Congress Begins Consideration of FY 2024 Spending Bills
In early June, Congress passed a deal to raise the debt ceiling through January 1, 2025 and imposed discretionary spending limits for fiscal years (FY) 2024 and 2025. Because the debt ceiling deal included the overall spending caps, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees began considering FY 2024 appropriations bills after the deal was finalized. The committees have held several mark-ups for fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills and have begun releasing bill text for agencies of importance to SIOP, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, and the Department of Defense. NSF was essentially flat funded with a budget of $9.50 billion, which is less than the presidents proposed budget. This is about $1.8 billion less than what NSF requested to fund education across the fields of STEM as well as supporting interests of the workforce. We only have high level information currently. We will provide more details as they emerge.
SIOP Meets with DOJ COPS Office Director
The SIOP Policing Initiative met with Hugh Clements, Director of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office to discuss SIOP and ways that I-O psychology can be utilized to impact policing. Representatives of the SIOP Policing Initiative also raised past and on-going activities between the initiative and the COPS office under the existing MOU, including the podcast on recruiting recorded by Policing Initiatives members Dr. Jenn Rineer and Dr. Rick Jacobs and an upcoming webinar focused on evidence-based practices to improve the hiring and retaining of police officers. Director Clements expressed an interest in the application of I-O principles to police recruitment and community engagement. The SIOP Policing Initiative will continue to engage with the COPS Office on ways to apply I-O research to the field of policing. Members of SIOP who have experience with research in policing and are interested in joining the Policing Initiative should reach out to SIOP’s GREAT Chair Kristin Saboe.
SIOP Responds to White House Request for Information on Artificial Intelligence (JTG)
As part of ongoing efforts to influence federal artificial intelligence research and policy activities, SIOP responded to a request for information (RFI) regarding “National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence.” The RFI, issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), sought feedback on safe deployment of AI, impacts to national security, equity considerations, economic benefits and harms, and other broad topics. SIOP’s response highlighted the Society’s leadership on issues of hiring and AI, referencing the Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures and the Considerations and Recommendations for the Validation and Use of AI-Based Assessments for Employee Selection. Specifically, the comments focused on the need for AI-based systems to meet the same standards for traditional hiring and assessment systems, and laid out the key criteria recommended by SIOP.
SIOP Responds to NSF Request for Information on TIP Directorate Priorities (WJR)
SIOP President Tara Behrend led a team of members to respond to the Request for Information (RFI) on Developing a Roadmap for the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). TIP is NSF’s new directorate with an edict from Congress to support use-inspired and translational research through stand-alone initiatives and in partnership with other NSF directorates. The response explains that, by nature, I-O psychology is rooted in both translational and use-inspired research and implores TIP to partner more closely with the Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences (SBE) to support in-depth research on workforce and workplace disruptions caused the by introduction of emerging technologies. The comments further made suggestions as to ways to broaden diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and partnerships with state and local governments in the development of workforce programming, based on I-O findings. Should TIP look to further incorporate the social and behavior sciences to address workforce challenges, SIOP members will be well-positioned to take advantage.
Publication Type
Washington InfO
Topic
Government Relations