House and Senate Advance CJS Bills; Congress Claws Back FY 2025 Funding

Over the last few weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released and began consideration of their fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bills, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the U.S. Census Bureau. On July 10, the Senate made their first attempt to advance the CJS bill through the Appropriations Committee, only to call for an extended recess following arguments over the relocation of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) headquarters and other provisions. The following week, on July 17, the committee reconvened to successfully advance the bill. The Senate released the bill text and the report language. Funding levels included in the bill:

• $9 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a $60 million decrease from FY 2025 but $5.1 billion above the Presidential request;
• $1.5 billion for the Bureau of the Census, a $138 million increase from FY 2025 but $156.2 million below the Presidential request;
• $33 million for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and $27 million for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a $2 million and $3 million decrease from FY 2025 respectively. BJS request would be flat with and NIJ’s request would be $5 million above the Presidential request.

On July 15, the House Appropriations Subcommittee advanced its version of the CJS bill, clearing the way for a full-committee vote on July 24 (watch live here). The House released the bill text and a summary of the bill, but has yet to release report language, which will include more details on the budgetary decisions made by the committee. Highlights from the bill include:

• $7 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a $2.06 billion decrease from FY 2025 but $3.1 billion above the Presidential request;
• $1.6 billion for the Bureau of the Census, a $294 million increase from FY 2025 and $2 million above the President’s request.

COSSA will be developing an in-depth analysis, but it’s important to note that the House has closely followed the numbers outlined in the Presidential Budget Request while the Senate’s funding levels are closer to the FY 2025 continuing resolution (CR) levels (see analysis here).

On July 22, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced that he would be shutting down the House ahead of August recess to avoid a vote on releasing documents to the public on the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Late last week, the House Appropriations Committee had already delayed the mark-up of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations (LHHS) bill, which provides appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other HHS agencies, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor. With the House not scheduled to return until September, it’s unlikely the House will have time to review the LHHS bill before the end of the fiscal year on September 30. 

In other news, Congress passed a recissions package late last week, clawing back FY 2025 appropriated funding. The package narrowly passed the House (216-213) and Senate (51-48) and slashed $9 billion in federal funding for public media and international aid. Passing recissions is rare as it requires Congress to withdraw funding they enacted in the previous session, seceding partial power of the purse to the President. While the recissions do not directly impact the social and behavioral sciences, it’s important to note that if Congress passes a CR for FY 2026, another recissions package could be the Trump Administration’s work-around for cutting funding.

Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage of Congressional activities.