The Trump administration on Sept. 25 proposed rescinding $28 million from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), days before the end of federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026. The proposal is part of an $810 million rescission package that the administration submitted to Congress covering several federal agencies and programs.
AHRQ provides grant funding for health services research. The administration said the proposed AHRQ rescission would eliminate funding for research it considers wasteful, duplicative, and harmful. Changes to the agency’s research and grant activity could affect the availability of evidence hospitals use to inform quality improvement and patient safety efforts.
The proposal comes as AHRQ has already significantly reduced its grant activity. Congress appropriated $345 million for AHRQ in FFY 2026; however, the agency had spent less than $15 million on grants as of July 2026 and had not issued a new grant in more than a year, according to KFF. The rescission proposal also cancels funds for minority health programs.
Under the Impoundment Control Act, rescission requests must be approved or rejected by Congress. However, because the administration delivered the rescission proposal to Congress in the final days of the FFY ending Sept. 30, Congress effectively was unable to act on the rescission request before the funds expired at the end of the fiscal year. In response, several lawsuits challenging the administration’s impoundment of these funds have been filed. The plaintiffs have requested that the courts require the Department of Health and Human Services and the other affected agencies to spend the impounded funds.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions or for more information.
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