Congress Releases Bipartisan, Bicameral FY26 LHHS Proposal

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January 20, 2026

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Tara Thomas
Tara Thomas

Senior Government Affairs Manager, AASA, The School Superintendents Association

This morning, Congress released a bipartisan, bicameral Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding package as part of a larger “minibus” that includes funding for three other spending bills. 
 
Overall, the spending bill provides small increases for Title I Part A (+$20 million), IDEA Part B (+$20 million), REAP (+$5 million), and Impact Aid (+$5 million) and level funding for other key formula grant programs— Title II-A, Title III-A, and Title IV-A (see full table below). While level funding is not ideal, we are pleased that the final agreement aligned more closely with the bipartisan Senate proposal than with the deep cuts advanced by House Republicans. 
 

Of great importance to AASA is the inclusion of a provision requiring the Department of Education to distribute formula grant funding to states by July 1. Given last year’s withholding of FY25 funds, we urged appropriators to provide as much predictability as possible for superintendents in accessing federal funding. 

The funding bill also sets rules for how money must be spent so the Administration can’t go beyond what Congress intended. It includes clear tables showing exactly how much money each program should get, which helps ensure Congress maintains control of federal spending. This is particularly important after the FY25 continuing resolution didn't provide this specificity and led to uncertainty about the allocation of funds. The package also puts limits on the Administration by requiring a minimum number of staff for certain work and asks the administration to regularly notify Congress about the progression of the Interagency Agreements that are being used to move programs from Dept. of Education to the Dept. of Labor. 

 

The spending package must still be passed by both chambers, but it is expected to become law before the January 30 deadline. 

 

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