Referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the…
The American Innovation Act authorizes multi-year appropriations for basic science across federal agencies (NSF, DOE Office of Science, DOD science and technology programs, NIST research, and NASA Science Mission Directorate) for FY2026–2035 with specified annual amounts.
From FY2036 onward, funding is to be adjusted annually by CPI.
The bill makes these appropriations available until expended, exempts them from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, and excludes their budgetary effects from statutory and Senate PAYGO scorecards.
Policy aligns with bipartisan interest in research, but large fiscal footprint, lack of offsets, and sequestration/PAYGO exemptions reduce chances absent budget tradeoffs.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is explicit and detailed about funding levels and the legal mechanics to secure multi-year appropriations (including sequestration and PAYGO exemptions), but provides limited accompanying accountability, oversight, and fiscal-offset detail.
Fiscal rules: sequestration and PAYGO exemptions versus discipline
Fiscal rules: sequestration and PAYGO exemptions versus discipline
Generally strongly supportive: sees sustained, predictable federal R&D funding as necessary for public-interest science, climate solutions, and equitable research capacity.
May raise concerns about the large DOD share and the PAYGO/sequestration exemptions but favors funding overall if targeted to public good.
Cautiously supportive: values predictable investment to maintain competitiveness and national security advantages but wants fiscal discipline, oversight, and measurable outcomes.
Likely to back the concept while seeking offsets, reporting, or sunset reviews.
Skeptical or opposed overall: views as a large, permanent expansion of federal spending that weakens fiscal rules.
May endorse specific defense or NASA increases but objects to PAYGO and sequestration exemptions and CPI-indexed perpetual growth.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Policy aligns with bipartisan interest in research, but large fiscal footprint, lack of offsets, and sequestration/PAYGO exemptions reduce chances absent budget tradeoffs.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Fiscal rules: sequestration and PAYGO exemptions versus discipline
Policy aligns with bipartisan interest in research, but large fiscal footprint, lack of offsets, and sequestration/PAYGO exemptions reduce…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is explicit and detailed about funding levels and the legal mechanics to secure multi-year appropriations (including sequestration and PAYGO exemptions), but provides…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.