On July 13, Member Scholar and Board Member Rebecca Bratspies submitted public comments to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The comments cover OMB’s proposed rules governing federal grants and express strong opposition to the proposal, which would be incredibly damaging to grantees, scientific research, and public health, among other things.
Bratspies provided three main reasons for her opposition: “First, OMB does not have the legal authority to promulgate this policy as a binding regulation. Second, OMB’s proposal to ban certain topics from receiving federal financial support unlawfully violates the express terms of multiple statutes and creates both the appearance and the reality of political interference with decisions that should be based solely on scientific merit. Finally, this proposal is a bad idea that will compromise U.S. research leadership and undermine the American economy.”
