CSWE Advocacy Update–September 3, 2025

House Appropriations Committee Releases the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Bill

This week, Congress returns to D.C. after a month-long recess. Their return coincides with the looming September 30 deadline to pass an appropriations package to fund the Federal government for FY 2026.

The House and Senate will only be in session simultaneously for fourteen days, meaning that both chambers will have to reach a deal in that time period to either pass an appropriations package to fund the federal government for FY 2026 or a continuing resolution (CR). If a CR is passed, this will only fund the government through the end of October, meaning chambers would then need to negotiate funding levels again later in the Fall.

On September 1, the House Appropriations subcommittee released the bill text and summary for the FY 2026 Appropriations Bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED), and Related Agencies. Important provisions related to HHS and ED are summarized below:

Department of Health and Human Services

The bill provides a total of $108.6 billion for HHS, a decrease of $6.8 billion compared to current levels.

  • $7.1 billion is allocated to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a decrease of $298 million below the FY 2025 level. In particular:
    • $2.7 billion for Mental Health services, a decrease of $108 million below the FY 2025 level.
    • $4 billion for Substance Use Treatment services, a decrease of $150 million below the FY 2025 level.
    • $205 million for Substance Use Prevention services, a decrease of $32 million below the FY 2025 level
  • The bill includes $7.1 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a decrease of $886 million below the FY 2025 level.

Department of Education

The bill provides a discretionary total of $67 billion to the Department of Education, in line with President Trump’s budget request, which is $12 billion (15%) below the FY 2025 enacted level. Of note:

  • The bill maintains funding for Pell Grants at the discretionary maximum award level of $6,335, which when combined with mandatory funding under current law would continue to support a total maximum award of $7,395.
It is important to note that the funding amounts in the bill are not yet final, as the House and Senate will have to negotiate the funding amounts before the September 30 deadline. The Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee met this week to mark up the bill and the bill will be discussed in full committee next week.

CSWE will continue to monitor these negotiations ahead of the September 30 deadline.