Overview

• U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston invalidated NSF’s May policy limiting indirect cost reimbursements to 15% of direct research funding, calling it arbitrary and capricious.
• The cap would have reduced universities’ overhead support from historically negotiated rates of 50%–65% down to 15%, threatening roughly $100 million in annual funding for institutions like the University of California.
• Federal courts have already blocked comparable caps at the National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy, and a judge temporarily halted the Department of Defense’s 15% limit ahead of a July 2 hearing.
• Leading research universities including MIT, Princeton and the University of California sued to protect vital expenses such as lab maintenance, utilities and staff salaries essential to U.S. scientific competitiveness.
• The Trump administration argued the measure would rein in $1.07 billion in annual administrative overhead and reallocate more funds to direct research activities.