The letter, jointly submitted by the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), urges the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to expeditiously implement the Research Policy Board as mandated by Section 2034 of the 21st Century Cures Act. The correspondents, representing over 200 research universities, emphasize that the Cures Act incorporates key recommendations from the National Academies designed to reduce the administrative burden on researchers without compromising oversight of federally funded research. They note that the Act requires OMB to establish the Board and its process for appointing members within a year of enactment, with the Board’s remit including the review, streamlining, and harmonization of federal research regulations and reporting requirements.
The letter highlights the escalating regulatory costs and unreimbursed university expenses—which now exceed $6 billion annually—and the growing proportion of researchers’ time consumed by compliance activities. The creation of the Research Policy Board is presented as a critical opportunity for knowledgeable university officials to collaborate with federal policymakers to ensure effective, efficient, and less burdensome regulation, allowing more focus on innovative research. The signatories affirm their longstanding engagement in regulatory reform efforts and express willingness to collaborate further with OMB to realize the statutory mandates and the intended policy benefits of the Cures Act.
