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HHS Spending Bill Clears Hurdle in House
Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 spending bill that would cut the Department of Health and Human Services by 4 percent, although billions less than cuts President Donald Trump requested his his budget.
The bill boosts funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $100 million. Of that increase, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) would receive a $22 increase for a total of $2.3 billion. Comparatively, President Trump called for a $5 billion cut to the NIH.
During the bill’s consideration, lawmakers approved an amendment that expresses concern over delays in announcing the availability of NIH grants, noting the amount available for such grants is down nearly 50 percent in FY 2026 compared with FY 2024.
Lawmakers blocked an amendment to stop an Office of Management and Budget rule that proposes to give political appointees control over awarding federal grants. Also rejected was an amendment to protect NIH researchers from being fired for political reasons.
The spending bill allocates $10 million for the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program and $400 million for the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program. NASPGHAN had called on lawmakers to fund the programs at $30 million and $1.02 billion, respectively.
Funding cuts include a $2 billion reduction in funding for operating the Affordable Care Act marketplace, the elimination of funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The bill still requires passage by the full House and will ultimately need to be reconciled with the Senate spending bill.
The bill report is available here.
From the Republicans: A summary of the bill is available here.
From the Democrats: A summary of the bill is here. A fact sheet is here.
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