Jeanne Shaheen: “today I introduce a bill, the Innovation Inspiration school grant program. This legislation will give high school…”

“today I introduce a bill, the Innovation Inspiration school grant program. This legislation will give high school students in New Hampshire and across the country access to non-traditional science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs as well as the opportunity to be mentored by professionals in those fields. I am proud to be joined in introducing this bill today with Senators Reid, Dorgan, Kaufman, Begich, Bingaman and Kerry and thank them for their support. We hear so often about the importance of STEM fields and our future economy. These fields--commonly defined as the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--are central to U.S. economic competitiveness and growth. In fact, projections by the U.S. Labor Department show that STEM-related fields are expected to be the fastest growing occupations of the next decade. What is worrisome, though, is that too few students in the United States are pursuing education in these STEM fields to keep up with the increased demand in the workforce.”