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  • Press Release

    AAMC Statement on Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill

    Media Contacts

    Stuart Heiser, Senior Media Relations Specialist

    AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and AAMC Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement regarding the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee: 

    “The AAMC commends the bipartisan work of Senate appropriators led by Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Vice-chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Labor-H Subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) and Vice-chair Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), to bolster funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. The committee’s decision to reject massive, harmful cuts to NIH is a testament to the critical role biomedical research plays in keeping America healthy.  

    Without sustained, robust growth in NIH funding, discoveries that lead to new treatments, therapies, and diagnostics against diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and numerous chronic conditions could stall. Investment in biomedical research is how America remains first: first in discovery, first in treatment, first in cures, first in saving lives. Additionally, we appreciate the committee’s ongoing recognition that federal support for essential research operations costs are part and parcel of a thriving national research enterprise. 

    We appreciate that the bill maintains close to previous levels of investment in Title VII and Title VIII health care workforce programs at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). These critical, proven programs help train the next generation of health care professionals — including physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, public health practitioners, and others — and improve access to care, particularly in rural and other underserved areas.  

    As the FY 2026 appropriations process moves forward, the AAMC urges lawmakers to prioritize meaningful increases in federal support and ensure that congressionally approved funds are disbursed in a timely manner for both medical research and the nation’s health care workforce. These investments are essential not only for improving the health of patients and communities nationwide, but also for strengthening our economy and sustaining America’s global leadership in science, education, and innovation.” 


    The AAMC is a nonprofit association dedicated to improving the health of people everywhere through medical education, clinical care, biomedical research, and community collaborations. Its members are all 160 U.S. medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; 13 Canadian medical schools accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools; nearly 500 academic health systems and teaching hospitals, including Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 70 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC leads and serves America’s medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals, and the millions of individuals across academic medicine, including more than 210,000 full-time faculty members, 99,000 medical students, 162,000 resident physicians, and 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Through the Alliance of Academic Health Centers International, AAMC membership reaches more than 60 international academic health centers throughout five regional offices across the globe. Learn more at aamc.org.