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Strikes section 104 of the CHIPS Act of 2022 (15 U.S.C. 4652) and redesignates sections 105–107 as sections 104–106.
Repeals section 312 of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 18650).
Amends section 10311(c)(6)(B) by striking 'applicants,' and all that follows through the semicolon at the end and inserting 'applicants;'.
Amends section 10318(b): replaces paragraph (5) with a new 'Partnerships' paragraph directing the Director to encourage proposals led by or including partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities or Tribal Colleges or Universities; strikes paragraph (6); redesignates paragraphs (7) and (8) as (6) and (7), respectively.
Amends section 10325(b) by modifying the subsection heading, striking paragraphs (5) and (7), and redesignating paragraphs (6) and (8) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively.
Repeals section 10326 of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19015) (the 'Diversity in tech research' provision).
Repeals section 3169 (42 U.S.C. 7381e) of the Department of Energy Science Education Enhancement Act (authorization of appropriations for Office of Science university research support and related education programs).
Removes many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements from federal STEM, research, and CHIPS-related programs, repeals certain STEM prize/competition authorities and programs, and changes wording and outreach rules for fellowship and scholarship programs. It also prohibits executive-branch agencies from imposing nonstatutory funding conditions related to hiring practices, childcare, housing, environmental policies, and labor relations, and defines key terms used in those limits.
The efforts of the Federal Government to support the domestic semiconductor industry and increase U.S. STEM workforce capacity are imperative for the United States to remain technologically competitive.
Such efforts should prioritize speed and leverage all relevant STEM talent in the United States, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, sex, or sexual orientation.
Programs, initiatives, and other activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) allow preferential treatment based on the characteristics described in paragraph (2).
These DEI activities are characterized as discriminatory and divisive, deviate from the main objectives and priorities, add more bureaucracy, and neglect to provide equal opportunity to all STEM workers and students.
Repealing or amending programs and requirements related to DEI that were passed into law as part of the CHIPS Act of 2002 (division A of ; 136 Stat. 1372) and the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (division B of ; 136 Stat. 1399) — commonly known collectively as the CHIPS and Science Act (Public Law 117–167) — will restore the original intention.
Who is affected and how:
Institutions of higher education and research organizations: Must adjust grant applications, fellowship and scholarship outreach practices, and internal compliance policies; may lose the ability to meet funding conditions that previously required DEI-focused outreach or reporting. Some prize competitions or program opportunities may disappear if expressly repealed.
Students and prospective STEM fellows/scholars: Programs that included DEI-focused recruitment, outreach, or priority for underrepresented groups may change eligibility or outreach practices, potentially reducing targeted access points intended to increase participation from underrepresented groups.
Companies developing critical and emerging technologies and other grant applicants: Will no longer be subject to certain nonstatutory agency conditions tied to workforce or workplace policies; this may ease some administrative obligations but also reduce programs aimed at broadening participation in the workforce.
Federal agencies and program offices: Must revise guidance, grant terms, award documents, and internal policy to avoid imposing barred conditions; agencies lose administrative flexibility to attach social, labor, environmental, or childcare-related conditions to funding unless Congress has explicitly authorized such conditions.
Broader communities and equity initiatives: Communities and historically underrepresented groups that benefited from targeted outreach or DEI initiatives may experience reduced targeted support or fewer programmatic pathways focused on diversity and inclusion.
Operational and legal effects:
Net effect:
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress May 13, 2025
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate