Appropriates funds for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and related agencies for FY2026 and sets detailed conditions on how those funds may be used. The bill combines spending directives with many policy and oversight provisions: it limits certain uses of funds, authorizes transfers and rescissions, requires frequent reporting and transparency (especially around Affordable Care Act activities, Health Insurance Exchanges, unaccompanied alien children facilities, and grant spending), directs program rules for Job Corps, H–2B workers, disaster-claims adjusters, and national service programs, and places cross‑cutting restrictions and reprogramming controls on agencies.
Job Corps funds may not be used to pay an individual's salary or bonuses (direct or indirect) at a rate higher than Executive Level II.
Up to 1% of any discretionary Department of Labor funds in this Act may be transferred between programs, projects, or activities, but no program, project, or activity may be increased by more than 3% from such transfers; transfers may not create new programs or fund activities not provided for in this Act, and the Appropriations Committees must be notified at least 15 days before any transfer.
No funds provided in this Act shall be obligated or expended for procurement of goods or services mined, produced, manufactured, harvested, or rendered by forced or indentured child labor in industries and host countries already identified by the Department of Labor pursuant to Executive Order 13126.
Grants under section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2916a) made available by this Act must be used only for competitive grants to train individuals older than 16 who are not enrolled in a local education agency school, in occupations/industries where employers use H–1B visas, and related supporting activities.
Funds under the specified heading may not be used by recipients or subrecipients to pay salaries or bonuses (direct or indirect) above Executive Level II; this limit does not apply to vendors as defined in OMB Circular A–133, and States receiving funds may set lower caps for subrecipient pay.
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026
Updated 3 hours ago
Last progress February 3, 2026 (3 weeks ago)
Primary impacts fall on federal agencies and their staff who administer Labor, HHS, and Education programs: they must comply with new limits, documentation, and reporting requirements, and may face reduced flexibility because of transfer caps and rescissions. Program operators that run Job Corps sites, unaccompanied children facilities, and recipients of grants from the three Departments will see stricter conditions on facility use, eligibility, and reporting; some programs face direct rescissions or redirected funding. National service programs (AmeriCorps and CNCS) will need to follow expanded notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures, adjust award structures if shortened service terms are used, and manage expanded background-check data sharing. Specific worker categories named in the text (including H–2B workers and disaster-claims adjusters) are subject to new or clarified rules. Overall, the bill increases congressional oversight, administrative burden, and documentation obligations while reducing some agency discretion and permanently or temporarily withholding/rescinding specified dollars.
Last progress July 31, 2025 (6 months ago)
Introduced on July 31, 2025 by Shelley Moore Capito
Committee on Appropriations. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Capito. With written report No. 119-55.