July was a busy month for Congressional appropriators. The Senate made progress, passing the Commerce-Justice-Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Bill on July 25 and the Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) Bill on August 1. Both of these bills skipped subcommittee and were heard by the full committee. The House however, came to an abrupt halt on July 11. After making steady progress passing their CJS Bill on July 9 and Labor-H Bill on July 10, the full House failed to pass the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, typically one of the easier bills to advance, on July 11. Following this failure, House leadership canceled floor votes and sent members back to their home districts to campaign.
Considering the upcoming election and the differences between the House and Senate budget, all bets are that a continuing resolution will fund the federal government, including ARPA-H, NSF, NIH, and IES until FY25’s bills are resolved.
[Click here to see FABBS’ Federal Funding Dashboard and here for letters FABBS has signed]
The House CJS bill allocates $9.26 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a 2 percent increase compared to fiscal year 2024 (FY24). The Research and Related Activities account received a significant portion of the increase, reflecting a 5 percent raise over FY24. The education directorate, referred to as STEM EDU, fared far worse, facing a steep 15 percent cut. STEM EDU is an important priority for the broad scientific community, as it supports STEM teaching, learning, and workforce development.
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), of which FABBS is a cochair, issued a statement on July 22. The Coalition expressed thanks for the increased funding, but also noted that “at the proposed FY25 level the agency would still be operating at more than 7% below the levels of two years ago.” Ensuring that NSF’s programs are fully funded is a top priority for FABBS in FY25.
The Labor-H Appropriations Subcommittee shocked the science community with a bill that included a dramatic restructuring of the National Institute of Health (NIH). FABBS has written about this previously. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ (R-WA), Chair of Energy and Commerce, had shared a framework and invited comment. FABBS is drafting comments in response urging, along with the broad scientific community, a transparent and deliberate process before restructuring NIH and other significant reforms.
Senate Appropriations Committee approved its CJS bill. The proposed allocation funds NSF at $9.55 billion – a roughly 5 percent increase above FY24. This bill also sets aside $7.53 billion for Research and Related Activities (an increase of 5 percent). The bill report includes language directing the Directorate for Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBE) to recommend and develop “guidelines for how organizations will and should deploy AI systems and identify limitations and concerns about specific deployment of AI systems in settings.” Notably, the Senate CJS bill provides an 8 percent increase from the FY24 enacted budget. This is a departure from the House’s significant cut and will make for a contentious touchpoint when the House and Senate bills need to be reconciled. The Committee has not scheduled the bill for a floor vote yet.
Senate Appropriations Committee approved its Labor-H bill. The proposed allocation funds NIH at $50.35 billion including $127 million in Cures Act reauthorization. This bill also fully restores funding to FY23 levels for the All of Us Research Program, BRAIN Initiative and Cancer Moonshot. Among notable increases, there is a $275 million increase for mental health research and $100 million allocated to the National Library of Medicine to advance the application of AI in biomedical research. The bill provides $2.64 billion for NIMH to support research focused on prevention and treatment of mental illness and sustains $1.5 billion for ARPA-H. $798 million was allocated to IES. The bill report includes language that allows NIH to strengthen institutional response to sexual harassment and hostile working conditions.