On February 19, 2026, over 180 psychology professionals came to Washington, DC to ask Congress to invest in the psychology workforce, and in psychology research, as part of our APA Council of Representatives Hill Day. This is a great time for you to weigh in as a psychology professional or student of psychology! By taking 2 minutes to send your officials a message today, you will build on the momentum started by your peers to keep 2 important topics on Congress’ radar.

Specifically, we are asking Congress to:

• Support the ADAPT Act (H.R.4484 / S.2356). The bipartisan ADAPT Act would increase accessibility of psychological services by expanding Medicare coverage for certain behavioral healthcare services, thus helping protect our most vulnerable populations.
• Support strong funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation and instruct those agencies to integrate behavioral and social science into research efforts on AI. NIH and NSF are the lead agencies for the foundational research required to navigate this 21st-century technological landscape, and we must ensure these technologies are human-centered.

We are advocating for the ADAPT Act because it would help address unmet needs of older Americans while allowing future psychologists to broaden their training. Nearly half of Americans live in a mental health workforce shortage area, and clinical psychology interns and residents provide a significant percentage of the behavioral health care that is becoming increasingly needed. Yet Medicare does not cover time spent supervising their provision of behavioral health services. This limits opportunities for care for millions of elderly Americans and people with disabilities relying on Medicare, and limits interns and residents’ exposure to those populations. This is problematic in an aging nation where demand for care tailored to the needs of the elderly will continue to increase. 

We are asking for strong NIH and the NSF funding because it is crucial to advance our understanding of many issues. This includes essential health outcomes, foundational social science, economic growth and security and maternal mental health.

Guidance is needed now for more human-centered AI research because we are witnessing the rapid advancement of AI technologies. We need to ensure AI is developed with scientifically supported consideration for public interest and health. 

Your voice as a constituent is irreplaceable in keeping these issues on your Senators and Representative’s radar after APA Service’s recent Hill Day. Please urge your Senators and Representative today to pass this bipartisan legislation, and support funding to promote programs essential to psychology. 

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