Comment on FR Doc # 2026-12725 from Jacqueline Griswold
AnonymousOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter opposes the updated NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, arguing that it unconstitutionally shifts funding power to executive appointees and prioritizes political agendas over scientific merit. They further contend that the changes restrict academic freedom, burden the publication of findings, and will ultimately hinder scientific advancement in the United States.
The National Science Foundation updated Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide is in direct conflict with the role of Congress in allocating federal money, and instead moves this power into the hands of an Executive branch political appointee. Therefore, these changes are in direct opposition to the US Constitution. Further, these changes remove carefully designed, unbiased awards based on scientific merit and instead award grants based on political agenda. This undermines the integrity of the awarding process, as well as the public's faith in scientific research. Additionally, these changes restrict both the communication and publishing of findings, both of which depend on the specific requirements within each scientific discipline. These changes will place undue burden on communication and publishing, processes which are already slow and laborious. Finally, the regulations imposed by these changes erode the academic freedom of independent universities and of individual researchers. A vital part of the scientific process is considering all real and potential variables within your system of study, and by limiting what can be researched in any way necessarily skews and obfuscates all results. This ability to address all possible angles is why academic freedom has been such a vital component of scientific research here in the US, and why the US has remained ahead of the rest of the world in scientific advancement. By stripping academic freedom, these changes will cripple scientific advancement in the US, placing us at an extreme disadvantage on the world stage. For all of these reasons, the updates to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide must be revoked immediately.