The Trump administration’s released Fiscal Year (FY2026) 26 budget request proposes dramatic cuts to key federal agencies that fund scientific research, health innovation, and education (see FABBS Federal Funding Dashboard and Federal Budget Process Timeline). While this proposal outlines the administration’s priorities, it does not set a final funding level. Congress holds, and regularly exercises the authority to present and move forward their own funding levels. FABBS is calling on Congress to fund science at the levels required to meet the stated goals of the administration.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The proposed FY26 budget would cut NSF funding by around 57 percent, reducing it from an enacted $9.06 billion in FY25 to $3.9 billion. This would significantly curtail NSF’s ability to fund researchers, with the number of individuals supported expected to drop from over 330,000 in FY 2024 to just 90,000. If enacted the budget would reduce or eliminate funding for climate, clean energy, and social science research, close facilities, and weaken the STEM workforce pipeline. The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) released a statement urging Congress to reject the proposal and to increase support for NSF to preserve the U.S. innovation ecosystem.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The FY26 budget proposes $27.5 billion for NIH, a 41.9 percent cut from the FY25 enacted level of an estimated $47.3 billion. The proposal includes a sweeping reorganization to consolidate NIH’s 27 institutes and centers into eight, eliminating the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Fogarty International Center, and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. It would also cap indirect cost reimbursement at 15 percent and shift the focus toward research on chronic diseases. According to the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, these cuts would “erase decades of progress,” stall the development of treatments, and severely undermine the biomedical research pipeline.
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
ARPA-H would receive $945 million in FY26, down from an estimated $1.5 billion in FY25, a nearly 37 percent cut. The agency would also be moved under a new Office of the Assistant Secretary for a Healthy Future. The cut would severely limit ARPA-H’s ability to pursue high-risk, high-reward biomedical research projects aimed at transformative breakthroughs in health and medicine.
Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education
The proposal would reduce the Department of Education’s budget from an estimated $78.7 billion in FY25 to $66.7 billion in FY26, a 15 percent cut. Funding for IES would fall to $261.3 million, a $531.8 million cut from the FY25 enacted level. Of that total, $137.3 million would go to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and just $124 million would remain for all other IES research and activities. This sharp reduction would obliterate the agency’s ability to fund independent, rigorous education research and data collection.
FABBS is working to communicate our opposition and concerns by educating members of Congress about the negative consequences and ripple effects of proposed actions. We are collaborating with coalitions to amplify these concerns, meeting with Hill staff, signing letters, and submitting testimony to advocate for our sciences.
