Capito bill aims to prep more U.S. students for high-tech space jobs

A bipartisan bill offered recently by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) calls for further federal investments to prepare America’s students for high-tech jobs in the space industry.

“For the United States to remain competitive on the global stage, we must invest in the next generation and prepare them to meet the demands of a high-tech economy,” Sen. Capito said.

Specifically, the 21st Century Space Grant Modernization Act of 2021, S. 360, which Sen. Capito sponsored on Feb. 23 with cosponsor U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), would modify the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program to equally balance the needs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with individual state science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce needs.

“This legislation supports a sustainable pipeline of students who will one day fill innovative jobs in the [STEM] fields,” said Sen. Capito. 

Created by NASA in 1989, the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program currently consists of more than 1,000 federal-state partnerships that promote collaboration between NASA missions and STEM education activities. 

In Sen. Capito’s home state of West Virginia, there are now 12 academic institutions and nine corporate and scientific partners that comprise the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, which was established in 1991 and later built and launched the state’s first spacecraft under NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.

“I am proud of the students from West Virginia who have and who will work to achieve their dreams on earth and in space through this program,” said the senator.

Among several provisions, S. 360 would establish a set percentage allocation for funding distribution that puts 85 percent of annual appropriations for the program to the base state grants; 10 percent to NASA program administration; and 5 percent to special grant programs designated by NASA, according to the text of the bill.