S. 1664 — RESEARCHER Act

This section defines graduate researchers (i.e., advanced-degree students receiving stipends for research at federally funded institutions of higher education) and postdoctoral researchers (i.e., post-doctoral trainees receiving stipends for research at such institutions, using the Higher Education Act definition of institution of higher education) and directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director to develop, within six months of enactment, policy guidelines for Federal research agencies to address their financial instability. The guidelines address (1) increasing stipends, including location-based indexing and additional consideration for rural, underserved, or Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) areas; (2) improving access to affordable medical, dental, and vision care; (3) enhancing access to affordable housing and transportation; (4) reducing food insecurity; and (5) addressing family care costs. OSTP must encourage and monitor agency implementation, with each agency head required to develop and disseminate consistent policies within six months of receiving the guidelines; OSTP must update the guidelines as needed and report to specified congressional committees one year after issuance and every five years thereafter on the guidelines and implementation progress. The section further amends the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to require federal data collection on graduate and postdoctoral researcher stipends and financial instability (disaggregated by demographics, to the extent practicable), adds related definitions, and directs the National Science Foundation Director to make competitive awards to institutions of higher education or nonprofits for such data collection.