House Rejects Trump's Research Cuts, Passes $48.7 Billion NIH Budget
March 17, 2026 · 2 min read
Jared Klein
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan FY2026 spending package that flatly rejects the Trump administration's proposed 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health, instead delivering a $415 million increase that brings the agency's budget to $48.7 billion.
The bill also sets Department of Education discretionary funding at $79 billion — roughly $12 billion above the White House request — and holds the line on Pell Grants at $7,395 per student.
What Researchers and Universities Won
The package preserves indirect research cost reimbursements that the administration had sought to cap, a move that would have devastated university research operations. Minority-Serving Institutions, including HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges, received modest funding increases. The Institute of Education Sciences landed $790 million, triple the administration's $261 million request.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) holds steady at $1.5 billion, maintaining its FY2025 level and signaling continued congressional support for high-risk health research.
The Senate Bottleneck
The victory may be short-lived. Senate Democrats have threatened to block the package unless Department of Homeland Security funding is separated from the broader bill — a standoff that could trigger another partial government shutdown. Grant seekers should track the Senate calendar closely: if the impasse drags past the continuing resolution deadline, agencies could face spending freezes that delay new award announcements.
For researchers who spent the last six months bracing for devastating cuts, the House vote is a reprieve. But the final numbers won't be locked until the Senate acts. Organizations with pending federal proposals should continue preparing applications as normal while monitoring congressional appropriations updates.
For deeper analysis of how these budget numbers affect specific grant programs, visit the Granted blog.