Congress approved the final spending bill that lifted the National Institutes of Health budget by just under 1 percent, adding $415 million for FY2026 and setting NIH funding at $48.7 billion. The vote reversed earlier threats of deep cuts and reinstated many research priorities, according to congressional and industry statements. Policy and investment groups hailed the outcome as an incremental win for biomedical research, while analysts noted the real test will be whether grant approval rates rebound and how agencies allocate the modest increase across discovery, clinical translation and infrastructure.