President Biden signed the CHIPS (creating helpful incentives to produce semiconductors) and Science Act of 2022 into law on August 2, 2022. The bipartisan legislation seeks to increase federal funding for research and development, with a focus toward international competition. This includes funding for domestic manufacturing, STEM education and training, and the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) newly established Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate.
This legislation authorizes $250 million in annual funding for fiscal year 2023 and 2024 to support early-career researchers, including psychologists. The funding, administered by the NSF, will aim to support “highly-qualified early-career scientists seeking to conduct research for up to 2 years at the institution of their choice.” Read more in Section 10601 of the bill. APA Services has long supported this provision and advocated for it during our 2021 Advocacy Summit: Stand for Science to Advance Psychology.
One specific provision on mental health seeks to authorize funding through the NSF to provide grants to researchers that focus on:
- Increasing understanding of social media and consumer technology access and use patterns and related mental health, behavioral, and substance use disorder issues, particularly for children and adolescents;
- Exploring the role of social media and consumer technology in rising rates of mental health and substance use disorder issues, including within communities experiencing long-term economic distress.”
Read more (PDF, 1.5MB) in section 10357 of the bill.
These grants will be critical in helping to further understand the mental and behavioral health impacts of social media and technology, an area in which APA frequently advocates.
The CHIPS Act’s ambitious topline goals will only be met if Congress takes the important next step of appropriating funds to match the authorizations included in the legislation. Starting in fiscal year 2023, Congress will need to ensure their budget funds agencies like the NSF at an adequate level to strengthen the United States’ global competitiveness and support research and education efforts.
A section-by-section summary of the bill is available online (PDF, 788KB).
For more information, contact Corbin Evans.