Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns (as a shortage of STEM-educated citizens can reduce effectiveness in this area), and immigration policy, with regard to admitting foreign students and tech workers.

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The STEM category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The United States Department of Education (sometimes shortened to the ED, or DoEd) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government.

It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services by the Department of Education Organization Act, which President Jimmy Carter signed into law on October 17, 1979.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $8.3 billion (fiscal year 2020), the

NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States’ colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

Source: Wikipedia

Mission:  
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Senate rules.

House counterpart: Committee on Education and Labor

Democratic Members (Minority):
Bernie Sanders, Vermont – Ranking Member
Patty Murray, Washington
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Chris Murphy, Connecticut
Tim Kaine, Virginia
Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware
Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Andy Kim, New Jersey

Republican Members (Majority):
Bill Cassidy, Louisiana,
Rand Paul, Kentucky
Susan Collins, Maine
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Roger Marshall, Kansas
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Josh Hawley, Missouri
Tim Scott, South Carolina
Jim Banks, Indiana
Mike Crapo, Idaho
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Featured Video: 
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Cmte Hearing on COVID-19

Current: US Senator since 2007
Affiliation: Democrat
Leadership:  Chair, Committee on the Budget
Next Election: 

History: Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history but has a close relationship with the Democratic Party, having caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his congressional career and sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, coming second in both campaigns. He is often seen as a leader of the U.S. progressive movement.

While a student, he was a protest organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the civil rights movement.  He was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981 as an independent and was reelected three times. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990, representing Vermont’s at-large congressional district, later co-founding the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Quotes: How do you feed your family, how do you pay to see a doctor, when you’re spending, 40, 50, 60% of your income on housing? You don’t! With the passage of this historic budget reconciliation bill, we can build the affordable housing that our country desperately needs. July 24, 2021/

Featured Video: Republicans are getting VERY NERVOUS!

Current Position: US Senator since 2015
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Physician from 1983 – 2015

Cassidy specialized in the treatment of diseases of the liver at the Earl K. Long Medical Center (LSUMC). n 1998, Cassidy helped found the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic to provide uninsured residents of the greater Baton Rouge area with access to free health care.

Featured Quote: 
FEMA and the federal government shouldn’t be reinventing the wheel after every disaster. I’m working on legislation to ensure we learn from what works and what doesn’t to strengthen our response and better help families recover after natural disasters.

Senator Bill Cassidy gives statement after vote to convict Trump

The Committee on Education and the Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members of this committee. Since 2023, the chair of the Education and the Workforce committee is Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.

Senate counterpart: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Subcommittees:

• Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
• Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
• Higher Education and Workforce Investment
• Workforce Protections

Chair: Virginia Foxx, North Carolina (R)
Ranking Member: Bobby Scott, Virginia (D)

Majority Staff Director: Cyrus Artz
Minority Staff Director: Veronique Pluviose
Meeting Location: 2176 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515; 202-225-4527

Featured Video:  Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education – 6/24/21
Web Links

Current Position: US Representative of District 3 since 1993
Affiliation: Democrat
Other Position:  Ranking Member, Education and Labor Committee
District: Cities of Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, and part of the independent city of Chesapeake.

In the 118th Congress, Congressman Scott serves as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce—his fifth term as the Committee’s Democratic leader. Throughout his tenure, he has advanced legislation that improves equity in education, frees students from the burdens of debt, protects and expands access to affordable health care, ensures workers have a safe workplace where they can earn a living wage free from discrimination, and guarantees seniors have a secure and dignified retirement. Congressman Scott also serves on the Committee on the Budget where he is a leading voice on fiscal policy.  sponsored the Neighborhood Assistance Act, which provides tax credits to businesses for donations made to approved social service and crime prevention programs.

Current Position: US Representative of NC 5th District since 2005
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: State Senator from 1995 – 2005
Other Positions:  House Committee on Education and Labor
District:   
Upcoming Election:

Foxx served as Secretary of the House Republican Conference from 2013 to 2017.[3] She was the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Labor from 2019 to 2023, and served as the committee’s chair from 2017 to 2019 and since 2023.

Foxx and her husband owned and operated a nursery and landscaping business. Foxx worked as a research assistant and then an English instructor at Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute and Appalachian State University before moving into university administration.

Featured Quote: 
LIFE is the fundamental component to both liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s quite clear that Speaker Pelosi fails to recognize that. Absolutely shameful!

‘Funding Bill Insults The Intelligence Of Every American’: Virginia Foxx Rejects Dem Funding Bill