PPC Update – October 29, 2026

PPC Capitol Connection

October 29, 2026

Congress Passes Short-Term Funding Deal Through December, Delaying OMB Rule Implementation. On September 1, the House of Representatives passed a Senate-approved continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded at current levels through December 11. A provision in that legislation – agreed to overwhelmingly by both Republicans and Democrats – paused implementation of a proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) through the duration of the CR. The rule would require political appointees to review discretionary grants to ensure they align with presidential priorities and would empower them to terminate grants whenever they deem it necessary. The policy’s delay follows extensive advocacy from the pediatric research and scientific community. The PPC organizations mobilized their memberships to submit public comments to document the proposal’s negative impacts on child health programs and research. When Congress resumes the process of finalizing full-year government spending bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, the PPC will be urging lawmakers to find a long-term solution that prevents the grants policy from taking effect.

White House tables planned Executive Order to Centralize NIH Grant Approvals. In September, reports indicated that the White House was considering an executive order that would shift authority over National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant approvals from the agency to an external review committee with greater latitude to reject grants that do not align with the administration’s policy priorities. The proposed order would’ve created a review board including Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and required unanimous approval of grant awards. In effect, this would’ve sought to implement through executive action a central provision of the OMB proposed rule on grantmaking.

Key Senate appropriators quickly condemned the proposed executive order after it became public. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent the White House an open letter warning that the order would politicize NIH grantmaking and arguing that OMB should have no role in NIH grant-award decisions. She also cautioned that related executive action would violate the CR provision blocking implementation of the OMB rule. Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) issued a similar statement opposing the proposal. The Trump administration subsequently tabled its immediate plans to release the order, but it could still revive the proposal – or even a narrower version – after the midterm elections. Any such action could still face legal challenges under the continuing resolution and conflict with congressional intent. When Congress returns from recess, lawmakers are expected to consider guardrails in the final FY27 funding bills to protect against political interference in NIH grant decisions. Collins and Murray already support such protections, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, and Tammy Baldwin have also expressed openness to adding them in a full-year government funding bill.

White House Moves to block $810 million in funding through late pocket rescissions. On Friday, September 25, six days before the end of the fiscal year, the White House announced the rescission of $810 million in federally appropriated funding, which includes funding cancellations across a range of government programs. The rescissions consisted primarily of immigration services, foreign aid, education programs for non-citizens, refugee assistance, HHS research, and the HHS Office of Minority Health. It included $28 million in rescissions for research funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), justifying it by asserting that most AHRQ research funding is duplicative of those funded by NIH.

Under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974, the president is permitted to ask Congress to rescind federal funding and temporarily withhold it for 45 days while lawmakers consider the request. By submitting these requests at the very end of the fiscal year, the administration used a “pocket rescission,” allowing funds to expire before Congress could take action. Sen. Collins strongly opposed the move, accusing the administration of deliberately withholding funds for months to bypass Congress. Pocket rescissions are widely viewed as illegal and unconstitutional. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has previously deemed pocket rescissions illegal and found that the Trump administration’s September 25 rescission announcement violated federal law. The practical impact of that finding remains unclear, but GAO, an independent legislative branch agency, has authority to pursue legal action against the administration for ICA violations.

GAO FINDS AHRQ Funds Were Illegally Withheld. On October 6, the GAO formally affirmed that HHS violated federal law by withholding more than $78 million in appropriated FY 2025 federal funding from AHRQ. The report found that HHS’ reductions in force carried out at AHRQ in 2025 resulted in the agency failing to obligate or spend its FY25 budget before the fiscal year had concluded, which constituted an illegal impoundment under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974 because the department failed to send a formal request to Congress that is required under federal law to propose rescinding the money. The ICA explicitly requires the administration to notify Congress and follow prescribed procedures when seeking to defer or rescind congressionally appropriated funds.

Although the ruling addresses FY25 funding, it raises questions about later actions affecting AHRQ’s budget. In July 2026, AHRQ announced the cancellation of nearly all previously awarded grants, eliminating more than $250 million in funding. Those cancellations, along with the $28 million pocket rescission of FY26 funds described above, have drawn bipartisan objections from congressional leaders and increased scrutiny of whether AHRQ’s year-end appropriation is being obligated as Congress directed. These developments heighten pressure on Congress to respond decisively and require AHRQ to restore its capacity. Efforts are now underway to request that GAO expand its investigation to FY26 and begin building a case for FY27.

These decisions have immediate implications for the health services research community, as researchers have gone almost two years with no funding, and have been forced to pause their work entirely or lay off staff. Funding interruptions or uncertainty can delay grants, weaken research capacity, and slow the development and adoption of findings that improve the delivery of high-quality, safe, coordinated care for children and families. The PPC will continue advocating to safeguard AHRQ funding and ensure that pediatric researchers can access congressionally appropriated research funds.

Proposed changes to citizenship and demographic data collection in census rule could impact health research and funding allocation. On September 10, the Department of Commerce released a proposed rule that would make significant changes to the regulations governing the decennial Census. The proposed changes would prohibit the collection of data on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and would narrow the definition of “usual residence” to exclude millions of noncitizen immigrants from the census apportionment count. Since its inception in 1790, the decennial Census has always collected data on race and ethnicity and counted all persons living in the U.S., regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Although President Trump attempted to exclude undocumented immigrants previously from the 2020 decennial Census during his first term via executive action, legal challenges prevented the policy from being implemented. This new proposal would mark a fundamental change in how the government determines who counts as part of the nation’s population. If finalized, this would mark the first time in the census’ history that race and ethnicity data are not collected. It would also mark the first time that millions of noncitizen immigrants are excluded from the apportionment count, including individuals who are lawfully present but do not hold Lawful Permanent Resident status, such as international students, work visa holders, refugees, and asylees. Census race and ethnicity data is essential for public health research, including studies of health disparities and health care access and coverage. And not counting noncitizen immigrants in the apportionment count risks reducing the allocation of federal funding and resources for states and localities with larger immigrant populations. Public comments on the proposed rule are due November 2. 

PPC POLICY COMMENTARIES. Members of the PPC have authored commentaries detailing the policy implications of research published in Pediatric Research. You can read these PPC-authored commentaries online:

— Advocacy Opportunity: Tell Your Lawmakers to Protect Federal Child Health Grants and Programs. In August, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels through December 11. A provision in that legislation – agreed to overwhelmingly by both Republicans and Democrats – paused the OMB proposed rule until at least that date, rather than the stated implementation target date of October 1. Now is an important time for academic pediatricians to thank lawmakers for delaying the implementation of this harmful rule and urge them to pass a long-term solution that prevents this policy from taking effect. 

Contact Your Lawmakers Today

Here’s how: 

By Phone: You can call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to your U.S. representative’s and senators’ offices. Or you can go to House.gov and Senate.gov to find contact information. The contact information for their Washington, DC office is available on their websites.

By Email: You can email your representative through their website. You can find your U.S. representative by going to House.gov and using the “Find Your Representative” feature at the top right of the page. To find your U.S. senators, visit Senate.gov and use the “Find Your Senators” feature at the top left of the page. Email your U.S. representative and senators through the contact form on their websites.

Talking Points

  • Hello. My name is {First and last name} from {City, State}. I am an {academic scientist, researcher, and/or pediatrician} specializing in {insert your area of research expertise e.g., pediatric endocrinology, etc.}.
  • I am calling today to express my appreciation for Congress’s action to delay the implementation of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” as part of the continuing resolution, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
  • The OMB proposed rule would undermine the role of science, expertise, and evidence-based decision-making in the federal government by inserting additional political oversight into the grantmaking process.
  • If implemented, the rule would allow federal officials to use grant programs to advance administration priorities inconsistent with the child health purposes of specific programs as established by Congress with the input of expert stakeholders like pediatricians.
  • These initiatives support a wide range of child health priorities – including pediatric research, disease surveillance and outbreak response, mental health services, and care for children with special health care needs – and help inform the daily work of child health experts across the country.
  • It is critical that the House and Senate work together to advance a solution that prevents this proposed rule from taking effect permanently and protects our nation’s child health grants and programs.
  • I urge {Senator/Representative’s name} to support a long-term solution that prevents this harmful rule from taking effect.