On July 17, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted against President Donald Trump’s proposals to reduce the National Science Foundation’s budget by almost $5 billion, instead preserving funding for the organization. Funding for research initiatives nationwide, including those at the University, may be preserved by the vote.
According to a New York Times report, the NSF funded only $1 billion in research grants in 2025, with outgoing funding being reduced by over 50%. From 2015 to 2024, the foundation averaged $2.1 billion in grant funding.
In his proposal for the budget for the next year, Trump stated that he hoped to significantly reduce the NSF’s funding from $9 billion to $3.9 billion. Although no final budget has been agreed upon or authorized, the Senate offered to keep the NSF budget at $9 billion, while the U.S. House of Representatives only proposed a $2 billion cut, in contrast to Trump’s intentions for a $5 billion cut.
According to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, a Republican, the bill provides funding for research in vital scientific and technology areas that are required to guarantee that the United States maintains its competitiveness with China.
“The Senate is dealing with the practical reality that investment in the NSF is necessary for the U.S. to maintain technological leadership on the global scale, specifically in staying ahead of China on artificial intelligence,” said Dan Stanzione, executive director of the Texas Advanced Computing Center, which received a $457 million investment from the NSF in 2024.
We need access to this kind of infrastructure if we want our researchers and students to have the industry and tools they need to construct the workforce and models they will require, Stanzione stated.
Stanzione stated that the Senate’s decision to keep some of the NSF funds in place is a positive move because he has saw numerous NSF grants at the University revoked.
“It is really encouraging to see both houses of Congress recognize the importance of the federal sciences investment,” Stanzione said, adding that there is still more work to be done.
Maintaining NSF financing is crucial for producing the kinds of scientific discoveries that have the potential to transform the world, according to Aditya Akella, a University researcher who was awarded a $12 million NSF grant in 2024 to investigate how artificial intelligence may spur more innovation in computer systems.
According to Akella, many high-risk, high-reward projects are only supported by the NSF. Our goal is to create new science and observe how it changes the course of history. The kind of assistance that the NSF offers is necessary for that kind of unrestricted investigation.
