The White House Office of Management and Budget’s recent proposed revisions to Uniform Guidance “will hinder key elements of American innovation and will fail to achieve OMB’s stated objectives of transparency, accountability, and efficiency.”
That’s the argument the University of Michigan made in a letter submitted this week to OMB in response to the proposal, which would impose significant new requirements on recipients of federal funding.
Additionally, the university called on the agency to withdraw the proposal and “meaningfully engage stakeholders in the research community in the rulemaking process due to the damaging impacts the current proposal would have on our nation’s research capabilities and the corresponding economic impact.”
The proposed revisions include measures that would require senior political appointees to conduct pre-issuance reviews of all discretionary awards, broaden agency discretion to terminate awards and eliminate the use of fixed amount awards and subawards.
The university submitted the letter after receiving comments from faculty and staff who shared questions and concerns about the proposal. U-M joins a number of universities and organizations – including the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities and the American Council on Education – in submitting a response.
To read the university’s 4.5-page letter, visit https://myumi.ch/G7k27.