Proposed Sweeping Changes to Federal Grants

The scientific community is mobilizing in response to a recently published proposed rule from the White House Office of Management and Budget that would give political appointees new authority over federal grant-making. We are facing a transformative shift in how grants are administered, with far-reaching implications. It’s vital that every member of the scientific community speak up to both the presidential administration and Congress. Major changes in this proposed rule include:

A senior political appointee would be required to review and approve every discretionary grant announcement and every award decision; peer-review panels would take on a more advisory role.
Agencies could terminate a grant at any time if it is no longer considered in alignment with current federal priorities or the national interest.
Article processing charges for open-access journal publication would be unallowable; costs for attending conferences would be unallowable unless expressly approved by the granting agency.

GSA created a summary sheet of how its members and science-related fields would be affected.

Access GSA's summary sheet

What You Can Do as a Scientist-Citizen

Submit a public comment for this proposed rule by the administration’s July 13 deadline. It is most impactful for you to respond as an individual, citing the section of the proposal you are responding to, and articulating how you, your research, and your community would be harmed. Provide data documenting the adverse impact if possible.

Each response should be unique, rather than signing an existing letter template. A colleague scientific organization, The American Physical Society, has created a tool with open-ended prompts to help you draft and submit a response to the administration.

Share the same message with Congress, using GSA’s website to find contact information for your representative and senators. Congress needs to hear from constituents about the local impact of this proposal. They proved to be bipartisan allies last year in preventing the administration’s proposed cuts to the NIH budget and allowable indirect costs for grants. Also raise the same concerns with members of the Senate HELP Committee and House appropriations subcommittees, which have jurisdiction over NIH and aging programs.

For a reminder on the importance of being a scientist-citizen, watch a short Capitol Hill interview with President Tamara Baker about how GSA makes it easy for you to have productive meetings with Congress. She emphasizes that we must act to safeguard science for the field today and for future generations of scholars.

Proposed Sweeping Changes to Federal Grants

GSA created a summary sheet of how its members and science-related fields would be affected.

What You Can Do as a Scientist-Citizen

Thank you for taking action today.