AAMC Statement on Full Committee Markup of Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill

AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement on the House Appropriations Committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill:

"The AAMC appreciates the committee's efforts to prioritize medical research in its spending bill by preserving funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), affirming the NIH's role in supporting research that advances innovation, drives breakthrough cures, and improves the health and well-being of communities across the country. At the same time, we urge the committee to change course regarding the bill's cuts to other key health priorities.

Specifically, we urge lawmakers to reverse the bill's steep cuts to public health programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proposed elimination of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the proposed elimination of two Health Resources and Services Administration Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs, and cuts to the Department of Education, particularly the Office of Federal Student Aid.

We also urge lawmakers to work in a bipartisan manner to reject problematic policy provisions that would impose arbitrary limitations on research, interfere with the patient-clinician relationship, weaken public health preparedness, restrict the training of future health care providers, or undermine efforts to build a robust, representative workforce.

Moreover, we call on Congress to ensure that federal agencies can fully obligate appropriated resources for research, public health, health workforce programs, and other key priorities without disruption or delay. Communities should not face setbacks in innovation, care, or training when Congress has already committed funding to support them.

We recognize the challenge that appropriators faced in drafting a spending bill in the current fiscal environment, but the cost of underinvestment in our nation's health carries consequences for all Americans. As the appropriations process moves forward, the AAMC urges lawmakers to continue to recognize medical research as a national priority, reject funding cuts to key health, science, and education programs and harmful policy provisions, and unite to craft a bipartisan spending bill that invests in programs and agencies that improve the health of patients, families, and communities nationwide."