Society for Applied Spectroscopy Members:
On May 29, the Office of Management and Budget released a sweeping proposed rule that if enacted would have a major impact on how funding for scientific research is awarded, managed and enforced. This proposal, published in the Federal Register would revise the framework for grants, cooperative agreements and other financial support mechanism for scientific research. The entire proposal can be found at Regulations for Federal Financial Assistance.
These changes will impact science as we know it and are most concerning. They include:
• Political appointees will take control of grant awards
• OMB gains direct oversight of which institutions receive grants.
• Peer review is no longer binding
• Active grants can be terminated at any time for any reason
• Broad prohibitions on international scientific collaboration
• Applicants can be denied based on organizational “affiliations’
• Open access fees and funding for conference attendance will be unallowable
• Public communications and outreach will be severely restricted
• Agency heads can exempt grant competitions from public notice
These proposed changes would have direct impacts on our members, their livelihoods and the careers or many of our student members. This is an issue that impacts every scientist and engineer in the US. It politicizes science and as history has shown politicizing science is bad for science.
The comment period for this action has a highly compresses timeline, 45 days, during the summer vacation season. This obviously is a political move to hide the actions of OMB from those citizens and societies that actually care about science and the scientific endeavor in the US. Professional societies such ACS, SPIE, APS and Optica strongly oppose this overt political move to destroy science in the United States. The Society for Applied Spectroscopy also opposes this move.
Active participation to oppose this move is required. We urge you to submit comments on this action. We also urge you to write to your congressional delegation. These links provide contacts for your senators and representative. Alternatively you can contact all three by using the following link Democracy.io.
We encourage you to express your opinions but a sample message can be found below.
As your constituent and someone who deeply values the role of science and technology in shaping our nation’s future, I am writing to express concern about the Office of Management and Budget’s recent proposed rule that would significantly reshape federal grantmaking by placing funding decisions in the hands of political appointees and introducing new criteria that could limit merit-based scientific research.
Federally funded research powers innovation in areas ranging from advanced manufacturing and healthcare to emerging technology breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence and quantum. It also supports the education and training of the next generation of STEM leaders, ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of global leadership.
As I’m sure you are aware, the proposed rule would require all federal research grants to undergo a “pre-issuance review” by political appointees with broad discretion to approve or deny funding based on alignment with administration priorities, reduce the role of independent peer review to an advisory function, and allow agencies to terminate active or future awards if they are deemed inconsistent with policy goals—changes that risk undermining the stability, integrity, and global competitiveness of the U.S. research enterprise.
I urge you to stand up for strong, sustained, and predictable federal investments in science and technology. These investments are not partisan, they are essential to building a safer, stronger, and more prosperous future for all Americans.
Thank you for your attention and for your service to our community.
Additional information will be provided next week through an eBlast and in our monthly newsletter. Please do not hesitate to write or do a draft, expressing your concerns and how it will negatively impact your scientific endeavors.
SAS
