1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Congress must investigate and block OMB's proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule before it takes effect government-wide on October 1, 2026. This rule hands political appointees veto power over every discretionary science-based grant, reduces scientific peer review to a non-binding formality, and allows active grants to be terminated simply for being "inconsistent with agency priorities" — no fraud, no noncompliance required. OMB has no business deciding what science gets funded. That must be decided by experts in the field. The damage goes further. Journal publication costs would become presumptively unallowable, gutting open access mandates Congress supported. International research collaboration would require senior political appointee sign-off. The preamble cites Heritage Foundation reports and White House fact sheets — not independent scientific assessments — and labels climate, public health, and equity research "neo-Marxist" and "anti-American." NIH already went from 756 funding announcements to 14 in two years. This rule locks that collapse into regulation. Congress has repeatedly appropriated funds for science agencies expecting merit-based, expert-driven administration insulated from political interference. This rule attempts to override that expectation without new legislation, repurposing OMB's grants management authority as a vehicle for political control. That is not what Congress authorized. The public comment period closes July 13, 2026 at regulations.gov, Docket OMB-2026-0034 — but administrative comments are not enough. Congressional oversight and legislative action are needed now to stop this rule from dismantling the peer review system the United States has built since World War II.