Comment on OMB-2026-0034-0001

Keeling Curve Foundation June 24, 2026 Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Office of Management and Budget Submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov Re: Public Comment on the Proposed Rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance,” Docket No. OMB-2026-0034 (Fed. Reg., May 29, 2026); Specifically Termination of Active Awards for Convenience (§200.340). To the Office of Management and Budget: The Keeling Curve Foundation submits these comments with input from our Science Advisory Council in response to the proposed rule “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” (Docket No. OMB-2026-0034), published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2026. The Council comprises scientists with direct expertise in sustained, long-term Earth observations (LTEOs) — the continuous, multi-decadal measurement programs that document change in Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and land surface including inland waters. Programs of this kind, including the Mauna Loa atmospheric CO₂ record from which our Foundation takes its name, derive their scientific value precisely from uninterrupted continuity maintained across successive administrations, budget cycles, and shifting priorities. Long-term Earth Observations are not isolated scientific exercises. They underpin our national security, human health, economy, and overall well-being. First responders, state and local agencies, national infrastructure, the military, private companies, and countless others rely on LTEOs for timely, accurate information to ensure our nation prospers and is safe in a dynamic Earth system that requires the best scientific evidence and interpretation to make decisions. Consistent with guidance on effective public comment, we do not address every provision of the proposed rule. We rather focus on specific provisions that, in our expert judgment, pose the most near-term risk to US leadership in federal capacity to sustain LTEO records. We list these provisions in order of the severity of their expected impact on LTEO programs, followed by a brief procedural note. A characteristic of LTEOs, relevant to every comment below, is that their value is cumulative rather than immediate, and damage to them is frequently irreversible. A gap of even one to two years in a continuous time series can permanently degrade the scientific value of the entire record: once gaps appear, statistical characterization of variability and long-term trends becomes substantially less robust and, in some cases, intractable. Provisions that introduce discretionary interruption carry consequences for LTEO programs disproportionate to their apparent administrative scope. 1. Termination of Active Awards for Convenience (§200.340) The proposed rule codifies and expands the authority to terminate active awards mid-performance on the ground that they are “inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities,” requiring only a brief written rationale and no finding of noncompliance or fraud. This provision poses the single greatest threat to LTEOs among the proposed rule changes. LTEO programs depend on seamless, sustained support and on continuity of instrumentation, methodology, personnel, and institutional memory. LTEOs are uniquely vulnerable to discretionary termination because their benefits accrue over decades rather than over budget or governmental cycles, which makes them easy targets whenever short-term priorities are given precedence. Records such as the Mauna Loa CO₂ series, U.S. Geological Survey streamgage records, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s long-term weather, atmospheric, and ocean observations are extraordinarily valuable, specifically because they were maintained continuously through changing circumstances. Sustaining that continuity has historically been a core strength of the federal science enterprise. The proposed rule changes would fundamentally undermine these benefits to our country. Unlike the federal contracts on which the “termination for convenience” concept is modeled, research awards allow investigators to hire and retain specialized staff, make commitments to partners and participants, and design multi-year programs on the reasonable presumption that a funded award will run its course. Authorizing termination of such awards without a substantive finding destabilizes ongoing observational programs and risks introducing irreversible and detrimental gaps. Recommendation. OMB should not proceed with this rule, or should exempt sustained LTEO programs from termination for convenience under §200.340 or, at minimum, require a documented, substantive finding—subject to the recipient’s opportunity to respond—before any multi-year observational award may be terminated mid-performance. A document with the Keeling Curve Foundation's full set of comments on the proposed rule is attached.