SIGN ON OPPORTUNITY to impact federal indirect rates

[Christine Lagana Riordan]

Good morning HRA members,

As you know, in response to efforts by the administration to limit federal research agencies’ support for indirect costs or facilities and administrative (F&A) expenses, the Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs (JAG) has proposed the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) Model as an alternative. In turn, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have included bill and/or report language in a number of their individual FY 2026 spending bills acknowledging the work of the JAG and urging the administration to work with the extramural community before making any changes to F&A support.

HRA members have received the following request from the JAG to sign on to their Congressional letter addressing indirect rates. If your organization is interested in signing on to this letter, please follow the instructions in the link below:

Please join members of the JAG in signing the attached letter to appropriators expressing support for the work of the JAG, thanking appropriators for including language in some of the bills to date, and urging that they strengthen language in the final spending bills supporting the JAG work and prohibiting OMB from instituting arbitrary caps on federal support for research costs. Please note that the letter is open to all national organizations, societies, and associations. The letter is not intended for individual institutions at this time. To sign, staff who are authorized to sign the letter on behalf of their organization should please complete the form at this link by close of business on Friday, September 19.

Meredith Asbury

​​​​

Assistant Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy​
​Association of American Universities
​1200 New York Avenue NW | Suite 500 | Washington, DC
​Office: (202) 408‑7500

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SIGN ON LETTER:

Dear Chairman Cole, Chairwoman Collins, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Vice Chair Murray:

The ### undersigned national organizations write to express our support for the work of the Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs (JAG)’s effort to develop a new, more transparent model for ensuring that institutions’ essential research costs are adequately supported. We also express appreciation for language supporting the JAG effort included in some of the FY 2026 annual appropriations bills and accompanying reports and ask that your committees continue to include and strengthen language in the final spending bills supporting the JAG work and prohibiting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from instituting arbitrary caps on costs essential to conducting high quality scientific research.

The federal government’s investment in research leads to cures, transformative technologies, and new industries that save lives, improve Americans’ health, create new jobs, and help ensure national security. Expenses like physical lab operation and maintenance, utility costs, security, data processing, regulatory compliance, and other needs (currently collectively known as “indirect costs” or “facilities and administrative” or “F&A” support) are essential to conduct research and inseparable from support for research itself. Efforts to cut support for these essential research costs undoubtedly would lead to less research in the U.S., undermining our global leadership in science and ultimately reducing the number of American-made scientific and technological driven innovations resulting from federally funded research.

We believe that the recommendations put forward by the JAG would enhance transparency and accountability associated with federally funded research without undermining overall support critical to American science. Informed by experts from within, across, and beyond the research community and designed to accommodate institutions of all types and sizes, the JAG’s proposed Financial Accountability In Research (FAIR) model is a new approach to supporting essential research costs. While granular details of the model will need to continue to be refined through its implementation process, we believe the core of the model addresses the themes that lawmakers and policymakers have prioritized while also ensuring American leadership in science and innovation continues.

We ask lawmakers to support the work that has been done by the JAG by:

• Including appropriations bill language supporting the work of the JAG and the development and implementation of the FAIR model by the Executive Branch;
• Blocking any federal agency or OMB action to cap or otherwise change existing negotiated F&A rates until they have worked with the stakeholder community to develop a clear plan for implementation of a new system based on the FAIR model framework;
• Ensuring at least a two-year transition period for agencies and institutions to make the necessary changes to an alternative model; and
• Preserving continued support for F&A expenses at existing levels until the new model is fully implemented.

These key elements, in addition to other relevant adjustments to research agency budget caps and related policies, will be essential to ensure the success of any new model for supporting research across the nation. We urge Congress to ensure that the legislative process affords these protections to ensure that the nation’s research enterprise continues to thrive.

Sincerely,

LIST SIGNATORIES

[Author]

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