In Brief
Take Action: Protect Federal Scientific Research by Completing FY26 Appropriations
With Congress having only enacted a short-term fix to the fiscal year (FY) 2026 that covers funding the government through January 30, it remains imperative that Congress continues to hear from you about finalizing the FY26 appropriations bills that fund federal research agencies before the continuing resolution expires.
The House has proposed a total funding package for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at $46.901 billion (-2.9% from FY25), while the Senate has outlined a more appropriate package of $48.701 billion (+0.83%). For the National Science Foundation, the House proposal sits at $7 billion (-22.74%) and the Senate at $9 billion (-0.66%).
In order to maintain the most viable funding package possible for the remainder of this fiscal year, write your Members of Congress today and urge them to advance the proposal set by the Senate for FY26.
NIH Implements Unified Funding Strategy for Clearer, More Consistent Award Decisions
On November 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a unified funding strategy to bring greater clarity, consistency, and transparency to award decisions across all Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs). Effective with the January 2026 Council round, the framework supports NIH’s goals of funding the most meritorious science, addressing priority health needs, and sustaining a strong biomedical workforce.
NIH funding decisions weigh multiple factors—peer review results, scientific opportunity, public health priorities, workforce needs, budget constraints, and the existing research portfolio. The new framework builds on prior practices while establishing shared expectations for how ICOs apply these considerations.
All ICO funding policies should:
- Align with the NIH mission
- Prioritize scientific merit using the full scope of peer review
- Support diverse topics and approaches within ICO priorities
- Consider investigator career stage and workforce sustainability
- Promote equitable and geographically balanced distribution of funds
- Reflect available ICO resources
Peer review continues to be essential. However, ICOs will now evaluate peer review information holistically rather than relying on paylines. Decisions will be made in the context of NIH and ICO strategic priorities and budgets, with ICO Directors maintaining final authority. Previously, about half of ICOs used paylines as cutoffs for funding decisions. This approach often created confusion and did not fully reflect broader programmatic considerations. Under the new strategy, paylines will no longer guide pay plans, making it clearer that decisions reflect both peer review insights and program priorities. By adopting a unified strategy, NIH aims to improve stewardship of taxpayer resources and support a more balanced and resilient research portfolio spanning basic, applied, clinical, and translational science. It remains to be seen what the actual impact of this new alignment strategy has for researchers as additional guidance is released.
NSF Updates on Resumption of Operations
On November 17, the National Science Foundation (NSF) added a new section to the website regarding the Resumption of Operations for the agency following the shutdown. Designed as a living FAQ page, the site has answers to some of the most common questions researchers have as things get restarted; including proposals, funding opportunities, panels, payments, outreach and site visits, awards management and contact information. NSF staff has plans to continue to update this webpage as needed to provide a centralized locale for researchers to get information.
White House Launches “Genesis Mission” to Accelerate AI-Driven Scientific Discovery
On November 24, the White House unveiled the latest Executive Order (EO) announcing the Genesis Mission, a national initiative led by the Department of Energy to rapidly advance scientific discovery through artificial intelligence. Drawing inspiration from the scale and urgency of the Manhattan Project, the Mission aims to strengthen U.S. leadership in AI, national security, and technological innovation.
The initiative will create the American Science and Security Platform—a unified AI and high-performance computing infrastructure integrating federal datasets, national lab supercomputers, AI modeling tools, and automated experimentation capabilities. This platform will support the development of scientific foundation models and AI agents that can accelerate research across critical domains.
DOE will identify priority national challenges—such as biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, critical materials, quantum science, clean energy, and semiconductors—and coordinate with federal agencies to focus research efforts. The initiative also promotes collaboration with universities, industry, and national laboratories, supported by strong cybersecurity and data-protection standards.