On September 9, the House Appropriations Committee approved its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) bill along party lines. The markup began on Tuesday morning and lasted twelve hours as the Committee considered dozens of proposed amendments, most of which failed. In his opening remarks, Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) acknowledged that the work of the Labor-HHS subcommittee is an important responsibility as each of these agencies reaches every community. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) was also given the opportunity to provide opening remarks, telling his fellow committee members that CDC funding is distributed to every health department across the nation and highlighting the important role CDC plays in the nation’s public health infrastructure. 

The House FY26 bill would provide $108.6 billion for HHS, a decrease of $6.8 billion from the FY25 enacted level. Notably, the bill does not align with the President Budget Request’s proposed restructure of HHS. However, it does provide $100 million for Make American Healthy Again activities and would consolidate STI, Domestic TB, Infectious Diseases and the Opioid Epidemic funding into one grant, consistent with the Administration’s proposal. (For an analysis of the changes proposed in the President’s Budget Request, see NACCHO’s analysis here.) 

While the House Appropriations Committee vote is an important step toward finalizing FY26 funding, it is unlikely that Congress will be able to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate proposals before the end of the fiscal year. In order to avert a government shutdown, Congress must pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) before September 30 to extend federal funding. The administration has indicated that it plans to deliver a list of anomalies to be included in any funding stopgap measure which could complicate negotiations. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has publicly stated that he would prefer any funding stopgap measures be kept “clean.” 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

The bill would decrease funding for CDC, providing $7.4 billion in total, a decrease of approximately $1.7 billion from FY25 levels. 

Under the House proposal, some key programs for local health departments would receive slight increases in funding in FY26:  

The bill proposes eliminating certain programs in FY26: 

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) 

The House bill includes $3.509 billion for ASPR, a decrease of approximately $125 million from $3.634 billion in FY25. Specific to the Hospital Preparedness program, the accompany report notes that, “due to funding constraints, the Committee eliminates funding for formula grants while continuing to fund the National Special Pathogen System and the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers.” 

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 

The House bill includes $7.4 billion in discretionary funding for HRSA, a decrease of approximately $1.45 billion from $8.85 billion in FY25. Within HRSA, the bill would provide slightly decreased for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program at $2.497 billion and eliminates the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative. Unfortunately, no funds were included for the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program, a key NACCHO priority. 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)   

The House bill includes $7.1 billion in funding for SAMHSA, a decrease of approximately $300 million from $7.4 billion in FY25. 

Committee Report Language   

Along with the specific funding allocations, committee report language gives context to the funding decisions and shows Congress’ intent and expectations for the use of federal funds. The accompanying report included language championed by NACCHO to strengthen local public health: 

The chart below shows how the House bill compares to both current FY25 funding (enacted through a full year continuing resolution extending FY24 funding levels through September 30, 2025), the President’s FY26 Budget request, and the Senate’s FY26 Labor-HHS bill. 

*Supported through the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which is eliminated under the President’s Budget Request. Under the PBR, some of these proposed funding levels, including Epidemiology and Lab Capacity and Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, would now be covered under traditional budget authority in the PBR.  

** Under the President’s Budget Request, the Center for Preparedness and Response would include the following programs formerly in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR): National Disaster Medical System, Preparedness and Response Innovation, and Health Care Readiness and Recovery, totaling $99 million under the PBR. 

*** The FY 2026 PBR proposes to realign the following lines into the new proposed line, Consolidated Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention Grant: Consolidated Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention Grant, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Domestic TB, and Infectious Diseases and the Opioid Epidemic. 

NACCHO Blog: White House Releases Additional Details for the Fiscal Year 2026 President’s Budget Request 

NACCHO Blog: Senate Appropriations Committee Passes FY26 Labor-HHS Bill 

FY26 LHHS Bill Summary 

FY26 LHHS Bill Text 

FY26 LHHS House Report 

FY26 LHHS Amendments