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After the longest shutdown in U.S. history, the federal government has finally reopened.
Late last night, the president signed a continuing resolution or CR (a short-term funding bill) along with a smaller package (“minibus”) of three full-year spending bills, including Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch.
The CR sets a Jan. 30, 2026, deadline for Congress to complete the remaining nine annual appropriations bills that fund the federal fiscal year that started on Oct. 1, 2025. Key details include:
- As part of the CR, funding for the NIH, ARPA-H, CDC, BARDA, AHRQ, and NSF will remain at FY25 levels through Jan. 30 or until final FY26 legislation is passed, whichever comes first.
- As part of the minibus, the FDA will receive about $7 billion, including $3.4 billion in discretionary funding. This funding level is 1% lower than the FY25 FDA budget.
- The deal restores pay for furloughed federal workers, reverses layoffs that occurred during the shutdown, and blocks additional layoffs through Jan. 30.
- Policies governing research overhead costs (“indirect costs”) remain unchanged, as does the structure of NIH.
- There is no language restricting the administration’s ability to forward-fund NIH grants (although this could change in the final Labor-HHS bill).
With the government reopened, attention now turns to whether Congress can complete the full FY26 appropriations process before the Jan. 30 deadline or resort to yet another CR (it wouldn’t be the first time, which is why we need to keep the pressure on). Our press statement outlines some of our priorities as negotiations get underway.
The Science and Technology Action Committee (STAC) also issued a statement regarding the end of the shutdown, emphasizing the importance of finalizing an FY26 budget that invests in science and technology across the federal government.
Making the Case in the Press: Our own Ellie Dehoney, senior vice president of policy and advocacy, has been making the rounds with the media to make the case for protecting and enhancing medical and health research. Just this month she appeared in The Hill, The Nevada Independent, and Nature. Take a moment to read these stories (subscriptions may be required).
New FDA Center Director: We learned this week that the FDA named Dr. Richard Pazdur as the top regulator of medications. Dr. Pazdur is now heading the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, replacing Dr. George Tidmarsh, who left earlier this month. Dr. Pazdur has been with the FDA for 26 years and is the founding director of the agency’s Oncology Center of Excellence.
Announcing Our 2026 Honorees: We’ve just announced several of our Advocacy Awards Honorees to be recognized at our 30th anniversary awards event in March 2026! These awards honor individuals and organizations whose leadership efforts have advanced the nation’s commitment to medical and health research, as well as science and innovation more broadly. Mark your calendar for March 10, 2026. Learn more about the honorees and see announcements about the event here.
Sounding the Alarm on Pandemic Preparedness: The G20 Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness has released a new report, Closing the Deal: Financing Our Security Against Pandemic Threats, urging annual investment to close the pandemic financing gap and strengthen global resistance. In a press release, Victor J. Dzau, Panel Co-Chair and President of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (and Research!America Board member) said: “The world has become distracted from preparing for the next pandemic, even as biological risks multiply. Our collective ability to prevent and respond to health emergencies remains dangerously insufficient.” The National Academy of Medicine will host a webinar on the report on Friday, Nov. 21, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. Register here.
Hill Briefing Postponed: Because the government is only just reopening, we are postponing our Health Services Research (HSR) Capitol Hill Briefing, originally slated for Monday, Nov. 17. Stay tuned for details about the rescheduled briefing.
Member-only Alliance Discussion: Join us Wednesday, Nov. 19, at noon ET for a Research!America Alliance member-only discussion featuring Lindsay Garcia of KDCR Partners. We’ve asked Lindsay to help navigate a host of post-shutdown, R&D-relevant question marks. If you are with a Research!America member organization, email Jacqueline Lagoy for the Zoom registration link.
ICYMI: On Wednesday, Nov. 12, we hosted a terrific discussion with Dr. Nakela L. Cook, Executive Director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). If you couldn’t join us, view the recording here.
Civic Science Funding Opportunities: The application deadline is fast approaching for our Civic Engagement Microgrant Program and Public Engagement Content Awards. These initiatives fund STEM groups leading public engagement projects and support the development of open-access curricula to help researchers connect with non-scientific audiences. Please share these funding opportunities with your networks. The application deadline is next Friday, Nov. 21. Watch the video recording of our recent information session here.
Support Our Work: In the wake of the government shutdown, our advocacy redoubles for the funding and policy environment needed to drive scientific, medical, and public health progress. Your support powers our work. Donate now.