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The award notice received by petitioner indicated that he would
receive a $25,000 stipend in the initial 12-month period and that
future support was recommended for two additional budget periods
"subject to availability of funds and satisfactory progress".
Respondent contends that petitioner's fellowship support beyond
the initial 12-month period was not guaranteed pursuant to the
preprinted conditions for future support stated in the award
notice. In our view, however, those conditions do not prevent
the award from being a firm commitment within the meaning of the
proposed regulation.
As noted in the regulation itself, a firm commitment to
provide support exists "even if the scholarship or fellowship
grant is subject to a condition that the recipient remain in good
standing or maintain a specific grade point average." Thus, the
requirement that petitioner maintain "satisfactory progress" is
clearly addressed by the regulation and does not prevent his
award from being considered a firm commitment for support beyond
the initial award year.
Similarly, the preprinted condition in the award notice
indicating that petitioner's future support was "subject to
availability of funds" does not, in our view, preclude us from
holding that the award was a firm commitment of support for a
period of 2 years and 9 months. An NIGMS grants management
official indicated at trial that the agency had single fiscal
year spending authority and that approval had to be obtained from
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