WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)’s bipartisan bill, the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act, passed the House of Representatives unanimously. Houlahan led this bill with her Republican colleague, Representative Jim Baird (R-IN), to help America’s students compete globally in math and science. This legislation would allow the National Science Foundation to support modernized math curricula and improve K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Additionally, this funding would help schools update their math curricula to make it more relevant and applicable to real-world scenarios, a needed investment as these skills are more and more relevant in today’s job market.

“As I have traveled the world, I have seen how China, India, and our other global competitors are investing dramatically in education, especially in math and science. We must act quickly to ensure America’s students are not left behind in the global economy,” said Houlahan. “Giving the National Science Foundation the authority to invest in modernized STEM education is an important step toward ensuring our students can become the best in the world and lead the change of our future. I’m thrilled my colleagues agreed and passed my bill unanimously through the House."

“The United States’ ability to create cutting-edge technologies has been vital to defeating our adversaries,” said Baird. “However, China has made huge investments in STEM to try to out-compete the U.S. As a PhD scientist, I know the invaluable impact STEM education has on American innovation and our national security, and that starts with strengthening and modernizing STEM education in K-12 schools. I am proud to see this important bill pass the full U.S. House of Representatives, and I am grateful to Representative Houlahan for her efforts to work with me on this bipartisan issue. I hope the U.S. Senate will take up this bill quickly so we can get it signed into law to improve STEM education in our country and beat China.”

The Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act would direct the National Science Foundation to use $10 million of its previously authorized funding to provide competitive grants to schools that are focused on innovative mathematic and statistical modeling education, including computational and data-driven thinking. It will also direct the National Academies to conduct a study on the same topic. Click here to read full text of the bill.

Watch Houlahan’s Floor remarks on the bill here.

The legislation is supported by The American Statistical Association (ASA), The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), The Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP), The American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), the New Hampshire Learning Initiative (NHLI), the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Center for Innovation in Education (CIE) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and nonprofit leader. She is serving her fourth consecutive term representing the people of Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. Houlahan is the first female veteran named as Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Military Personnel Subcommittee and is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

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