U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) led an 18-page letter to the National Science Foundation (NSF) recommending several changes to its solicitation for the Antarctic Science and Engineering Support contract that would align sexual harassment and assault reporting structures and protect victims from retaliation.
The recommendations follow an investigation by the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which Rep. Lucas chairs, into widespread sexual harassment and assault in the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP).
“These investigative efforts have led us to the conclusion that sexual harassment, assault, and retaliation will not be properly addressed without additional policy changes that are tailored to the unique needs of the USAP,” wrote Rep. Lucas and committee ranking member U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) in an Oct. 10 letter sent to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.
The lawmakers noted that during the course of the committee’s investigation, NSF did make changes and took steps to improve the culture in the USAP, as well as the reporting and support structures for victims of harassment and assault.
“However, more must be done,” they wrote. “We believe the existing draft solicitation released in July 2024 should go further to harmonize sexual harassment and assault reporting structures and protect victims from retaliation. We strongly recommend several changes to the solicitation based on the committee’s investigative findings.”
In the letter, Rep. Lucas and Rep. Lofgren outlined the committee’s investigative findings over the past several years to underscore NSF’s failure to appropriately manage the USAP. The committee also detailed Leidos’s mismanagement as the prime contractor operating the USAP and subcontractors’ lack of consistent policies, leading to disparate outcomes for victims, according to the letter.
“The committee is not convinced that the changes to the contract language go far enough to establish sexual assault and harassment prevention as a priority of NSF,” wrote the members. “Nor does the committee believe the contract language effectively communicates these priorities to the prospective applicants.”
Therefore, the committee urges NSF to incorporate several recommendations, including to ensure that investigators are properly trained and to consider coordinating with an independent investigation entity, they wrote.
NSF also should provide an oversight mechanism of the subcontractors’ Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention Response policies and investigatory procedures, as well as an oversight mechanism for the agency to audit any investigation, according to their letter.
Among numerous other recommendations, the lawmakers wrote that NSF should maintain the list of contractor employees banned from working in the USAP, and clarify the language describing the conditions for a three-year prohibition from deployment.
“The committee is committed to addressing this issue and we believe that these recommendations will help to bring forth the necessary changes to the USAP if implemented effectively,” wrote Rep. Lucas and his colleague. “We will review the final solicitation once released later this fall and look forward to seeing the changes incorporated.”