the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

This was prepared by Crossroad Strategies, LLC (CRS) on behalf of AACOM.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

HHS Funding

The President’s Budget requests $94.7 billion in discretionary budget authority for FY2026. The budget aligns with the HHS planned reorganization effort to streamline the functions of the Department and end the chronic illness epidemic. To streamline operations and eliminate bureaucracy, HHS plans to consolidate 28 operational divisions to 15 and close five of the costliest regional offices.

The FY2024 enacted levels for HHS were $127.35 billion in discretionary budget authority.

Administration for a Healthy America (AHA)

HHS plans to combine programs and responsibilities of multiple agencies – including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and some programs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – under the newly proposed AHA. AHA will be responsible for administering $14 billion in discretionary funding for programs that will aim to reverse the chronic disease epidemic and $6.5 billion in mandatory funding and other sources.

Programs Previously Located Within Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (FY 24 Enacted Level $8.9 billion; FY 26 proposed: $0)

$6.1 billion for Health Center Program, $1.8 billion in discretionary funding and $4.3 billion proposed mandatory resources;
$12.7 million for the Rural Residency Program; ($12.7 million FY24 enacted level)
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - Medical Student Education Programs – FY24 enacted level $60 million
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION- Area Health Education Centers – FY24 enacted level $47 million
$473.6 million for the National Health Services Corps, $128.6 million discretionary spending and $345 million proposed mandatory spending; ($128 million discretionary and $432.9 million in mandatory spending FY24 enacted level)
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - Training in Primary care Medicine – FY24 enacted level $49.9 million
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - Public Health and Preventative Medicine Programs – FY24 enacted level $18 million
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education – FY24 enacted level $390 million
$175 million in mandatory spending to reauthorize the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program; FY24 enacted level $219 million
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - the Geriatrics Programs -- FY24: 48.2 million
$28.4 million for Centers of Excellence grants – FY24 enacted level $28.4 million
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - the Health Careers Opportunity Program – FY24 enacted level $16 million
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION - Scholarships for Disadvantaged students – FY24 enacted level $55 million

Previously located within CDC unless noted otherwise (FY 24 Enacted Level: $9.2 billion; FY 26 BA: $4.1 billion, PL: $4.3 billion;)

FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION Cancer prevention and control program -- FY24 enacted $410 million
$550 million for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (FY24 Enacted: $761 million).

Previously located within Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) unless noted otherwise (FY 24 Enacted Level $7.4 billion; FY 26: $0):

$5.8 billion total program funding for Mental and Behavioral Health – FY24 enacted: 7.2 billion;
$1.5 billion for Mental health - $2.8 billion in FY24 enacted levels;
$88.7 million for Substance Use Prevention- FY24: $236 million;
$19.8 million for Substance Use Treatment – FY24: $4 billion.

Previously located within HIV/AIDS Epidemic unless noted otherwise:

The budget provides $2.7 billion total for HIV/AIDS program. The Budget proposes to eliminate: Minority AIDS, AIDS Education and Training Centers-Part F, Dental Reimbursement Program-Part F, Special Projects of National Significance, and CDC Domestic HIV Prevention and Research.
$2.3 billion for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program
$385 million for the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States Initiative

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (FY 24 Enacted Level $47.3 billion; FY 26 BA: $27.5 billion, PL: $27.9 billion)

The budget provides $27.5 billion in discretionary resources for NIH
$4.5 billon for the National Cancer Institute – FY24 enacted level: $7.2 billion in FY24
There is no authorized funding for Cancer Moonshot in FY 2026.

Advanced Research Projects for Health (ARPA-H) will be consolidated into the Office of the Assistant Secretary for a Healthy Future (FY 24 Enacted Level: $1.5 billion; FY 26: $945 million)

Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation

The budget provides $1.367B for the Center, an increase of 9 million.

Advance Maternal Health and Health Equity

The budget includes $1.7 billion for Maternal and Child Health Programs.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (FY24 Enacted Level: $9.2 billion; FY26 BA: $4.1 billion, PL: $4.3 billion)

$4.3 billion in discretionary budget authority for CDC and ATSDR.
$205M for Public Health Service (PHS) evaluation funds.
$732 million for Immunization and Other Respiratory Diseases program – FY24 enacted level: $919 million

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (FY24 Enacted Level: $6.7 billion; FY26 BA: $3.1 billion, PL: $6.5 billion)

The budget requests $6.8 billion to support FDA’s public health mission. This includes $3.2 billion in discretionary budget authority (11.4 percent decrease) and $3.6 billion in user fees (4 percent increase).

Department of Education (ED)

ED Funding

The budget requests $66.7 billion in new discretionary budget authority for the Department. This is a 15.3 percent reduction below the FY 2025 appropriation, which reflects an agency that is responsibly winding down.

FY24 enacted level - $83.3 billion

Pell Grant

The budget includes $22.4 billion for the Federal Pell Grant Program. The maximum award is set at $4,650 for award year 2026-27. Combined with the mandatory amount provided in the Higher Education Act (HEA), the Pell Grant maximum award in award year 2026-27 would be $5,710. In FY24, the total enacted funding was $29.3 billion.

Investments in Services for Student Borrowers

The budget provides $2.06 billion for Student Aid Administration, including $409 million to the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).

Equity in Higher Education

FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION $80 million for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program;
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION $52.1 million for Special Programs for Migrant Students;
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION $30.0 million to fund the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program, which funds teacher education programs at HBCUs.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

VA Funding

The total FY 2026 funding request is $441.3 billion. The discretionary budget request is $125 billion for health care, benefits, and national cemeteries, and the mandatory funding request is $301.2 billion. The FY24 enacted level provided $153.2 billion in non-defense discretionary funding and $161.7 billion in mandatory funding.

Prioritize VA Medical Care

The PACT Act’s Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) is funded at $52.7 billion in mandatory funding.

Improve Veterans’ Mental Healthcare Services

An additional $698 million for suicide prevention outreach programs.

Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Program Costs

The budget invests $232 million toward opioid use disorder prevention and treatment programs.

VA Prosthetic and Medical Research Funding

The budget request for Medical and Prosthetic Research appropriation is $943 million.

Department of Labor (DOL)

DOL Funding

The budget request includes $8.6 billion in discretionary budget authority. FY24 enacted level $15.0 billion.

Workforce Development

Under the Employment and Training Administration, the budget provides $3 billion for the Make America Skilled Again (MASA) grant program. MASA eliminates and consolidates the following: WIOA Adult; WIOA Dislocated Worker; WIOA Youth; Employment Services State Grants; Dislocated Worker National Reserve, including Strengthening Community Colleges, Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities, and other set-asides; Apprenticeship; YouthBuild; National Farmworker Jobs Program; Indian and Native American Programs; Reentry Employment Opportunities; and Workforce Date Quality Initiative. Additionally, the Budget proposes the elimination of the Job Corps program and requests funding for closeout costs to execute an orderly shutdown of the program.

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE Funding

The budget proposes $46.3 billion in budget authority for FY 2026. FY24 enacted budget: $58.2 billion.

$7.1 billion for the Office of Science, to support cutting-edge basic research in the physical sciences;
FY 26 PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

Clean Energy Infrastructure

$888 million for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to advance America’s security and prosperity through R&D of affordable, secure, innovative, and Integrated energy technology solutions across multiple sectors of the economy –transportation, buildings, industry, and electricity;

Department of Agriculture

USDA Funding

The budget requests $234 billion, including $23 billion for discretionary programs. FY24 enacted $213.2 billion, including both mandatory and discretionary funding.

Connect All Americans to High-Speed, Affordable, and Reliable Internet

The Budget includes $30 million for Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grants. These grants also have a set-aside for addressing the nation’s opioid epidemic. This program is designed specifically to assist rural communities that would otherwise be without access to learning and medical services over the Internet. The Budget proposes cancelling $40 million in unobligated balances from prior year balances from the ReConnect pilot program authorized in General Provision 779, P.L. 115-141. IIJA provided unprecedented funding for rural broadband and the Department is still working to outlay this funding. Future funding needs for this purpose will be provided by other Federal agencies.