American Legion attends bill signing for STEM fields for veterans

American Legion attends bill signing for STEM fields for veterans

On Feb. 11, The American Legion attended the signing of a bipartisan bill that promotes careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for veterans.

President Trump signed into law The American Legion-supported bill, Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act. This bill directs the National Science Foundation to collaborate with other government agencies to expand veteran eligibility for STEM-related programs. The bill also directs the U.S. Government Accountability Office to study barriers student veterans face when pursuing careers in STEM.

“We’re taking action to increase access to education and job opportunities in science, technology, engineering, math and computer science for our amazing veterans and our military spouses,” Trump said during the signing.

Provisions in the bill include veterans’ participation the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program to recruit and train mathematics and science teachers, National Science Foundation fellowships and masters fellowships for mathematics and science teachers, computer and network security capacity building grants, and traineeship grants leading to a doctorate degree in computer and network security research.

"One of the hardest things that veterans face when they come out of military service is finding a job where they can raise their families," said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. "We have a lot of veterans with pre-existing knowledge on those fields, maybe even worked with some of the most complicated machines in the world. It seems like a natural fit to push that forward."