FY 2026
Fiscal Year (FY) 2026
Appropriations Bills Stalled; Congress to Consider NDAA
As the year approaches its end, Congress is still working to finish the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. Most of the federal government is currently funded under a continuing resolution (CR) that gives lawmakers until January 30, 2026 to complete their work (reminder: the new fiscal year began on October 1). With the upcoming two-week recess for the holidays, Congress is on a tight deadline. As previously reported by COSSA, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has reiterated that the Senate has plans to consider the Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS), Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS),…
Congress Turns to Final Appropriations Bills Following End of Government Shutdown
As previously reported by COSSA, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) that extends fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding through to January 30, 2026, ending the weeks-long government shutdown and giving Appropriators additional time to finish their work on FY 2026 funding. Currently, only three appropriations bills have been enacted into law—each having been attached to the CR—including the Agriculture bill, Legislative Branch bill, and Veteran Affairs bill. Despite delays, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has reiterated that the Senate has plans to consider the Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS), Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS), and Transportation,…
Federal Agencies Reopen with Uncertainty
The 44-day government shutdown created chaos and uncertainty across federal agencies. Now that the government has reopened, federal employees are back to work but face new uncertainties about the future. Acting Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Brian Stone circulated a memo to staff outlining the agency’s plans for resuming its activities. According to the memo, priority will be placed on processing backpay for employees and restoring NSF’s capacity to make awards. However, the memo explains that as a result of the lapse in funding, the agency will not be able to administer all of its programs as planned. The memo…
New Action Alert: Write to Congress TODAY about the Need to Reopen the Federal Government
Funding for most government activities expired at midnight on September 30. Since Congress has failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open, all federal agencies are now shut down. The shutdown and lack of clarity on FY 2026 funding damages the ability of federal science agencies like the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Institute of Education Sciences, and federal statistical agencies to meet their missions. Those harms are passed on to researchers who rely on support from the federal government. Federal science and statistical agencies have already experienced destructive effects this year as a result of…
As Shutdown Continues, Federal Employees Face RIFs and Pay Uncertainty
Congress remains at a standstill as the government shutdown continues, with little progress having been made since our previous reporting. As the holiday season rapidly approaches, so too does the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) deadline of November 21, which has failed to pass several times in the Senate. Recent rumors suggest that the Republican-majority may seek to extend the deadline in their version of the bill past the holidays, or as proposed by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), into December 2026 after the midterm elections. If that were to occur, the federal government would keep FY 2024…
No End in Sight for Government Shutdown as Congress Clashes Over Expiring ACA Subsidies
On October 1, federal funding lapsed in the absence of a budget for fiscal year (FY) 2026, shutting down the federal government for the first time since the historic thirty-five-day shutdown under President Trump’s first term. As previously reported by COSSA, Senate Democrats clashed with the Republican majority over a House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that did not address Democrats’ concerns over extending the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, reversing some of the Medicaid cuts enacted in the “big, beautiful bill,” and including language to prohibit funding cuts and pocket recissions. While both parties are generally supportive of extending the ACA subsidies, so far Democrats…
Latest from the White House (September 30)
Potential Government Shutdown is Taken to New Levels All eyes are on Congress this week as lawmakers face a potential government shut down starting October 1 (see related article). Government shutdowns, depending on how long they last, can be incredibly disruptive and damaging to federal agencies, programs, and workers, not to mention Americans who rely on them. Last week, the White House threatened to impose additional pain on the federal workforce if Congress is unable to agree to a temporary funding measure. In a recent email to agency heads obtained by Politico, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed…
Read COSSA’s Analysis of the FY 2026 House LHHS Appropriations Bill for Federal Science Agencies
On September 9, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations bill, which provides annual appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Education, Department of Labor, and other agencies. The Senate advanced its bill in July (see COSSA’s analysis). The House bill is a mixed bag for the science agencies important to the COSSA community. Similar to the Senate bill, the Committee rejects the President’s proposals to reduce the NIH budget by 40 percent, cut CDC by…
COSSA Releases Analysis of House LHHS Bill; Congress Considers Short-Term CR as End of Fiscal Year Approaches
As the appropriations deadline rapidly approaches on September 30, both chambers of Congress remain far from completing their twelve annual spending bills. While individual appropriations bills continue to inch forward (see related article), attention in Congress has turned to drafting a continuing resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown in two weeks. Earlier today, the House Republicans released the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026, which, if enacted, would extend funding to November 21 to allow lawmakers additional time to finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. In their release, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) also included a section-by-section explainer on the proposed…
Congress Returns from August Recess; House to Consider LHHS Bill
Congress has returned from their August recess prepared to tackle appropriations as the end of the fiscal year (FY) rapidly approaches. As previously reported by COSSA, both the House and the Senate have released their Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bills but only the Senate has released their Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bill before leaving for the break (see COSSA’s analyses here). While it’s unlikely they’ll manage to finalize any of their bills before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, the House LHHS Appropriations subcommittee plans to mark up their version of the LHHS bill later…
Senate Releases Spending Bills, Republican Senators Push Back Against NIH Funding Delays
Before departing for August Recess, the Senate advanced several bills through the Appropriations Committee, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill, and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bill (previous COSSA coverage). Both the Senate CJS and LHHS bills included relatively flat funding levels, rejecting the draconian cuts proposed by the Trump Administration earlier this year (see COSSA’s analysis). Notably, on July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a mark-up for the LHHS bill in which several amendments were offered, including Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) call for the Trump Administration to restore all grants that had been terminated. The…
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,…
COSSA Releases Complete Analysis of the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request for Social and Behavioral Science
On May 3, the Trump Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request, referred to as a “skinny budget.” On May 30, additional details emerged. COSSA released a preliminary analysis for some government agencies on June 18, 2025. This document replaces the June 18 report and provides additional analysis. When considering an Administration’s budget proposal, it is important to remember that it remains a largely symbolic policy document outlining the Administration’s priorities for the year ahead. While it is possible that some of the President’s requests will be enacted, Congress has the final say over the appropriation…
Trump Signs Reconciliation Bill into Law; Senate to Mark-Up CJS Bill
On July 4, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). The bill, which has been hotly debated because of provisions pertaining to cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), reallocates resources in order to pay for permanent tax cuts and increase funding for border security activities. The new law also includes several provisions of importance to the research community (see previous COSSA coverage). This includes a new cap on graduate students loans ($100,000) and professional student loans ($200,000); a termination of student loan repayment plans; and an increase of the university endowment tax…
Diving into the President’s FY 2026 Budget: Implications for Social and Behavioral Science
On June 26, COSSA hosted the recent installment in the Headlines Webinar series. June’s meeting focused on the release of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget and what it means for the social and behavioral sciences. Featured speakers: View the Slides Not a COSSA member? Learn more about how your association or university can join here.
COSSA Releases Part 1 of the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request for Social and Behavioral Science Analysis
On May 3, the Trump Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request, referred to as a “skinny budget.” On May 30, additional details emerged. Given the delay in this year’s budget release, COSSA is delivering its annual analysis of the President’s budget request in two parts. This first part contains our analysis of the Trump Administration’s FY 2026 funding proposals for the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Science Foundation. The second part will include details on all remaining agencies important to the social and behavioral…
REGISTER NOW: Headlines Webinar on June 26
On June 26, join COSSA for the next installment in the Headlines Webinar series. This month’s meeting will focus on the release of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget and what it means for the social and behavioral sciences. Come join the conversation. Featured speakers: The webinar will be taking place on June 26 at 2pm EST. Register here. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
House Republicans Delay Markups; Reconciliation Subject to “Byrd Bath”
As previously reported, the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations process is well underway with the House reviewing multiple bills, most recently the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill; the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill; the Homeland Security bill; the Defense bill, and the Legislative Branch bill. The House has also released subcommittee allocations—or topline funding levels—for the bills already drafted. The other subcommittees have yet to receive their allocations, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) and Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittees. On June 18, the House Appropriations committee announced a delay in…
Bhattacharya Defends NIH Budget Request to Senate Appropriators
As the Congressional appropriations process continues, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was invited to defend the President’s FY 2026 before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee (see COSSA’s analysis). Under the President’s budget, the NIH would see steep budget cuts and a major restructuring that would reduce the institutes and centers (ICs) from 27 to 8. Throughout the hearing, Bhattacharya fielded questions on the impacts of these proposals on the research community and dismissed concerns, claiming that the proposal is the starting point of a budget…
Latest from the White House (June 24)
‘Forward Funding’ by NIH the New Norm? As COSSA has been reporting, the Trump Administration released details of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget proposal last month (see related article), which not only includes major funding reductions for federal science agencies, but also major shifts in policy. One such shift is how research grants would be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the NIH budget request, the agency plans to “continue the FY 2025 policy of reserving half of NIH funding allocated toward competing research project grant (RPG) awards for awards that fully fund their outyear commitments…