(Bloomberg) -- The White House is giving federal grant recipients more flexibility because of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing agencies to extend some grants and waive some reporting requirements.
The flexibility laid out in the memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget is similar to the relaxed rules given to programs directly working on COVID-19 research and response.
It’s the latest of a number of measures OMB has taken in recent days to relax bureaucratic requirements during the public health emergency.
The memo also allows the federal government to pick up some otherwise non-reimbursable virus-related expenses, including for canceled events or travel.
“Many of the operational impacts and costs are unknowable at this point, as they will depend on the spread of the coronavirus and response dictated by public health needs,” wrote OMB Deputy Director Margaret Weichert in the memo.
She encouraged agencies to “be prudent in their stewardship of federal resources,” but also consider the effect of cost savings as travel and training budgets are reduced.
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