An official website of the United States government
Budget requests for years prior to fiscal year 2026 (FY26) were submitted by prior Administrations and may not reflect current HHS policy.
The budget for NCATS is based on the fiscal year appropriation provided by Congress and the President. The process starts with the President’s Budget request, which is usually released in February. The President's request typically is followed by appropriation hearings by Congress, which result in appropriation bills and reports. The final appropriation bill, if passed by Congress and signed by the President, provides NCATS with its budget for the fiscal year (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30).
As part of the President’s Budget request, we prepare a Congressional Justification to detail our scientific priorities and proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Information on the overall NIH budget is available from the NIH Office of Budget.
Future Fiscal Year: 2027
Budget Request
The President’s Budget was released on April 10, 2026, and proposes a budget of $873,320,000 for NCATS.
Current Fiscal Year: 2026
Appropriation Law
On Feb. 3, 2026, the President signed into law (P.L. 119-75) the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026.” The Act provides the following for NCATS:
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences — For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act with respect to translational sciences, $942,323,000: Provided, that $75,000,000 shall be available to implement section 480 of the PHS Act, relating to the Cures Acceleration Network: Provided further, that at least $629,560,000 is provided to the Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards program.
Budget Request
The FY26 Budget proposes to consolidate NCATS into the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). For more information on the FY26 NIH Congressional Justification, see the NIH Office of Budget website.
Prior Fiscal Year: 2025
Appropriation Law
NCATS is operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR), titled the “Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025,” through Sept. 30, 2025. The CR provides funding to NCATS at the same level as FY24, which was $928,323,000.
Budget Request
On March 11, 2024, the President’s Budget for FY25 was released. Specifically, the FY25 budget request for NCATS is $926.1 million.
Previous Budget Requests for NCATS
- FY 2026: Budget proposes to consolidate NCATS into the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
- FY 2025 Congressional Justification and fact sheet
- FY 2024 Congressional Justification and fact sheet
- FY 2023 Congressional Justification and fact sheet
- FY 2022 Congressional Justification and fact sheet
Authorization
About Authorization
NCATS was created on Dec. 23, 2011, by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, (P.L. 112-74), which amended the Public Health Service (PHS) Act by including authorization language for NCATS. The 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255), which became law on Dec. 13, 2016, subsequently modified NCATS' authorization language.
The current PHS Act authorization language for NCATS includes the purpose of NCATS, the phases of clinical trials that may be supported, the NCATS biennial report, and the previously existing NIH programs that were moved to NCATS, such as the Cures Acceleration Network.
Cures Acceleration Network (CAN)
CAN was established within NIH on March 23, 2010, by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), but it was not appropriated any funds. Several stakeholders wrote a letter to Congress on May 14, 2010, asking Congress to provide funding for CAN.
On Dec. 23, 2011, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, appropriated $10 million for CAN and moved CAN to NCATS.
The purpose of CAN is to award grants and contracts to eligible entities to accelerate the development of high-need cures, including through the development of medical products and behavioral therapies.
Congressional Committees
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension oversee NIH, including NCATS. They may hold hearings or introduce legislation affecting NIH.
NCATS Budget Distribution
Funding History
This chart shows NCATS' funding history and appropriations.
