House L-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Advances FY26 Spending Bill

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) voted 11-7 along party lines on Sept. 2 to advance its fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill. Prior to the markup, the subcommittee released bill text (PDF) and a committee-prepared summary (PDF).  

The bill would provide $46.9 billion for the National Institute of Health base budget across all 27 institutes and centers, a $99 million (0.2%) increase over the FY 2025 comparable level, inclusive of 21st Century Cures Act funding. The bill would include policy provisions limiting facilities and administrative cost support for institutions subject to the endowment tax; prohibit the use of fetal tissue from induced abortions in NIH-supported research; and bar funding for gain-of-function research. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health would receive $945 million, a $555 million (37%) decrease from FY 2025 levels. 

The bill would make significant cuts to public health and workforce programs. According to a summary prepared by Appropriations Democrats (PDF), the bill would reduce funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by $1.7 billion (22.9%) and would eliminate gun violence prevention research funding at the CDC and across HHS agencies. The bill would also eliminate all funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The Health Resources and Services Administration would receive $7.1 billion, $866 million below FY 2025 levels, with funding for the Health Workforce programs reduced by $37 million and the Nursing Workforce Diversity and Nursing Faculty Loan Programs eliminated. Additional details on Title VII and Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education programs are expected in the forthcoming full committee report.  

The legislation would provide $67 billion for the Department of Education, representing a $12 billion (15%) reduction from FY 2025 levels. The Office of Federal Student Aid would receive $23.3 billion, a $1.4 billion (6%) decrease. 

The full House Appropriations Committee is slated to mark up the bill on Sept. 9. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its bipartisan L-HHS bill on July 31 [refer to Washington Highlights, Aug. 1].