The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget recently proposed sweeping changes to federal financial assistance.
Federal grants are used for many things at research organizations, including getting their science out to the public.
Among the changes, the proposal would limit funds to communicate findings to the press and place restrictions on “issue advocacy.”
“It's really unclear what that means, and who's to say what's issue advocacy and what's not,” said Lauren Quinn, co-chair of the Institutional Communicators Committee for the National Association of Science Writers. She works with researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to share their findings with wider audiences.
“I think it'll be a lot harder for people in my role to get our work done and to get that science out to the public.” Quinn said. “Taxpayers are the people who pay for federal research to be done, so they deserve to know what they're paying for.”
The Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, said the revised guidance would prevent waste and misuse of American tax dollars and promote better oversight of how federal funds are being used.
Last weekend, Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate announced a spending bill that would temporarily block the rule changes from advancing.
The OMB's proposal would limit funds for public relations, which Quinn said could include staff positions at universities. It also restricts scientists' use of federal awards for conference and publication costs.
“All of this comes down to making it more difficult for science communicators and journalists to cover new research,” Quinn said. “And to be able to talk to researchers who feel like they can speak freely on the record.”
Leaders at the University of Washington are voicing their opposition to the changes. Provost Tricia R. Serio wrote a letter noting that limits to allowable conference and publication costs “would significantly constrain the dissemination of publicly-funded research findings.”
Officials at the university say the proposal would inject politics into a process that should be about scientific merit.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office also spoke out against the proposal, saying it would have impacts beyond scientific research.
“These proposed changes upend Washington’s ability to administer federal money and grants in a timely and nonpartisan manner,” Ferguson’s office wrote in a statement.
The OMB has said it plans to implement the changes by Oct. 1. But if the Senate's funding measure is approved by both chambers of Congress, that would be put on hold.
