Sponsors (6)
The bill secures predictable, inflation‑protected, and substantial federal R&D funding to boost research, innovation, and commercialization, at the cost of higher mandatory spending that reduces budgetary flexibility and may crowd out other domestic priorities.
U.S. researchers, university labs, and graduate students gain predictable, multi‑year increases in federal R&D funding through FY2026–FY2035 and ongoing inflation protection (CPI‑U) thereafter, preserving grant purchasing power and supporting research jobs and projects.
Federal research agencies (NSF, DOE Office of Science, NIST, DoD S&T, NASA) and associated small businesses stand to accelerate innovation, technology commercialization, and long‑term economic growth from sustained higher R&D investments.
Taxpayers face higher mandatory federal spending that could increase the deficit or crowd out other federal priorities, raising fiscal pressures on the budget.
Exempting these funds from sequestration and PAYGO and tying future increases to CPI‑U reduces congressional budgetary control and fiscal flexibility, limiting the ability to adjust funding during economic downturns or shifting priorities.
Concentrating large funding increases on federal R&D may divert resources away from non‑research domestic programs (education, healthcare, infrastructure), potentially disadvantaging middle‑class and low‑income households.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Sets exact annual funding for NSF, DOE Office of Science, DoD S&T, and NIST for FY2026–FY2035 and creates CPI‑U inflation adjustments starting in FY2036.
Provides multi-year, specific funding levels for major federal research and innovation programs. The bill sets exact annual appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE Office of Science), Department of Defense (DoD) science and technology programs, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for fiscal years 2026–2035, and creates an automatic inflation adjustment tied to the CPI‑U beginning in FY2036. Funding for DoD science and technology programs is explicitly listed for FY2026–FY2035 (ranging from $23.109 billion in 2026 to $43.392 billion in 2035); other agencies receive similarly specified annual appropriations. The bill treats these amounts as mandatory authorizations and makes them available from Treasury general funds, and it builds a CPI‑U based escalation mechanism to preserve purchasing power in years after 2035.
Introduced April 3, 2025 by Bill Foster · Last progress April 3, 2025