This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional activities of interest in Washington, D.C.
Congressional Branch activities of interest
Floor Activity
The House was in Session this week and continued its work on FY26 appropriations. The Senate is in recess and is expected to return on January 26.
FY 2026 Appropriations
On January 20, conferenced text for the remaining four FY26 appropriations bills was released by the House Appropriations Committee. The final minibus contains the Defense; Homeland Security; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (Labor-HHS-ED) and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bills.
The Labor-HHS-ED title of the bill:
- Provides $47.2B for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), representing a 0.9% increase in discretionary spending compared to FY25. An additional $1.5B was included for ARPA-H. The Senate Appropriations Committee summary (found here) highlights funding increases for several priority research areas including Alzheimer’s, Cancer, Rare Diseases, and women’s health.
- Maintains the maximum Pell award at $7,395 for the 2026-2027 school year.
- Provides $1.2B for Federal Work Study and $910M for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), which represents flat funding from FY25 levels.
The HHS section of the bill contains policy language on F&A and report language in the explanatory statement (found here on page 156).
The bill reflects Congress’ rejection of steep cuts to the NIH proposed by the administration. The President’s Budget Request (PBR) had proposed an $18B cut to the NIH and a cut of more than $500M to ARPA-H. The bills also do not reflect the elimination of Work Study and SEOG as proposed by the PBR.
The Defense title of the bill:
- Provides $838.7B in total funding to the Department of Defense (DOD), with $145.9B for the DOD’s research, development, testing, and evaluation functions – a 3% increase from the FY25 enacted level. According to a summary released by Democratic appropriators, the bill “invests in basic and applied scientific research, development, test, and evaluation of new technologies and equipment, and supports the research community, so forces will have the systems and equipment necessary to face tomorrow’s challenges.”
The Defense bill text states that DOD shall continue to apply negotiated F&A rates “to the same extent and in the same manner as such negotiated indirect cost rates were applied in fiscal year 2024” and shall not make use of FY26 appropriated funds to “develop, modify, or implement changes” to the FY24 negotiated rates. This language may be found on page 148 here.
Bill texts and joint explanatory statements accompanying the minibus are available here. The House is expected to vote on the minibus this week.
Hearings
On January 22, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing on “Assessing U.S. Leadership in Quantum Science and Technology.” Witnesses at the hearing discussed the National Quantum Initiative Act (NQIA) and examined the economic value and applications of quantum science. Watch the hearing here.
Bills Introduced
Expanding AI Voices Act (H.R. 7158) was introduced by Reps. Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC). The bill would codify and expand the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s ExpandAI program. The legislation would broaden the scope of the ExpandAI program to strengthen and enhance partnerships between colleges and university awardees within the National AI Research Institutes ecosystem. Read the press release and bill text here.
The Seton Hall Fire Victims Remembrance Act (H.R. 7168) was introduced by Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ). The bill would establish and regularly update fire safety standards for college dormitories. Read the press release and bill text here.