House Appropriators Include Money for mRNA Vaccine Research in Spending Bill

Lawmakers included $1.1 billion that can be used for the research.

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) in Washington on Sept. 13, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The House Appropriations Committee has approved a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that authorizes the department to spend up to $1.1 billion on research into messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology.

Lawmakers on Sept. 9 advanced the $184.5 billion package for HHS and several other agencies from the committee after hours of markups. The vote was 35 to 28.

Before amendments, the proposed bill stated that $1.1 billion would be available through Sept. 30, 2027, for “expenses necessary to support advanced research and development” pursuant to the Public Health Service Act.

An amendment offered by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), chairman of the committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, added “including of mRNA vaccines” after the word “development.”

“Very briefly, this amendment includes language that’s been agreed upon by the majority and the minority for the report. And so, with agreement, I would recommend a yes vote,” Aderholt said.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the committee’s ranking member, said she supported the amendment. It was passed in a voice vote, with no members voicing opposition.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of HHS, recently canceled $500 million in funding for mRNA research. Officials said the mRNA platform has not worked well against respiratory viruses, a contention with which some scientists disagree.

Officials stressed at the time that they were not acting against research into mRNA vaccines for other purposes, such as cancer.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) later took credit for the amendment, calling it common sense, but joined other Democrats in voting against the bill. Democrats said they opposed the package because of cuts to various agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Aderholt said before voting against an amendment that would have restored funding to the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health that members had “a lot of tough choices” with the bill and had to be fiscally responsible. The amendment was rejected.

“This bill represents a strong foundation for transparency, accountability, and smarter investments—helping restore the trust of the American people as we allocate their hard-earned tax dollars responsibly,” Aderholt said in a statement.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 14, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

DeLauro filed an amendment that would have prohibited HHS from adopting any recommendations from the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee for removing vaccines from the immunization schedules. Kennedy fired members of the committee. She criticized those removals and falsely said none of the new members, all of whom were picked by Kennedy, have backgrounds in immunology or vaccines.

“I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and reclaim science for our children’s sake,” she said.

Aderholt said he did not support the amendment.

“The scientific process is an adversarial process, it is built on data and evidence, rather than belief,” he said. “As the evidence changes, our policies must change.”

A majority voted against the amendment.

The advisory committee is slated to meet on Sept. 18 and Sept. 19 to consider changing recommendations for several vaccines, including shots against hepatitis B and COVID-19.

The spending bill still needs approval from the full House of Representatives and the Senate.