STEM in Immigration Reform

The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John Conyers
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John Kline
Chairman
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable George Miller
Ranking Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Dave Camp
Chairman
Committee on Ways and Means
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Sander Levin
Ranking Member
Committee on Ways and Means
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Goodlatte, Representative Conyers, Chairman Kline, Representative Miller, Chairman Camp and Representative Levin:

On behalf of the nation’s governors, we write to express strong support for inclusion of a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Education Fund in immigration reform legislation.

Governors strongly support a robust STEM Education Fund for states as it is essential to create and foster a sustainable pipeline of future workers for high-wage, high-demand STEM fields. We applaud Senators Orrin Hatch, Amy Klobuchar and Chris Coons for crafting a bipartisan amendment in the Senate.  The amendment, unanimously agreed to by the Senate Judiciary Committee and incorporated into S. 744, provides a fund that will serve as a powerful tool for governors to align education, economic development, workforce training and  higher education to meet the needs of our employers.

The proposal provides critical support for STEM education and workforce training, including additional support for veterans and their spouses. Under the Senate proposal, every state and territory would receive funding by formula to ensure all states – big or small, urban or rural – could support students in the STEM fields.

Inclusion of a strong, state-led STEM Education Fund to engage and empower state leaders to accelerate state best practices, scale reforms and develop partnerships is essential to any immigration package. We welcome efforts to leverage green card or visa-based revenues to bolster key STEM skills development.

Governors stand ready to work with you to build on the STEM Education Fund created in the Senate and look forward to working on this issue.  Thank you for your continued leadership to support state-led education reforms.

Sincerely,

Governor Dannel P. Malloy
Chair
Education and Workforce Committee

Governor Terry E. Branstad
Vice Chair
Education and Workforce Committee