A stopgap pauses a rule that would let appointees veto grants, protecting billions bound for Alaska

Federal grant money bound for Alaska tribes, municipalities and nonprofits will stay under existing award rules through Dec. 11 under the continuing resolution the U.S. Senate passed Saturday, 90-6.

The stopgap bars the Office of Management and Budget from finalizing a proposed rewrite of federal grantmaking rules that would put senior political appointees in charge of awarding and terminating grants, both new and existing. OMB says the reviews would ensure awards align with presidential policy priorities. Critics say they would let partisan considerations override merit.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski put it in the latter terms, saying the bill "pauses OMB from finalizing a controversial proposal that would allow political appointees to halt and veto grants based on partisan ideology rather than merit." She called a stopgap "no one's preference, and certainly not mine," but said that without one, "we are headed for another shutdown that hurts Americans who rely on federal programs and services, as well as federal employees." The bill gives Congress roughly four months to pass individual appropriations bills and adjusts funding for programs like WIC "that families depend on to make ends meet."

Alaska has received $13.81 billion in federal award dollars across 16,330 awards as of late July, according to USAspending.gov. The Alaska Municipal League asked OMB in June to withdraw the proposal, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors called Saturday for Congress to block the rule permanently.