Good evening INFORMS-
The FY26 appropriations picture is (almost) finally clear. The President signed the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, and Interior-Environment package into law on January 23, and the Senate passed a bipartisan deal Friday night covering most remaining agencies through September. Earlier today the House passed the new Senate bill, and agencies can stop planning in limbo and start making real decisions.
Within all that, INFORMS members -- and the entire STEM community -- deserve credit for reaching out to Congress about the critical importance of NSF funding. It made a difference.
As an analysis from the American Institute of Physics shows, Congress funded NSF at $8.75 billion in Fiscal Year 2026. That's roughly a 3.4% decrease over Fiscal Year 2025, but it's a 132% increase over the Administration's budget request. Congress sent America a strong signal: it values NSF and the American scientific enterprise.
Which brings us to what actually matters now: where the money goes, and what priorities shape it.
Two RFIs tell us where agencies are looking. NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE) have both put out requests for information in the past few weeks, and they're worth attention-not because RFIs are exciting, but because they reveal what agencies are trying to figure out before they commit dollars.
· NSF wants input on workforce training and innovation. Deadline: February 13. Read more
· DOE is asking about building an AI-for-science workforce tied to the Genesis Mission. Deadline: March 4. Read more
If you work on AI, optimization, workforce pipelines, or training models, these are real opportunities to shape how the federal government thinks about our field. RFI responses don't require a grant proposal -- they're a chance to say, "here's what you're missing" or "here's what would actually work." INFORMS members have expertise that's directly relevant. We should use it.
Meanwhile, NIH governance is getting attention. The Senate HELP Committee held a hearing this week on modernizing NIH-faster discoveries, more accountability. This isn't a one-off. 2026 is shaping up as a year where Congress cares as much about how research gets done as how much it gets funded. For a field built on evidence-based decision-making, that scrutiny cuts both ways: it's a chance to demonstrate value, and a risk if we're not at the table.
And INFORMS members are already at the table. Last week John Gray (The Ohio State University, and a member of the new INFORMS Federal Research Engagement Committee) testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging on his pharmaceutical supply chain research. That's the kind of visibility that matters when Congress is asking hard questions about how research translates into real-world outcomes.
Don't forget, if you want to get more involved in or learn more about advocacy, please reach out to me at: jcohen@informs.org
Best regards,
Jeff Cohen
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Jeffrey M. Cohen, MBA | PhD Candidate
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
jcohen@informs.orglinkedin.com/in/jmcsc
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