< Back
NMSI Blog

Where's the money for STEM education

You might be surprised to know that buried deep in the almost 900-page immigration reform bill by the “Gang of 8” is a section that proposes to allocate H-1B visa fee revenues toward STEM education programs.  Immigration reform in the U.S. is certainly a sensitive issue, and STEM education can easily be overlooked when it is coupled with such a hot topic.
 
Given the statistics on the U.S. shortage of qualified STEM workers and the need for foreign high-skilled workers, it is easy to understand why STEM education became part of the immigration reform agenda.  The important question is how much money do the bills allocate to STEM education?
 
The Senate issued a comprehensive immigration reform bill – the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (“Gang of 8 immigration bill”) earlier this year which carved out a small fund for STEM education.
 
Recently, the House also submitted a bill – The SKILLS Visa Act – for consideration that amends the Gang of 8 bill and would dramatically increase the potential revenue for STEM education in the U.S.  The SKILLS Visa Act would direct H-1B and employment based immigrant visa application fees toward STEM education and is a vast improvement over the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
 
Take a look at how the bills compare:
 
With a much larger funding pool, the SKILLS Visa Act would have a far greater impact on STEM education in the U.S. and offer a long-term solution to the shortage of qualified STEM workers in the U.S.  
 
Now is the time to invest in the future of students and our STEM workforce.  This investment can only be achieved with the coupling of a robust funding mechanism and effective, measurable programs that promote STEM education.