Act Now: Congress Includes Increases to NIH in FY2026 Minibus

U.S. House and Senate appropriators released a bipartisan federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 four-bill minibus package that covers funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Lawmakers are expected to vote on the package before the Jan. 30 deadline, when current funding expires.

The bill provides $47.2 billion for NIH’s base budget. This funding level represents $415 million (0.9%) in new discretionary spending for the agency, compared to $46.8 billion total for NIH in FY 2025. The bill maintains funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) at the FY 2025 total of $1.5 billion. Overall, the bill rejects the FY 2026 President’s Budget Request, which proposed an $18 billion cut to NIH and a cut of more than $500 million to ARPA-H.

ACR^® urges members to take action today and tell their members of Congress to complete FY 2026 appropriations for NIH, asking for the highest possible funding levels. NIH funding encompasses support for radiology research, which includes a wide range of diagnostics, treatments and therapeutics.

The bill maintains NIH’s 27 institutes and centers and rejects the president’s FY 2026 President’s Budget Request to restructure the agency. The bill preserves support for facilities and administrative (F&A) expenses, extending statutory language preventing the Administration from imposing a 15% cap on F&A cost reimbursement. There is also language included that urges Congress to adopt a more transparent model, such as the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model advanced by the Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs. Additionally, the bill includes provisions that prevent an increase in multi-year funding beyond its use in FY 2025 and (preventing higher rates that were anticipated for FY 2026) as well as requiring NIH to notify Congress before terminating grants.

ACR continues to monitor progress of the appropriations process and implications for radiology research. For more information or if you have questions, contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.