On December 31, 2025, the USDA released its first unified General Terms & Conditions (unified T&C’) for Federal Awards. The unified T&C are intended to replace the patchwork of USDA agency and office specific T&C, giving agencies 45 calendar days to adopt and implement the unified T&C, with any deviations needing to be approved by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). The 2025 unified T&C applies to all new awards and to significant modifications (as determined by OCFO) to existing awards, to the extent consistent with law.
USDA Press Release – December 31, 2025
USDA Secretary’s Memorandum – December 31, 2025
USDA General Terms and Conditions for Federal Awards – December 31, 2025
Executive Order-related Key Terms & Conditions: Among other terms, the unified T&C formalize the agency’s adoption and implementation of various Executive Orders and Secretary’s Memorandums that were issued in 2025, including:
- National Security & Unallowable Costs (Section 6.2) – Establishes unallowable costs due to national security concerns with a list maintained at https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/general-information/staff-offices/office-chief-financial-officer/federal-financial-assistance-policy/national-security-and-unallowable-costs, with a requirement for recipient monitoring of the list and agency communications.
- Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) by a Country of Concern (Section 10.7) – Establishes requirement that recipients certify that they are not, and will not, enter into any subawards, contract, or other agreements with any individual or entity that is subject to FOCI by a foreign country of concern or other foreign adversary. [Note: In considering this term, institutions should refer to the definition of “U.S. citizen or entity subject to foreign ownership, control, or influence (FOCI)” at the end of Section 10.0.]
- Disclosures (Section 10.8) – Establishes requirements for recipients of awards, and covered individuals working on the award, to complete the Common Forms for Biosketch and for Current and Pending (Other) Support to submit the forms at the time of application and no less than annually.
- Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) with 10-year look back (Section 10.9) – Establishes requirement for recipients of awards to certify that they, and any covered individuals working on the award are not participating in, and have not within the past 10 years, any MFTRP on the Common Forms for Biosketch and for Current and Pending (Other) Support and to recertify annually.
- Consequences for Violation of Disclosure Requirements (Section 10.10) – Establishes that violations of disclosure requirements may lead to criminal, civil, and/or administrative consequences.
- Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) and Dangerous Gain-of-Function (Section 10.11) – Establishes requirements for:
- compliance with the U.S. Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC – 2014) and the DHHS Framework for Guiding Decisions about Proposed Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens (HHS P3CO Framework – 2017).
- recipient agreement to ensure that USDA awards do not support any research that USDA will not fund (with three specified examples).
- recipients to have an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) or other Institutional Review Entity (IRE) who are responsible for the review of research involving agents covered by the Policy.
- registration of Policy-defined select agents or other potential pandemic pathogens with the CDC or USDA
- special award conditions when USDA funds research that involves the creation, transfer, or use of potential pandemic pathogens.
- recipient establishment of an Institutional Contact for Dual Use Research (ICDUR) to serve as an internal resource and agency liaison.
- record-keeping
Section 10.11 goes on to define “Dangerous gain-of-function research”, “Dual use research of concern”, “Institutional Contact for Dual Use Research”, and “Life sciences.”
- Civil Rights/Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)/Sex vs Gender Ideology funding restrictions (Sections 12.2, 13.5, and 13.6) – referencing Executive Orders (EOs) and Federal anti-discrimination laws, regulations, and policies that recipients must certify compliance with for the duration of the award.
- Compliance with Executive Orders and Other Presidential Actions (Section 13.0) – establishes requirements for the USDA and recipient organizations to comply with EOs and other Presidential Actions, listing 12 specific EOs that are “expressly incorporated” into USDA awards.
Other New or Significantly Modified Terms & Conditions – the unified T&C also incorporates several provisions that were either previously unaddressed or that have been significantly modified from prior award requirements, including:
- Conflict of Interest (Section 1.7) – establishes requirements for the disclosure and resolution of any conflict of interest (COI), including organizational COIs, requiring recipients to notify USDA within five calendar days of discovery and submit their proposed approach for resolving the conflict. Section 1.7 further authorizes USDA to review and determine the effectiveness of the recipient’s conflict management approach, prohibits recipients from requesting payment for costs associated with conflicted transactions pending USDA’s determination, and identifies cost disallowance and award termination as potential remedies for failure to disclose. [Note: Unlike the PHS fCOI framework, USDA requirements apply to any COI, including organizational COI, require agency review and approval of the conflict management approach, impose a five-day disclosure timeline, and prohibit payment requests for conflicted transactions pending USDA’s determination.]
- Records Retention, Access, and Audit Rights (Sections 5, 8, 9) – clarifies and standardizes USDA’s rights to access, inspect, and audit recipient records, including electronic systems, and clarifies record retention and post-closeout access requirements, representing a more explicit and enforceable framework than many prior USDA agency-specific terms.
- Expanded Flow-Down Requirements (Sections 5, 10) – requires recipients to flow down applicable USDA compliance, disclosure, and eligibility requirements to subawards and contracts, not solely financial and audit terms, and to actively monitor compliance, representing a broader and more explicit flow-down obligation than many prior USDA agency-specific requirements.
- Award Termination for Cause, Convenience, and Policy Noncompliance (Section 7) – establishes department-wide authority to terminate awards for cause, convenience, or based on risk, integrity, or policy concerns, representing a broader and more explicit enforcement framework than prior agency-specific requirements which were primarily focused on performance issues or financial noncompliance.
- Suspension of Payments and Imposition of Special Conditions (Sections 5, 7) – establishes USDA’s authority to suspend payments, impose special conditions, and require corrective actions at any point in an award, not only at renewal or close-out; and requires recipients to maintain effective internal controls and oversight.
- Remedies Tied to Disclosure and Information Integrity Failures (Sections 7, 10.10) – connects disclosure failures to termination and other remedies, while prior agency-specific terms often treated disclosure errors as correctable administrative issues.
- Subrecipient/Contractor Noncompliance (Sections 5, 7, 10) – establishes prime award recipient responsibility for downstream noncompliance and establishes remedies when prime recipients fail to sufficiently monitor and for ongoing downstream violations.