August 01, 2025

Senate Appropriations Committee Advances Labor, Health And Human Services & Defense Funding Bills With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin, Duckworth

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and Defense government funding bills

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, as well as for Defense for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in the appropriations bills, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.

“While the Trump Administration aims to slash funding for critical programs and drain resources from essential government operations to make way for his drastic agenda, Congress holds the purse strings, not the President,” Durbin said. “Senator Duckworth and I remain focused on fighting for the funding and support for programs Illinoisans rely on through a steady, thoughtful appropriations process.”

“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Duckworth said. “Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it’s critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that help improve health care, increase workforce development, support our seniors and more.”

The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill includes the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

  • Aviation Training, Champaign, Illinois. $1,050,000 to Parkland College to help fund upgrades to Parkland College's Aviation Training program.
  • Behavioral Care, Rockford, Illinois. $800,000 to Rosecrance to help fund initiatives within the Rosecrance, Inc. Behavioral Healthcare comprehensive system for Veterans.
  • Center for Middle School Civic Leadership, Chicago, Illinois. $720,000 to DePaul University to establish DePaul University’s Center for Middle School Civic Leadership, under which two existing programs will merge to become the cornerstone of the Center: the Barat Education Foundation’s Our American Voice civic learning and engagement program for middle school students, and DePaul University’s Future Leader Micro-credential program. Both programs have a track record of success in supporting youth development in underserved communities.
  • Community College Innovation, Sugar Grove, Illinois. $450,000 to Waubonsee Community College to help fund innovations to the Waubonsee Community College.

  • Community Mental Health Program Expansion, Will County, Illinois. $1 million to the Joliet Fire Department to expand the community mental health program it developed to Will County. In Joliet, the program has resulted in a reduction in the regular users of their 911 system and a 50 percent reduction in suicides—including zero teenage suicides in two years.
  • Community Services, Elgin, Illinois. $152,000 to the Chinese Mutual Aid Association to help fund its adult day service program.
  • Dental Clinic Expansion, Edwardsville, Illinois. $1.1 million to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University (School of Dental Medicine) to renovate and expand the dental clinic operated by SIU’s Dental School to increase pediatric and specialty services to the community. This clinic, which is staffed by professors and students of the dental school, is the safety net dental provider for the majority of Southern Illinois for children covered under Medicaid or uninsured patients.
  • Dental Clinic Expansion, Champaign, Illinois. $3.5 million to Parkland College District 505 to construct a new dental clinic and training facility. This will expand charity care services for hundreds of patients each year in the community, and enable Parkland to increase enrollment for its dental hygienist program by nearly 40 percent. More than 50 qualified prospective applicants are denied enrollment each year due to facility constraints.
  • Dental Surgery Clinic, Peoria, Illinois. $2 million to OSF HealthCare System to construct an outpatient dental clinic offering sedation and surgical services. Currently, Central Illinois lacks a dental sedation clinic, meaning most patients, especially Medicaid-enrolled, must to travel to Chicago or Metro East for intensive dental surgery. OSF will construct four operatories to provide pediatric and specialty services for underserved populations.

  • Electric Vehicle Training, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. $350,000 to College of DuPage to help fund the expansion of the College of DuPage’s electric vehicle curriculum.
  • Family Support, Chicago, Illinois. $627,000 to Share Our Spare to help fund the organization’s family relief initiatives.
  • Health Care Improvements, Chicago, Illinois. $500,000 to Stroger Hospital to help fund Cook-County Health-Stroger Hospital programs to improve neonatal care.
  • Health Department Improvements, Murphysboro, Illinois. $176,000 to the Jackson County Health Department to help fund improvements to the department.
  • Housing Support for Hospital Programs, Chicago, Illinois. $1.3 million to Center for Housing and Health to provide supportive housing to participants of the hospital-based violence recovery programs operated by University of Chicago and Cook County’s Stroger Hospital. Effective trauma and violence recovery work to support victims and prevent retaliations often requires rapid housing relocation. The Flexible Housing Pool provides housing assistance and case management services to individuals experiencing homelessness who excessively use hospital emergency departments, helping to reduce costs and improve health outcomes.
  • ICU Equipment, St. Clair County, Illinois. $1.25 million to Memorial Hospital Belleville to purchase ICU equipment including lifts, ventilators, and nurse monitoring technology.
  • Mentoring Programs, Chicago, Illinois. $500,000 to Youth Guidance to expand mentoring programs to five Chicago public schools, serving up to 275 additional youth, in addition to the 9,000 students they already serve in Cook County.
  • Mobile Health, Dixon, Illinois. $220,000 to Sauk Valley Voices of Recovery to help fund the Sauk Valley Voices of Recovery Crossroads Mobile Outreach unit.
  • New Clinical Doctorate Programs, Adams County, Illinois. $1.32 million to Quincy University to purchase equipment and cover personnel expenses for two doctorate degree programs. These programs in occupational therapy and physical therapy will help meet current and future regional needs for healthcare practitioners. Current and future university operating budgets include and will include funding for the occupational therapy and physical therapy graduate degree programs.
  • Nursing and Health Sciences Program, Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. $1 million to Illinois Wesleyan University to improve IWU’s nursing and health sciences program, including improving classroom technology and interactive space.
  • Optometry Training, Chicago, Illinois. $750,000 to the Illinois Eye Institute to help fund program and training initiatives for the Illinois College of Optometry.
  • Oral Health Expansion, Cook County, Illinois. $700,000 to the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois to expand a clinic to offer dental services to low-income and pediatric patients.
  • Oral Health Initiative, Chicago, Illinois. $268,000 to McDermott Center (Haymarket Center) to purchase dental equipment and supplies. By adding dental screenings and cleanings, dental extractions, and other oral hygiene services, Haymarket will enhance its ability to provide all relevant health services to its clients.
  • Pediatric Dental Expansion, Rock Island County, Illinois. $328,000 to Community Health Care, Inc. to furnish clinics with new dental equipment to expand services to pediatric patients.
  • Rural Health, Oquawka, Illinois. $525,000 to Eagle View Community Health System to help expand Henderson County Rural Health Center's rural health program initiatives.
  • Senior Center Construction, Chicago, Illinois. $2 million to the City of Chicago for facilities and equipment to construct a Regional Senior Center in Bronzeville.
  • STEM training, Chicago, Illinois. $200,000 to Project SYNCERE to help fund educational improvements and equipment for STEM education programs.
  • Trauma & Violence Recovery Center, Chicago, Illinois. $1.5 million to Sinai Health System to establish a trauma recovery center for victims of violence. Despite being a major safety net hospital that treats a high volume of gunshot victims, Sinai relies on external community partners for its violence recovery programming. Sinai will launch its internal program, serving more than 2,000 patients annually, to integrate clinical and community services through its extensive investment in Community Health Workers.
  • Violence Recovery & Intervention Program, Chicago, Illinois. $1 million to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago to support the expansion of the new hospital-based violence recovery program, serving pediatric victims of violence with trauma-informed mental health and recovery services. Studies show these interventions help break the cycle of violence and high re-injury rate by addressing the emotional, psychological, and social harms from the injury.
  • Workforce Development, Collinsville, Illinois. $3 million to Collinsville Area Vocational Center to help expand programs at the Collinsville Area Vocational Center.
  • Workforce Development Program Expansion, Chicago, Illinois. $750,000 to ASI, Inc. to expand services by supporting additional personnel, training certifications, equipment, supportive services, and education services.

The two funding bills include additional priorities of the Senators secured through the programmatic appropriations process:

 

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

Department of Health and Human Services

  • National Institutes of Health. $48.7 billion to support biomedical research—rejecting the President’s budget proposal to cut $18 billion, or 40 percent, from NIH’s budget. The bill also prohibits the Administration’s proposal to cap indirect cost rates at 15 percent. The bill includes targeted increases of $150 million for cancer research and $100M for Alzheimer's research. Further, the bill includes a $25 million increase, to total $100 million, for the expansion of clinical trial access for ALS patients.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). $9.2 billion for disease prevention and health promotion—rejecting the President’s budget proposal to cut $4 billion, or 50 percent, from CDC’s budget.
  • Community Violence & Trauma. The bill provides:
    • $18 million for CDC’s community violence initiative, rejecting the President’s budget proposal to eliminate the program. Also includes report language aligned with the work of Durbin’s HEAL Initiative;

    • $9 million for the CDC Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) program, which Durbin created in 2018—rejecting the President’s budget proposal to eliminate the program;

    • Within SAMHSA’s $140 million school mental health program, $12 million for the Trauma Support in Schools grant program Durbin created in 2018;

    • $25 million for CDC and NIH firearm injury prevention research, rejecting the President’s budget proposal to eliminate the program; and

    • $99 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and $2 million for the Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care that Durbin created in 2018 to coordinate federal trauma efforts and funding.

  • Congenital Heart. $9.25 million for CDC’s research, data collection, and awareness-building activities for congenital heart disease.

  • Health Workforce/Dental. The bill provides:
    • $13.5 million for SIREN Act grants to rural EMS agencies;
    • $128.6 million for the National Health Service Corps, including report language to explore eligibility for Cook County Jail to assist with their health workforce recruitment;

    • $20.25 million for the CDC’s Oral Health program;

    • $55 million for school-based health centers; and

    • $43 million for HRSA’s Oral Health program, which funds UIC’s dental school; $28.5 million for HRSA’s Nurse Faculty recruitment program; $47 million for HRSA’s Area Health Education Centers program, which builds the pipeline of local students into health careers; and $14 million for HRSA’s Rural Training Track program to help hospitals open new rural residency programs.
  • Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME). $390 million for children’s hospitals to train and provide the next generation of pediatric doctors.

  • Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. $51 million to protect children from lead exposure by funding programs that support surveillance and technical capacity, provide lead poisoning prevention training to public health professionals, support childhood blood lead surveillance systems, expand public health laboratory capacity, and ensure targeted screening and case management.
  • Title X Family Planning. $286.5 million, rejecting the President’s budget proposal to eliminate the program, to support the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing lower-income individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services.
  • Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Programs. $246.5 million, rejecting the President’s budget proposal to eliminate the program, to support tobacco use prevention and cessation programs through the CDC’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion program.
  • Social Security Administration. $14.8 billion to support the administrative expenses of the Social Security Administration (SSA). This funding will help SSA to process claims for those seeking retirement and those who have disabilities.
  • Refugee and Entrant Assistance. Includes approximately $5.7 billion for benefits and services provided to refugees, asylees, special immigrant visa recipients, and unaccompanied children apprehended.
  • Office of the Ombudsperson. Includes report language and encourages the establishment the Office of the Ombudsperson for unaccompanied immigrant children in federal custody.
  • Post-Release Services, Legal Services/Access to Counsel, and Child Advocates. Includes report language directing ORR to provide post-release services, access to counsel and child advocates, and in-person Know Your Rights presentations and legal screenings.

  • Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The bill provides $4.06 billion to help low-income households and seniors with their energy bills. The bill includes report language urging HHS to fill vacancies that may impact the distribution of LIHEAP funding, as earlier this year the Trump Administration fired every person in the LIHEAP office as part of mass layoffs across HHS.
  • CDC’s National Asthma Control Program. $33.5 million to track asthma prevalence, promote, asthma control and prevention, and build capacity in state and community health programs.
  • HRSA’s Organ Donation and Transplantation. $59 million for organ donation and transplantation activities. In 2023, Congress unanimously passed the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act to increase transparency, accountability, and competition in the management of the U.S. transplant network.

  • CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Program and Legionnaire’s Prevention. $40 million to provide critical support to epidemiologists and laboratory scientists who are instrumental in addressing various food, water, and vector-borne outbreaks—such as exposure to Legionella bacteria, which can lead to Legionnaire’s disease. This program was helpful to Chicago during the measles outbreak last year.

  • Epilepsy. $11.5 million within the CDC to improve awareness and education, eliminate stigma, and better connect people with epilepsy to health and community services.
  • Sec. 317 Immunization Program. $681.9 million for the national immunization program authorized under Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act at the CDC. Funding will provide continued critical efforts to boost vaccination rates as well as sustain the improvements made through emergency supplemental bills to ensure both routine immunization is restored and future preparedness is assured. This program also was helpful to Chicago during the measles outbreak earlier this year.

  • Runaway and Homeless Youth Program. $146.2 million for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs (e.g., Basic Center Program, Street Outreach Program). This funding will continue to support critical programs to address youth and young adult homelessness across the United States. Also includes report language to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to issue timely notices forRHYA funding opportunities and directs it to issue separate funding opportunities for the Street Outreach Program.

Department of Education

  • Open Textbooks. $7 million for the Open Textbook Pilot program, which is based on Durbin’s Affordable College Textbook Act, is a competitive grant program to support the creation and expand the use of open college textbooks—textbooks that are freely available under an open license, allowing professors, students, researchers, and others to freely access the materials.

  • School-Based Mentoring. Includes report language that strongly encourages the Departments of Education and Labor to provide grants for evidence-based mentoring programs that are focused on providing disadvantaged students and out-of-school youth with workplace skills and experiences. This language aligns with Durbin’s Mentoring to Succeed Act.
  • Pell Grants. Maintains the maximum Pell award at $7,395 for the 2026-27 school year.
  • Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). $2.06 billion for FSA to oversee the federal student loan program, higher education accountably enforcement (e.g., borrower defense, gainful employment, and the 90/10 rule), the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and the Repayment Assistant Plan.
  • Impact Aid. $1.6 billion for Impact Aid to provide critical funding for local educational agencies that are unable to benefit from a state and local tax base due to the presence of federal property in their district (e.g., military bases).
  • Early Education Programs. $12.36 billion for Head Start, $8.83 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grant, $540 million for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grants forInfants and Families, $420 million for IDEA Preschool Grants, and $315 million for Pre-School Development Grants. These programs provide early learning experiences for low-income children. The bill also includes report language that requests a justification for Head Start regional office closures, including the Chicago regional office.
  • Education for the Disadvantaged. $19.16 billion to provide financial assistance to school districts with high rates of low-income students and students at risk of not meeting academic achievement requirements.

  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC). $1.3 billion for 21st CCLC to supports after-school and summer learning opportunities to help students in high-need schools.
  • Migrant Education Program. $375.6 million for the Migrant Education Program to assist states in helping ensure all migrant students receive a high-quality, comprehensive education.
  • Full-Service Community Schools. $135 million for Full-Service Community Schools to provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, students’ family members, and community members.
  • Strengthening Predominately Black Institutions (PBI). $22.4 million for the Strengthening PBIs program to help expand capacity at schools like Chicago State University to serve low- and middle-income students, especially Black students.
  • Work Colleges. $1.23 billion for Federal Work Study (FWS). This includes an $11.05 million set-aside for Work Colleges. FWS provides grants to institutions of higher education to help students meet the costs of postsecondary education through part-time employment.
  • International Education and Foreign Language Studies (Domestic and Overseas Programs). $80.6 million for key programs that encourage U.S. students to learn foreign languages and to have international cultural and educational experiences.
  • Teacher School Leader Incentive Program. $60 million to support teachers and school leaders in high-need schools to enhance student academic performance and narrow achievement gaps between high and low-performing students.

Department of Labor

  • Automation. Includes report language affirming the Committee’s support for funding for demonstration and pilot programs relating to the training needs of workers who are or are likely to be dislocated due to automation.
  • Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO). $110 million for the REO program, to provide grants to nonprofit organizations that offer essential employment services and workforce preparation forformerly incarcerated adults and youth. This includes $30 million for national and regional intermediaries.
  • Apprenticeship Grants. $285 million in Apprenticeship Grants, to support registered apprenticeship activities through grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. Includes report language encouraging the Department of Labor to fund apprenticeship opportunities in local communities that have high rates of unemployment and high rates of community violence.
  • Job Corps. $1.76 billion for Job Corps, rejecting the Administration’s call to eliminate the program, to connect disadvantaged youth to education and job training pathways.

  • Wage and Hour Division. $260 million for Wage and Hour Division to support the Division’s work to recover wages workers are owed and to combat exploitative child labor.

  • YouthBuild. $105 million for the YouthBuild program, to help connect disconnected youth with work readiness and industry-driven credential training opportunities.

  • WIOA Title I Programs. $875.65 million for Adult Employment and Training Activities; $948.13 million for Youth Training; and $1.1 billion for Dislocated Workers Employment and Training Activities. The programs support job training programs, including state formula grants.
  • Opportunity Youth. Includes report language encouraging DOL to use WIOA funds for technical assistance and demonstration projects that support programs that allow opportunity youth who are out-of-school, have limited work experience, and live in communities of high violence and unemployment rates to participate in the workforce, including programs that provide youth with mentoring services.

  • Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). Includes report language setting aside $2.5 million to continue efforts to reduce the processing backlog for the WOTC program and assist States in modernizing information technology for processing certification requests, which may include training and technical assistance.

  • Unemployment Insurance State Administration Grants. $2.75 billion to help states implement unemployment compensation programs and assist states in modernization of technology, document sharing, and enhanced customer service.

Defense

  • Defense Medical Research. $2 billion for defense medical research. This topline medical research figure includes:

 o $40 million for melanoma research; $75 million for prostate cancer research; and maintaining the respiratory health line as an eligible disease within the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program line;

o $40 million for ALS research; and

o $12 million for epilepsy research.

  • Army Transformation Initiative (ATI). Includes Report language noting the disjointed and opaque transformation proposals and requiring the Army to provide regular briefings on its strategy to modernize the Army.
  • Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). $4.6 billion for DSCA. This includes:

o $225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative; and

o $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the Pentagon to place contracts for equipment to send to Kyiv.

  • Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA). $100 million for OHDACA, which strengthens U.S. alliances and partner capacity through humanitarian assistance, to include demining support and disaster relief.
  • USO. $24 million to support USO’s programs, entertainment, and services at more than 250 locations across the U.S. and around the world, including seven locations in Illinois, and eight aircraft carriers.
  • Impact Aid. $70 million for DoD’s Impact Aid program, which provides financial assistance to school districts across the country to compensate for the lost local tax base due to nearby federal property.
  • Rock Island Arsenal:
    • $120 million for the Arsenal Sustainment Initiative to continue to stabilize labor rates at all three Army arsenals;
    • $88.5 million to continue manufacturing of Shop Equipment Contact Maintenance Vehicles (SECM) as part of the AM-General/RIA partnership;
    • $5 million for the Additive and Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, which now houses the jointless hull printer, the latest 3D printer in the world;
    • $9 million for continued testing of soft recoil technology for Howitzers; and
    • Army Organic Industrial Base report language to prevent layoffs without advanced warning and stabilize labor rates at the Arsenals, particularly critical as the Army pursues its ambitious ATI proposals.
  • Scott Air Force Base:
    • Retains bill language prohibiting a divestment of any C-40 aircraft from the current Air Force fleet, protecting the 932nd Airlift Wing from divestment.
  • Naval Station Great Lakes:
    • $10 million for the Navy’s plan to demolish, remediate, and redevelop the condemned military housing community Halsey Village; and
    • $165 million for the Joint DoD-VA Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago.
  • Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. $282 million for DARPA to support quantum computing research and development, including at the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park.

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