U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nathan Sands, 52nd Security Forces Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of counter unmanned aircraft systems, prepares a drone during a joint UAS response exercise at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, July 29, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Maria Umanzor Guzman)
By Kritika Agarwal
On Wednesday, December 10, the House of Representatives voted 312-112 to pass the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act. The “must-pass” annual legislation authorizes spending and sets policies for the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons programs.
Several provisions of concern that AAU and other higher-education leaders had identified and highlighted to lawmakers ultimately were excluded from the final version of the legislation, while other provisions AAU supported were included.
This year’s bill authorizes $890.6 billion in FY26 for national defense-related spending – $8 billion more than President Trump proposed in his annual budget request. It includes $855.7 billion for the DOD, $34.3 billion for DOE’s national security programs, and $512.4 million for other defense-related activities.
A host of measures related to science and research security are often proposed for inclusion in the bill. AAU and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities outlined our recommendations for the bill in a November 3 letter to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
Some provisions of note in this year’s 3,086-page bill include:
Section 230: Prevents DOD from unilaterally modifying indirect cost rates until it has “worked with the extramural research community, including representatives from universities, university associations, independent research institutes, and private foundations” to develop an alternative indirect cost model. The section also directs the DOD to implement the alternative model with an “adequate transition time.”
AAU has been involved with the Joint Associations Group (JAG) on Indirect Costs, which has been working to develop a new approach for determining how the federal government funds the indirect costs of university research.
- Section 215: Continues a provision from last year’s bill that restricts DOD funding for researchers receiving support from a foreign entity identified on the department’s 1286 list, which identifies foreign institutions engaging in problematic activities that pose a threat to U.S. national security. AAU had advocated for the inclusion of this research security policy in our letter.
- Section 222: Directs the secretary of the Army to create partnerships with research universities “to provide a platform for university-based researchers and small businesses to collaborate directly with soldiers on innovative applied research and development.”
- Section 224: Directs the secretary of defense to establish one or more National Security and Defense Artificial Intelligence Institutes focused on “a cross-cutting challenge or foundational science for artificial intelligence systems in the national security and defense sector” at higher education institutions.
- Section 851: Bars biotechnology companies from “foreign adversary” nations, including China, from receiving federal funding.
Of note, this year’s final negotiated agreement does not include the SAFE Research Act, which AAU and APLU had opposed in a separate October 15 letter. The SAFE Research Act would have prohibited all federal agencies – not just DOD – from funding researchers who collaborate with “hostile foreign entities” or “foreign-adversary-controlled entities.”
AAU had argued that the bill’s enormously broad definitions would have functionally required “any U.S. institution of higher education and their faculty to terminate all engagements with numerous international universities and researchers as a condition of federal funding.”
The bill also excluded other provisions of concern that AAU and APLU had identified in our joint November 3 letter. The bill now proceeds to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. The White House has also signaled support for the bill.
Kritika Agarwal is assistant vice president for communications at AAU.