FASEB Factsheet Promotes CHIPS and Science Act Provisions

By: Grace Steward
Thursday, March 23, 2023
FASEB published a new factsheet emphasizing key provisions of the CHIPS and Science Act passed in August of 2022. The first page focuses on the budgetary aspects of the bill that have been promulgated as a “historic investment” in science. The CHIPS and Science Act authorizes the expansion of the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget to rise to FASEB’s previous calls for increased NSF funding. The second page draws attention to other aspects of the legislation like investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs, broadening participation in the STEM workforce, and addressing sexual harassment in the sciences.

However, the CHIPS and Science Act only authorizes the budgets for critical research at organizations like NSF. To truly fund the programs codified in the legislation, Congress must act to allocate these funds in the annual spending bill.

FASEB produced this factsheet as a tool to advocate for NSF’s budget under the CHIPS and Science Act during the appropriation process, as well as to raise awareness of the critical, but less publicized, aspects of the legislation. The act includes investments in programs to support STEM education, like increased funding for the NSF Graduate Fellowship Research Program, and introduces new programs to broaden participation from historically excluded groups in the scientific workforce. It also addresses the findings of the National Academies’ consensus study report, Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, that 58 percent of female faculty face sexual harassment in academia. This bill funds vital research, policy development, and assessments to curtail sexual harassment in academic research settings and federal research agencies.

The factsheets for FY 2023 and FY 2024 are currently available on the FASEB website for use by the research community.