After a congressional hearing, the Office of Management and Budget approved NIH apportionments, ending a months‑long restriction that limited NIH to essential expenses. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told the House appropriations subcommittee that grantmaking, hiring and new awards will resume and that funds would be distributed by year end. Researchers and institutional leaders welcomed the move as it clears a major roadblock to R&D operations and biomedical workforce hiring; the release of NIH funds is expected to restart stalled programs and accelerate grant awards across basic and translational science.