SPSSI | Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Email Archive - SPSSI Policy Update - March 2017

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2017-03-24

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SPSSI Policy Update - March 2017

POLICY NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES AT SPSSI

Save the Date for SPSSI's Policy Workshop in Albuquerque on June 22, 2017: As in past years, SPSSI will be hosting a one-day Policy Workshop that will take place the day before the start of the SPSSI Conference in Albuquerque. This year’s SPSSI Policy Workshop will focus on the theme of creating and fostering collaborations in policy-relevant work. In this workshop, presentations, panels, and breakout activities will focus on the different ways in which students and scholars can create and foster collaborations not just across research/issue areas of interest, but also across different kinds of communities and policy settings, types of stakeholders (e.g., researchers, clinicians, community activists, civil servants), and generations of investigators (e.g., graduate students, early-career scholars, mid-career scholars, senior scholars). Registration is $25 for students and $50 for non-students.

Dr. Luis Rivera Briefs Capitol Hill Staffers on Health Disparities Research: On March 6, 2017, SPSSI member and Representative to APA Council Dr. Luis Rivera gave a Congressional Seminar on Capitol Hill entitled, "Understanding and Addressing Disparities in Physical and Mental Health: Insights from Psychological Science." The event was attended by 70 professionals from a variety of offices and organizations, including House and Senate personal offices, House committees, federal agencies, associations, and nonprofits.

March 29, 2017 Webinar On the Mental Health Impacts of Climate Change Featuring SPSSI's Immediate Past President Dr. Susan Clayton: Join ecoAmerica on March 29 from 3-4 pm Eastern for a webinar to release the new research report, Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance. The webinar will feature contributions from Dr. Susan Clayton (co-author of the report) and Dr. Howard Kurtzman (acting executive director of the APA's Science Directorate).

Proposals Due May 1, 2017 for SPSSI Local- and State-Level Policy Work Grants: SPSSI is pleased to invite proposals for grants to local- and state-level research/policy groups. SPSSI will fund up to three groups, at up to $2000 each, for this spring award cycle. This initiative has three goals: 1) to influence policy at the local and state levels through applied research, 2) to increase the availability of policy opportunities for SPSSI members who are interested in applied research, and 3) to encourage younger scholars to become more involved in SPSSI.

April 20, 2017 Webinar and Workshop on "Evaluation 101 for Human Rights Organizations: Insights Into How Change Comes About and How to Measure It": Join the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Human Rights Coalition (of which SPSSI is a member) for this webinar which is being organized by SPSSI Fellow Dr. Oliver Moles. Webinar attendees will learn about: 1) the purposes of evaluation - how it is useful to human rights specialists, 2) project theory frameworks - how we think change comes about, and 3) meaningful and feasible measures of change in a human rights context.

NEWS IN U.S. POLICY

President's Budget Proposal Released: On March 16, 2017, the Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request, referred to as a "skinny budget." Full budget details are expected sometime in May. It is important to note that the President's budget is just one step in the annual appropriations process. Congress still holds the power of the purse. Many, if not most, of the proposals in the President's budget will be dead on arrival in Congress.

The New Congress Introduces a Number of Bills and Resolutions Focusing on Social Issues, Scientific Research:

H.R. 1628: American Health Care Act of 2017 (to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act)
H.R. 861: To Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency
H.R. 1612: Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2017
H.R. 1510: States’ Education Reclamation Act of 2017 (to provide for the elimination of the Department of Education)
S. 354: RAISE Act (to significantly reduce several rarely-discussed provisions of U.S. policy that encourage legal immigration)
S. 338: Scientific Integrity Act (to codify existing policies at numerous federal agencies, which were put into place as a result of an Executive Order by President Obama requiring agencies to develop policies to protect scientific integrity)
H.Res. 195: Expressing the Commitment of the House of Representatives to Conservative Environmental Stewardship (signed by 17 House Republicans Who Resolve "That the House of Representatives commits to working constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact")