Congress Delivers $48.7 Billion to NIH, Rejecting Trump's 40% Cut Proposal
March 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Arthur Griffin
The FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill cleared both chambers with bipartisan votes last week, delivering $48.7 billion in discretionary funding to the National Institutes of Health — a $415 million increase over FY2025 and a decisive rejection of the Trump administration's proposed 40% cut to biomedical research.
The House passed the package 217-214, and the Senate followed 71-29 before sending it to the president.
$7.4 Billion for Cancer Tops Disease-Specific Allocations
The bill directs $7.4 billion to the National Cancer Institute, including $30 million for the Childhood Cancer STAR Act. Alzheimer's disease research receives $3.9 billion, diabetes research gets $2.3 billion through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and ALS research secures $90 million under the ACT for ALS Act. The Office of Research on Women's Health receives a $30 million increase, with an additional $10 million boost for maternal health research.
Mental Health Funding Surpasses $5.5 Billion
Beyond traditional biomedical research, the bill allocates more than $5.5 billion to mental health programs. The 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline receives $535 million, the National Institute of Mental Health gets $2.2 billion, and community behavioral health clinics secure $386 million. State Opioid Response Grants receive $1.6 billion, while the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Block Grant gets $1.9 billion.
What This Means for Researchers
The bill also includes $3.7 billion for the Strategic Preparedness and Response Administration, $1 billion for BARDA, and $850 million for Project BioShield — all funding extramural research through competitive grants and contracts.
The $415 million increase signals continued congressional commitment to federally funded research despite executive branch pressure. But competition remains fierce: NIH grant success rates have fallen to 17%, the lowest in nearly three decades. Researchers tracking specific institute budgets and upcoming funding opportunity announcements can find detailed breakdowns on the Granted blog.