Congress released its FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bills, offering early insight into the future of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While NOAA’s organizational structure remains intact in both spending bills despite Trump’s request, the House and Senate lay out diverging visions for its mission and resources. Dive in with us on what’s in these bills, and what it means.
Both the House and Senate bills reject key proposals in the Trump Administration’s FY26 budget request, including the elimination of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the proposed transfer of the Office of Protected Resources (OPR) to the Department of the Interior, and eliminations of longstanding and popular programs like the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), Sea Grant, Coastal Zone Management grants, and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS).
OAR—one of NOAA’s six line offices—oversees weather research, ocean exploration, acidification monitoring, cooperative institutes, support for the Sea Grant network, and much more. Its programs underpin much of NOAA’s applied science portfolio and serve as a foundation for long-range forecasting, coastal planning, and ecosystem management.
The bipartisan, bicameral rejection of these proposals, at least until a more thoughtful plan is proposed, underscores a broad consensus in Congress that NOAA’s core scientific and operational roles are valuable to the American people and should be preserved.
But beyond that shared starting point, the two chambers charted different courses for the agency’s broader mission.
Big Shifts in the House
The House FY26 CJS bill proposes $5.8 billion for NOAA, 28 percent above the President’s FY26 Budget Request, but eight percent below NOAA’s FY24 enacted level, which NOAA continues to operate under through the FY25 continuing resolution.
The House bill preserves NOAA’s structure, maintaining all line offices and funding essential services like weather forecasting, satellite operations, and core observation systems. However, it stops short of expanding the agency’s scientific or community-focused work and proposes some stark cuts for certain budget lines. Programs such as Sea Grant, NERRS, Cooperative Institutes, and ocean acidification research are maintained at or near FY24 levels, while broader investments in atmospheric science and the OAR budget are not fully restored.
Support for emerging marine technologies is noted, particularly tools like uncrewed systems that extend NOAA’s ability to collect data in remote areas, but these tools are framed as enhancements to existing operations, not as catalysts for broader mission growth. The bill significantly reduces funding for NOAA’s ships, aircraft, and satellites, and scales back administrative support—suggesting a focus on day-to-day operations rather than long-term modernization.
For NOAA Fisheries, the House bill cuts science and reflects a preference for regional governance. It proposes what would amount to devastating cuts to the Fisheries Data Collections, Surveys, and Assessments budget line despite the administration’s request to preserve it. Fisheries surveys are an overwhelmingly bipartisan priority that ensure U.S. fishermen have the information they need to catch the most fish today and tomorrow. The bill encourages NOAA to reduce industry burdens, simplify permitting, and defer more decision-making authority to regional councils.
Senate: Strategic Investment and Continuity
The Senate FY26 CJS bill paints a more status-quo picture of NOAA’s role, largely in keeping with the direction we’ve been seeing Congress take the agency for years. It proposes $6.14 billion for NOAA, 36 percent above the President’s request and just 2.8 percent below current FY25 continuing resolution levels. This topline represents a clear endorsement of NOAA’s broader role in environmental observation, applied research, and community engagement, while still exercising budgetary restraint and providing an overall cut to the agency.
The Senate bill restores virtually every major program proposed for elimination and rejects the proposed dissolution of OAR, increasing its budget to $1.13 billion—a 33% increase over the request and a 1.4% boost from FY25. The bill directs targeted investments toward advanced modeling, ocean science, high-performance computing, and next-generation observing systems. These priorities reflect a vision of NOAA not just as a data provider, but as a modern science agency equipped to meet the complexities of ocean and ecosystem change.
On fisheries, the Senate underscores NOAA’s role in applied science, allocating $161.5 million for ecosystem science (35% more than the House), and providing funding for fisheries data collection to slightly above FY24 levels. Funding is included for stock assessments, electronic monitoring, cooperative research, eDNA tools, and aquaculture innovation. As with the House, the Senate rejects the administration’s proposed transfer of the Office of Protected Resources to the Department of the Interior.
What’s Next: September 30 and the Rescissions Shadow
With the government funding deadline approaching on September 30, the future of NOAA’s FY26 budget remains uncertain. A continuing resolution could further extend FY24 levels, delaying decisions on strategic investments or structural reforms. A conference agreement will have to reconcile not just dollar amounts, but differing policy directions between the two chambers in Congress.
What emerges in the final package will help define NOAA’s trajectory—not only in the coming year, but in how it is positioned to serve the nation in the face of growing environmental and economic complexity.
Need help navigating these shifting seas?
Congress may be rejecting the most extreme NOAA cuts, for now, but major uncertainties remain. As funding debates intensify and agency priorities hang in the balance, having a smart, strategic partner in Washington has never been more important.
At ESP Advisors, we specialize in turning complexity into clarity and uncertainty into opportunity. Whether you’re fighting for funding, shaping policy, or making sure your voice is heard in D.C., we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Let’s chart a clear course together. Reach out to our team today.
