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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Yes. Congress can direct National Science Foundation (NSF) spending through appropriations law, with the degree of direction depending on the account, purpose, named projects or recipients, availability period, and rules for moving funds. NSF carries out those laws, but its flexibility varies by fiscal year. Reprogramming money within an account is different from transferring it between accounts, and unspent money carried into a later year is not automatically money diverted to another purpose.
That distinction matters in the current dispute: secondary reporting says NSF ended fiscal year 2026 with $1.4 billion in research funding unspent and carried forward. The reported balance and the arguments about it do not, by themselves, establish that NSF transferred the money or violated Congress’s direction.
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How Congress can direct NSF spending
Congress exercises control through appropriations laws. Those laws can set amounts for accounts, restrict what an account may fund, name particular projects or recipients, set the period funds remain available, and impose procedures for changing how funds are used. NSF must execute appropriations within those statutory terms.
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The more specifically Congress identifies a project or recipient, the less discretion the agency generally has about where that designated money goes. A broad appropriation to an NSF account still has legal limits—it is not a blank check—but it does not necessarily tell NSF which individual research proposal to select.
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For example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) describes fiscal year 2022 Community Project Funding and Congressionally Directed Spending as funding designated by Congress for specific projects and recipients, with agencies directed to distribute it accordingly. Government-wide, GAO reported $9.1 billion for 4,963 such projects in FY 2022; that figure is context for the designation mechanism, not an NSF-specific total.
What happens when NSF reallocates funding?
“Reallocation” can describe different budget actions. The legal and practical effect depends on what moved, where it moved from and to, and which fiscal-year law applies.
| Action | What changes | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Reprogramming | Funds shift among programs, projects, or activities within the same appropriations account. | Whether the applicable appropriations act sets limits or requires notice or another procedure. |
| Transfer | Budget authority moves from one appropriations account to another. | Whether the law authorizes the transfer, caps its amount, or imposes procedures. |
| Carryover | Unobligated funds remain available into a later period when the appropriation permits it. | The funds’ statutory period of availability and purpose; carryover alone does not show a transfer or a change of purpose. |
| Apportionment or obligation | Apportionment governs the availability of budget authority for agency use; an obligation is a binding commitment, such as an award. | Whether funds were apportioned, committed, or left unobligated, and whether the action complies with the governing law. |
Reprogramming within an account
GAO’s general explanation is that agencies may generally reprogram appropriated funds without separate statutory authority, but appropriations acts can require notice to appropriations committees, authorizing committees, or both. The actual limits and procedures depend on the law for that appropriation and year.
Transfers between accounts
A transfer changes which appropriation holds the budget authority, so it is not simply another name for shifting priorities inside an account. A FY 2021 NSF provision illustrates how Congress can constrain transfers: it permitted transfers of no more than 5% of an appropriation between NSF appropriations, limited an appropriation’s increase from transfers to 10%, and subjected each transfer to section 505 reprogramming procedures. Those were terms of that particular law, not standing percentage limits for NSF in every year.
Carryover is a timing question, not a conclusion about purpose
If an appropriation remains available beyond the fiscal year in which it was enacted, unobligated funds may remain available for a later period. Whether that is permitted depends on the enacted availability language and any other applicable restrictions. The existence of an unspent balance alone does not reveal whether money was later obligated for a different purpose, transferred to another account, or kept available for its original purpose.
A documented NSF example: MREFC in 2025
GAO reports that in May 2025, NSF officials asked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to address a shortfall in Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC). The request involved reprogramming prior-year carryover within MREFC and transferring funds from other accounts; OMB approved it in June 2025. The example shows that carryover, reprogramming, and transfers can be part of one response, but each action still has to meet the authority and procedures in the operative appropriations law.
GAO’s MREFC table reports more than $1 billion in total appropriations over FY 2020–2024. Its annual figures include supplemental appropriations, transfers, and reprogramming, and are for MREFC rather than NSF as a whole.
| Fiscal year | MREFC appropriations reported by GAO |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $243.2 million |
| 2021 | $301.0 million |
| 2022 | $265.5 million |
| 2023 | $187.2 million |
| 2024 | $234.0 million |
What is reported about NSF’s FY 2026 carryover?
A September 30, 2026 secondary account of New York Times reporting says NSF ended FY 2026 with $1.4 billion in research funding unspent and carried over. It describes that as about 19% of NSF’s primary research budget and says less than $175 million went unspent in each of the prior two fiscal years. The account attributes those figures to internal agency data reviewed by the Times. They are reported claims, not independently verified GAO or NSF figures here.
The same account says NSF and the White House argued the money remained available in the new fiscal year under Congress’s two-year appropriation. It also reports that some proposals recommended for funding were pulled back as deadlines approached, and that the administration wanted to focus funding on a narrower set of priorities, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Those are reported positions and events, not findings that resolve the legal question.
An October 2, 2026 secondary report attributes criticism to Representative Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, who argued that funding should be awarded as Congress intended. That criticism conveys the dispute; it does not itself establish whether a statute was violated.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is carrying over NSF funding the same as diverting it?
No. Carryover means funds remain available for a later period under the appropriation’s terms. “Diverting” implies a change in the money’s destination or purpose, which requires examining what NSF actually did and what the law allowed. A carryover balance may prompt questions about execution of congressional intent, but the balance alone does not answer them.
The available reporting does not establish the full legal treatment of the reported FY 2026 balance. It does not independently show whether the funds were available for later awards under the enacted FY 2026 appropriation, how much was apportioned or obligated, whether a formal transfer or reprogramming occurred, or whether any action violated a statutory direction. The reported carryover should therefore not be described as a proven diversion or as definitively lawful solely on the basis of the competing statements.
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How to assess a specific NSF funding change
To determine whether a particular reallocation was permitted, start with the enacted law and trace the money’s status rather than relying on labels such as “carryover” or “diversion.”
- Identify the congressional direction. Was the money appropriated broadly to an NSF account, or designated for a named project or recipient? Check the statute and any relevant incorporated direction.
- Identify the accounts and purposes. Did funds move within one account, between appropriations, or not at all? What purposes did the law authorize?
- Check the availability period. Was the appropriation one-year, multi-year, or otherwise available beyond the fiscal year? Did the balance remain legally available?
- Check the required procedure. Look for statutory limits, committee-notification requirements, approvals, and applicable reprogramming procedures. Do not assume the FY 2021 percentage limits governed FY 2026.
- Trace the budget action. Distinguish an unobligated balance from apportioned funds, a transfer, a reprogramming, and an eventual grant obligation. Review NSF and OMB budget records and any reprogramming notices.
- Look for oversight findings. GAO, an inspector general, or a court may resolve questions that agency statements and secondary reporting leave open.
The key test is not whether NSF spent every dollar by September 30. It is whether the funds remained available and whether any later use, transfer, or reprogramming complied with the specific law Congress enacted.
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