The Senate Appropriations Committee held a July 17 executive session and voted 19-10 to advance the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, which provides funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF). According to the bill text (PDF), accompanying report (PDF), and a committee-prepared summary (PDF), the bill would provide $9 billion for the NSF in FY 2026, $60 million below the FY 2025 enacted level.
The House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee on July 15 convened and advanced by a vote of 9-6 its version of the NSF spending bill. According to bill text (PDF) and a subcommittee-prepared summary (PDF), the bill would provide $7 billion for the NSF, $2.06 billion below the FY 2025 enacted level, and $2 billion below the FY 2026 Senate appropriations committee-approved level.
In addition, the House Appropriations Committee, on July 17 met to consider and voted 35-26 to approve updated FY 2026 subcommittee allocations, which provide funding ceilings that guide how much each House appropriations subcommittee can spend when crafting their FY 2026 spending bills. According to the press release, the top line allocation for nondefense spending is $705.6 billion, and the allocation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which provides funding for health care workforce, public health, and medical research programs, is $184.4 billion, approximately $2.1 billion below the FY 2025 House appropriations committee-approved level.