H.R. 3959: Innovate America Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-11-05 · Education · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-11-05 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Cartwright, Matt [D-PA-17] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Innovate America Act

Plain summary

Innovate America Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED), in coordination with the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), to award grants, on a competitive basis, to state educational agencies to establish or expand the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science (STEM) secondary schools in the United States from approximately 100 to approximately 200. In coordination with the NSF, ED shall: develop a database identifying existing STEM secondary schools, and study how to improve retention rates of students in STEM programs at institutions of higher education. The President must ensure that at least 15% of all federal funds available each fiscal year for undergraduate research opportunities at 2-year and 4-year degree-granting institutions of higher education are used to fund research opportunities for postsecondary students. The NSF Partnerships for Innovation Program shall administer a Technology Commercialization Awards Pilot Program through which promising technology advances derived from NSF research grants must be eligible for funding. The National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended to extend the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to cover specifically informatics and computer science. The Department of Commerce must establish a manufacturing assistance program for small and medium-sized domestic manufacturers to promote the manufacturing of goods in the United States and enable them to be competitive in global markets. The Under Secretary for International Trade of Commerce shall report to Congress on the global competitiveness of 20 U.S. industries that export the most goods or services and the domestic and foreign regulatory and policy barriers to increasing their exports. This bill also requires: the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over a 10-year period, each federal department and agency to issue guidance on the appropriate use of award and incentive fees in their programs, and return to the Treasury of any funds intended to be awarded as incentive fees to contractors that are not paid owing to contractor inability to meet established criteria in this Act.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Innovate America Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Cartwright, Matt [D-PA-17] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr3959.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr3959 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114