Legal Action in Response to Proposed DOE Cuts

To: The Caltech Community
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, President, and David A. Tirrell, Provost
Date: April 14, 2025
Re: Legal Action in Response to Proposed DOE Cuts

On Friday, April 11, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new policy action that caps at 15% the indirect cost rate on all academic grants. As concerning, the DOE noted in its announcement that grants that do not align with this rate may be rescinded in full.

In response, Caltech today joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), the American Council on Education (ACE), the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), and eight peer institutions in filing in federal court a lawsuit that seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the DOE from imposing the 15% cap.  
The DOE action follows a similar attempt by the administration to impose a cap on the indirect cost rate on grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH-rate cap, announced in February, is currently enjoined by a federal court, following the filing of several complaints including one submitted by AAU, ACE, APLU, Caltech and several peer institutions. The NIH has appealed the court's decision.

In today's filings, the full versions of which are available on the AAU website, the parties show how the proposed cuts will cause irreparable harm to the education and training of tomorrow's workforce, and to the research and innovation that are central to U.S. leadership and global competitiveness. Caltech's DOE-supported research, along with that of our peers, enables important fundamental advances and the development of new technologies in energy, nuclear science, AI, and quantum information science, among other fields.

We will keep you informed of the progress of the suit, which has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.