Congress proposes stronger science funding for 2026

Congress proposes stronger science funding for 2026

By Dan Vergano Edited by Clara Moskowitz

A congressional panel issued a communiqué rejecting the devastating cuts to science funding proposed by the Trump administration. three bipartisan bills This will lead to small cuts in the 2026 budgets of NASA, the National Science Foundation and other science agencies on Monday. Under these bills, some agencies like the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology would receive modest increases.

Lawmakers hope this three-bill “minibus,” which covers agencies ranging from the Justice Department to the U.S. Forest Service, will be passed as part of a larger spending package for the U.S. government in 2026. Speaker of the House, Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana said on social media The House of Representatives will vote on the bills this week, a prelude to a U.S. Senate vote. votes must pass through a 30 January last date To prevent another US government shutdown.

“This package rejects President Trump’s effort to let our competitors walk around us by cutting federal funding for scientific research by more than 50% and eliminating thousands of good jobs in the process,” said Washington State Senator Patty Murray, vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, which oversees the budget. a statementThe committee chair, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, said in a separate statement that the science, which “Essential to maintaining American competitiveness,” had priority among broader bills. Specifically, the minibus does not cover the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration.

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Under the minibus package, NASA will receive $24.4 billion this year (a slight cut from 2025) with science missions receiving $7.25 billionThis represents only a 1,1 percent decline in science mission funding, in contrast to the 47 percent cut proposed by the Trump administration, Casey Dreier, space policy analyst at the Planetary Society, called the bill “very good news,” on blueskyThe budget would preserve NASA’s missions to Venus, Uranus and the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which aim to search for life on planets orbiting nearby stars, as well as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch next year, However, the space agency’s long-troubled $10 billion Mars sample return mission will end,

With the package, DOE’s $16.78 billion budget for non-defense programs will include $8.4 billion for its Office of Science, an increase of about 2 percent despite the administration’s calls for cuts. This will include funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy and electric grid conservation efforts, as well as fundamental research in physics and chemistry. But the budget of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which funds high-risk energy research, will be reduced by $350 million, a 24 percent cut. The Trump administration wanted an even greater cut of 57 percent.

“There’s no doubt that the appropriation is a rebuke,” says Michael Lubell, a physicist at the City College of New York and former director of public affairs at the American Physical Society. “But they’re only half the story,” he said, noting the Trump administration’s moves last year to bypass Congress’ budget. To meet its priorities, the administration has shifted money around from agencies refused to spend itLeads to lawsuits. and this is Money threats in universitiesFor example, on its opposition to diversity.

“Congress can express its disapproval of last year’s violations by rejecting Trump’s budget figures, but unless it sees fit to enforce its constitutional authority, not much will change,” says Lubell.

Editor’s note: This story is in development and may be updated.

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