On July 31, prior to the August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved eight of the 12 annual FY26 bills with bipartisan support. Aging Services at various departments throughout the federal government would be preserved at current levels or slightly increased in these proposals.

Access the latest details in NCOA's table of FY 2026 federal budget proposals and FY 2024 and 2025 appropriations for aging services programs of interest. Some of the highlights:

Older Americans Act (OAA) Health and Human Services (HHS) funding

Most OAA programs would be level-funded under the Senate FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. This includes supportive services and senior centers, nutrition programs, preventive health, caregiver supports, Native American supports and services, and elder abuse protections.

In contrast with the administration’s budget request, the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) would remain intact, thus providing level funding for Falls Prevention and Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) competitive grants.

Other HHS Aging Services funding

The Senate Labor-HHS appropriations bill would provide level funding for all Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) Injury Center programs, including $3.1 million for older adult falls. The administration proposed eliminating most of these programs in FY26.

Additional programs that were not funded in the administration’s budget request but maintained in the Senate Labor-HHS bill include the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). Under the Senate bill, LIHEAP would actually receive a $20 million increase.

Aging Services at other agencies

The Senate Labor-HHS bill would not eliminate the Department of Labor (DOL) Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) as proposed in the administration budget request, but would fund it at $10 million less than the FY25 level.

This news is so important because it demonstrates bipartisan support for SCSEP when the program is currently paused across the country. DOL has not released over $300 million for the program that was supposed to start July 1, leading to the furlough of over 25,000 older workers who would have been getting paid while they train for new jobs. Countless more are waiting to enter the program to find work that will help them make ends meet.

AmeriCorps Seniors proposed for elimination in the administration’s budget request would be retained in the Senate bill.

The Senate FY26 Agriculture appropriations bill would increase the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) by $35 million, in contrast to the administration’s proposal to eliminate the program.

Also, in the Senate FY26 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill, the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program would be increased by $59 million, the Aging in Place Home Modification program would be level-funded, and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) would be cut by $200 million. The administration provided no funding for any of these initiatives in its budget request.

House FY26 activity

The House Appropriations Committee postponed its consideration of the FY26 Labor-HHS bill until early September, but it has approved its versions of the Agriculture and HUD bills. It calls for the same increase for CSFP as the Senate, a $37 million increase for Section 202, level funding for CDBG, but no funding for the Aging in Place Home Modification grants.

What’s next

Congress is in recess until after Labor Day, and much work needs to be done for each chamber to approve its versions of the 12 appropriations bills, negotiate compromise bills, and send them to the White House for enactment. Similar to recent history, Congress is unlikely to finish this work before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, so a continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to fund these important programs and keep the government open.

It's unclear whether passing a CR in time in September will be possible. Both chambers and each party are at odds on multiple issues. There are only 12 days when both the House and Senate will be in session before the clock runs out.

What you can do

Local voices have been influential in Congressional debates so far this year. There is still time for you to educate your Senators and Representatives about the OAA programs that your communities rely on. You can share stories about the SCSEP participants who are living in poverty and need to work to be financially secure. Send Congress your messages about OAA and SCSEP today.

How the administration's FY26 budget request would impact Aging Services

On May 30, the administration released its detailed budget request for FY26, with significant improvements in the proposals for Aging Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

As we shared in April, early versions of the administration’s plans for restructuring HHS would have dismantled the Administration for Community Living (ACL), eliminated many ACL programs (including Older Americans Act (OAA) services), and moved the remaining ACL programs to various HHS agencies, undermining the coordination of OAA initiatives.

The detailed FY26 budget request for HHS keeps aging and disability programs together, merging them with Administration for Children and Families (ACF) programs into a new Administration for Children, Families, and Communities (ACFC). Most OAA programs would be level-funded, although there are still cuts to healthy aging and disability programs. Funding for the Medicare State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) would also be maintained.

OAA Healthy Aging

The latest budget request level-funds OAA Title III-D Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (Preventive Health) at $26 million, but still calls for eliminating the Prevention and Public Health Fund. That would cut all $8 million from Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME), $5 million of the $7.5 million for Falls Prevention, and $15.7 of the $31.5 million for the Alzheimer's Disease Initiative currently administered by ACL.

Other notable HHS programs

Earlier budget proposals called for eliminating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). The latest version would move NCIPC to the new Administration for a Healthy America, but details are still forthcoming about the future of individual programs. We also are still awaiting details about CDC’s leadership on Falls Prevention data analysis and engagement of the clinical community.

The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), which is the primary federal funding stream for Adult Protective Services (APS) and has also supported senior nutrition programs and senior centers, would be retained in the latest budget request. However, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) would still be eliminated.

Overall HHS funding would be cut by 22% under the administration’s proposal.

Aging Services at other agencies

Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is still proposed for termination, which would affect the program that would begin in July 2026. In place of SCSEP and other workforce programs, the administration is proposing a Make America Skilled Again block grant to states. Overall DOL funding would be cut by 65%.

All AmeriCorps programs are proposed for elimination, including the AmeriCorps Seniors programs: the Foster Grandparent Program, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), and the Senior Companion Program.

At the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which provides healthy food boxes of healthy to food insecure older adults, is proposed for elimination. Overall USDA funding would be cut by 30%.

At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Section 202 Housing for the Elderly and other housing voucher programs would be eliminated and replaced with a housing block grant to the states. The Aging in Place Home Modification program and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which has supported senior centers and nutrition programs across the country, are also proposed to be zeroed out by the Administration. Overall HUD funding would be cut by 44%.

More about the federal budget

The annual appropriations process happens every year, when the discretionary spending portion of the federal budget is shaped by Congress. NCOA engages partners serving older adults across the country to advocate for these investments in Washington.

Funding for aging services programs, like the Older Americans Act, is a cost-effective investment. But program cuts over the past decade disproportionately affected vulnerable Americans, and new investments have yet to keep up with demand or the costs of providing services.

Empowering older adults to remain healthy and economically secure in their own homes and communities reduces spending on more costly entitlement programs. Every dollar provided to the aging services network for OAA initiatives also is leveraged by nearly three dollars in non-federal support.