UIC’s response to proposed federal grant revisions
Introduction
In May 2026, the White House Office of Management Budget (OMB) proposed revisions to the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. The proposed changes would:
- Enable politically appointed officials to make final grant decisions
- Restrict collaboration with any country considered to be a foreign adversary
- Allow the delay, suspension, or termination of awards based on the agency’s evolving criteria
- Require justification for each payment request
- Restrict disparate-impact research (i.e. based on demographics, settings, resources)
- Limit use of grant funds to pay for professional and academic subscriptions
- Require advance approval from the sponsoring agency for conference travel and publication costs
The Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research (OVCR) coordinated a response to the Request for Information (RFI) by collecting comments from the UIC community. UIC’s response was submitted to the RFI along with nearly 500,000 responses that OMB reported receiving. The response highlights the potential negative impact on UIC’s community and international collaborations, publishing, open access to scholarship, peer-review process for grants, recruitment and retainment of talented scientists, and ability to educate students.
Over the August 1st weekend, the Senate released their Continuing Resolution (CR) draft, which includes a provision to block OMB’s proposed revisions through December 11th, 2026. In the meantime, UIC will continue to monitor any legislation that impacts university personnel.