The U.S. Senate has passed a stopgap spending bill that, in addition to avoiding a government shutdown at the end of September, would preclude the White House Office of Management and Budget from finalizing a proposal that seeks to fundamentally redraw the ground rules for all federally funded research (The Cancer Letter, Aug. 7, 2026).
The bill passed with an overwhelming majority of senators (90-6) on Aug. 8, just before the chamber closed for a five-week summer recess.
The revision to Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (commonly known as the ‘‘Uniform Guidance’’) attempts to make several policy changes, including expanding the power of political appointees in research funding decisions and restricting international collaboration among scientists.
Since the proposal was published in late May, the scientific community has responded with widespread opposition to the proposed changes (The Cancer Letter, June 12, 2026). Among the nearly 500,000 comments OMB has received during a public comment period were declarations of protest from prominent voices in oncology, including The Association for Clinical Oncology, The American Association for Cancer Research, The National Breast Cancer Coalition, and Association of American Cancer Institutes (The Cancer Letter, July 17, 2026).
The bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives, which will return from its summer recess on Aug. 31.
