In Brief
Take Action: Tell Congress Why Proposed F&A Cuts are Dangerous to Scientific Research
On April 11, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Policy Flash announcing a 15% cap on the "indirect cost rate" for grants awarded to institutions of higher education. The announcement comes as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to halt inefficient spending by universities. This move marks a similar effort directed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that has been halted by the courts. Congress needs to understand what would happen to your research labs, staff and projects should you have to absorb these costs previously covered by F&A into your grant spending. Send a letter now!
DOE Cap on F&A Costs Blocked by Federal Court
On April 11, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Policy Flash announcing a 15% cap on the "indirect cost rate" for grants awarded to institutions of higher education. The announcement comes as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to halt inefficient spending by universities. This move marks a similar effort directed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that has been halted by the courts. A temporary restraining order was issued days later, blocking the cap from being implemented and the cancellation of any grants not in compliance with the cap.
DOE stated that the average rate of indirect costs incurred by the department’s grant recipients at colleges and universities is more than 30% and that the cap would save over $405 million annually. DOE currently awards more than $2.5 billion annually to more than 300 universities. The lawsuit argues that the policy change does not follow required procedures or provide appropriate justification to deviate from negotiated indirect cost rates. The new policy also fails to consider “reliance interests,” including institutions’ long-term budget planning around established indirect cost rates and the early career scientists who will lose their jobs because of grant cuts.
DOE is the first agency after the National Institutes of Health to announce a policy change on indirect costs. The first Trump administration attempted to cap indirect cost rates on NIH grants at 10%, but the proposal faced bipartisan opposition in Congress, which enacted legislation that prevents deviations from negotiated rates.
Panchanathan Abruptly Resigns from NSF Director Role
On Thursday, April 24, the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Sethuraman Panchanathan announced his resignation effective immediately. Panchanathan, known as Panch around Washington, DC, was a mere 16 months away from completing a six-year term following his appointment by President Trump during his first term in office.
While no reason was provided for the sudden resignation, it comes just as the White House outlined plans for NSF to implement a 55% cut to the agency’s $9 billion budget next year and fire half its 1700-person staff is likely to have played a key role. On 14 April, staff from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) set up shop in the NSF offices and two days later the agency announced that it was halting new awards for grants that had been recommended for funding by program officers and were in the final stages of approval by agency officials. On 18 April, NSF announced it was terminating what could be more than $1 billion in grants already awarded because they clashed with Executive Orders and “were no longer priorities” for the agency. It remains unclear who will be named acting director while the White House seeks a long-term replacement.
Permanent Injunction Issued on the Implementation of F&A Caps to NIH
In the beginning of April, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a permanent injunction halting the administration’s planned cuts to federal reimbursements of facilities and administrative (F&A) costs. With this permanent injunction, the administration remains prohibited from implementing a standard 15% F&A reimbursement rate for many current and all future grants and ignoring previously negotiated rates for each research institution.
Taubenberger Named as Acting Head of NIAID
On April 25, Jeffery Taubenberger began his new role as acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Taubenberger gained prominence within the infectious disease community by unearthing samples of the 1918 flu virus and sequencing its entire genome. He has been an intramural researcher at NIAID for nearly 19 years, replaces HIV/AIDS researcher Jeanne Marrazzo, whom President Donald Trump’s administration removed from the job at the end of March. Marrazzo was one of six heads of institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health recently offered reassignments to the Indian Health Service; she currently remains on leave. Taubenberger will be running the second largest institute within NIH with a 2024 budget of $6.6 billion as it tries to reverse the ill will directed at the institute under prior leadership.