Rule2025-16321
Terminating National Institutes of Health Minority Biomedical Research Support Program and Rescinding the Program's Related Regulation
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 26, 2025
Effective
September 25, 2025
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services Department
Abstract
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is repealing the regulation relating to the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) program in compliance with Executive Order (E.O.) 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) and E.O. 14151 (Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing), and to abide by Supreme Court precedent. HHS remains committed to ensuring equal treatment under the law throughout its grant programs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 163 (Tuesday, August 26, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 26, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41516-41517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16321]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
42 CFR Part 52c
[Docket No. NIH-2025-0001]
RIN 0925-AA72
Terminating National Institutes of Health Minority Biomedical
Research Support Program and Rescinding the Program's Related
Regulation
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in
consultation with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is repealing
the regulation relating to the Minority Biomedical Research Support
(MBRS) program in compliance with Executive Order (E.O.) 14173 (Ending
Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) and E.O.
14151 (Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and
Preferencing), and to abide by Supreme Court precedent. HHS remains
committed to ensuring equal treatment under the law throughout its
grant programs.
DATES: This final rule is effective September 25, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Zorn, Deputy General Counsel,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General
Counsel, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone:
[[Page 41517]]
(202) 795-7645. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f220e1b1b070a184135001d012f07071c41080019"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e133f2a2a363b297004312c301e36362d70393128">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Discussion
The MBRS program prioritizes racial classifications in awarding
federal funding. The stated goal of the program is to ``increase the
numbers of ethnic minority faculty, students, and investigators engaged
in biomedical research and to broaden the opportunities for
participants in biomedical research of ethnic minority faculty,
students, and investigators'' \1\ and relies on ``minority student
enrollment'' to determine applicant eligibility.\2\
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\1\ Part 52c--Minority Biomedical Research Support Program, 45
FR 12,246 (Feb. 25, 1980).
\2\ 42 CFR 52c.3(a).
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The regulation and the MBRS program generally are contrary to the
Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v.
President and Fellows of Harvard College,\3\ which held that race-based
affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection
Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964. The goal of promoting diversity, even if commendable, cannot
survive review under equal protection principles.\4\
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\3\ 600 U.S. 181 (2023).
\4\ Id. at 214.
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The principles identified in Students for Fair Admissions also
apply to the federal government \5\ and require repeal of the MBRS
program. Therefore, HHS is repealing the regulation codified at 42 CFR
52c and terminating the MBRS program.
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\5\ See Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448, 480 (1980).
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II. Procedural Issues
Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), an agency may dispense with the
notice-and-comment procedures when it finds the notice-and-comment to
be ``impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.''
Because the MBRS regulations are contrary to Supreme Court precedent on
their face, the NIH finds good cause that notice-and-comment on this
final rule is impractical, unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest.
This final rule has been determined to be exempt from review for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
This rule does not impose information collection and recordkeeping
requirements and therefore does not need to be reviewed by the Office
of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 52c
Educational study programs, Grant programs--health, Medical
research, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
PART 52c--[REMOVED AND RESERVED]
0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, under the authority of 42
U.S.C. 241, HHS amends Subchapter D of Chapter I of Title 42 of the
Code of Federal Regulations by removing part 52c.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2025-16321 Filed 8-25-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P
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