We are aware of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed rule, released on Friday, May 29, regarding Federal grants and are greatly alarmed by the damaging impact this proposal would have on the research enterprise and the future of science. 

BPS Council met this week and discussed the issues in depth and agreed that it warrants a strong and coordinated response. We are actively engaging our Public Affairs Committee to develop BPS comments on the proposed rule. In parallel, we are meeting with our coalition partners and peer scientific societies to align our efforts and identify opportunities to advocate collectively and effectively to push back against this damaging rule.

To support these efforts, a tool is being developed to facilitate submission of personal comments to OMB that meet the compliance standards set in the rule notice. It is critically important that individual voices from across our community are heard. Comments by individuals must be unique and cite the section numbers of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) they are responding to. The tool being developed will assist you with the appropriate citations.

This rule needs a BIG response from the community, and the Biophysical Society is here to help you do this. We expect to share this resource within the coming week and encourage every one of you to submit individual comments to OMB.  Comment submissions are allowed to be submitted anonymously should members have concerns about potential conflicts.  

We will continue to keep you informed as our efforts progress. Thank you for your engagement, your advocacy, and your commitment to advancing biophysics.

Sincerely,

Karen G. Fleming
BPS President