WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are proposing a steep cut of $13.7 billion in government spending for health- and education-related programs, heightening the risk of a federal shutdown later this month as Democrats rail against the GOP majority.
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for allocating how the federal government’s budget will be spent each year, released its proposal for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education on Monday — coming out to a total of $184.5 billion for the 2026 fiscal year. That’s a 7% decrease compared to the year before.
“As you may know, this subcommittee is responsible for the largest non-defense expenditure in the federal government,” subcommittee chairman Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., said in a statement. “Therefore, it presents one of the greatest opportunities for us to reevaluate our spending priorities to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly, in order to provide for critical services in health care, workforce development, and education — all while eliminating waste and cutting out politically motivated programs being pushed by non-elected bureaucrats.”
Each of the three departments would receive a spending cut under the proposed framework. The Labor Department would be cut by 28%, Health and Human Services by 6%, and the Education Department by 15%.
The budget would also ensure that no federal funding goes toward programs that Republicans have deemed partisan or biased against conservatives, specifically cutting all funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service. Funding for those programs had already been cut through the $9 billion rescissions package requested by President Donald Trump earlier this year but the latest proposal ensures those cuts extend into the next fiscal year.
Additionally, the bill would reduce funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 19% by merging a number of “duplicative and controversial programs” to instead focus on “emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases.”
The bill would also prohibit funding from schools “that support antisemitic conduct or discriminate against religious student groups,” although the bill does not specifically lay out what actions would constitute a violation.
Instead, it only defines such an infraction as “acts of antisemitism while utilizing the facilities, grounds, or resources of such institution.”
Meanwhile, the bill would set aside $100 million for the Make America Healthy Again initiative, which would allow Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “invest in prevention and innovation programs for rural communities, telehealth resources for chronic care, and nutrition services.”
The proposed framework is likely to hit roadblocks from Democrats in the House and Senate, who have already railed against the bill.
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee issued a statement shortly after the budget was released on Monday, calling it a “full-scale attempt to eliminate public education, decimating support for children in K-12 elementary schools and threatening the future of an entire generation.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has also warned that similar spending cuts in upcoming appropriations bills would further increase the chance of a government shutdown, warning that Democrats would only support bipartisan spending bills.
The chances of a shutdown on Oct. 1 became even more likely last week when the Office of Management and Budget approved a $4.9 billion cut in foreign aid programs through a process called pocket rescissions, a rarely used and legally questionable procedure that allows the president to cancel government funding without congressional approval.
“As we near the funding deadline, Republicans are once again threatening to go-at-it-alone — heading our country towards a shutdown and making the health care crisis even worse,” Schumer wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday. “With the Trump Administration’s attempt of the so-called ‘pocket rescission,’ it is clear that Republicans are prioritizing chaos over governing, partisanship over partnership, and their own power over the American people.”
Congress must approve funding for government agencies by midnight on Oct. 1, otherwise a temporary shutdown will take place and current funding will lapse. It will require bipartisan legislation to keep the government open, as seven Democrats will need to side with their Republican colleagues in the Senate to pass a bill.
Schumer said he is in communication with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and that the two have “aligned on our shared priorities” for spending legislation.