IB 
Union Calendar No. 4 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 144 
[Report No. 117–16] 
To forestall the loss of research talent by establishing a temporary early 
career research fellowship program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2021 
Ms. JOHNSON of Texas (for herself and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
APRIL 14, 2021 
Additional sponsors: Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. LAMB, Mr. GARCIA of California, 
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. BEYER, Ms. ROSS, Mr. GONZALEZ of 
Ohio, Ms. WILD, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. WALTZ, Ms. GARCIA of 
Texas, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. FEENSTRA, Mr. BOWMAN, Mrs. FLETCHER, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma, Mr. FOSTER, 
Mr. CASE, Mr. MEIJER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. BAIRD, and Mrs. KIM of 
California 
APRIL 14, 2021 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 2021] 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Early-Ca-
reer Researchers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Nation’s universities and industrial re-
search labs are facing unprecedented budget pressure 
as part of the COVID–19 health crisis, resulting in 
considerably fewer openings for research and teaching 
positions. 
(2) Emergency funding is needed to forestall the 
loss of research talent likely to occur if early-career 
researchers are forced to seek employment outside of 
research due to the sharp economic decline caused by 
the COVID–19 health crisis. 
(3) The future of America’s defense will rely on 
advanced technologies to maintain its military supe-
riority over its rivals, including China. These tech-
nologies will require new levels of scientific and engi-
neering aptitude and understanding. Early career re-
searchers will play a critical role in the development 
of these technologies, and the loss of an entire genera-
tion of researchers due to the COVID–19 pandemic 
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will be detrimental to the United States national se-
curity. 
SEC. 3. EARLY-CAREER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation may establish a 2-year pilot program 
to award grants to highly qualified early-career investiga-
tors to carry out an independent research program at the 
qualified institution of higher education chosen by such in-
vestigator, to last for a period not greater than 2 years. 
(b) SELECTION PROCESS.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall select grantees under sub-
section (a) from among citizens, nationals, and lawfully ad-
mitted permanent resident aliens of the United States. 
(c) OUTREACH.—The Director shall conduct program 
outreach to recruit fellowship applicants— 
(1) from all regions of the country; 
(2) from historically underrepresented popu-
lations in the fields of science, technology, engineer-
ing, and mathematics; and 
(3) who graduate from or intend to carry out re-
search at a variety of types of institutions of higher 
education, including— 
(A) Historically Black Colleges and Univer-
sities; 
(B) Hispanic-Serving Institutions; 
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(C) Tribal Colleges and Universities; and 
(D) institutions of higher education that are 
not among the top 50 institutions in annual 
Federal funding for research. 
(d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—The Director shall give 
special consideration to an application from an individual 
who graduated from or is intending to carry out research 
at an institution of the type listed in subsection (c)(3). 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the conclu-
sion of the second year of the pilot program, the Director 
shall submit a report to Congress that includes— 
(1) statistical summary data on fellowship 
awardees disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, 
age, years since completion of doctoral degree, and in-
stitution type; 
(2) an assessment, drawing on feedback from the 
research community and other sources of information, 
of the effectiveness of the pilot program for mitigating 
the loss of research talent due to the pandemic; and 
(3) if determined effective, a plan for permanent 
implementation of the pilot program. 
(f) QUALIFIED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION 
DEFINED.—The term ‘‘qualified institution of higher edu-
cation’’ means an institution of higher education (as de-
fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
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(20 U.S.C. 1001)) that is inside the United States or a ter-
ritory of the United States. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director 
of the National Science Foundation $250,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2021 through 2022 to carry out the activities 
in this Act. 
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Union Calendar No. 4 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 144 
[Report No. 117–16] 
A BILL 
To forestall the loss of research talent by estab-
lishing a temporary early career research fellow-
ship program. 
APRIL 14, 2021 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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