Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Following precedent, the White House has released its memo to federal agencies signaling its R&D priorities for the president’s fiscal year 2019 budget request. Among its directions, the memo calls for fiscal restraint and reinforces the administration’s commitment to rolling back support for later-stage R&D and technology commercialization.

There is particular attention for STEM education in the paragraph titled: "Developing a Future-Focused Workforce," which states that: "The Administration is committed to improving the technical training of the American workforce through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and apprenticeships. Emerging technologies will present tremendous opportunities for new job creation, but will also require a technically skilled and capable workforce to meet demand. In order to maintain American competitiveness and help ensure that the domestic workforce is available and qualified for the jobs of the future, agencies should incorporate STEM education, including computer science education, and workforce training opportunities into their programs. Agencies should give priority to policies and actions that place an emphasis on expanding the STEM workforce to include all Americans, both urban and rural, and including women and other underrepresented groups in STEM fields. In order to track improvements in these areas, agencies should develop quantitative methods or metrics and collect data to analyze the effectiveness of the STEM programs."