Progress made on associations’ work advancing new indirect costs modelAs lawmakers prepare to leave town for the August recess, the FY 2026 congressional appropriations process is behind schedule, including for the massive bill funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies that contains much of the annual funding for higher education programs. House leaders have postponed marking up that bill until September, even as they released proposed spending levels that include a nearly 6 percent cut to nondefense programs and a $1.3 billion reduction for the Labor-HHS-Education area. The Senate still plans to mark up its version Aug. 1.
In addition, after final passage this week of President Trump’s requested $9 billion in rescissions targeting previously approved funding for programs such as foreign aid and public broadcasting, the White House has promised to send up additional rescission packages to put into statute the cuts made by DOGE and the administration in the first six months. With this complicated landscape, a so-called continuing resolution extending current funding into the next fiscal year appears likely.
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its FY 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill on a party-line vote. While the legislation largely tracks with the administration’s vision, it poses real risks to the future of American research and international collaboration.
The legislation includes a 23 percent cut to the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is a $2 billion reduction from the current funding level. While not as deep as the 55 percent cut proposed in President Trump’s FY 2026 budget, it would still significantly weaken U.S. research competitiveness and undercut investments in innovation. NASA would be flat funded at $24.8 billion. It also contains a directive to reestablish the Justice Department’s China Initiative, a program broadly criticized for its chilling effect on academic collaboration and its disproportionate targeting of researchers of Chinese descent. ACE has previously expressed concerns about the reestablishment of this initiative.
The Senate Appropriations Committee took a more balanced approach in consideration of its version of the CJS bill. Senators from both parties pushed back on the administration’s proposed science cuts and reaffirmed the importance of strong federal investments in research and data infrastructure.
The Senate bill includes $9.55 billion for NSF, a 5.4 percent increase over FY 2024 (the funding level of which remains in force still because of a continuing resolution).
Indirect costs rate: The Senate measure also includes language that would block the Department of Commerce, NSF, and NASA from making sudden changes to the indirect costs rate, also known as the facilities and administrative (F&A) costs of conducting research, and encourages the administration to work with the higher education community in considering changes. This builds on the work of the Joint Associations Group, which includes ACE, in advancing a new model for F&A costs.
As the appropriations process moves forward, ACE and other advocates will be pushing hard to secure the strongest possible research funding in the final FY 2026 package.