Bill · H.R. 422· House(119-HR-422)
No Subsidies for Wealthy Universities Act
- Introduced
- 1/15/2025
- Last activity
- 1/15/2025 — Referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Sponsored by
- Ben Cline
- Cosponsors
- - 3 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "No Subsidies for Wealthy Universities Act" seeks to establish new limits on how much indirect cost reimbursement institutions of higher education can receive from Federal research awards. The bill requires the Commissioner for Education Statistics to collect data on endowment fund values for participating institutions. Based on these values, the bill places different caps on indirect cost rates for different tiers of institutions. Specifically, it prohibits indirect cost use for the wealthiest institutions and limits rates for others. Additionally, it mandates annual oversight reports from the Comptroller General regarding how these costs are used.
Yes
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+6
The bill requires the Comptroller General to report on how institutions use reimbursed indirect costs for administrative and DEI compensation.
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?+5
The bill limits the amount of federal research award funds used for indirect costs at universities with large endowments.
The opposite
Does this put more money into scientific research?-4
The cap on indirect cost rates could limit the operational capacity of research institutions receiving federal funds.
Would high-income households be better off under this?-2
The bill targets institutions with extremely large endowments, which are often associated with high-wealth environments.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Transparency of Spending: The Comptroller General will submit an annual report to Congress that identifies how reimbursed indirect costs are used, specifically looking at administrative staff compensation and compensation for staff with diversity, equity, and inclusion responsibilities (Section 4).
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Public Access to Financial Data: The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is required to make lists of institutions identified by their endowment fund values available to Congress and the public (Section 3(a)(2)).
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Identification of Research Trends: The mandated annual report will identify which research fields receive the highest levels of Federal research award funding (Section 4(2)).
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Identification of Funding Sources: The annual report will identify which agencies are providing the highest amounts of Federal research award funds and which institutions are receiving them (Section 4(3)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Restrictions for High-Endowment Institutions: Institutions with endowment funds valued at more than $5,000,000,000 will be prohibited from using any Federal research award funds for indirect costs (Section 3(b)(1)).
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Rate Caps for Substantial-Endowment Institutions: Institutions with endowment funds valued between $2,000,000,000 and $5,000,000,000 will have their indirect cost rate capped at no more than 8 percent (Section 3(b)(2)).
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Rate Caps for All Other Institutions: For any institution of higher education not identified in the higher-wealth brackets, the indirect cost rate for Federal research awards will be limited to no more than 15 percent (Section 3(c)).
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New Reporting Requirements for Institutions: Institutions must now annually provide the Commissioner for Education Statistics with specific endowment fund information (Section 3(d)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+6
- Economy And Finance
- Reduces Government Spending+5
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding-4
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For High Income Households-2
- 1/21/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/15/2025
- Referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
Andrew ClydeRepublican · Georgia
Andy HarrisRepublican · Maryland
Keith SelfRepublican · Texas