The Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bill passed with a 26-3 vote and allocates $197 billion in discretionary funding.
Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, said, “This bill prioritizes funding to help make Americans healthier and supports lifesaving biomedical research, including through targeted funding for Alzheimer's, cancer, Lyme disease, Parkinson’s, ALS, diabetes, and rare disease research. It also provides significant resources for substance use prevention and treatment programs to help combat the scourge of fentanyl and other illicit narcotics plaguing our towns and cities. By promoting financial stability for working parents and strengthening our economy, this legislation also invests in education and increasing resources for affordable child care.”
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee added: “As the chairman of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, I am proud that Ranking Member Baldwin and I were able to once again craft an effective bill that maintains provisions that are critical to the departments our subcommittee oversees. This bill also continues our bipartisan record by including a number of priorities from both sides of the aisle like, investments in America’s biomedical research, child care, education, mental and rural heath, and continued efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. I am pleased that this bill reflects many of the priorities that will help West Virginians from all corners of our state.”
Key allocations include $48.7 billion for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health. To address substance use disorders and the opioid crisis in particular, $1.6 billion is directed toward State Opioid Response Grants; $1.9 billion goes to Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant; while $145 million supports Rural Communities Opioid Response initiatives.
Mental health programs will receive more than $5.5 billion for research as well as treatment and prevention services.
Preparedness measures are funded with $3.6 billion allocated to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. Of this amount, $1 billion is set aside for BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), $825 million for Project BioShield aimed at countering biological threats, and $79 million for the National Disaster Medical System.
Rural health programs administered by HRSA will receive nearly $374 million; an additional $5 million is designated for CDC’s Office of Rural Health.
Caregiving support includes $232 million dedicated to family caregiving and respite care programs under the Administration for Community Living.
Early childhood education receives substantial support with $8.8 billion allocated to Child Care and Development Block Grants alongside nearly $12.4 billion earmarked for Head Start.
For K-12 education funding formulas: Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies total $18.5 billion; IDEA State Grants receive $15.2 billion.
Career preparation initiatives include $1.5 billion for Career and Technical Education plus $729 million devoted to Adult Education programs.
Rural education sees targeted support with a combined total of over $265 million across achievement programs as well as postsecondary economic development grants.
The Apprenticeship Grant Program receives an allocation of $285 million.
The maximum Pell Grant award remains unchanged at $7,395 for academic year 2026-2027.
The legislation also preserves long-standing policy riders such as Hyde Amendment restrictions on federal abortion funding; Hyde-Weldon conscience protections; prohibitions on needle exchange program funding; bans on NLRB electronic voting systems; as well as upholding the Dickey Amendment related to gun violence research.
