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HR 3054119th CongressIntroduced
RESEARCHER Act
Introduced: Oct 29, 2025
EducationLabor & EmploymentSocial Services
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs
The RESEARCHER Act mandates the OSTP to establish standardized guidelines for federal research agencies addressing financial instability among graduate and postdoctoral researchers through stipend adjustments, healthcare access, housing support, food security measures, and family care cost assistance, with comprehensive data collection and multi-agency oversight requirements.
Key Points
- 1Requires OSTP to develop consistent policy guidelines within six months covering location-indexed stipend increases, healthcare access, affordable housing and transportation, food insecurity reduction, and family care cost support for researchers.
- 2Mandates federal research agencies to implement these guidelines within six months of OSTP issuance and broadly disseminate policies to current and potential award recipients.
- 3Directs NSF-funded data collection on researcher financial instability with demographic disaggregation, a National Academies study on stipend adequacy relative to local costs, and a GAO implementation effectiveness review.
Impact Areas
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in federally funded programsFederal research agencies including NSF, NIH, and DOEUniversities and research institutions receiving federal grantsFederal oversight entities such as OSTP, GAO, and National Academies
Generated by ExpertLegislativeAnalyst on Nov 6, 2025