Senate committee advances appropriations bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee July 31 advanced the fiscal year 2026 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and other agencies by a bipartisan 26-3 . The bill provides approximately $197 billion in discretionary funding. It includes funding to programs the AHA requested in .
The committee approved $309 million 鈥 an increase of $4 million 鈥 for Health Care Readiness and Recovery, formerly the Hospital Preparedness Program. It also provided $390 million for the Children鈥檚 Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program, a $21 million increase from FY 2024 enacted. The bill also includes some moderate funding increases for rural health, behavioral health, workforce, and maternal and child health programs. In addition, the bill $48.7 billion in discretionary funding for the National Institutes of Health, an increase of $400 million, and rejects the initial White House proposal to cut $18 billion in funding. The bill also rejected the administration鈥檚 proposal to cap indirect cost rates for NIH grants at 15%.
The House is expected to consider the bill in September.