Action Needed for Postdoc Pay!

August 9, 2023

The NPA formally supports a new bill in Congress that will demand federal agencies collect better data on financial conditions of postdocs and graduate students and help address them. We need your help!

It’s easy. Find your federal representative (in Congress) using your zip code on the top right of the page. Click on your representative’s website, find the contact link, and submit the text below, adjusting as you see fit. Make sure to insert the representative’s name at top and your name and contact information.

When you’re done, please send us a quick email with your contact information and the name of your representative to let us know you helped out.

Thanks to Ryan Reeves, Patricia Ferrer Castillo, and the Advocacy Committee (join us!).

Dear Representative [FILL IN LAST NAME],

[Insert ONE sentence about you – explaining where you work, your position and broad area of work– for example., “I am a postdoctoral scholar working at Clemson University on genetics research.”] There is a bill currently in Congress that may benefit me and fellow researchers in your district.

As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor H.R.4002, the Relieving Economic Strain to Enhance American Resilience and Competitiveness in Higher Education and Research (RESEARCHER) Act. The bipartisan goal is to ensure graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (“postdocs”) have the resources and financial stability necessary to further their careers and contribute to American innovation.

The U.S. workforce faces problems with financial instability due to increasing costs of healthcare, housing, transportation, food, and childcare, which disproportionately affect early-career researchers. According to a study from the National Postdoctoral Association, 94.8% of postdocs are negatively impacted by their salaries. Financial concerns and inequities discourage students from pursuing research careers, decreasing the US STEM workforce and its worldwide competitiveness.

The bipartisan RESEARCHER Act implements guidelines and government policies to be applied and monitored by federal agencies. It will help maintain a sustainable, diverse, and competitive scientific workforce where the U.S. continues to be a leader in innovation and cutting-edge technology. It will also contribute to the contentment of researchers who should be treated with greater dignity.

Thank you for supporting H.R.4002.

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