7 Key Takeaways | The Changing Landscape of Federal Funding in the Trump Administration
The Trump administration has demonstrated a commitment to enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws through novel and varied mechanisms not historically associated with enforcement of such laws, upending 60-plus years of...more
On July 29, 2025, US Attorney General Bondi issued a memorandum for all federal agencies titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” (the Memo). The Memo follows multiple executive...more
If you are a federal contractor or grantee, running afoul of the Trump administration’s hardline stance against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) could leave you facing a costly investigation, substantial penalties and...more
Overview of Key Changes and Immediate Impacts - Key Policy Shift: Section 330 Grants now treated as a “Federal Public Benefit” - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now classifies the Health Center Program...more
Directs federal agencies to support the expanded use of civil commitment and institutional treatment for homeless individuals with serious mental illness or substance use disorders, while conditioning federal grants on the...more
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law. While much attention has focused on the bill’s rejection of a proposed 10-year federal ban on state and local artificial intelligence (“AI”)...more
In March 2025, the Department of Energy was rumored to be reviewing projects, which were awarded billions of dollars under the Biden Administration. This review reportedly targeted any program or project that had spent less...more
The federal government recently revoked all grants and contracts with Columbia University, citing “illegal protests” and antisemitism on campus....more
President Trump issued two anti-DEI executive orders at the start of his second term that shook up the workplace and left federal contractors and private employers wondering how to comply. Employers grappled with...more
Whistleblower Watch is a critical resource for in-house counsel and compliance professionals. Each quarter, Cozen O’Connor summarizes the most notable False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement actions, settlements, and legal trends,...more
On the heels of a $7.6 million payment by Cleveland Clinic to settle allegations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations and unallowable sharing of passwords, Michael Lauer, NIH deputy director for extramural research, penned a...more
Cyber whistleblowing is the newest and hottest area of exposure for organizations. All government contractors and grant recipients must develop an understanding of the use of the False Claims Act (FCA) to address...more
In October 2021, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, led by the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, to enhance its ongoing efforts to address cybersecurity threats. The initiative...more
Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Act), which includes new pandemic-relief grants for small and mid-sized restaurants and bars; expansion of the Paycheck Protection...more
The federal False Claims Act (FCA) has long been a powerful tool for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) — or private whistleblowers bringing suit on the DOJ’s behalf — to investigate and police activity financed with...more
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 4 (April 2020) The Food and Drug Administration has accused a University of Michigan physician and professor of conducting research for more than three years after his approval from the...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that it reached a $5,500,000 settlement with a biomedical research institute that received NIH grant funding–the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI)–to resolve allegations...more
Neurosurgeons' Compensation in Top 10 Percent Nationwide Gives Rise to Stark Act and FCA Claims - In United States ex re. Bookwalter v. UPMC, 946 F. 3d 162 (3d Cir. 2019), the court ruled that the relators stated a Stark...more
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 3 (February 20, 2020) - Despite its earlier agreement to repay just $5,442 in costs questioned by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Inspector General, the University of...more
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 2 (January 23, 2020) - - More than two years after Ozgur Tataroglu’s paper was retracted, the HHS Office of Research Integrity found that it and two grant applications contained...more
The Supreme Court held that the FCA’s extended limitations period is available to relators in qui tam cases even when the government declines to intervene. Lower courts continued to divide over the first-to-file bar,...more
On March 25, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Duke University agreed to settle a qui tam False Claims Act case for $112.5 million. The whistleblower, who pursued the case on the government’s behalf when...more
On January 25, 2017, President Donald Trump issued two Executive Orders (EO) that will affect immigration. The first EO involves border security and calls for increased immigration enforcement, more deportations, and a...more