Last week, the House Appropriations Committee held a markup of the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The measure passed the subcommittee with a vote of 35 to 28. The over 12-hour-long meeting featured both civil and fiery debates and calls for change to the status quo. The bill allocates a total of $184.5 billion in discretionary funds in total funding, $13.7 billion (7%) less than FY 2025. The bill provides $100 million for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, which will allow the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to invest in prevention and innovation programs in rural communities. 

Republicans emphasized their support for the bill throughout the hearing. Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) celebrated the bill as eliminating “ out-of-touch progressive policies” and ending “the weaponization of government by eliminating or reducing more than 100 programs.”  

House Republicans ultimately rejected all efforts on the part of Democrats to: 

  • Eliminate funding for several programs at the CDC, including programs addressing HIV, measles and tuberculosis, cuts to Planned Parenthood, family planning, cancer screenings, and other essential health services.   
  • Prevent cutting more than 10% of funding ($24 billion) for education, health care and labor programs 
  • Prevent cuts to Department of Education Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, which would result in the loss of 72,000 teachers, work-study, and financial aid for low-income students, as well as labor and workforce reductions, including Department of Labor cuts, the elimination of adult and youth job training, and weakened worker protections.    
  • Eliminate funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs and the Women’s Bureau. 

While, for Republicans, this bill is a torch illuminating a path forward toward greater accountability and transparency in government spending, Democrats characterized it is as a blow torch aimed at decimating funding and opportunities for marginalized communities. Ranking member Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said, “Republicans are eviscerating our public health system and promoting Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine ideology,” warning that the public’s confidence in our public health systems like the CDC, is being eroded. 

AHPA extends our gratitude to our emerging colleague, Christina Luke, guest author of this article. 
Christina is a graduate student in the Master of Public Policy program at Duke University.