OMB Grants Rule Delayed Until Mid-December

President Trump signed legislation this week that will fund the government through Dec. 11 and delay a proposed rule that would give political appointees more power over grant making.

The House passed legislation, known as a continuing resolution, this week to avert a potential government shutdown at the end of month when funding runs out. The Senate voted in early August in favor of the bill. 

Under the legislation, the Office of Management and Budget can’t finalize its changes to the federal grant rules until Dec. 12; the proposal received thousands of public comments, which OMB has to review and respond to before issuing a final rule. Higher ed groups and others have warned that the proposal would replace researchers’ decisions on which of their peers’ scientific projects should be funded with the whims of whichever politicians are in power at the time.

Research!America, a nonprofit medical and health research advocacy alliance that opposes the grant rule changes, said in a statement that the delay gives them more time to stop the rule permanently. 

“Individuals and groups across the country, representing medical research, agriculture, law enforcement, transportation, housing, and other sectors voiced their concerns on this proposed rule’s harmful impact,” Research!America President Russ Paulsen said in a statement. “If finalized, the proposed rule would undermine key priorities of the American people: safety, security, prosperity, and progress.”