U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) secured $35 million for Alabama hospitals and health centers as part of a House spending bill his subcommittee advanced last week, with $22.1 million directed to four rural hospitals in his district.
Aderholt chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, which advanced the legislation to fund all three departments for fiscal year 2027.
“One thing that I wanted to do is try to help local health centers and hospitals, especially in rural areas, to make sure they don’t close and make sure that everybody has access, regardless of their zip code and regardless of where they live,” Aderholt told Alabama Daily News.
The funding comes through community project earmarks, which returned to the House Labor-HHS-Education bill this year after a multi-year ban. Four other members of Alabama’s delegation also secured hospital funding in the bill: U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) at $5 million, U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) at $4.75 million, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) at $2.1 million, and U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) at $1 million.
The broader bill allocates roughly $110.8 billion to HHS, a $4 billion cut from current levels, and reduces the Department of Education budget by 10% to $70.7 billion. The National Institutes of Health received a modest boost to $48.8 billion, a $100 million increase over current funding.
“I think the American taxpayers want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to try to cure diseases like cancer, and NIH is what works on that, and that’s why they need to be funded,” Aderholt told Alabama Daily News.
Aderholt has made rural health access a centerpiece of his appropriations work, securing nearly $150,000 grants for close to 30 Alabama rural hospitals earlier this year through the Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program.
The bill still faces a long road to becoming law. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to advance any fiscal year 2027 bills, and Aderholt acknowledged a continuing resolution remains a possibility heading into the fall.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
