Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill

House Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

2025-09-02

Loading video...

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies convened for a markup session to consider a bill balancing fiscal stewardship with key investments in various sectors, though opinions diverged sharply on its contents and potential impact. The bill was ultimately reported favorably to the full committee following a recorded vote of 11 ayes to 7 noes.[ 00:28:17-00:28:28 ] [ 00:29:42-00:29:44 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in

Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Priorities

The Chairman, Robert B. Aderholt, presented the bill as a measure of responsible physical stewardship, making hard decisions to cut "nice to have" programs while maintaining investments in biomedical research, schools, and public health.[ 00:29:42-00:29:50 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 He emphasized that Americans make priorities at home, and the government should do the same, reflecting the voters' mandate for unified Republican control.[ 00:30:00-00:30:41 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Conversely, Ranking Member Rosa L. DeLauro strongly opposed the bill, citing $24 billion in cuts to education, healthcare, and labor programs, framing them as disastrous for American families. She asserted that the administration's actions are hurting the middle and working classes by dismantling healthcare and public education systems and increasing the national debt through tax cuts for corporations.

Healthcare and Public Health

The bill aims to increase support for biodefense and rural hospitals while maintaining the Hyde Amendment and prohibiting federal funding for certain gender identity interventions or research using fetal tissue from abortions.[ 00:30:54 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
[ 00:31:39-00:32:09 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Chairman Aderholt described these measures as "mainstream public opinion."[ 00:32:01 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 However, Ranking Member DeLauro criticized the bill for "eviscerating" the public health system, pointing to the elimination of funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, Title X family planning, and teen pregnancy prevention programs. She also expressed alarm over the administration's stance on vaccine policy, particularly regarding RFK Jr.'s influence at the CDC and the firing of scientific advisors and directors. Other members, like Lois Frankel, reported constituents feeling scared and hopeless due to these proposed health cuts.[ 00:51:50-00:52:05 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Bonnie Watson Coleman warned that the cuts would make the nation more vulnerable to disease and worsen racial health disparities, citing a 40% cut to the Office of Minority Health.

Education and Workforce Development

The bill maintains support for Pell Grants and investments in early childhood education, and increases support for school choice.[ 00:30:59 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
[ 00:30:54 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Chairman Tom Cole highlighted the maintenance of funding for TRIO and GEAR UP programs. In contrast, the opposition heavily criticized the proposed cuts, with Rosa DeLauro stating the bill would cut the Department of Education by $12 billion (15%), including $4.7 billion from Title I, removing 72,000 teachers from low-income classrooms. Funding for English language acquisition and supplemental educational opportunity grants (SEOG) would be eliminated, and work-based financial aid for 222,000 students would be cut. Madeleine Dean detailed a 30% cut to the Department of Labor, including halving Job Corps funding and a 63% cut to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state grants.[ 00:58:29-00:58:50 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Mark Pocan noted the "absurdity" of renaming AmeriCorps, which faces budget cuts, to "America First Corps" and renaming Workforce Pell Grants to "Trump Grants."

Legislative Process and Administration Influence

Several members expressed deep concerns about the legislative process itself. Steny H. Hoyer noted that the session was not a proper "markup" where amendments could be offered or issues thoroughly discussed, and that there were insufficient hearings with relevant experts. He accused the Trump administration of purging researchers, suspending medical trials, and politicizing American science, expressing fear that the administration is attempting to bypass Congress and make committees irrelevant. Mark Pocan echoed this sentiment, calling the process "Fantasy Congress" and stating that the bill would never become law.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely contentious and deeply divided. While Chairman Aderholt and Chairman Cole maintained a tone of fiscal prudence and responsibility, the Democratic members expressed outrage and despair over the proposed cuts and policy riders.[ 00:29:42-00:29:44 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 There was a clear ideological split, with strong accusations of the administration being "malicious and vindictive," "politicizing science," and exhibiting "racist disregard." The debate was passionate, with members like Lois Frankel conveying the emotional impact on constituents, and others like Steny Hoyer and Mark Pocan criticizing the integrity of the legislative process itself.

Participants

Transcript

Thank you.
Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies will now come to order.  I'd like to thank everyone for making arrangements to be here.  A little before   We have votes so that we can finish this bill and we can hit the ground running.  Especially since we have votes coming up, we want to make this as quickly as possible.  But I, first of all, want to thank Chairman Cole.  Want to welcome him back to this subcommittee.   He spent a lot of days in this chair, and did a great job, and welcome him back, and of course, recognize the ranking member.  Someone that we may not always agree on all the issues, but I have the utmost respect for.  And so, it's great to have you back, especially after your surgery you have, and glad that you're doing well.  But the bill before you today balances the need   for responsible physical stewardship while maintaining key investments in biomedical research, schools, and public health.  Following the President's clear direction, we have taken a critical look at every program and in several cases had to make some hard decisions   and look at some very nice to have programs that maybe that we would had to really cut even though they would have been nice to have.  Americans must make priorities when they're sitting around the kitchen table to their own expenses.   And we have to be doing the same here in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Congress.  We have to have that same mindset.  And that is why the voters put Donald Trump in the White House and gave a unified control of government to the Republican Party.  While several programs are eliminated or reduced, the bill increases support for biodefense, rural hospitals, and school choice.
The bill also maintains support for Pell Grants and investments in early childhood education.  In conjunction with the bold leadership of President Trump to terminate diversity, equity, and inclusion,   Those policies that were put in place by the previous administration, this bill codifies their removal, stopping them once and for all.  And building on the success of the big, beautiful bill, this bill eliminates the funding of Planned Parenthood.  It also protects the right of women and girls to play sports fairly and not compete directly with men.   It prohibits any federal funding from going toward enforcing gender identity politics or social, hormonal, or surgical interventions to change a child's sex.   The bill maintains the long-standing Hyde Amendment to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used for abortion on demand and that no one is forced to participate in an abortion or refer for one under federal programs.  This isn't right-wing extremism.  This is mainstream public opinion.   The bill also makes sure that the taxpayer dollars are not used to circumvent state laws which restrict access to abortion and ensures that the American tax dollars don't support research using fetal tissue from an abortion.  The bill supports American businesses, farmers, and entrepreneurs by including provisions protecting the rights of independent contractors and ending forced wage rates for agricultural workers.   In addition to thanking Chairman Cole, I also want to thank this committee staff on both sides of the aisle, as well as my fellow subcommittee members also on both sides of the aisle, and also their personal offices for their hard work and their input as we crafted this bill.  It has taken several weeks to get here.
And I know there'll be a lot of work that, I know a lot of work has gone into this in making this bill what it is before us today.  Of course, I think it goes without saying that we will all have different opinions about the policies in this bill.   both as they relate to spending on federal programs and the provision supporting the administration's efforts.  But I want to remind everyone, we are all sincerely want to represent the views of our constituents respectfully.  I look forward to our continued discussion on these issues in the full committee's markup.  And I would like to now recognize the ranking member, Rosa DeLauro, for her opening remarks.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.  Thank you for your good wishes.  We do agree and disagree on issues, but I'm much, much appreciative of your good wishes and that of the Chairman, Mr. Cole.  I'm back and ready to do business, even though I have a cane that I'm walking with for a little while.   But it's good, and I'm really grateful to both of you.  I want to also express my appreciation for the staff on both sides of the aisle.  In particular, I want to say thank you to Steven Stegleiter, Philip Tizani, Jackie Kilroy, Laurie McNone on the minority staff.  And on the majority side, let me just say a thank you to Catherine Salmon, Emily Goff, James Redstone, Kirk Boyle, Jaime Varela, and Matthew Kleinman.   I think it comes at no surprise that I oppose the bill before us, which would cut funding for education, health care, labor programs by $24 billion, more than 10%.  But before I dive into the details of why this bill would be disastrous for American families, I want to talk about the bigger picture, about what is happening in the country at this moment.

Sign up for free to see the full transcript

Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.

Sign up