LHHS
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS)
Read COSSA’s Analysis of the FY 2026 House LHHS Appropriations Bill for Federal Science Agencies
On September 9, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations bill, which provides annual appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Education, Department of Labor, and other agencies. The Senate advanced its bill in July (see COSSA’s analysis). The House bill is a mixed bag for the science agencies important to the COSSA community. Similar to the Senate bill, the Committee rejects the President’s proposals to reduce the NIH budget by 40 percent, cut CDC by…
COSSA Releases Analysis of House LHHS Bill; Congress Considers Short-Term CR as End of Fiscal Year Approaches
As the appropriations deadline rapidly approaches on September 30, both chambers of Congress remain far from completing their twelve annual spending bills. While individual appropriations bills continue to inch forward (see related article), attention in Congress has turned to drafting a continuing resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown in two weeks. Earlier today, the House Republicans released the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026, which, if enacted, would extend funding to November 21 to allow lawmakers additional time to finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. In their release, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) also included a section-by-section explainer on the proposed…
Congress Returns from August Recess; House to Consider LHHS Bill
Congress has returned from their August recess prepared to tackle appropriations as the end of the fiscal year (FY) rapidly approaches. As previously reported by COSSA, both the House and the Senate have released their Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bills but only the Senate has released their Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bill before leaving for the break (see COSSA’s analyses here). While it’s unlikely they’ll manage to finalize any of their bills before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, the House LHHS Appropriations subcommittee plans to mark up their version of the LHHS bill later…
Senate Releases Spending Bills, Republican Senators Push Back Against NIH Funding Delays
Before departing for August Recess, the Senate advanced several bills through the Appropriations Committee, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill, and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bill (previous COSSA coverage). Both the Senate CJS and LHHS bills included relatively flat funding levels, rejecting the draconian cuts proposed by the Trump Administration earlier this year (see COSSA’s analysis). Notably, on July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a mark-up for the LHHS bill in which several amendments were offered, including Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) call for the Trump Administration to restore all grants that had been terminated. The…
House and Senate Advance CJS Bills; Congress Claws Back FY 2025 Funding
Over the last few weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released and began consideration of their fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bills, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the U.S. Census Bureau. On July 10, the Senate made their first attempt to advance the CJS bill through the Appropriations Committee, only to call for an extended recess following arguments over the relocation of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) headquarters and other provisions. The following week, on July 17,…
House Republicans Delay Markups; Reconciliation Subject to “Byrd Bath”
As previously reported, the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations process is well underway with the House reviewing multiple bills, most recently the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill; the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill; the Homeland Security bill; the Defense bill, and the Legislative Branch bill. The House has also released subcommittee allocations—or topline funding levels—for the bills already drafted. The other subcommittees have yet to receive their allocations, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) and Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittees. On June 18, the House Appropriations committee announced a delay in…
Bhattacharya Defends NIH Budget Request to Senate Appropriators
As the Congressional appropriations process continues, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was invited to defend the President’s FY 2026 before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee (see COSSA’s analysis). Under the President’s budget, the NIH would see steep budget cuts and a major restructuring that would reduce the institutes and centers (ICs) from 27 to 8. Throughout the hearing, Bhattacharya fielded questions on the impacts of these proposals on the research community and dismissed concerns, claiming that the proposal is the starting point of a budget…
House and Senate Hold Policy and Budget Hearings on the Dept. of Education
With the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations process ramping up, Congress has been holding hearings on budget and policy priorities for various departments and agencies, including the Department of Education. On June 3, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee invited Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to defend the department’s FY 2026 budget request. The following day, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education,” with Secretary McMahon again testifying before the committee. The Senate LHHS budget hearing focused on the detailed…
Congress Hosts HHS Secretary Kennedy for FY 2026 Budget Hearings
As the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations process gets underway, Congress invited Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to defend the agency’s budget request in both chambers (see previous COSSA coverage). On May 14, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held separate hearings while the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee held their respective hearing on May 20. In both chambers, Congress raised concerns over FY 2025, questioning Secretary Kennedy on whether the agency is withholding funding that has been appropriated by Congress, which…
House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Department of Education Budget Hearing
On May 21, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee held a hearing about the Department of Education’s budget request for the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifying for the committee. The hearing was sharply divided, with subcommittee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), extensively questioning Secretary McMahon about the Trump Administration’s decimation of the Department. Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and the committee’s other Republican members praised the proposed cuts and focused their questioning on other aspects of the proposed budget, such as school choice….
119th Congress Committee Profile: House and Senate Appropriations Committee
As previously reported by COSSA, the House and Senate committee assignments have been announced over the last month. On the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) will remain in his role, as will Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), while the Senate Appropriations Committee will see a shift from Democratic majority to Republican majority with Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) is an important committee to the research community in that it is responsible for securing appropriations for federal agencies important to the research community, such as the National…
House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Holds NIH Budget Hearing
On November 19, the House Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee invited Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Hill for a budget hearing. Normally, these hearings are scheduled prior to the appropriations bills being written—typically in the spring—but the House Appropriations Committee released their LHHS bill in July without holding a single hearing (see COSSA’s analysis here). Despite the unusual sequence of events, Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were interested in the NIH’s budget and investments, and how to restore trust in science. Chairman Aderholt,…
President-Elect Trump and a New Majority Congress: 2025 Policy Outlook
With the results of the 2024 Presidential election cycle nearing completion, Former President Donald Trump pulled out an electoral victory with 312 electoral college votes compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 226. In addition, Republicans outperformed expectations in the Congressional races, taking control of the Senate and still in contention to hold on to the majority in the House (although not all races have been called), potentially giving President-elect Trump an ideal landscape in which to enact his policy agenda after the transition. Presidential Transition With the presidential race decided, attention now turns to the presidential transition. The President-elect has…
Congress: Competitive Elections for the SBS Community to Watch
As November 5 rapidly approaches, Congress is likely to see some leadership changes in both the House and the Senate. With a current slim majority in both chambers, competitive races have Democrats and Republicans battling for control. The 2024 CPR Senate Race Ratings from the Cook Political Report details the Senate races that are competitive, including Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Significantly more Democrat-held seats are in competitive races than Republican-held seats in the Senate. Similarly, the 2024 CPR House Race Ratings from the Cook Political Report details the House races that are competitive, including races in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,…
State of Play: FY 2025 Appropriations for Social Science Research
As Congress returns to Capitol Hill following August recess, appropriators are looking to finalize the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2025 prior to the September 30 deadline. As previously reported by COSSA, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced 11 of its 12 bills, including the Commerce, Justice Science (CJS) and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bills (COSSA’s analysis is available here) but did not manage to pass any of the bills on the Senate floor. On the other side of the Capitol, the House Appropriations Committee considered all 12 bills (COSSA’s analysis is available here) and managed to pass 5 of its…
Senate Advances CJS and LHHS Bills Before August Recess; COSSA Releases Analysis
Over the last few weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released and began consideration of their fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee considered the Commerce, Justice Science (CJS) and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bills; read on for details of the bills as approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Currently, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced 11 of its 12 bills, however, it is unlikely that the Senate will bring any of its bills to the Senate floor when Congress returns in September. Instead, it’s anticipated that the House and Senate will begin negotiations on…
COSSA Releases Full Analysis of FY 2025 House Appropriations Bills for Federal Science Agencies
Over the last several weeks, appropriators in the House of Representatives have been considering funding legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2025, which beings October 1. This is the first appropriations cycle under the leadership of Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK). As previously reported, the year began with an understanding that the FY 2025 appropriations process was going to be an especially difficult one. Thanks to strict budget caps set last year for FY 2024 and FY 2025, discretionary spending is once again on the chopping block. The caps as currently set have the potential to further decimate agency budgets, especially…
House Passes Twelve Bills through Appropriations Committee; Senate Releases Subcommittee Allocations
The House and Senate appropriations process is well underway for fiscal year (FY) 2025, with the House having completed and passed all twelve bills through the House Appropriations Committee, and looking to pass all twelve on the floor before August recess begins (see previous COSSA coverage). On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is pushing forward with their respective bills, having released subcommittee allocations and passing three of its bills through the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 11. The House is rumored to vote the week of July 29 on the two bills that fund federal science agencies….
COSSA Releases Preview of FY 2025 House Spending Bills Analysis
In late June, the House Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee marked up and reported out their bill that funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and other agencies. The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee also considered its bill, which is responsible for funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other HHS agencies, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor. COSSA is preparing a full analysis of the bills, which are being considered by the full…
CJS and LHHS Bills Move to House Appropriations Full-Committee Mark-Ups; Senate to Begin Appropriations
As previously reported by COSSA, the House Appropriations Committee has kept to their earlier released appropriations schedule and is expected to finish marking up all twelve of its bills this week. The House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the U.S. Census Bureau, is expected to be marked up on July 9 (watch live here) and the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill, which provides appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other…