Saying Goodbye to 2025 and Turning the Page to Next Year

With the end of 2025 fast approaching, the CHF team has been reflecting on what has certainly been a challenging year. From the immediate upheaval in federal funding for vital public health programs, to the removal of thousands of HHS staff and threat of more through agency reorganization, to biomedical research and public health grants cut, and so much more. We don’t think anyone could have prepared us for the myriad of trials our community would face.

Yet despite the obstacles we faced, our members proved resilient and delivered meaningful wins. Some successfully helped ensure public health dollars went out the door before the September 30 fiscal deadline. Others were able to restore previously cancelled funding for initiatives like women’s health research or research grants.

Throughout the chaos that was 2025, we continued to support our members and serve as your one-stop shop for all things appropriations. Among other initiatives this year, we:

  • Helped educate our members on the ins and outs of apportionment, impoundment, the debt ceiling, and the reconciliation process;

  • Coordinated two of our largest ever Hill Days for our members to discuss the importance of their programs and health funding as a whole;

  • Circulated our members-only FY26 appropriations form tracker to help our members submit their program requests;

  • Convened three member-wide meetings and seven CHF-leadership meetings with Committee Members and staff;

  • Convened our members for strategy sessions focused on AHA, HRSA, NIH, CDC, AHRQ, and SAMHSA;

  • Provided in-depth analyses for our members to understand the changes and restructuring plans the Trump administration proposed in the HHS passback memo and President’s Budget;

  • Delivered 67 welcome letters to all new members of Congress and new members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees introducing them to CHF, our members, and why health funding is so important;

  • Alerted our members upon the release of LHHS bills and reports with topline number analysis and explanatory statements;

  • Published nearly 15 media statements in response to the FY25 and FY26 appropriations process and the Trump administration actions;

  • Tracked and created resources focused on OMB funding freezes;

  • Developed and continuously updated talking points for our members to utilize during their Hill meetings focused on the value of funding health programs and agencies;

  • Released over 200 Public Health Happenings and Member Update newsletters;

  • Created a district-level toolkit with general talking points, social media post examples, and resources for our members to utilize and advocate for health funding beyond the Beltway; and

  • Hosted 11 monthly Catch Up calls to share intelligence and strategize.

We were also excited to be joined by ten new members this year! They include:

  • Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America

  • Association of American Universities

  • Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

  • Easterseals, Inc.

  • JSI

  • National Area Health Education Centers

  • MedStar Health Research Institute

  • Parkinson’s Foundation

  • Society of Behavioral Medicine

  • UsAgainstAlzheimers 

Together, we face unprecedented times as a unified community. Through it all, we advocated for health funding with one shared voice, each bringing our unique perspective, stories, and data. Even as the landscape shifted, often unexpectedly, our collective commitment never wavered.  

While we don’t know what challenges we may face in 2026, we do know this: CHF will continue to fight for health funding with the same determination that carried us through this year. As so many moments in 2025 reminded us, progress doesn’t come from waiting for calmer waters, it comes from moving forward together through turbulence. Thank you to all our members for your continued support. We truly couldn’t do this work without you.

Noah Hammes