… On Sept. 10, members of the House Appropriations Committee made clear that they heard this message, rejecting the White House proposal to eliminate NOAA’s research arm and cut the agency’s budget by one-third. Instead, the legislators approved a fiscal year 2026 spending bill that includes a modest trim—about 6 percent—and directs the agency to avoid closure of any of its laboratories or cooperative research institutes. The Senate, meanwhile, is set to consider a budget bill that would maintain the current funding level at NOAA: about $6.1 billion.