A federal judge in Massachusetts has issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday blocking the Department of Energy’s new policy that would reduce universities research grant funds to 15%.
U.S. district judge Allison Burroughs granted the order and allowed for DOE to appeal by April 22. A hearing for the motion is scheduled at 11:00 a.m. on April 28.
On April 11, the DOE announced a new policy that would cut the funding of “indirect costs” of research grants to 15%. Indirect costs include administrative and facilities costs.
The DOE said it provides over $2.5 billion yearly to over 300 colleges and universities to support Department-approved research. In the April 11 press release, according to the DOE, the average rate of indirect costs sustained by grant recipients at colleges and universities was more than 30%.
A group of universities and education groups filed a lawsuit on Monday in a U.S. district in Massachusetts in response to the DOE’s new policy.
Among the plaintiffs of the case are Brown University, Cornell University, University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Princeton University, the University of Rochester, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education and the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities.
The plaintiffs argued in the complaint that the indirect costs are “necessary” for research to individualized projects such as nuclear-rated facilities. They claimed the effects of enactment of the new DOE policy would “be immediate and devastating”, as stated in the complaint.
Additionally, the plaintiffs claimed that the proposed policy would jeopardize DOE-funded programs at the universities at the 15% rate. They particularly stated that the development of advanced nuclear and cybersecurity technologies would be affected.
DOE did not comment on the ongoing litigation when asked by the Exchange Monitor.
In February, the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) also proposed a similar policy that reduces NIH research funding for “indirect costs” at 15% at research institutions and universities. A group of medical education groups also challenged that policy with a lawsuit.
On April 4, a federal judge in Massachusetts permanently blocked the NIH from limiting indirect costs at 15% for research grants. The NIH has appealed that motion.
Both lawsuits were filed at the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
