Senate Action Protects HIV Prevention and Public Health Funding

HealthHIV commends the Senate Appropriations Committee for rejecting the Trump administration’s proposal to eliminate CDC’s HIV prevention and surveillance programs. In a bipartisan vote of 26 to 3, the Committee passed the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, preserving key funding for HIV prevention, care, and PrEP programs.

The Committee upheld the administration’s proposed $542 million for the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. That move looks to continue support for PrEP access in community health centers and expanded prevention and treatment efforts—even as other critical prevention programs faced proposed cuts that would have weakened the broader HIV infrastructure, including surveillance, workforce, and community services.

The Senate’s rejection of the $73 million cut to Part F of the Ryan White Program protects critical services that directly impact patient care—such as dental reimbursements, clinical workforce training, and community-driven research.

The Committee further maintained $119 million for SAMHSA’s activities under the Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI), which supports behavioral health services for people with HIV. The MAI is a cross-agency funding stream that includes HRSA’s Ryan White Program, CDC, NIH, SAMHSA, and the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Fund (SMAF). However, the Committee reduced the SMAF by $4 million, bringing it to $56 million.

The Senate also reinforced its commitment to research, increasing overall NIH funding by $400 million, and dismissed the administration’s plan to slash NIH research budgets by 40 percent.

Importantly, the Committee rejected the Trump administration’s proposal to eliminate all $505 million in funding for HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. By contrast, the Senate recommended a $24 million increase, bringing the total to $529 million.

Proposed efforts to block grant hepatitis, STI, and tuberculosis funding to states were also defeated. The Senate chose to maintain dedicated funding, including preserving the $43 million in CDC’s hepatitis prevention budget.

While the Senate Appropriations Committee’s action helps to protect vital HIV prevention funding, past threats of cuts, grant delays, and administrative uncertainty have already disrupted state and local efforts. 

HealthHIV calls on the House of Representatives to affirm these protections and urges the administration to ensure swift, lawful distribution of funds so health departments, clinics, and community organizations can fulfill their public health responsibilities.