February 2022

On February 4, the House passed the America COMPETES Act of 2022 by a 222–210 vote. The comprehensive bill would provide for significant investment in the U.S. scientific enterprise, including the bipartisan National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Future Act.

The final legislation also incorporated the College Transparency Act (CTA) as an amendment. AERA has long supported the CTA, which would provide authority for the National Center for Education Statistics to develop a secure, privacy-protected postsecondary student-level data system. The CTA will enable deeper understanding of postsecondary outcomes and overturn the ban on postsecondary student-level data included in the Higher Education Act.

The passage of the America COMPETES Act in the House sets up negotiations with the Senate on the America COMPETES Act and the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which the Senate advanced in June 2021.

“We greatly appreciate the work undertaken so far to increase investment in the U.S. scientific enterprise in the America COMPETES Act and USICA in the Senate,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “We are pleased to see the College Transparency Act and key legislation to support education research programs in NSF in America COMPETES. We encourage Congress to retain these measures in a final bill.”