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Key psychology priorities advanced in House Appropriations Committee Labor-HHS-Education bill

The FY 2027 Labor-HHS-Education bill includes priorities for funding psychological research, education, training, workforce development, and access to behavioral health services

Last updated: October 19, 2026 Date created: June 22, 2026 3 min read
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American Psychological Association. (2026, October 19). Key psychology priorities advanced in House Appropriations Committee Labor-HHS-Education Bill. https://www.apaservices.org/advocacy/news/psychology-priorities-labor-hhs-education-bill

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APA Services’s funding priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2027 were included in the recently released House version of the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education and Related Agencies bill. APA Services strongly advocated for report language directing how agencies should carry out programs or spend funds for the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) program, Garrett Lee Smith state grants, the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), and youth mental health research. The bill also includes communication regarding artificial intelligence (AI), including the recognition of “the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) ongoing efforts to leverage AI to accelerate biomedical research and the value of coordinating these efforts across the agency to maximize impact and reduce duplication.” Specifically, the bill proposes level funding for GPE ($25 million), MFP ($19.516 million) and $35.8 million—along with a $12-million transfer from the Public Health and Social Services funding—for the Garrett Lee Smith state grants. APA Services also submitted FY 2027 Congressional testimony requesting funding for programs essential to advancing psychological research, developing the workforce, and strengthening behavioral health services. 

In the bill, NIH would be allocated $47.3 billion, a $100-million increase for the previous program level, and $1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. It also provides $6-million increase for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative, led by the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke and the National Institute of Mental Health. Additionally, the bill provides protection around the use of multiyear funding by capping the funding level at the FY 2025 levels. The bill’s accompanying report includes a 30% cap on facilities and administration costs, while also acknowledging the efforts by the stakeholders to develop a new model.

While APA Services recognizes many wins in the proposal, the bill would also eliminate funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ),including a new provision rescinding unobligated balances from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (PCORTF). The fund currently distributes funds to AHRQ, the PCORTF, and the HHS Office of the Secretary where resources are dedicated to data infrastructure for research. These programs support initiatives aimed at enhancing healthcare quality by promoting more informed clinical decision-making, improving treatment effectiveness, and advancing a more value-based healthcare system. 

The bill has yet to be scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to draft its version of the legislation as leaders are still working to agree on topline funding levels for its FY 2027 bills.

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Many issues affecting psychologists and their communities are on the ballot this November, and your engagement in the upcoming election can impact the future of your work and the well-being of society. Use the 2026 APA Services Voter Guide to learn how you can engage in the upcoming election and educate candidates and communities about the importance of psychology and the issues that matter to you.

Proposed Office of Management and Budget rule to reshape federal grantmaking and oversight

All of this happens under the cloud of the recently proposed Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” ruleopens in new window. Per APA Services’s recent “Protect Federal Investments in Psychological Science and Behavioral Health Services” action alertopens in new window, the sweeping new proposed rule would significantly reshape how all federal grants and other financial assistance are awarded and managed across the entire government. It would:

  • Codify the administration’s efforts to increase control and oversight of federal grantmaking by giving unprecedented authority over grantmaking to political appointees.
  • Make peer review advisory, rather than determinative, shifting decision authority away from traditional expert-driven processes.
  • Restrict public access to information about federally funded programs and research.
  • Prohibit federal funding on a range of “ideological” issues, and shift the federal approach toward a standardized, non-identity-specific model of assistance.
  • Expand the administration’s authority to terminate active grants at any time, for any reason.

APA Services’s summary of the rule (PDF, 290KB)opens in new window is available online. 

Meanwhile, APA Services has joined a coalition letter to OMB requesting a 45-day extension to the proposed rule comment period (PDF, 147KB)opens in new window from associations, science societies, and other stakeholders. Comments are currently due July 13, 2025.

For more information, email Angela L. Sharpe.

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