go a long way toward closing that gap. It is an important effort to improve retention of women studying and working in STEM fields.

I thank again Congresswomen Comstock and Esty for their leadership.