Federal Grant & Funding Rules: White House OMB Proposed Changes - Open for Public Comment. Deadline July 13, 2026.

CO-LABS is sharing this information so members and partners can review the proposal, determine whether it is relevant to their work, and decide whether to respond through their own appropriate channels. CO-LABS speaks to the value and practical impact of Colorado's federally funded research ecosystem; we do not speak on behalf of any individual member institution, laboratory, agency, university, or company.

On May 29, 2026, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed rule revising the government-wide Uniform Guidance for federal financial assistance which OMB describes as a measure to improve transparency, accountability, and oversight and to reduce burden on award recipients. 

Much of Colorado's federal research ecosystem runs on grants and cooperative agreements. A proposed federal rule would change how those awards are made, managed, and terminated across the entire government and CO-LABS wants to make sure our members and partners are informed and aware. 

Higher-education and research organizations reviewing the proposal have noted that, as written, it would add a layer of senior political-appointee review to discretionary award decisions, expand agencies' authority to terminate active awards, and introduce new requirements affecting international collaboration, conference attendance, and publication costs. 

These changes could touch every part of Colorado's research ecosystem: federally funded labs, universities, institutes, and the companies that work with them.

The OMB has requested comments by July 13th, 2026 with plans to finalize the regulations for an effective date of October 1st, 2026.

What you can do:

• Read the proposed rule: Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance

• Submit a public comment (Docket OMB-2026-0034): Write a Comment

Note: the OMB asks commenters to put the relevant section number in brackets at the start of each comment (e.g., [200.205]). Specific, original comments carry the most weight.

Resources:

• The CU System, Anschutz and Boulder Campuses joined over 300 national organizations in a June 12 letter led by Research!America to urge the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to grant a 45-day extension for comments on the updated Uniform Guidance (UG) regulation.

• A high-level brief by The Association of American Universities (AAU), The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) & COGR: "5 Key Issues for Immediate Attention" 

• An article by Federal News Network about the proposal. 

• A review by law firm Ropes & Gray: OMB Proposed Revisions to the Uniform Guidance: Key Takeaways for Award Recipient Organizations