House Democrats Highlight How Republican Labor, HHS, Education Bill Tries to Eliminate Public Education, Harms Women and Children

WASHINGTON — During today’s House Appropriations subcommittee markup of the 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill, House Democrats highlighted how the bill is an assault on education and job training, abandons ongoing public health crises, and eliminates funding for reproductive health.

House Republicans’ Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill provides $198.4 billion, a cut of $24.6 billion – 11 percent – below 2024. The legislation:

• Decimates support for children in K-12 elementary schools.
• Harms women’s health by cutting programs that support maternal and child health, eliminating programs that provide access to health services and contraception, and adding numerous partisan and poison pill riders related to abortion and reproductive health.
• Slashes funding for the Social Security Administration’s operating budget, which would close Social Security field offices, extend wait times for retirement claims and customer service, and delay disability claims decisions.
• Abandons college students and low-income workers trying to improve their lives through higher education or job training.
• Surrenders to ongoing health crises by cutting funding for State and local health departments, eliminating funding for the Ending HIV Epidemic initiative, and defunding programs that address health disparities.

“This bill decimates support for K-12 education, and it abandons college students and lower-income workers trying to gain an education or advance their career for their chance at the American Dream. This Republican majority’s bill harms women’s health, children’s health, and public health. The bill would surrender the safety and well-being of the American people to multiple ongoing health crises. And the majority’s cuts to the Social Security Administration would mean closings and shorter operating hours at Social Security field offices, and longer processing and wait times for seniors and those with disabilities,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “Anyone who has paid attention to their explicit appeal to destroy public education should not be surprised by what the majority is proposing. But we should all be horrified. The Republican majority cuts the Department of Education by $11 billion, including $5 billion cut from Title I which will take at least 72,000 teachers out of low-income classrooms, in the midst of a teacher shortage, no less. Those are teachers in classrooms in your districts. Hard working families in your district pay their taxes and send their children to public schools, and this bill says we cannot afford to put a teacher in their classroom.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s full remarks are here.

A summary of House Republicans’ 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill is here. A fact sheet is here. The text of the bill is here.

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