Back in September Rep Aderhold introduced HR 5304, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026. The House Appropriations Committee published their Report on the bill. The bill contains specific spending authorizations for cybersecurity activities and CBRN response initiatives. The Report contains cybersecurity, chemical safety and UAS discussions.
HR 5304 is similar to HR 9029, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies [LHH] Appropriations Act, 2025, that was introduced by Alderholt in July, 2024. The House Appropriations Committee published their Report on the bill the same day. No further action was taken on that bill (or its Senate counterpart, S 4942) in the 118th Congress. The Senate version of the FY 2026 LHH spending bill, S 2587, may be included in the text of the substitute language that will be considered for HR 4016 when the Senate comes back to Washington in January.
Cybersecurity in the Bill
There are two cybersecurity spending mentions in the bill. The first, on pages 97-8 under the heading ‘Operations, Preparedness, And Emergency Response’ for the Office of the Secretary, countering ‘cybersecurity threats’ is listed as one of the uses of the $109 million authorized under that heading. The second is found on pages 118-9 under the heading ‘Rescission and Including Transfer of Funds’, would allow the HHS Secretary to transfer $30 million, of the $1.6 billion in the ‘Nonrecurring Expenses Fund’ being rescinded, to ‘‘General Departmental Management’’ for cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity in the Report
The Report (pg 14 under ‘Cyber Workforce’) encourages DOL to continue to prioritize efforts and grants centered on launching, developing, expanding, and promoting registered apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity, as well as related collaboration with cyber industry and workforce intermediaries. To support that it includes grant funding allocations for the following cybersecurity workforce development efforts:
Cybersecurity and Software Development Employment Opportunities (pg 12) - $25 million, and
Job Corps Pilot Programs (pg 15) - $8 million.
The Report also allocates $100 million (pg 219) to the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration for information technology cybersecurity to strengthen the Department’s cybersecurity posture.
The Report includes the following cybersecurity related discussions:
988 Lifeline Program Integrity (pg 141), and
Cybersecurity Threats in Grantmaking (pg 205).
CBRN in the Bill
HR 5304 provides the following spending allocations for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response activities under the Public Health Service Act:
Public Health Preparedness and Response (pg 62) - $913 million,
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (pg 93) - $3.3 billion, and
Operations, Preparedness, and Emergency Response (pg 95) - $2.45 billion.
Chemical Safety in Report
The Report provides additional CBRN response funding through the $1.1 billion allocated to Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) which includes support (pg 195) for “the advanced development of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices for potential serious public health threats, including chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging and reemerging infectious diseases.”
The Report includes the following chemical safety and manufacturing related discussions:
National Poison Data System (pg 80),
Environmental Exposures and Cancer in First Responders including Firefighters (pg 82),
Microplastics (pgs 114-5 and pg 131),
Domestic Medicine & Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing (pgs 192-3),
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Threats (pg 194), and
[CBRN] Guidance to State and Local Jurisdictions (pg 197).
UAS in Report
There is a single discussion about the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the report (pg 200) and it deals with the use of UAS in disaster response. It notes that autonomous “systems can be paired with telemedicine capabilities to deliver realtime connectivity between emergency responders and Level 1 trauma centers and other emergency medicine professionals.” The Committee directs the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Within “to publicly release a report assessing the potential effectiveness of unmanned aircraft systems for medical emergency response in rural areas.”
Moving Forward
It does not currently look like the House will take up this bill as this is one of the more controversial spending bills, even within the Republican caucus. Spending hawks do not think that enough cuts were made, and moderates are concerned with some of the language related to abortions, transgender issues, and vaccine support. It still looks like the Senate will include the language from their more moderate LHH spending bill as a Division in the language they have been ‘debating’ for HR 4016, the FY 2026 DOD spending bill. The Senate leadership is working towards considering that minibus spending bill early in July. Whatever spending bills remain unpassed at the end of the month will likely be dealt with under a year-end continuing resolution, hopefully before the current CR runs out on January 31st.