By Kritika Agarwal
On December 8, the United States House of Representatives voted 397-28 to reject deep proposed cuts to some of the nation’s premier science agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy Office of Science.
Lawmakers passed a package of three appropriations bills in total – the FY26 Energy-Water, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Interior-Environment bills – following bipartisan and bicameral negotiations.
The bills provide:
- $8.75 billion for the National Science Foundation (a 3% cut from FY25).
- $7.25 billion for NASA Science (a reduction of 1% from FY25).
- $8.4 billion for the Department of Energy Office of Science (a 2% increase).
- $350 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (a cut of 24%).
- $207 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts (the same level of funding as provided in FY25).
The bills thus avoid the massive cuts in funding that President Trump had requested for NSF, DOE Office of Science, NASA, NEH, and NEA. (In his annual budget request, the president had requested Congress to cut NSF’s budget by 56%, NASA Science by 47%, and DOE Office of Science by 17%. He had also proposed eliminating the NEH and NEA.)
The bills also include provisions preventing the Department of Commerce, DOE, NASA, and NSF from using the appropriated FY26 funds “to develop, modify, or implement changes” to the FY24 indirect cost negotiated rates. (Indirect costs, also known as facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, are real costs universities incur while conducting research on behalf of the American people. They typically include infrastructure and operating expenses.)
The Senate is expected to take up the package (H.R. 6938) the week of January 12.
Congress needs to pass nine appropriations bills, or pass another continuing resolution, to avoid a second government shutdown at the end of the month.
Lawmakers were initially expected to release two additional packages in the coming weeks – the second consisting of the Financial Services-General Government, Homeland Security, and State-Foreign Operations bills and a third consisting of the Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, and Transportation-HUD bills. But the Homeland Security bill appears to be hitting roadblocks following the shooting of a U.S. citizen by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
Kritika Agarwal is assistant vice president for communications at AAU.