{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tonko.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4294", "Tonko, McClellan Introduce MENTOR Act to Support Researchers\u2019 Mental Health", "2024-12-11", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Paul Tonko", "T000469", "tonko.house.gov", "tonko", "https://tonko.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2014 U.S. Representatives Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) and Jennifer McClellan (VA-4) today announced their introduction of the Mental Health Enhancement, Navigation, and Treatment for Our Researchers Act of 2024 (MENTOR Act). This new bill would establish federal guidelines through the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in order to improve the mental health and mentoring of graduate and postdoctoral researchers.\n\nGraduate student and postdoctoral researchers are vital to university productivity through their work that includes conducting and publishing cutting-edge research, helping secure grant funding, and serving as mentors and instructors for undergraduate students and researchers. Despite this fact, research shows 50 percent of graduate students experience depression, anxiety, or burnout symptoms during their training. In a survey of postdoctoral researchers by Nature, 51 percent considered leaving science altogether due to work-related mental health concerns.\n\n\u201cOur researchers provide so much, not only to our institutes of higher learning, but to our communities and society as a whole by driving innovation, technological development, scientific discovery, and more,\u201d Congressman Tonko said. \u201cUnfortunately, burnout, poor mentoring, and mental health concerns are seriously impacting students and researchers, shrinking a critical pipeline of workers and stunting innovation. We in Congress should do all we can to support our graduate and postdoctoral researchers. That\u2019s why I\u2019m introducing the MENTOR Act. By establishing guidelines to address and improve mentoring and mental health, we give our researchers the support they need while maintaining our nation\u2019s spirit of innovation and scientific prowess.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur national leadership in science and innovation depends on the work of highly trained graduate and postdoctoral researchers. However, too many researchers have negative experiences in the workplace that contribute to poor mental health or push them out of their training programs,\u201d said Congresswoman McClellan. \u201cI thank Congressman Tonko for his leadership on the MENTOR Act and look forward to working with him to advance this legislation. Together, we will continue fighting to support and strengthen our research workforce.\u201d\n\nTonko\u2019s bill is endorsed by: the American Suicide Prevention Foundation; Oyanova; Graduate Women in Science; Framework for Accountability in Academic Research and Mentoring Project; Graduate Workers Union at UW Madison; United Campus Workers Southeast; and Communications Workers of America Local 3821.\n\n\u201cThe health and wellness of graduate and postdoctoral researchers is paramount to the strength, resilience, and longevity of the United States as a driver of scientific and technological discovery,\u201d said Dr. Amanda Koenig, Past President, Graduate Women in Science. \u201cThe MENTOR Act ensures that the many prestigious institutions of research and higher learning in the U.S. have the appropriate resources to prioritize the enduring success of its trainees. And in so doing, it fortifies the United States as a leader on the frontiers of technology, invention, and philosophy.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe MENTOR Act provides for a fantastic, comprehensive set of efforts to address the graduate student mental health crisis,\u201d said Kaylynne Glover, Co-Founder and Communications Director of The FAARM Project. \u201cGraduate students are an essential workforce and talent pool for American technology development and national security - they do the hands-on work that keeps us ahead in AI, electronics, aerospace, biotechnology, and many other critical fields. The mental health crisis in this workforce has been widely acknowledged since 2019; we\u2019re excited to see Congressman Tonko leading the way on comprehensively solving the problem.\u201d\n\nThe MENTOR Act of 2024 would:\n\nDirect the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop and implement comprehensive guidelines for federal research agencies to improve the mental health and mentoring of graduate and postdoctoral researchers by:\n\nEstablishing clear definitions for problematic behaviors at institutions of higher education.\n\nImplementing standardized, confidential, and safe systems to report and address bullying, harassment, and poor mentorship.\n\nStrengthening mentor-mentee relationships by assessing mentoring plans and benefit disclosures in grant applications and allowing grant funding to support mentoring activities.\n\nSupporting mental well-being by ensuring access to affordable health care and implementing protections for researchers, with a focus on international and underrepresented groups.\n\nPromote Continuous Evaluation and Improvement through Data Collection\n\nThe National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) will conduct biennial evaluations on the mental health of graduate and postdoctoral researchers.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office (GAO) will evaluate the effectiveness of the guidelines, recommend improvements, and identify additional research needs.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tonko.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4294"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.570527907460928, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}