A message from the Leadership Team on Federal Actions
May 8, 2025
Dear URI Faculty, Staff, and Students:
On Monday, the American Council on Education and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities—two associations of which URI is a member—along with the Association of American Universities and 13 research universities filed a joint lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The suit seeks to stop an attempt by the National Science Foundation, announced late last week, to cut the rate at which it reimburses colleges and universities for facilities and administrative (F&A) costs to 15 percent.
F&A reimbursements help cover the necessary costs associated with performing research. In the filing, the plaintiffs contend, “this policy is identical in key respects to policies of the National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy that district courts have already enjoined.”
URI submitted a declaration in the suit, supporting the plaintiffs’ filing and providing information about the negative effects the proposed F&A cap would have on the University’s ability to conduct important research that positively impacts the lives of people throughout Rhode Island and the nation.
2025 federal reconciliation tax package
We have heard from many members of our community who have questions about the federal government budget process. The Leadership Team on Federal Actions and the University’s government relations office, in close consultation with our Washington, D.C.-based government relations consultants, are following the process closely.
Currently, congressional Republicans are developing a tax legislative package through reconciliation, an expedited legislative process used to enact certain types of legislation, including tax and spending changes. Reconciliation prevents use of the filibuster and requires only a simple majority to pass through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. This legislative package is a priority for the current federal administration and will necessitate substantial cuts to existing federal programs to fund the bill as it is currently proposed.
With respect to higher education, the House’s reconciliation bill proposes major changes to federal student loan programs, such as terminating the subsidized loan program and the Grad PLUS loan program, limiting the Parent PLUS loan program, and introducing new borrowing limits. While the package would open Pell Grant access to short-term programs, it would modify the need-analysis calculation and include new full-time requirements. The proposal also introduces a “risk-sharing” requirement aimed at holding higher education institutions financially accountable for their graduates’ student loan defaults. Under the plan, universities would be required to make annual payments to the federal government based on the unpaid loan balances of their former students.
The Senate has not yet released its companion reconciliation proposals. Before a final reconciliation bill can be sent to the president, the House and Senate will need to reconcile differences in their respective proposals and reach an agreement. Due to expected disparities between the bills, Senate procedural rules, and new proposals that may or may not make the final legislative package, the reconciliation process is likely to extend for several months, possibly through the end of the calendar year.
University resources
The Federal Actions Updates webpage offers useful information for our University community. We encourage you to check the page regularly and to share the highlighted resources with your URI colleagues and classmates.
Thank you.