GW Weekly Federal Update (May 15)

GW Updates

• Yesterday, the university launched a new Research Impact webpage that highlights federally-funded projects that are making a meaningful difference in our communities and around the world. The page showcases GW-led efforts that are advancing life-saving treatments, fueling economic growth, preparing the next generation of leaders and deepening our understanding of the world. The page will be expanded and updated with additional content over the coming months. The initiative aligns with similar efforts at peer institutions in response to the rapidly-evolving federal funding landscape. Please consider sharing the page with your professional networks.
   
• The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will host a two-part virtual grant writing workshop that covers fundamentals in proposal development and tips for seeking federal funding in the current environment. The first session, on June 4, will focus on identifying funding opportunities. The second session, on June 11, will focus on persuasive proposal writing. The sessions are open to all members of the GW community. Advance registration is required.
   
• On May 10, The Atlantic published an op-ed by David Michaels, epidemiologist and professor in the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Michaels and his co-author write that cuts to federal agencies that protect worker health will result in the resurgence of a preventable lung illness. Prior to joining GW, Michaels served as assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The op-ed link is accessible for two weeks.

Recent Federal Actions

• In the May 8 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update we reported that on May 5 the Department of Education sent a letter to Harvard stating that it was no longer eligible for new federal grants as a result of its “consistent violations of its own legal duties,” as well as its failure to abide by “its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigor.” ED sent this letter after Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Administration challenging the freeze of $2.2 billion in federal grants. On May 12, Harvard responded to ED’s letter, stating among other things that while the university and the Trump Administration shared “common ground on a number of critical issues, including the important of ending antisemitism and other bigotry on campus,” the university’s ability to address those issues have been “undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard’s compliance with the law.” The next day, the Trump Administration announced that it had canceled an additional $450 million in grants to the university. Harvard immediately amended its lawsuit to include claims relating to the latest cuts. The court has scheduled a hearing for July 21.
   
• In the April 10 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update we reported that on April 4, 16 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the Trump Administration challenging the Administration’s withholding and termination of NIH grant funding. On May 12, the Court denied the Administration’s motion to dismiss, which challenged the Court’s jurisdiction to hear the case. In denying the motion to dismiss, the Court expressed no opinion on the underlying merits of the complaint.
   
• On May 8, the Department of Education announced that it canceled the competition for three Fulbright-Hays grant programs – the Group Projects Abroad, Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad, and Faculty Research Abroad programs – open to doctoral students and faculty. These programs “focus on expanding American expertise in critical languages and are congressionally mandated.”
   
• On May 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act (H.R. 881) that would make higher-education institutions ineligible for funding from the Department of Homeland Security if the institution has a “relationship with a Confucius Institute, Thousand Talents Program, or Chinese entity of concern.” The bill passed by a vote of 266-153. The American Association of Universities (of which GW is a member institution) and multiple other higher education associations sent a letter to House Leadership in opposition to the bill, specifically in regards to the new and very broad definition of "Chinese entities of concern."
   
• On May 14, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the proposed FY25 budget reconciliation package. The legislation now moves to the full House for consideration. The package’s prospects in the Senate remain uncertain. If adopted, a number of provisions would impact nonprofit universities, including an expansion of the tax on endowments, increased income taxes on certain employees of tax-exempt organizations, taxation of intellectual property royalties from patents and copyrights, and increased taxes on private foundation investment income.
   
• On May 14, the House Energy and Commerce Committee completed its vote on the legislative recommendations for budget reconciliation covering energy, environment, communications, and health. Key provisions of interest to GW and the District include a $500 million AI initiative to modernize federal systems that may create future funding or collaboration opportunities, a ban on federal Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program funds for undocumented individuals—potentially costing the District $500 million annually and placing a strain on facilities like GW Hospital and community clinics—and new Medicaid work requirements that may reduce enrollment. The bill would also delay $8 billion per year in Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cuts until FY 2029–2031, temporarily safeguarding this funding for institutions like GW Hospital that serve large uninsured populations.
   
• On April 29, the Attorneys General of 24 states and the District of Columbia filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, by, e.g., “releasing members and volunteers, placing most agency staff on administrative leave in anticipation of terminations, and cancelling contracts and grants.” On May 5, a number of nonprofit organizations filed a similar lawsuit in the same court.
   
• On May 14, over 50 higher education related associations sent a joint letter to the Trump Administration criticising the Administration for, among other things, withholding funding and research grants “for political reasons and without due process,” reminding the Administration that “the government has always respected the rights of campuses, enshrined in law, to decide whom they enroll, what they teach, and how they choose to teach,” and urging the Administration to “join with colleges and universities to move forward by renewing and expanding the partnership that is essential for building a stronger America.”
   

Resources and Reminders

About this Newsletter

To ensure that students, faculty and staff feel supported and informed about how federal developments affect higher education and GW, the university launched a weekly Federal Update. This newsletter shares timely information, addresses questions and provides resources.