President Trump released the administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal last Friday, calling for a 22.6% cut to non-defense discretionary spending, or $163 billion, while increasing defense spending by 13% to $1.01 trillion. The budget proposal is a first step in the annual appropriations process, where the administration typically releases an aspirational budget, which Congress uses to inform its own budgeting process ahead of a September 30 deadline. Current government funding is operating off of a continuing resolution that was enacted in March.
The budget proposes adding $500 million for “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,” while otherwise cutting HHS funding by 26%, including $17.9 billion from the National Institutes of Health, $3.6 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and $1.7 billion from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Older Americans Act programs would also be moved to CMS, with cuts to the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), and falls prevention initiatives.
The budget also calls for slashing $1.6 billion from the Department of Labor to consolidate the Make America Skilled Again (MASA) initiative, with states required to spend at least 10% of their MASA grant on apprenticeship programs; it would also cut $1.6 billion from Job Corps. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the budget calls for slashing $26.7 billion from State Rental Assistance Block Grant, which includes Housing for the Elderly.
Several Republican lawmakers expressed concern and pushed back against the budget request, including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) who specifically objected to cuts to healthcare research. Similarly, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) responded to the budget request by saying, “Look, we’re supportive of this administration, what it’s trying to do, but with all due respect to anybody, I think the members have a better understanding of what can pass and what can’t than the Executive Branch does.” Collins and Cole have been major advocates for research funding, and recently met with Argentum and other senior living advocates on the need for continued funding towards Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias.
The release of the budget begins the appropriations process in Congress, with committees expected to work through the summer on each of the 12 spending bills. Argentum works closely with each of the committees and their leaders to advance our priorities through this process. The FY 2026 budget and appropriations process are separate from the budget reconciliation process, now being used to advance major parts of the Trump administration agenda. Notably, former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement that the budget reconciliation spending is “not a substitute for full-year appropriations.”