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Washington Update | April 2026

Posted on by Donald Taylor

April 15, 2026

Administration Update

President Trump Releases 2027 Budget Request

On April 3, the White House released the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget request to Congress. The FY 2027 budget requests $2.2 trillion for discretionary programs, a major increase in defense spending, along with cuts for domestic programs. President Trump is also asking Republicans on Capitol Hill to enact $350 billion of his $1.5 trillion in proposed defense spending using the reconciliation process. The Administration has chosen to emphasize national security, energy production, and technology investments, alongside substantial reductions or restructuring of many non-defense domestic programs, which signals a shift in federal priorities.

The proposal requests $660 billion for all nondefense agencies, a 10 percent funding cut over FY 2026 enacted levels, with several departments and agencies targeted with proposed cuts greater than 20 percent. Ultimately, Congress has the power of the purse and is free to accept all, some or none of the President’s budget request.

Below, Bloomberg News has outlined budget cuts or increases by agency:

A graph showing Trumps budget proposal for fy 2027 both in absolute amounts and relative to fy 2026.

It is important to remember that this proposal represents a blueprint of the President and his staff. This is not a budget that has been accepted because Congress creates the final budget – this is strictly a blueprint of the Administration’s priorities.

Below, we will lay out funding for important programs across the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Education Update

The President’s budget request reduces FY funding to ED by nearly $2.3 billion to $76.5 billion. This is an important space to watch as the Administration continues its quest to cut down the Department of Education without Congressional approval. The administration states that the budget advances efforts already underway to “dismantle the Federal education bureaucracy,” including “reducing ED’s staff” and “transferring programs to other agencies that can deliver better results.”

But the request is not as stark as the previous year, when the president proposed only funding the agency at $66.7 billion — a 15 percent slash. And despite efforts to dismantle the department, the budget proposal would maintain and boost funding for certain administration priorities, such as plugging the Pell Grant deficit and boosting funds to support students with disabilities.

  • Title I – $18.4 billion, maintaining level funding from FY 2026.
  • MEGA Grants – $2 billion block grant program, Make Education Great (MEGA) grants. This program would consolidate 17 existing elementary and secondary education programs totaling $6.5 billion into a single, flexible funding stream. States would be required to reserve at least 25 percent of funds for evidence-based literacy instruction and at least 25 percent for evidence- based mathematics instruction.
  • Charter Schools – $500 million for expansion.
  • Head Start – $12.35 billion.
  • Impact Aid programs – $1.63 billion, maintaining level funding from FY 2026.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – $16 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, a $539 million increase overall.
  • IDEA State Grants program – a $489 million increase for the bringing it from $14.2 billion to $15.4 billion.
  • IDEA Grants for Infants and Families – $50 million increase bringing it from $540 million to $590 million.
  • Increased flexibility for states to streamline the enrollment process for expectant parents likely to have a child with a disability.
  • The request would eliminate the IDEA Preschool Program and Part D National Activities, including personnel preparation and development, technical assistance and parent support programs.
  • The budget proposes transferring the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) from ED to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Under this structure, DOL would take the lead on workforce development programs, and Adult Education funding would be eliminated entirely.
  • View the Department of Education’s (DOE) Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget Request.
Health Update

The budget proposes $111.1 billion in discretionary funding for HHS. It is important to point out that this particular budget proposes a reorganization of the HHS to include shifts in budgetary resources and certain subagencies and programs into a new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), representing a continuation of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.

Additionally, the budget proposes consolidating the following programs into the AHA office:

  • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  • Community Health Centers
  • Several centers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Please note that this type of reorganization was previously rejected by Congress for FY 26.

The budget request outlines the president’s priorities for healthcare agencies in FY 2027, with a reduction in resources across HHS and other social programs.

  • Community Health Centers – $3 billion for health centers, including $1.8 billion in discretionary funding and $1.1 billion in mandatory resources – a decrease of $3.5 billion.
  • Behavioral Health – $6.7 billion for mental health and substance use disorder services designed to enable states and Tribes to address behavioral health issues in ways tailored to their local communities.
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – $3.7 billion in CMS Program Management, a $437 million decrease from FY 2026 enacted levels, and total program funding of $6.8 billion, a $1.434 billion decrease from FY 2026 enacted levels.
  • View the U.S. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Budget in Brief.
WIOA Legislation Introduced for Reauthorization

Last week, the Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced the Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026, legislation aimed at making key updates to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The bill would create new opportunities for job-aligned training and career advancement, but raises concerns that a stronger employer-driven system and limited guaranteed access to services could make it harder for some individuals with disabilities to fully benefit without intentional inclusion and oversight. It is important to note that Career Services, including Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) have been moved out of the DOE and into Labor, which will change funding going forward. Of importance, this bill does not yet have a Democratic counterpart and a companion bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate. We will continue to watch this space for updates.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Shutdown

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to be shut down as lawmakers in both the House and Senate continue to be at odds over the funding impasse. The war in Iran does not seem to have any sway on the reopening of DHS. TASH will continue to follow developments on the partial shutdown and will update you with relevant information.

On the Horizon

Congressional Budget Office Releases Budget and Economic Outlook 2026-2036

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released projection data for the federal budget and economic outlook beginning in year 2026-2036. The budget deficit in fiscal year (FY) 2026 is $1.9 trillion and the federal dept rises to 120 percent of GDP in 2036. Of importance, federal healthcare spending is on track to reach $3.1 trillion by 2036, nearly doubling over the next decade. This spending includes Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and premium tax credits. Other important budget items include:

  • Medicare is the largest component of federal healthcare spending and is projected to reach $1.1 trillion this year, or 3.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). It is the first year Medicare (net offsetting receipts and premiums) will cross the trillion-dollar threshold.
  • Medicare trust fund will be depleted by 2033.
  • Implementation of the Big Beautiful Bill (HR 1) is expected to lower spending related to Medicaid, CHIP, and premium tax credits.

Healthcare spending continues to be one of the most consequential fiscal challenges that faces the U.S. population.

AARP Releases New Report: Valuing the Invaluable 2026

On March 26, AARP Public Policy Institute released a new report, “Valuing the Invaluable 2026.” The report has found unique ways to measure family caregiving and the cost of care, estimating that 59 million caregivers of adults provided 49.5 billion hours of care in 2024 at an average value of $20.41 per hour.

Additionally, the report found:

  • Family caregivers provided a total of 49.5 billion hours of care during the year, adding up to a total economic value of $1.01 trillion (an average of $20.41 per hour).
  • The economic value of family caregiving exceeded the total amount of federal, state, and local Medicaid spending in 2024 ($932 billion).

TASH Advocacy Letters

  • TASH, as a member of the Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD), joined other national organizations in sending a letter on April 1, 2026 urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to preserve the structure and authority of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)—including the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)— to operate within the Department of Education.
  • TASH, as a member of the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC), the Health and Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Taskforces of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), and allied organizations urged Congressional leadership in an April 14, 2026 letter to exclude any funding cuts or harmful changes to Medicaid from any budget reconciliation or other legislation.

To learn more about TASH’s policy positions and sign on letters and for other advocacy resources, visit our Advocacy Tools & Resources page.

Washington Update logo image credit: Romain Pontida, Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic, some modifications.