The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is slated to receive a boost in funding to support AI, cybersecurity and quantum research investments as the House Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act is finalized. The agreement includes $1.85 billion in appropriations, rejecting the Trump Administration’s calls to cut the NIST’s budget.
The appropriations round out to $570 million more than what was originally proposed in the July draft of the bill, totaling nearly $700 million more than the FY 2025 enacted level. The administration originally requested to make significant cuts to NIST funding, rolling back investments in scientific and technical research, cybersecurity, privacy, physical infrastructure, resilience and other areas.
The lion’s share of the appropriations – $1.25 billion – will support the NIST’s research and services division. A total of $405.3 million from that amount will be injected directly into research and service projects, providing public universities and laboratories with the capital needed to make advancements in AI technologies, reactor operations, advanced manufacturing and other groundbreaking fields.
The second largest allocation of $386 million will provide NIST with the financial support needed to build, renovate and maintain research facilities across the nation. Notable construction projects receiving funds through the act include:
- Center for Bioscience at the University of Louisville.
- Scientific Research Center at Washington State University.
- The University of Main Health Science Complex.
- University of Kansas Cancer Center.
- Healthy Kentucky Research Building at the University of Kentucky.
- Bioprocessing and Industrial Value Added Products Equipment Innovation Center at Kansas State University.
- Molecular Biology Research Laboratory.
- Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: Research Facility.
- Biomedical Research and Training Center at Hood College.
- Bio-Design Innovation Hub at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
The NIST director will be directed to provide a spending plan, as required by the appropriations act. In addition, the secretary of commerce will provide an estimate for each NIST construction project totaling more than $5 million in the budget justification materials for FY 2027.
The appropriations act carves out a $212 million investment in industrial technology services. The committee split the funding, providing $175 million for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and $37 million for the Manufacturing USA Program. These public-private partnership programs leverage interconnected networks between industry, academia and government to drive manufacturing innovation and help small- and medium-sized manufacturers grow.
Most of the programs and fields receiving additional funding through the act were at risk of being defunded or cut entirely at the request of the administration. Despite pushbacks, NIST operations are expected to scale in the coming years, contributing to a stronger scientific and technical research foundation and advancing a rapidly developing AI agenda.
The NIST allocation was only one part of a larger three-bill package charting FY 2026 spending for several federal agencies. These include packages for:
- Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.
- Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies.
- Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.
All funding featured in these packages will be appropriated until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2026.
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels
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