Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

Plain-English Summary

This bill is the annual federal spending bill that funds three major cabinet departments for the 2026 fiscal year: the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Education, along with several smaller related agencies. Every year, Congress must pass appropriations bills like this one to authorize how much money these departments can spend and on what. Without this funding, these agencies cannot operate or deliver their programs and services.

The bill affects a very wide range of Americans. The Department of Labor oversees workplace safety, unemployment insurance, and job training programs. HHS funds programs like Medicaid, Medicare administration, public health initiatives, mental health services, child welfare, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which supports medical research. The Department of Education provides funding for K-12 schools (especially for low-income students and students with disabilities), Pell Grants for college students, and federal student loan programs. In short, the programs funded by this bill touch nearly every American at some point in their lives.

As of now, the bill has been approved by the House Appropriations Committee and placed on the legislative calendar, meaning it is eligible to be debated and voted on by the full House of Representatives. The specific dollar amounts allocated to each program — and any policy conditions attached to that funding — are detailed in the accompanying committee report (H. Rept. 119-271). The bill must still pass both the full House and Senate, and be signed by the President, before it becomes law.