Proposed Changes to Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance
ASGSR Call to Action
Proposed Changes to Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance
The American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) is working closely with many of our peer organizations to understand the implications of OMB’s proposed revisions to the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. These proposed revisions will impact YOU and ASGSR!
Some of the proposed changes include giving political appointees final authority over peer-review decisions (§200.205/.202), allowing mid-award termination of active grants deemed “inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities” (§200.340), prohibiting collaborations with researchers in sanctioned “covered countries” (§200.220), requiring agency pre-approval to attend conferences or hold professional memberships using grant funds (§200.432), and disallowing the use of federal funds for journal publication and open-access costs (§200.461).
ASGSR is actively working and joining with other organizations to communicate the impacts to science, space research, exploration, and American leadership in areas such as the commercial development of space, human space exploration, and bringing the scientific, technological, and commercial benefits from space research and exploration back down to Earth to benefit America every day.
If you are interested in lending your voice in support of science, we are pleased to share several tools and resources on this important issue.
- To learn more about the OMB rule, the Planetary Society has created a dashboard that highlights the major proposed changes.
- ASGSR members can use the American Physical Society’s on-line portal to write and submit individual letters to OMB expressing your views on the proposed changes. You can access the portal here.
- You are also welcome to write and submit an individual letter directly to OMB through the Federal Register. Make sure to cite the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to which you are referring in your comment, followed by the section number and a clear statement of your proposed action. Without this information, your comment may not be counted.
- ASGSR members are also encouraged to reach out to their local elected officials to share any thoughts and concerns they have on the proposed changes.
No matter how you choose to lend your voice, make sure that you are sharing how the proposed rules will personally affect you and that you are responding in your individual capacity by omitting reference to your employer or organizations you may be affiliated with.
The deadline to submit comments is July 13, 2026.
Dr. Jeffrey Smith – ASGSR President
Dr. Jennifer Barrila – ASGSR President-Elect
Dr. Elizabeth Blaber – External Affairs Committee Chair