Today the Office of Management and Budget shared (fact sheets) the toplines of President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 discretionary budget request with Congress, outlining proposed spending levels across federal agencies. The budget asks Congress to cut spending on non-defense programs by more than $163 billion, a 22.6% cut from current enacted spending levels. Political Context: Director Vought’s letter to… (Testa, May 2, 2025) #Budget, #Grants, #Health Equity, #Housing, #National Institutes of Health, #Nutrition, #Public Health, #Women’s Health

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) posted a call for research on the budgetary impacts of nutrition standards in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Currently, while there are some restrictions on SNAP purchases (e.g. no hot food), there are no nutritional requirements. CBO notes that lawmakers have expressed interest in adding nutritional standards to SNAP that limit allowable purchases. CBO will use… (McClurg, May 2, 2025) #Nutrition

The Senate Appropriations Committee convened the first of a two-part hearing series titled “Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation” to examine the future of U.S. biomedical research in light of the Trump administration’s controversial funding cuts and policy changes affecting the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The hearing focused on the impact of the administration’s plan to implement a… (Colocho, May 1, 2025) #Budget, #Grants, #National Institutes of Health

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Population Affairs, released a 400-page review of research on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Although the report does not issue clinical guidelines or formal policy recommendations, it casts doubt on widely accepted standards of care, minimizing the documented… (Eisen, May 1, 2025) #Health Equity

The House Education & Workforce Committee held a markup of its reconciliation text concerning education programs and student loans. While most of the markup was focused on proposed changes to student loan programs, a few Democrats took the opportunity to offer amendments that highlight their concern about the impact of the larger Republican reconciliation plan on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),… (McClurg, April 30, 2025) #Insurance Coverage, #Nutrition

President Trump signed an Executive Order titled Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens, aimed at reinforcing federal immigration law and penalizing jurisdictions that defy it—commonly referred to as “sanctuary” jurisdictions. The order asserts the constitutional supremacy of the federal government in immigration and national security matters, describing state and local defiance as a form of “lawless insurrection.” The order outlines… (Colocho, April 29, 2025) #Health Equity, #Nutrition, #Public Health

Since taking office, the Trump Administration has escalated efforts to limit access to evidence-based gender-affirming care for minors. Today, the Administration released a fact sheet outlining steps taken to implement Executive Order 14187, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, and announced the reversal of key Biden-era policies. Signed on January 28, 2025, Executive Order 14187 directs federal agencies to… (Eisen, April 28, 2025) #Health Equity

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released over 10,000 public comments received in response to a Request for Information (RFI) aimed at shaping the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan (press release). The comments, submitted over a seven-week period, reflect widespread interest from academia, industry, government entities, and citizens in advancing U.S. leadership in AI. Key themes… (Colocho, April 24, 2025) #Health Information Technology, #Workforce

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a white paper with proposals to increase independent workers access to health care and retirement benefits (press release). Policy Recommendations The white paper is informed by a request for information from stakeholders on ways Congress can clarify and modernize federal law to increase workers’… (Llamas, April 24, 2025) #Association Health Plans, #Insurance Coverage, #Insurance Reform

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently reviewing a draft proposed Medicaid rule related to provider taxes. The draft rule is entitled, “Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations – Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole (CMS-2448),” and arrived for review at OMB on April 19th. It was originally included in the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda, with… (Joyce, April 23, 2025) <span style="font-size:90%;