On July 31, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a mark-up of the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. This is the first step in determination of funding levels for these programs for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 which runs from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. Included among such programs is the AAPD’s top appropriations priority, Title VII health professions training funds for pediatric dentistry. Despite the Administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget that would eliminate all HRSA oral health training programs, the Senate committee bill maintains them at level funding (same as FY 2025) with the following favorable report language:

“Training in Oral Health Care The Committee provides $42,673,000 for Training in Oral Health Care Programs, which includes not less than $13,000,000 for General Dentistry Programs and not less than $13,000,000 for Pediatric Dentistry Programs and not less than $15,000,000 for State Oral Health Workforce grants. This funding supports a competitive program in fiscal year 2026 for multi-year awards. The Committee directs HRSA to provide continuation funding for section 748 postdoctoral training grants, predoctoral dental grants, and dental faculty loan repayment program [DFLRP] grants. The Committee directs HRSA to initiate a new DFLRP grant cycle in fiscal year 2026 with a preference for pediatric dentistry faculty supervising dental students or residents and providing clinical services in dental clinics located in dental schools, hospitals, and community-based affiliated sites.”

This is a big win for AAPD advocacy, especially considering that other medical programs in Title VII received funding cuts in the bill. This successful outcome is due to the great work of AAPD’s Congressional Liaisons Drs. Warren Brill and Jade Miller, the Powers lobbying team in Washington, D.C. led by Julie Allen, advocacy by state teams during POHAC 2025, and a targeted grass roots campaign initiated just prior to the mark-up.

The full committee report can be accessed at: https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_lhhs_senate_report.pdf.

The report language quoted above appears on page 46. The next step in the process is consideration by the House Appropriations Committee, expected to take place in September.

For any questions, please contact Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel C. Scott Litch at 773-938-4759 or slitch@aapd.org.