From the National Council of Nonprofits
The U.S. Senate voted 90 to 6 to approve a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government open and funded through December 11. The CR includes a key bipartisan provision temporarily blocking the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from finalizing proposed sweeping changes to overhaul federal grantmaking. The CR must now head to the U.S. House of Representatives. If enacted, the temporary delay would be a significant win for nonprofits, state, local, and Tribal governments, and other grantees, and the communities they serve. The administration had previously stated plans to finalize the regulation before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.
The proposed rule, if implemented, would create significant financial risk and instability for federal grantees, including nonprofits, making it more difficult to provide vital services to communities. Grantees would be faced with unpredictable financial, legal, and reputational risks that increase the costs of accepting federal awards. Many effective and qualified grantees may be unable to accept those risks. This could lead to disruptions to essential services in communities and states nationwide. NCN submitted comments and led a national letter signed by nearly 2,000 organizations to urge OMB to withdraw the proposed rule. Nearly 500,000 comments were submitted.
For more details, see NCN’s summary of the proposal and chart of key provisions, or read the proposal in its entirety.