House Advances LHHS Bill, Senate Delays Markups

On June 5, the House Appropriations Committee released the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2027. The bill was advanced out of the committee in a 34 to 28 vote along party lines. Earlier this year, the President’s request called for sweeping cuts to the federal agencies that fund social and behavioral science research (see analysis). While the House bill still includes cuts to several agencies, the House has largely rejected the deep cuts proposed by the Trump Administration.

Notably, exceptions include several programs housed under the Department of Education, which have been a longtime target of the Administration. Under this bill, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is the research arm of the Department of Education, would receive a staggering 37.5 percent cut, and several programs, including International Education and Foreign Language Studies, would be eliminated. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would also be eliminated under the bill, as proposed in 2016, 2024, 2025, and 2026. Stay tuned for COSSA’s full analysis of the House LHHS appropriations bill.

On the other side of Capitol Hill, the Senate Appropriations Committee has delayed consideration of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which was scheduled for June 4 (see previous coverage). With the rapidly approaching summer recesses, it’s unclear if the Senate will release any of their appropriations bills before leaving Washington.  

Stay tuned for COSSA’s continued coverage of the appropriations process.