Senate Panel Advances Government Funding Bills for Defense, Health, Education, and Labor

The defense bill would allocate $851.9 billion to various national security initiatives, while the labor, health, and education bill would cost $197 billion.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 14, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—The Senate Appropriations Committee on July 31 voted to favorably report two bills to the full Senate that would fund the U.S. government’s defense, health promotion, education, and labor initiatives for the 2026 fiscal year.

On July 31, shortly before the Senate adjourned for its planned summer recess, which usually covers the whole month of August, the Appropriations Committee voted to send two of 12 appropriations bills to the full Senate for its consideration. The advancement of the bill from the committee, known as being “favorably reported,” is an important step before the bill can be debated, amended, and passed by the Senate, after which the whole process will occur in the House of Representatives.

“This legislation makes much-needed investments in shipbuilding, expands critical munitions production, provides support for our allies, and funds drone and counter-drone technologies that are increasingly changing the battlefield,” wrote Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairwoman of the committee, about the Defense Appropriations Bill.

Of the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies bill, she wrote: “This bill prioritizes funding to help make Americans healthier and supports lifesaving biomedical research, including through targeted funding for Alzheimer’s, cancer, Lyme disease, Parkinson’s, ALS, diabetes, and rare disease research. It also provides significant resources for substance use prevention and treatment programs to help combat the scourge of fentanyl and other illicit narcotics plaguing our towns and cities.”

The Defense Appropriations Bill is regarded as among the most important spending bills that Congress enacts, as it funds the whole U.S. military and other national security-related agencies. Unlike the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress also passes every year, this bill actually allocates money to the programs that are created by the NDAA, with a total of $851.9 billion being allocated.

The bill would enable a 3.8 percent pay increase for all U.S. military service members, with junior enlisted personnel (below the pay grade E-4) receiving a 10 percent increase. More than $140 billion would be spent on research, development, and the testing of new weapons, while separately the departments of the Navy and Air Force would receive approximately $100 billion each for mission-specific programs.

U.S. military aid to Israel would be funded by the bill, with $500 million allocated for Israel’s missile defense programs against rockets launched by terrorist group Hamas, $75 million for anti-drone initiatives, and $80 million for efforts to destroy Hamas-built tunnels in Gaza.

A “high priority classified program” by the Air Force would get $800 million, and $650 million would be allocated for a classified program by the Navy.

In the Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies bill, $197 billion would be allocated, of which $48.7 billion would go to the National Institutes of Health. Several billion dollars would also be authorized for various grant programs to fund anti-drug programs, rural health, caregiving, K-12 curricula, adult education, and apprenticeships.

The biggest program that would be funded is Head Start, which provides free child development programs for low-income children until age 5 to prepare them for school, with $12.4 billion allotted. The bill would also set a $7,395 per student maximum for Pell Grants, the program that gives low-income Americans money for college, for the 2026-27 academic year.

The Constitution requires that Congress enact “appropriations” laws for any money to be drawn from the Treasury. Hence, every year, Congress considers and passes such bills to fund the government for the 12-month fiscal year from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 of the subsequent calendar year.

Should the bills pass the Senate, the House will reconvene in September to consider them. An appropriations bill on these subjects, and others, must be passed before 11:59 p.m. EST on Sept. 30, else the government will shut down.