This bill, called the American Innovation Act, would authorize specific, multiyear appropriations for several federal science and research programs. It sets annual funding amounts for fiscal years 2026 through 2035 for the National Science Foundation (NSF); the Department of Energy Office of Science; Department of Defense science and technology programs; the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientific and technical research and services; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate. For fiscal year 2036 and each year after, the bill would increase the previous year’s amount by the annual percentage increase (if any) in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers. The bill also says those amounts remain available until spent, adds a definition section for terms used, exempts these appropriations from certain sequestration rules, and says the budgetary effects should not be entered on specified PAYGO scorecards.
If this bill becomes law, it would authorize the listed amounts to support basic science and research programs at multiple agencies. Actual funding would still require appropriation actions by Congress in regular appropriations bills. The bill also would exempt these authorized appropriations from a specific sequestration provision and specify that their budgetary effects are not to be recorded on certain PAYGO scorecards. The bill was introduced in the House and referred to committees for further consideration.
The bill lists specific annual authorized amounts by agency for FY2026–FY2035 and a CPI-based increase after FY2035:
The text of the bill states its purpose is to "prioritize funding for an expanded and sustained national investment in basic science research." Proponents would present the authorized funding levels and the multiyear approach as a way to support long-term research programs across the named agencies.
No publicly available information.