AACR Applauds Bipartisan Senate Provision to Delay Harmful OMB Grantmaking Rule

PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) commends Senate appropriators for including a bipartisan provision in its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2027 continuing resolution (CR) that would prevent the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from finalizing its proposed rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance,” by October 1. If the House agrees with the Senate’s action, OMB would be blocked from implementing the rule, at least until the CR expires on December 11, 2026. 

“We owe Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), as well as many other leaders in the Senate, a profound debt of gratitude for coming together in a bipartisan manner to protect the integrity of federal research funding,” said AACR Chief Executive Officer Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc). “AACR has been calling on the Administration to abandon this reckless proposal ever since it was introduced in late May, as it would inject political considerations into federal research funding decisions; allow active grants, including those supporting clinical trials, to be terminated for reasons unrelated to recipient performance or scientific merit; and create profound uncertainty for researchers, institutions, and patients. This week’s action in the Senate is a vitally important step toward safeguarding lifesaving progress against cancer and the hundreds of other diseases that affect millions of Americans and their families.” 

For decades, federal investments awarded through the rigorous evaluation of scientific merit have fueled transformative advances in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship. These investments have helped drive a 35% decline in the U.S. cancer death rate since 1991, resulting in more than 4.8 million cancer deaths averted. AACR is highly supportive of strong oversight, accountability, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources. However, the proposed OMB rule would seriously undermine those goals by weakening evidence-based, merit-based grantmaking and by adding administrative complexity, reducing transparency, and destabilizing ongoing meritorious research. 

AACR urges the Senate to pass the CR and also calls on the House to approve the measure. While the delay through December 11 provides an essential albeit temporary safeguard, AACR will continue to call on OMB to withdraw the proposal entirely. If OMB refuses to do so, we will need Congress to include a provision in its final FY2027 appropriations bill that stops OMB from implementing its harmful rule.