The Federal Government’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued memo M 20-26 to federal agencies.
This new memo:
- Rescinds flexibilities provided for research impacted by COVID-19 in memos M-20-17 and M-20-20.
- This means flexibilities provided in those memos have now expired and are only valid March 16 – June 16 2020.
- Provides an expiration date of July 26, 2020 for M-20-11.
- This memo impacts awards made directly for emergency support in response to COVID-19 and allows federal agencies to provide flexibility on extensions and reporting requirements among other areas.
- Allows individual federal agencies, if they wish, to extend flexibilities for charging salaries and other costs to federal awards impacted by COVID-19 through September 30th, 2020, with some conditions.
- Federal agencies must document that they are allowing this flexibility in order for awardees to use it.
- Departments need to review individual federal agency regulations to determine if they have been allowed to continue use of the salary and other cost flexibility and how certain conditions are imposed.
This is a complex and evolving situation. Updated information, as it becomes available, can be found on the PAFC COVID-19 web page.