May 8, 2017

On May 5, 2017, the president signed into law a $1.07 trillion omnibus appropriations bill providing funds for federal government operations through September 30, the end of the 2017 Fiscal Year. The "Consolidated Appropriations Act" (H.R. 244) received largely bipartisan support and became law with hours to go before a stopgap funding measure expired at midnight on May 5. The House approved the bill by a vote of 309–118 on May 3; the Senate vote was 79–18 on May 4.

Title III covers funding for the U.S. National Science Foundation and other science agencies. The measure provides $7.472 billion for NSF, an increase of $8.73 million, or 0.1%, above the FY 2016 enacted level. It provides $6.034 million for the Research and Related Activities account; $209 million for the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account; $880 million for the Education and Human Resources account; $330 million for the Agency Operations and Award Management account; $4.37 million for the National Science Board account, and $15.2 million for the Office of Inspector General account. The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account includes funds to support the construction of three Regional Class Research Vessels; the NSF request was for the construction of two vessels.