Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Senate Appropriators Postpone Their Markup of Fiscal Year 2027 Spending Bills While House Appropriators Move Forward

On June 4, the Senate Appropriations Committee was originally scheduled to mark up the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027; the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027, and the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,2027. A new date has not been posted, but the belief is that the issue over the weaponization fund at the Department of Justice was one reason for the postponement.

The House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027, H.R. 8646, passed on the House floor (213-210) with agreed upon en bloc amendments. "The bill provides important investments in critical agricultural research that will keep our producers on the cutting-edge of technology and production practices. We maintain funding for USDA’s flagship competitive grant program, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, and protect capacity funding for our land-grant universities to ensure our farmers and ag workforce remain competitive with China, according to Rep. Harris on the House floor.”

Meanwhile, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill for FY 2027 was released the day before the subcommittee markup on June 5 with a summary. Biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) notably received $48.8 billion, which includes  $1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). When excluding ARPA-H, NIH would receive $47.3 billion or a $100 million (2 percent) increase over the FY 26 enacted level ($47.2 billion). The bill listed funding levels for all the existing institutes and centers, with the National Cancer Institute ($7.4 billion) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ($6.6 billion) receiving the highest amounts. Full committee markup began on June 9 and will be finished by June 10.

During the markup, a series of amendments were considered. One was offered by Rep. Rosa DeLauro saying that  “none of the funds made available in this Act or any other Act, including prior Acts and laws other than appropriations Acts, may be used to issue or implement as a final rule the proposed rule entitled, “Regulations for Federal Financial Assistance” published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2026 or any successor or substantial similar rule. Chair Aderholt said comments are being accepted, and the process should address this issue. The amendment failed 29-32.