President Biden has signed his first major piece of legislation this month with the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act.  Final passage comes after a month of work in Congress that has all but consumed both chambers.  With the COVID package behind them, congressional Democrats are actively considering a number of priorities, including a potential reauthorization or even restructuring of the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Endless Frontiers Act.  The re-introduced Endless Frontiers Act is expected to be a revamped version of the measure introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last year that called for a significant increase in funding for NSF and expansion of support for use-inspired research.  The revised bill will likely be considered along with an NSF reauthorization in the House next month.  Congress is also considering an infrastructure package as part of President Biden’s Build Back Better initiative, as well as policing reform and other proposals.  In addition to legislation, the Senate has been steadily confirming Biden’s Cabinet with just Office of Science and Technology Policy nominee Eric Lander yet to be confirmed.  Biden has so far only lost one nominee after his pick to head the Office of Management and Budget Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination after it became clear she did not have the votes to clear the Senate.

 

President Biden Signs $1.9 Trillion COVID Aid Package with Support for Research Agencies

On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law after it passed Congress on a party-line vote.  The $1.9 trillion COVID aid package includes funding for a number of Democratic priorities including aid for state and local governments and increased support for unemployment assistance.  Of interest to SIOP, the bill included $600 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to spend on research relief or research on COVID-19 and broader pandemic impacts.  The social sciences were well represented in previous NSF funding opportunities regarding COVID-19.  In addition to direct support for universities, the bill also includes $100 million for the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to carry out research related to addressing learning loss caused by the coronavirus.  After this bill, President Biden and congressional Democrats plan to begin work on a longer-term economic recovery plan aimed at job creation, infrastructure, and climate change.  SIOP will monitor for opportunities to engage around workforce conversations as the next sprawling package takes shape.

Congress Considers Policing Reform

In the fall of 2020, House Democrats and Senate Republicans released draft policing bills that were accompanied by a series of executive orders by the previous administration.  Party leaders were unable to come to an agreement on the issue, leading both bills to fail.  Now that Democrats control the House, Senate, and Presidency, there is a renewed interest in policing reform legislation.  The House considered and passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act earlier this month.  The Senate is still working on developing their policing bill, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks.  SIOP’s advocacy effort, spearheaded by the GREAT Committee (Alex Alonso, Chair), established a working group of I-O experts in policing and has met with congressional staff of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to provide I-O insight on issues related to policing reform such as recruitment, promotion, performance management, and diversity and inclusion, along with other I-O topics found in policing bills.  The working group plans to continue engagement with Congress as movement on policing reform progresses.  A draft overview prepared by the working group with examples of how I-O can contribute to the conversation is available here.

DOL Announces Summer Data Challenge on Equity and Underserved Communities

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced the Summer Data Challenge, to support rigorous research using public and other data to examine how well DOL policies, protections, and programs serve traditionally underserved communities.  The opportunity is a response to the January 2021 “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities.” Through the Summer Data Challenges DOL seeks to, “explore how the Department’s programs and policies serve traditionally underserved communities in the U.S., including those of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, income, geography, immigrant status, and veteran and disability status, among others.”  Analyses may cover a wide range of topics, and may involve programs such as unemployment insurance, workforce training programs, and enforcement protections.  Analyses must use data to illuminate meaningful gaps in knowledge and, ideally, propose practical solutions to fill those gaps.

Five researchers or research teams are expected to be funded with individual awards ranging from $10,000–$30,000.  Manhattan Strategy Group (MSG) is administering the program on behalf of the DOL Chief Evaluation Office (CEO).  Applicants will submit proposals to MSG by April 19, 2021 at 12:00 pm ET and MSG will make awards to winning applicants.  A program description, FAQ, and application are available here.

Publication Type
Washington InfO

Topic
Government Relations