Please take 2 minutes today to urge Congress to reject the administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget proposal that seeks to cut $163 billion across the federal government. This would have significant repercussions for psychology professionals, and the communities they live in and serve.

The president’s budget request is the start of the FY 2026 appropriation process. It serves as a roadmap of White House spending priorities and political goals, to which Congress can react by determining how these critical programs and agencies are funded. It is essential that you urge your Members of Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to build on prior investments, and ensure that these proposed cuts are not codified in law. 

If enacted, the president’s proposed cuts would set the nation back decades in terms of: behavioral research; growing the behavioral health and research workforce; addressing the social determinants of health; combating the youth mental health crisis; and providing a quality education for all students. This is in addition to the unprecedented withholding of funding across federal agencies that the administration is already engaged in.

The FY 2026 budget proposal includes, but is not limited to:

• A nearly $18 billion (nearly 40%) cut to the National Institutes of Health and an almost $5 billion cut to the National Science Foundation. 
• A $1 billion cut to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and a nearly $2 billion cut to the Health Resources and Services Administration, including the likely elimination of the Graduate Psychology Education and Minority Fellowship Programs. 
• A $3.5 billion cut to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and a $675 million cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the elimination of programs fighting HIV and climate change. 
• A $12 billion cut to the Department of Education, including the elimination of programs that help low-income college students finance their education, the elimination of key teacher preparation programs, and the reduction of school-based mental health grants.  

While these numbers are staggering in their totality, it is important to remember that the president’s budget is a proposal without the force of law. In the coming months, Congress will make the final decision on how these agencies and programs are funded. We must remind them of their Constitutional authority to appropriate funds and their responsibility ensure that the administration implements the law with fidelity.

Now is the time to speak out about how such cuts will impact your communities – send a message to your officials today! 

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