Lawmakers boost funding for NIST after proposed cuts
Congressional appropriators are looking to maintain, and in some cases increase, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s work in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum research.
The appropriations agreement released by House and Senate negotiators this week would include $ 1.8 billion for NIST, instead of funding cuts for the agency proposed by the Trump administration. The “minibus” appropriations package rejected many of the administration’s proposed budget cuts and limited agency reorganizations.
The agreement includes $ 1.25 billion for NIST’s research and services division, more than $ 542 million above the Trump administration’s request. The White House had proposed cutting NIST funding and positions in areas like cybersecurity and privacy; health and biological systems measurements; and physical infrastructure and resilience.
Meanwhile, industry and lawmakers had urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to protect NIST’s budget and workforce.
The agreement also $ 405 million for NIST’s “Community Project Funding,” more commonly referred to as earmarks. The White House had proposed phasing out that funding in fiscal 2026.
The appropriations agreement also includes $ 175 million to continue funding NIST’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. The MEP program includes 97 positions and helps fund a national network of centers across all 50 states and Puerto Rico that provide services to small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers.
The Trump administration had proposed defunding the MEP program, arguing it was outdated and had struggled to address challenges facing the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Language in the explanatory section of the appropriations agreement, however, includes strong language that forbids Commerce from revising the MEP program without gaining “explicit approval” from the committees as part of the appropriations process.
“The secretary is directed to continue the program under the same terms and conditions as were required in fiscal year 2024 and to issue awards at no less than the amounts in fiscal year 2024,” appropriators wrote. “Further, the agreement directs that no funds are provided to execute or plan for a program that reduces the number of active MEP Centers and that the secretary shall minimize, by rapidly executing funding competitions and renewing existing Centers in a timely manner, the periods of time when no MEP Center is active in any state or Puerto Rico.”
The funding in the agreement includes $ 55 million for NIST’s AI research and measurement efforts. Up to $ 10 million is intended to expand NIST’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation. NIST plays a key role in the Trump administration’s AI agenda.
Lawmakers also want NIST to conduct various evaluations, including one comparing Chinese and U.S. AI capabilities and another evaluating foreign AI models.
The bill also includes $ 128 million in base construction funding to repair and upgrade major research facilities, including facilities at NIST’s main campus in Gaithersburg, Md.
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