Avoiding Another Shutdown: What’s at Stake
Last fall, the federal government experienced a 43-day shutdown, the longest in history, because congressional lawmakers could not agree on terms for a full year spending deal.
On January 5th, hoping to avoid another painful government shutdown, leaders of the Appropriations Committees in both chambers released the conferenced version of their Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2026. If passed into law, the combined bills would provide more than $183 billion in funding for the covered agencies in FY 2026.
Below is a summary of provisions within the respective bills relevant to ASCE and its members.
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
The Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act provides $78 billion in top-line discretionary funding across all bill priorities. This is a significant increase over the administration’s budget request from last May.
Notable funding levels in the bill include $6.2 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is $1.6 billion above President Trump’s request. More specifically, the bill provides $1.4 billion for the National Weather Service to improve weather prediction capabilities, as well as $10 million to shore up staffing at its forecasting offices. It provides an additional $1.6 billion to maintain and invest in current and future weather and climate satellites.
The CJS bill also supports climate research by allocating $224 million for climate research at NOAA, a line item that would have been largely eliminated under the administration’s budget proposal.
Pursuant to bill, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would receive $1.8 billion in funding. This includes $1.25 billion for advanced research in innovative technologies and disciplines such as carbon dioxide removal, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
The bill would also fund the National Science Foundation (NSF) at $8.7 billion, a considerable increase over the administration’s proposal that would have cut its budget by almost 60%.
Furthermore, the bill provides $24.4 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which is $5.6 billion above President Trump’s request, a sum that would have cut NASA Science by 47% and eliminated dozens of operating and planned missions. The bill also provides $143 million for NASA STEM Engagement, as well as $2.15 billion for NASA Earth Science and its climate research.
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
The conferenced Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act would provide $10.4 billion in total funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is $1.75 billion above the FY 2025 enacted level and $3.8 billion above the requested level. Notably, the bill allocates $3.5 billion for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund—a $702 million increase over FY 2025.
The bill also includes $8.4 billion in funding—$160 million over FY 2025—for the Office of Science, which will help continue implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. It also preserves $1.3 billion in climate science funding, as well as $3.1 billion for renewable energy and energy efficiency and programs that were targeted for significant cuts in the president’s budget proposal.
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
The Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $8.8 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a funding level nearly double what the administration requested. The Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which provide funding for water and wastewater projects, will be funded by the Treasury at the same levels they were in FY 2025 and receive $2.76 billion. This amount is a 90 percent increase over the funding allocation requested by the administration for FY 2026.
Next Steps Before January 30 Deadline
If signed the above legislation is passed by Congress and signed by President Trump before the expiration of the current continuing resolution on January 30th, lawmakers will still have six more funding bills they must pass before they can finish their appropriations work for FY 2026 and shift focus to FY 2027.
