Sec. 3. Modification of Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Education Program
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Section 2192a of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 242 of the William M.
(Mac)Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 ( Public Law 116–283 ), is amended— by redesignating subsections
(b)through
(h)as subsections
(c)through (i); by inserting after subsection
(a)the following new subsection: As a subprogram of the program under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program to be known as the National Security Pipeline Pilot Program (referred to in this section as the Pilot Program ) under which the Secretary shall seek to enter into partnerships with minority-serving institutions to diversify the participants in the program under subsection (a). Under the Pilot Program, the Secretary of Defense shall— provide an appropriate amount of financial assistance under subsection
(c)to an eligible individual; provide such financial assistance to recipients in conjunction with summer internship opportunities or other meaningful temporary appointments within the Department; and periodically evaluate the success of recruiting individuals for scholarships under this subsection and on hiring and retaining those individuals in the public sector workforce. Not later than the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of the Quantum for Universal Advancement in Nationwide Technology Use and Modernization for National Security Act of 2021 , the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the Pilot Program. The report submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall include the following: Identification of the following: The number of students participating in the Pilot Program as of the date of the report. The fields of study pursued by such students. The minority-serving institutions at which such students are enrolled. An evaluation of the success of the Pilot Program in recruiting individuals for scholarships under this section and hiring and retaining those individuals in the public sector workforce. After the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of the Quantum for Universal Advancement in Nationwide Technology Use and Modernization for National Security Act of 2021 , the Secretary shall terminate the Pilot Program or continue the Pilot Program as the Secretary considers appropriate. ; in subsection (c)(1), as so redesignated— in subparagraph (A), by striking subsection
(g)and inserting subsection
(h); and in subparagraph (C), by striking subsection
(c)and inserting subsection
(d); and by amending subsection (i), as so redesignated, to read as follows: In this section: The term eligible individual means an individual who— is pursuing an associate’s degree, undergraduate degree, or advanced degree; and is— a member of a group that is underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering, including women; or is enrolled in a degree-program at a minority-serving institution. The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 ). The term minority-serving institution means an institution of higher education that is eligible under section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(a) ). . Such section 2192a is further amended— in subsection (d), as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: The Secretary shall, to the degree the Secretary considers practicable and appropriate, allow a person receiving financial assistance under this section to delay completion of the person's service obligation under this section until the person has completed— the terminal degree program of education that is typically expected in the field the person is pursuing; or a post-graduate fellowship at a non-Department laboratory. In employing participants during the period of obligated service, the Secretary shall strive to ensure that participants are compensated, to the extent practicable, at a rate that is comparable to the rate of compensation for employment in a similar position in the private sector. ; by redesignating subsections
(e)through (i), as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), as subsections
(f)through (j), respectively; in subsection (h), as so redesignated— by inserting
(1)before The Secretary of Defense shall ; and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: The Secretary of Defense shall establish or designate an organization within the Department of Defense which shall have primary responsibility for building cohesion and collaboration across the various scholarship and employment programs of the Department. The organization described in subparagraph
(A)shall have the following duties— establish an interconnected network and database across the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics scholarship and employment programs of the Department, including, at a minimum the SMART Defense Education Program, the Defense Civilian Training Corps, the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, the Army AEOP apprenticeship program, and the Consortium Research Fellows Program; aid in matching scholarships to individuals pursuing courses of study in in-demand skill areas; and build a network of program participants, past, present, and future whom DOD departments can draw on to fill skills gaps. On an annual basis, the organization described in subparagraph
(A)shall publish, on a publicly accessible website of the Department of Defense, an annual report on the workforce requirements and expected future needs of the civilian workforce of the Department of Defense. ; by redesignating subsection (j), as redesignated by paragraph (2), as subsection (k); and by inserting after subsection (i), as redesignated by paragraph (2), the following new subsection: The Secretary shall strive, in each year of the program under this section and to the greatest extent feasible, to increase the number of applicants pursuing degrees in quantum sciences or a related field of study. The Secretary shall strive to ensure that, in each year of the program under this section, at least one new graduate level participant is studying in an advanced quantum research field. The Secretary shall consider emerging technologies, such as quantum computing and information sciences and artificial intelligence, as skills and disciplines that are critical to the national security functions of the Department of Defense. The Secretary shall encourage increased participation in the program under this section by students studying relevant cross-disciplinary educational tracks that touch on more than one area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Secretary shall treat optics, photonics, and quantum information sciences as disciplines eligible for the program under this section. . Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on participation and use of the program under section 2192a of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this subsection, with a particular focus on levels of interest from students engaged in studying quantum fields.
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Sec. 3
Modification of Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Defense Education Program
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