DrWebComparing FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Bills – EPIC for America
Comparing FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Bills
November 3, 2025
Comparing FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Bills
The largest domestic policy appropriations package is the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHSED) bill. These agencies, none of which existed for most of America’s history, are rife with wasteful and contentious spending.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the House bill would spend $184.5 billion and the Senate bill would spend $197 billion, a difference of $13.7 billion or 6.8%.
As Congress moves forward with full year appropriations, legislators should consider not just the package by itself but also how best to handle specific accounts. The $13.7 billion spending difference between the House and Senate is caused by divergent policy choices. If Congress intends to spend a 12-figure sum, it should do so with deliberation.
This post compares funding for selected accounts in the FY 2026 LHHSED appropriations bills proposed by the House and Senate alongside FY 2025 levels and the President’s Budget.
Labor Department, CNCS
The Department of Labor’s discretionary budget focuses on programs claimed to promote employment, including job training and the Job Corps. Yet the historical track record has been lackluster, with programs having higher economic costs than benefits.
The Senate LHHSED bill would slightly increase this spending, while the House would reduce it. The President’s Budget calls out the underperformance of these programs, seeking both an overhaul in the policy area and a reduction in spending.
The Community Service Employment for Older Americans program (CSE, part of Labor) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS, an independent agency) are promoted as ways to provide fulfillment for participants while helping neighborhoods. This is not an appropriate role for the federal government, and these initiatives have failed to produce commensurate results with billions of dollars in funding. The President’s Budget calls for ending both initiatives. The House bill would eliminate CSE and reduce CNCS. The Senate bill maintains CNCS funding and barely reduces CSE.
Prior to the government shutdown, the Department of Labor’s contingency plan deemed 9,775 employees (76%) as non-essential.
Health & Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) contains 15 bureaus and oversees at least 433 programs. It is riddled with waste, duplication, and handouts to state and local governments. Despite this, its budget has surged decade after decade.
The President’s Budget calls for a dramatic reorganization of HHS, eliminating many bureaus and programs while consolidating functions into a new Administration for a Healthy America. On net this would entail a meaningful reduction in appropriations. While the House bill is not positioned to overhaul HHS (being appropriations rather than authorizations), it generally moves in the same direction by eliminating or significantly reducing many bureaus and programs. The Senate bill only makes modest reductions.
Both the House bill and the President’s Budget would reduce spending on HIV/AIDS programs. Legislators who are wary of such a move should understand that spending on HIV/AIDS is high despite sustained progress in reducing death and infection rates. Further, the drivers of infection are behavioral choices that have been established for decades. Bringing HIV/AIDS funding in line with other diseases is appropriate.
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