House and Senate appropriators (the committees responsible for drafting spending bills) have released a compromise spending bill for fiscal year 2026 that:

Increases NIH funding

• The bill sets the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget at about $48.7 billion, which is around $415 million more than fiscal year 2025.

Rejects the Trump administration’s proposed steep cuts

• President Trump’s budget had sought dramatic cuts to NIH and other science agencies, including proposals to shrink NIH by roughly 40 % and restructure it significantly.

• Appropriators refuse to adopt those cuts for 2026 and are instead boosting or stabilizing funding.

What this vote means

• These appropriators’ decisions reflect a bipartisan pushback in Congress against deep White House cuts to science and health research.

• However, this spending bill must still be passed by the full House and Senate and signed by the president before it becomes law.

How This Differs from Trump’s Proposal

Proposed by Trump

The administration’s 2026 budget requested:

• As much as a 40 % reduction in NIH funding compared with 2025 levels.

• Reorganization of how NIH operates, including consolidating its institutes and eliminating some research programs.

• Proposed caps on indirect cost rates (the overhead payments that universities and research institutions receive for NIH grants) — a move scientists warned would be damaging.

Appropriators Responded By

• Rejecting those deep cuts and instead boosting NIH funding overall.

• Preserving protections for indirect cost reimbursements that would have been limited under Trump’s plan.

• Including provisions to protect grant funding processes so that researchers don’t lose awards due to abrupt changes in how multiyear grants are paid.

Why It Matters

For science and medical research

• NIH is the biggest public funder of biomedical research in the U.S., supporting tens of thousands of grants in areas like cancer, Alzheimer’s, infectious diseases, rare diseases, and more.

• Cutting NIH dramatically, as proposed by the administration, could have hurt medical progress, research training, and long-term innovation.

For scientists and institutions

• Scientists and universities had pushed back — both publicly and through organized responses — against proposed NIH cuts and grant terminations.

• Congress’s decision to bolster funding provides more certainty for research careers, ongoing studies, and future discoveries.

Broader political context

• This appropriations bill is part of a broader trend in Congress pushing back against major White House cuts to science agencies (e.g., NSF, NASA, NOAA) and health programs.

 What Still Happens Next

• The bill must be voted on by the full House and Senate.

• Once passed, it goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

• Lawmakers from both parties have indicated they support the bill, making its passage more likely — but not guaranteed.

Quick Summary of Funding Changes (FY 2026 vs. FY 2025)