September 2022 Washington InfO

Congress Passes Continuing Resolution to Avoid Government Shutdown

Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR), extending fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding levels to December 16 and avoiding a government shutdown associated with the end of FY 2022 on September 30.  In addition to extending current funding levels, the CR also provides additional aid to Ukraine, disaster relief, and home heating assistance.  However, the CR did not include additional COVID-19 and monkeypox response funding requested by the Biden Administration.  Under a CR, agencies are generally barred from launching new programs or initiatives.  Congress hopes to finalize negotiations on a FY 2023 funding package by the end of the calendar year, though significant progress on these discussions is not expected until after the November midterm elections.  Lewis-Burke will continue to monitor developments and provide updates on final appropriations, including an analysis of SIOP priorities.

House Modernization Committee Introduces Resolution on Workforce Recommendations

House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress Chairman Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Vice-Chair William Timmons (R-SC) introduced a resolution advancing 32 recommendations passed by the bipartisan committee to improve recruitment and retention of staff, enable collaboration, and address other goals of the Committee.  The House MODCOM Resolution II would permanently continue the House workforce task force, which is responsible for monitoring staff pay and benefits, and making recommendations to improve human resource management across House offices.  The resolution also encourages the House workforce task force to consider developing staff academies for professional development and training, publishing anonymized data on staff compensation by region and seniority, implementing a mentorship program for House staff, and creating standardized onboarding materials for new hires, among other initiatives.
The Modernization Committee is wrapping up its efforts, as the Committee’s authorization expires at the end of 2022.  SIOP has been working with the Modernization Committee over the past year to ensure I-O psychology expertise is considered when creating recommendations to improve Congress as a workplace.

DOD Announces Solicitation and Topics for Annual Social Science Research

The Department of Defense is accepting proposals for its signature university-led social science research program, the Minerva Research Initiative (Minerva).  Minerva brings together universities, research institutions, and individual scholars to broaden the understanding of social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape U.S. strategic interests across the world.  Minerva’s topics of interest align closely with and support the Biden Administration’s national security priorities and the 2022 National Defense Strategy.  This year’s solicitation focuses on six topic areas, including Management and Information in the Defense Environment which “seeks to explore how management and information science can contribute to understanding organizational structures and the challenges to and opportunities in efforts to modernize DOD management, scientific, and bureaucratic processes and ecosystems.”  More information, including descriptions of each topic area can be found in the full opportunity here.

Advocacy Spotlight: SIOP Member Co-Authors Report on Harassment and Discrimination at FEMA

The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center released a report co-authored by Dr. Carra S. Sims, a SIOP Member and Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation, examining efforts to address workplace harassment and discrimination at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The report, “Harassment and Discrimination on the Basis of Gender and Race/Ethnicity in the FEMA Workforce,” focuses on results of a survey conducted initially in 2019 and repeated in 2021 to understand how the agency’s efforts and other events may have impacted the substantial reduction in workplace harassment and discrimination over the time period.  Following the report’s release, Dr. Sims and the other authors have briefed congressional staff, FEMA officials, and other stakeholders on their findings.