Comment from Cole Graham

[200.205, 200.340] To Whom it May Concern: I am an assistant professor of mathematics. I am writing in my personal capacity to oppose the proposed revisions to sections 200.205 and 200.340 that would undermine the integrity of federal grant review processes and federal science agencies' ability to identify and fund impactful research. I am deeply concerned about the effects of § 200.205 on scientific development in the United States. Transferring grant selection to a political appointee who does not routinely defer to peer review will distort the type and compromise the quality of research pursued in this country. This change has the potential to suppress research deemed important by scientific peers, and to promote ill-founded but politically motivated investigations, both to the great detriment of the tax-paying public. The proposed § 200.340 raises similar concerns at a later stage in the research pipeline, and would introduce a chilling degree of uncertainty into large-scale research endeavors.