Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement after voting yes yesterday on a package of three Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) spending bills. The package passed the House with bipartisan support on a 341-88 vote and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
“These funding bills will create jobs, expand access to education and give a pay raise to servicemembers in Northwest Washington and across the country,” said Rep. Larsen. “My colleagues in Congress and I continue to ignore the President’s requests to end critical government services. I will keep fighting for the people I represent and holding the Trump administration accountable to spending these funds as Congress has directed.”
Larsen and Congress Reject Trump’s Cuts
Despite the President’s requests to eliminate funding for jobs, education and health services the American people rely on, Congress continued to fund those priorities. The final package of bills funds the following agencies and programs, all of which the President proposed eliminating or significantly cutting:
$116 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which supports critical public health investments at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA);
$13.7 billion for the Department of Labor;
$79 billion for the Department of Education, along with language clearly stating no authority exists for the Department to offload its responsibilities to other agencies and requirements that the Department to maintain staff necessary to fulfill its functions;
$22.5 billion for Pell Grants, which help low-income students achieve bachelor’s and graduate degrees, rejecting the President’s proposal to cut Pell Grant awards by more than $1000;
$1.76 billion for the Job Corps program, which helps low-income young people in Northwest Washington and across the country complete college credits and professional certifications;
$557 million for AmeriCorps grants, which engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs;
$292 million for the Institute for Museum and Library Services, which supports public libraries across Northwest Washington and the country;
$4.4 billion to Homeless Assistance Grants, including the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which is the largest source of federal funding for homeless services and housing programs; and
$15 million for the Housing and Urban Development – Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, which helps veterans in Northwest Washington obtain and keep stable housing.
The final package of bills also rejects the President’s request for additional funding for military operations in Venezuela and the Caribbean.
Larsen Priorities for Jobs, Education, Defense and World Cup Included
The bills provide funding to create jobs, help students access educational opportunities, support the military and prepare for the World Cup this summer:
Jobs
$95.8 million to help the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hire 2,500 new air traffic controllers;
$4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program, which provides grants for the planning and development of public-use airports and in 2023 provided more than $15 million for infrastructure projects at airports in Northwest Washington;
$40 million for Aviation Workforce Development Grants, which grow the talent pipeline of aviation workers and in 2022 awarded Aviation Technical Services in Everett a $459,206 grant to support careers in aviation maintenance;
$6.2 million for research into stormwater management to reduce the impacts of 6PPD and 6PPD-quinone on salmon-bearing streams;
$25 million for ferry grants, with $4 million set aside for low- and no-emission ferries;
$145 million for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program, which enables communities of all sizes to carry out road, rail, transit and other surface transportation projects with significant local or regional impact;
$35 million for Small Shipyard Grant Program, which helps shipyards modernize, increase productivity and create jobs;
$103 million for Port Infrastructure Development Program, which provides funding for projects that improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods in ports;
$38.4 billion for Section 8 vouchers, which help low-income families, particularly those with seniors or individuals with disabilities, afford housing;
Education
$12.4 billion for Head Start, which provides early learning, health, and family well-being services to children and families;
$1.2 billion for TRIO, which help students from disadvantaged backgrounds access higher education;
$12.4 billion for Impact Aid, which provides funding for school districts impacted by a federal presence and ensures they can provide a quality education; and $70 million for Department of Defense supplemental Impact Aid for schools serving large populations of military families;
Defense and World Cup
3.8 percent pay raise for servicemembers;
$400 million for assistance to Ukraine, $100 million more than FY25; and
$194 million for public transportation assistance relating to the 2028 Olympic Games and the 2026 World Cup (Rep. Larsen introduced the Transportation Assistance for Olympic and World Cup Cities Act to ensure transit agencies would get funding prior to these events).
