Comment from Andrew Neely

The Office of Management and Budget ,I am a doctoral candidate and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at Yale University studying the physics of topological quantum materials, with applications in superconductor and quantum computation technologies. I am writing in opposition to the proposed rule changes, particularly §200.205. Our nation’s research enterprise is likely the strongest in the world. It came to be this way in part because of our collective commitment to funding scientific research in a holistic and forward-looking way, based on the constantly evolving research landscape, and irrespective of political whims. Over the past year, attacks on research funding of this kind have made scientific progress unnaturally difficult. In my research lab, for example, we have found ourselves unable to secure funding for our work due largely to changes in the federal funding landscape. Although the proposed changes are framed in terms of national security and related interests, work like mine, which is highly strategically important, is also adversely affected by restrictions of this kind. The extra layers of red tape and extended grant approval timelines have already impeded our lab’s ability to make timely progress in our research, and adding further restrictions of any kind will only worsen this. For these reasons, these proposed rule changes would be disastrous for the American research enterprise as a whole, including strategically relevant work like mine. I urge in the strongest terms the OMB to reject these changes. Andrew Neelyandrew.neely@yale.eduNew Haven, Connecticut 06511