Weekly Federal Update Brief

May 7, 2025

Dear UC colleagues,

Last week, the federal administration announced several proposals and actions that could significantly impact the University if implemented. The NSF issued a policy notice that it would cap the rate at which universities are reimbursed for facility and administrative (F&A) costs at 15%. UC joined with the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the American Council on Education (ACE) and 12 other research institutions in a lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision. The NSF funding UC receives supports critical and innovative research on advanced materials, machine learning, biomedical sciences and therapeutics, and lifesaving applications to predict and better understand earthquakes, wildfires, ocean systems, atmospheric rivers, and more.

On the same day, the administration also released its proposed fiscal year (FY) 2026 “skinny” budget, which would cut $163 billion in non-defense discretionary spending, including to Department of Education funding that supports federal financial aid programs and programs that serve low-income and first-generation students with financial aid counseling and academic advising. The proposed budget also calls for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, and it would cut $4.9 billion from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and $17.97 billion from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). President Drake issued a statement of concern about the proposed budget and expressed a willingness to work with federal partners on solutions as the budget process continues. This is just the first step in the budget and appropriations process, and Congress will now begin its work to consider and pass funding bills for the next federal fiscal year. We will continue to work with Congress to advocate for the agencies and programs that support the University and its mission.

On Tuesday, the AAU along with ACE, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and other partner organizations issued a joint statement expressing concern over federal actions that “endanger government-campus scientific partnership" and pledged to work together to combat campus antisemitism.

You can stay up-to-date on the latest information by visiting the UC Federal Updates website. 

Best,

Meredith Vivian Turner
Senior Vice President
External Relations & Communications
UC Office of the President

University Response & Communications

  • Washington, D.C. Advocacy: This week, the UC Council of Vice Chancellors for Research Advocacy were in Washington, D.C. to for their annual convening as well as congressional and agency advocacy meetings focused on issues related to research funding, including grant freezes and cancellations, F&A costs and the FY 2026 budget and appropriations.

New Resources 

  • UC analysis of the “skinny” budget: Following the release of the administration’s FY 2026 “skinny" budget, UC FGR reviewed and analyzed the proposal and developed a high-level summary as it relates the University’s federal funding priorities.

  • UC’s FY 2026 federal funding priorities: Prior to the release of the administration’s FY 2026 “skinny” budget, UC FGR finalized the University’s FY 2026 federal funding (appropriations) priorities. These were shared with the California congressional delegation along with a letterfrom President Drake and an appropriations tracker for easy agency and programmatic priority reference. 

Media Highlights

For ongoing updates and resources, please visit the UC Federal Updates website.