Senate Science Funding Proposals Revealed

The Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee published five draft spending bills for fiscal year 2027 on Thursday, ending a long delay on science agency budgets. The bills include funding for the National Science Foundation, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the US Geological Survey, and the Department of Energy.

The bills proposed modest increases for NSF and NASA’s science programs, while House appropriators backed cuts of 20% and 17%, respectively. The Senate draft would raise NOAA’s budget by 1%, while the House would cut it by 5%. Both the Senate and the House proposals support modest funding increases for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The current continuing resolution funds agencies through Dec. 11. If Congress fails to enact full-year appropriations or another stopgap bill by then, agencies will face a funding lapse beginning Dec. 12. While Republicans are pushing to finalize at least some full-year spending bills before losing control of Congress in January, Democrats appear to favor extending current funding levels into the new year, when their congressional majorities would give them greater leverage. Outgoing Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the draft bills reflected any bipartisan or bicameral agreements.

The House Appropriations Committee approved its Commerce-Justice-Science and Energy and Water Development bills in May. Senate appropriators twice postponed a planned June markup of the Commerce-Justice-Science bill – which covers NSF, NOAA, NASA, and NIST – after bipartisan talks over spending levels stalled. The Senate also failed to mark up its Energy and Water Development bill, which covers the Energy Department, before leaving for the summer.

Proposed science agency spending levels now stand at:

• NSF: The Senate proposes a budget of $8.83 billion, up 0.9% from fiscal year 2026. House appropriators proposed $7 billion, a 20% cut. The Senate would keep STEM Education funding at $938 million, while the House proposed eliminating the account.
• NASA: The Senate proposes $24.87 billion overall, up about 2% from fiscal year 2026. The proposal includes $7.43 billion for the Science Mission Directorate, which the House proposed cutting by 17% to $6 billion. The Senate proposal includes $165 million for Landsat Next and $300 million for the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
• NOAA: The Senate proposal would raise NOAA’s budget around 1% to $6.25 billion. The House proposed cutting it by 5% to $5.85 billion. The Senate would provide $225 million for climate research, compared with $197 million in the House bill. Both proposals preserve NOAA’s research office, which the Trump administration proposed to eliminate.
• NIST: The Senate draft would slightly increase NIST’s overall budget to $1.2 billion, while the House would cut it by 13% to $1 billion. Both bills report higher totals that include hundreds of millions in earmarks that Congress stores in NIST’s budget.
• DOE Office of Science. The Senate proposal would increase the budget by about 1% to $8.52 billion, which includes $120 million in previously appropriated funds. The House bill would increase funding to $8.525 billion. The Senate explanatory statement recommends using up to $300 million within the office’s budget for Genesis Mission research.
• USGS: The Senate proposal increases the agency’s budget by 1.2% to $1.44 billion. House appropriators proposed $1.37 billion, a 3.7% cut.

Senate appropriators challenge NSF funding decisions

Explanatory text released alongside the bills says the administration “has failed to comply” with congressional guidance limiting cuts to individual NSF directorates to 5% below fiscal year 2024 enacted levels. The explanatory statement does not identify which directorates were affected, but warns that continued noncompliance could lead Congress to set more specific funding levels for individual directorates in future spending bills. NSF has historically been given fairly wide latitude to adjust its funding among directorates and programs.

The text says delays in announcing grant competitions have disrupted research planning and slowed the obligation of funds. The proposal would require NSF to post funding opportunities within 90 days of enactment unless the agency submits a signed letter to House and Senate appropriators explaining the need for a waiver.

The explanatory statement also says the committee was “alarmed by the recent dismissal of the entire National Science Board.” It emphasizes the board’s independent oversight role and calls for the prompt appointment of qualified new members so the board can resume its statutory duties. The proposal would keep funding for the board’s office flat at $5 million.

The statement also rejects the administration’s proposal to eliminate NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences directorate and recommends funding it at no less than its fiscal year 2026 level. NSF says the directorate remains in place, though its staffing and grantmaking have fallen sharply. Appropriators also call for at least 2,000 new Graduate Research Fellowships and for students at the start of their second year of graduate study to be eligible. The text criticizes NSF for making significant changes to GRFP last year without allowing for a “reasonable transition period.”

The Senate proposals would also require NSF, NASA, and the departments of Commerce and Energy to apply negotiated indirect cost rates as they did in fiscal year 2024. The proposals do not appear to address the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed federal grantmaking rule, which is currently blocked from implementation until Dec. 11, suggesting Congress will need to take separate action to keep the restriction in place.