Dear Colleagues,   

Please find a federal government update from our teams.

F&A Updates
The federal administration on April 8 appealed [3] a permanent injunction issued by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts that blocks the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from imposing a 15 percent cap on facilities and administrative (F&A) costs on biomedical research grants to universities. F&A funding supports the institutional infrastructure, equipment, compliance, and other necessary costs of research conducted on university campuses on behalf of the federal government.

In addition, several national organizations announced [4] on April 8, the formation of a working group tasked with developing a more efficient and transparent model for funding F&A costs. The effort follows discussions with congressional leaders, who have urged a more straightforward paradigm. The working group will seek to identify, reduce and eliminate regulatory barriers, produce a simple and easily explained model, and increase transparency to support research activities on campuses effectively. Organizations involved in the effort include the Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), American Council on Education (ACE), and more. CU will actively contribute to the effort. In fact, senior research leaders for the CU Boulder and CU Anschutz campuses discussed F&A in depth with the Colorado congressional delegation while in DC this week, highlighting the university's interest in partnering on reform, and ensuring any changes are thoughtful, deliberative, and effective.

President Orders Review-and-Repeal of Federal Regulations
The President instructed federal agencies on April 9 to repeal all current regulations that are inconsistent with federal administration priorities, citing ten recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions as the legal basis for the new "review-and-repeal effort." In addition, the new memorandum, "Directing the Repeal of Unlawful Regulations," [5]  instructs federal agencies to forgo traditional public notice-and-comment rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act when rescinding the rules. The President cites the "good cause" exception in the law, which allows agencies to bypass this process when it is "impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest." Litigation challenging the directive is expected.   

USCIS Announces Social Media Screening for Antisemitism
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced [6] on April 9 that it will now consider social media content that shows antisemitic activity and sympathies as a "negative factor" when adjudicating immigration benefit requests. The new guidance, effective immediately, applies to both current and prospective international students and scholars at U.S. universities.

Title IX Special Investigations Team Announced
The U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Justice announced [7] on April 4 the creation of a "Title IX Special Investigations Team" tasked with ensuring "rapid and consistent investigations" of Title IX complaints via a new "rapid resolution investigation process." There is currently a backlog in cases at OCR, reports [8] Inside Higher Ed, an issue exacerbated by a recent 50 percent reduction in staff in the office. The new collaboration aligns with President Trump's executive orders on "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports [9]" and "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism [10]."

Reductions in Force
The U.S. Appeals Court for the 4th Circuit overturned a preliminary injunction on April 9 that had instructed the federal administration to reinstate up to 24,000 probationary employees at nearly 20 federal agencies who had been fired, reports [11] Colorado Newsline. The appeals court ruled 2-1 that 20 Democratic states, including Colorado [12], lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. The ruling follows a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on April 8 lifting an injunction in a separate lawsuit that impacted six federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, reports [13] Reuters. The decisions allow the administration to proceed with large scale reductions in force across the federal government as litigation challenging the layoffs is considered.

National Endowment for the Humanities
Last week, 145 of the 180 person staff at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) were placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, reports [14]NPR. The administration has also terminated an estimated 1,200 NEH grants, including funding for all state humanities councils, reports [15] the Washington Post. Nearly half of NEH's budget goes directly to humanities councils in every U.S. state and jurisdiction. The National Humanities Alliance [16], a nationwide coalition that advocates for the humanities, is working to understand the full scope of terminations. NEH is authorized in statute via the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-209) [17].

Institute of Museum and Library Services
The American Library Association filed a lawsuit on April 8 seeking a preliminary injunction to reverse staffing and grant cuts that effectively dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), reports [18] the New York Times. A coalition of 21 states, including Colorado [19], filed a similar lawsuit on April 4. The 70 person IMLS staff were put on administrative leave last week. The cuts follow an executive order, "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy [20]," issued in March, directing the elimination of non-statutory functions for seven federal agencies including IMLS. Most IMLS activities are authorized in statute via the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, legislation that was reauthorized in 2018 (P.L. 115-410 [21]).

FDA Announces Plan to Phase Out Animal Testing for Certain Drugs
On April 10, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Markary announced [22] the agency will begin to phase out animal testing for monoclonal antibodies therapies and other drugs with human-relevant methods. According to the FDA, they hope this change will “improve drug safety and accelerate the evaluation process, while reducing animal experimentation, lowering Research and Development (R&D) costs.”

Budget Resolution Advances
Congressional Republicans passed a revised budget resolution for fiscal year (FY) 2025 this week, completing the first step in the budget reconciliation process, the main vehicle for enacting the President's domestic agenda without bipartisan support.

The resolution calls for Congress to extend current tax cuts that expire at the end of 2025; make new investments in defense, energy, and immigration programs; and find $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to federal programs including Medicaid and Medicare and $330 billion from higher education programs. Additionally, the framework will extend the debt ceiling until 2027.  

Now that both chambers have passed identical budgets, congressional committees will begin considering legislation based on the policies outlined in the resolution. The resolution passed the Senate on April 5 by a vote of 51-48 [23] and the House on April 10 by a vote of 216-214 [24]. The Colorado congressional delegation voted along party lines.

We recognize the challenges and uncertainty on our campuses during this time of change at the national level. We assure you the Federal Relations and General Counsel teams are monitoring developments to keep you informed.  We appreciate all that you do and will continue to do for CU, and together we will navigate these changes. Please know we are here for you, and we are working closely with the President and Chancellors as well as the Colorado congressional delegation. We encourage you to contact your campus leadership with questions. Please visit the CU System Federal Transitions Update page [25] for up-to-date communications and federal memos.   

Kerry Tipper, Vice President, University Counsel 
Danielle Radovich Piper, Sr. VP External Relations and Strategy