US Biodefense Budget Breakdown: Fiscal Year 2026 Update

The Council on Strategic Risks reports a decline in US federal biodefense investments for FY26, with total requests at $27.02 billion. While biosurveillance and medical countermeasures remain priorities, the report highlights significant funding cuts to global health security, public health preparedness, and domestic health capacity. It also notes a trend of declining transparency and agency reorganizations across HHS, DoD, State, and DHS that complicate the tracking of biodefense expenditures.

• Total US federal biodefense spending requests for FY26 are $27.02 billion, reflecting an overall decline in investment. The three largest budgets are the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at $19.44 billion, the Department of Defense (DoD) at $4.02 billion, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) at $1.44 billion.
• The FY26 budget prioritizes biosurveillance and early warning, requesting $927 million (a 17% increase from FY25 enacted funding). This includes the proposed 'Biothreat Radar' program and expanded metagenomic surveillance within the CDC.
• Funding for public health preparedness and domestic health capacity has seen a 32% decrease compared to FY24 actual ($10.31 billion) and FY25 enacted ($10.29 billion) levels, with the FY26 request set at $6.96 billion. These cuts affect the Strategic National Stockpile and state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) medical systems.
• Global engagement and health security funding are decreasing. Total requested funding for global health security programs across agencies is $678 million, which is lower than any year from FY19 to FY24. Specifically, the DoD's Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) faces a 14% cut from FY25 enacted funding, totaling $138.6 million.
• Support for medical countermeasures remains relatively consistent, with the FY26 budget requesting $11.78 billion, compared to $11.96 billion in FY25 enacted funding.
• Significant agency reorganizations are reducing budget transparency. The FY26 budget proposes eliminating the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) at DHS, transferring their functions to other offices.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) faces a significant reduction, requesting $5.12 billion for biodefense in FY26, a $3 billion decline from the $8.16 billion in FY25 enacted funding. This is primarily driven by a $2.4 billion decline in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) budget.

APA

Chwalek, S. (2025). US Biodefense Budget Breakdown: Fiscal Year 2026 Update. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/09/us-biodefense-budget-breakdown-fiscal-year-2026-update/

Chicago

Chwalek, Sabrina. US Biodefense Budget Breakdown: Fiscal Year 2026 Update. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2025. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/09/us-biodefense-budget-breakdown-fiscal-year-2026-update/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chwalek |first1=Sabrina |title=US Biodefense Budget Breakdown: Fiscal Year 2026 Update |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=9 December 2025 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/09/us-biodefense-budget-breakdown-fiscal-year-2026-update/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chwalek2025biodefense, author = {Chwalek, Sabrina}, title = {{US Biodefense Budget Breakdown: Fiscal Year 2026 Update}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/09/us-biodefense-budget-breakdown-fiscal-year-2026-update/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }