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January 04, 2021

H.R. 144, the Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act

Bill Status: Passed the House as part of the America COMPETES Act

Last Action: February 4, 2022

Follow the bill's progress here.

Floor Statement

Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)

Legislation

H.R. 144, the Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act

Summary

This bill authorizes the National Science Foundation to establish a two-year pilot program to award grants to highly qualified early-career investigators to carry out an independent research program at the institution of higher education chosen by such investigator, to last for a period not greater than two years.

One-Page Summary

Endorsements 

American Association of Physics Teachers

American Astronomical Society

American Chemical Society

American Educational Research Association

American Geophysical Union 

American Mathematical Society

American Physical Society

American Physiological Society

American Political Science Association

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

American Society for Engineering Education

American Society for Microbiology

American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Associated Medical Schools of New York

Association of American Universities

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities

Carnegie Mellon University Graduate Student Assembly

Council of Graduate Schools

Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Consortium of Social Science Associations

Council on Undergraduate Research

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences 

“COVID has severely reduced the ability of behavioral and brain researchers to collect new data. At the same time, it has created uncertainty for universities, many of which have reduced or eliminated faculty hiring. The impact of this twin disruption falls especially heavily on the shoulders of recent PhDs and current postdoctoral fellows, who are unable to proceed with planned career trajectories and may leave science altogether.”  - Nora S. Newcombe, Past-President of FABBS 

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

IEEE-USA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Graduate Student Council

National Postdoctoral Association

Population Association of America

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

State University System of Florida

University of Colorado Boulder