,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gajf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #d1 #bjbj,mr4  
,lipinski 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,mc,kinley1
 and ,mr4 ,langevin7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a  
,,bill  ,to require the ,department of  
,defense to maintain a basic social     
sciences research program4  #a4 ,short  
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,social ,sciences ,protect ,our ,nation 
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the
 following3 7#a7 ,the #bjag ,national   
,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering   
and ,medicine report on ,the ,value of  
,social1 ,behavioral1 and ,economic     
,sciences to ,national ,priorities      
asserts ,having a fundamental           
understanding of how people and         
societies behave1 why they respond the  
way they do1 what they find important1  
what they believe or value1 and what and
 how they think about others is critical
 for the country's well-being in today's

 global environment44  7#b7 ,there is a 
national need for investing in diverse  
basic research social science1 and      
facilitating transition of those        
findings to inform national defense     
priorities and actions4  7#c7 ,in #bjjh1
 while giving a speech entitled         
,national ,security3 ,what ,new         
,expertise is ,needed81 ,secretary of   
,defense ,robert ,gates stated ,too many
 mistakes have been made over the years 
because our government and military did 
not understand--or even seek to         
understand--the countries or cultures we
 were dealing with44  7#d7 ,in response1
 the ,department of ,defense initiated a
 basic social science research program  
to improve basic understanding of the   
social1 cultural1 behavioral1 and       
political forces that shape regions of  
the world of strategic importance to the
 ,united ,states4  7#e7 ,the ,national  
,academy of ,sciences found in their    
#bjai evaluation of the ,department of  
,defense defense-wide basic social      

sciences program that despite facing    
challenges with establishing a stable1  
well-functioning organizational         
structure as well as resource           
limitations1 the program has made       
important contributions and that the    
program has successfully strengthened   
ties between the ,department and the    
social science community4  7#f7         
,maintaining a basic social sciences    
research program provides the           
,department of ,defense critical access 
to expertise to inform cultural         
understanding1 support technological    
edge1 counter adversarial social        
interventions1 and understand drivers to
 strengthen alliances and attract new   
partners4  7#g7 ,continued investment in
 basic social science research is       
particularly crucial at a time when peer
 and near-peer adversaries are          
increasingly employing elements of      
malign influence1 disinformation1 and   
predatory economics in concert with     
technological capabilities4  #c4        

,department of ,defense social sciences 
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,defense shall maintain a defense-wide  
basic research program with an emphasis 
on diverse social sciences4  7b7 ,the   
,secretary of ,defense shall include in 
the annual budget submission of the     
,president under section #aaje7;a7 of   
title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code-- 7#a7 
a dedicated budget line item for        
defense-wide basic social science       
research2 and  7#b7 basic research funds
 from each of the services dedicated to 
social science research4  7c7 ,report   
,within #ij days after the date of      
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,defense shall report to the ,house  
,armed ,services ,committee and the     
,senate ,armed ,services ,committee on  
the organizational structure of the     
defense-wide basic social science       
research program4 ,the report shall     
include-- 7#a7 the responsibilities of  
the ,under ,secretary of ,defense for   
,research and ,engineering in           

collaboration with the ,under ,secretary
 of ,defense for ,policy in joint       
oversight of the program2  7#b7 the role
 of each of the services in coordinating
 with the program2 and  7#c7 efforts to 
align the program with the ,department's
 ,science and ,technology roadmaps and  
the ,national ,defense ,strategy4