Washington Update 

Appropriations Update 
After returning from the August recess, Congress has turned its attention back to appropriations with a looming September 30 deadline to keep the government funded. One possibility is a continuing resolution package that would include funding for the Agriculture, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch bills for Fiscal Year 2026 and a short-term extension of funding for the remaining nine bills. Some members of Congress favor an extension into November or December, while the White House is pushing for a continuing resolution into early 2026. 

House Action
The House Appropriations Committee marked up and passed the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill yesterday. The bill provides $46.9 billion in base funding for the National Institutes of Health, a 0.2 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2025 and provides $955 million for ARPA-H, a 37 percent cut. The bill does not include the Trump administration’s proposal to reorganize NIH.

Funding for the U.S. Department of Education is overall cut 15 percent to $67 billion. The maximum individual Pell Grant award remains $7,395, while Federal TRIO Programs ($1.191 billion) and GEAR UP ($388 million) are flat funded. The bill cuts Federal Work Study by 37 percent to $779 million and the Institute of Education Sciences by 7 percent to $740 million. The bill eliminates: 

• Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG); 
• Title VI International Education Programs; 
• Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need; 
• Postsecondary Student Success Grants;  
• The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program.  

The Majority released a bill summary and the Minority released their own summary and fact sheet ahead of the markup. The bill advanced out of committee on a party-line basis. APLU joined a Student Aid Alliance letter opposing the cuts to campus-based aid programs, among other priorities. 

Markups continued on Wednesday, when the Appropriations Committee considered the Commerce, Justice, Science bill. That bill provides $7 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), 23 percent below FY25 enacted levels. The bill reduces NASA Science Mission Directorate by 18 percent to $6 billion, Aeronautics Research Directorate by 17 percent to $775 million, and Space Technology Directorate by 17 percent to $913 million. The bill provides $667 million for the NOAA Office of Research, a 1.7 percent increase from the FY24 Joint Explanatory Statement. The bill advanced out of subcommittee on a party-line basis in July. As a reminder, APLU sent a letter to House appropriators opposing the cuts to NSF and NASA research funding.  

Last week, the Energy and Water bill passed on the House floor on a narrow 214-213 vote. The bill provides the Department of Energy Office of Science with $8.4 billion, a 2 percent increase over FY25, while cutting Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy by 24 percent to $350 million.  

APLU continues to update its appropriations priorities chart to reflect the latest action on Capitol Hill. 

APLU Raises Concerns with Elimination of U.S. Department of Education Program Funding for Minority Serving Institutions
APLU released a statement on Thursday raising concerns with the U.S. Department of Education’s September 10 announcement that it will end program funding for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Department announced it will end $350 million in discretionary funding to MSIs that is awarded based on a threshold of enrollment for students from certain backgrounds. In its press release, the Department said the Department is “using its statutory authority to reprogram discretionary funds to programs that do not present such concerns.”

APLU’s statement noted the “action will negatively impact millions of students who have made these colleges and universities their destination of choice. These educational institutions play a critical role in building a stronger America.”

Per the Department of Education’s announcement, ED will no longer fund:

• Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Minority Science and Engineering Improvement (Title III Part E);
• Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V Part A); and
• Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (Title V Part B).

House and Senate NDAA Action 
Both the House and Senate began debate this week on their respective versions of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This annual policy bill provides legislative direction for the Pentagon, including research and development policy. This typically bipartisan process is threatening to careen in the House as legislators are voting to adopt many contentious “poison pill” amendments related to social issues.  
 
Both the House and Senate bills also contain research security provisions, which threaten to make international research collaborations with certain countries near impossible. As each chamber moves toward passing their respective bills and reconciling differences between the measures, APLU continues to engage Congress on provisions of concern to the university community. 

House Report on University Research Collaborations with China 
Last Friday, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report  titled, Fox in the Henhouse: The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Research and Engineering’s (R&E) Failures to Protect Taxpayer-Funded Defense Research. The report examines the committee’s concerns about possible linkages between federally funded research projects and entities in the Peoples Republic of China.

The report suggests a number of changes to the U.S. Department of Defense Research and Engineering research security policies and introduces the SAFE Research Act sponsored by Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI-02), chairman of the Committee. The legislation prohibits any federal agency from supporting any research and development project funds to researchers who are collaborating with “foreign adversary”-controlled entities or have collaborated with such an entity in the last five years. Collaborations could include co-authored papers, joint research projects, advising graduate students and postdocs. APLU opposes the legislation.  
 
NOAA FY25 Spend Plan Released  
In late August, the White House Office of Management and Budget approved NOAA’s FY25 spending plan. Although not publicly available, the plan withholds nearly $239 million of unobligated funding, with the largest cuts to the offices responsible for ocean and climate research. NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research will reportedly spend 14 percent less than its enacted budget for fiscal year 2025, representing a “downpayment” on the White House’s proposal to eliminate NOAA’s research office in FY26.  

Duration of Status Proposed Rule Published 
In late August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published its proposed Duration of Status rule in the Federal Register, with public comments due September 29. APLU is reviewing the proposed rule and drafting a comment letter. In addition to implementing a fixed period of stay for F (academic students), J (exchange visitors) and I (foreign media) visas, the proposed rule reduces the post-completion grace period for F-1 students from 60 days to 30 days, requiring students who have completed their program to leave the country within 30 days,  prohibits F-1 students from pursuing an additional credential at or below the educational level of their current program, limits transfers for first year students, and restricts graduate students from changing programs. 

The rule would replace “duration of status” admission for J-1 and F-1 visa holders with a fixed period of stay. Under status admission, a visa remains valid as long as the holder meets the visa requirements. With a fixed period of stay, visa holders would need to file an extension of stay prior to expiration of their visa, should they require additional time to complete their program for any reason.  

APLU is partnering with other higher education associations to create a resource to assist institutions in drafting their own comment letters ahead of the deadline. This resource will be shared with the Council on Governmental Affairs and Commission on International Initiatives as soon as possible. 
 
F&A Resources for FAIR Model Advocacy 
On August 28, APLU president Waded Cruzado issued a statement endorsing the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model: a new approach to increase transparency, accountability, and clarity in how federal research funding is spent, developed by the Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs (JAG), which included APLU. The association and JAG partners continue to work with congressional supporters to promote the FAIR model, advocating for language in appropriations bills and potentially a Continuing Resolution.  

APLU is working with members to support legislative language that blocks federal action to cap or otherwise change existing negotiated F&A rates until: 

• OMB and federal agencies have worked with the stakeholder community to develop a clear implementation plan for a new system based on the FAIR model; 
• Ensure at least a two-year transition period for agencies and institutions to make the necessary changes to accommodate a new model and; 
• Preserve the existing F&A reimbursements system until the new model is fully implemented and operational across federal research funding agencies.  

APLU anticipates that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will publish proposed changes to uniform guidance (the regulations that govern F&A) later this month with a 30-day comment period to follow. APLU and its JAG partners continue to meet with OMB about the FAIR model and will ask for institutions to respond to the request for comments when appropriate. 

APLU Joins ESC Letter Urging Nomination of Dario Gil as DOE Under Secretary  
APLU joined an Energy Sciences Coalition letter sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) and Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT) urging them to consider the nomination of Dr. Dario Gil as the Department of Energy Under Secretary “as expeditiously as possible.” Dr. Gil was reported favorably out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on April 30 and is still waiting for a full Senate confirmation vote. 

APLU Joins Community Letter Supporting HRSA Reauthorization 
APLU joined the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on a community letter supporting the reauthorization of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs, which are set to expire at the end of the fiscal year 2025 on September 30. 

The final letter that was sent on August 19 to House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), as well as Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT), urging the swift consideration and advancement of legislative proposals to reauthorize the HRSA Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs.