Space Policy Edition: A proposal to stifle American science

The White House's Office of Management and Budget has released a sweeping 400-page proposed rule change that would fundamentally alter how the U.S. federal government manages grants, affecting everything from NASA research to biomedical science and community programs. In this episode, Casey Dreier is joined by Liz Ginexi, a former Program Officer at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, to break down what these changes would mean for American science. Among the most significant proposals: replacing merit-based peer review with partisan political review, allowing grants to be terminated at any time without justification, and restricting scientists' ability to publish their work and attend conferences. Together, Casey and Liz explain how a document dressed up in procedural language could centralize unprecedented control over U.S. scientific funding under a single White House office.

Related Reading and References

• Federal Grant Rule Comparison Dashboard
• Submit your comments on the proposed rule using The Planetary Society’s advocacy action center
• When science answers to politics: A proposed rule could reshape how the United States funds space and science research
• Elizabeth Genexi Substack
• Proposed new US funding rules: We can cancel any grant at any time
• Save NASA Science Action Hub
• Subscribe to the monthly Space Advocate newsletter