January 23, 2026 | Vol. MMXXVI | Issue 145

In this edition:

• Appropriations

• Department of Health and Human Services

• New Legislation

• AUCD Materials

• Words to Know

Appropriations

The current continuing resolution (CR) expires at the end of January, which makes passing a new CR or full-year funding bill a time-sensitive priority in Congress. Senate and House leaders are working on passing a few funding bills. 

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee released a bipartisan Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (Labor-H) bill, along with the Defense-Homeland Security bill and the Transportation-Housing bill. These bills were negotiated between the House and the Senate. The House voted to advance the entire package, which set it up for a floor vote. Because the package of bills did not reflect the guardrails that Democrats wanted to see implemented for Homeland Security programs—including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—Democrats pushed for a standalone vote on the Defense-Homeland Security bill so that they could vote against it and show their objection to the Administration’s enforcement tactics. That bill advanced with a vote of 220-207.

On Thursday, the House voted 341-88 to pass the Labor-H bill, which rejected the Administration’s plans to reorganize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), close the Department of Education, and make significant cuts to their budgets—the bill largely level-funds those Departments. The Labor-H bill includes language saying that the Education Department does not have the authority to shift its responsibilities to other federal agencies and that it must “support staffing levels necessary to fulfill its statutory responsibilities including carrying out programs, projects, and activities…in a timely manner.”

Labor-H text and committee report

Now, the Labor-H bill will be packaged with the other appropriations bills that have passed the House, and will be sent to the Senate. When Senators return from recess next week, they will vote on the appropriations package, which also includes Financial Services and General Government-National Security, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior, Defense, and Homeland Security.

In the Labor-H bill:

• Administration for Community Living (ACL): $2.5 billion

  • UCEDDs: level funded at $43,119,000

• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): $8.9 billion, an increase of $929 million above FY2025

  • LENDs: not specifically cited, but Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (which includes LENDs) has a $1 million increase to $57,344,000, so we can assume LENDs are level funded also

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): $48,716,000,000, an increase from FY25 and from the President’s budget

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (where the IDDRCs are housed): increased from last year to $1,769,078,000

• Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSIDs): $13,800,000

• State Councils on Developmental Disabilities: level funded at $81,000,000

• Protection & Advocacy: level funded at $45,000,000

• Voting Access for Individuals with Disabilities: $10,000,000

• Developmental Disabilities Projects of National Significance: $12,250,000

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding was increased by $20,000,000

  • Grants to states (Part B): $14,233,704,000

  • IDEA Part C: $540,000,000

• Head Start: $12,356,820, an increase of $85 million from 2025

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): $9,202,991,000, level funded from last year and more than double what the President requested in his budget proposal 

• Extends the “hospital at home” program for five years — through Sept. 30, 2030 — which authorizes people to receive inpatient care in their homes

Plain Language

At the end of last year, Congress passed a continuing resolution (also called a CR), which is a funding bill that makes sure the government has enough money for a few more months. This CR will fund the government until the end of January, so Congress needs to figure out how they will fund the government after that. This process is called "appropriations." Appropriations means money that is set aside by Congress for a particular use.

Senate and House leaders are working on a few funding bills.

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee released a bill to fund the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services. This bill is sometimes called "Labor-H." The House had worked with the Senate to figure out what they wanted in the bill. The House also released bills that would give money to police and other parts of the government that make sure people are following the law. On Thursday, the House voted to pass the Labor-H bill. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the bill. The President had wanted to make a lot of changes at HHS, but the bill does not make those changes. The President had also wanted to close the Department of Education, but the bill gives the usual amount of money to the Department. The bill also says that the Education Department is not allowed to move its work to other federal agencies. It has to make sure it has enough staff to follow the law and do all of it projects and activities.

Now, the Labor-H bill will be put together with the other appropriations bills that have passed the House. This package of bills will be sent to the Senate. When Senators return from recess next week, they will vote on the appropriations package. Recess, or state work period, is a time when Members of Congress leave Washington, D.C. and go to their home states. They are going home to their states to have meetings and events. They need to come back from recess on January 26 to finish the appropriations process by the end of January. The House also has a recess scheduled for the week of January 26.

AUCD Programs received the usual amount of money in this bill.

• UCEDDs: level funded at $43,119,000

• Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (which includes LENDs): $57,344,000

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (which includes IDDRCs): $1,769,078,000

The bill funds many other disability programs at the usual amount of money as well.

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) & Vaccines – The U.S. is in danger of losing its measles elimination status. Although measles was considered eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, there have been numerous outbreaks in the past year, including 1,500 confirmed cases in 2025—the highest number in 33 years. The Pan-American Health Organization, which is part of the United Nations, announced that its independent commission will meet on April 13 to see if the U.S. can retain its measles elimination status.

On January 20, New Jersey passed a law to ensure immunization guidance and health insurance coverage requirements follow guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health instead of relying on recommendations from the CDC. The law is a reaction to the many changes from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to ease recommendations about vaccines, including the childhood vaccine schedule. The New Jersey Acting Health Commissioner said that “ACIP’s recommendations are not reliably aligned with evidence-based recommendations from trusted health care professionals and risk causing major harm, especially to children.” The bill requires health insurers to provide coverage for vaccinations that the New Jersey Department of Health recommends without any cost-sharing.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — The FDA removed a page titled “Be Aware of Potentially Dangerous Products and Therapies that Claim to Treat Autism” from its website. Previously, the page warned about practices like chelation therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which are often marketed towards parents and family members of autistic children as potential cures or treatments for autism. The FDA page included quick tips to help people identify false or misleading claims about treatments or products that could potentially cause harm to autistic individuals.

Fraud Investigation—HHS is participating in a review of federal funding for 14 states and Washington, D.C., an initiative across the federal government that seeks to reduce fraudulent use of funds. Thirteen of the states and D.C. have Democratic leaders. The scope of the investigation includes all federal grants provided to states and localities, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations. Federal agencies will need to note whether the funding is in the form of a formula grant, competitive grant, subgrant or subaward, federal loans, contract or subcontract, or another kind of grant.

Key Takeaways

CDC, FDA, and Vaccines—HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been focused on narrowing vaccine access and addressing what he has referred to as the autism “epidemic” in the U.S., leveraging the agencies and committees within HHS to do this. He has made policy changes and structural changes at HHS based on his long-held belief that vaccines are mostly unsafe because they lead to developmental disabilities like autism or chronic illness like allergies, despite the lack of credible evidence to prove these points.

Because some state governments, including New Jersey’s, believe federal guidance can no longer be trusted under Sec. Kennedy’s HHS, they have taken up the mantle of providing their own public health guidance. The Northeast Public Health Collaborative, the West Coast Health Alliance, and the Governors Public Health Alliance all include collections of states that are banding together to provide science-based recommendations.

Fraud Investigation—The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress have been particularly focused on cracking down what they see as “waste, fraud, and abuse” in federal programs. This Administration has alleged significant fraud in healthcare programs. It has also canceled federal funding for organizations it believes are carrying out initiatives that do not align with the Administration’s policy priorities, often targeting programs that use “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in their language. This has been challenging for many organizations that are working on improving inclusion for people with disabilities, a core part of disability advocacy. This kind of targeting has opened federal agencies up to many legal challenges against the Administration. The memo directing the fraud investigation includes language that seems to acknowledge this issue by stating that it “is a data-gathering exercise only” and “does not involve withholding funds, and therefore does not violate any court order.”

Plain Language

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) & Vaccines—Measles is a disease that people used to get a lot, especially children. You can die from measles. In 2000, measles was gone in the U.S. because people took vaccines. However, there have been a lot of people who got measles in the U.S. this past year. This is making a lot of people worried. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has made a lot of changes to vaccine policy and said a lot of things that show he is not very supportive of vaccines. He thinks they are not safe, even though they are and they keep people from getting diseases.

The Pan-American Health Organization is part of the United Nations, an official committee with many different countries in it. They track diseases and make sure people are safe from them. They said they are going to officially review if the U.S. can still say they got rid of measles.

In New Jersey, the Governor and state government are worried that HHS and Secretary Kennedy are giving people bad advice about vaccines. They passed a law that says the New Jersey Department of Health is going to be in charge of health advice for people in New Jersey, not HHS. The bill makes sure that health insurance companies have to cover vaccines for people, which means that people don't have to pay for vaccines.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — The FDA removed a page titled “Be Aware of Potentially Dangerous Products and Therapies that Claim to Treat Autism” from its website. Before, the page warned about things like chelation therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. These are treatments that people have said can help people with autism or cure them. They do not help people or get rid of autism. People who sell these treatments will sometimes tell parents and family members of autistic children that their children need these treatments, but they are not safe. The FDA page used to have some helpful tips to help people look out for false statements about treatments or products that could potentially hurt autistic people.

Fraud in the Government – The Administration has decided to review federal funding to make sure that it is being used for the right purpose. When people lie or pretend to be someone else to get money, it is called fraud. The government thinks there might be a lot of fraud happening when people get money from the government. They are telling federal departments to look into all the money they give organizations in 14 states and Washington, D.C. Almost all of the states have Democrats in leadership.

People in the Administration have said a lot of times that they think there is a lot of fraud going on, especially with healthcare. They have tried to take money away from organizations that are working on issues that the Administration thinks are bad. Sometimes they have tried to take money away but a judge has stopped them. This happens a lot with organizations that work on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or DEI. DEI work looks at how people are different in how they look, what their culture or religion is, or their disability. The Administration doesn’t like DEI. This has been hard for many organizations who are working on improving inclusion for people with disabilities.

New Legislation

• The Genomic Answers for Children’s Health Act (H.R.7118)

  • Introduced by Representative Scott Peters (D-CA)

  • Would clarify that whole genome and whole exome sequencing for children with certain medical needs is covered under Medicaid

  • You can read Rep. Peters’ press release here.
    
    

• The Centralized Reimbursement for Upgraded Innovative Service Equipment (CRUISE) Act (H.R.7083)

  • Introduced by Representative Tom Barrett (R-MI)

  • Would ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs efficiently reimburses businesses that modify vehicles to accommodate veterans’ disabilities

  • You can read Rep. Barrett’s press release here.
    
    

• The Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act (H.R.7104) (S.3648)

  • Introduced by Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)

  • Would remove the waiting period for terminally ill patients' access to their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program benefits

  • You can read Rep. Harshbarger’s press release here and Senator Lee’s press release here.
    
    

• The Enhancing Skilled Nursing Facilities Act (H.R.7106)

  • Introduced by Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA)

  • Would streamline care delivery in skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities under the Medicare and Medicaid programs

  • You can read Rep. Kiggans’ press release here.
    
    

• The Reinforcing Essential Health Systems for Communities Act (H.R.7145)

  • Introduced by Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA)

  • Would formally recognize “essential health systems” in federal law to unlock new pathways for federal funding and support for safety net hospitals that care for large numbers of uninsured and low-income patients

  • You can read Rep. Trahan’s press release here.
    
    

• The Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act (H.R.7096)

  • Introduced by Representative Ron Estes (R-KS)

  • Would ensure appropriate approval for certain skilled nursing facility and nursing facility nursing aide training and competency evaluation programs under the Medicare and Medicaid program

  • You can read Rep. Estes’ press release here.
    
    

• H.Res.1013

  • Introduced by Representative Seth Magaziner (D-RI)

  • Would establish a Permanent Select Committee on Aging in the House of Representatives

Plain Language

There are a few new bills in the U.S. Congress.

• The Genomic Answers for Children’s Health Act would make sure children with some specific disease can get their care covered under Medicaid
  
  

• The Centralized Reimbursement for Upgraded Innovative Service Equipment (CRUISE) Act would make sure the Department of Veterans Affairs gives money back to businesses that change cars to help veterans with disabilities drive.
  
  

• The Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act would remove a waiting period for people who are going to die from certain illnesses so they can get their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
  
  

• The Enhancing Skilled Nursing Facilities Act would help people who live in nursing homes get care.
  
  

• The Reinforcing Essential Health Systems for Communities Act would help some hospitals who take care of people who don't have very much money take care of their patients.
  
  

• The Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act would make sure nurse training programs are reviewed the correct way.
  
  

• An announcement to make an official Committee on Aging in the House of Representatives

AUCD Story Collection

AUCD is collecting stories from the Network on a variety of topics to amplify the effects of this Administration on real people and our programs. If you have a story, we want to hear it. 

We are interested in stories about: 

• Medicaid and its impact on people's lives 

• The impact of dismantling ACL 

• The important work of UCEDDs, LENDs, IDDRCs, PNS’s, DD Councils, P&As

• The impact of zeroing out UCEDDs, LENDs, IDDRCs, PNS’s, DD Councils, P&As  

• Impact of grants that are being cut

• Stories responding to RFK Jr.’s claims about autism or the autism registry 

You can use this link to provide information and let us know if you are comfortable sharing your story with Members of Congress and their staff. 

AUCD Policy Blog

AUCD invites Network members to fill out this form if you’re interested in writing for the AUCD policy blog. We are open to a variety of issues areas, and we will follow up with you as relevant issues come up that we’d like you to write about. Read past blog posts here.

Disability Policy for All with Liz

Join Liz on Instagram Reels, where she provides plain language updates on policy, highlighting current issues and hot topics in federal disability policy.

Liz Weintraub is AUCD's Senior Advocacy Specialist and the host of “Disability Policy for All with Liz.” She has extensive experience practicing leadership in self-advocacy and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations, including the Council on Quality & Leadership (CQL) and the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council.

Watch Liz’s most recent video on Executive Orders here.

Words to Know

Continuing Resolution

A continuing resolution (also called a CR) is a funding bill that makes sure the government has enough money for a few more months.

Vaccines

Vaccines are shots that keep people from getting diseases.

Fraud

This is when people lie about who they are or what they do to get something in return, like money.