The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.The RESEARCHER Act (S. 1664)
Last action · May 7, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2800-2801)Sponsors: Alex Padilla and 5 others
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to create federal guidelines aimed at reducing financial instability for graduate and postdoctoral researchers. It requires federal research agencies to adopt these guidelines and mandates new data collection on researcher s and financial hardship.
If passed, this bill would require federal agencies to develop policies addressing the cost of living, housing, food, and childcare for graduate and postdoctoral researchers, potentially changing how federal research grants are structured and funded.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Graduate and postdoctoral researchers
The bill mandates the creation of federal policies intended to address their financial instability, including potential changes to stipend levels and access to benefits.
Federal research agencies
These agencies are required to develop and implement new policies consistent with OSTP guidelines and disseminate them to award recipients.
Institutions of higher education
These institutions may be subject to new federal policy requirements regarding researcher compensation and may be eligible for grants to collect financial data.
Key Facts
- The OSTP must develop policy guidelines to address researcher financial instability within 6 months of enactment.
- Guidelines must address increasing stipends (including location-based indexing), medical/dental/vision care access, housing, transportation, food insecurity, and family/childcare costs.
- Federal research agencies must develop and implement policies consistent with these guidelines within 6 months of receiving them.
- The OSTP must submit a report on guideline implementation to Congress 1 year after submission and every 5 years thereafter.
Show all 8 facts
- The bill mandates the collection of data on graduate and postdoctoral stipend amounts and financial instability, disaggregated by demographics.
- The National Science Foundation is directed to provide competitive awards to institutions or nonprofits to collect and analyze data on researcher financial instability.
- The National Science Foundation must enter into an agreement with the National Academies for an assessment within 2 years of enactment.
- Stipend increases for postdoctoral researchers in rural, underserved, or EPSCoR-eligible states are specifically highlighted for consideration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does this bill define as a graduate or postdoctoral researcher?
Will this bill automatically increase my stipend?
What is the timeline for these changes?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- May 7, 2025SenateCommitteeRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2800-2801)
- May 7, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
AARP
2026
“P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology”
1607 STRATEGIES, LLC
on behalf of American Property Casualty Insurance Association
2026
“Issues relating to the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program and other Issues related to flood insurance. Issues related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Issues regarding environmental policies and their consideration by insurers and state insurance regulators. Issues related to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. H.R. 7128, TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, all provisions.”
1607 STRATEGIES, LLC
on behalf of American Property Casualty Insurance Association
2026
“Issues relating to the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program and other Issues related to flood insurance. Issues related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Issues regarding environmental policies and their consideration by insurers and state insurance regulators. Issues related to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. H.R. 7128, TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, all provisions.”
WINNING STRATEGIES WASHINGTON
on behalf of I AM ALS
VAN SCOYOC ASSOCIATES
on behalf of NEUROFIBROMATOSIS, INC. MIDWEST
VAN SCOYOC ASSOCIATES
on behalf of NEUROFIBROMATOSIS NETWORK
S-3 GROUP
on behalf of AMGEN, INC. FKA HORIZON THERAPEUTICS USA, INC.
LEWIS-BURKE ASSOCIATES, LLC
on behalf of UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BOARDS
INDIGO HILL STRATEGIES
on behalf of SICK CELLS
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Focus on Researcher Well-being
The bill marks a shift toward treating researcher financial instability as a federal policy issue rather than solely an institutional matter.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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