Comment Guide on OMB Proposed Rule

On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would substantially rewrite how federal research grants are awarded and managed.

We urge you to review the proposed changes and comment by July 13, 2026. OMB indicated it would like to issue a final rule that would put the proposal into effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2026.

We have developed an OMB Public Comment Guide, with sample point-by-point responses to help you provide comments.

• View guide on SharePoint (log in with linkblue id)

As you review the guide, please consider the following:

• Use the provided language as a guide. You do not need to respond to every section, but the more comments citing evidence-based, practical examples by individual researchers the stronger the impact.
• Make your individual capacity explicit, so the comment is logged as a personal submission. Noting your institutional affiliation for context is fine. The views remain your own.
• Speak from your own experience. Individual comments carry the most weight when they describe concrete, first-hand examples, such as a specific project, delay, collaboration, publication or conference the rule would affect, rather than general statistics. Use what you personally know.
• Lead each point with the bracketed section number, as OMB requested, for example, [200.218].
• Your voice adds to institutional filings, it doesn’t duplicate them. Universities and research associations will file their own comments. A large volume of substantive individual comments demonstrates the breadth of concern.
• Go to regulations.gov and paste OMB-2026-0034 into the search bar, then click on Comment for the Proposed Rule Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance.
• Comments are due by Monday, July 13 at 11:59 p.m.

For more information, including a high-level brief developed by the AAU, APLU and COGR, visit APLU.org.

Thank you for your attention and for taking time to share individual comments. Your voice and your experience are needed at this critical juncture for federally funded research.