SHAHEEN ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF SENATE STEM CAUCUS AT NASHUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

(Nashua, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) spoke at Nashua Community College this morning to announce the launch of the Senate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education and Workforce Caucus and discuss her legislation to support STEM education in schools across the country. Shaheen is a co-chair of the Senate STEM caucus, a bipartisan coalition of senators focused on raising awareness on STEM education and advancing STEM opportunities to help maintain America’s competitive edge in the global economy.

“Jobs in the STEM fields are projected to the fastest growing occupations over the next decade, which is why it is so important that our next generation is prepared in the skills they need to improve our nation’s economic prosperity and global competiveness,” Shaheen said. “I have long focused on increased investments in education, particularly with respect to STEM, because these investments will allow us to develop a homegrown, high-skilled workforce for the future. The Senate STEM Caucus and my STEM legislation will build off of these previous efforts because we have a responsibility to prepare today’s students to be future leaders of our economy.”

Shaheen recently introduced legislation, the Innovation Inspiration School Grant Program, to boost STEM education opportunities for students across America. The bill would specifically establish a grant program within the Department of Education that school districts can apply for in order to support STEM education efforts, particularly those that are considered to be non-traditional such as robotics competitions.  The grant program also aims to broaden access to STEM education for women and girls.

Shaheen has been a leader on STEM education efforts since her days as Governor and is a recognized leader by STEM Connector in their 100 Women in STEM publication. She has been a strong advocate of workforce training programs that give American workers the knowledge and skills needed to compete for quality STEM jobs, and has helped secure several grants for New Hampshire’s community colleges to train workers.