Keith’s note: The Federal Government recently issued “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” which, if implemented, would gut the way that American science has been evaluated and conducted for the better part of a century. At a time when the avowed stance of the Administration to pursue “Gold Standard Science“ and assert global leadership in science and technology this regulation would infect it with politics, fatally hamper its ability to thrive, and turn it into lead instead of gold. Planetary scientist Mark Sykes (who is also a lawyer) penned an analysis a month ago. Below is a revised version.
Mark V. Sykes, Ph.D., J.D. Senior Scientist Planetary Science Institute sykes@psi.edu
The following is my personal opinion and does not represent the view of the Planetary Science Institute and does not make any representations of behalf of the Planetary Science Institute.
I have been an active planetary scientist for 45 years, funded by federal awards primarily from NASA. I have served on numerous NASA advisory groups and panels, including advising on the grant selection process of a number of NASA programs. I have been a community advocate for federal funding of planetary-related grant programs and have testified before Congress on the subject.
I have been a community leader, chairing the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Association. For more than 20 years, I was CEO of the Planetary Science Institute, during which I built it into one of the largest private employers of planetary scientists in the world.
I retired from that position a little more than a year ago. As a “soft- money” institution, PSI depends upon being successful in the competitive acquisition of grant and contract awards. In that position I became quite familiar with the Uniform Guidance (2CFR200) and its antecedent regulations. I am consequently alarmed by the OMB proposal “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” and feel that it should be withdrawn or otherwise rejected in its entirety.
This proposal reflects anti-American and anti-science (equivalent to anti-God) values, it reduces the return on investment in federally funded science to the American taxpayer, it encourages corruption, it decreases transparency to the public, it cripples important international collaborations, and it is fundamentally uninformed and poorly crafted. The consequences to organizations like PSI and American science in general will be devastating. Even if a new Administration comes in two years from now and reverses everything, the damage will continue to be felt for years to come, and perhaps be irreversible.
Comments on some specific proposed provisions (not exhaustive) reinforce this perspective (provisions listed in Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal- financial-assistance)
