March 2022 Washington InfO

SIOP Member Testifies Before Congress on FEMA Harassment and Discrimination

SIOP Member Carra S. Sims, a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation, testified before Congress on gender- and race/ethnicity-based harassment and discrimination at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). At a hearing of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability, Dr. Sims discussed a report created by the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center examining “both the overall prevalence and the characteristics of harassment and discrimination at FEMA.” Dr. Sims responded to questions from members of Congress on the report’s recommendations, addressing reporting challenges related to the FEMA reserve workforce, improving training for FEMA leadership on understanding and addressing harassment, and increasing transparency when dealing with harassment and discrimination reports. Through her testimony, Dr. Sims provided expert insight that the Committee members can use to craft evidence-based policy solutions based on I-O psychology research. Dr. Sims’ written testimony and a recording of the hearing are available online.

Congress Passes FY 2022 Funding Bill

After months of gridlock, Congress passed a $1.5 trillion spending package to finalize fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations. The funding bill followed a series of prolonged continuing resolutions that stretched from the end of FY 2021 on September 30 through March 15. Overall, the final spending package would increase funding for several major programs of interest to the research and education communities. Overall growth was limited however as the final spending package increased non-defense spending by 6.7 percent and defense spending by 5.6 percent. This outcome is in sharp contrast to President Biden’s proposal to increase non-defense spending by 16 percent and defense spending by just 1.7 percent. As a result of this deal, many of the increases for science, research and development, climate and environment, education, and workforce development programs are more modest than those proposed in the FY 2022 President’s budget request and in the House and Senate draft FY 2022 appropriations bills.

Of note, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will see an increase of $351 million compared to the nearly $1 billion proposed in the Senate appropriations bill and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will see an increase of $2.25 billion compared to the $3.5 billion proposed in the House appropriations bill. Despite more modest growth, several signature Biden Administration initiatives moved forward, such as the creation of a new NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), which will foster use-inspired research to address societal issues. The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) would receive a $125.7 million increase over FY 2021. COPS provides resources to state and local law enforcement agencies to improve operations and community engagement. The SIOP working group on policing has formed a relationship with this office to ensure grantees are informed on I-O psychology findings and practices. SIOP advocacy will now turn to FY 2023 and will support social science research and other I-O psychology interests in the coming fiscal year. A full analysis of the package is available hereHome.

America COMPETES Act Passes House

In February, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (COMPETES Act). The COMPETES Act is the House’s response to the bipartisan United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which passed the Senate last June. The House package combines previously passed House legislation such as the NSF for the Future Act and DOE Science for the Future Act, as well as newly released language on issues spanning manufacturing, immigration, trade, foreign relations, supply chain innovation, wireless research, semiconductors, environment, and health. The bill includes numerous provisions for STEM education, directing NSF and the Department of Education to administer new grant programs for postsecondary STEM education research, AI traineeships, and cybersecurity education. House passage of the COMPETES Act has kickstarted stalled conference negotiations between the House and Senate, enabling a final package to be passed by both chambers in the late spring. A full analysis of the COMPETES Actcan be found here.

House Modernization Committee Holds Hearing on Implementation of Recommendations

The U.S. House of Representative’s Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress held its first hearing of 2022, titled “Making Congress Work Better for the American People: A Recommendation Status Report,” with witnesses from the offices of the Architect of the Capitol, the Chief Administrative Officer, and the Clerk of the House. The hearing focused on the implementation of the Select Committee’s recommendations from the previous Congress and touched on many topics relevant to I-O. The Chief Administrative Officer for the House discussed how, per the select committee’s recommendation, she established the House HR Hub to share human resource best practices with House offices and began the first “CAO Coach” program to train congressional staff. The Clerk of the House outlined the importance of standardizing procedures across committees and announced a forthcoming Request for Information on the creation of tools to share committee vote data and standardize committee scheduling. SIOP has a history of engagement with the select committee, including last year’s interview between SIOP President Steven Rogelberg and Chairman Derek Kilmer (D-WA). While the select committee has not determined its priorities for 2022, SIOP continues to engage as the Select Committee explores I-O topics.