Newhouse Votes to Support Rural Healthcare and Tribal Health Services

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement on passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act by the House Appropriations Committee last night.

"House Appropriations has delivered again on our commitment to rein in federal spending while supporting programs that truly benefit taxpayers across the country," said Rep. Newhouse. "This legislation maintains critical funding for primary healthcare, strengthens the health workforce in rural areas, and supports our tribal communities with child and family services. We increased funding for grants to mental health and substance use, childcare development, and sustained funding for Head Start which serves children in Central Washington."

Newhouse added, "We also included a number of national security provisions, including new biomedical research to counter China's growing influence in the research field, and prohibiting China from purchasing supplies from our Strategic National Stockpile. I thank Chairman Cole and Subcommittee Chairman Aderholt on delivering a product that refocuses taxpayer dollars on programs with a proven record."

The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $184.5 billion, which is $13.7 billion, or seven percent, below the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level. This legislation:

Saves taxpayer dollars and supports critical services by:

• Providing increased funding for youth and young adult suicide prevention, mental health treatment, and substance abuse prevention and treatment services.
• Strengthening Tribal communities by supporting mental health and substance abuse treatment, elder care, and child and family services, while promoting accountability and self-sufficiency.
• Defunding the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), which the Biden Administration improperly used to carry out activities related to adult alcohol consumption.
• Streamlining duplicative behavioral health programs focused on criminal and juvenile justice programs and homelessness prevention.

Boosts U.S. national security and border protections by:

• Providing $48 billion in funding to support biomedical research, a necessary counter to China's growing threat in basic science research.
• Strengthening America's biodefense and countering global health security threats by providing more than $3 billion for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
• Prohibiting the purchase of supplies from China for the Strategic National Stockpile, which supports American manufacturers by expanding the domestic industrial base for these items.
• Prioritizing the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children under custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement through improved sponsor vetting, interagency data sharing, welfare checks, and reporting requirements.
• Securing the nation's food security by rolling back the Biden Administration's burdensome one-size-fits-all regulations leading to the closure of small family farms.

See bill text before adoption of amendments here.(link is external)

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