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Category: Appropriations

Recission Package Passes

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Much like the reconciliation bill earlier in the month, the Senate amended the Administration’s recission package and sent it back to the House for final approval. The measure, H.R.4 – Rescissions Act of 2025, has passed the House and is now headed to the President’s desk for signature.

The Administration proposed $9.4 billion in funding already appropriated to claw back claw back $1.1 billion previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with $7.9 billion dollars earmarked for international efforts to combat famine and disease.

The House approved the Administration’s proposal. The Senate amendment, which was led by Senator Eric Schmidt (R-MO), would preserve the following funding from cuts:

  • The amendment removes PEPFAR ($400 million) from the rescissions bill.
  • Protects funding for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (including polio) within the Global Health account;
  • Protects funding for countering PRC Influence Fund;
  • Protects funding for aid to Egypt and Jordan; and
  • Protects funding for the administration of U.S. commodity-based food aid, namely Food for Peace the McGovern-Dole.

The House passed the amended proposal.

The final bill is now waiting the President’s signature.

OBBB Signed Into Law

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President Donald Trump signed his “One Big, Beautiful Bill” into law during the July 4th picnic on the White House grounds, enacting a sweeping multitrillion-dollar legislative package that reflects the core of his policy agenda. The measure passed with near-unanimous Republican support in both chambers of Congress following months of negotiations and intense pressure from the president and GOP leadership.

The legislation extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and boosts funding for immigration enforcement and national defense. To balance the increased spending, the bill imposes substantial reductions to domestic programs, slashing Medicaid and food assistance by $1.2 trillion and cutting billions from federal higher education funding. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will increase the national deficit by $3.3 trillion over the next decade and result in 11.8 million additional people losing health coverage.

Despite internal dissent and unanimous Democratic opposition, Trump succeeded in pushing the massive reconciliation bill through Congress in time for the July 4th deadline.

 

Dept. of Education Budget Request Released

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The Trump administration has released its budget request for the Department of Education for Fiscal Year 2026, proposing steep funding cuts of more than 15%—a $12 billion reduction in budget authority. The administration characterizes these cuts as part of a broader effort to “responsibly wind down” the department.

While the president’s budget request serves as an important policy statement, it carries no legal authority. Final funding decisions rest with Congress, which determines allocations through the annual appropriations process. Several key Congressional committees are set to begin deliberations in the coming weeks, shaping the future of federal education spending.

Included below are some of the key higher education policy changes proposed in the budget request:

  • Pell Grant Reduction: The maximum Pell Grant award would be cut by $1,685, reducing it to $5,710 in total. The administration argues that this is necessary to address a $2.7 billion shortfall that has resulted from increasing instances of fraud as well as congressional irresponsibility.
  • Elimination of TRIO Programs: Federal funding for TRIO programs would be ended entirely. The administration argues that programs to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be better administered by individual states.
  • Cuts to Federal Work-Study: The administration requests to cut funding for work-study programs by $980 million. The administration hopes these proposed cuts will help to “enact a more appropriate split between Federal and employer wage subsidy, where employers pay 75 percent of a student’s hourly wages and reduce the federal contribution to 25 percent.”
  • Defunding GEAR UP: The GEAR UP program would also be defunded under this proposal.

Department of Labor Budget Hearing

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The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related
Agencies will meet in open session at 10:00 AM on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Room 138
of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The hearing is titled: A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for
the Department of Labor

Witness:
The Honorable Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary, Department of Labor

Live video webcast of the hearing available on www.appropriations.senate.gov.

HHS Budget Hearing

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The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will meet in open session at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Room 124 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled: A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Health and Human Services. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the witness. Live video webcast of the hearing can be found here:  www.appropriations.senate.gov.