Massive Science Funding Boost: $60 Billion for Research Protected from Budget Cuts Through 2035

The American Innovation Act isn't just throwing money at science; it’s building a decade-long financial fortress around federal research. This bill locks in specific, massive budget increases for five key science agencies—NASA, NSF, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the Department of Defense’s Science and Technology programs, and NIST—starting in Fiscal Year 2026.

The Decade-Long Science Budget Guarantee

This legislation authorizes a huge, step-by-step funding ramp-up for the next ten years. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) starts at $9.7 billion in FY2026 and is scheduled to hit $18.2 billion by FY2035. The Department of Defense’s science programs see the largest chunk, climbing from $23.1 billion to $43.3 billion over the same period (SEC. 2). What does this mean for the person on the street? It means the basic research that leads to things like better batteries, faster internet, and new medical treatments gets a predictable, stable funding stream. If you’re a student planning a career in tech or engineering, this bill signals that the jobs and research grants will be there for the long haul.

Inflation-Proofing Future Discoveries

One of the smartest details in the bill kicks in after 2035. Starting in Fiscal Year 2036, the funding for all five agencies will automatically increase each year based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—the official measure of inflation (SEC. 2). This is a big deal. Normally, if Congress doesn't act, the real value of research funding erodes over time due to inflation. By linking future funding to CPI, the bill ensures that the purchasing power of these science budgets—meaning how many researchers they can hire or how many projects they can actually fund—is maintained indefinitely. It’s essentially inflation-proofing the nation’s science portfolio.

The Budget Shield: No Cuts Allowed

The most significant administrative move here is protecting this money from future budget battles. The bill explicitly exempts these appropriations from what’s called “sequestration.” Sequestration is the automatic, across-the-board budget cut mechanism that kicks in when Congress can’t agree on deficit reduction. By walling off this science funding, the bill ensures that these research programs won't be subject to sudden, painful cuts, providing unprecedented stability for long-term projects (SEC. 2). It also ensures that the money doesn't expire at the end of the fiscal year; it’s available until it’s spent.

The Fiscal Trade-Off

While guaranteed, stable funding for science is a huge benefit, there is a fiscal footnote worth noticing. The bill also states that these large appropriations will not be counted on the official “PAYGO” scorecards used for tracking budget impacts (SEC. 2). Furthermore, exempting this substantial funding from sequestration means that if future budget crises do trigger automatic cuts, other discretionary programs—like housing assistance, infrastructure maintenance, or education grants—will have to bear a disproportionately larger share of the burden. This bill secures science funding, but potentially at the expense of other federal programs that will lack the same protection when the budget axe inevitably swings.