This story was last updated on June 16, 2026, at 10:50 a.m. ET.
On Tuesday, June 9, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its fiscal year (FY) 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill (H.R. 9260) by a 34–28 vote. The House legislation not only falls short of meeting current needs, but would also fail children by underinvesting in child care and early learning programs, maternal and child health initiatives, and broader public health prevention efforts.
For child care and early learning, the bill makes minimal investments in core programs while eliminating a key systems-building grant:
- The House proposes a slim $10 million increase to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the primary federal funding stream to improve child care affordability for families with low incomes. This brings total funding to $8.84 billion, which falls far short of the funding levels needed to meaningfully expand access and support providers.
- Similarly, the bill includes a $10 million increase to Head Start and Early Head Start, which provide early learning, health, and nutrition services for young children. This would bring total funding to $12.37 billion, which is insufficient to keep pace with cost-of-living increases and support quality improvement.
- Despite the Administration’s request to eliminate the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program (CCAMPIS), the House provides level funding for the program at $75 million. CCAMPIS supports campus-based child care for student parents.
- Unfortunately, the House proposes eliminating Preschool Development Grants Birth-to-Five (PDG B-5), a competitive grant program that helps states strengthen their early childhood systems.
For maternal and child health, the bill combines modest funding bumps with a notable program elimination:
- The House proposes a $10 million increase to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to support state health departments in reducing maternal and infant mortality. At a total level of $828.7 million, this may be inadequate to support state health departments amid rising healthcare
- This includes funding for Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS), such as early childhood development grants, maternal health innovation grants, the Regional Pediatric Prevention Network, and more.
- Unfortunately, the bill fully eliminates Healthy Start, a community-driven program that supports families to improve maternal health outcomes.
- The House includes robust investments in maternal mental health, with a $2 million increase to the Maternal Mental Health Hotline (total $10 million) and a $2.5 million increase for the Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder (MMH-SUD) Program (total $14.5 million).
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prenatal-to-three funding is uneven, with small increases that are offset by a significant cut elsewhere in the portfolio:
- The House increases funding for CDC’s Safe Motherhood and Infant Health portfolio, which includes the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and support for Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), by $2 million, for a total of $115.5 million.
- Similarly, the House increases funding for the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET) by $2 million, for a total of $25 million. SET-NET tracks the impact of emerging health threats on expectant parents and infants.
- Unfortunately, the House significantly cuts funding for the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) by $37.8 million, for a total of $16.5 million. These cuts weaken federal efforts to improve hospital breastfeeding practices and support workplace accommodations for nursing mothers.
While the bill seems like it is providing modest increases for some programs, these small bumps in funding fall short of families’ needs and fail to make the investments necessary for babies to grow and thrive. For these reasons, the National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers (NCIT) opposes the House proposal and urges the Senate to increase funding to levels that meet the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families. Read more about NCIT’s FY27 appropriations priorities here.
Branden Reis is an Associate Government Relations Manager for Voices for Healthy Kids and the Federal Advocacy team at the American Heart Association, where he advances prenatal-to-three policy priorities and represents the National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers at key federal advocacy tables. He holds degrees in Political Science, Economics and Public Administration, and brings expertise in advocacy, coalition-building and public policy analysis to his work supporting children and families nationwide.
