S. 2354 — Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

This section makes applicable appropriations available to the Department of Commerce for activities authorized under 15 U.S.C. 1514 (i.e., providing emergency medical services and supplies; food and subsistence supplies for resale; messing facilities; emergency reimbursements for supplies; and motion-picture equipment for recreation to department employees, their dependents, and certain other federal personnel in Alaska and outside the continental United States) during the current fiscal year, to the extent and in the manner prescribed by the Act. The section further authorizes advanced payments for such activities, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3324, upon certification by officials designated by the Secretary of Commerce that the payments are in the public interest.

This section authorizes Department of Commerce salaries and expenses appropriations made available by this Act, during the current fiscal year, for (1) hire of passenger motor vehicles, as authorized by 31 U.S.C. 1343 and 1344; (2) services, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; and (3) uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5901-5902). (31 U.S.C. 1343 generally limits agency use of appropriations to purchase or lease passenger motor vehicles except as specifically authorized by law.)

This section authorizes transfers of up to 3% of any Department of Commerce appropriation made available in this Act between such appropriations, with no appropriation increased by more than 6% by any such transfers; treats such transfers as reprogrammings of funds under section 505 of this Act, requiring compliance with that section's procedures; and directs the Secretary of Commerce to notify the Committees on Appropriations at least 30 days in advance of acquiring or disposing of any capital asset (including land, structures, and equipment) not specifically provided for in this Act or any other law appropriating funds for the department.

This section adopts by reference, and applies to FY2026, the requirements of sec. 105 of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-55), as amended by sec. 105 of title I of div. B of P.L. 113-6—which require NOAA to adhere to specified life cycle costs and related oversight for polar-orbiting and geostationary weather satellites—and sets the following life cycle costs for those programs: (1) Joint Polar Satellite System, $11,322,125,000; (2) Polar Follow On Program, $6,837,900,000; (3) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series Program, $11,700,100,000; and (4) Space Weather Follow On Program, $692,800,000.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to furnish services (e.g., utilities, telecommunications, security) necessary to support the operation, maintenance, and improvement of space in the Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, DC, or other buildings delegated from the Administrator of General Services, for users authorized under the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act of 1976 or other authority, on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis. Amounts received as reimbursement for such services, up to $200,000, are credited to the appropriation or fund that initially bore the costs.

This section authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to use, with consent and reimbursement subject to available appropriations, land, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any U.S. department, agency, or instrumentality; state, local, or Indian Tribal government; U.S. territory, possession, or political subdivision; or foreign government or international organization to carry out responsibilities under NOAA-administered statutes.

This section prohibits the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) from charging customers for copies of reports or documents generated by the Legislative Branch unless NTIS first informs the customer of free online electronic access and download options. If a customer still requests a printed or digital copy, any charge is limited to NTIS's costs of processing, reproducing, and delivering the copy.

This section authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to (1) enter into grants and cooperative agreements with, (2) use on a non-reimbursable basis land, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities provided by, and (3) receive and expend funds made available on a consensual basis from federal agencies, states or subdivisions thereof, local governments, Tribal governments, territories, possessions, or their subdivisions. Funds received for permitting and related regulatory activities must be deposited under the heading “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—Operations, Research, and Facilities” and remain available until September 30, 2027.

This section makes amounts appropriated for the Economics and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce—including for the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of the Census—available for expenses of cooperative agreements with federal, state, or local governmental units or institutions of higher education to support statistical, research, and methodology activities aligned with such appropriations.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to waive up to 50% of the cost-sharing requirements for National Estuarine Research Reserve System grants under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461), at the request of the grant applicant as necessary, for amounts appropriated to NOAA under the "Procurement, Acquisition and Construction" heading in this Act. (The reserves support estuarine research, monitoring, education, and stewardship in designated areas.)

This section requires the Department of Commerce to notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations at least 30 days in advance before obligating any unobligated balances of expired discretionary funds transferred to the department's Nonrecurring Expenses Fund (NEF), as authorized by section 111 of title I of division B of Public Law 116-93. (The NEF supports capital acquisitions and information technology improvements.)

This section authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in consultation with National Weather Service (NWS) employees and nongovernmental personnel management experts, to establish alternative or fixed rates for relocation allowances—including permanent change of station (PCS) allowances—notwithstanding 5 U.S.C. 5724 (which authorizes agencies to pay travel and transportation expenses for permanently transferred employees and certain separated career appointees, including up to 18,000 pounds net weight of household goods and personal effects) and regulations under 5 U.S.C. 5738.

This section directs the National Weather Service to maintain staffing levels through hiring, retention, and rehiring after separations in order to fulfill its duties under 15 U.S.C. 313 (i.e., weather forecasting, storm warnings, river gauging, meteorological observations, and related functions for agriculture, commerce, and navigation) to protect life and property to the maximum extent possible.

This section makes available up to $50,000 from funds appropriated to the Department of Justice in this title for official reception and representation expenses of the Attorney General, in addition to amounts otherwise provided in this title for such purposes.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to pay for abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in the case of rape or incest. The prohibition is null and void if declared unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction.

This section preserves the Director of the Bureau of Prisons' obligation to provide escort services for female inmates to receive services outside federal facilities, notwithstanding the preceding section. It clarifies that this obligation does not diminish the effect of section 203 in addressing the philosophical beliefs of Bureau of Prisons employees.

This section authorizes transfers of up to 3 percent of appropriations made available for the Department of Justice for the current fiscal year between such appropriations, provided no such appropriation (except as otherwise specifically provided) is increased by more than 6 percent by any such transfers. Such transfers are treated as reprogrammings under section 505 of this Act and are not available for obligation except in compliance with procedures set forth therein; the section does not apply to (1) paragraph 1(P) under the heading “State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance”; or (2) paragraph (7) under the heading “Community Oriented Policing Services Programs”.

This section prohibits the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Marshals Service from using funds appropriated under this title to transport maximum or high security prisoners convicted under state or federal law except to prisons or facilities certified by the Bureau as appropriately secure for housing such prisoners.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act by federal prisons to purchase cable television services or to rent or purchase audiovisual or electronic media or equipment used primarily for recreational purposes. Subsection (b) exempts from this prohibition any such media or equipment rented, maintained, or purchased for inmate training, religious, or educational programs.

This section prohibits obligation or expenditure of funds under this title for any new or enhanced information technology program with total estimated development costs exceeding $100 million unless the Deputy Attorney General and the investment review board certify to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations that the program has appropriate program management controls and contractor oversight mechanisms in place and is compatible with the Department of Justice enterprise architecture.

This section applies the notification thresholds and procedures in Sec. 505 to deviations from amounts designated for specific activities in this Act and the accompanying report, and to any use of deobligated balances of funds provided under this title in previous years.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to plan for, conduct, process, or approve public-private competitions (i.e., under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 or any successor policy) for work performed by employees of the Bureau of Prisons or Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated.

This section prohibits the use of funds for the salary, benefits, or expenses of any United States attorney assigned dual or additional responsibilities by the Attorney General or designee that exempt the attorney from district residency requirements under 28 U.S.C. 545(a). (Thus, the Attorney General may no longer exempt United States attorneys from residing in their districts via such assignments.)

This section authorizes the Attorney General, at discretion and in addition to other available funds, to use up to 2% of funds appropriated under the headings “Research, Evaluation and Statistics,” “State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance,” and “Juvenile Justice Programs” as follows: (1) up to 2% of funds available to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) for grant or reimbursement programs may be used by OJP for training and technical assistance; and (2) up to 2% of funds available for grant or reimbursement programs under such headings—excluding amounts specifically appropriated for research, evaluation, or statistical programs administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) or Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—may be transferred to and merged with NIJ and BJS funds for research, evaluation, or statistical purposes, without regard to the original grant authorizations.

This section authorizes the Attorney General, upon request by a grantee facing fiscal hardship, to waive specified statutory requirements applicable to FY2023–FY2026 appropriations for (1) adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects under 34 U.S.C. 10631 et seq. (waiving requirements under 34 U.S.C. 10631(g)(1)); and (2) grants to protect inmates (particularly from prison rape) and safeguard communities to which inmates return, as authorized by section 6 of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (waiving requirements under 34 U.S.C. 30305(c)(3)). (As background, the Prison Rape Elimination Act grants provide funds for personnel, training, technical assistance, data collection, and equipment to prevent, investigate, and prosecute prison rape and to support community safeguards such as risk assessments and reentry services.)

This section renders inapplicable the requirement that the Attorney General reserve $35 million for each of FY2011 through 2015 from amounts available for offender incarceration programs to provide grants to Indian tribes (or consortia) for (1) constructing and maintaining jails on Indian land, contracting for efficient jail construction, and developing alternatives to incarceration; (2) building tribal justice centers combining police, courts, and corrections; and (3) constructing and operating regional detention centers. (Thus, no such reservations apply to amounts made available by this or any other Act.)

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act, except those for the national instant criminal background check system (NICS) established under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901), by a federal law enforcement officer to facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual known or suspected to be a drug cartel agent unless U.S. law enforcement personnel continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times.

This section limits the availability for obligation during fiscal year 2026 of specified funds in the Department of Justice Working Capital Fund—which provides reimbursable central administrative services (e.g., supplies, materials, IT support) to DOJ components, other federal agencies, and certain tribes—as follows: (1) none of the income retained in the fund pursuant to title I of P.L. 102-140 (105 Stat. 784; 28 U.S.C. 527 note), except up to $12 million for implementation of a unified DOJ financial management system; (2) not to exceed $30 million of unobligated balances transferred to the fund's capital account pursuant to the same law, with any use, obligation, transfer, or allocation treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act; and (3) not to exceed $10 million of excess unobligated balances available under 28 U.S.C. 524(c)(8)(E), with any use, obligation, transfer, or allocation treated as a reprogramming under section 505.

This section permits discretionary funds appropriated in this Act for the Office of Justice Programs to participate in Performance Partnership Pilots authorized in prior and current fiscal year appropriations acts. (As background, Performance Partnership Pilots allow federal agencies to blend discrete funding streams across programs and seek statutory waivers to test innovative strategies for improving outcomes for targeted populations, such as at-risk youth and the long-term unemployed.)

This section directs the Attorney General to submit quarterly reports to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the Crime Victims Fund, Working Capital Fund, Three Percent Fund, and Asset Forfeiture Fund, containing at least the same level of information and detail as provided to those committees in FY2024.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to conduct, contract for, or otherwise support live tissue training unless the Attorney General issues a written, non-delegable determination that such training is medically necessary and cannot be replicated by alternatives.

This section prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds provided by this Act to target or investigate parents who peacefully protest at school board meetings unless they are suspected of unlawful activity.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to apply Justice Manual sections 1-8.200 and 1-8.210—or any associated or substantially similar memoranda, policy documents, or informal guidance—to communications to or from the Chair, Vice Chair, or staff of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, or the Chair, Ranking Member, or staff of the House Committee on Appropriations, relating to departmental resources, enacted appropriations acts, or federal laws on appropriations. (As background, those manual sections restrict unauthorized contacts between Department of Justice personnel and Congress.)

This section requires the Department of Justice to publicly post notices of funding opportunities for grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other assistance under the "State and Local Law Enforcement Activities" heading no later than 90 days after enactment and to make awards by September 30, 2026. Waivers of these requirements are permitted only by a letter from the head of the respective grantmaking office to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees detailing the justification.

This section directs the Attorney General to retain, preserve, and compile records or evidence related to the investigation, prosecution, victim services, or incarceration of Jeffrey Epstein. It further requires the Attorney General, not later than 60 days after enactment, to submit to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Senate Appropriations Committee a report including (1) the history of the Epstein case (including the 2008 non-prosecution agreement); (2) victims and testimony (including notifications under the Crime Victims' Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. §3771); (3) investigation of co-conspirators; (4) Department of Justice internal reviews and misconduct findings; (5) current status of investigations into Epstein's financial and trafficking networks; (6) an intelligence assessment of Epstein's financial ties, clients, and connections (if any) to the U.S. government or foreign governments; and (7) oversight failures at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. The section authorizes the Attorney General to redact victims' names and personally identifiable information from the report to protect privacy.

This section limits expenditures of appropriations provided by this Act for consulting services procured by contract under 5 U.S.C. 3109 (i.e., temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants, bypassing competitive service appointment and certain pay rules) to those contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public record and available for public inspection. Exceptions apply as provided under existing law or executive order issued pursuant to existing law.

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of its other provisions to other persons or circumstances remain unaffected.

This section prohibits agencies funded by the Act from reprogramming funds—including FY2026 appropriations, prior-year carryover, and fee collections—for specified actions (e.g., creating or eliminating programs or projects; augmenting programs by more than $500,000 or 5%, whichever is less; or reducing programs, projects, or personnel by 5%) unless the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are notified at least 30 days in advance. It requires such notifications to detail out-year budgetary impacts and carryover effects; mandates 30-day advance written notice to the Committees for any reduction-in-force; and bars reprogramming notifications after July 1, 2026, except in extraordinary circumstances imminently threatening human life or property.

This section (1) deems any person determined by a court or federal agency to have intentionally affixed a false “Made in America” label (or equivalent) to a product sold in or shipped to the United States ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract funded by the Act, pursuant to debarment procedures in 48 CFR 9.400–9.409; and (2) directs, to the extent practicable, the use of Act funds for authorized purchases of promotional items (i.e., as defined in OMB Circular A-87, Attachment B, Item (1)(f)(3)) that are manufactured, produced, or assembled in the United States, its territories, or possessions.

This section directs the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Science Foundation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to submit quarterly reports to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations detailing the status of appropriation balances at the account level—separately identifying unobligated uncommitted and committed balances by source year of appropriation and obligated but unexpended balances by year of obligation—with reports due within 30 days of each quarter's end. If an agency's accounting system limits compliance, the agency must fulfill the requirement to the maximum extent practicable and describe any shortfalls in the report.

This section requires departments and agencies funded under this Act to absorb within their total available budgetary resources any costs incurred from, or to prevent, personnel actions taken in response to funding reductions in this Act. It authorizes transfers between appropriations accounts to carry out this requirement—treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act and subject to that section's procedures—and applies the requirement to the Department of Commerce for actions protecting loan collateral or grant property.

This section prohibits the use of funds provided by this Act to promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products, or to seek the reduction or removal by any foreign country of restrictions on the marketing of tobacco or tobacco products, except for restrictions not applied equally to all tobacco or tobacco products of the same type.

This section limits the availability for obligation of amounts deposited in or available to the Crime Victims Fund (CVF)—which finances crime victim compensation and assistance grants under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA)—to $1.9 billion per fiscal year, with excess amounts carried over to the following fiscal year. Notwithstanding prior VOCA restrictions on CVF spending, of amounts available for obligation from the CVF, it (1) transfers $10 million to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, to remain available until expended, for oversight and auditing purposes related to this section; and (2) makes 5% available to the Office for Victims of Crime for grants to Indian tribes to improve services for crime victims, consistent with VOCA requirements.

This section prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds provided in this Act to discriminate against or denigrate the religious or moral beliefs of students participating in programs funded by those funds, or of such students' parents or legal guardians.

This section prohibits the transfer of funds appropriated by this Act to any other department, agency, or instrumentality of the U.S. government except as expressly authorized by this Act or any other appropriations Act.

This section directs the Inspectors General of the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Legal Services Corporation to audit grants and contracts funded by this Act pursuant to the Inspector General Act, as follows: (1) submit progress reports to Congress within 180 days of initiating an audit and every 180 days thereafter until completion; (2) require agency heads to publicly post redacted audit results on agency websites within 60 days of completion, excluding Freedom of Information Act-exempt material and sensitive personal information; and (3) require awardees to certify that no funds will be provided to entities with financial interests in the awardee. These requirements take effect 30 days after the Office of Management and Budget Director, in consultation with the Office of Government Ethics Director, determines that substantially similar rules apply uniformly across the executive branch ethics program.

This section prohibits the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) from using appropriated funds in this Act to acquire a high-impact or moderate-impact information system, as defined in NIST Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 199, unless the agency (1) reviews the system's supply chain risk against NIST and FBI criteria; (2) reviews the presumptive awardee against FBI and other agency threat information; and (3) assesses, in consultation with the FBI or other federal entity, any cyber-espionage or sabotage risk, including from entities owned, directed, or subsidized by the People's Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or the Russian Federation. The prohibition also applies unless the head of the assessing entity (1) develops a risk mitigation strategy in consultation with NIST, the FBI, and supply chain experts; (2) determines, in consultation with NIST and the FBI, that the acquisition is in the national interest; and (3) reports that determination to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the relevant agency inspector general.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to include in any new bilateral or multilateral trade agreement the text of (1) paragraph 2 of Article 16.7 of the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement, (2) paragraph 4 of Article 17.9 of the United States–Australia Free Trade Agreement, or (3) paragraph 4 of Article 15.9 of the United States–Morocco Free Trade Agreement.

This section prohibits the use of funds provided by this Act to authorize or issue a national security letter in violation of specified statutes governing FBI issuance of such letters, including the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the National Security Act of 1947, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. (National security letters compel third parties such as financial institutions, electronic communication providers, and credit agencies to disclose limited customer records without court approval.)

This section requires the program manager of a project exceeding $75 million under the Departments of Commerce or Justice, NASA, or NSF to immediately notify the respective Secretary, Administrator, or Director if, during any quarter, there is reasonable cause to believe total program costs have increased by 10% or more. The official must then notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 30 days in writing, including the determination date, reasons for the increase, actions taken and proposed to control future cost growth, contributions from changes to performance or schedule milestones, new total project cost estimates, and a validation of the project's management structure adequacy.

This section deems funds appropriated by this Act, or made available by transfer in this Act, for intelligence or intelligence-related activities as specifically authorized by Congress for purposes of 50 U.S.C. 3094(a)(1) during FY2026 until enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2026. (Thus, an intelligence agency may obligate or expend such funds notwithstanding the general prohibition in 50 U.S.C. 3094(a) absent specific congressional authorization.)

This section prohibits the use of appropriated funds to enter into contracts greater than $5,000,000 or award grants exceeding that amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing that, to the best of its knowledge, (1) it has filed all required federal tax returns for the three years preceding the certification, (2) it has not been convicted of a criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and (3) it has not, more than 90 days prior to certification, been notified of any unpaid federal tax assessment for which liability remains unsatisfied—unless the assessment is subject to an approved installment agreement or offer in compromise that is not in default, or a non-frivolous administrative or judicial proceeding.

This section permanently rescinds $305 million in unobligated balances from specified accounts in the Departments of Commerce ($45 million) and Justice ($260 million), not later than September 30, 2026, as follows: (1) Commerce—$30 million from prior-year Economic Development Assistance Programs (i.e., grants for public works, planning, technical assistance, and other economic development projects) and $15 million from Census Working Capital Fund; (2) Justice (prior-year funds)—$15 million from Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs (i.e., grants to combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking), $125 million from Office of Justice Programs, and $20 million from Community Oriented Policing Services (i.e., grants to advance community policing); and (3) Justice—$100 million from Working Capital Fund. The departments must report the amounts rescinded to the Appropriations Committees by September 1, 2026, and the rescissions exclude funds designated for emergencies or disasters and certain recent appropriations for state and local law enforcement assistance and community policing.

This section prohibits the use of funds provided by this Act to purchase first-class or premium airline travel in violation of federal travel regulations at 41 CFR 301-10.122 through 301-10.124.

This section prohibits the use of funds provided by this Act to send or pay for the attendance of more than 50 employees stationed in the United States from any federal department or agency at any single conference outside the United States, unless (1) the conference is a law enforcement training or operational conference for law enforcement personnel and the majority of federal employees attending are law enforcement personnel stationed outside the United States, or (2) the conference is a scientific conference and the department or agency head determines such attendance is in the national interest and notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations at least 15 days in advance with the basis for that determination.

This section directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to instruct departments, agencies, and instrumentalities receiving funds under this Act to track undisbursed balances in expired grant accounts and include in their annual performance plans and performance and accountability reports: (1) details on future actions to resolve such balances; (2) the method used to track them; (3) identification of balances that may be returned to the Treasury; and (4) for the preceding three fiscal years, the total number of expired grant accounts with undisbursed balances (as of the first day of each fiscal year) and the total unobligated funds remaining in those accounts.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), or National Space Council (NSC) (1) to develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement, or execute any bilateral policy, program, order, or contract with China or a Chinese-owned company unless specifically authorized by a law enacted after this Act; or (2) to host official Chinese visitors at NASA facilities. The prohibitions do not apply to activities that the agencies, after consultation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, certify (1) pose no risk of transferring technology, data, or other information with national security or economic security implications to China or a Chinese-owned company and (2) will not involve knowing interactions with officials determined by the United States to have direct involvement in human rights violations. Certifications must be submitted to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the Federal Bureau of Investigation at least 30 days prior to the activity, including its purpose, agenda, major participants, location, and timing.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by the Act to maintain or establish a computer network unless the network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography. It exempts from this prohibition funds necessary for federal, state, tribal, or local law enforcement agencies or other entities carrying out criminal investigations, prosecutions, adjudications, or victim assistance-related activities.

This section directs the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Commission on Civil Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the International Trade Commission, the Legal Services Corporation, the Marine Mammal Commission, the Offices of Science and Technology Policy and the United States Trade Representative, the National Space Council, and the State Justice Institute to submit spending plans—signed by the respective department or agency head and with at least the same level of detail as those submitted pursuant to this section in FY2024—to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 45 days of enactment.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to pay award or incentive fees for contractor performance judged below satisfactory or failing to meet basic contract requirements.

This section prohibits the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds provided by this Act to contravene section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, which authorizes institutions of higher education and state departments of agriculture to grow or cultivate industrial hemp for research purposes under state pilot programs.

This section prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds appropriated by this Act to prevent 47 specified states (i.e., all states except Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska), the District of Columbia, and four territories (i.e., Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) from implementing their laws authorizing medical marijuana use, distribution, possession, or cultivation. (Thus, the provision limits federal interference with qualifying state and local medical cannabis programs.)

This section requires the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation to submit quarterly reports to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations detailing any official travel to China by agency employees, including the purpose of such travel.

This section requires not less than 10% of amounts made available by this Act for Public Works grants authorized by the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 and for regional innovation grants authorized by section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722)—which support regional strategies to promote innovation-driven economic growth—be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties. Persistent poverty counties are defined as any county with 20% or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1993 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, the 2000 decennial census, and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, or any territory or possession of the United States.

This section prohibits the obligation or expenditure of appropriated funds to require export licenses for components, parts, accessories, or attachments for Category I firearms (per 22 CFR 121.1, International Traffic in Arms Regulations as of April 1, 2005) exported to Canada if valued at $500 or less wholesale per transaction, provided the exporter complies with specified filing and eligibility requirements. The exemption does not apply to (1) fully automatic firearms and parts, or (2) barrels, cylinders, receivers (frames), or complete breech mechanisms, except for end use by the U.S. federal government or a Canadian federal, provincial, or municipal government; or (3) articles for export from Canada to another foreign destination. It directs Customs District Directors and postmasters to permit permanent or temporary export or import without a license of such unclassified articles for end use in Canada or the United States or return, and authorizes the President to temporarily reinstate licensing requirements via Federal Register notice if Canada maintains inadequate import controls causing significant diversion for international terrorism or conflict escalation.

This section prohibits U.S. departments, agencies, or instrumentalities from using appropriated funds to pay administrative expenses or employee compensation for denying any application, qualified under 27 C.F.R. §§ 478.112 or 478.113, for a permit to import U.S.-origin “curios or relics” firearms, parts, or ammunition pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 2778(b)(1)(B). (Thus, such qualified applications cannot be denied using federal funds.)

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to pay salaries or expenses of personnel to deny, or fail to act on, an application for shotgun importation if (1) all other legal requirements are met, and (2) no application for that model in the same configuration was denied by the Attorney General prior to January 1, 2011, on the basis that the shotgun was not particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.

This section prohibits the use of appropriated or otherwise available funds to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions, of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who (1) is not a U.S. citizen or member of the U.S. Armed Forces and (2) is or was held on or after June 24, 2009, at U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense.

This section prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this or any other Act to construct, acquire, or modify any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to house, for detention or imprisonment in Department of Defense custody, any individual located at U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as of June 24, 2009, who is not a U.S. citizen or Armed Forces member and is in Department of Defense custody or detained at Guantanamo Bay. The prohibition does not apply to modifications of facilities at Guantanamo Bay.

This section makes funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice—including prior-year unobligated balances, excluding emergency-designated amounts and witness fees—available for payments pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 2680b(i)(2) of the HAVANA Act, capped at $5 million for Commerce and $10 million for Justice. (The HAVANA Act authorizes federal agencies to provide additional monthly compensation—up to the GS-15 maximum rate—and medical costs for covered employees and dependents injured by qualifying injuries (i.e., anomalous health incidents) at overseas duty stations on or after January 1, 2016.)

This section directs (1) the Secretary of Commerce, within 45 days of enactment, to allocate FY2026 funds from the CHIPS for America Fund (established by the CHIPS and Science Act, P.L. 117-167, to support semiconductor research, development, manufacturing incentives, and related activities primarily through the National Institute of Standards and Technology) to specified accounts, amounts, projects, and activities listed in a table in the report accompanying this Act; and (2) the Director of the National Science Foundation, within 45 days of enactment, to allocate FY2026 funds from the CHIPS for America Workforce and Education Fund (to support semiconductor workforce training and education) to specified accounts, amounts, projects, and activities listed in another table in the report. The section further (1) prohibits the President or designee from allocating funds available under specified CHIPS Act provisions during any continuing or partial appropriations act for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies—except for continuing administration of programs funded under subsection (a), limited to those allocation amounts; (2) authorizes the Secretary and NSF Director, subject to prior consultation with and notification to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and terms of section 505 of this Act, to reallocate funds specified in subsection (a); (3) requires the NSF Director, with the FY2027 budget submission, to propose allocations by account, program, project, or activity for FY2027 CHIPS for America Workforce and Education Fund amounts, with justifications; and (4) requires quarterly reports from the Department of Commerce and NSF to the Appropriations Committees on the status (including uncommitted, committed, and unobligated balances) of specified CHIPS-funded projects and activities, including prior allocations.

This section requires the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue applying negotiated indirect cost rates for institutions of higher education under 2 CFR § 200.414—including with respect to deviations—to the same extent and in the same manner as in FY2024. (Negotiated indirect cost rates enable universities to recover overhead costs such as administrative expenses and facilities on federal research grants and awards.) It prohibits these agencies from using funds appropriated in this or prior Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations acts, or otherwise made available, to develop, modify, or implement changes to such FY2024 rates.