[Research] USDA General Terms and Conditions: Lawsuit and Campus Guidance

[Cynthia J. Johnson]

*~~ Please disseminate this information with those researchers and research
administrators in your department who may find it noteworthy ~~*





*USDA Releases New Terms and Conditions (dated 12/31/2025)*

*Which Is The Subject of Litigation*



The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the following USDA Terms and
Conditions
<https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-general-terms-conditions-2025.pdf>
(effective
12/31/2025) which are applicable to new awards and amendments to existing
awards which incorporate these new terms and conditions. Per the USDA
website
<https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/general-information/staff-offices/office-chief-financial-officer/federal-financial-assistance-policy/usda-general-terms-and-conditions>,
“Recipients who receive USDA grants, cooperative agreements, and similar
arrangements (including mutual interest agreements), must comply with the
applicable USDA General Terms and Conditions…These terms and conditions are
in addition to the assurance and certifications made as part of the award
or agreement, and any terms, conditions, and restrictions reflected on or
in the official award or agreement document.”


*Please be advised that the new USDA Terms & Conditions appear problematic
and are the subject of a new lawsuit.* UC Legal is working with the
California Attorney General’s office to file a declaration in support of
the lawsuit filed by California and about twenty (20) other states
(*Massachusetts
et al. v. USDA et al* Case No. 1:26-cv-11396) challenging the USDA Terms
and Conditions. The Plaintiff States filed a Motion for Preliminary
Injunction asking the court to preliminarily enjoin USDA from applying and
enforcing the challenged conditions to Plaintiff States.  For further
specifics on this matter, please refer to the attached copy of the lawsuit
as well as the attached memo supporting the Motion for Preliminary
Injunction.

UC Legal hopes to know more about how the Court will rule on that motion in
the next few weeks.



*** UC INTERIM GUIDANCE ***



*USDA Funded Awards - (including agencies within the USDA, such as NIFA and
APHIS)*



The CA Attorney General’s Office and UC Legal have requested the campuses
to hold off on accepting/certifying to the new terms, pending the outcome
of the preliminary injunction. Accordingly, RED is temporarily holding off
on executing and processing newly received USDA awards (including incoming
subawards) and amendments to existing awards/subawards which incorporate
the new USDA General Terms and Conditions.



UC Legal has also requested that campuses wait to draw down on USDA awarded
funds and to hold off on taking other actions that would require
certifying to the new USDA Terms and Conditions.



*USDA Proposals*



RED is aware of a USDA proposal deadline next week. For such proposals, the
following Reservation of Rights language should be included with the
application:



*“The USDA General Terms and Conditions include multiple terms and
conditions that are the subject of ongoing litigation in Massachusetts v.
USDA, Case No. 26-cv-11396 (D. Mass), including Sections 12.2, 13.5, 13.8
and 13.10 of the USDA General Terms and Conditions for Federal Awards.*

*By submitting this application, University of California Riverside does
not agree to the disputed terms and reserves the right to review the
applicable terms at the time it receives any proposed award in light of any
developments in that ongoing litigation.”*





*Office Hours: Kuali Sponsored Programs*



Please join us for the Kuali Sponsored Programs Office Hours which meets on
the *first and third Thursday* of each month from 9 – 9:30 a.m. via the
following *new ZOOM link*:
https://ucr.zoom.us/j/91549349837?pwd=7acOMgGLk5bLVMXyHSPMSkHPTo0bhA.1&jst=2
.



*We hope to see you there!*





*Research List-Serv*

Do you know of someone in your department who is not currently registered
to receive newsletters (such as this one) from the Research listserv, but
would like to?  If so, please forward their name and email address to
Cynthia Johnson at cwells at ucr.edu.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/research/attachments/20260410/3762a444/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: MA v. USDA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 814920 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/research/attachments/20260410/3762a444/attachment-0002.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 043 Plaintiff's Mem iso Mot for Preliminary Injunction  (USDA 3.30.26).pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 523587 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/research/attachments/20260410/3762a444/attachment-0003.pdf>