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shown to create higher levels of risk for and lower levels of 
reporting of sex- based and sexual harassment; and 
(6) establishing a center for the ongoing compilation, 
management, and analysis of organizational climate survey 
data. 
SEC. 10535. RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT GUIDE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall enter into an agreement 
with the National Academies to update the report entitled ‘‘On 
Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research’’ 
issued by the National Academies. The report, as so updated, shall 
include— 
(1) updated professional standards of conduct in research; 
(2) promising practices for preventing, addressing, and miti-
gating the negative impact of sex-based and sexual harassment, 
to include— 
(A) standards of treatment individuals can expect to 
receive under updated standards of conduct; 
(B) evidence-based practices for fostering a climate 
intolerant of sex-based, sexual, and other forms of harass-
ment; 
(C) methods, including bystander intervention, for 
identifying and addressing incidents of such harassment; 
and 
(D) professional standards for mentorship and teaching 
with an emphasis on power diffusion mechanisms and pre-
venting such harassment; and 
(3) promising practices for mitigating potential security 
risks that threaten research security. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the effective date 
of the agreement under subsection (a), the National Academies, 
as part of such agreement, shall submit to the Director and the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate the report referred to in such subpara-
graph, as updated pursuant to such subparagraph. 
SEC. 10536. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, acting through the National Science and Tech-
nology Council, shall establish or designate an interagency working 
group for the purpose of coordinating Federal research agency 
efforts to reduce the prevalence of sex-based and sexual harassment 
involving award personnel. In coordination with the working group 
on inclusion in STEM fields established under section 308 of the 
American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 6626) 
and the Safe Inclusive Research Environments Subcommittee of 
the National Science and Technology Council, and in consultation 
with representatives from each Federal research agency, the Office 
for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, 
the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, and 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the working group 
shall— 
(1) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology, the Committee on Education and Labor, and the
H. R. 4346—265 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Represent-
atives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate an inventory of Federal research agency 
policies, procedures, and resources dedicated to preventing and 
responding to reports of sex-based and sexual harassment; 
(2) not later than 6 months after the date on which the 
inventory is submitted under paragraph (1)— 
(A) in consultation with outside stakeholders, develop 
a consistent set of policy guidelines for Federal research 
agencies; and 
(B) submit a report to the committees referred to in 
paragraph (1) containing such guidelines; 
(3) encourage and monitor efforts of Federal research agen-
cies to develop or maintain and implement policies based on 
the guidelines developed under paragraph (2); 
(4) not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
inventory under paragraph (1) is submitted, and every 5 years 
thereafter, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy shall report to Congress on the implementation by Fed-
eral research agencies of the policy guidelines developed under 
paragraph (2); and 
(5) update such policy guidelines as needed. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing policy guidelines under sub-
section (a)(2), the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy shall include guidelines that require, to the extent prac-
ticable— 
(1) recipients to submit to the Federal research agency 
or agencies from which the recipients receive funding reports 
relating to— 
(A) any decision made to launch a formal investigation 
of sex-based or sexual harassment, including bullying, 
retaliation, or hostile working conditions by, or of, award 
personnel; 
(B) administrative action, related to an allegation 
against award personnel of any such harassment, as set 
forth in organizational policies or codes of conduct, statutes, 
regulations, or executive orders, that affects the ability 
of award personnel or their trainees to carry out the activi-
ties of the award; 
(C) the total number of investigations with no findings 
or determinations of misconduct including such harass-
ment; 
(D) findings or determinations of such harassment, 
as set forth in organizational policies or codes of conduct, 
statutes, regulations, or Executive orders by, or of, award 
personnel, including the final disposition of a matter 
involving a violation of organizational policies and proc-
esses, to include the exhaustion of permissible appeals, 
or a determination of a sexual offense in a court of law, 
or any other disciplinary action taken; 
(2) the sharing, updating, and archiving of reports of sex- 
based and sexual harassment from recipients submitted under 
paragraph (1) with relevant Federal research agencies, on a 
yearly basis and by agency request; and
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(3) consistency among Federal research agencies with 
regard to the policies and procedures for receiving reports sub-
mitted pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(4) FERPA.—The Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy shall ensure that such guidelines and 
requirements are consistent with the requirements of section 
444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) 
(commonly referred to as the ‘‘Family Educational Rights and 
Privacy Act of 1974’’). 
(5) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy shall ensure that such guidelines 
and requirements— 
(A) do not infringe upon the privacy rights of individ-
uals associated with reports submitted to Federal research 
agencies; and 
(B) do not require recipients to provide interim reports 
to Federal research agencies. 
(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection (a)(2), the 
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall consider 
issuing guidelines that require or incent— 
(1) recipients to periodically assess their organizational 
climate, which may include the use of climate surveys, focus 
groups, or exit interviews; 
(2) recipients to publish on a publicly available internet 
website the results of assessments conducted pursuant to para-
graph (1), disaggregated by sex and, if practicable, race, eth-
nicity, disability status, and sexual orientation, and in a manner 
that does not include personally identifiable information; 
(3) recipients to make public on an annual basis the number 
of reports of sex-based and sexual harassment at that institu-
tion or organization; 
(4) recipients to regularly assess and improve policies, 
procedures, and interventions to reduce the prevalence of and 
improve the reporting of sex-based and sexual harassment; 
(5) each entity applying for a research and development 
award certify that a code of conduct is in place for maintaining 
a healthy and welcoming workplace for award personnel and 
posted on their public website; 
(6) each recipient and Federal research agency to have 
in place mechanisms for addressing the needs of individuals 
who have experienced sex-based and sexual harassment, 
including those individuals seeking to reintegrate at the 
recipient entity; and 
(7) recipients to work to create a climate intolerant of 
sex- based and sexual harassment and that values and pro-
motes diversity and inclusion. 
(d) FEDERAL RESEARCH AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 
than 270 days after receiving the guidelines under paragraph (a)(2), 
each Federal research agency shall— 
(1) develop or maintain and implement policies with respect 
to sex-based and sexual harassment that are consistent with 
policy guidelines under subsection (a)(2) and that protect the 
privacy of all parties involved in any report and investigation 
of sex-based or sexual harassment, to the maximum extent 
practicable; and
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(2) broadly disseminate such policies to current and poten-
tial recipients of research and development awards made by 
such agency. 
SEC. 10537. NATIONAL ACADEMIES ASSESSMENT. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Director shall enter into an agreement with the National 
Academies to undertake a study and issue a report on the influence 
of sex-based and sexual harassment in institutions of higher edu-
cation on the career advancement of individuals in the STEM 
workforce. The study shall assess— 
(1) the state of research on sex-based and sexual harass-
ment in such workforce; 
(2) whether research demonstrates a decrease in the preva-
lence of sex-based and sexual harassment in such workforce; 
(3) the progress made with respect to implementing rec-
ommendations promulgated in the National Academies con-
sensus study report entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of Women: 
Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, 
Engineering, and Medicine’’; 
(4) where to focus future efforts with respect to decreasing 
the prevalence of sex-based and sexual harassment in such 
institutions, including specific recommendations; and 
(5) other recommendations and issues, as the National 
Academies determines appropriate. 
SEC. 10538. GAO STUDY. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
division, the Comptroller General of the United States shall— 
(1) complete a study that assesses the degree to which 
Federal research agencies have implemented the policy guide-
lines developed under section 10536(a)(2) and the effectiveness 
of that implementation; and 
(2) submit a report to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
on the results of such study, including recommendations on 
potential changes to practices and policies to improve those 
guidelines and that implementation. 
SEC. 10539. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director to carry 
out this subtitle, $32,500,000. 
TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS SCIENCE 
AND TECHNOLOGY PROVISIONS 
Subtitle A—Supporting Early-career 
Researchers 
SEC. 10601. EARLY-CAREER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National Science Founda-
tion may establish a 2-year pilot program to make awards to highly 
qualified early-career investigators to carry out an independent