Washington, D.C. — Last week, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) joined House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Takano and Democratic members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in submitting a public comment opposing a proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget that would allow political appointees to make decisions relating to federal grants.

In the comment letter, the Democratic members highlighted the particular risks this rule could have on the veteran community: “Undermining agencies historically shielded from partisan influence risks immeasurable damage. Public trust is particularly critical for the veteran community: how can future generations be expected to serve if the government routinely compromises the care promised to veterans? Stable federal grant administration free from political interference is essential to maintaining that trust.”

Among other things, the proposed rule would:

• Allow political appointees, instead of subject-matter experts, to decide which grants to issue;

• Allow political appointees to terminate grants at any time if the grants don’t align with their political interests;  

• Ban funds for research or programs that support “DEI” or “gender ideology,” which will impact research and programs focused on women and minority veterans; and  

• Damage career development opportunities for researchers, which could make it harder for researchers to discuss their work and for VA to recruit and retain researchers.

This proposed rule was first published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2026, and has received consistent criticism from the scientific community and from numerous stakeholders. All Democratic members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee joined the public comment letter to express serious concerns with the proposed rule.  

Read the full text of the public comment letter here.

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