On Friday, January 31, 2025, a Federal Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) directing Federal grant-making agencies to "...not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate... awards and obligations on the basis of the President’s recently issued Executive Orders. This TRO also prohibits agencies from implementing or giving effect to OMB Memo M-25-13 (rescinded).
This order is temporary as litigation in the case is ongoing. Updates will be provided as they become known. Changes can be implemented at any time, and it is imperative that expenditures be processed in a timely manner accurately.
What does this TRO mean for current federal assistance awards?
Please continue working on federal assistance awards (grants, cooperative agreements).
For federal acquisition funding (federal contract), while we expect a contract amendment, please note we need the specific contract amendment before we can process a resumption of work Award Modification.
For federal assistance pass-through funding (i.e. UW is the subrecipient) while we expect a resumption letter from the pass-through entity, note we need this specific resumption letter before work resumes.
What if I received an earlier suspension notice? In light of the TRO, we are receiving updated notifications from sponsors. If OSP and GCA processed an earlier stop-work order on prime federal assistance funding, an Award Modification will be created to allow resumption of the work based on general notifications received from sponsors. You do not need to do anything to initiate the Award Modification.
If you directly receive a specific resumption notice for your award, please submit it as an OSP & GCA Award Modification in SAGE, choosing “Other” as the Category, and “Other Change” as the subcategory. Be sure to attach the specific award notice to the MOD. Please let osp@uw.edu know the MOD#.
A subrecipient received a suspension letter from the UW. Will they be able to resume work? Resumption letters have been sent, effective February 1st.
Do we expect any future interruption in payments to the University? During the timeframe the order is in effect, agencies are ordered not to interrupt obligations.
Can I ask UW to do an advance draw on my award? No, UW cannot draw funds in advance.
Thank you,
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)