Executive Order Proposes to Strengthen Oversite of Federal Grantmaking
President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) to strengthen oversight of federal grantmaking and ensure taxpayer funds are provided to advance the president’s priorities.
The EO accuses federal grantmaking practices of allowing federal dollars to be used for spreading radical ideologies, possibly assisting in the spread of COVID-19, and providing services to illegal immigrants. The EO stipulates that moving forward, the federal grantmaking process will be closely managed by senior experts in each agency to ensure grants align with administrative priorities and national interest, application requirements are simplified, duplication across agencies is avoided, and scientific research grants uphold the tenets of Gold Standard Science.
The EO diminishes the role of peer review by maintaining that senior officials may take into consideration the advisory feedback of the peer review process but must use their independent judgement for making final grant awarding decisions. Critics contend that these changes could result in the overt politicization of the federal grantmaking process, which is currently viewed as generally non-partisan.
The EO makes clear that discretionary grants must advance presidential policy priorities and shall not be used to fund programs or initiatives related to racial discrimination, the denial of biological sex, illegal immigration, or anti-American values. Grants should preference institutions with lower indirect costs, be awarded to a broad range of recipients, not just to repeat recipients, and prioritize rigorous scholarship over institutional prestige.
Finally, the EO requires the Office of Management and Budget to revise its Uniform Guidance to streamline the application process, allow for the termination of grants that no longer serve national interest, and limit federal spending on facilities and administration for research grants.
The EO was signed on August 7, and each grant-making agency in the federal government has 30 days to review its grants and procedures for compliance, including how many grants could be eliminated for no longer serving the national interest or for not effectuating the administration’s priorities.
For more information, please contact:
Stephanie Giesecke