APS letter to federal elected officials in support of the RESEARCHER Act

The Honorable Jerry Moran
521 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Alex Padilla
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Jennifer McClellan
1628 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Moran, Senator Padilla, and Representative McClellan,

On behalf of the American Physical Society (APS) – the largest physics membership organization in the United States with more than 50,000 members in academia, national labs, and the private sector – I would like to thank you and your cosponsors for introducing H.R.3054/S.1664, the Relieving Economic Strain to Enhance American Resilience & Competitiveness in Higher Education & Research (RESEARCHER) Act. This bill is an important first step toward understanding and addressing the financial strain facing many STEM graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. These individuals are a vital part of the U.S. scientific community, carrying out many of the daily activities in research labs and lecture halls across the country.

Grad students carry out their own research, support their labs, mentor more junior students, and assist with or outright teach undergraduate courses. Financial compensation for this — typically in the form of stipends — is low, falling below living wage levels for many, and at times resulting in housing and food insecurity. After graduation, individuals who pursue postdoctoral researcher positions in academia often continue to receive wages below market value for an advanced STEM degree-holder. Graduate students and postdocs facing financial stress are less likely to thrive in research, and less optimistic about career prospects.

Graduate student stipends come largely from federal research grants. The challenging environment for fundamental research funding means that scientists often scramble to balance lab needs with sustainable support for their graduate students and postdocs over the course of their degree or contract. These issues can combine to dissuade students from pursuing or finishing advanced degrees, which puts the U.S. STEM workforce pipeline in jeopardy. However, under current funding levels, simply increasing compensation levels won’t necessarily solve the problem. Without commensurate increases in the federal budget for fundamental research funding, higher compensation will merely translate to fewer student and postdoc researcher positions as well as diminished research output. At a time when our competitors are increasingly investing in their scientific workforces, a sustainable solution must be found to continue building a robust U.S. STEM workforce.

The RESEARCHER Act will help address competitive compensation issues by authorizing data collection and directing the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish uniform guidelines for federal science agencies. The agencies will then be required to develop and implement policies based on OSTP’s guidance, and they must have the necessary appropriations to do so. By beginning to address financial precarity, graduate students and postdocs will be able to pursue meaningful and impactful research careers without potentially sacrificing their — or their families’ — economic well-being.

Thank you for your efforts on this bill. We look forward to working with you on this important issue. If you have questions or would like to further discuss this issue, do not hesitate to contact APS Director of Public Affairs Mark Elsesser (elsesser@aps.org; 202.846.8121).

Sincerely,