By Marah Wahbeh, PhD, and Carter L. Alleman, JD, CAE
On May 29, 2026, The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed a rule titled “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” that would radically change how all federal grants would be handled, impacting science funding in the following ways:
- Establishing political oversight of grant review
- Expanding the authority of federal agencies to suspend or terminate active grants at any point if deemed not in alignment with federal priorities
- Restricting and disincentivizing global research collaborations
- Limiting allowable federal grant costs and preventing the use of federal grants to attend conferences, pay for professional society memberships, and pay for publication costs.
The ruling was open for public comment for 45 days. The scientific community across all fields came together and submitted comments detailing why these changes would be harmful to science. ASPET did too. In this article we highlight some of ASPET’s comments and provide you with next steps to ensure that Congress is informed on the harms of the proposed rule and the urgency in our need for its withdrawal.
- We highlighted how the proposed rule aims to transform existing Uniform Guidance into a government-wide regulation. ASPET contended that the current framework has provided a stable and effective foundation for managing federally funded research and that we recommend preserving it rather than adopting a new regulatory structure.
- We emphasized that grant review should continue to rely on merit-based peer review, highlighting that peer review has long provided a measure of quality control for scientific literature and grant reviews.
- We emphasized the importance of maintaining currently established safeguards for grant termination, highlighting that research requires stability and relative predictability.
- We expressed great concern over proposed restrictions on allowable costs. We highlighted the importance of using federal grant funding to support scientists attending conferences, paying for professional society memberships, and publication costs. These activities are essential components of the scientific process, enabling researchers to share findings, foster collaborations, advance professional development, and ensure that publicly funded research reaches the broader scientific community and the public.
Overall, we made sure to advocate for preserving the long-standing federal research funding policies that have allowed for decades of scientific innovation, collaboration, transparency, and the continued strength of the U.S. research ecosystem.
As we wait for OMB to review the comments, engaging Congress is the next step. The Senate has most recently included a provision in a Continuing Resolution preventing OMB from finalizing the proposed rule until Dec. 11. This has yet to pass the House. While Congress is in recess this August, we encourage you to continue sharing with your members of Congress the devastating impacts of the rule on science and biomedical research. FASEB has prepared this easy-to-use tool to help you contact your elected officials and urge them to oppose this rule and exert their oversight authority.
