FY2026 funding for commerce and justice

Summary#

This bill is the fiscal year 2026 appropriations act for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and several related agencies. It sets specific funding levels for many agencies and programs, and it includes many policy limits, reporting rules, and directions about how money may be used. The broad goal is to fund government operations and programs in commerce, law enforcement, science, and related areas for FY2026.

• Major funding lines: the bill gives multi‑billion dollar amounts to NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and many Commerce bureaus (examples below).
• Patent office fee rule: United States Patent and Trademark Office funding is largely paid by user fees; the bill sets a budgetary approach that aims for a $0 general fund appropriation because fees will offset its costs.
• CHIPS program allocations: it requires the Commerce Secretary and the NSF director to allocate CHIPS Act funds to specified accounts and projects within 45 days.
• Policy riders and limits: the bill contains many non‑funding rules. Examples include limits on bilateral work with China by NASA/OSTP/NSC, restrictions on certain DOJ actions, limits on transfers and reprogramming of funds, and reporting requirements to congressional appropriations committees.
• Rescissions and transfers: the bill permanently rescinds specific unobligated balances from prior years and places limits on how agencies may move or reprogram funds.

What it means for you#

• Federal agencies and employees

  • Agencies funded by the bill (Commerce, DOJ, NASA, NSF, NOAA, NTIA, USPTO, etc.) get the specific dollar amounts the bill lists for their programs and operations in FY2026.
  • Many agencies must follow new notification, reporting, and spending‑plan rules before they change certain budgets, start large IT projects, or reprogram funds.
  • Some programs have limits on transfers between accounts and extra controls on reprogramming money.

• Researchers, universities, and science contractors

  • NSF and NASA receive large research and construction sums (the bill lists program‑level amounts). Some education and STEM engagement programs get specific new money.
  • CHIPS workforce and NIST CHIPS program funds must be allocated quickly and will support semiconductor‑related projects and workforce efforts.
  • Some restrictions (for example, limits on bilateral NASA/OSTP/NSC cooperation with China unless a certification is made) could affect international research partnerships.

• Businesses and innovators

  • The USPTO continues to be funded largely by fees; the bill makes fee collections the primary source of its funding and requires spending plans for any amounts above set levels.
  • Export control, trade, and industry programs at Commerce and the International Trade Administration are funded and get directed resources for enforcement and trade promotion.

• State, local, and tribal governments; non‑profits

  • The bill funds many grant programs (public safety grants, Byrne JAG, victim services, juvenile justice, coastal and fisheries grants, manufacturing extension programs). Grant recipients will be eligible under the terms and amounts the bill sets.
  • Some grants require matching funds (for example, portions of salmon recovery grants require at least 33% state matching).

• Law enforcement, courts, and corrections

  • DOJ, FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Federal Prison System, and grant programs for state/local law enforcement receive specified funding increases or directed amounts for programs such as Byrne JAG, community policing, & opioid response.
  • The bill also contains policy provisions limiting some DOJ uses of funds and specifying program rules (for example, limits on FBI use of “national security letters” in ways contrary to listed laws).

• Taxpayers

  • The bill authorizes spending of federal funds as shown in the text. It includes rescissions of some unobligated prior‑year balances that reduce previously available funds.

Expenses#

No single grand total is stated in the bill text; the bill sets many specific amounts that together total many billions of dollars. Below are some of the larger, explicit appropriations the bill lists:

• NASA: multiple accounts totaling several tens of billions (examples in the bill include $7.3 billion for NASA science, $7.783 billion for exploration, $4.314 billion for space operations, plus aeronautics, technology, and safety services).
• National Science Foundation: $7,176,500,000 for research and related activities, plus $1,000,000,000 for STEM education and $350,000,000 for major research equipment and facilities construction.
• NOAA: roughly $4.48 billion for operations, research, and facilities, and about $1.61 billion for procurement, acquisition, and construction.
• Department of Justice accounts: many large accounts (for example, FBI salaries and expenses about $10.64 billion; Federal Prison System about $8.39 billion; DOJ law enforcement and grants amounts are large and detailed throughout the text).
• USPTO: $4,996,100,000 in total salaries and expenses, to be offset by fee collections so the general fund appropriation is estimated at $0.
• NIST: about $1.006 billion for scientific and technical research and services.
• Rescissions: the bill rescinds specified prior unobligated balances (for example, $30 million from certain Economic Development Administration funds and other amounts across Commerce and Justice accounts).

If you need a precise grand total, the bill text and its accompanying committee report would need to be summed line by line; the bill text itself does not present a single aggregate total.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to fund core federal operations in commerce, justice, and science for FY2026. Its supporters may argue it:
  • Provides resources for law enforcement, national security, and public safety (FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals, grants to state and local law enforcement).
  • Sustains major science and space programs (NASA, NSF, NOAA) and supports research infrastructure, STEM education, and construction projects.
  • Supports economic development, patent and trademark operations, trade enforcement, and manufacturing programs (NIST, CHIPS allocations, Economic Development Administration).
  • Strengthens oversight, reporting, and controls on large projects and IT spending by requiring certifications, spending plans, and notifications to appropriations committees.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is cost and fiscal transparency. The bill lists many large line items but does not present a single total in the text, so assessing the overall budget effect requires adding many entries and consulting the committee report.
• The bill places many policy limits and riders (for example, bans or limits on certain DOJ activities, limits on NASA/OSTP/NSC bilateral work with China) that could reduce agency flexibility or complicate routine operations.
• Several rescissions of prior unobligated balances reduce previously available funding and may affect existing projects.
• The bill creates many new reporting, approval, and reprogramming restrictions. This could increase administrative work for agencies and slow their ability to respond quickly to changing needs.
• Some rules raise implementation questions that the bill text does not fully resolve (for example, precise administrative effects of the USPTO fee offset approach, details about certain spending plans that the bill references in accompanying tables but does not include).

What is unclear: the bill references many tables, spending plans, and the committee report for program‑level detail. Those companion documents are needed to fully see how some funds are distributed and to judge some claimed effects. No publicly available information in the bill text gives a single overall fiscal total or full narrative justification for each program change.