Congress returns facing 14 legislative days before federal funding expires at month-end, forcing a choice between a bipartisan continuing resolution or a government shutdown. Lawmakers are likely to pursue a short-term funding bill, but any stopgap will require bipartisan support while a full-year agreement will be harder to craft. A House subcommittee will mark up a fiscal year 2026 funding proposal allocating $184.5 billion discretionary, nearly $14 billion below FY2025. The proposal emphasizes biomedical research, supply chains, biodefense, rural hospitals, and public health. Democrats criticize cuts to CDC, NIH, need-based student aid, and maternal and child health. A White House $5 billion "pocket rescission" of foreign aid further complicates cooperation.
"This bill prioritizes cutting-edge biomedical research, strengthens our medical supply chains and biodefense infrastructure, and ensures support for rural hospitals and public health programs," said House Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., in a statement.
"With each measure, we reaffirm that Making America Healthy Again is not just a slogan, but a promise."
"This bill is an attack on the programs and services that Americans depend on at every stage of their life," the top Democrat on the Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.
#government-shutdown #continuing-resolution #appropriations #federal-health-funding #foreign-aid-rescission
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