Dear ASA Community,
The Office of Management and Budget has proposed a final rule beginning Fiscal Year 2026 to establish political oversight of all federal grants (NSF, DOD, NIH, etc.). The comment period is open in the Federal Register until July 13, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. I urge you to comment before the due date. I beseech you to contact your US representatives before they take mandatory summer recess for all of August. You may discuss all of the provisions that trouble you, but if that becomes too overwhelming, you may concentrate on particular provisions that you understand the most. For example, I commented on the political appointee approval of the peer review process and how scientific councils, peer reviewers, and program must evaluate applications based on scientific merit and institutional support and not political affiliations because medical conditions such as cancer and dementia to not afflict patients based on ideologies.
Stand Up For Science has provided an example of a script that may help you, and you may copy and paste as you see fit. If you are a federal employee, please comment as a private citizen, during your off-duty hours, and not on your government-furnished equipment, especially when contacting your representatives so that you abide by the Hatch Act.
Sincerely,
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Theresa Y Kim (she/her)
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