Last updated: July 21, 2026
On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a proposed rule to update the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance; 2 CFR § 200).
These proposed revisions would codify and expand on various executive orders and memoranda issued since January 2025.
Proposed Changes
The proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance would impact many areas relevant to federal awards, through:
- Expanded agency discretion in funding decisions;
- Expanded agency abilities to suspend and terminate grants;
- Changes in allowable and unallowable costs on grants;
- Restrictions on international collaboration and expanded reporting and monitoring of subrecipients;
- Elimination of fixed amount awards and subawards.
The proposed rule will not impact indirect cost (F&A) policies.
Impacts
The changes, if implemented, would have a significant impact on all recipients of federal grant funds, including WSU. The rule would increase administrative burdens and risk for federal grant recipients.
Response
The proposed rule is not final. The public comment period closed July 13 and OMB and is currently reviewing the nearly 500,000 comments submitted. OMB will issue a response to the comments in the coming months that may or may not include substantive changes to the proposed revisions.
The Office of Research and other relevant areas worked with the Office of External Affairs and Government Relations to develop and submit an institutional response on behalf of WSU. The text of WSU’s comment is available through the link below (WSU login required).
The WSU Federal Relations team in Washington, D.C., will continue to keep members of our congressional delegation informed of any potential negative impacts of the proposed changes.
Resources
Membership organizations representing US institutions of higher education have submitted comprehensive responses to the proposed changes which they have made publicly available.