September 2020 House and Senate committees overseeing science policy held hearings in September that included discussion and action on legislation that would provide emergency funding for research relief and recovery. On September 9, the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on University Research.” Subcommittee members heard testimony from university leaders and a graduate student about their experiences with circumstances surrounding the pandemic that are affecting research productivity at institutions. The testimony also concerned support for students and early career scholars. Subcommittee chair Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) highlighted in her opening testimony the importance of addressing how the pandemic has affected research. “The impacts to our wider STEM pipeline could be devastating,” Stevens said. “Undergraduate students are missing out on critical hands-on training. Graduate students are worried there won’t be funding for them to finish their research projects and graduate. Post-docs and other early-career researchers are desperately searching for jobs in a severely contracted academic job market.” Stevens, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX, chair and ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology), and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) expressed support for two bipartisan bills that would address the impact that Covid-19 has had on the research community. The Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (HR 7308/S 4286) includes $26 billion in emergency funding for research agencies—with $200 million for the Institute of Education Sciences and $3 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF)—to supplement additional costs and flexibility for research recovery. The Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act (HR 8044) includes $250 million for a two-year pilot program at NSF providing grants to early career scholars. AERA has endorsed both bills. During the hearing, the witnesses detailed the importance of emergency funding to support academic research.
On September 16, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a markup hearing that included the consideration of the RISE Act. The committee advanced the bill on a voice vote, with one senator expressing opposition for the record. In addition to these hearings, on September 29, House Democrats unveiled a new $2.2 trillion proposal for emergency funding to address the impact of the pandemic. The revised Heroes Act is a smaller version of a $3 trillion package that the House passed in May, and incorporates a compromise effort supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). The legislation includes several items related to research funding:
The House has not announced a vote on this package, but the proposal is the next step in negotiations with the White House on additional emergency funding. Related stories: