FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill Passed by Senate Committee

Bill Retains Critical NIH Funds for Profound Autism Research

Washington, D.C. — August 1, 2025 — The United States Senate Appropriations Committee today, by a 26-3 bipartisan vote, adopted the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which embodies the priorities and goals for which the Autism Science Foundation (ASF) has advocated throughout the year. The bill provides $48.7 billion for FY26 to fund NIH research.

The bill embodies the priorities of ASF and like-minded members of the autism community:

  1. The Committee rejected the White House proposal for deep, indeed catastrophic, cuts to the overall NIH budget.
  2. The Committee Report urges the NIH to fund the autism research authorized in the Autism CARES Act of 2024.
  3. The Committee Report directs the NIH to fund the most promising and critical areas of autism research, including essential biological research that reflects the entire population of individuals with ASD.

The full report on autism research can be viewed here.

“This was a ‘fork-in-the-road moment’ for American leadership in medical research. One path permitted the full flowering of the nearly miraculous potential of 21st-century medicine to ease human suffering, and the other path led towards effectively stifling that great potential,” said Alison Singer, President of the Autism Science Foundation. “As a mom who loves and cares for my daughter with profound autism, I am extraordinarily grateful to Chair Susan Collins, Vice Chair Patty Murray, Subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito, and Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin, as well as the entire membership of the Senate Appropriations Committee and their dedicated staffers, with whom we have worked, for choosing the right path.”

About the Autism Science Foundation
The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its mission is to fund breakthrough research that will improve the lives of people with autism. To learn more about the Autism Science Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.autismsciencefoundation.org.

ASF Media Contact:
C.J. Volpe
cvolpe@autismsciencefoundation.org