The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed significant changes to the Uniform Guidance, the government-wide framework governing federal financial assistance. Of particular concern to the research community are proposed changes that could increase political and administrative oversight of federal grant awards, including additional review by senior agency officials and greater discretion to terminate awards that no longer align with agency priorities.
As ASPB has previously reported, these changes could have significant implications for the U.S. research enterprise. Federal research funding has historically relied on competitive processes, scientific peer review, and established agency procedures to identify and support high-quality research. Introducing additional political review and the capacity for abrupt termination of awards into these processes could disrupt research projects, create instability for researchers and institutions, and undermine confidence in the federal grantmaking system.
For ASPB members, these concerns extend across the federal agencies that support plant science, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy (DOE), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other research agencies. Greater uncertainty surrounding grant awards or the continuation of existing funding could affect long-term research projects, laboratories, students and early-career scientists, as well as the ability of researchers to pursue innovative approaches to address important scientific questions.
Congress is beginning to respond. The Senate has passed a Continuing Resolution funding bill that includes strong language precluding any further action toward changing Universal Guidance through mid-December. The Senate action throws the spotlight back onto the House of Representatives, where Representative Nick LaLota (R-NY-1) is circulating a Republican-only letter raising concerns about OMB’s proposal and its potential negative implications for federally funded biomedical research. The current deadline for Republican Members of Congress to sign the letter is August 20 – next Thursday.
Although Rep. LaLota’s letter, as written, focuses primarily on biomedical research, the underlying OMB proposal extends well beyond biomedical science and, if implemented, would have implications across the federal research enterprise. This letter also represents one of the first organized congressional actions from Republican lawmakers responding to the proposal. With concerns about the changes increasingly being raised across party lines, this is an important opportunity for the research community to demonstrate that protecting a stable, merit-based federal research system is a bipartisan concern.
ASPB members are well-positioned to help Members of Congress understand how these changes could affect plant science and the broader research community.
If your current Representative is a Republican, you can take action by:
- Emailing or phoning your Representative before August 20 and urging them to sign Rep. LaLota’s letter, expressing your concern about OMB’s proposed changes to federal research grants. Please be sure to keep in mind any restrictions that your employer may place on your advocacy activities. For example, you may need to use a personal email address and/or avoid using institution-owned equipment. (Find your Representative here.)
- Highlighting the importance of maintaining federal research funding processes that prioritize scientific merit, peer review, transparency, and predictability.
- Sharing specific examples of how federal funding from agencies such as NSF, USDA, DOE, and NIH support your laboratory, students, research programs, and scientific discoveries.
- Explaining that although the Rep. LaLota letter focuses on biomedical research, the underlying policy could have much broader consequences for federally supported research, including plant biology, agricultural research, bioenergy, biotechnology, and environmental science.
As policymakers consider changes to the federal grantmaking system, it is critical that researchers communicate how these OMB-proposed policies could affect the stability, independence, and scientific integrity of federally supported research.
Your voice can help ensure that federal research funding remains driven by scientific merit and continues to support the discoveries, researchers, and institutions that sustain U.S. scientific leadership.
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