Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill. The bill included several items that the Hepatitis B Foundation advocated for, including protections for the National Perinatal Hepatitis B Surveillance Program and the Vaccines for Children Program, and federal efforts to aid and increase the Center for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) universal adult hepatitis B screening and vaccination recommendations. The bill maintains FY25 funding levels at the CDC \u2013 including the Division of Viral Hepatitis \u2013 while increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $400 million and maintaining the agency\u2019s structure. This bipartisan bill is a rare win for public health advocates and those combatting infectious disease across the country. It rejects the Administration\u2019s recent requests to cut the CDC by nearly 50% and the NIH by 40% and rejects the Administration\u2019s attempt to reduce the effectiveness of agencies like the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and several CDC infectious disease branches by moving them to a new agency named the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). While there is still a long road before the FY26 budget is passed \u2013 including contending with a House bill that will likely have lower funding levels \u2013 the Senate coming out in support of the CDC and NIH is an important first step and shows that there is bipartisan support in pushing back on the Administration\u2019s attacks on public health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill. The bill included several items that the Hepatitis B Foundation advocated for, including protections for the National Perinatal Hepatitis B Surveillance Program and the Vaccines for Children Program, and federal efforts … <\/p>\n