Dear Colleagues,

Please find a federal government update from our teams.

Congress Approves White House Rescissions Package
Congress approved H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025 on July 17, legislation that rescinds $9 billion in previously approved funding from the Fiscal Year 2025 budget at the request of the White House. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 51-48 and the House by a vote of 216-213, mostly along party-lines. This is the first rescission package approved by Congress since 1999.

The package cuts over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which includes National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS). It also rescinds nearly $8 billion from foreign aid programs, including at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The final package omits a proposed $400 million cut to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. The White House is expected to send additional rescission packages to Congress for consideration, reports The Hill.

CIRES Director Testifies Before Congress
Waleed Abdalati, director of CIRES at CU Boulder, testified on July 16 before the Environment Subcommittee of the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. The hearing, titled “Protecting Lives and Property: Harnessing Innovative Technologies to Enhance Weather Forecasting,” highlighted current and emerging technologies critical to the timeliness and effectiveness of weather forecasting as well as H.R. 3816, the Weather Authorization Act of 2025. The national importance – and need for continued investment – in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research conducted through the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and its university-based network of 16 Cooperative Institutes, was also highlighted throughout the hearing. CIRES is the oldest and largest of the Cooperative Institutes. The webcast is available here.

 Supreme Court Lifts Preliminary Injunction Preventing ED Layoffs
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a preliminary injunction by a vote of 6-3 on July 14 allowing the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to proceed with implementing mass layoffs of nearly 40 percent of its workforce. A district court judge issued the injunction pausing the layoffs in May, saying the proposed staffing cuts were so drastic they would prevent the Department from carrying out its statutory obligations, reports POLITICO.

ED originally announced the layoffs in March, after which the White House issued an executive order, Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities, directing the Secretary of Education to "facilitate" closure of the Department, a move that requires congressional approval. The majority justices did not provide an explanation for the decision to lift the injunction, although it is consistent with a July 8 ruling that vacated a separate preliminary injunction preventing mass layoffs and closures at 22 federal agencies. Numerous federal agencies, including Health and Human Services and the State and Education departments, have begun implementing layoffs following the high court’s decision.

NIH Announces New Policies Regarding Applications and Open Access Policy
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued new guidance entitled, Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications, on July 17 to clarify the appropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the research application process. NIH is also instituting a new policy limiting the number of applications that NIH will consider per Principal Investigator (PI) per calendar year.

According to the policy, NIH will not “consider applications that are either substantially developed by AI, or contain sections substantially developed by AI, to be original ideas of applicants.” NIH also updated its enforcement action regarding a grant that has AI detected post award. Additionally, the NIH will be limiting PIs to “six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications for all council rounds in a calendar year.”

Additionally, the agency announced NIH-funded researchers will be required to make scientific papers available to read for free as soon as they are published in a peer-reviewed journal, effective July 1, 2025. This policy, first introduced by the Biden Administration, was originally set to take effect on Dec. 31, 2025.  

The Federal Relations and General Counsel teams are actively monitoring developments.  We are working closely with the President and Chancellors as well as the Colorado congressional delegation to champion CU priorities. We are committed to keeping you informed. Please visit the CU System Federal Updates and Actions page (previously titled Federal Transition Updates) for up-to-date communications and federal memos.

Kerry Tipper, Vice President, University Counsel  
Danielle Radovich Piper, Sr. VP External Relations and Strategy