The bill
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026
HR. 5304, 119th Congress β read as touching Hospitals & Health Systems.
Sponsored by
Rep. Aderholt, Robert B. [R-AL-4]
ID: A000055
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 5304, 119th Congress β read as touching Hospitals & Health Systems.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
23 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 227.
September 10, 2025
π Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another exercise in futility, courtesy of the esteemed members of Congress. Let's dissect this monstrosity, shall we?
**Diagnosis:** HR 5304 is a classic case of "Appropriations-itis," a disease characterized by an insatiable appetite for taxpayer dollars and a complete disregard for fiscal responsibility.
**Symptoms:**
1. **Total funding amounts and budget allocations:** A whopping $2.6 billion for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) alone. Because, of course, throwing more money at a problem always solves it. 2. **Key programs and agencies receiving funds:** The usual suspects: Employment and Training Administration, National Apprenticeship Act, and various other programs that sound impressive but are likely to be inefficient and ineffective. 3. **Notable increases or decreases from previous years:** A 10% increase in funding for dislocated worker employment and training activities. Because, apparently, the previous amount wasn't enough to address the "crisis" of workers being dislocated across multiple sectors. (Spoiler alert: it's still not enough.) 4. **Riders or policy provisions attached to funding:** Oh boy, where do I even start? There are provisions for outlying areas, consolidated grants, and technical assistance projects that will undoubtedly be used as slush funds for pet projects and pork barrel spending. 5. **Fiscal impact and deficit implications:** Let's just say this bill won't exactly help reduce the national debt. With a projected increase in funding, we can expect more of the same: wasteful spending, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and a continued disregard for fiscal responsibility.
**Treatment:** None. This patient is terminal. The disease of Appropriations-itis has progressed too far, and the only cure would be a complete overhaul of the system. But let's be real, that's not going to happen anytime soon.
**Prognosis:** More of the same: wasteful spending, bureaucratic bloat, and a continued disregard for fiscal responsibility. The American taxpayer will continue to foot the bill for this legislative monstrosity, while the politicians responsible will pat themselves on the back for "supporting workers" and "investing in education."
**Final diagnosis:** HR 5304 is a textbook example of how not to govern. It's a symptom of a larger disease: a system that prioritizes special interests over fiscal responsibility and rewards incompetence with more funding.
Rep. Aderholt, Robert B. [R-AL-4]
Congress 119 β’ 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No committee contributions found
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 46 nodes and 23 connections (47 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $119,637
Showing top 23 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 10 helped, 4 harmed.
Title II includes $100,000,000 for payments to eligible hospitals for maintenance of health care providers, with specific criteria for hospitals with β€50 inpatient beds, wage index <0.90, and located in high-poverty states, providing direct financial support to hospitals.
Section 233 amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to allow funds to be used for financing construction and rehabilitation, and for loans or investments in private business enterprises, including those owned by community development corporations, which benefits real estate developers and investors.
Title V, Sec. 506 prohibits expending funds for health benefits coverage that includes abortion coverage, directly restricting what health insurers can offer in plans funded by this act, imposing compliance costs and limiting product offerings.
Section 233's amendment to the Community Services Block Grant Act permits funds to be used for loans or investments in private business enterprises, including those owned by community development corporations, which could benefit private equity and hedge funds investing in such enterprises.
Title V, Sec. 549 prohibits using funds to administer, implement, or enforce the final rule entitled 'Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting' (89 Fed. Reg. 40876), which would impose costs on long-term care facilities through staffing requirements.
Title III, Sec. 311 prohibits using funds to provide financial assistance to educational institutions that allow males to participate in women's athletic programs, which could affect for-profit colleges that offer such programs, imposing compliance costs or loss of funding eligibility.
+ 8 more industries not shown.
For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Aderholt, Robert B. [R-AL-4])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022βpresent cycles. Donations are not proof of intent β they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.
$2.50 for Americaβs 250th Act
119/hr/5616
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027
119/hr/9260
Requesting the Secretary of the Interior to authorize unique and one-time arrangements for displays on the National Mall and the Washington Monument during the period beginning on December 31, 2025, and ending on January 5, 2026.
119/hjres/133
HELP Response and Recovery Act
A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Israel of certain defense articles and services.
Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034.