On November 12, Congress passed, and President Trump signed, a legislative package to fully reopen the federal government, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The legislation includes a “minibus” of three full-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills – Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Agriculture-FDA, and Legislative Branch – that funds the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and Congress through September 30, 2026. It also maintains funding for all other federal agencies and programs at FY 2024 levels (per the FY 2025 continuing resolution) through January 30, 2026. 

Markedly, the full-year Agriculture–FDA portion of the bill provides $107 billion in mandatory funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), restoring federal support for benefits that lapsed for the first time in program history on November 1. The bill also funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at $8.2 billion, an increase of ~$600 million over FY 2025. 

Additionally, the legislation includes certain provisions to protect the federal workforce, including: reversing shutdown-related reduction in force (RIF) notices, requiring back pay for all federal employees who forewent pay during the 43-day shutdown, and barring future federal workforce RIFs through January 30, 2026. 

Notably, the package does not extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced tax credits that are slated to expire at the end of the year, causing substantial price hikes in ACA marketplace health insurance premiums. As a result of negotiations leading up to the passage of this bill, Senate leadership has indicated that a separate vote on policy solutions to address the expiring tax credits is expected in December. 

While this legislative package brings relief following weeks of uncertainty, it does not provide a resolution on key FY 2026 funding decisions or the threat of long-term funding cuts that could have sweeping consequences for maternal and child health (MCH) populations, programs, and providers. Passage of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill that funds a majority of public health and MCH programs is still pending, and AMCHP remains deeply concerned about the proposed funding reductions marked by Congress. As noted previously, the House Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 LHHS appropriations bill proposes significant cuts to core MCH programs, including: 

• $767.251 million for the Title V MCH Block Grant, which includes a $46.449 million decrease to the Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS) portion of Title V compared to FY 2025. 

• Elimination of funding for Healthy Start. 

AMCHP’s Government Affairs Team will continue to monitor the FY 2026 appropriations process and provide updates. For questions, please contact Sherie Lou Santos (ssantos@amchp.org), Gabrielle Galusha (ggalusha@amchp.org), or Karina Collins (kcollins@amchp.org).